Hey DC'ers.  I come asking this here (as opposed to /., reddit, etc.) because I know the culture here.  Good people, with varied views, trying to promote good welfare for all. :)  I'm proud to be a part of this community for a while.

While I don't always agree with everyone's views (who can?) I do respect (and have been equally respected) the views of members of the great culture.

Here is my situation:  I started working with Hadoop Administration a few months ago.  I'm now on the Center for Excellence Team for a Fortune 20 company (1 of 4 key members (as defined by our VP)).  I'm working with some brilliant men.  I'm humbled to be a part of the team.  I think we have a chance to produce some potentially significant improvements to Hadoop in general (Yeah, these guys are that good.). 

My problem is this: (get ready to laugh)
We could bust our asses, work for the man, update our resumes (CV's) and go somewhere else and make +x% income.  Or, we could start a pizza & beer franchise.  :D
College campuses would never be the same if we went that route.

How do you decide something like this?  I'm not joking, the business model we have should be wildly successful.

"Ken Starks has helped a lot of people. He's personally placed a lot of computers in homes that couldn't otherwise afford them. Now he needs our help - not to build more computers or train more people or spread more free-software love, but to stay alive."


http://www.indiegogo.com/helios

http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2012/08/this-is-where-we-are.html

Help if you can. :)

Once in a while you realize that things are really pretty swell.  Allow me to share:

1) I'm a Linux Engineer, so I get to do stuff I like almost every day.
2) I'm on the Open Source Development initiative at work... we're planning a completely OSS, PaaS solution for Green Field projects. 
3) I'm dating a really nice young lady and we spent almost the whole last weekend together.
4) New (to me) Car!
  - I crashed my 1999 car 2 weeks ago  :-[
  - Ins. covered my rental car
  -  Total loss covered my loan pay off and after my deductable, they're sending me ~$500.  :Thmbsup:
  - New car is a 2009 w/ 25,000 miles and it is WAY FUN to drive.  :greenclp:
  - No one was injured in the crash
5) I just finished Angry Birds Seasons w/ 3 *'s on every level plus all eggs.

Life is good, sometimes you just need to celebrate the little things.   :D

I'm sure I'm not the only one happy this week... share the happy! 

Woot!