So the procedure is to check out all the old file versions you need to fix while also locking all the current versions of those files (so other people can't change them). Then make your fixes, check the files back in. At this point you have "old" current files which people can't work on, so check out the real current files and check them back in so that those files are on top, and do it before anyone checks them out and makes changes. Conceptually easy unless you have dozens of files to fix (which would indicate a major problem in any case). End digression.

We get to the second slide of the presention: how to leapfrog. About now Pick has called in to the conference, having finally woken up. Another big argument on why leapfrogging doesn't technically work. Kuzmicki and Prasad are both eager to point out how in certain cases you'll end up with incompatible patches that could lead to a mess at a customer site, plus the sheer amount of work it would take to determine the exact file level at a problem site. This goes on for a good hour plus while the rest of us are silently laughing at the travesty of it all.

Eventually, finally, mercifully it's over. We've only gone over two slides (though I can't really think of what else would need to be said, but I don't know the topic at all). What did I get out of it? Holger stressed that we must try to have customers use our regular minipacks to fix bugs, discourage one- off patching, and somehow magically convince customers to do something they don't want to do. I learned the basics of leapfrogging, though I hope to never have to do it (especially since I've never made a patch before). But it looks like we'll have to reconvene to talk it over some more. Not that I don't think this is an important topic, but the arguments are rather time consuming and Holger brings it all on himself by encouraging people to speak their minds as long as they can back it up.

Now it's 12:30 and I have an hour plus before the first interview. I'm looking forward to getting some web surfing done but there's a voice mail waiting for me. It's Biao and he wants me to call him about Dynamic Reports. Wonder what's up as I return his call. Biao was my manager for a while, when I was stuck doing Dynamic Reports. Not a bad guy, but way too passive. One of the more important duties of a manager (in my opinion) is to keep the developers from getting pushed around by competing interests -- keep them focused on the current priorities. Biao really can't do that. He can't hold his ground.

Anyway, I call him and he's all friendly as usual. He wants to know if there's a working version of Dynamic Reports that he can look at. I say no and that it's a dead project, as Mike Graves as his group is working on a replacement I hear. Oops, that's Biao's group, so I guess maybe Biao is stuck with doing some sort of Dynamic Reports replacement. Well, can he take a look at my code? I say sure, I'll email him the location. Unfortunately, the code was nulled in ARCS and in the work branch (because we lost the use of a third party product so now the code doesn't compile and we had to do something to get the rest of the code to compile for the last freeze). But there's still a version in the main branch so I copy that to Unix and email Biao the list and some brief notes.

Oh, almost forgot. During the conversation Biao mentions that he knows one of the people I'm interviewing today. Jiandong. Seems they met at college in China, though Jiandong only has a BS equivalent and Biao has a PhD (though come to think of it, I don't know where he got his PhD). So I ask him about Jiandong and Biao's pretty noncomittal, though he always is so that's not a surprise. I'm thinking that I wish Biao hadn't said anything as it may now affect my judgement.

A little before 14:00 and Rosalia shows up. She was actually recommended by Jax (and I found out later, not from her as she was quite vague, that they used to be housemates). She's pretty good looking, but that can't really be a factor when interviewing. So here's what I'm looking for in a resume. Education has become pretty important. What major, what school and did you attend postgraduate school? There should be some sort of Computer Science degree there somewhere, and even better if it's a CS Engineering degree. I know that people say that having a well rounded education is helpful, but you still need at least one CS degree and I wouldn't mind two. Unfortunately Rosalia only has an MIS degree, not even a BS but a BA.

(continued)