₦airaland Forum

About 700 Microsoft employees will be laid off next week, sources say


Microsoft is expected to conduct another round of layoffs next week when the company reports its quarterly earnings on January 26. About 700 jobs are expected to be impacted, according to someone familiar with the matter.

That is not a huge number compared to Microsoft's workforce of about 113,000 people, but we understand nerves have been running high inside of Microsoft as employees hear rumors that hundreds of jobs will be cut.

This layoff is part of the previously announced plan to cut 2,850 roles announced in June in Microsoft's annual report. At that time, Microsoft said that it planned to complete those cuts by June 2017, which is the end of Microsoft's 2017 fiscal year.

Most of the 2,850 roles scheduled to be cut have already been eliminated, according to the person familiar with the matter. The upcoming cuts won't be specific to any single group, but will be spread across the company's worldwide offices and business units, including sales, marketing, human resources, engineering, finance and more.

The goals of these rotating smaller layoffs is not to reduce costs but to update skills in various units, this person tells us. And such layoffs don't have much of an impact on Microsoft's overall headcount. Microsoft is still hiring, with well over 1,600 job openings posted on LinkedIn.

We understand that Microsoft typically gives laid-off employees 60 days to find a new position internally and offers two weeks pay for every 6 months of employment, according one employee.

Under Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has experienced several rounds of layoffs including cutting approximately 7,400 positions in its last fiscal year, primarily from the phone business and its largest ever layoff in history of 18,000 jobs in 2014.


Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/about-700-microsoft-employees-to-be-laid-off-sources-say-2017-1



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Life is vanity.



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In the US military, it would depend on the situation. The guiding rule is generally "so long as they have the means to resist."

If you had no way to defend yourself effectively, the US military does not expect you to fight to the last man. In fact, it makes a pretty big deal about "return with honor" and the notion that as a POW, resistance is still a means of service and contribution to the war effort.

Of course, there may be disagreements about whether you still had the means to resist or not. Bataan would be a good history lesson in that regards.

Two other points:

1. The status of the conflict matters as well. If you are a surveillance crew that gets captured, you probably don't have the authority to resist. You are not a combatant at that point. So any violence you committed would either be s crime or an act of war. Gary Powers and the crews of the USS Pueblo and the EP-3 that landed on Hainan Island would have had that problem to contend with.

2. Who you are surrendering to would also be a concern. Few military members today would surrender to a jihafist knowing their likely fate as a prisoner.

If it is determined that you surrendered when you could have resisted, at the very least you will be charged with conduct unbecoming but there are likely other charges as well.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Do-countries-punish-their-soldiers-for-surrendering


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Answer:
The same thing that happens when you eat chicken or beef, you digest it and eventually leave it in a porcelain throne. As long as you avoid the brain that is, prion diseases are nasty.

Psychologically the effects may vary depending on how OK you are eating someone, personally I would experience some problems and feel disgust.

Source: https://www.quora.com/What-happens-if-a-human-eats-human-meat

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Please don’t judge me.

I’m a graduate, but there are no jobs. No money to start a business and no access to loans. The few jobs I got were short-lived, because there was no growth. You know what’s happening in Nigeria.

The rich don’t help. They can’t help unless they gain something from you. No job - no one to help. Rich don’t help, save they want to use you. I’m not a trained military personnel, but I’m a strong man.

I can stand up to 3 or 4 men and finish them alone. It’s natural strength.

Recently, a friend of mine came home. He joined politicians as a professional thugs, and later got a job as a bodyguard to a state commissioner. Another one joined politics as a thug and he’s now working as a bouncer in big and expensive hotel, where he’s being paid well.

They would join as thugs, collecting weekly allowances for food. They can disorganize an opposition’s rally, and if there’s someone who proves stubborn, they beat him black and blue.

There are possibilities of being stabbed to death or maimed as thugs fight, but what about those who die every day without being thugs. No matter what people do, they die anyway?

For those of you who may want to condemn me, is there any help you can do for me? I need to feed my wife and kids.

Perhaps if I joined as my friend suggested, I might end up being a P.A. to someone influential. I might even get a job as a result of that.

My strength is my talent. Should I pray over it?

What do you think?

- Contributed.

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Is this the kind of post that should be put to the front page?



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We all have different goals, but I think you will agree that most people want to gain material wealth. But few who do think deeply about how they will make it happen. So, do you know the one sign that you will be financially wealthy?


Answer:

I mentioned on Quora a study I conducted myself, by interviewing millionaires around the physical location where I am planning on retiring. Here are some good hints:

You accept delayed gratification. You accept the fact you won’t be rich overnight.
You can’t accept to have money just sitting in the bank, i.e. not generating more more money.

You find yourself finding it awkward that your account manager does not understand inflation.

You are more receptive to invest your money to gain more money than keeping it stopped so that you don’t lose it.

You think about how much money your favourite restaurant makes, when you go there to eat.

You understand that money is a tool and you don’t desire money, you desire cash flow.
You find it so much better to open you own business than working for somebody else.



Source: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-one-sign-you-will-be-wealthy

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8 months ago I pointed that this co worker had put on so much weight in front of other 2 workers.I don't know why I said that as I just say whats on my mind.I wasn't trying to be hurtful. I didn't think much of it until she told me that she was very hurt by it. I apologized and she seemed fine around me afterwards but she wasn't as friendly and warm before the incident

Now months later,i say hi to her whenever I see her but she now ignores me and avoids it because of the comments I had said before?


