Lessons for Survival in Corporate America

 I am not good at Corporate America.  But I've created some rules.

A.) They don't like you.  They like the idea of you but they don't like you.  They like the idea of you because your work makes their dreams come true.  But if they could get rid of you and keep your work they would in a heartbeat.  Because they don't like you.  They like the idea of you doing what they say and making them more powerful and richer.  So they don't really want to get to know you or hear what you have to say. They just want you to work, smile, STFU, and collect your check until you part ways. They want you to be a good soldier and a good soldier is a silent soldier that follows orders.

B.)  You are not equals.  If an executive says something crazy you have to laugh and say that's great.  But if you say the exact same thing, it's totally different.  In the military they call it different spanks for different ranks.  You are not all equal.  So don't even think about the idea of equality.

C.) The bosses do not like you being comfortable.  If you are a black man, especially you.  Corporate events are for showing face but primarily to make the bosses feel better.  They are not for fun.  People will be treated differently according to their rank, importance, pay, and cultural compatibility, meaning if your bosses do not look like you, you will be held to a higher standard.  They do not like you to be comfortable.  They like you to be nervous because it feeds their ego.  So fake it, if you're confident.  Be nervous.  And if you can't fake it, say hello, goodbye, and leave.  Do not be confident and happy.  You do not know the internal life of people.  If they are not happy, your happiness as a low-level employee might offend them.  If they are not confident, your confidence as a low-level employee might offend them.  So say hello, say goodbye, and go somewhere where you can be yourself.  But not at work. 

Work is not for being yourself.  Work is for working and leaving.  Cultivate relationships with those who are most like you within your group.  And no one else.

Super Powers

My life right now is very weird, in a good way. 

 

First, my life is weird in a good way because I am getting better at programming.  I had plans to build this proxy engine.  And today around 8 pm I started building a piece of it.  And completely that piece completely.  And now it's done. It's almost midnight. 

Now I have a couple more to build and that will be done.  But what's weird is how easy it was.  It was too easy.  I literally just whipped it up and it was done.  It took almost no real effort at all.

 

When you write a new joke you have to really work on it and hone it and then write a joke.  But writing software is the complete opposite.  You can and basically are encouraged to write stuff that you can use over and over.  So writing new software becomes easier, ironically, the more you write software. Eventually you build up a library of software but unlike books, you don't have to re-read it.  You just plug it in.  It's plug and play.

 

I now basically have a library of software that is pretty much plug and play.  And now I almost have a proxy engine as well.  I could actually set up another one right now and have two.

 

It is now 11;56 pm.  I'll be right back ... it's 12:02 AM.  Six minutes.  (Note:  Update:  This is a lie.  :-|  I'm still working on this now two days later.)  Now granted it was super easy because it was an identical webpage structure for the scrape.  But still.  Even if things are identical and I'm scraping two sections of the same site with identical structures I shouldn't be able to do it in six minutes.  But I did (I'm running it manually now to make sure it works).    But it's pretty much done (as long as it doesn't break in testing).

 

That's ludicrous.  In order to work out a new joke or new content you have to continuously test it for weeks and the shelf life on it?  Who knows?  I built this in six minutes.  And I'll build another one tomorrow and it shouldn't take very long either.  It's ludicrous how quick this stuff is once you build the basics of a scraper.   

 

The compounding nature of software development is amazing.   The more you build the more you can use the less you actually HAVE to build.  And then you can move onto other things.  

 

I think this will help me greatly with The TOC.  I think I should be able to get very far on my own without hiring anybody.  I think I should be able to get there alone.   

 

Furthermore what's crazy is last night I went out b/c it was Saturday.  And while I was out my server kept working.  It kept gathering more proxies while I was out and this morning my proxy engine kept working.  Every hour it keeps working and I do nothing and it keeps working.  It's amazing.  

I literally have an employee that I don't have to feed and pay very little and it keeps working in perpetuity.  And it still can do more work.

This is the most exciting part for me.  I'm not trading hours for dollars.  I'm trading flops, cycles, hopefully in the future for dollars.  But that's incredible to me, that now I have this resource that will continue to work with or without me and all I have to do is occasionally monitor it.

 

It's amazing. I can develop software faster and now it just works without me having to really bother with it.  It's incredible. 

 

It almost feels like magic. 

 

Come to think of it, I've never felt this way about comedy.  But I do feel this way about software.  It is magical.  They say that's how you should feel about your life's work.  And that's how I feel.

Corporate Branded Negro

    I've been Black all of my life.  And today, I can say without any hesitation, is the most dangerous time to be black I've ever seen.

    I would say a dog whistle has been blown but it's actually the sound of a steam whistle and that sound tells me that I'm not safe. 

    Now this is not some theoretical nonsense about how I don't feel safe.  I'm a New Yorker.  Feelings are not my part in parcel.  I'm not safe.  I know I'm not safe.  Because I've experienced it.  

