VACETS NEWSLETTER

Volume V, Issue 1, July 1998

Contents

 

Internet and Daily Living  Support

The Internet provides us with many benefit ways. Today, it allows us to do our own search on any topic at any time and anywhere. Below are some sources for your information.

If you would like to search bank rates for mortgage, credits cards, auto loans, savings, home equity ... the Bank Rate Monitor site provides one for all:

      https://www.bankrate.com/brm/default.asp

When taking a quick look on your caller-ID display, sometimes you wonder where the calls came from, what city for that area code ... Here are few web sites that allow you to do your own investigation:.

      https://decoder.americom.com
      https://www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/bsy/area.html
      https://www.nanpa.com

You may want to hear people commenting on soccer world cup games or play-off football games, or you wonder what people discuss about some specific news. DejaNews is already the best way to view the past of Usenet news. This website lets you subscribe to newsgroups, making it much easier to read and write in your favorite groups.

      https://www.dejanews.com

If you plan to move or travel, sometimes you would like to know what's going on in that town (e.g., restaurant, hotel reviews or apartment listings, local news), the best source on the Web will often be the local newspapera. The directory of newspapers at the American Journalism Review's NewsLink site can help you all:

       https://www.newslink.org/news.html

Enjoy searching and reading these web sites.

Contributed by Thao Le

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Very Interesting Facts
 

Brazil last won the world cup in 1994.
Before that they had last won it in 1970.
If you add 1970 and 1994 you get 3964.

Argentina last won the world cup in 1986.
Before that the last time they won it was in 1978.
If you add 1986 and 1978 you get 3964 as well.

Germany last won the world cup in 1990.
The previous time they won it was in 1974.
Add these and you get 3964 again.

Now it gets really spooky.
England last won the world cup in 1966.
Subtract this from 3964.................

you're right.......1998.

The Netherlands have never won the World Cup, so they'll probably win it in the year 3964.

1966      England

1970      Brazil

1974      Germany

1978      Argentina

1982      Italy

1986      Argentina

1990      Germany

1994      Brazil

1998 ...... ?

Pretty interesting right ?

Contributed by MaiLy Pham

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Successful Cellular Visionaries Stories

Unwired: Cellular Visionaries Raj and Neera Singh took calculated risks in building a company, an industry, a fortune.

      By Mike Mills
      Washington Post Staff Writer
      Monday, February 16, 1998; Page F13

Late one night in 1982, two young college graduates from India sat in the computer lab at Kansas State University and tried to write a software program that could quickly calculate radio tower interference for new cellular telephone systems...

     https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-02/16/023l-021698-idx.html

THE SINGH EMPIRE

Raj Singh is chief executive of Telcom Ventures. Here is a look at the company's holdings and what they are worth: Publicly traded companies:

* Teligent Inc. (33 percent of company), $541 million.
* LCC International Inc. (58 percent), $102 million.
* Private holdings, total estimated value $430 million
* Wireless Ventures of Brazil (19 percent)
* Wireless Ventures of Venezuela (100 percent)
* Infonet of Venezuela (50 percent)
* Portatel cellular of Mexico (30 percent)
* Avantel of Columbia (12 percent)
* Aether Technologies, Owings Mills, Md. (22 percent).

Other investments of less than 5 percent, including Omnipoint

Communications Inc., Teledesic Corp.

RESUME
Rajendra Singh
Age: 43
Position: Chief executive of Telcom Ventures, which owns major stakes in a variety of wireless ventures.
Education: PhD in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University.
Home: Virginia  

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What The Organizational Chart Doesn't Tell You
 
 

In the lower ranks of the MIS world, sorting out job titles is a nearly impossible task. Some folks are called Analysts. Some are called Programmers. Some are called Engineers. None of them has window offices. So I have listed -- from lowest to highest in order of prestige and described the 10 most commonly used job titles in a data processing shop. A truly experienced high-tech professional has held five or even six of these positions...usually all at the same time.

10. Programmer:
This person holds the lowest rank in the DP field. Manages no one. Answers to everyone. Approximately 50% of the Programmer's time is scheduled for testing. Another 50% is spent filling out time cards and progress reports. Any time left over is spent attending classes on technologies that will never be used in the shop. The Programmer is appraised on code quality and reliability. Never has time to write any. Hopes to, someday, be promoted to Systems Analyst.

