Check out this Slashdot thread of the worst web development job stories. Is it any wonder I want to leave this industry?

The Snook forwarded me a link to this news story about a rash of iPod muggings in the UK. Apparently Bad People are identifying their victims by the distinctive white headphones. I say, “Bugger them.” It took me ages to get the comfy “in-ear” headphones and I’m not going to give them up. What’s the point of being in a trendy clique if nobody knows you’re in it? 🙂

Addendum: Apparently this crime spree might be more fiction than reality.

I’ve become obsessed with baby websites. No, Mom, it’s not that. I think I’m identifying because of the cat. Anyway, The Trixie Update is one of the best I’ve seen. Geeky parents are the most fun.

“Ars Technica takes on three years of Mac OS X.” The article is a nice overview of the changes OS X has undergone since its debut. I’ve been there pretty much from the beginning: Snookums buys me OS X; I track down the 10.1 update; the 10.1.5 update kills my machine; we make a special trip to buy 10.2 at the Apple Road Show; I cheat and have a student friend buy my copy of Panther so I can save a hundred bucks. Good grief, that’s a lot of money and effort to expend on an operating system. But on the plus side, my mom finally got it installed on the Powerbook her office gave her. “I can’t tell anybody,” she said, “but I really like it!”

“I.T. Workers – Unhappy Campers?” Yes, yes, yes! Well, for this one, anyway. That article sums up a lot of the thoughts I’ve been having about this industry for the last couple years. I’m not happy. I don’t make anything real or useful or lasting. Most of the websites I’ve built are now dead. (At least one was sold to a porn company that wanted to mine its database.) I don’t help anybody. I don’t make the world a better place. I sit at a desk and move meaningless electrons from one place to another. It’s just not doing it for me anymore.

I need a Change. I’ve got a couple different options I’m considering. The big issue is, of course, money. I get paid more to do this unsatisfying job than I would to do anything else. Is job fulfillment worth taking a pay cut? I think I’m reaching the point where I say “yes”. I’ll keep you posted.

Blog Survey: Expectations of Privacy and Accountability. I wondered why I hadn’t heard about this until I saw the dates and realized I was up at Camp Creative around then. Anyway, nothing too startling in those results. I was surprised to see the male-female ratio though. Somehow I thought there were more girls doing this blogging thing. I wonder if the percentages would have changed if “journalers” had been included as well…

“When Two Tribes Go to War: A History of Video Game Controversy”. Very interesting article about the games that have been giving Tipper Gore and Joseph Lieberman nightmares for decades. Be sure and check out the bit about “Custer’s Revenge”, a famous Atari game that involved a naked cowboy assaulting Native American women for points. Hmmm, we never had that one at our house…