RE: Bye Bye Peter Bingaman -- MIDRANGE-L

This is a humongous post, but something touched a nerve.

> Yep - that is simply a misguided rant! I guess negativity 
> continues to reign supreme on this forum...

My point was the revolving door situation.  It goes on and on and on.  IMHO
stability is a good thing.  It just seems like IBM treads water here.  I'm
just a grunt in the field.  I don't get to sit down and talk privately with
the IBM bigwiggers (is that a word?) and know face-to-face what they're
thinking.  I just couldn't help but have one of those 'here we go again'
feelings.
 
> What if Peter has found an opportunity that he cannot pass 
> up? What if his iSeries stint was a great step for him? What 
> if he has had a positive impact on iSeries marketing, and his 
> legacy will live on? Would you wish him the worst because his 
> career is improving?

I said nothing of the kind.  Are you implying that if he stayed with the
iSeries that is, in effect, "wish(ing) him the worst"?  Of course you're
not.  That was a 'what if' scenario on your part.  Don't read things into my
rant either.
 
> Mark Shearer has told us that he is committed to the iSeries. 
> Mark is the driving force behind the change in iSeries. Mark 
> is still there. He will hire someone who fits the position, 
> and the iSeries momentum will continue. 
> I, for one, remain confident about the iSeries future, and no 
> amount of whining from the sidelines will change the future.

And so do I.  I posted on this forum some years ago that if it ever came
down to me having to work in IT on something other than an iSeries, I would
find another line of work.  That view has not changed.  And that's why I
react whenever there's a change.

Look, I've heard you speak at COMMON and I think you're great.  Just because
I'm a grunt out here in the field doesn't mean I'm dumb.  I took this
company, starting at age 17, from no computer, to a S/3, S/34, S/36, AS/400,
iSeries, and now i5, mostly by myself.  Been here 32 years.  If _that_
doesn't make me a weirdo in the IT industry, I don't know what does.  (And I
have a low paycheck to prove it. :) )

For my entire career, I have never been able to get into theory for theory's
sake (would you call that 'pure research' or something?).  I don't get
excited about every thing that comes down the pike.  I get excited when
something comes down the pike where I can see a benefit for my company.
That's what makes it fun.

1) We now have more thin clients on terminal services than PCs because that
makes it easier to manage.

2) Linux doesn't excite me because it's One More Thing To Learn and I'm not
convinced it would add to our bottom line.

3) The i5 is our mail server because I've never been convinced that using
Windows or Linux will add to our bottom line.

4) The IXS we installed does add to the bottom line.

5) I tried Catapult from BCD for emailing reports.  I love BCD but didn't
like Catapult.  I don't want to need a PC to send iSeries spool files.  Why
add another layer?  ESEND from ASC was exactly what I was looking for.  (But
I know if we get Websmart one of these days, that will probably have to
change.)

6) I love mailing lists like this 'cause they're fast.  I hate web forums
which is why I'm virtually never on iseriesnetwork.com anymore.  Too
unproductive.

7) I once asked about Java and was told too complex for a 1-person shop.  I
now (mostly) ignore Java.

8) Ditto for Notes/Domino.

9) We're a food service distributor and even though we're tiny, our sales
reps had laptops in the field years before many of the big boys did.  It was
a good investment.

I could go on and on, but you get the point.  Simplicity and ROI are king
here.

I'm smart enough to have figured out that if I had decided early on that
'career' and 'money' were king, I'd have it made financially.  I have never
met anyone in this field who I think could have done this job better than I
did, because I'm very very good at what I do.

But I chose another road.  I coached little league and basketball for all 3
of my sons from day one.  To this day, I have never missed a game unless I
was at one of the _other_ boys games.  No regrets.