9. Systems Analyst:
The Systems Analyst refuses to code anymore. Designs new systems. Writes specs for new systems. Devises procedures and work flows for new systems but ends up training users on how to get by with the old ones. Next in line for Team Leader position.

8. Team Leader:
A Team Leader manages one project. Doesn't know why he's not called Project Leader; that's what he has on his resume.

7. Project Leader:
Manages several projects at once. Analyzes Gantt charts from the Team Leaders' projects. Coordinates schedules from the Team Leaders' projects. Monitors deliverables from the Team Leaders' projects. Has absolutely no idea what any of the Team Leaders' projects are about. Wants to be a programmer again.

6. Operator:
The Operator wields powers that the Project Leader can only dream about. Makes Programmers beg for tape drives. Makes Analysts beg for disk space. Makes Team Leaders beg for printouts. Has an uncanny understanding of career potential in the data processing industry. Going to law school at night.

5. Systems Programmer:
Even an Operator wants to be a Systems Programmer. A Systems Programmer has the authority to wipe out disk packs without warning. Crash the system during user demos. Make new releases appear, then disappear, then reappear again, especially during month-end processing.

4. DBA:
No one really knows what the Database Administrator does, and no one is smart enough to know if the DBA is doing it or not. But every shop must have one DBA, because no place can afford two of them.

3. Manager:
The Manager is sometimes called a Director. Or an Assistant Vice-President. Or an Account Manager. Has completely lost touch with any facsimile of technology. Wants to finish next year's budget. Wants to finish last year's appraisals. Wants to learn the names of some of the Programmers. But instead, only has time to interview job applicants, especially DBAs.

2. Department Secretary:
The Programmers have word processing. The Managers have electronic mail. Everyone has automatic phone messaging. This leaves the Department Secretary with all kinds of time to manipulate, control and dispense the three most basic employee needs: paychecks, rumors, and supplies. Can make copier self-destruct just by going to lunch.

1. Contract Programmer:
A Contract Programmer doesn't have to wear a nice suit. Or go to meetings. Or fill out time cards. Or keep complaints to himself. He can make all the mistakes he wants. He doesn't get benefits. He doesn't get training. He doesn't get respect. But after years in the trenches, the Contract Programmer will finally achieve the ultimate goal in the profession: He will be able to make impossible deadlines with inadequate resources for desperate managers by puting in all kinds of extra hours... and will be paid overtime for every one of them.

Contributed by MaiLy Pham

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Most Expensive Cities in the World
 

GENEVA, Thu.y Si~, 5/8 (TH) - Sa`i Go`n hie^.n nay na(`m trong so^' 20 tha`nh pho^' d-a('t d-o? ha`ng d-a^`u tre^n the^' gio+'i\. D-o' la` ke^'t qua? cu?a mo^.t cuo^.c nghie^n cu+'u d-u+o+.c to^? chu+'c Corporate Resources Group co' tru. so+? d-a(.t ta.i Geneva, Thu.y Si~, cho pho^? bie^'n va`o ho^m thu+' Ba, 5 tha'ng 8. Cuo^.c nghie^n cu+'u ve^` gia' sinh hoa.t na`y d-a~ cho.n tha`nh pho^' Nu+~u U+o+'c la`m ca(n ba?n vo+'i chi? so^' d-ie^?m 100. Ba?n nghie^n cu+'u cho tha^'y ca'c tha`nh pho^' vu`ng Ba('c My~ na(`m trong so^' ca'c tha`nh pho^' co' the^? so^'ng d-u+o+.c.

Ne^'u D-o^ng Kinh la` tha`nh pho^' co' gia' sinh hoa.t d-a('t d-o? nha^'t thi` ngu+o+.c la.i Johannesburg cu?a nu+o+'c Nam Phi d-u+o+.c xe^'p la` tha`nh pho^' co' gia' sinh hoa.t re? nha^'t trong so^' 145 tha`nh pho^' lo+'n d-u+o+.c nho'm Thu.y Si~ tre^n kha?o sa't. Du+o+'i d-a^y la` danh sa'ch ca'c tha`nh pho^' co' gia' sinh hoa.t d-a('t d-o? nha^'t:

