Unemployed or under-employed -- what to do

[sronan at panix.com (Stephen Ronan)]

[...]
> I was thinking: there are a lot of bright (under employed) guys on this
> list. The problem, it seems, is that people notice opportunities for which
> they do not have the skill set to try. Maybe it is a few of us that have
> complementary skills and could do domething that we could not singularly.
>
> How about a free discussion about things like "You know what, I think
> *this* would be great to do"
>
> What do you all think?

This is a little tangential to what you're suggesting but perhaps 
still relevant. I was approached this week by a computer science 
student looking for an interesting and worthwhile volunteer 
opportunity easy to get to via public transportation from his 
home in Cambridge. I sent a note out to local nonprofit community 
technology centers, places where folks in low income 
neighborhoods can develop skills with computers and related 
equipment. Already I've been swamped with more than a dozen 
requests.

One needs help managing a Windows 2000 network with 27 clients. 
Another has scores of donated computers that need refurbishing. A 
YMCA with residential quarters needs someone to help residents 
using the computers during its open computer lab on Tuesdays and 
Thursday evenings. And there are a couple of community networks 
that need help, including one that will be experimenting with a 
mesh relying on Pebble Linux or NetBSD nodes.

Too many more to mention. But I'd love to forward the details to 
anyone who may have time to offer if there seems to be a good 
match with what a center needs. Please drop me a line at this 
address or sronan at ctcnet.org
    Thanks,
   - Stephen Ronan
     Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet)
     http://www.ctcnet.org