     I live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  Yes, that Manhattan.  I'm not talking about small town Georgia here or a backward suburb of Florida.  I'm talking about New York City where Tom Collichio doesn't just appear on Top Chef but appears in his restaurant fifteen minutes away.  I'm talking about the New York where two towers were razed and six more were raised in their place.  I'm talking about a city where I've seen a rat will fight a dog.  And win.  

     My city is an urban hydra which doesn't die, it endures and adapts.  And curiously enough, it's children,  it's citizens, particularly it's native born sons and daughters, are the same.  One time I was driving through a small town in North Carolina in the early hours of the morning and I saw  a neon sign lit up bright that said "Bagel Land!  Boiled Hand Rolled Bagels Made Fresh Every Morning at 5 AM!".  It was 4:30.  My only thought: Those are my people.

     And as a child of the hydra I can tell you for the first time I don't feel safe.  In this recent environment I have gone to restaurants, seen people sitting and been told, we're closed.  The only difference between me and the patrons, I looked like the coffee, and they the cream.  I thought Jim Crow was dead.  To my chagrin he simply calls himself James now and spells his last name with an E.

     I have been riding in a shared ride, pre-pandemic, and been punched in the face repeatedly for requesting to be left alone.  I have been attacked by multiple people and sneered at outside my own door by government officials suspicious, in a society where black is assumed to mean poor, how I could afford to live there?  Surely I had traveled there to cause trouble.

    And yet, a curious thing happened to me the other day.  I was going to work out at my gym, Planet Fitness.  Yes, I could afford Equinox but there are many brown people there and a brown staff and I enjoy brown spaces.  But PF is in Spanish Harlem so I have to travel there.  On this particular day I took an Electric Citibike.  As I stopped at a red light I noticed the hard suspicious stare of the NYPD.  I could feel it.  I've felt it before.  It's a predator's stare.  Now I refuse to think of myself as prey but I know when something is hunting me.  All humans do. It's in the DNA.  And I was being observed for signs of fear.

    And then just like that it let up.  The razor's edge in the air suddenly let up and it became light again.  And I became confused.  Happy.  But confused.  Why?  Why did this happen?  Why did they not continue to silently pressure me until the flow of traffic forced them forward?

    It happened again three days later.  Silent threat followed by a sudden click and then normalcy, an immediate lifting of menace, and once again all being right with the world.

    Then I looked at my clothing and it dawned on me.  It wasn't my Fly Knit Nikes or my Addidas Warm Ups.  It was my Lululemon Track jacket.  

    I wish I could tell my fellow Negros that Lululemon will keep you safe.  But it won't.  But a corporate logo will.

    A few years ago my company, flush with profits, gave everyone a choice of gifts: a jacket, a bag, or a wallet.  (Who would pick the wallet?)  I picked the jacket.  It was sleek and sharp and fitting. Think Kenneth Cole meets SpaceX.  But I never knew the most important part on it was the little corporate logo.

    I was safe, not because I was doing nothing wrong, not because I was a citizen, but because I was a corporately branded Negro. 

    This brand said "taxpayer". This brand said "this Negro belongs to somebody". Worst yet,  this brand said "if you hurt him people will notice, people who matter will notice".

    I was thrown into a twilight zone.  I was safe.  But was I safe because I was 'owned'?  Was I safe, and free from harrassment because I was part of a group?  No.  I was safe because I was part of a protected class.  

    Like babies in Japan black full time Corporate Americans are rare and necessary.  Not only do we provide valuable work product but we are a buffer between the Upper Management and the Politicians.  95% of the time we are left to do our jobs and are held to the same standard as everyone else.  But we all understand that 5% of the time we may be called upon to be diversity incarnate.   "Hey Curtis, can we use your picture on this website?"  I always reply 'Yes".  It's part of the game.  As Avon says, "It's either play or get played."

    We don't live in a perfect world.  I'm a Child of the Hydra. I understood that when I was seven.  But I never thought that my employers logo would actually keep me safe.

    I was always curious.  I hear stories all the time about Black people killed in an extra-judicial fashion.  And these stories are always followed up with this narrative about the perfect black person.  Victim Jenkins was an athlete, entering college, played football, loved staying in shape, didn't drink, didn't do drugs, never had, was cared for by his community,  had a girlfriend of years (they were engaged!), attended church, volunteered, and when he shat his fecal matter was speckled in gold leaf.

    But I'm not perfect.  I drink.  I have a sharp tongue.  I can be arrogant.  I laugh loudly.  I post questionable things on social media.  I sleep with random women, engaged women, married women.  I challenge racism where I see it in real time.  I challenge Patriots fans where I see them in real time.  I'm a mathematically enabled coder with a flair for conversation and a devil-may-care attitude. I can be contrarian. I can also be charming.  Stylistically I'm not Harry Belafonte.  I'm substance free Bobby Brown.

    I'm not the perfect black person because I'm not perfect.  My faults are multitude.  I often wondered what would happen if I were killed.  Would they find my treasure chest of flaws and blame me? Then I wore my jacket.  Thank God I have a corporate logo to protect me.  Thank God a corporate citizen in good standing vouches for me.  I used to feel like 3/5ths of a man.  Thank God my company gave me a 40% raise.