Thu+' tu+. Tha`nh pho^' Chi? so^':
1. D-o^ng Kinh 169.57
2. Ho^`ng Ko^ng 153.20
3. Ma.c tu+ Khoa 153.03
4. Osaka (Nha^.t Ba?n) 147.86
5. Ba('c Kinh 140.92
6. Thu+o+.ng Ha?i (Trung Quo^'c) 136.24
7. Ha'n Tha`nh 132.95
8. Ta^n Gia Ba 126.51
9. Qua?ng Cha^u (Trung Quo^'c) 119.98
10. St. Petersburg (Nga) 117.75
11 Tha^?m Quye^'n (Trung Quo^'c) 117.12
12 D-a`i Ba('c 115.80
13 Kiev 114.86
14 Lua^n D-o^n 114.16
15 Sao Paulo (Ba Ta^y) 110.89
16 Dalian (Trung Hoa) 107.69
17 T.P Ho^` Chi' Minh 107.60
18 Jakarta (Indonesia) 107.60
19 Dar es Sala\am (Tanzania) 107.35
20 Nassau (Qua^`n d-a?o Bahamas) 105.77

Ba?n nghie^n cu+'u na`y d-u+o+.c thu+.c hie^.n tre^n gia' cu?a ho+n 200 loa.i ha`ng ho'a, sa?n pha^?m, di.ch vu., bao go^`m ca? tie^`n cu+ tru', thu+.c pha^?m, ru+o+.u, tie^.n nghi, qua^`n a'o, gia?i tri'\.v.v...

Mo^~i hai na(m nho'm nghie^n cu+'u Thu.y Si~ la.i thu+.c hie^.n cuo^.c nghie^n cu+'u d-u+o+.c coi la` kha' chi'nh xa'c. Nhie^`u chi'nh phu? va` co^ng ty quo^'c te^' d-a~ du`ng ke^'t qua? cuo^.c nghie^n cu+'u na`y la`m ca(n ba?n d-e^? tra? ca'c loa.i phu. ca^'p cho ca'c nha^n vie^n cu?a mi`nh la`m vie^.c hay co^ng ta'c ta.i ca'c no+i. (NV)
 

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Microsoft Windows NT server vs UNIX  
 

Check this web page for an interesting comparison of NT vs UNIX.

      https://www.kirch.net/unix-nt.html
 

Contributed by Tin Le

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Nhu+~ng phu. nu+~ Vie^.t Nam no^?i tie^'ng dda^`u the^' ky? 20

* Ngu+o+`i phu. nu+~ Vie^.t Nam dda^`u tie^n la`m chu? bu't ba'o la` ba` Nguye^~n Thi. Xua^n Khue^ (co`n co' te^n Ngo.c Khue^ hay Xua^n Hanh), bu't hie^.u Su+o+ng Nguye^.t Anh (1864-1921). Ba` la` con cu?a nha` tho+ Nguye^~n DDi`nh Chie^?u, sinh ta.i Ba Tri, Be^'n Tre. Na(m 1918, ba` la`m chu? bu't to+` Nu+~ gio+'i chung, to+` ba'o dda^`u tie^n cu?a gio+'i phu. nu+~ Vie^.t Nam.

* Ngu+o+`i phu. nu+~ dda^`u tie^n co' ho.c vi. tie^'n si~ khoa ho.c la` ba` Hoa`ng Thi. Nga. Ba` la` em ho. cu?a pho' ba?ng Hoa`ng Ta(ng Bi (1883 - 1939), que^ o+? DDo^ng Nga.c, huye^.n Tu+` Lie^m, ngoa.i tha`nh Ha` No^.i.

* Nu+~ lua^.t su+ dda^`u tie^n cu?a Vie^.t Nam la` ba` Bu`i Thi. Ca^?m, sinh na(m 1912 ta.i Sa DDe'c. Ba` la^`n lu+o+.t ddo^~ Cu+? nha^n lua^.t khoa na(m 1936 va` Tie^'n si~ lua^.t khoa na(m 1941 (ta.i Pha'p). Ba` la` mo^.t tri' thu+'c ca'ch ma.ng, vo+. cu?a lua^.t su+ Pha.m Ngo.c Thua^`n (Pho' Chu? ti.ch Uy? ban Kha'ng chie^'n Ha`nh chi'nh Nam Bo^. trong tho+`i ky` cho^'ng Pha'p).

* Co^ng chu'a Nhu+ Mai, ngu+o+`i dda^`u tie^n ddo^~ tha.c si~ no^ng la^m nghie^.p. Tha'ng 1/1889, vua Ha`m Nghi bi. thu+.c da^n Pha'p dda`y sang Algeria. o+? ddo', nha` vua la^.p gia ddi`nh, Nhu+ Mai la` con dda^`u cu?a nha` vua. Co^ng chu'a Nhu+ Mai ddu+o+.c gu+?i sang Pha'p theo ho.c Tru+o+`ng No^ng La^m Paris. Ba` to^'t nghie^.p thu? khoa tha'ng 7/1927.

