But I had no complaints about the place, or any of the other Silicon Valley or Pittsburgh hi-tech outfits I worked for. I made big bucks and had lots of bennies, and even my layoff was due to unpredictable global economic and military conditions which were impossible to prepare for.

Of course, it was a seller's market for engineering programmers with spook clearances in those days.

After the cold war ended, you couldn;t get a job for love or money in the Valley. I was out of work for 15 months until I got a job with County Government in Port Charlotte Florida, at 40% of the salary I was earning in Mountain View.

In fact, I've had pretty good luck with all my private sector jobs, except for my 5 years learning the air-photo mapping industry from a couple of mom-and-pop outfits while I was working my way through grad school.

I learned the difference between blue and white collar really well, and I have not forgotten it.