A new chapter…

I like to announce that I have taken a full time position as a SharePoint dude for HMB.  I’ve interviewed with them a couple of years back.  But the planets had a different lineup and we did not connect. HMB is well known for being involved in the local developer community (.NET, StirTrek, VStudio 2012 Launch, etc)  They are a local company that has been in business longer that any other local consulting company I know.  I’ve personally known many of the people that work there. BTW, Sue “Johnson” is a great recruiter.  Of course, I also get the privilege to sit right next to Rick and ask him questions about how to be a YouTube video rock star …. lol.
One of the first questions that I’ve asked was: How many people has left your company(voluntarily/involuntarily) in the past year?  The answer was a number in the single digits (one hand)… Try asking this question, the next time you are in an interview ;) #Refreshing
The fusion between technology and culture is just perfect, and I’m very glad to be part of this mix. Actually, the real reason for me joining HMB, is so that I can be part of the “Deploy It Maybe” sequel…

Doing the right thing

It’s been almost 2 months since I have left the independent life to become a full time employee.  I have found a small consulting company that shares most of the personal goals that I have in mind.  This company name is Halcyon. The main message is “to seek happiness for our customers and employees”.

Before entering into negotiations with them, I thought they were just another consulting company.  However, after meeting with the owner of the company and see his passion for charity work I’ve change my mind.

It is very refreshing to find a company with such high ideals. While most companies I have come in contact with, have a few individuals that are very dedicated to help others, this company is different.  We are obligated encouraged to do community service.  As a good citizen, you are to do the right thing for others.  You know that, and I know that. But, when that command comes from the owner of the company, it trickles down to the all of the employees, and you can feel the effect.

Of course there are other perks like YOGA classes every other week. (which I have yet to attend one… ;)  So, in short, Halcyon is trying to bring a balance between your work and your personal life.  The fulfillment that comes from helping others is very different than the one you get when you get your paycheck.

Mohan latest project is to help integrate war veterans back into IT. Not just office work training, but actual programming training.!  I am just happy to be a part of this initiate of giving back to those that put their lives in danger for us. If all of us took the time to do a good deed every day, the world would be a different place…

Another aspect that I enjoy is the dogfood.  We are not only preaching SharePoint, but our CEO firmly believe in this technology.  We have BPOS as the technology for our intranet connecting both of our offices (US, India).  Also our website is built on SharePoint (soon to be SharePoint 2010).  Find out if your company uses SharePoint or just claiming to use SharePoint how to tell if a site is running SharePoint?

In all I am excited to start a new phase in my life and in my professional career.

PANAMA 2009 Elections: RERE, TE, PLAGEL, CPP

Having dual citizenship give me the opportunity to choose and to compare 2 different ways of voting. I casted my vote for the most powerful man of the free world back on Nov. 2008, and now I have the privilege to influence who will lead my Querida Panama for the next government.

Since most people I know in the US have no idea about presidential elections outside of the US, I want to share a little bit of knowledge.

There are 8 political parties (as of today ;)  in Panama.  The main one is the PRD (Partido Revolucionario Democratico). It stands for Revolution and Democracy.  BTW, it is the same government that we had with Noriega. All of the other parties are opposition to this one.  Each of them claims to be different because of  X-Some facts/view. 

People line up with the political party that they feel, closely matches their views, concerns.  However, if you work for any government institution it is expected that you lined up with the PRD, if you don’t your job might/will be at risk.  All of the parties put their candidates up and start the political satire that occurs everywhere, in which they try to convince the audience that they party is better than the other ones.

This all seems very similar to the US elections.  Start with the flow of information on the Radio, TV, Newspapers (negativity and lies).  However, in Panama, they also do Posters, Billboards, Musical Tours. There are about 3.5 million people in Panama according to the CIA world factbook. Since the population is so disperse, one of the ways to get your message across is to *tour* the small towns.  What is different about this, is that they bring what is called MURGAS to each city.  It is basically a band playing folklore music. There is plenty of free drinks and dancing. Most of the times they close the roads and make the whole road a big staging area.

Another of the ways they publicize their slogans. People rent their cars/time to drive around small towns and playing loud messages over their megaphones. ANY time of the day.!!

 

One thing you need to know about the Panamanian culture, and all Latin cultures for that matter.  We are very centric on socializing and having a good time. So the Murgas, attract the majority of the local audience, and if you have a good time with this candidate’s murgas, then voting for this candidate will bring more of the good time, right?… ;)

This is what an official ballot looks like. You need to select ONE entry only.  As you notice there are only 3 candidates to president.  Just like in the US (Rep., Dem., Waste-your-vote).  Now, we started with 8 political parties, and as the election date gets near, each party aligned with the candidate that they think will win. 

