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Description
For my day job, I write software that integrates our company's flagship billing system with third-party provisioning systems: telephone switches, internet and cable-TV providers, mapping software, etc. The idea is simple: you enter some customer information into our billing system, and the third-party provisioning systems automagically grab that same info and turn services on and off for that customer, or open up data ports on that customer's settop box or router, or show on a map where their phone lines are buried. Stuff like that. It's a solid gig, and I enjoy the work.

Still, I sometimes wonder whenever I put together a neat little piece of code if my work is going to put some poor slob out of a job -- "Thanks for the twenty years of service, Gladys, but we've got some slick software that makes your job redundant and irrelevant. Here's your pink slip... and happy holidays!" I wonder if the guys working on the first automobile assembly line were worried about all the soon-to-be-unemployed horse carriage builders, or if the robots that build cars now are even aware of the humans they just kicked to the curb after they ruthlessly stole their jobs.

....hmmmmm, that's just great. Now I'm all depressed.

CURSE YOU, COMICS!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE ALL ABOUT GOOD-NATURED HIJINKS AND TOMFOOLERY, NOT FOR MAKING ME THINK ABOUT STUFF!!!

Okay, fine, I'll make sure Thursday's comic is more, umm, upbeat, okay? Okay, then...

Description
For my day job, I write software that integrates our company's flagship billing system with third-party provisioning systems: telephone switches, internet and cable-TV providers, mapping software, etc. The idea is simple: you enter some customer information into our billing system, and the third-party provisioning systems automagically grab that same info and turn services on and off for that customer, or open up data ports on that customer's settop box or router, or show on a map where their phone lines are buried. Stuff like that. It's a solid gig, and I enjoy the work.

Still, I sometimes wonder whenever I put together a neat little piece of code if my work is going to put some poor slob out of a job -- "Thanks for the twenty years of service, Gladys, but we've got some slick software that makes your job redundant and irrelevant. Here's your pink slip... and happy holidays!" I wonder if the guys working on the first automobile assembly line were worried about all the soon-to-be-unemployed horse carriage builders, or if the robots that build cars now are even aware of the humans they just kicked to the curb after they ruthlessly stole their jobs.

....hmmmmm, that's just great. Now I'm all depressed.

CURSE YOU, COMICS!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE ALL ABOUT GOOD-NATURED HIJINKS AND TOMFOOLERY, NOT FOR MAKING ME THINK ABOUT STUFF!!!

Okay, fine, I'll make sure Thursday's comic is more, umm, upbeat, okay? Okay, then...