Answer:

Seriously? Why the hell would she ever speak to you again? You embarrassed her in front of her colleagues. You said a downright nasty, hurtful thing and you expect forgiveness? And don’t pull that “I just say what’s on my mind” rubbish. It’s a total cop out for someone too rude to care about another person’s feelings. Beauty is only skin deep? You said an ugly thing and that came from within.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-my-co-worker-ignoring-me-when-I-say-hi

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Literature: Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Music: Fela Kuti, Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, P Square, 2Face

A Thriving Film Industry – Nollywood

Nigerian English & Pidgin - which has been copied across the continent due to the influence of Nollywood movies e.g. words like Oga, Wahala, Oyibo

An abundance of natural resources in Oil, Rubber, Cocoa, Timber etc

Highest rates of post-first degree holders of any immigrants to the USA and UK
Fashion - Nigeria's influence has also spread to the rest of the continent with non-Nigerian women sporting Geles (headties made of jacquard fabric) and Aso Ebi (the wearing of the same fabric in various styles for a special occasion).

Food - Moi Moi, Egusi, Ogbono, Efo Riro, Edikaikan, Akara, Asaro, Suya

Most populated country in Africa - over 160 million people

Natural Born Hustlers! Entrepreneurial and clever. Very good at thinking up ways (good or bad) to make money.

UPDATE

Since I wrote the above nearly 4 years ago, there have been a number of developments so I thought I would update my list.

11. Formidable online presence - be it via Nigerian websites e.g. BellaNaija, YouTube personalities or being the top African users of Twitter and Instagram, Nigerians are visible and making waves. See Facebook’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg, recent visit to Nigeria for evidence.

12. Keen football fans - having won the Olympic gold football medal in 1996, reached the knock-out stages of the World Cup and produced some of the world’s best footballers (Kanu, Okocha), Nigeria’s Super Eagles team are well known. However, it's their support of EPL teams be it Arsenal (Gooners!), Man U, Chelsea or even Bolton that has made them amongst the most well known football supporters in the world. Think I'm kidding? Check your Twitter feed during an EPL match.

13. Weddings - the popularity of YouTube has uncovered a phenomenon known to Nigerians for years but now known to everyone - Nigerian Weddings! To say Nigerians throw the best parties for their nuptials is an understatement. From the traditional engagements to the colourful “white” weddings, no one does it better.

14. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches - Nigeria has been leading the revival of the Christain faith across the world for a number of years. But it's their innovative leadership and style of worship that have been replicated (for good and bad) across Africa. Leaders like Kumuyi, Adeboye, Olukoya, Adefarasin, Ashimolowo, Oyakhilome, TB Joshua etc. have spearheaded a movement that has gradually become the norm.

15. Terrorism - Sadly, Islamic terrorism mainly carried out by Boko Haram has blighted the north of the country. Initiatives such as #BringBackOurGirls have ensured that this hasn't been swept under the rug and neglected by the world.


Source: https://www.quora.com/What-is-Nigeria-famous-for

Neteller here: www..com.ng

I once left my phone turned on (accidental oversight) during a short training flight. After landing, I saw the battery was almost completely drained. In flight, cell phones “see” a LOT more cellphone towers than they normally do while stationary (or even driving) on the ground. It sends a “handshake” signal to EACH tower it sees (this is primarily to determine if roaming fees would apply should you make a call).

Think about that. Now imagine if every passenger and pilot left their phones on… thousands of people airborne over any major city, completely overwhelming the cellular system with “here I am” signals just by having their phones powered up.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Do-pilots-keep-their-phone-on

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I rarely give candidates feedback on red flags they give off during interviews, mostly because it is really hard to deliver this feedback without offending them. I spent 10 years as a recruiter and interviewed thousands of candidates. Now as Co-Founder of Betterteam, a recruitment platform for small businesses, I have access to real world data across many industries on why candidates fail interviews.

These are the top 7 that I see most often in why our clients reject candidates.

1. Talking about compensation too often


Generally I will raise this once at the beginning of the interview and if you are within the range for the role we can move on and talk about other things. I wrote more about this in a recent Quora question "Adam Seabrook's answer to How should I respond when an interviewer asks what your current base salary is?" Once salary has been discussed, try not to keep going back to this as a candidate who is primarily motivated by money rarely gets past the first interview.

2. Bad introduction


I wrote a lot more about this in "Adam Seabrook's answer to How should you introduce yourself in an interview?" on Quora. Most people form their opinion of you in the first 30 seconds so if your introduction is not great, it impacts the rest of the interview.

3. LinkedIn profile does not match their resume


As a LinkedIn profile is public, candidates are less likely to fill it full of half-truths or outright lies. It is very common for me to find roles on LinkedIn that are missing on the resume, massive differences in start/finish dates, and huge differences in title. I question candidates on this and it is very uncomfortable for them when they get caught. My own LinkedIn profile has roles missing but I happily volunteer why that is the case.

4. Low energy/motivation


I don't expect candidates to blast into the interview like a 100m sprinter but if they come across as low energy I find it very hard to get past that. When digging into details of how they work, it is often clear they are happy to coast along and are not a great fit for a company that likes their staff to be very self-motivated and driven.

