Six letter variables are the bane of my existence. The majority of my programming career has been dominated by applications written before my birth, around the time my parents were in high school. Punch cards made programmers do funny things. The Honeywell made them do even funnier. If you've ever lived in a Fortran 66 world, you know what I'm talking about. The coding I do in the cubicle farm consists of everything from Fortran to C to C++ to Perl to C# to WPF and everything in between. My job is as much Computer Archeology as it is Bleeding Edge. I may gripe about the code I come across, but in reality I enjoy that side of the business.
About three years ago (ed: 2007) I made the leap into EMS after learning I loathed the paper side of the business. I started off as an EMT-Basic and worked my way through to EMT-Paramedic. My day job affords me the ability to be both a Lead Software Engineer and an EMT. With more than 3000 employees, you can imagine there is a not-so-insignificant call volume, typically around 100 medical responses a year. So there is an industrial fire brigade on site, complete with two engines and a transporting BLS ambulance.
What working for a BLS service means to the author, dear reader, is that he has all of the knowledge and skills, but a much smaller scope of practice in which to play! However, I think the inability to practice anything but BLS care makes me a better provider. But life would not be complete without ALS time, so I'm a volunteer and part time EMT-Paramedic in the county to my South. I pick up 1-2 shifts a week which, if you're any decent at math, means I'm a busy fellow.
