Preparations and Brass
The preparations of my old Guzzi Ambassador proceed apace.
Last night I picked up a collection of parts for a song. I needed some new front end parts because mine are suspect at best. This was a complete front end from the wheel up to the bars. And I got it for a price I am embarrassed to admit. A happy boy am I. The only catch was that I had to take the frame it was attached to. Small catch. I got far more than I needed. Not only do I have new forks, trees and such that I desparately needed; I also got stock cable controls. My current set up of modified Emgo bits works...but requires effort when it is time to put a new cable in place. Now I can just buy stuff off the shelf. Additionally I got a choke control. Granted I keep it in tune well enough that it doesnt really need a choke. But it does come in handy. And it is a nice little bit of aluminum farkle. I also got a wheel that I dont need, headlight ears/fork covers that will also come in handy one day. Also a good fender that is in better shape than the one I am getting painted. As a bonus the brake hub is carrying newish green shoes. The antique stockers will go several hundred thousand miles....but wont stop a wet fart. I can plunk those shows on the back and put new ones up front and actually be able to save expensive component wear by not using engine braking.
I have also been trying to find a paint solution. One recommended feller didnt return my calls. Another I went to with the parts in hand and he seemed to miss the scope of my project altogether. He started talking about reworking all the sheet metal and the price just kept climbing. He was a nice feller and all, but shit, I just want the stuff painted not remanufactured. The kind of price he was talking I could have just ordered all NOS in stock colors from a shop. Now I have been turned onto a guy who is doing a lot of the local race bikes. He seems to understand what I want. Looks decent, not a show bike and durable. As I told him "looks ok and wont rust". I think we understand eachother. We'll see, I go to his shop on Sunday morning.
Now for the brass.
I work as a software test engineer. This is also known under a variety of titles, but basically I am a software tester with nearly a decade of experience who can code somewhat and understands a wide variety of technologies. Now I have been contracting for a number of years. And with the current boom in tech in this here mecca of tech, my services are in demand. The phone rings almost daily even though my resume has been off the shelf for the last sx months while I work my current contract. I'm not bragging. Every tech worker with reasonable skills and experience is in demand and is experiencing the same. Now it is a fact of contracting that you have to network and your reputation matters a great deal. With that in mind I have held myself to a high degree of well 'morality' if you will, That is, I complete my contracts, I seek feedback on my work, I work to give more value than I am paid and I refuse to be lured into breaking a contract just for a few bucks. Simply because I know that doing any less will do me harm in the long run. I also return calls from recruiters during my contract. It is just good practice to keep the lines open and the network shiny. But I also make it clear that I am working currently and wont be available unil that contract is finished.
Now over the last year I have experienced periodic events of pure brass balls from recruiters. Some seeking to get me to jump my contract and others just plain being rude when I tell them what I will and will not do. Those are rarities and I just chalk it up to pricks existing in any given group of people. But today kinda tweaked my nipples. This cat from a large agency contacts me with the intent of promoting a gig at another large company in the area. As I lay out for him what my situation is, he notes that they have a 6 month no-compete with another local agency that places contractors at the same large company. I said "Doesnt matter. I dont sign no-competes" This set the recruiter cat on his heels. I expanded by saying "I complete my contracts. When my contract is completed to the satisfaction of both parties, I become a free agent again. A no-compete does me no good whatsoever unless yours provides compensation for that period where my work search is constrained" The conversation ended rather abruptly after that.
Since then I have done a fair bit of research on no-competes. ANd the more I read the more my nipples twisted. Basically a no-compete is supposed to protect a company from A) an former employee poaching staff B) a former employee poaching company intellectual property. Now as a contract resource I cannot do the latter. I simply dont have access to it and when you think about it the only property they have that I could poach would be violating other laws. As for the former, every contract agency I have ever worked for has had in place a policy to reward contractors who bring in new people. Conflict? Could be... So the net effect is that unless I work for them at their whim for six months...I'm barred from working for certain agencies and companies. Sorry folks, but I aint doing that. My ancestors fought damned hard to break free from indentured servitude.
So...how much you want to bet that certain large companies dont ever hear about or have an idea how many highly skilled resources they never get to evaluate because of this? I recall hearing in those halls many complaints about the poor quality of candidates they see from these agencies. I wonder if they are missing some seriously skilled workers because they wont do the no-compete? Frankly, the jobscape is fruitful enough that the skilled workers dont need to accept those positions. There are more positions than bodies. And those who do accept the no-cmpetes may well be drawing unemployment for long periods of time annually. And they say walmart is draining local resources. Please.
So what I have decided for myself is that the next time I am faced with a no-compete (and usually it is a sentence or two in the employment contract) I will require expanded details: Who I am specifically barred from working for. Which companies I cannot contract with. What compensation I am to be gven for having my skills shelved for that time.