5. Strange things in the background during video interviews


I won't list some of the horrendous things I have seen in the background of candidate video interviews. You really don't want a boardroom of people seeing half the stuff you have laying about your house. Be sure to check behind you and make sure there is nothing there you do not want the interviewer to see. Also make sure you have privacy so nobody wanders into view. If you want to dramatically improve your video interview quality, follow this video on how to set up your lighting.

6. Weird things on their social profiles


I always do a bit of Googling before I interview a candidate. In most cases it is fine but there are times where I find things that are going to impact the candidates’ chances of securing the role. Assume anything you post online is public and you won't have this issue.

7. Not 100% sure what role they want


Many candidates start hunting for a job before they have a clear view of what role they want. When interviewing, I probe on this point and if I feel the candidate is interviewing across too many incompatible roles then I usually decline. Normally the candidate will get to the offer stage then withdraw, or accept and then switch jobs very quickly when they realise they made a bad career move.

Final Thoughts


Don't try to drastically change who you are to slip through interviews. Often what one person considers a red flag others will see as a positive. In general, though, anything you do that consistently comes across as dishonest, abrupt, rude, lazy, uncomfortable, etc., you should work on as that rarely has a positive impact on your interview.



Source: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-biggest-red-flags-in-an-interviewee-1

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Or:
What is considered a smile if you are in Russia?

How do you define a smile in Russia if you are not a native?


I asked Russian friends this when I lived in Moscow. Their answer was that smiling for no obvious reason makes Russians suspect you're being false. (Russian society, for historical reasons*, is one in which people are distrustful of anyone they don't know; the flipside is they form very strong bonds and close friendships.)

I was stopped by a policeman one day as I was walking down the street smiling. 'Where are you going, looking so happy?' he asked. Then he insisted on checking my documents and searching my pockets. He either thought I was on drugs, or he figured I was a foreigner and good for a shakedown.

---
* Historical reasons: a violent history with many wars and invasions; large distances and harsh weather conditions that make living an exercise in survival; and a repressive state, both under the tsars and the Soviets, in which dissidence was punished severely and anyone could be an informant.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Russians-rarely-smile

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There was a recent documentary on C.Ronaldo that tried to analyze his strengths, and figure out what makes him the athlete that he is.

But in too many ways, Messi is everything Ronaldo is not - especially from a physical build point of view. He's (much) shorter, slower, can't jump as high, and, to my eyes, is much weaker than Ronaldo.

Yet, it's pretty much universally agreed that Messi is the best player in the planet - and probably in history. The way he plays is absolutely incredible, almost magical.

So what makes Messi Messi? What is it about Messi that makes him the player that he is?


I see a lot of good quality answers that are fairly detailed about Leo's physical attributes and somewhat about his mental strengths,so I'll add something to 'What makes Messi Messi'?

Mental toughness:

Mental toughness and the ability to stay extraordinary in big occasions are a common feature of the best players, both past and present. An example is Ronaldo, who was a mess before the 2002 World cup (2002 World Cup revisited: Ronaldo lights up final scoreboard for Brazil | The National) and you can final similar instances of 'being tough in the face of adversity' amongst the top players of today- Suarez, Van Persie, Iniesta, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez etc. Many of them struggled in their early years, due to a rough childhood (Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic) and some of them due to homesickness(Iniesta, Messi) ,some due to injury (Ronaldo, as mentioned above) and many due to wrong career move, and they responded on the pitch attaining great heights (Well, maybe not Messi ). You can, could break them physically but not so easily mentally and they come back stronger. They are extremely competitive and motivated.

It is well known that Lionel Messi had a Growth Hormone Disorder(GHD) and was only 4'2" back then. Though Argentinian clubs like River Plate were interested in him, they could not afford to pay $900 a month for HGH injections, which was the treatment for GHD. Carles Rexach of Barcelona took a chance on him and offered to pay the bills otherwise Messi would not have had a normal lifestyle- affected by pitiutary problems, poor vision and low immunity. Messi was very homesick initially and took some time to adjust to a new continent.


On the football side, as we have seen over the years, Messi doesn't go down easily when tackled hard, getting kicked at or having his shirt/shorts pulled when he is running really fast with the ball. And you can forget simulation from him, his determination to keep the ball and do something extraordinary with it is probably more important to him than getting a foul. He speeds past the defenders in a flash and is sometimes stopped by the tackles, either illegally in which case he would get a foul or legally like this:

Notice Messi rueing the chance he missed to score, though his sudden burst of acceleration left Nesta behind and Nesta managed a brilliant tackle :

An example of unstoppable Messi:

In the above video, though there are no hard tackles or kicks by three or four defenders, this goal was in the Champions League semifinal of 2011 in the home of their arch rivals Real Madrid. It is one thing to try a speculative long shot when in an important occasion, it is another to pick the ball in front of the entire defence and midfield and waltz through the opponent team and score in an intimidating atmosphere. Here's another example of a solo goal which mirrors that of a certain Maradona more than two decades ago:


Baljeet already has a video titled 'Messi never dives' you can check that out.
Here's another one, though a tad exaggerated in some aspects. Nevertheless, this is a fan's opinion of Messi's strong mentality:


Physical uniqueness:

We hear a lot about Messi's low centre of gravity being a major factor in his playing style. There is no disputing this but if his height is a huge factor, then Messi is no more different than Ribery, Sneijder, Mata and other current players or Vava, Garrincha, Maradona, Best etc. from the past. There are a lot of greats in this category but there are few who are similar to Messi's style of play(the awesome Diego Maradona being one). Messi can turn extremely fast and his sudden bursts of acceleration when being on the ball leaves defenders like this:

(From this week's World cup match against Bosnia):



Technical/Tactical uniqueness:

Again, Messi has wonderful vision,ball control,passing range, shot placement and an (IMHO, underrated) awareness of the play around him. But many current players have similar skills, though refined to a lesser extent or some are better than Messi at a subset of these skills but Messi just happens to be really good at many of these things.That is the wheat from the chaff and few players (off the top of my head, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Suarez, Aguero) are in the league of Messi. so nothing unique there.

