The World is Ending! Oh Noes!!!1 :(
I tried to check my horoscope on Excite, and there's nothing listed for tomorrow. In fact, there's nothing listed for any of the astrological signs tomorrow. Is the world coming to an end?
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Trying to keep up.
Alright, after the new template (which I'm not sure I like), and the personal commitment to update more frequently, I...er.....yeah.
So, while out and about on my 'long day' (the day I go right from work to class - more on that tomorrow, maybe), I stopped to pick up a soda for class. Of course, nothing goes better with a soda than a candy bar, so I started browsing the candy aisle, looking for....'something'. I'm tired of Snicker's, and I was looking for something different. Not 'candy bar disguised as an energy bar' different, either: something other than the old Hershey's/Snicker's/Mars/Reese's routine.
I found myself hankering for a Seven-Up bar: Pearson's (maker of the Nut Goodie) used to make this candy bar that was, essentially, a Whitman's Sampler covered in chocolate. Seven different fillings (nougat, fudge, marshmallow, etc.) all segmented and covered with chocolate. You could break off a piece and savor the individual flavor, or just chomp away and get that blended sugary goodness in every mouthful. And almost every filling rocked: the fudge was fudgy, the marshmallow was soft and yielding, yet packed with sugary mallow goodness, the 'nougat' (the brown nutty filling stuff) was the best around. The only filling that was less than good was the jelly: some amorphous, colorless blob of unindentifiably-flavored 'gel' that really didn't do much. Honestly, I used to break it off and give it away, or toss it, but anyway.
The last time I found a Seven-Up bar was back when the Tom Thumb in South St. Paul was still a Tom Thumb - back in the middle Eighties or so. It disappeared, along with the Nut Goodie (also by Pearson's) for the longest time. A few years ago, the Nut Goodie came back - a bit smaller, not quite as nutty, but back, nonetheless. But no Seven-Up bar.
So - while I was pining for the flavor of my youth, I started to think about all the other things that I remember from the 70's and 80's that are no longer around. In no particular order:
Marathon candy bar - a braid of caramel covered in chocolate. Well, caramel isn't quite right - it was more like caramel-flavored taffy, notoriously hard to chew, unless it had softened in your pocket for an hour or two. Of course, by then, all the chocolate had melted off, and was stuck to the wrapper.
Banana Flip. A "yellow" banana-flavored cake, folded over a banana-flavored creme filling. I think the sugar content of this was enough to send diabetics into a coma at the mere sight of it.
Viking Pop. Not "soda", POP. Locally bottled, available direct from the distributor on Concord Street in So. St. Paul. The highlight of the weekend, going to Viking with my Dad to pick a mix-n-match case so we could have creme soda with spaghetti dinner.
Pop Shoppe. A larger 'chain' store, similar to Viking. Mix and Match a returnable case. Like Viking, the Grape, Orange, and "citrus" pops were colors that do not normally appear in nature.
Mr. Steak. Restaurant, a step up from Ponderosa. Not quite "fine dining", but a decent steak and potato. I spent years trying to figure out what the hell their billboard sign was - and finally figured out that it was a chef's hat with Bull horns. It tormented me for years.
Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips. When I finally broke down and tried it, one of the better fish and chips I've had. Of course, I resisted eating there for years as a child, due to the adolescent fear of any food with an unusual sounding name. In this case, "Treacher's" sounded too much like "Creatures", which I associated with the goo-spewing aliens of my sci-fi loving youth.
(Craig -> weird, yes. Move along.)
Shakey's Pizza. Ahhh, the Bunch of Lunch. For one low price, you could gorge yourself on pasta, salad, more pasta, and those hand-tossed, crispy crust pizzas that no mass market chain pizzeria has been able to replicate since their demise. One of the best memories of my trip to L.A. was finding a Shakey's near our hotel.
Zayre's Shopper's City. I'm not sure why I remember this so fondly. Their clothes were worse than K-Mart's, and their toy selection always sucked. Maybe it was their game room.
Jolly's Hobbies. The store where I bought my first D&D book. And my second. And scores of plastic models and model rockets. I remember the smell of the store to this day...
Alright, after the new template (which I'm not sure I like), and the personal commitment to update more frequently, I...er.....yeah.
So, while out and about on my 'long day' (the day I go right from work to class - more on that tomorrow, maybe), I stopped to pick up a soda for class. Of course, nothing goes better with a soda than a candy bar, so I started browsing the candy aisle, looking for....'something'. I'm tired of Snicker's, and I was looking for something different. Not 'candy bar disguised as an energy bar' different, either: something other than the old Hershey's/Snicker's/Mars/Reese's routine.
