Geeks and webheads don't like to admit it, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to be a computer programmer or work in technology. I've been a programmer for over a decade and have worked for several Fortune 500 financial institutions writing software for new startup divisions (all of which make billions in PROFIT; no chicanery or bailouts where I worked). All I have is a BA in History and Political Science. You can either get the knowledge in school or devote your every waking hour following the latest Asperger's-induced trend or do what I did: pick up a book and start programming. Granted it you take that last route you better pick up complex ideas like people change underwear and be very intellectually curious. It can be done and you can be doing some cutting edge stuff very fast. This is the dirty secret that geeks and nerds don't want to fess up to: it really isn't all that difficult to do their overpaid, pampered jobs if you just apply your average intellect to doing it right.
Tangentially it does. When I think Rocket Scientist (in first-letter caps) I think Werner von Braun or Goddard. The pioneers who did everything from theory to chemistry to get the things off the ground. These days everything is so specialized that it's hard to pinpoint who is the actual rocket scientist. Working at NASA does, however, make you the guy who works with the coolest gadgets in the known universe.
"Youthful Indiscretions" have evolved since my day. Back then, kids pulled bank heists, kidnapped Lindbergs, cheated at cards, and shived The Man. Now that was living.
Since this happened in the '90s, I'm hoping the shirts were the kind that had a different color for each panel of the shirt. God, those were ugly. I had at least one myself.
oh, shucks, there goes my chance at chief-assistant cigar-bearer to rahm emmanuel. i was busted in 94 for boosting a packet of bath salts. blush. bath salts. so cheap, i sold my political future. next time i'm going for major appliances.
@levari: Fortunately, there is no record of any misdemeanors for me---I put out for the Mall Cops who tried to bust me! So I guess that I'm GOOD TO GO.
Wait. 20 years ago? The dude's in his 30s. This happened just over 10 years ago, unless there are some OTHER indiscretions the White House is referring to...
Am I the only one who feels like this headline is overly sensational? We're talking about something worth less than $300 when he was in college. Gve me a break. He's accomplished so much since then and he's held previous government positions. I would assume the White House knew and chose to proceed with his appointment anyway because he's qualified for the job - and isn't that what should matter? Also, if memory serves correctly, wasn't our last president convicted of a DUI?
The third, more obvious, and likely correct scenario is that a PBJ is like an ACD in New York State (hello, Sheila!). If you get an ACD, you can answer "no" to a 'have you ever been convicted of a crime' question and it probably doesn't turn up in standard searches. And vetting forms probably don't ask "Have you ever been arrested?" (it wouldn't ask specifically for an PBJ, since each state probably has a different version).
Maryland complicates this with the J instead of the D, which would make this seem less breathless.
Sorry, but, not knowing the details, I'm gonna assume that whatever he did was probably something trifling that most people would not consider a big deal.
He was only 21 years old at the time, and the crime is petty theft. The item worth "less than $300" could be a garden gnome he swiped off of somebody's lawn after drinking at a college party.
That's my guess ... this was an act of youthful vandalism, probably with some drinking involved. I'm not saying such behavior is a good thing, but it certainly isn't enough to disqualify someone from U.S. being CIO, in my view.
@MisterHippity: Note also that age 21 + month of June = college graduation time for many folks.
I'm guessing that he'd finished all his classes and was partying with his college chums the night before the graduation ceremony. It would not surprise me if the item stolen was from a rival fraternity house.
@Aaron Altman: The same lawyers routinely tell their presidential clients who receive a BJ that they can legally state that they "did not have sexual relations with that woman."
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Tangentially it does. When I think Rocket Scientist (in first-letter caps) I think Werner von Braun or Goddard. The pioneers who did everything from theory to chemistry to get the things off the ground. These days everything is so specialized that it's hard to pinpoint who is the actual rocket scientist. Working at NASA does, however, make you the guy who works with the coolest gadgets in the known universe.
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Showed me, I guess.
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Maryland complicates this with the J instead of the D, which would make this seem less breathless.
03/17/09
He was only 21 years old at the time, and the crime is petty theft. The item worth "less than $300" could be a garden gnome he swiped off of somebody's lawn after drinking at a college party.
That's my guess ... this was an act of youthful vandalism, probably with some drinking involved. I'm not saying such behavior is a good thing, but it certainly isn't enough to disqualify someone from U.S. being CIO, in my view.
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@mattharvest:
Y'all need to learn you some MATH.
6/14/96 - 10/9/74 = 21 years and change.
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I'm guessing that he'd finished all his classes and was partying with his college chums the night before the graduation ceremony. It would not surprise me if the item stolen was from a rival fraternity house.
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Also, choosy lawyers tell clients to choose Jif.
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And man, was Clinton ever wrong about the legal implications of THAT kind of PBJ!