Last night I picked up a collection of parts for a song. I needed some new front end parts because mine are suspect at best. This was a complete front end from the wheel up to the bars. And I got it for a price I am embarrassed to admit. A happy boy am I. The only catch was that I had to take the frame it was attached to. Small catch. I got far more than I needed. Not only do I have new forks, trees and such that I desparately needed; I also got stock cable controls. My current set up of modified Emgo bits works...but requires effort when it is time to put a new cable in place. Now I can just buy stuff off the shelf. Additionally I got a choke control. Granted I keep it in tune well enough that it doesnt really need a choke. But it does come in handy. And it is a nice little bit of aluminum farkle. I also got a wheel that I dont need, headlight ears/fork covers that will also come in handy one day. Also a good fender that is in better shape than the one I am getting painted. As a bonus the brake hub is carrying newish green shoes. The antique stockers will go several hundred thousand miles....but wont stop a wet fart. I can plunk those shows on the back and put new ones up front and actually be able to save expensive component wear by not using engine braking.
I have also been trying to find a paint solution. One recommended feller didnt return my calls. Another I went to with the parts in hand and he seemed to miss the scope of my project altogether. He started talking about reworking all the sheet metal and the price just kept climbing. He was a nice feller and all, but shit, I just want the stuff painted not remanufactured. The kind of price he was talking I could have just ordered all NOS in stock colors from a shop. Now I have been turned onto a guy who is doing a lot of the local race bikes. He seems to understand what I want. Looks decent, not a show bike and durable. As I told him "looks ok and wont rust". I think we understand eachother. We'll see, I go to his shop on Sunday morning.
Now for the brass.
I work as a software test engineer. This is also known under a variety of titles, but basically I am a software tester with nearly a decade of experience who can code somewhat and understands a wide variety of technologies. Now I have been contracting for a number of years. And with the current boom in tech in this here mecca of tech, my services are in demand. The phone rings almost daily even though my resume has been off the shelf for the last sx months while I work my current contract. I'm not bragging. Every tech worker with reasonable skills and experience is in demand and is experiencing the same. Now it is a fact of contracting that you have to network and your reputation matters a great deal. With that in mind I have held myself to a high degree of well 'morality' if you will, That is, I complete my contracts, I seek feedback on my work, I work to give more value than I am paid and I refuse to be lured into breaking a contract just for a few bucks. Simply because I know that doing any less will do me harm in the long run. I also return calls from recruiters during my contract. It is just good practice to keep the lines open and the network shiny. But I also make it clear that I am working currently and wont be available unil that contract is finished.
Now over the last year I have experienced periodic events of pure brass balls from recruiters. Some seeking to get me to jump my contract and others just plain being rude when I tell them what I will and will not do. Those are rarities and I just chalk it up to pricks existing in any given group of people. But today kinda tweaked my nipples. This cat from a large agency contacts me with the intent of promoting a gig at another large company in the area. As I lay out for him what my situation is, he notes that they have a 6 month no-compete with another local agency that places contractors at the same large company. I said "Doesnt matter. I dont sign no-competes" This set the recruiter cat on his heels. I expanded by saying "I complete my contracts. When my contract is completed to the satisfaction of both parties, I become a free agent again. A no-compete does me no good whatsoever unless yours provides compensation for that period where my work search is constrained" The conversation ended rather abruptly after that.
Since then I have done a fair bit of research on no-competes. ANd the more I read the more my nipples twisted. Basically a no-compete is supposed to protect a company from A) an former employee poaching staff B) a former employee poaching company intellectual property. Now as a contract resource I cannot do the latter. I simply dont have access to it and when you think about it the only property they have that I could poach would be violating other laws. As for the former, every contract agency I have ever worked for has had in place a policy to reward contractors who bring in new people. Conflict? Could be... So the net effect is that unless I work for them at their whim for six months...I'm barred from working for certain agencies and companies. Sorry folks, but I aint doing that. My ancestors fought damned hard to break free from indentured servitude.
So...how much you want to bet that certain large companies dont ever hear about or have an idea how many highly skilled resources they never get to evaluate because of this? I recall hearing in those halls many complaints about the poor quality of candidates they see from these agencies. I wonder if they are missing some seriously skilled workers because they wont do the no-compete? Frankly, the jobscape is fruitful enough that the skilled workers dont need to accept those positions. There are more positions than bodies. And those who do accept the no-cmpetes may well be drawing unemployment for long periods of time annually. And they say walmart is draining local resources. Please.
So what I have decided for myself is that the next time I am faced with a no-compete (and usually it is a sentence or two in the employment contract) I will require expanded details: Who I am specifically barred from working for. Which companies I cannot contract with. What compensation I am to be gven for having my skills shelved for that time.
posted by Z at
9:52 PM
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