I found myself hankering for a Seven-Up bar: Pearson's (maker of the Nut Goodie) used to make this candy bar that was, essentially, a Whitman's Sampler covered in chocolate. Seven different fillings (nougat, fudge, marshmallow, etc.) all segmented and covered with chocolate. You could break off a piece and savor the individual flavor, or just chomp away and get that blended sugary goodness in every mouthful. And almost every filling rocked: the fudge was fudgy, the marshmallow was soft and yielding, yet packed with sugary mallow goodness, the 'nougat' (the brown nutty filling stuff) was the best around. The only filling that was less than good was the jelly: some amorphous, colorless blob of unindentifiably-flavored 'gel' that really didn't do much. Honestly, I used to break it off and give it away, or toss it, but anyway.
The last time I found a Seven-Up bar was back when the Tom Thumb in South St. Paul was still a Tom Thumb - back in the middle Eighties or so. It disappeared, along with the Nut Goodie (also by Pearson's) for the longest time. A few years ago, the Nut Goodie came back - a bit smaller, not quite as nutty, but back, nonetheless. But no Seven-Up bar.
So - while I was pining for the flavor of my youth, I started to think about all the other things that I remember from the 70's and 80's that are no longer around. In no particular order:
Marathon candy bar - a braid of caramel covered in chocolate. Well, caramel isn't quite right - it was more like caramel-flavored taffy, notoriously hard to chew, unless it had softened in your pocket for an hour or two. Of course, by then, all the chocolate had melted off, and was stuck to the wrapper.
Banana Flip. A "yellow" banana-flavored cake, folded over a banana-flavored creme filling. I think the sugar content of this was enough to send diabetics into a coma at the mere sight of it.
Viking Pop. Not "soda", POP. Locally bottled, available direct from the distributor on Concord Street in So. St. Paul. The highlight of the weekend, going to Viking with my Dad to pick a mix-n-match case so we could have creme soda with spaghetti dinner.
Pop Shoppe. A larger 'chain' store, similar to Viking. Mix and Match a returnable case. Like Viking, the Grape, Orange, and "citrus" pops were colors that do not normally appear in nature.
Mr. Steak. Restaurant, a step up from Ponderosa. Not quite "fine dining", but a decent steak and potato. I spent years trying to figure out what the hell their billboard sign was - and finally figured out that it was a chef's hat with Bull horns. It tormented me for years.
Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips. When I finally broke down and tried it, one of the better fish and chips I've had. Of course, I resisted eating there for years as a child, due to the adolescent fear of any food with an unusual sounding name. In this case, "Treacher's" sounded too much like "Creatures", which I associated with the goo-spewing aliens of my sci-fi loving youth.
(Craig -> weird, yes. Move along.)
Shakey's Pizza. Ahhh, the Bunch of Lunch. For one low price, you could gorge yourself on pasta, salad, more pasta, and those hand-tossed, crispy crust pizzas that no mass market chain pizzeria has been able to replicate since their demise. One of the best memories of my trip to L.A. was finding a Shakey's near our hotel.
Zayre's Shopper's City. I'm not sure why I remember this so fondly. Their clothes were worse than K-Mart's, and their toy selection always sucked. Maybe it was their game room.
Jolly's Hobbies. The store where I bought my first D&D book. And my second. And scores of plastic models and model rockets. I remember the smell of the store to this day...
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Friday, May 12, 2006
Cheese Sandwich Friday
Lack of sleep, and the emotional release of finally scoring a permanent position, and I am one tired puppy dog. And the brain isn't working well, either.
Hence the 'cheese sandwich' post.
(fyi: refers to the type of blogging where posters, with nothing relevant, insightful or meaningful to say, blog about what they had for lunch. As in: "nothing new today. had a cheese sandwich and 6 valium for lunch, and now my hands have fallen sleep. Current Mood: purple.")
I will miss the Indian food so close at the U. And Taco Tuesdays (50 cent tacos OMG WTF).
The coffee meeting went well yesterday. On one hand, it's getting easier to deal with, talking about the past, dealing with my failures and shortcomings. On the other, it opens up a whole new world of self-reflection. Hearing about the struggles she went through, etc. - makes me wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been such an asshat to her back then.
Would we have married? If not - would/could our relationship have ended amicably, enough where she would have been able to assemble the life she deserved?
It's also hard *not* to feel partially responsible for the path her life has taken. In some - hell, in many ways, I feel that my actions - what I did, and how I treated her - put her on a path that led her through what she's gone through.
