It always amazes me when I hear about people asking this question. Don't these hiring managers consider for a second how intrusive and rude it is? Aren't they concerned they may come across as douchebags for asking it? And yet I've been asked this several times by people that act like it's no big deal, like asking how was the traffic on the way in. Are they under pressure from the top? Or are hiring managers in general lacking in scruples?

I think it actually plays both ways - it's a way for me to give them an idea of what I'm expecting.

Intrusive, yes. Rude, no it's not.

I remember taking a programming course many years ago at a community college. I finished an assignment, which wasn't too hard, and decided to go on to an advanced, unassigned topic. The instructor came into the lab, and so I asked her to clarify something. She was visibly irritated with me and told me to stick to the assignment, then stormed out. I felt like a horrible person and kept asking myself "what is wrong with you?". Months or years later I realized I need to stop feeling guilty. I had not harmed anyone, and I think she did know the answer to the question I had asked.

Same with me. I'm disgusted that they did not do much about had trauma. I'm also disgusted that it is so difficult for me to watch games I want without paying a lot of money, even when they are in the past. A third think I'm disgusted with is that some of my favorite players will have a few bad games and then get cut from the team.

Where I work, we definitely get too many customer recommendations that are treated as show-stopping by someone in our business side. Often the customer will only vaguely remember making the recommendation a few months later, and it turned out to not be that important. Gee, thanks business people, for wasting 3 weeks of software engineer's time and lots of the owner's money!

I had a similar background, but in the U.S. I even lived close to a few big biotech companies, and I could not even get an interview, even when applying for entry-level jobs. Then I would hear from my friends and relatives that so-and-so with just a high school diploma got a job at one of those places. I got very angry and bitter. I had given up TV and video games for an entire decade to focus on my learning and education. I was never suicidal, but was finding it more and more difficult to get out of bed by 10 a.m. I think what helped me most of all were the stories of people that were much worse off than me, and experienced more tragedies, and yet were so kind and positive. I started thinking about these people more than my seemingly unfair situation, and life became much easier to cope with. So try focusing on inspiring stories. They will make life easier to handle and will give you an attitude that is much more attractive to employers.

It always amazes me that the people I know who are financially well-off almost always choose to live in an ugly McMansion. Voluntarily. I've determined that if I ever become well-off I'll buy an old Craftsman or Spanish style home. They may be smaller, but I can always buy sheds or storage space.

Head First Design Patterns is awesome. I read a couple other Design Pattern books, but didn't really get it. I didn't want to buy a "Head First" book because it looked kind of silly, but this book has finally opened my eyes to what Design Patterns are about.

Or a hillbilly!

Agreed. For a second I thought it was an ad for a job.