From VNSA: Contributed by Tuan V. Nguyen

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Hot Items of the Week

        -  The man who glues the Web together?

       -  Is it chic to be a geek?

       -  Make Win 98 fly

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E-Mail Business- Free Quality Tools

Do you want to get a free quality Web tool? Of course, everyone does! Netscape Communications isn't the only company that stands to lose from Microsoft's campaign to give a free copy of Internet Explorer 4.0 to every computer owner in the world. In addition to its Web browser, Internet Explorer comes with Outlook Express (OE), an excellent e-mail program that also serves as an address and phone directory and a means of reading and responding to Internet bulletin boards, called newsgroups.

This is also a tough time to be in the e-mail software business. Qualcomm, the San Diego, California, communications company that publishes the popular and feature-rich Eudora e-mail program (Mac and Windows), is giving away beta copies of its upcoming Eudora Pro 4.0 for Windows 95 at its Web site (https://www.qualcomm.com). Among the freeware is Pegasus Mail, a full-featured program for Windows and Macintosh that you can download at  https://www.pegasus.usa.com.

Netscape has an e-mail program, built into its Communicator browser, that is perfectly adequate for basic e-mail operations but not as robust as Outlook Express or Eudora. Whether the extra features in Eudora or OE matter, however, depends on what you plan to do. If you're just sending and receiving messages, they probably don't. Netscape, Internet Explorer and Eudora Pro programs support HTML mail, which allows to include Web graphics in an mail.

Yahoo, Rocketmail (https://www.rocketmail.com) and Hotmail (https://www.hotmail.com) let you access e-mail via the Web. You can get a free account with any of these services and use any Web browser to read mail directed to that account and to pick up your regular e-mail if it's pop-compliant. The most impressed one is Yahoo's mail service (go to https://mail.yahoo.com for freely register). Using these, you can you access it on the Web anywhere you go, you don't have to be at your own PC.

Contributed by Thao Le

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Science and Technology News

1. For years, most scientists thought birds evolved from dinosaurs. Then just a couple of weeks ago, detractors emerged proclaiming that the relationship between bird and dinosaur fingers just wasn't right. And now this week comes another salvo: A group of scientists saying that the lungs aredifferent, too.

2. Five Against One - IBM, Netscape, Novell, Oracle and Sun Micro-systems are working together on new technologies that could topple the software giant Microsoft from its perch atop the high-tech world. Microsoft was invited to "to participate in everything we've done but by and large they've declined".

3. By the third quarter 1998, Pentium II speeds will reach 450 MHz while the Pentium Pro and Pentium with MMX processors will fade away, Intel said. By the first quarter of 1998, the Pentium Pro 200 MHz with 256 kilobytes of Level 2 cache is no longer on Intel's road map. By the end of the first quarter, the Pentium with MMX 166 MHz drops off the road map as well.

Contributed by Le Minh

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Nha` Tu` o+? Bolivia

Isarel Mamani dda~ bi. o+? tu`, se~ ma^'t ta^'t ca? 4 na(m cu?a tuo^?i dde.p tu+o+i. Ho+n mo^.t na(m tru+o+'c dda^y khi cha cu?a Isarel la` Justo Mamani bi. bo? tu` ve^` to^.i buo^n la^.u ma tu'y. Kho^ng ai tro^ng nom em, ne^n Isarel theo cha va`o tu` luo^n.

May ma('n cho Isarel, em co' nhie^`u ba.n dde^? cho+i. Em la` mo^.t trong so^' 38 tre? em so^'ng chung vo+'i 1.100 tu` nha^n trong nha` tu` nam gio+'i San Pefro cu?a La Paz.

Chu' be' Israel, ma'i to'c dden cha?i go.n ghe~, mu't ca^y kem ma^`u ho^`ng ta.i pho`ng giam tuo+`ng xi ma(ng ma` em o+? chung vo+'i bo^'. Ca(.p ma('t dden cu?a em be^n tre^n go` go` ma' cao do`ng Da DDo? Aymara cu?a em luo^n luo^n theo do~i tu+`ng cu+? ddo^.ng cu?a cha trong khi o^ng ta ca('t mie^'ng da thuo^.c la`m vi' ddu+.ng tie^`n. Co^ng vie^.c ta.m bo+. la`m ddo^` du`ng ba(`ng da thuo^.c cu?a Mamani la^'y tie^`n nuo^i a(n o+? cho Israel trong tu` va` cho em ddi ho.c o+? be^n ngoa`i.