And then I wonder just what exactly drove me to do what I did? Why did I cheat on her? Even after all this time, the answers I have - immaturity, stupidity, etc. - still don't make sense. And especially in light of how much I loved her. Or remember that I do. Or still. Or...
There are too many 'if's in my life, now and in my past. And - the type of person I've become, I can't just let go of them. Or know if I want to.
It certainly doesn't help that, when I look into her eyes, I see flashes of....the past. Something. And - when she speaks, I....
(mutters something to self)
I had the chicken masala and alu mutter. With naan.
Lack of sleep, and the emotional release of finally scoring a permanent position, and I am one tired puppy dog. And the brain isn't working well, either.
Hence the 'cheese sandwich' post.
(fyi: refers to the type of blogging where posters, with nothing relevant, insightful or meaningful to say, blog about what they had for lunch. As in: "nothing new today. had a cheese sandwich and 6 valium for lunch, and now my hands have fallen sleep. Current Mood: purple.")
I will miss the Indian food so close at the U. And Taco Tuesdays (50 cent tacos OMG WTF).
The coffee meeting went well yesterday. On one hand, it's getting easier to deal with, talking about the past, dealing with my failures and shortcomings. On the other, it opens up a whole new world of self-reflection. Hearing about the struggles she went through, etc. - makes me wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been such an asshat to her back then.
Would we have married? If not - would/could our relationship have ended amicably, enough where she would have been able to assemble the life she deserved?
It's also hard *not* to feel partially responsible for the path her life has taken. In some - hell, in many ways, I feel that my actions - what I did, and how I treated her - put her on a path that led her through what she's gone through.
And then I wonder just what exactly drove me to do what I did? Why did I cheat on her? Even after all this time, the answers I have - immaturity, stupidity, etc. - still don't make sense. And especially in light of how much I loved her. Or remember that I do. Or still. Or...
There are too many 'if's in my life, now and in my past. And - the type of person I've become, I can't just let go of them. Or know if I want to.
It certainly doesn't help that, when I look into her eyes, I see flashes of....the past. Something. And - when she speaks, I....
(mutters something to self)
I had the chicken masala and alu mutter. With naan.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
An office with a view...
So - I met with the small company yesterday. They made an offer. The money was right where I wanted it to be - 60k - but the benefits are.....well, they're small company benefits. Meaning they're a bit more spendy, and there's no dental. They said they were 'looking into it' - but I have a gut feeling that it's not going to be available.
On the plus side, the vacation time is very generous, there's 401(k), and they appear to be flexible, in terms of work arrangements.
And I would have an office. With a door. And a window. And be a permanent employee.
So - it was either take the job and deal with the benefits, or keep contracting and languish in the uncertainty and frustration.
(mentally flips coin)
Okay, so it wasn't a hard decision. Looks like I start next week! And I have a window!!!!!
So - I met with the small company yesterday. They made an offer. The money was right where I wanted it to be - 60k - but the benefits are.....well, they're small company benefits. Meaning they're a bit more spendy, and there's no dental. They said they were 'looking into it' - but I have a gut feeling that it's not going to be available.
On the plus side, the vacation time is very generous, there's 401(k), and they appear to be flexible, in terms of work arrangements.
And I would have an office. With a door. And a window. And be a permanent employee.
So - it was either take the job and deal with the benefits, or keep contracting and languish in the uncertainty and frustration.
(mentally flips coin)
Okay, so it wasn't a hard decision. Looks like I start next week! And I have a window!!!!!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Always have a 'fall-back' plan.
So....the interview yesterday didn't seem to go as well as expected. Sure, it was cordial, smiling, etc. - but something about it just struck me as....well......'routine'. As if the company people said "Okay, here's someone who applied, we've already picked our guy, but lets just interview Craig....'just in case'. "
I just walked out after the interview was done with no feelings at all. No "I would like working here", no "these people are enormous tools", no "Hmm...how about a ham sandwich?" Nothing.
And - the follow up with one of the recruiters that has been after me - regarding a position at an "Energy" company - told me that they want to make an offer - $35 an hour on contract, potential for perm. That was the job that was touted as a 'web writer/developer' - and during the interview, the company person focused more on business analyst questions than anything else.
"So - you've done Business Analysis?"
"Yes, and I'm not fond of it. I'd rather focus on my strengths - writing, developing, usability, etc."
"So....tell me about your business analyst experiences...."
