I usually try to find an image somehow related to what I’m writing about but in this case I’m doing the association after the fact because this is an amazing photo. So I’m the kid on the woolly horse, a dysfunctional economic steed trying to buck the scrappy job hunter.

It has been fun if a bit daunting. Google got in touch and I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Yahoo News who tracked me down due to my work on HoundWire. In both cases they were looking for a senior level engineer. I think it’s a sign. I need to pick something and just go with it. Unless of course I can get a job as technological adviser to Ben Bernanke which is probably the only position which would fully utilize my current skill set.

I’m still working on HoundWire in addition to consulting and web design but I’m also studying for my Zend5 PHP certification. Not because I think certifications are a very good measure of a potential but because I’m completely self taught (finance degree). I’m getting plenty of interviews but I haven’t memorized every last PHP function, and that’s the sort of thing I’ve been quizzed on in interviews. Frustrating but understandable. That and “You just created a .com, how do we know you’re not going to leave us for something better in five months?”

When I left my previous job to start HoundWire (traffic is steadily increasing which is nice) I thought to myself “We’re going to be in a recession next year. Is this a good idea?” I think I made the right choice. I’ve always been recruited for jobs so it’s good to finally face capitalism head on, with a resume, blindingly white shirt, and a sense of humor. Oh and practice really does help when interviewing.

Projects:

• I’m documenting a WAMP + SVN + Trac homebrew development setup on a spare laptop. Post forthcoming
• Work on Motorsport is ramping up. Three years later and we’re all still in that chat room. This time we’re all a bit wiser and our main programmer (mad Spanish genius) is more experienced.
• I’m also working on an economics simulator which I’m trying to do fully object oriented and using patterns in C++. The plan is to circumvent the limitations of current Keynesian economic math using logic plus billions of calculations. I ran into an MIT econ guy at a bar and the analogy I gave was that of astronomy simulators. They successfully simulate galaxies using a simple gravity equation and supercomputers. I think economics is a similar problem. In fact when I look at the following video I think of the effects of free trade on two economies.

Image from the Break.com Gallery.