Ngu+o+`i tu` Mamani na`y bi. a'n 3 na(m, no'i: "To^i vui thi'ch co' con to^i o+? vo+'i to^i, vi` to^i kho^ng co' ai kha'c trong gia ddi`nh tro^ng coi cha'u." Khoa?ng 1.200 tre? em so^'ng trong ca'c nha` tu` o+? Bolivia vo+'i cha hoa(.c me. vi` ca'c em kho^ng bie^'t ddi dda^u va` chi'nh quye^`n thie^'u ta`i nguye^n dde^? giu'p ho. ca'ch kha'c. DDo' la` gia?i pha'p chung cho nhie^`u nu+o+'c cha^u My~ La Tinh nghe`o kho'.

Ta.i Bolivia no+i mo^.t nghi can co' the^? pha?i ddo+.i nhie^`u na(m tru+o+'c khi ddu+o+.c xe't xu+? thi` dda^y la` mo^.t ddie^`u co' ti'nh ca'ch co^? truye^`n. "DDa^y la` mo^.t ti`nh tra.ng co' tu+` nhie^`u na(m tru+o+'c va` dda~ tro+? tha`nh mo^.t quy ta('c trong ca'c nha` tu` chi'nh cu?a Bolivia." DDo' la` lo+`i cu?a Martha Valencia, nha` xa~ ho^.i ho.c o+? mo^.t co+ quan chi'nh phu? phu. tra'ch ca'c tra.i tu`.

Nha` tu` duy nha^'t o+? Bolivia kho^ng co' tre? em - va` thu+.c te^' la` no+i duy nha^'t co' song sa('t va` cu+?a an toa`n ma` nhie^`u ngu+o+`i thu+o+`ng cho la` cu?a nha` tu` - la` nha` tu` Chonchocoro an ninh to^'i dda ga^`n La Paz. Trong mo^.t so^' nha` tu`, nhie^`u gia ddi`nh toa`n the^? va`o tu` theo ngu+o+`i can pha.m. Nhie^`u tre? em ngu? chung giu+o+`ng vo+'i cha me., ca'c em kha'c dda(.t ghe^' bo^' co+~ nho? trong pho`ng giam. Mu+'c ddo^. thoa?i ma'i tu`y thuo^.c ngu+o+`i tu` co' bao nhie^u hay co' the^? la`m ra bao nhie^u tie^`n.

Ta.i nha` tu` San Pedro, tu` nha^n co' ddu? tie^`n se~ so^'ng trong nhu+~ng da^~y pho`ng co' truye^`n hi`nh, tu? la.nh va` pho`ng ta('m rie^ng. Trong khi pho`ng ke' be^n da`nh cho tu` nghe`o, ho. pha?i chung nhau trong ca'c pho`ng giam va` pho`ng ta('m to^`i ta`n .

Ta.i nha` tu` phu. nu+~ 170 ngu+o+`i o+? La Paz, 86 tre? em so^'ng vo+'i me., ddu+'a nho? nha^'t ddu+o+.c gu+?i o+? trung ta^m giu+~ tre? do ca'c nha^n vie^n xa~ ho^.i tro^ng coi. Nha^n vie^n y te^' sa(n so'c su+'c kho?e ca'c em thu+o+`ng xuye^n. Nu+~ pha.m nha^n la`m vie^.c cho ca'c xu+o+?ng gia(.t va` lo` ba'nh mi` cu?a nha` tu`, hoa(.c ba'n ha`ng cho mo^.t cho+. nho? trong nha` tu` co' mo.i loa.i ha`ng tu+` thu+.c pha^?m va?i vo'c dde^'n ddo^` cho+i tre? em.

Chi'nh quye^`n chi? cung ca^'p mo'n tie^`n tu+o+ng ddu+o+ng 50 xu My~ mo^.t nga`y cho mo^~i tu` nha^n ve^` thu.c pha^?m, ne^n ha^`u he^'t tu` nha^n la`m vie^.c trong nha` tu` dde^? trang tra?i chi phi' cho mi`nh.

