No doubt there are many times in debugging sessions or during system testing when programmers and engineers scratch their heads and observe, "Most peculiar." The polite ones, at least.

Consider the debate over the so-called shortage of technical personnel. Barely a day goes by without some corporation or government entity bemoaning the lack of capable people. At the same time, several outside observers contend there is no shortage, simply a move by corporations to cut costs any way possible. Led by UC Davis professor Norm Matloff, they supply a steady stream of e-mail that supports their cause. Theirs is a noble effort, presenting the average engineer's views to counter the points made in many venues by well-heeled companies.

To synopsize this steady stream, which to those on the e-mail list may seem more like an unrelenting fire hose blast: Companies are engaging in age discrimination when they refuse to hire older engineers, who usually earn more than their younger counterparts, and H1-B is a further ploy to keep wages down.

The one thing missing from the torrent of messages is a strong, solid solution. Several fairly workable alternatives could resolve H1-B. They make it less palatable for employers to tap overseas workers, who are desirable because of their comparatively low wage demands and because they typically are tied to the company that brings them to the United States for a few years.

But how does one stop companies from hiring the least-expensive employees? That's far tougher. Age discrimination suits are popping up in high-tech. But they take time, and they're often difficult to prove.

Unfortunately, it seems that as electronic products have become throwaways, many companies view employees the same way. It doesn't take a keen eye on trade-show or company visits to notice that the electronics industry is dominated by the young.

You'll also spot some graying heads, of course: After all, no company can hire only recent college grads. But if the anecdotal evidence cited in the e-mail torrent is correct, fewer older engineers and programmers will be around in the coming decade.

That brings me back to Lennon. Sometimes little can be done to alter the course of events. Farmers once had to adapt to the industrial era, sailors to steam engines and office workers to computers.

Engineers and others will have to compete in a world where their accumulated knowledge isn't necessarily valued, even though it is valuable. Each situation will have its own solution.

That's the problem with things in life that are most peculiar. They're often unexpected twists that don't really have a good answer, just a series of options.

Lennon had a response for that, too: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."