(Craig's eyes glaze over)
The other interesting note is that the contracting company told me it was contract to hire - that there was a strong possibility for it to become a permanent position. So....when I asked the interviewer what the duration was, he responded "six months. And if there's additional work to be done at that time, we could renew for another six months. And then, if we continue to need it, we could possibly renew for another six months. And if we continue to need it, we'll renew...."
His choices of words - and the quickness of his response - leads me to believe that they'll work the contract, try to renew, and then post the position for open application - if at all.
The other position - a direct hire at a large medical devices company in the N 'burbs - has completely stalled. I should have known, though: any company that posts or recruits for opening in the midst of a corporate acquisition (they were bought out by a larger medical devices firm) should be avoided like the plague. Even direct hires - I've heard stories, and seen first-hand how new hires generally get the shaft in those situations. So - even though the interview was one of the best I've had, and the job description is an almost perfect fit, I think it's time to write that one off, as well.
Finally, there's a phone interview today with another medical company - a UI Developer. As much as that might also be an excellent job, I have a feeling that I'll be out of my league against the competition.
So - fall back plan? See what the small company offers, and roll with it. As long as the salary is close, and the benefits are good, I think the winnar is them.....
So....the interview yesterday didn't seem to go as well as expected. Sure, it was cordial, smiling, etc. - but something about it just struck me as....well......'routine'. As if the company people said "Okay, here's someone who applied, we've already picked our guy, but lets just interview Craig....'just in case'. "
I just walked out after the interview was done with no feelings at all. No "I would like working here", no "these people are enormous tools", no "Hmm...how about a ham sandwich?" Nothing.
And - the follow up with one of the recruiters that has been after me - regarding a position at an "Energy" company - told me that they want to make an offer - $35 an hour on contract, potential for perm. That was the job that was touted as a 'web writer/developer' - and during the interview, the company person focused more on business analyst questions than anything else.
"So - you've done Business Analysis?"
"Yes, and I'm not fond of it. I'd rather focus on my strengths - writing, developing, usability, etc."
"So....tell me about your business analyst experiences...."
(Craig's eyes glaze over)
The other interesting note is that the contracting company told me it was contract to hire - that there was a strong possibility for it to become a permanent position. So....when I asked the interviewer what the duration was, he responded "six months. And if there's additional work to be done at that time, we could renew for another six months. And then, if we continue to need it, we could possibly renew for another six months. And if we continue to need it, we'll renew...."
His choices of words - and the quickness of his response - leads me to believe that they'll work the contract, try to renew, and then post the position for open application - if at all.
The other position - a direct hire at a large medical devices company in the N 'burbs - has completely stalled. I should have known, though: any company that posts or recruits for opening in the midst of a corporate acquisition (they were bought out by a larger medical devices firm) should be avoided like the plague. Even direct hires - I've heard stories, and seen first-hand how new hires generally get the shaft in those situations. So - even though the interview was one of the best I've had, and the job description is an almost perfect fit, I think it's time to write that one off, as well.
Finally, there's a phone interview today with another medical company - a UI Developer. As much as that might also be an excellent job, I have a feeling that I'll be out of my league against the competition.
So - fall back plan? See what the small company offers, and roll with it. As long as the salary is close, and the benefits are good, I think the winnar is them.....
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
An Offer! w00ty!!!1 one
After months of rejections, being ignored, offers for short-term contracts or development opportunities in Rusted Hulk, NJ, etc. etc. - an offer for permanent employment is on the table.
And....there's another interview today. And a phone interview tomorrow.
When it rains, it pours. Or something.
After months of rejections, being ignored, offers for short-term contracts or development opportunities in Rusted Hulk, NJ, etc. etc. - an offer for permanent employment is on the table.
And....there's another interview today. And a phone interview tomorrow.
When it rains, it pours. Or something.
Friday, May 05, 2006
I. Hate. Business-speak.
Despite the urgency of finding a job, if I see someone using 'mission-critical' in a job description, I don't even bother. Companies that utilize that kind of doubleplusgood business speak are *not* places I want to work.
And I swear, if I hear someone use 'mission-critical', "accountabilities', 'top-of-mind', or any one of a million idiotic business terms that have been created to make middle managers sound smarter than they actually are, I'm going to drag them to a public place and beat them with oranges.
Despite the urgency of finding a job, if I see someone using 'mission-critical' in a job description, I don't even bother. Companies that utilize that kind of doubleplusgood business speak are *not* places I want to work.
And I swear, if I hear someone use 'mission-critical', "accountabilities', 'top-of-mind', or any one of a million idiotic business terms that have been created to make middle managers sound smarter than they actually are, I'm going to drag them to a public place and beat them with oranges.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
One down, one to go
I was able to crank out the exam for my class yesterday in record time, which surprised me. Even edited and revised, I have to say I was pretty happy with it - despite the amount of time I put into it.....(shifty look).