Trong tha`nh pho^' Oruro tre^n vu`ng cao nguye^n, tu` nha^n pha?i tra? tie^`n pho`ng. Mo^.t so^' tu` nha^n ngu? tre^n sa^n tra.i ngoa`i tro+`i ne^'u ho. kho^ng the^? tra? no^?i. DDa~ co' nhu+~ng nu+~ tu` nha^n la`m vie^.c ma~i da^m dde^? tra? tie^`n pho`ng trong tu`.

Ca'c chuye^n vie^n no'i co' con trong tu`, thi` cha me. co' ca? lo+.i la^~n ha.i. Mo^.t ma(.t ti'ch cu+.c la` giu+~ ca'c em ca.nh gia ddi`nh va` thoa't kho?i a?nh hu+o+?ng cu?a ca'c ba(ng dda?ng tre? em ddu+o+`ng pho^', theo lo+`i nha` ta^m ly' ho.c Jose Luis Harb, cu+.u gia'm ddo^'c nha ca?i hua^'n. Harb no'i the^m ra(`ng co' con ca'i be^n ca.nh thu+.c su+. giu'p i'ch cho ngu+o+` i tu` nha^n trong vie^.c phu.c ho^`i, nha^t la` ve^` ma(.t xu'c ca?m va` ta^m ly'.

Trong the^' gio+'i la.nh lu`ng tho+` o+ cu?a tra.i tu`, su+. hie^.n die^.n cu?a tre? em la` no^~i an u?i cho me. hay cha va` co' the^? giu'p va`o vie^.c giu+~ ho. kho^ng quay la.i hu't ma tu'y va` uo^'ng ru+o+.u.

Tuy nhie^n co' nhu+~ng quan nga.i ve^` ta'c du.ng cu?a mo^i tru+o+`ng kho^ng to^'t ddo^'i vo+'i su+. pha't trie^?n cu?a ddu+'a tre?, cu~ng nhu+ ve^` nhu+~ng ru?i ro khi dde^? tre? em ga^`n gu~i vo+'i bo.n to^.i pha.m ke^? ca? nhu+~ng ke? sa't nha^n hay ha~m hie^'p.

"Cho dde^'n nay chu+a co' tru+o+`ng ho+.p na`o ta'c ddo^.ng dde^'n su+. an toa`n cu?a tre? em ddu+o+.c ba'o ca'o vi` tu` nha^n ddu+o+.c to^? chu+'c dde^? ba?o ve^. ca'c em," theo lo+`i Vilma Velasco, mo^.t nha` hoa.t do^.ng ba?o ve^. tre? em. Trong pha^`n lo+'n ca'c ma(.t, Israel va` ca'c em kha'c o+? nha` tu` San Pedro so^'ng cuo^.c ddo+`i tu+o+ng tu+. nhu+ ca'c tre? em be^n ngoa`i.

Em Jorgito Encinas, co' cha la` ngu+o+`i Peru bi. tu` vi` buo^n la^.u ma tu'y, ddu+o+.c coi la` mo^.t trong ca'c em tho^ng minh nha^'t o+? San Pedro. Mo^~i sa'ng em va` ca'c em nho? kha'c ddo+.i gia'm thi. nha` giam mo+? co^?ng tru+o+'c dde^? ca'c em ddi ho.c o+? mo^.t tru+o+`ng ddi.a phu+o+ng. DDe^'n chie^`u ca'c em ve^`, xe^'p ha`ng ddi qua mo^.t tra.m kie^?m soa't dde^? ngu+o+`i ga'c soa't xe't ca(.p sa'ch vo+? cu?a ca'c em ti`m xem co' ru+o+.u, ma tu'y hay ca'c mo'n ddo^` ma` nha` tu` ca^'m chi? hay kho^ng. Ca'c em lo+'n trong khi ddo' o+? trong nha` tu` va`o gio+` ho.c dde^? ho.c nghe^` mo^.c, thu? co^ng nghe^. va` ca'c nghe^` khe'o tay kha'c. Ca'c em thu+o+`ng thi dda' banh trong sa^n tra.i tu`, vo+'i cha cu?a ca'c em va` nhu+~ng pha.m nha^n kha'c hoan ho^ co^? vo~ ca'c em.

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Do You Know Your Right Salary?
 