If you're looking for something Messi does beautifully and at a much higher frequency than anyone else, it could be the chip:


If you notice keenly,the fascination and efficiency for lobs/chips is something unique to Messi - they are as varied as the man's genius skills.

He is inconsistent with 'powerful' shots and goes for placement over power though he is brutally efficient with it. And if the goalkeeper tries to come closer, then he gets to helplessly see the ball going over his head in slow-motion. Most players can score with lobs, some can even do it from the touchline but Messi does it so many times in even many ways. Heck, his first 'goal' (not counted,he was offside) and his first official goal were both lobs:


Among many excellent players, I'm absolutely fascinated to watch Lionel Messi play.He has been frequently injured for sometime and is just back on his feet this year though with a 'dip' in his contribution (Few players with 38 goals and 11 assists in 38 games can claim to have a bad season!).


I must confess that I fear Messi might decline in a couple of years and I will never get to see him live(live = in the stadium, not the opposite of dead) and that will be my biggest regret. I don't want to be stuck with videos of Messi, I want to be in a match in a stadium and fixate on his play while maintaining a cursory glance at the rest of the game.



Source: https://www.quora.com/What-makes-Messi-Messi

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I am just a simple user of their product and though I am a very simple man but I realise that all platform have their individual pros and cons. Suppose, Android has the power to do anything but lack of stability. iOS and Windows Mobile are not such powerful like Android but very stable OS they are. Mac is the beauty but Windows is so much user friendly, Linux is a lot of power but very tough for general peoples like me. So I think none OS we should hate but why "Bill Gates"? I have a Galaxy Note 4 for power use and a iPhone 6 Plus for its very stability. Though I have MacBook Pro but I use Windows 8.1 too for miscellaneous use. All have their individual productivity but why Bill Gates hate Apple?


Answer: It was true as of 2009: Microsoft boss Bill Gates bans his children from using Apple products... but his wife admits she'd like an iPhone. He reiterated the point in 2012 in a radio interview: Melinda Gates still keeps iPhones, iPods, iPads out of her Microsoft-only home.

Bill Gates and his family made their fortune because of Microsoft. Apple once sued him. I suspect he would be viewed as disloyal to his employees and legacy if he used anything but the best and newest that Microsoft has to offer.

At a 2013 reddit AMA, he was asked what computer is used. He replied:

I just got my Surface Pro a week ago and it is very nice.
I am using a Perceptive Pixel display right now -- huge Windows 8 touch whiteboard. These will come down in price over time and be pervasive...

Update: Melinda reiterated the Gates family anti-Apple position when the Apple Watch was released: Bill and Melinda Gates are not interested in the Apple Watch.

EDIT: This answer originally included a satire report of Bill Gates using an iPhone 5S which I mistakenly treated as news. My apologies; it has now been removed. Thanks to the commenters!

Source: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-Bill-Gates-doesnt-allow-Apple-products-for-himself-and-his-family-Why


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Honestly, this is a difficult question.

Like I had 34 teeth before and plus two now, its 34.

It’s common for those who go to Mecca for pilgrimage to put on extra golden teeth, especially where people would see it.

Some use that as cosmetics and some use that as a symbol of wealth.

What about the use for religious purposes? Why do Alhaji/Alhaja use golden teeth? Is it something made compulsory by Islam? Is it only a symbol of wealth?

What would happen to those who’ve been to Mecca, but don’t have golden teeth? Can such teeth break bones?

Neteller here: www..com.ng

klassykute:
just one question and dis long write up?

Most Nigerians don't like reading and that's why an average of them have poor mentality. It's one of the reasons why most are poor, in spite of their shabby education, which is acquired to get a job anyway, not to get real knowledge to liberate themselves.

I remember my old friend from Edo State. He said: "If you want to hide a secret from the black man, put it in a book."

a. Thinking that CEO's, head hunters and firms are out there to hire the best talent they can lay their hands upon.

I used to be very good at computer networks when I began my career. I've taken a lot of shit in data centers, like real hard shit, which even people with 15 years experience haven't seen. (Trust me, I'm not making this up). Within 6 months of me working in the data networks field, I could walk into any interview and blow the interviewer's mind with my skillset, i.e. I could face the heat even if the interviewer tunes up the thermostat a hundred notches up. Let me give you an example.

You know what did I do the first day of my networks career? Like the very first day when I thought a 4948 switch was having multiple holes in it and it looked like modern art to me (later I came to know that the 4948 has 48 ports and the holes are the ports). I setup the Cisco 3 tier network with core, access and distribution layers, configured NAT for the internet link, setup a Juniper Netscreen firewall for 1st layer of defense and did a couple of IOS image backups. Within a span of 6 hours. Hell, I even setup the primary configuration for a Cisco ACE load balancer that day. All because the senior engineer did not show up to the site as he did not want to rack and stack the devices at the site (most of them were big 7600 and 6500 series switches. See below for the image).


