Wanted: PHP Programmer for Onsite Gig in Alabama

I just spoke with a head hunter who is looking for a solid php programmer for an onsite project in Alabama.  After being intrigued and wanting to take it I realized that for a few personal reasons I just can't travel at present.  If you're interested then drop me a line (sjohnson AT fuzzygroup.com) and I'll forward you onto the right person. 

Notes from discussion:

• Starts asap
• Web application
• Solid PHP experience, preferably w/ transportation / logistics experience or manufacturing
• Environment: PHP, Linux, Apache, Oracle
• Just lost a person so it is a hurry up and rush situtation

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Trackback in Radio

I got an IM from someone asking about how to use Trackback in Radio and I have to confess that I don't really have a clue.  Thoughts anyone?

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Saving the Economy

Scoble has a position on saving the economy:

The best way to get this economy cranking again is to get rich people (and those VC funds) to invest in companies again. Why is that? Because if you just hand a poor person $400, they won't really change their spending all that much. Why? Because most of them are in credit card debt. Hell, most of the middle class is that way too. So, all you are gonna do is help out the banks who'll then have even more resources to keep trying to get me deeper in debt (you should see how many credit-card-junk-mail proposals I get everyday).

Compare that to what happens if we talk VC's into starting 100 new companies, each funded with $6 million. Hey, look at Woz's new company: "Wheels of Zeus." He got $6 million in funding. He's hired a dozen or so workers. They are now employed through at least next year. What do those workers do? They feel confident. They buy new houses. New cars. They go to Valley Fair and buy their girlfriends presents. They go to Los Gatos and go out to dinner. That six million is multiplied too, because of the credit card effect. A confident worker will borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a house.

...

Now, how do we do that? Well, make it cheaper to start a new company. Let's say we have a 18-month window where it's free to start a company. The government stops charging fees and taxes to new companies. They make it much easier to incorporate. They match investment in new companies. Imagine if Larry Ellison were to get $6 million to match the $6 million he invests in a new company.  [_Go_]

Now don't get me wrong -- I'd like this as much as the next geek but let's tease this apart and play with it. 

1. Hm.... Sounds a lot like the dot com boom all over again.  And we all know (and still endure) the daily global hangover to that "binge of global manic-depression" (we were manic and now we're depressed).
2. The VCs will *HATE* this.  Why?  Because it is just as hard to manage a $6 million investment as it is a $30 million investment.  You don't really think these guys want to work hard, do you?
3. Economic tinkering generally doesn't work.  As I've blogged previously, I'm not a fan with this kind of tinkering -- when you don't understand something (and we don't understand the economy) then twiddling it often turns out bad results.
4. How do you prevent this from resulting in a lot of H1-B workers being hired?  Or does that even matter?

One thing to bear in mind -- and I know this is hard but remember I'm in this with everyone else and a small business owner too -- economies are cyclica.  Bad times are inevitable.  Things will get better.

Now while I don't agree with this proposal, Scoble does end with a real goodie:

Look at why new companies aren't starting up in Silicon Valley right now. It's too expensive. It's too hard to do. Taxes are too high. Wages are too high. Health-care costs are too high.

Holy s%$t, there's another solution. Nationalize health-care. Instead of giving tax cuts, give Americans free health care. You know what that does? It makes it a lot easier to start a new company and hire people. [_Go_]

Now that is a damn good idea -- some kind of minimum level basic health care.  Here's even a way to fund it -- tort reform on damages in malpractice cases.  I.e. if you participate in the national health care plan then you GIVE UP your right to sue in the event of a medical problem.  Is this a good solution?  Perhaps not.  Is it better than our current travesty of a health care system?  Yes.

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