In Panama, there is still a lot of bribery. (just like in the US, but not as organized ;).  So if you are in one of the political parties that have won, you can expect to have favoritism over jobs and influences once the new party takes over.  One step further, you can even put your own people on jobs that are already filled by people from the losing party..!  And this is regardless of qualifications/tenure.  It is all about who you know.

Molirena	Union Patriotica
Vanguardia Moral de la Patria	Partido Popular
PRD	Partido Panameñista
Cambio Democratico	Partido Liberal

So you see, there is LOTS of thing riding on your vote. Not just the future of your country, but also your vote affects DIRECTLY your future.  The percentage of people willing to vote in Panama is a LOT higher than in the US for that matter.  In the US, we get to elect the most powerful man in the world, and yet I see many people that are not even excited about having this privilege.!

Hope this little bit of info have brought you a new insight into exercising your right to vote.

BTW, there are LOTS of acronyms used in Panama.  TE: Tribunal Electoral.  CPP: Centro de Procesamiento Postal.  PLAGEL: Plan General de Elecciones. RERE: Registro de Electores Residentes en el Extranjero.

Certification vs Google Developer

 

I have seen this thread so many times.  Those who don't have certifications always batching those that have them. Yes there are lots of paper certs developers out there.  Braindump sites has brought the core values of the certification down.  But consider the facts:

Certification Preparation Facts:

1. to become certified you need to at least study the preparation guide for the exam
2. you will need to read at least one book on the subject
3. you would probably take some simulation test before taking the exam

 

A certification WILL not get you a job.! There are lots of factors that influence the decision to hire someone.  However, having achieve a certification in a new technology goes a long way to show that you have the Passion and Commitment to stay on top of the technology.

Yes, writing a blog entry does show that you are into technology.  But having to study to pass a test is a different beast.  A blog is written on your spare time, and there is no commitment to when you need to blog.

I hate when someone will tell me that they don't know something, but they are fast learners and they can find it really quick on google.  That's great, but when you are in presenting in front of a client, they expect you to know EVERYTHING right there.  When hiring a developer, there should be a base level knowledge that they should have. Knowing the basics first and then knowing how to find information in the internet for other stuff is fine with me.

Basic knowledge like how to use the xmlWritter, or what the background worker is? or creating a delegate. Using globalization and resources?  About ClickOnce deployment?  All of these concepts and more are required on the certification exam for .NET.

When you start getting into the Enterprise playing field, certifications are more valuables in terms of knowledge, rather than chrome on your resume. i.e. knowing what can be done and how it can be done in BizTalk is more important to a client, than the actual detailed implementation of it.  This is because every client out there has a different problem that they want you to solve, and they are looking at you for answers.

Once again, certification alone does not qualify ANY developer to get a job, but at least it shows that this person has the determination to study and learn the basic to do his job.  Which one will I hire?  The one that has a black belt in google searching or the one that took the extra time, to learn something.

Do you have the time to study?  Do you have the determination and commitment?  Do you have the experience? and most important of all Are you Passionate about Technology?

Certification Pros:

1. your team will only move as fast as the slowest developer.  Requiring a certification, will set the base by which you can start moving forward.  You don't have to start guessing what level is each of your team members.
2. Invest some training $$ on your team, they will feel appreciate [read more...]
3. Think like an owner..!! Everyone wants to work for a Gold Certified Partner. Well, getting those Microsoft competencies takes some requirements:
   1. Customer references
   2. CERTIFICATIONS Requirements...!!

If you think that certifications are used only for evaluating a prospective candidate, think again. How does your company benefits from having certified developers?  Can you company truly stand out among other companies out there without certified people? If you want to be a Business Partner with some of the big companies out there like Microsoft, IBM, Sun, guess what?  You need certifications...!

The guy that study and did that extra effort is the one I want on my team, and in my Company [Quick Solutions, Inc.]

ADIOS

Arnulfo Wing Caceres
Born: August 15, 1938
Decease: March 4, 2008
Married: October 18, 1964

fyi, my dad passed away at 5:30am, I arrived at 2:10pm. :S

How to create your own industry...