Six months into my job and I've done about 30 down time upgrades and migrations, 8 datacenter implementations which include banks, telecom giants, hospitals, other kinds of firms, you name it. 2 years into my role, I've had 4 people reporting to me, although I was at the same level as those guys profile wise, and I made sure that I brought them up to speed with my skillset. They could do independent work within 2 years. This is a task usually given to senior engineers. I started designing my own networks at the end of 1 year (which usually is done by my boss and he has about 10-11 years of experience and is a CCIE. Like he is really my role model and he literally kicks ass in his work).

But then, I came to the USA for my Masters. I did my specialization in networks and started working towards getting a job in the same field. However, I did not get a single interview call. Because the hiring agents have already made up their minds to not interview me as

I have just 2-3 years of experience. How does this even matter? So much for "we live in deeds not in years" thingy.
I may not have the skill set anymore, since it's been more than 2 years that I've been out of touch.
I lack the necessary certifications (CCNA, CCNP, CCIE).
It's been 3.5 years now since I've see a real network device (except my own home internet modem). I can still dare anyone that I can configure a cisco/router/switch blindfolded (well, maybe not blindfolded, but you get my point.)

b. Thinking that I can switch careers and just get away with a slap on the wrist

In most places I've worked, I've seen that your current job (no matter how closely related it is to your previous experience) if it's not utilizing the same skillset you had in your previous role, you are basically a beginner. I switched from Networks to IT Auditing and then to IT/Finance operations audit. This gave me a whole new range of skills - IT operations, business operations, finance, risk management, governance, compliance, program development, etc. etc. You could find more in my resume - here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nairar).

However, people still think I'm a beginner. That I'm an entry level employee. Every place I've gone to, I've begun working without training, without a learning curve, properly understanding the nuances and the skillset required to take over a certain role before I took the role and I've hit it out of the park every single time. However, people still want me to go through the same promotion gambit as we live in deeds not in years!

Update 1:

Well, I can't complain at all after seeing such an overwhelming response to my answer. Thanks guys. There are a few points people had raised in the comments that I wanted to bring to your notice and answer at the same time:

That I should try out consulting, due to it's various perks.
The very reason I and many/some of the other employees are "employed" with a firm is due to the fact that we have excuses (mind you, I know this is an excuse, as I am no Elon Musk to get inspired within a day and do magic that never tanks in the end) for not being able to come up with a starting capital for the firm, not having the balls to start something which we feel very passionate about but are not sure how the revenue generation model would look like, or when would we break even, etc. The other excuses could be like the ones in my case - you have responsibilities to attend to, as in the Indian ecosystem of things our parents take care of us till 30 (maybe even more) till we slowly transition, grow balls and take care of them from then on. Or maybe we have student loans that we need to take care of. Or worse, we never grow balls at all. Whatever be the excuse, you could be rest assured that inspiration is fueled only by a perfect alchemy of situations; it won't happen if you have responsibilities sitting on your head which affect other people in your life. It would be stupid for me to start a consulting business or any business in light of my current predicaments and responsibilities, one which I see vanishing in the horizon, so yes, something would be up for works then. But that's a long way down the lane. If you've gone through my LinkedIn profile and Quora, you know I don't say things just to say, I usually end up doing them.

2. That I should try start ups.

Well that is an excellent idea actually. In fact, I've got a few offers before from start up firms which I even mulled over for a couple weeks before I gave up. The problem I see with start ups is my growth factor w.r.t this particular field. The reason I designed and configured close to 10000 devices in my first year of data networks career was due to the fact that the environments (networks of the firms) were primarily giant networks for huge conglomerates. I never worked for a small client, because my boss was a cool guy, and his personal hobby was to give me a knife and throw me into the jungle of a totally screwed up network just to see how I fare. And he made sure he never handled a single issue that had to pass by me. That's how he did things, and that's how I learnt. Start-ups? Naaaah! They won't have that scale that I yearn for. You can probably have a few routers here and there, probably one unix-kernelled open source firewall just to keep a firewall in the game, but you won't find a FW-1 Nokia Checkpoint or a Nexus 7000 in such small firms due to stringent operating capitals.

Would I ever go back to it? Definitely!

You see they say that it takes a lifetime to know what's ones passion. I'll try and define it through a story -

I used to sit in a data center without seeing the light of day for 2-3 days at a stretch, just to figure out the smallest nuances of a networking configuration. There were days when I used to go without eating anything, because I did not remember I was hungry. There were days when I almost cried - like when I saw the FW-1 firewall for the first time. Did you know that Checkpoint being an Israeli company is "haraam" for Arab nations? And still Arab nations deploy these firewalls in their banks and datacenters? Did you know that FW-1 was a name that the firm proposed (not sure whether this is true) because the Firewall was basically impenetrable and it was the best of it's kind ever?

I had the entire IP network and it's schema mapped out in my head (for 2000 devices at a time yes!) and I could tell you which device had which IP without going through the schema. I used to configure something like BGP from home, just to put extra barriers in my configuration path (configuring something like BGP remotely is insane, but doable. You may bring down the network if a single configuration goes wrong, or if your calculations for the routes go down). I ofcourse never did this on a production network, but I neither did these things during my work time. When did I do this? Well you guessed it - on Saturdays and Sundays.

