fae_alba

you would think that after dealing with this sort of stuff for 38+ years i would know better... but alas that''s not the case. Cloud storage is the best solution now a days

Thanks David! I've got six other people in this too, in many ways I'm more concerned for their futures. But it is what it is. The worst part of the year has been a catastophic disk crash that lost all of my current A:M work. Yup, that's right. The age old story of backing up and data loss. I shot myself in the foot on that one!

I at least was given 2 months of insurance and severance pay until end of December. But who ever says the job market is good and companies are hiring, I want what they are smoking.. because it has got to be some good Sh!t. Since August I have had only two interviews, tomorrow being a third for on position. And I'd like to think I am in a "senior" level IT level. Doesn't matter now a days.

So, here I am. Thought I'd give an update since it has been nearly a year since I posted anything. Work truly got the better of me this year. The software company I worked for (Tibco) was part of a merger with Citrix, which in turn gave rise to Cloud Software Group (CSG). The new CEO of CSG, the hired hatchet man from the venture capital owners then decided that he didn't like consultants so started a quiet layoff in January under the guise of restructering bonus and payscales. Before we were eligible for quarterly bonuses, he changesd them to anual, tied to division performance and not individual performance. Basically encouraging managers to do more with less. Then in June he decided to sell of the consulting group entirely which led to layoffs in August. Me and my team, even though I had just got a quarter mill contract signed days before, were laid off on august 10th. I have been looking for a new gig since then without much luck. The folks I work with and I decided in September to form our own LLC, and from that Seamless Integration Group LLC was formed. We are now in the the beginning stages of developing a SaaS data quality and AI platform for the healthcare industry. To say I have been a bit stressed over paying the mortgage is an understatement. But I am still among the living, just not feeling as creative as I'd like to be.

Looks like you are anticipating many contest winners to come!

No worries sir! I was just bragging about this contest to a few folks and tickled my aging brain cells!

was there anything sent out for this contest. Rob you do an amazing job on these contest, and while I haven't been able to participate recently I do feel a bit of pride in achieving even an honorable mention! My wall is papered in certificates... with a special spot for this contest.

Dude, we hear you. You are holding am on your shoulders and there is no need for "sorries".

My granddaughter loves those shorts. We watch all the time.

Roger..if there were a better option I would take it. Shelton....I am working on a bit just to get back into the workflow... I do think I need a better rig...and perhaps the mo cap challenge from this summer is a good place for me to play around....

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I am currently working on an AI engine that classifies diseases for a "major" metropolitan area in the states..and I aint getting rich!

not sneaky...overworked. Means I am billing over 40 hours a week to clients. In other words overworked and underpaid!

Slowly, oh so slowly I am getting my head above water with work. The company has been through one acquisition and now a merger with another software company, and the past 18 months have been very insane. During the initial acquisition my title went from senior solution architect to consultant (a demotion) then I was moved to a management position, then to a higher management position, all without a bump in pay. On top of that I manage three multi-million dollar projects in three states, and have to maintain a billable rate of 75% or better (I'm at 105% and work 60+ hours a week). Now the acquisition is in the final stages, with a round of layoffs about to happen in the next five weeks for those roles that are deemed redundant. BUT, in spite all that, I have been missing AM, and this forum. So here I am, getting ready to renew my subscription and looking forward to reviving Papa Bear.

Not going to lie....that movie clip is mildly disturbing!😀

I use a:m almost exclusively for 3d printing. Granted I do not print mechanical pieces out of am. My models are all organic and honestly I find a;m much better than other tools for that purpose. Now 3d printer objects from a:m comes with challenges, but it is what I use. The only part of my workflow that I don't use am for is breaking the model up into pieces in order for it to fit on my printer. I've never been able to do that in a:m reliably, so I do it after exporting in another slicing tool.