Now I can concentrate on 'Heart of Darkness'. I may be done sooner than expected. Yay?
I was able to crank out the exam for my class yesterday in record time, which surprised me. Even edited and revised, I have to say I was pretty happy with it - despite the amount of time I put into it.....(shifty look).
Now I can concentrate on 'Heart of Darkness'. I may be done sooner than expected. Yay?
Monday, May 01, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Requiem, Part 2
Mo posted his thoughts about Terry/Pigdog's passing. Very nice.
I'm still working on mine.
Mo posted his thoughts about Terry/Pigdog's passing. Very nice.
I'm still working on mine.
"Oh all the days
That I have run
I sought to lose that cloud that’s blacking out the sun
My train will come
Some one day soon
And when it comes I’ll ride it bound from night to noon"
- Mike Doughty
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
*harumph*
The to-do list is shrinking, thankfully. The documentation for my prior learnings evaluation has been mailed, my computer(s) seem to be running smoothly, Dr. Black's website issues are (almost) resolved, the office is in (reasonably) good order, and I'm in an upbeat mood. The liberal use of (punctuative) parethesis should attest to my (almost) giddy feeling, despite the (rain) and (cold).
The remaining to-do list items are all medium-priority: eBay auctions, personal to-dos, etc. - or scheduled for the coming days (lawn fertilization and cleanup, lawn mower tune-up). About the only pressing item is the paper I have to write for my Modernism class (ew...) and the exam (which I have yet to receive via e-mail).
All I need is some nice weather and a chance to get the fishing gear in order, and my life should be reasonably balanced, for the time being.
Yay.
The to-do list is shrinking, thankfully. The documentation for my prior learnings evaluation has been mailed, my computer(s) seem to be running smoothly, Dr. Black's website issues are (almost) resolved, the office is in (reasonably) good order, and I'm in an upbeat mood. The liberal use of (punctuative) parethesis should attest to my (almost) giddy feeling, despite the (rain) and (cold).
The remaining to-do list items are all medium-priority: eBay auctions, personal to-dos, etc. - or scheduled for the coming days (lawn fertilization and cleanup, lawn mower tune-up). About the only pressing item is the paper I have to write for my Modernism class (ew...) and the exam (which I have yet to receive via e-mail).
All I need is some nice weather and a chance to get the fishing gear in order, and my life should be reasonably balanced, for the time being.
Yay.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Featuring: Teh Wednesday Rant
Well, this 'blogging' thing eventually sinks its' claws into you. Especially in the absence of paying writing gigs, anyway. At first, I thought it would be novel to have a blog - leaving it bereft of updates for almost a year. Then - I pick it up, and make an attempt to update regularly. But - as I started to get more and more pressed for time, between job search, kids, house, dog, cat, armadillo, lawn work, and tabletop fusion development, it became pretty convenient to just hop on and drop a 'blog entry, whenever the mood hit me.
Now - it's like morphine, man. One hit hasn't been enough. As my good friend and adopted brother Terry, aka 'Pigdog' (rest his soul) once said: 'It ain't about who reads 'em. It's about who writes 'em. THAT'S what they're for.'
So - now, I consider myself wholly addicted. I miss a day - and the guilt walks right in, wipes its' muddy feet on the carpet of my ego, drops down onto the couch of my conscious, and asks for a beer as it flips aimlessly through the cable channels of my brain.
I'm still struggling with the 'topic' thing: the editor portion of my brain screams 'You CAN'T just write a line, and call it a blog entry! Where's the substance? The thought? The reflection? The sardonic humor? Do you want to end up like all those poor bastards on MySpace? Spending the rest of their lives dreaming about their buddy list and communicating totally in in-jokes and acronyms? Paragraphs, devoid of substance, structure, or actual punctuation? ZOMG WTF LOL BBQ!!!!11 uno'
So - Since I've a penchant for curmudgeonry....I present a new weekly feature: Teh Wednesday Rant. In which: I will void my soul and vent my spleen of that which offendeth me, throughout the week.
This week's subject: Drivers.
Much has been said about the skills (or lack thereof) of your garden-variety Minnesota driver. Most of it (from out-of-staters) is, regrettably, unprintable in this, a family-friendly blog.
(interlude: BOOBIEZ!)
