Sunday 24 February 2008

Girl Geek Dinner 01 - Picnic in the Park

We're doing something for International Women's Day (IWD). Actually, it is technically the day after IWD - Sunday the 9th of March at 11am.

We're having a Picnic in the Park. See the GGD Sydney blog for details and a map.

Guys, come along too if you can find a geek girl date.

Thursday 21 February 2008

Girl Geek Dinner 0 Delivered!

It's amazing what you can pull together in three weeks with a couple of powerhouse sponsors, the help of a fantastic functions manager at a restaurant and a colour inkjet printer.

The first Girl Geek Dinner in Sydney was a success!!

Monday 18 February 2008

Girl Geek Dinner Zero Venue Change

Due to a bigger number of RSVPs than we were expecting, the venue for Dinner Zero of Girl Geek Dinners in Sydney has had to be changed. It's now at Chinta Ria (still in Cockle Bay).

Same date and time - 21st of Feb @ 6pm. Get there early to get a seat.

Let me know if you can make. See you there!

Che Damana


While organising the Sydney Girl Geek Dinners, I have heard some interesting advice and comments from non-girls (is that the PC term??) on the direction the group should take.

A lot of the drive behind the group is to support women who work in technical male-dominated fields. Today I was told that it might be a mistake to make the group too political. I think the comment was in reference to me saying that I want to talk about one role for the group being to empower women in technology by sharing experiences, pains, wins and wisdom (not just mine but more that of the collective).

The group has other roles - networking for geeks rather than marketing and recruitment types; socialising with people (male || female) who speak the same language as you and won't ask you to fix their computer; support in knowing that you are not alone out there even if there are forty two guys to every woman; sharing technical knowledge in a comfortable environment; and encouraging women to stay in this industry or return to it.

Is that political? If it is then Viva La RevoluciĆ³n!

Monday 11 February 2008

Resignation

Over the years I have known many interesting geeks and from them I have collected stories about different ways to resign from your job. The names have changed to protect the innocent but the stories are as I heard them.

A resigned after a long day of hard work on a stupid software change that ended with his boss yelling at him for missing something he was supposed to gather via osmosis. A walked out of work, went home and sent a txt saying "I quit! Don't expect me tomorrow." He never returned.

B, after many weeks of commenting someone else's code and feeling demoralised, was asked to go in to his manager's office for a chat. After a scathing speech about doing your time on boring/painful work to be rewarded with good work in the distant future (from one of those managers who made it to his position after lots of years of doing time) B went home, slept and happily handed in his resignation letter the next day.

C sat in the office listening to the comparison of the applicants for a graduate position and the reasons why the one had been chosen. It went something like "She's really hot! She was probably equal best in the interview but with much better legs". C asked if it was right to hire someone for that reason and commented on it being sexist. After being told she also was cute and to adapt to the way things work in the world, C decided it wasn't worth adapting to the way dirty old men see the world. She walked out with a box of stuff of her stuff, some office pens and tissue boxes that afternoon. A friend at work let them know they'd be hiring again the next day.

T had been frustrated with his job for a long time. He wasn't being challenged. He was being made to work on projects that were technically bad with little opportunity to contribute. His friends, family and workmates received an email from T explaining his frustrations and telling when his last day would be. This was the first anyone, including his managers had heard about this.

I think that with friends like this, I'd really have to up the ante to top them. Maybe a blog post, a plane to write it across the sky or a 30 second ad at the Superbowl. Luckily for me the idea can wait since there is no need for a creative exit right now.

Are there better stories out there?

ThoughtWorks gives us chocolate and support

ThoughtWorks has been kind enough to sponsor the first ever Girl Geek Dinner in Sydney!

Saturday 2 February 2008

Acknowledge Me

Apple started a user experience trend many iOSes ago when it accepted Settings changes and did not ask for confirmation. Once the chang...