There are stories that I could go on to tell you, stories that happened within such a short span, like how I configured a cisco load balancer to act as a router to the internet because the router failed at the last moment, or how I used to prank my project manager using web host redirection such that he always ends up at the "Metallica" website when he wanted to fill in my timesheets for me.

You get the picture now I guess. I define this as passion.

Edit 06/01/16:

Many have said that “maybe” what I did has not scaled up to the levels of the giants in this industry, so I should take it slow when it comes to arrogance. I should not think that I am that “great”! I think that I “definitely” did not do anything great. I gained knowledge and I learned in a way such that it was undersigned by hard work and perseverance. I did not have any special talents to learn networks. It was not my choice. It was not handed over to me by the alignment of planets as it happens for talented people. I was “dumped” into it. I am just a middle class guy who had to step up to take care of his family in the time of need, and I did that through my job. What you don’t see is that it just happened for me to be my first job, and I converted networks into my passion. The more I learnt about networks, the more I wanted to learn more. It was a never ending cycle.

The Indian service industry is ruthless. You don’t get “perks” from companies like mine when you have to run around client data centers located in remote areas, where even basic necessities like internet are an issue. My firm had this rule that if you can travel to a place within 24 hours by bus, you take the bus. And my friend, try traveling from say, Bangalore to Kerala, in a KSRTC bus for days in a row. You’ll see my point. This is not just me, but every other engineer who used to work there.

You say that if I have not stepped up to the ranks of 15 year experienced people “then when I was in the field”, I think you are mistaken. I think I did gain enough experience because not one person can claim that they know everything about networks, even if they worked in the field for 50 years. There are chances you would fail in your CCNA exams even after 20 years in the field. Yes there are! But the chances are close to 0.1%. I had people of those ranks work with me, giants that you claim to be. They have endorsed my skills, check out my LinkedIn profile again. They have recommended me for what I’ve done. Check out my recommendations. They know I won’t boast of my skills without it holding some water. They know I’ve learnt through other giants.

My then project manager has recommended me and in his recommendation he takes the names of the “so called” giants. So, let’s put your notions to rest that I should not beat my chest while I can. Yes, I can and Yes I will. I deserve it, as much as you do if you’ve done anything in your life in the first place.

Source: https://www.quora.com/What-has-been-your-biggest-career-mistake

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Is it Frisian?

I don't know if this is the "official" answer, but have a look at this poem:

You can read this poem, as is, without changing a thing (except your accent) in both English and Afrikaans.

And the great thing is that roughly 85-90% of the meaning of the poem will also stay the same.

Groovy no?

EDIT: It occurs to me I should give the Afrikaans translation, so you can see where the differences lie.

MY STORIES BEGIN AS LETTERS

My pen is my wonderland

Becomes water in my hand

In my pen is wonder ink

Stories sing. Stories sink.

My stories walk. My stories stop

My pen is my wonder mop

Drink letters. Drink my ink

My pen is blind. My stories shine.

So actually, only three words that have a different meaning in Afrikaans.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Which-language-is-the-most-similar-to-English


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It just occurred to me.

It kind of stinks. "When astronauts return from space walks and remove their helmets, they are welcomed back with a peculiar smell. An odor that is distinct and weird: something, astronauts have described it, like "seared steak." And also: "hot metal." And also: "welding fumes." (What Space Smells Like ). "Space, three-time spacewalker Thomas Jones has put it, "carries a distinct odor of ozone, a faint acrid smell." Space, Jones elaborated, smells a little like gunpowder. It is "sulfurous."

Of course this is the smell present after astronauts have come back into the ISS since there is no air in space to smell. The smells reported are what are sensed after removing their helmets in the ISS airlock.

Source: https://www.quora.com/What-does-outer-space-smell-like

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I was writhing in severe pain, after presenting multiple evenings in a row with severe stomach pains to the same (military) doctor, who kept sending me away with antacids, which I consumed in copious quantities as I wandered the corridors of the military barracks, sleepless and in pain. (Later I learned that I had acute ulcerative oesophagitis that would have been much less severe, had it been treated earlier.)

The doctor stood by my bed looking baffled and frustrated, and asked me, as if I were a major inconvenience to him:

"What do you want me to do about it?"

I managed to squeeze out, between grunts of pain:

"I believe the traditional process is diagnosis, followed by treatment."


Source: https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-most-unprofessional-thing-a-medical-doctor-said-to-you

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Are they also part of the MMM stuff?



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What other skills are in-demand today? I'm interested in skills that are not in the tech industry. Yet, if what's suggested is in the tech industry please present something other than coding, eg. SEO, online marketing, design. Or, is there a skill in another field that I haven't though of.


Answer: Don't chase the "in" jobs; by the time you master them, they'll be "out".

Very few skills are timeless and constantly in demand. The rare exceptions are the ones worth pouring yourself into.

If you want one of the most in-demand skill sets of all time, learn sales.

If you can sell a product well, you will never be out of a job and you'll never be short on finances. Sales as a whole is recession-proof, trend-proof, and hype-proof.

It's no coincidence that it's also one of the most difficult skill sets to really "master". But don't believe that you either "have" the sales gene or you don't.

You don't have to be a high-pressure, Wolf-of-Wall-Street sleazy salesperson to succeed in sales.

In the end, sales isn't about selling a product. It is about creating value-generating relationships that enrich the lives and businesses of both parties.

