Greetings from Massachusetts,
I now have an apartment full of furniture from Jordan's. The Jordan's furniture in Nashua is a pretty nice place. There's free balloons for kids, free freshly-baked Mrs. Field's cookies, free soda, free coffee, free goldfish crackers and pretzels, and free ice cream. It's that fancy ice cream that is in the form of little frozen pellets that you pay $3.25 for at Darien Lake and the ball park. Anyway, it's a nice place to shop, open until 10pm on weekdays, until 11 on Friday and Saturday, and 6pm on Sunday. At the other Jordan's stores throughout Massachusetts, I've heard that there's some sort of indoor Bourbon Street replica along with some sort of show and a moving Epcot-like ride.
In a stack of blow-in cards that IEEE sent me, I notice that they are selling a book "Tomorrow's Professor: Preparing for Academic Careers in Science and Engineering." In today's Boston Sunday Globe, there's an article about a proposed crack-down on deadbeat professors at Boston University. One proposal requires that professors work on campus four days a week, eight hours a day. This is targeted at "non-productive" faculty who don't attend departmental events or committee meetings, don't and who otherwise don't perform. This is because faculty pay at BU has risen 84% over the last seven years while enrollment is down 1.4%.
Housing Crisis Followup: in today's Boston Sunday Globe, an article about how single professionals in Boston are living with roommates in order to be able to afford apartment rents. "The 1999 median rent for a two-bedroom Boston apartment [is] $1,550, an 88 percent increase from the 1995 figure of $825." As seen on Ally McBeal. Three other young people cited in the article are paying $967 each to share an apartment in Brookline. No roommate for me, except for the cat.
Arts Followup: It seems that "Seussical" the musical is having its second act reworked before opening on Broadway. Bad reviews from its Boston run. Bonus news: I hear that "Mamma Mia!", the ABBA musical will be moving to the Wintergarden Theater on Broadway, following Cats' record run. Is "Mamma Mia!" still playing in Toronto?
OCTOBER 19, 2000 IS THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT RESUMES FOR ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS WITH THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES. GO TO THE CAREER PLANNING "ONLINE CAREER OFFICE" WEB SITE TO APPLY:
Once again, some of the more notable and/or amusing advertisements from last week's Boston Sunday Globe's "Boston Works" section.
The first Page 2 has Nugenesis Technologies (nugenesis.com). "Nugenesis Technologies Corporation is a key player in the information revolution that is changing the way businesses operate in the world today."
Pegasus Satellite Television (pgtv.com) is looking for Help Desk Technicians. I'm not sure what they do, but their advertisement is pretty big (6 columns x 1/2 page.
Sun Microsystems also has an advertisement on Page 3 (Disclaimer: I work for Sun.). However, it's an ad for Sun's San Diego campus. "From the superb coastline to the Mediterranean climate, San Diego embodies the very best southern California has to offer." What's interesting is that they give their local web site (www.sunsandiego.com), instead of the corporate web site (www.sun.com). The job market is tight. If you want to work in the Boston area, see (www.sunboston.com). However, college students should probably see (www.zoneinonsun.com), the university recruiting site.
Genuity claims to be "the leading network services provider for businesses changing the world." They also claim they offer "an intellectually charged, creative environment and outstanding opportunity for professional growth." They are looking for software engineers.
NerveWire claims to be "a fun, fast-paced, pre-IPO, B2B Internet professional services firm that creates innovative, industry-focused strategies and solutions for interconnected businesses." They pay $3,000 for referrals.
Xalient claims to be "a leading enabler of digital economy businesses, providing strategy consulting and sophisticated end-to-end solutions. ... We are a dynamic and growing company of professionals who love what we do." You send your resume to great2work@xalient.com.
"Every day, a diverse and growing team of highly energetic professionals gather in a renovated mill in Maynard, Massachusetts. The brick and mortar ghosts of the industrial age watch over us everyday. They listen to our customer feedback and watch our team resolve complex issues. They sense our momentum building and they offer a daily confirmation that commerce never sits still." Veridiem.
"They're all talking behind our backs... and they're calling us names-- names like 'a leader in the $1.8 trillion employee benefits marketplace,' 'The communications channel in the workforce benefits space,' and 'one of America's fastest growing private companies.' But then again, we're not complaining. Authoria Inc., the market leader in HR knowledgebase applications for leading corporations nationwide, is enjoying phenomenal growth, stability, and demand." Authoria.
iMcKesson has a company name that starts with a lower-case "i". However, I'm not sure if they have a web site. "Fed up with the Pre IPO craze but still want to be involved in cutting-edge Web Technology? Tired of working until midnight every day of the week? ... We're iMcKesson, a leading provider of state-of-the-art Care Management Services..."
"Pre-IPO", appears as the word in the biggest typeface in Novalux's ad. Emphasis as appeared in ad: "This is your OPPORTUNITY to join the stellar team at NOVALUX-- an exciting, well-funded, pre-IPO company, moving with TREMENDOUS VELOCITY in the OPTICAL NETWORKING field. We have pioneered a BREAKTHROUGH in ultra-high power LASER TECHNOLOGY for the TELECOMMUNICATIONS market. Our LASERS are used in the generation, amplification and distribution of light that will ENABLE the rapid BANDWIDTH that today's information users are demanding Truly unusual opportunities to MAKE A DIFFERENCE and MAKE THINGS DIFFERENT-- are indeed rare. Don't let this one pass you by."
Back when I was a mail room clerk, my paychecks were cut from ADP (Automatic Data Processing). Now this is my chance to bring the circle to a close. ADP is looking for a Mail Room Clerk. "Sorts interoffice mail and prepares outgoing mail for delivery. Operates courier and internal computer applications. Expedites payrolls and outgoing packages via Federal/Airborne Express. Provides customer service to associates and clients. High School diploma required, or equivalent in education and experience. Must be able to work under pressure, have an excellent attention to detail, and the ability to communicate effectively with clients and internal staff."
I checked out that Habama!'s website, but unfortunately their webmaster was incompetent. Their home page automatically redirected my web browser (Netscape 4.73) to a 404 page. I had to reload the home page and quickly press the "stop loading" button to find the non-Flash home page. Habama!
Network Engines (networkengines.com) is advertising on WBZ: "Adam got a job with a dot com. It didn't matter what they did or what they say they did, it was a dot com. They had bean bag chairs and a pool table. Adam could wear his sandals to work."
If you have any questions about academics, job hunting, or the Boston area, please email me at (bfan2 "at symbol" yahoo "dot symbol" com) and I'll try to answer them.
Until next time,
Ben