Ahem. Anyway - it's far to easy to call out the large number of asshats that take to Minnesota's roadways between the hours of 7 AM and 6 PM. Instead, I will focus on two particular areas of concern for me. I-35E, between Sibley Memorial Highway and Highway 110 (traveling South) and I-94W, between Highway 280 and the U of M exit.
Both of these spots have similar topography: A curve to the right, going slightly uphill. Both of these spots are 2-lane highways, with wide shoulders and a center divider. Both of these spots are notorious for the asshats that slow way the fsck down as they go around the curve.
Listen, people. You're more than willing to drive 65 (or faster) through the heart of the city. You'll make lane changes without looking, OR signalling - sometimes, signalling AFTER you've moved into the new lane. You'll gladly cut people off in doing so, because you didn't plan ahead to make your exit when the goddam sign TOLD YOU 5 miles ago it was coming up. You'll happily drink your double-tall half-caf soy milk espresso (no foam) while tweezing your eyebrows and yakking on your cell phone at 65 mph. Why the fsck can you NOT maintain a semblence of the speed limit around these corners?
Everyday, it's the SAME. DAMN. THING. Slowdown around the corner - pass it, and there's nothing but open road ahead of you. There is NO KNOWN REASON for you to slow down to 45 (or slower) as you go around these curves. They're not on a mountain pass, the road's not littered with nails, there aren't fuzzy little lambs frolicking with children near these curves.
In a sane world, these people would move over, into the right lane, and let people like me - who are unafraid of the evil curves, and know *how* to drive sensibly - pass them. But that would be too easy: oh, no. You have to stay in the left lane, because traffic will speed up soon, and you can go back to multi-tasking your brows, your latte and the business section at 70 mph. Of course, these people don't believe in 'reasonable' acceleration, so by the time these morons are back up to the speed limit, reasonable drivers (like me) are trying to pass them on the right (because the right lane is OPEN NOW!)
Bottom line: If you can't drive the speed limit in the left lane, stay the fsck home. If you *must* go out - for another latte, or your medications, or whatever: stay the fsck in the RIGHT LANE. The more you idiots drive in the left lane, and slow down around curves, the more reasonable drivers (like me, and a lot of others) will get angry, frustrated, and search for ways to mount a military surplus 55 MM Howitzer on the front of our cars.....
Well, this 'blogging' thing eventually sinks its' claws into you. Especially in the absence of paying writing gigs, anyway. At first, I thought it would be novel to have a blog - leaving it bereft of updates for almost a year. Then - I pick it up, and make an attempt to update regularly. But - as I started to get more and more pressed for time, between job search, kids, house, dog, cat, armadillo, lawn work, and tabletop fusion development, it became pretty convenient to just hop on and drop a 'blog entry, whenever the mood hit me.
Now - it's like morphine, man. One hit hasn't been enough. As my good friend and adopted brother Terry, aka 'Pigdog' (rest his soul) once said: 'It ain't about who reads 'em. It's about who writes 'em. THAT'S what they're for.'
So - now, I consider myself wholly addicted. I miss a day - and the guilt walks right in, wipes its' muddy feet on the carpet of my ego, drops down onto the couch of my conscious, and asks for a beer as it flips aimlessly through the cable channels of my brain.
I'm still struggling with the 'topic' thing: the editor portion of my brain screams 'You CAN'T just write a line, and call it a blog entry! Where's the substance? The thought? The reflection? The sardonic humor? Do you want to end up like all those poor bastards on MySpace? Spending the rest of their lives dreaming about their buddy list and communicating totally in in-jokes and acronyms? Paragraphs, devoid of substance, structure, or actual punctuation? ZOMG WTF LOL BBQ!!!!11 uno'
So - Since I've a penchant for curmudgeonry....I present a new weekly feature: Teh Wednesday Rant. In which: I will void my soul and vent my spleen of that which offendeth me, throughout the week.
This week's subject: Drivers.
Much has been said about the skills (or lack thereof) of your garden-variety Minnesota driver. Most of it (from out-of-staters) is, regrettably, unprintable in this, a family-friendly blog.
(interlude: BOOBIEZ!)
Ahem. Anyway - it's far to easy to call out the large number of asshats that take to Minnesota's roadways between the hours of 7 AM and 6 PM. Instead, I will focus on two particular areas of concern for me. I-35E, between Sibley Memorial Highway and Highway 110 (traveling South) and I-94W, between Highway 280 and the U of M exit.
Both of these spots have similar topography: A curve to the right, going slightly uphill. Both of these spots are 2-lane highways, with wide shoulders and a center divider. Both of these spots are notorious for the asshats that slow way the fsck down as they go around the curve.
