Hobby Or Career?

Some of you people (another shamelessly stolen phrase from Limbaugh) have been telling me that I write too many political articles. So here’s something more in the technical realm.

Lately I’ve been involved in some fairly ambitious web projects – as in web design projects. Actually, I have been doing web design for some time now but they have all been my own personal web sites. These recent project have been for other organizations and individuals (see ref. below).

Yes, they are time consuming and keep me up at all hours of the night. I guess I enjoy doing web design because I cannot seem to quit or turn down new projects. Since about this time last year when I began the first Boy Scout web site it has been non-stop.

So far, I have not accepted any monetary compensation for the work. I am holding on to the idea that I get the experience and increase my skills, rather than receive pay. I realize this is, of course, a naïve way to look at it and also I am probably getting taken to the cleaners. I also realize that for some of my work, businesses and organizations would expect to pay several thousand dollars.

Which brings me to the focus of this article. I’d like to ask a question and, by the way, I do not have an answer. When you discover that you have a marketable skill, one that you do not normally use on your regular day job, how do you decide when to take the hobby to a professional level? And how do you do it?

Much of this thought process of mine has been driven by two separate but related events. The first was my experience moving to Utah with no job offers to speak of and no real career outlook here. Here I was trying to find a home and dragging my family out to Utah without any realistic way to earn a living. Why, you ask? Well, at the time it seemed the right thing to do. The “IT bubble” had not yet burst and so I didn’t anticipate too much of a problem securing a job. But I quickly realized once I arrived that not only was the IT field right on the verge of undergoing a major disruption, but also that the job market in Utah has always been depressed.

Four years went by going from one crappy job to another just to pay bills. It wasn’t until the day I was about to put the house on the market that I finally landed the job I have and it has so far worked out well.

The other issue is that the economy is in the toilet and, like you; I am trying to consider my options and try to come up with a plan in the event that I might lose my current employment.

One of the parts of this plan is to leverage any marketable skills I may have. It is fine to say that most people will change careers 3 times in their working lives. It is quite another thing to implement that change. No one I have ever talked to has ever been enthusiastic about changing careers. It is a difficult and costly endeavor. However, because this country has voted for a socialist and fascist president who has already implemented economic policies akin to the European Union and is working hard to dissolve any free market system we have, I felt it best to at least entertain the idea of diversifying my skills and attempt to bring more to the professional table.

My dilemma is when to take the leap of faith. How do I determine when I have the necessary skills to move from a pastime to a career? Like I said, I have no answers, only questions. But I am a realist. A colleague at work reminded me it is a “dog-eat-dog” world out there. The fierce competition in the IT world has grown to new heights. You’ll either make it, or you won’t. And it is even more difficult working freelance. There is always someone better, faster, more skilled, and worth more money. I would be stupid to think otherwise.

Still, I keep getting requests for my work. Either people like what I do, or they like that I don’t charge them, I am not certain which, but one thing is certain. I like doing web design and there appears to be some interest in my work. I still do not know where this will eventually lead. It might be a career change, or it might be just some nice charity work for non-profit organizations. Who knows? But I am having fun doing it.

* ref: samples of Pete's design work - Wood Badge, Sew Sweet Designs, Bartlett Dental

American Capitalism

Well it has been said over and over. I personally tell people as often as i can that the sprint to the left since the election of Obama has been impressive. The bail outs, the firing of auto executives by the elected leader of the free world. Now Congress thinks they have the right to tell companies what they can pay their employees. We as Americans should be ashamed that we have allowed this to happen. The left has stolen elections (Ala ACORN) intimidated voters (Ala The new Black Panthers) and our own justice system is unable to take corrective actions beyond telling one of those 'panthers' he cannot display a weapon within 100' of a polling place. Seriously! Is there any doubt about where we are heading? The Department of homeland security has put out document that tell law enforcement that if you are 'pro life, pro gun, religious and ex-military' you are more than likely an extremist and need to be watched.

The kicker is this article in Pravda American capitalism gone with a whimper. Pravda is a Russian News paper. you remember them right? Russia? the folks that brought us the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for 40 years or so after the second world war? Yeah the Communist countries that have been trying out free markets and Capitalism for the last few years. you would think they know socialism when they see it. and let me tell you, they see it. Here is an excerpt:

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

The world sees us shouting that we are the last bastion of free market capitalism. They see us and snicker because they can see the road ahead.

Not so academic Supreme Court Justice?