But that's enough of that. If the idea of sales intrigues you (whether in tech or elsewhere), here are a few spectacular resources to get started:


Source: https://www.quora.com/Outside-of-coding-what-skills-are-most-in-demand-today

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While love is difficult to quantify with facts and figures, research suggests certain qualities are deemed more attractive than others. For example, one study found that brunettes with brown eyes are far more popular on dating sites, while another named teaching as the ideal female profession.

Given our fascination with these surface observations, it's only natural that researchers would delve into a far more personal field that can influence attraction: sexual history.
A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Research suggests the number of partners you've had could be perceived as attractive—or a massive turn-off. So how does your number fare? According to the study's findings, people are willing to start a relationship with someone who has had two to three sexual partners—any more or less, and you lose appeal.

Interestingly, those polled admitted to having far more relationships than the so-called ideal number. According to Psychology Today, women had about six former partners, and men had slept with an average of eight people.

If two to three sexual partners seems like a low figure, it's worth noting that the study was conducted on college students under the age of 25. The findings are consistent with other relationship studies that suggest promiscuity and a lack of sexual experience are equally unattractive.

In the words of the author, "The message here seems to be, don't sleep around too much—or if you do, at least don't announce it to the world."


Source: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1nhvi8/:13hK-ssVh:Tj.9w2xl/www.mydomaine.com/attractive-traits

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The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries(MFM) is a Pentecostal organisation founded in Yaba, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria in 1989, now with churches in several English-speaking and non-English speaking countries. It was founded by Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya (DKO).

Deeper Christian Life Ministry (also known as Deeper Life Bible Church) is a non-denominational Christian Church with its international headquarters, Deeper Life Bible Church Lagos in Lagos, Nigeria. It is overseen by the General Superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi. It is a Holiness-Pentecostal church.

MFM puts emphasis on warfare against spiritual enemies, while Deeper Life puts emphasis on holiness.

I discovered that most MFM members I personally know are former Deeper Life members. Why?

Why are Deeper Life members leaving to join MFM? Is there anything MFM offers, that Deeper Life doesn’t offer?


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The Worst-Kept Secret About Mark Zuckerberg Is That He's *Not* Actually A Coding Genius

Mark Zuckerberg is not a "programming prodigy" — that is the verdict of a discussion thread for programmers on the question-and-answer website Quora.

And Zuckerberg's peers don't place him in the uppermost tier of skilled coders, according to TopCoder, a site where coders improve and rank their skills. He's only in the third level.

Most people have a vague idea of the the story of Facebook's origin: It was initially built by Zuckerberg in a week when he was a student at Harvard as a sort of revenge prank on the university after authorities there banned his "Facemash" web site, which let people compare and rate photos of other students based on their looks.

To people outside the software business, that story makes Zuck seem like a computer wizard — he created Facebook in a week!

In fact, Zuckerberg majored in psychology, not computer science. The initial version of "The Facebook" website was not particularly sophisticated. And his peers in the business are ranked much more highly than he is as a coder. Zuckerberg's success has more to do with his personal persistence, hard work, a good idea and luck than it is Zuckerberg's coding prowess.

While he's clearly a skilled software engineer and incredibly talented businessman, he's not a "prodigy". The issue of Zuck's relative level of talent as a programmer came up when one Quora user asked how the Facebook CEO trained himself to be a coding genius.

One commentator in the Quora discussion cites TopCoder, where hackers can get their skills rated.

Zuckerberg's profile on the site is at the "green" level, which is third tier of coding skills. Adam D'Angelo — the former CTO of Facebook who was pivotal in its creation — is in the top level, "red." (The ranking goes grey, green, blue, yellow, red). In fact, it recently emerged Zuckerberg apparently wrote that his former colleague "taught him most of what he knows".

David Roth is the Quora conversationalist who calls the question "flawed". Roth mentions other coders who he believes are real prodigies in the sector. He talks about Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, who he says "wrote the loader for Microsoft Basic for the Altair computer while flying to Albuquerque."

Roth adds: "Note that this was in 1975; there weren't laptops that you could take on a plane then. Allen was writing machine code on a piece of paper with a pencil, and he created a loader program that worked. That's pretty amazing."

He also talks about Margaret Hamilton: "She wrote the code for the Apollo space program. The sheer scope of that project and the hardware limitations she was dealing with are staggering. She had finished this code by the time she was 31."

Scores of others concur. One Quora user remarks: "I don't think he is a programming prodigy. He was (and is) an ambitious, driven young guy who shipped the right product at the right time, got smart people to work for him from the start and learned to be the CEO of a big company. Not a small feat, but he didn't need to be a prodigy to achieve it."

As another of Quora's community adds: "Zuckerberg is not a programming prodigy. The application he wrote was not unique, and not all that well-made - that is, not a brilliant, exemplary piece of programming. We can leave it to IT historians to come to a definitive answer for why he was so successful, but my belief is that he happened to strike on the right combination of timing, marketing, and features in a fairly crowded space."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-is-not-actually-a-coding-genius-2015-1

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Key logger is turned on and data syncing of all your files to their company servers is also turned on by default. Most users will not know how to turn it off or don't have the time.

I should disclose - I work in Microsoft, as a developer. It is a pain for me to follow all rules for collecting of personal data. Phone has your location, but we cannot use it to suggest commute unless we disclose that we use your location.

If we collect our application usage (how many times you use a feature, for example) or if we send crash data, we need to strip all personal data. It is a pain. We have mandatory training for dealing with customer data.