Listen, people. You're more than willing to drive 65 (or faster) through the heart of the city. You'll make lane changes without looking, OR signalling - sometimes, signalling AFTER you've moved into the new lane. You'll gladly cut people off in doing so, because you didn't plan ahead to make your exit when the goddam sign TOLD YOU 5 miles ago it was coming up. You'll happily drink your double-tall half-caf soy milk espresso (no foam) while tweezing your eyebrows and yakking on your cell phone at 65 mph. Why the fsck can you NOT maintain a semblence of the speed limit around these corners?
Everyday, it's the SAME. DAMN. THING. Slowdown around the corner - pass it, and there's nothing but open road ahead of you. There is NO KNOWN REASON for you to slow down to 45 (or slower) as you go around these curves. They're not on a mountain pass, the road's not littered with nails, there aren't fuzzy little lambs frolicking with children near these curves.
In a sane world, these people would move over, into the right lane, and let people like me - who are unafraid of the evil curves, and know *how* to drive sensibly - pass them. But that would be too easy: oh, no. You have to stay in the left lane, because traffic will speed up soon, and you can go back to multi-tasking your brows, your latte and the business section at 70 mph. Of course, these people don't believe in 'reasonable' acceleration, so by the time these morons are back up to the speed limit, reasonable drivers (like me) are trying to pass them on the right (because the right lane is OPEN NOW!)
Bottom line: If you can't drive the speed limit in the left lane, stay the fsck home. If you *must* go out - for another latte, or your medications, or whatever: stay the fsck in the RIGHT LANE. The more you idiots drive in the left lane, and slow down around curves, the more reasonable drivers (like me, and a lot of others) will get angry, frustrated, and search for ways to mount a military surplus 55 MM Howitzer on the front of our cars.....
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Back from Nebraska....
A quick recap of the Easter trip:
Too much food.
WAY too many treats. (erp.)
Good Ol' Nebraska Mud - EVERYWHERE.
The yearly 'get sick/allergy flareup'.
Sleep.
7 hours in a car, one-way, with a 6- and 3-year old.
In other newz...the job front isn't looking wholly promising. Digital River shot me down because 'they weren't sure I was comfortable with CSS." This rates the 'OMFGWTFBBQ????' of the week.
Guidant and ShopNBC are still (spins wheel) 'considering candidates'. The job boards are chock full of....'business analysts'.
.....sorry, I just threw up in my mouth, a little, there.
Anyhow - the good news is that class ends in 2 weeks. The bad news is that class ends in TWO WEEKS OMG!!!1 I suppose I should start my final paper, eh?
A quick recap of the Easter trip:
Too much food.
WAY too many treats. (erp.)
Good Ol' Nebraska Mud - EVERYWHERE.
The yearly 'get sick/allergy flareup'.
Sleep.
7 hours in a car, one-way, with a 6- and 3-year old.
In other newz...the job front isn't looking wholly promising. Digital River shot me down because 'they weren't sure I was comfortable with CSS." This rates the 'OMFGWTFBBQ????' of the week.
Guidant and ShopNBC are still (spins wheel) 'considering candidates'. The job boards are chock full of....'business analysts'.
.....sorry, I just threw up in my mouth, a little, there.
Anyhow - the good news is that class ends in 2 weeks. The bad news is that class ends in TWO WEEKS OMG!!!1 I suppose I should start my final paper, eh?
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Haunted...
Why is it so difficult - for people like me - to forget your past, sometimes? What kind of imbalance, sickness, psychological disorder - is it, which denies us control over the ability to move past the idiocy we performed in our former lives?
Why is it that we can remember, with amazing clarity - the moments that we are at our worst - the hurts we inflict upon others, the things we said or didn't say, the moments when we should have damn well known better? And the successes, triumphs, the tender, gentle, caring....human moments, vanish and fade so quickly?
Sometimes, my life feels like a daily crucifixion.
Why is it so difficult - for people like me - to forget your past, sometimes? What kind of imbalance, sickness, psychological disorder - is it, which denies us control over the ability to move past the idiocy we performed in our former lives?
Why is it that we can remember, with amazing clarity - the moments that we are at our worst - the hurts we inflict upon others, the things we said or didn't say, the moments when we should have damn well known better? And the successes, triumphs, the tender, gentle, caring....human moments, vanish and fade so quickly?