"We need a supreme court judge that is not so much an academic. Perhaps a woman, or a minority" - Spoken by Obama early in the supreme Court Justice search. Perhaps a Brittany Spears, in Latina form? Now Does this make any sense. Now based on his recent discussions, the report is that it is sure to be a woman. The Constitution and the idea of the most qualified candidate (regardless of race or gender) seems to be irrelevant. A definite double downing of stupidity. The highest court in the land, and we are looking to dumb it down AND add a dose of reverse racism.

Moving the Marker

As a conservative, I am livid at the discussion and traction given to the thought that the Republican Party is not liberal enough. How absurd is that! That we are even entertaining the discussion that conformity in the name of growing the party is an option, is outrageous. The Republican principles are clear. (Paraphrasing Reagan), ”You don’t join a club because you want to change it, you join because your values are the same”. Ultimately, moving left, would be trading our values, prosperity, and personal liberty for a vote.

We embrace the right of peaceful protest, but do we protest? We know that the right to bear arms was to protect us from an overbearing Government, but we entertain the leftist argument that its about hunting. We know that our education systems are not only broken, but infiltrated by the leftist ideals with intimidating pressures to conform, yet we send our nations future leaders to be indoctrinated. There are answers to gaining the vote without compromise. Are we willing to make the sacrifices? So far I say no.

We have allowed the marker to be moved in the name of political correctness. We now accept the once unacceptable. The question is: What have we been doing while the marker was being moved right under our noses.

We Cannot Forget - We Will Not Forget

Please do yourself a favor and read this paper.

I, myself, have forgotten. Yes, I admit that I have not done near enough to pass on the legacy to my children or that I have not taught what happened 233 years ago. Fortunately, there are those that do who serve to remind me.

Because you can be sure that the State will not tell the story. Our schools water it down. Politicians dismiss it altogether. Society sells it in exchange for social programs and government control - much of which was eradicated by the very people now being dismissed and denied in the political arena.

Ironically, of course, it is the very fight for independence over 200 years ago, which our current administration dismisses, which makes it possible for them to have a voice.

Though the Declaration of Independence may be regarded as a relic and dismissed altogether, and the Constitution may hang by a thread, we cannot forget - we will not forget the price that was paid by those who wrote, signed and gave their lives for these documents.

"And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." - The 56 signers of the Declaration Of Independence

The Liberal Legacy

There is an excellent article on the American Thinker blog today about the bay of pigs in Cuba. This story, I think, shows the depths that a democrat will go to show that they support Communism and oppose Democracy or, maybe that they will just do ANYTHING to consolidate their power and show that THEY are the ones in charge. A lot of heroes were made that day and we, as a nation, stood by and watched them die.

Here is an Excerpt

When the smoke cleared and their ammo had been expended to the very last
bullet, when a hundred of them lay dead and hundreds more wounded, after their
very mortars and machine gun barrel had almost melted from their furious rates
of fire, after three days of relentless battle, barely 1,400 of them -- without
air support (from the U.S. Carriers just offshore) and without a single
supporting shot by naval artillery (from U.S. cruisers and destroyers poised
just offshore) -- had squared off against 41,000 Castro troops, his entire air
force and squadrons of Soviet tanks. The Cuban freedom-fighters inflicted
casualties of 30 to 1against their Soviet-armed and led enemies.

These are dangerous times. We ALL need to be on our guard.

Pirates or Terrorists

The items that have been on everyone's mind is the situation off the coast of Somolia and the US Container ship that was taken by Pirates. Well they tried to take the ship and those dang Yankees had the audacity to fight back and actually prevent thier ship from being taken. We have also learned that the captain of the ship offered himself up as a hostage so his ship would not be taken.

First let me say that i an not sure why these ships are not armed to the teeth when they go through this area. We KNOW this is a problem in the area, we know the pirates are there. Why? Seriously, I do not understand. If there is some law that says a merchant ship cannot be armed then it is stupid and needs to be ignored. if more pirates are killed or captured, then that would be a deterrent to recruiting more pirates... right? If the pirates knew that anytime they boarded a ship the crew would be armed and fighting back, they MIGHT think twice about boarding that ship.

well this ended well for the US and bad for the pirates and, in a typical thug mannor of thinking, now they have decided that, because we have defended ourselves, that they will kill americans now. see isn't that just great? it's like when you have the audacity to fight back when you are being mugged or assaulted, the perp may run off or he may try to kill you because you thought that you had the right to protect your self.

The Armed forces of the US is not a police force and we have the right and obligation to defend ourselves and our interests. These ships should be armed against such incusions. if the ship is boarded illegally, the pirates deserve what they get and that should be a short drop and a sudden stop. or a bulltet to a vital region they cannot live with out. these people have preyd on International shipping so long with out opposition, they believe it is thier right.

We need to fix that...