Finally Microsoft wants to make money (I am interested too, to get salary). The worst nightmare is to accidentally collect and then leak personal data, so we take it very seriously. For example, Windows 10 has a feedback tool where people can describe their problems. People sometimes put their name and e-mail addresses and, since we want to share this feedback with device manufactures, we need to clear personal data from the feedback. This is a huge problem and there is a whole project dedicated to this, but finally they hired contractor to do it manually. It did cost a lot of money.


The bottom line we use personal data (for example Exchange servers keep a lot of e-mails ), but take special efforts to protect it. For example, I work on project that automatically checks you into meetings. We have to take special extra steps to make sure your data is stored properly and that delays our project.

Sorry for long mail, but the bottom line - if my code leaks personal data and then people sue Microsoft, Microsoft loses money. That would not be fun for me.


Source: https://www.quora.com/Is-Microsoft-Windows-10-basically-a-spying-operating-system

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I don't know if Nigerians are the smartest people on earth but they sure are smart, Igbo folk in particular. To give an example; back in 1981 I was hiring staff in Warri.

A young (17) Igbo fellow called Sam asked for a job. He was as short as me and very slim so not suitable for laboring work. He was totally full of beans so I hired him anyways to help me with line testing gear.

Sam had had just four years of primary education. About a week in he asked me why I liked the small numbers on the test gear and did not like the big ones. So sitting there under a mangrove I explained voltage, current, Ohms law and the problem with contaminated connections.

About an hour later Sam comes back with a drawing and a handful of batteries. He wanted to know whether there was a way to put the batteries in the geophones so as to push the signal through even with poor connections.

I was gobsmacked. An hour after hearing of Ohm's law for the first time he'd dreamt up the concept of a pre-amplifier. I had an electronics workshop so I took Sam into it and started with the math and electronics. He lived in that lab. He went from Euclid to Leibniz in less than a month. Six weeks in he was using spectrum analysers to control inter-modulation between multiple radio transmitters.

In the eleven months we worked/learnt together Sam got to about associate degree level. He set up an electronics store after.


Some damn smart folk in the Delta.
Pat

Source: https://www.quora.com/Are-Nigerians-the-smartest-people-to-walk-the-earth-Why

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There have been a lot of comments on the benefits of reading a lot of books. This is a question about the opposite side.

My husband was the only child banned from the reading corner at school. When I met him I could not understand that story: it seemed ridiculous and unfair. Who would ban a child for reading in a world where so few children read at all?

But having known him and been married to him for a while I actually can understand how this can have its drawbacks: he can escape into books for hours, days. Sometimes he will not notice what I say to him and will recede from the outside world so completely that life threatens to pass him by.

This is not to say anything against my husband who is the most wonderful, honest and caring person that I am blessed to spend my life with and whose passion for reading has made him wise and intelligent; it is simply to say that even with reading one needs to make a choice and a compromise.

I too am a lover of books and of the escape that reading and day-dreaming offer; and I too have to force myself to come back into the world every now and then in order not to lose the precious moments in my own life.


Source: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-drawbacks-of-reading-a-lot-of-books

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This “age doesn’t matter” stuff is nonsense. No, 34 is by no means too old, but you’re going to be 40 when you’re done (roughly), having lost 5–6 years of prime earning. Oh, and the personal cost; there’s always a personal cost. You are now 40 and Dr. Question Asker! Congrats. If you’re in the sciences and want a treasured position at a research university, you’ll spend the next 4–10 years as a postdoc. In some fields, like computer science, the opportunities are high, but that’s not most fields. It’s not completely unreasonable to start as an associate professor in, say, biology, at the age of 50, but then you have six years to prove yourself (tougher at some places than others) and warrant tenure. But you’re awesome and tenure is granted. Great! Now you’re 57 (the tenure evaluation process alone takes a year), so you have maybe a decade before you start to think about retiring. And that’s not the worst-case scenario. The odds are not far from 1:2 that you’ll finish. Most people leave of their own accord, but often after completing 2+ years of coursework and 1+ years of research and deciding they don’t like research and can’t do it anymore. And while things could go better, there’s no guarantee of tenure at a research university (single digit percentages of PhDs get tenure-track jobs at research universities and get tenure).

You could potentially go to a teaching school. I think I will be forever grateful that I did. If all works out, I might have tenure and still be in my 40s. I don’t make a ton, but I’m also nowhere near poverty.

If you’re in the humanities… well, you’ll go back to whatever you were doing before the PhD, or possibly try to eke out a living as an adjunct.

Am I discouraging you from going? No! Well, sorta… I did not get good advice. Most people don’t. I don’t per se regret my decision and I love my career, but I wish I had known more. I wish the system treated people better. And I’m thankful I’m in computing, where jobs are plentiful. I know some people who make good livings helping fellow PhDs find jobs/careers outside of academia, and trust me, these people are earning their keep.

Make sure you have long talks with people who’ve been through the process, didn’t start within 5 years of undergrad, and are in your discipline. This needs to include people who didn’t finish, or else you’ll have selection bias (you’ll only get one side). There are plentiful discussion boards to find people and info. Make the decision, but make the decision from an informed perspective. If this is right for you, it can be wonderful (and horrible, sometimes).

If you are 50 and starting a PhD full-time with the intent of changing careers? I can’t say that I think that’s a good idea. So go forth and decide within the next decade.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-too-late-to-start-a-PhD-at-34

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To be sincere, the man is a psychopath. Besides, he's old enough to go to jail....




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