Recently, I was in my native Panama on a personal trip. Being raining season, the best way to get around is to get a 4x4, so I rented a 2008 Land Cruiser. Driving on the rain forest of Chiriqui made me realized that this 4x4 was the right choice.

Everything was dandy and fine, 'till Tuesday. That day I came to find out that there is a whole new industry that has exploded in the past 10yrs: Trading of Car logos.!

Yes. Those precious logos we don't even pay attention in the US, are the striving goods in Panama. This is how the story unfolds. I parked in front of a well lit, populated commercial area. It is 2:30pm and I am talking to a veterinarian inside the clinic. Next thing I know, some guy walks in and tells me that he saw this other guy stealing my car logo. WTF?

As I walked outside, I see 2 guys running about a block away and turning into this open market. So I decided against chasing them into the public market. With a regular screwdriver, they have popped the front logo of my brand new rented car while walking by.




So what's one to do? call the policy of course.!! I waited for about 1.5hrs for the policy to arrive. They checked my US passport and they told me that this is quite common and that there is nothing they can do. If I had caught the guys that have stolen the logo, then they could arrest them and file charges. (hummm... am I missing the point?, I thought that was their job.!!

They wont even give me a police report for the insurance company. I have to go to the local county office and filed a complaint. So here I go to this building that everybody goes to. They *investigate* robberies, assaults, murders, stolen goods, etc. It was awesome to see some of the stuff that they have recovered: (check out the portion of fence against the wall...)




Yes, those are toilet seats that were stolen, and have been recovered.!! [...honey, let's save some money and buy a used toilet seat. ;)

Well, after my grievance was officially filed, I call the insurance company and they told me that this kind of things do happen regularly. However, they do NOT cover partial thefts... WTF? Yeap, if the car have been stolen completely, then I did not have to pay anything. However, now I am responsible to pay $85.00 that the manufacturer charges to replace the logo.!!

Talking to some guy walking by, he suggested that I checked the local Chinese Autopart that sell replicas for about $8-$10. However, the car being rented and all, I decided against it.

The very next day, talking to a customer of the Vet, she mentioned that she knows someone that knows someone that could get me an original logo for cheaper that I could pay the dealer. hummm. She goes and give me her cell phone and tell me to give her a call the next day at 9am.

This is getting very interesting. Of course I call the next day, I talk to her, and yes she said that she was able to get me an original Land Cruiser 2008 logo for $40.00.



After some haggling over the phone, we settle for $25.00. She was to drop off the logo at the vet clinic with the secretary there where I am supposed to leave the money (cash only of course.!) and that will complete the transaction. Funny, this sounds so fishy. I get my logo stolen in front of the vet clinic, and then 3 days later, I am paying $25.00 to a completely stranger for an original logo... ;) But, under the circumstances, I rather pay that $25.00 that trying to explain and haggle with the rental agency, which I know will make me pay for the replacement.

Then I start noticing on the other cars, that their logos have either been stolen or that they have paid someone to make sure no one steals their logo:




I have also heard that some transportation buses pay $3-$4 per logo, no questions asked. I was not able to get a picture of these buses, but they told me that they use the logos as decorations, just like trophies, and they display them all over inside the main cab.

No, I did not place the logo back on the car. One hour before I drop off the car at the airport, I pop the logo back onto the car and drove straight and returned the car.

Supply and demand at its best.!

Broken Window Paradigm...

Sometimes we forget the human factor. As a professional I have dealt with people from many layers above me (specially me, I am the bottom feeder in a fish scale). Recently I have encountered the Broken Window Paradigm., A living, real-life broken window..!!

Perhaps you are used to seeing the broken window and keep reminding yourself that one of these days this would all magically go away. Then the days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years. Next thing you know, you have been living with this broken window for so many years that you don't realize it is broken, you just take it for granted.

Then comes new people. They see this broken window and inquire about it. What do you say? Don't worry, I will deal with it and fix it. Then you developed rules to which you try to prevent anyone from looking into this window. To you perhaps this is just another way of life, to the new people, this is shocking behavior, some might even call it un-professional, un-responsible, un-heard of, etc, etc....

When small rules are disregarded, other things start happening, and they will happen at a very high speed. When it becomes intolerable, then it might get to the point that you would just move and start over, rather than getting a new window.

Perhaps, you are attached to this broken window for so long, that you start bonding with it and don't want to replace it. Sentimental value? As a rule of thumb, a window is cheaper to replace than replacing the whole wall, or for that matter the whole house. So why living with a broken window?

Am I the only one that has not drink from the well?