    Excuse me now.  I'm going to call my little brother.  I'm scared for him.  He has the same personality as me.  He laughs like me.  He talks like me.  He lives like me.  But he works for Wendy's.  God, I'm so scared.  On second thought, let me call a friend from my company.  Maybe we have a couple of extra jackets.

Sunday on Monday

 Sunday on Monday

The quiet whir of a fan

Badly cared for feet on soft hardwood floors

The sound of meetings happening with out me

 Bliss

 The only pressure on me is my go-go mind saying "Orange Juice"

It's whimsical yet demanding and still carefree

 Oh, day off how I've longed for thee

 They put me through the wringer last week

I snapped at them

"Stop.  I'm at my breaking point.  Actually just past it.  As you can tell I just broke. Enough."

 And that was enough.  

My Sunday spilled into Monday

But that's fine.  My Fridays have been spilling into my Saturdays as of late.

The quiet demand of Microsofts Products right there on my menu bar

Menu bar

Sounds like something you want to eat

But this you don't

Stop man-child-lover-whimsically intelligent-friend

Enough

Today is Monday topped with Sunday

And it's delicious

Where I'm @ and What I'm going to Do Next

So, here's where we are.

 

I could be shooting content right now and building that.  But I don't know.  I feel like I'm a bit old for that game.  Rather I feel like building ECS was a stepping stone.  It was a stepping stone to really learning how to build something as opposed to the build itself.  To put it frankly the destination was the journey.  Now I could start building a name for myself by using that platform to build content around it and I feel like it could be smart but I'm not really interested in entertaining people.

 To be honest, I've been thinking about what Peter Thiel said.  What he said was that competition was for suckers.  I'd be in direct competition with Eventbrite and Ticketmaster and why the hell would I want to do that.  Irt seems stupid to me.  Especially when I can take the skills that I've learned and start building something really fantastic.

 

Right now I'm learning about CSS from a production standpoint, including scss and the BEM model, things I didn't even come close to knowing before.  Also, I'm learning about responsive design.  I should be done learning about those things shortly.  Then I'm probably going to take the rest of the year and perfect those skills.  

After that I'm torn.  I really should be getting into web security in a big way.  And implementing web security in a production environment.  The only production environment I have is ECS.  

Maybe this is all of a piece.  Maybe I should be using my time now to actually build content. And then using that to drive traffic. And then redesigning the site and building content around it in order to drive traffic.  I don't know. I need to do a Pros/Cons Analysis.  

But I think I should do one episode or maybe five of the Curtis Sumpter Half Hour Comedy Hour.  And just do it and get it out there and see what happens. At least then I'll be able to maybe drive some traffic and build a test bed for this idea there as opposed to doing it from scratch.  But maybe I first learn this CSS stuff.  Finish this.  Build three projects.  And then build the CSHHCH Volume 1.  And then do some more CSS.  Then Volume 2.  Then more CSS and then Volume 3.  That should at least drive some platform adoption and allow me to continue to use this as a test bed for experimentation.

I think that's a good idea.

So let's go with that first.

 

Plan: Finish these videos and two beginner projects on frontendmentor.io.  Then put out one volume of the CSHHCH.  Then finish three more projects on frontendmentor.io.  Then put out one more volume of CSHHCH and continue to list shows from the TTC and Eastville.  Then do three more projects.  Then release volume 3 of CSHHCH.  Then do four more projects on frontendmentor.io.  Then release volume 4 of CSHHCH.  Then finish frontendmentor.io and redesign ECS.  Then release volume 5.  Then finish the book on Linux and read the book on Kali Linux hacking.

Marketing Experiments 2: Door Hangers

 Tonight I hung about 400 door hangers in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.  Everything up to Seneca is largely Hispanic and everything past Seneca is Eastern European and Chinese.  Ridgewood is Eastern European and Chinese.  Before Seneca is Hispanic.  I think a All Spanish show would do very well there.  Maybe Pedro Gonzalez, Melissa Diaz, Aida Rodriguez, and the Owner of the V-Spot (I forget his name), David Estrada.  The split was roughly 50/50 (I hung 50% in the Hispanic part of the neighborhood and 50% in the EE/Chinese part).  

Expectations: I'd expect the expectations here to be quite low to be honest. This is largely a white show, very Williamsberg-ish and the area isn't that white.  Even with no Hits it would be a success because just mapping the area is giving me a solid look into the neighborhood.

Another Thought:  There are lots of businesses around there.  If you did a All Spanish Show it would sell out but you should definitely do posters.

Bonuses:  There's a dope Hispanic Restaurant there that's beautiful and a great Mural that's very picturesque (barbers' clippers).

 

 

ECS Marketing Ideas

1.  Curtis Sumpter Comedy Hour - give out cds at music events.  Check songkick.com :D :D :D
2.  Build Out: youchooze.com
3.  Facebook Marketing Once I sell 100 tickets