And for this, they'll pay me, too?

So. How do I earn a living as a respectable member of the community? (Wait. Respectable? Me? Ha!)

My stock answer is: "I scream at machines for a living." Well, ok. So screaming at computers is a by-product of what I do. But, by golly, you've got to put the machine it its place. Think of shouting and waving fists at the machine as a way to exorcise the demons of stupidity. (And, no, I won't say whose stupidity. On this matter I readily invoke the Fifth Amendment. Ahem.)

I'm a software engineer working for a federal contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). I specialize in C/C++ wrangling for GIS and image processing related projects.

Currently I'm working on a contract for the United States Geological Survey at their headquarters, which is located in scenic, pastoral Reston, Virginia. Most of my software development is related to the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS). I work with the way-cool folks at the Mid-Continent Mapping Center in Rolla, Missouri. If I'm very good, they even let me visit.