20 years!

[Dj_Jestar]

I've been posting on OcUK for over 20 years now. I'm a little late as it was summer of 2001 I joined.

My 10 year old 10 year thread: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/so-ive-been-posting-on-these-forums-for-10-years.18283186/

What's changed for me this time?

• I have a house (and mortgage .. groan), and two wonderful daughters
• Career has changed quite dramatically. At the time of my 10 year thread I was content at my then-employer. I was summoned for jury service (see next point for more detail) and during my time on the jury, the company metaphorically fell apart and soon after went in to administration. Following this I set out to just learn (and earn) as much as I could, without committing myself to any one company. I have been much happier changing job much sooner when I am unhappy instead of sticking it out at one place, trying/hoping to fix things, shackled by a made up fear that I would struggle to find other work.
  
• Jury service. In February of 2012 I was summoned for Jury duty, and was selected for a case that lasted 6 months. It was, to my complete surprise, a very exhausting and emotional experience.
  
  • My employer pleaded (begged, even) with me, and the courts, to dismiss me so that I could resume my duties, however the court decided I should be on the jury. This turned out to be quite catastrophic for the company (to my utter astonishment) and eventually they went into administration. I was jobless when I left jury duty. I took this opportunity to really aim high, and wonderfully it worked out. My confidence in my own abilities etc has simply rocketed since, and now I am in a position that is drastically more senior than I ever expected, commanding factors more income than I was 10 years ago, too.
  • The case it self was a fraud case of pretty gargantuan proportions. Multiple defendants were on trial for stealing hundreds of millions in unpaid taxes. After the case concluded, we also learnt that there were many more defendants in separate trials, and in multiple countries. Most of the 6 months was spent following the (by design) excessively intricate and confusing paper trails across the globe to follow the money and communications of the defendants, unravelling the complexity of the fraud mechanisms themselves. All the while under the (self-imposed?) pressure of understanding that I am there (as part of the jury) to determine the liberty of the people in that glassbox, so I owe it to them and society to make sure I don't miss any details of the case. This was made worse by the amazing display of ignorance and unwillingness by some of the other jurors (there is now absolutely no doubt in my mind that the jury are both the weakest, and strongest, link in our justice system). Essentially I "crammed" for 6months, which I am sure is obvious was bloody exhausting. When the case finished I needed a few days to recover, and to also process the relief I felt that it was finally over.

Notable (non-obvious) differences outside of personal life:

• Social media seems to be prominent everywhere. TV shows are filled with YouTubers, Instagram bunnies, and other "Influencers" who are famous for talking trash in pseudo-hack journalism style. Even finding a new job (in software, at least) has a "social media" lens (via LinkedIn) but also a subtle social side in that being active and social on GitHub and the like is seen as a huge boon and is basically mandatory if you want to be noticed.
  
• Politics has never been so polarised in my lifetime. Even when excluding brexit. The above point is probably the primary antagonist. Or Putin. Or both.
  
• ... Not much else. The last ten years has been a blur and doesn't feel like ten years, at least comparatively to the previous ten, which is completely normal experience I expect

Here's to another 10!

 

[Dj_Jestar]

Were the defendants found guilty or not guilty after all that?

Some were, some were not. There was a racket in play and some of the defendants had been framed (by the other defendants).

Still angry, Jenk?

At different things, yes though no where near as much as I was in my tweenies.

 

[Dj_Jestar]

Pah, newbie. Pre-nuke is where it's at. But considering your join date are you sure you're not pre-nuke?

From the ten year thread:

before anyone points out my Join date, there was a big Forum nuke in October 2002

Forgive me if I’ve missed it but what did you do that - in your absence - brought down (or at least contributed to it) both employers?

Fair play for sticking out the jury service, a mate did a few months and ended up in some protection scheme after the defendants were convicted!

I’m glad I’ve never (yet!) been called up for it.

At the time I was tech lead at a small (just two 8 person teams) software agency. Their main client wasn't happy with the drop in productivity whilst I was away and ultimately decided to move on. The rest of the team resigned at this point, and the loss of that client was enough to send the company on the decline. Note that this (I) wasn't the only factor, I'm not that good There had been some squabbles about the contract for a few months before I started on the jury, but it most certainly didn't help things when the value being delivered had a significant dent put into it.