Today, let 's discuss about our average salary. I hope that you will participate in this discussion. Per a condensed version of the National Engineering Search Engineering Salary Survey (https://www.nesnet.com/salary.html), compiled annually in July, 1997, attracted from 5,778 of a 16,500 responses, the highest and lowest 15% were deleted for statistical accuracy, 96% held a BS, 43% earned a MS or Ph. D in an engineering discipline and 9% have a MBA.

Average Salary by Discipline

    Software    58K

    EE 50K

    ME 53K

Average Salary by Industry

    Aerospace/Defense     45K

    Automobile      59K

    Business Machines     50K

    Chemical/Petroleum     55K

    Computer/Electronics     50K

    Consumer Products     45K

    Medical 52K

    Industrial Equipment     55K

    Telecommunications     59K

Average Salary by Region

    NorthWest  59K

    MidAtlantic  55K

    SouthEast  53K

    MidWest  57K

    UpperMidWest   57.5K

    SouthCentral     46K

    Rockies  45K

    Pacific  59K

Average Salary by Years

    0  32K

    5  43K

    10  49K

    15  59K

    20  61K

While average salary increases were 2.7%, less than 900 (of 5,778) respondents received >6% and 1,089 received no increase (146 received decreases). Those making under $41,500 did better, with increases exceeding 7%. Senior engineers and managers earning over $85,000 (8.9% of 5,778) saw an average increase of 3.2%. The heaviest demand for engineers is coming from companies with less than 200 employees.

Engineering graduates command top starting salaries... averaging $32,394 in 1995... only behind physicians, lawyers and commercial airline pilots. An overall salary increase from last year averaged +2.7%. 63% of the salary survey indicated they are working longer weeks (averaging 45.5 hours), 8% were paid overtime. 77% felt that company sponsored technical training was inadequate, 46% said they had never been offered training by their current employer. 67% believed that engineers have less impact on corporate direction than they did three years ago, and 34% reported that product roll-out schedules at their company were unrealistic (16% checked "under funded" as a subset of unrealistic). 97% do not own stock in the company t hat employs them - 78% said their company makes no provision for employee stock ownership.

Source: National Engineering Search Engineering

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Humorous Quotes - Speech Goofs

"I want to make sure everybody who has a job wants a job."
--George Bush, during his first Presidential campaign

"This is a great day for France!"
--Richard Nixon, while attending Charles De Gaulle's funeral

"Now, like, I'm President. It would be pretty hard for some drug guy to
come into the White House and start offering it up, you know? ... I bet
if they did, I hope I would say, 'Hey, get lost. We don't want any of that.'"
--George Bush, talking about drug abuse to a group of students

"For seven and a half years I've worked alongside President Reagan. We've
had triumphs. Made some mistakes. We've had some sex ... uh... setbacks."
--George Bush

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy. But that could change."
--Dan Quayle

"Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the
Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here."
--Dan Quayle during a visit to Hawaii in 1989

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind--or not to have a mind. How true
that is."
--Dan Quayle addressing the United Negro College Fund

"I am honored today to begin my first term as the Governor of Baltimore
that is Maryland."
--William Donald Schaefer, first inaugural address

"The caribou love it. They rub against it and they have babies. There are
more caribou in Alaska than you can shake a stick at."
--George Bush, on the Alaska pipeline

"I hope I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, anti-racism. This is what
drives me."
--George Bush

"If I listened to Michael Dukakis long enough I would be convinced that
we're in an economic downturn and people are homeless and going without
food and medical attention and that we've got to do something about the
unemployed."
--Ronald Reagan

"My fellow Americans, I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever.
We begin bombing in five minutes."
--Ronald Reagan, about to go on the air for a radio broadcast, unaware that
the microphone was already on

"Mars is essentially in the same orbit. Mars is somewhat the same distance
from the sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are
canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is
oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."
--Dan Quayle

"Now we are trying to get unemployment to go up and I think we're going to
succeed."
--Ronald Reagan

AND GREAT MOMENTS IN POLITICAL DEBATES: Walter Mondale: George Bush
doesn't have the manhood to apologize. Bush: Well, on the manhood thing,
I'll put mine up against his any time.

"I'm not against the blacks and a lot of the good blacks will attest to that."
--Evan Mecham, then governor of Arizona

"Nixon has been sitting in the White House while George McGovern has been
exposing himself to the people of the United States."
--Frank Licht, then governor of Rhode Island, campaigning for McGovern in 1972

"Winfield goes back to the wall. He hits his head on the wall and it rolls off! It's
rolling all the way back to second base! This is a terrible thing for the Padres!"
--Jerry Coleman, Padres radio announcer

They X-Rayed my head and found nothing.
--Jerome "Dizzy" Dean

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history...this century's
history.... We all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."
-Dan Quayle

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Do you think of your retirement days yet?

