i have a job!

it's longer-term than i'd expected, a couple of months, but i had to accept lower pay; since i didn't have any other options it seemed like the way to go. any money coming in is better than none. there are also a couple of other pluses here: one, i now have more recent work experience for my resume, instead of coming directly off a year of unemployment, and two, it's experience outside the software industry, which is something i don't have yet. so they get cheap tech writing, i get useful experience, and everybody wins.

it'll be interesting work, anyway: my first task is to research stories on www.craneaccidents.com to look for anything that might be useful for advertising sent to customers thinly disguised as a "safety newsletter".

fun, fun, fun!

oooh

i just got a headhunter call on a 9-month contract at Dell. fortunately, i've only made a handshake deal with the crane safety guy... waiting to hear more info on the Dell job.

a good day's work

i think 400 words on certain very specific aspects of crane safety is pretty good for six hours' work, considering that i didn't know anything about cranes before i started. i spent most of that time researching statistics, terminology and accident scenarios, mind you.

interesting stuff. and now if anyone ever asks me what i know about 2-blocks, i can explain to them how a remote electronic sensor can alert the crane operator before the load block becomes jammed against the crane structure, which can damage the crane or cause the wire rope to break and lose its load.