Here is an interesting article about retirement of Stan Hinden, a financial columnist.

"... In fact, much of what has happened to me since I retired has been a surprise. Some of the surprises have been positive, some negative. But they all have taught me some important lessons about retirement life...

... Staying active, mentally and physically, is important to me. All the experts agree that it strengthens your body and your brain. It also helps you counteract the temptation to start thinking of yourself as old...

... My advice is: Start saving as early as possible. Save as much as you can. Save regularly -- even if you can afford only small amounts. And stay with your investments -- even when turbulent markets tempt you to sell...

... So, what's the bottom line on retirement? For me, it has been an adventure, a new phase of life that is full of financial, emotional and physical challenges -- as well as opportunities for personal achievement and satisfaction. I've come to like it. And if I had it to do over, I would retire sooner than I did..."

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/07/090l-060798-idx.html

Contributed by Le Minh

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Silicon Valley

A lot of these are true. If you ever lived in Irvine or any city in south Orange county, you won't think about staying in Silicon Valley for too long...

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM SILICON VALLEY WHEN:

- You make $120,000 a year, but can't find a place to live.

- You see nothing but expensive cars because of the above.

- You are interviewing for entry level job, but won't take less than 50K.

- Your commute time is 45 minutes and you live 8 miles from work.

- You can always blame on traffic for being late.

- You stop asking how much things cost and start asking "How long will it take?"

- You know vast and subtle differences between Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Cantonese, and Korean food.

- Your home computer contains mostly hardware/software that isn't on the consumer market yet.

- You go to "The City" on weekends but don't live there because you like your car.

- You think that "I'm going to Fry's Electronics" is an acceptable excuse to leave the office for a while. And your boss does too.

- You lost/never had/don't know how to set/ the alarm clock. You'll just get to work when you get there.

- You go to an industrial-heavy-metal bar and see two guys get into a fight over what flavor of UNIX is better.

- You own more than 10 articles of clothing that have hardware and/ or software companies printed on them. (Bonus for embroidered stuff.)

- You know where Woz Way, Resistor Ave, and Floppy Drive are located.

- You know Hwy 280 North runs west, and Hwy 680 North runs East.

- Even though Microsoft employs quite a few programmers in the Bay Area, they only work on Powerpoint, and the company is still the embodiment of Satan. (Even if their stock IS worth more than yours.)

- You see a billboard that says "FGPA2ASIC" and aren't fazed.

- When you need the updated Diamond Monster 3D drivers, you just walk across the street.

- You have more bandwidth in your apartment or condo than most major universities.

- You have to hire security to keep the panhandlers off your terrace. (Oakland/Berkeley).

- None of the people you work with are bible thumpers.

- Your favorite computer reseller speaks only Cantonese.

- No one brings radios into work - they just use RealAudio and listen to thedj.com, rebelradio.com, or other out-of-state stations.

- You don't understand how the carpool lanes work because you normally don't commute during those hours.

- You meet a friend for lunch and the first topic is where they are working now.

- You go to the movies and EVERYBODY claps along with the SciFi theme music.

- You entice prospective employees to join your company by bragging about the speed of your internet connection.

- You've replaced your box of floppies with a box of Zip disks, but that's just until you get your box of Jaz disks.

- You have completely forgotten how to write longhand.

- You have to think twice before you realize that "beta blocker" is a medical term, not some new exotic software.

- You think Steve Jobs is a "hunk."

- You really meant to change the oil in your car 50,000 miles ago.

- You suddenly realize that the face of the person you live with - usually a husband or wife - looks really familiar, but several years older.

- Your kids grew up and went to college but your palm-top still has a standing notation to drop by Toys 'R' Us to pick up a dozen packs of disposable diapers --- but the store is always closed when you finally get there. (Your kids potty-trained themselves.)

- You know the name of the manager of every Starbuck's in a hundred-mile radius.

- You know that "PARC" isn't some place to walk your dog.

- Your dog died of inattention.

- So did your cat.

- You spend more time checking the value of your stock options than you do at the gym, but you're still paying $25 monthly for a membership to a place you haven't visited in 18 months.

Contributed by MaiLy Pham

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