Sometimes, my life feels like a daily crucifixion.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
A Two-day Vacation
Nothing like taking a two day vacation from the most widely read blog on teh intarweb. I'm sure my loyal readers were aghast at the lack of updates. Rumours must have swirled 'round the 'net - 'What happend to teh blog???/ OMG HAX!!11'
I needed the mental cleansing day of just....nothing. No homework, no 'work' work, nothing. Why, you ask? Let's check out the big scoreboard for the latest....
U of M: wants a 4-week extension. For those of you playing the home game, that's extension number 2 (two). The people that they hired for the new OCM Web team are a motley group: a graphic designer that looks like he spends more time grooming his soul patch, a back-end programmer that knows nothing of HTML/javascript/et. al, a very talented db/back-end developer whose struggles with the Engrish language are Herculean (and daily), and a cranky old man whose role has yet to be determined.
By the way, guess who sits right across from me? If you answered 'cranky old guy', give yourself a cookie. Hell, take two - they're small.
So - because the back-end programmer (who knows nothing of HTML or teh web languages) has to be "trained" on programming the system, and the current webmaster is leaving as of next Friday - I get to stick around a few more weeks. And train. My permanent replacement.
Heh.
On the external job front - things aren't much better. Or.....something. I have an interview of Friday at Digital River for a web developer position, and I'm currently waiting to hear about ShopNBC and Thomson West. All places I've applied - and interviewed at - in the past. And all places I've gotten the "we like you - just not enough to hire you." schpiel.
I also decided (with the help of my Sweet Wife) that the summer shall be school-free. I need a summer break, and with Hellspawn #3 on teh way, it will be nice to take some time and enjoy family, kids, baby, and some leisure time. Maybe I'll even get off my ass and get some more dev. done on teh MysteryCheese site!
Nothing like taking a two day vacation from the most widely read blog on teh intarweb. I'm sure my loyal readers were aghast at the lack of updates. Rumours must have swirled 'round the 'net - 'What happend to teh blog???/ OMG HAX!!11'
I needed the mental cleansing day of just....nothing. No homework, no 'work' work, nothing. Why, you ask? Let's check out the big scoreboard for the latest....
U of M: wants a 4-week extension. For those of you playing the home game, that's extension number 2 (two). The people that they hired for the new OCM Web team are a motley group: a graphic designer that looks like he spends more time grooming his soul patch, a back-end programmer that knows nothing of HTML/javascript/et. al, a very talented db/back-end developer whose struggles with the Engrish language are Herculean (and daily), and a cranky old man whose role has yet to be determined.
By the way, guess who sits right across from me? If you answered 'cranky old guy', give yourself a cookie. Hell, take two - they're small.
So - because the back-end programmer (who knows nothing of HTML or teh web languages) has to be "trained" on programming the system, and the current webmaster is leaving as of next Friday - I get to stick around a few more weeks. And train. My permanent replacement.
Heh.
On the external job front - things aren't much better. Or.....something. I have an interview of Friday at Digital River for a web developer position, and I'm currently waiting to hear about ShopNBC and Thomson West. All places I've applied - and interviewed at - in the past. And all places I've gotten the "we like you - just not enough to hire you." schpiel.
I also decided (with the help of my Sweet Wife) that the summer shall be school-free. I need a summer break, and with Hellspawn #3 on teh way, it will be nice to take some time and enjoy family, kids, baby, and some leisure time. Maybe I'll even get off my ass and get some more dev. done on teh MysteryCheese site!
Monday, April 03, 2006
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
With apologies to The Suburbs....
Waiting, waiting....
(I know you're out there....somewhere......)
If I wanted a job in Georgia doing web development, I'd have one yesterday. Or in Missouri. Or Texas. Or.....But I don't want to move. Not Georgia (ew.), Missouri, Texas (roaches the size of armadillos!) or anywhere South.
I have a bunch of call backs to do today. We'll see how my optimism level is later....
Waiting, waiting....
(I know you're out there....somewhere......)
If I wanted a job in Georgia doing web development, I'd have one yesterday. Or in Missouri. Or Texas. Or.....But I don't want to move. Not Georgia (ew.), Missouri, Texas (roaches the size of armadillos!) or anywhere South.
I have a bunch of call backs to do today. We'll see how my optimism level is later....
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Spring Cleaning
or, huffing canned air
I neglected to mention that, as part of my sojourn into the wonderful world of Hardware Upgrades, I took the opportunity to clean my pc. Since I had the case open and in various states of assemblage throughout the weekend, it seemed like as good a time as any to start huffing the canned air.
Normally, I try to get into my cases and corral the dust rhinos twice a year. Of course, that was in the B.C. era (before cat). With the arrival of Harley on the scene, it seems I need to be a bit more diligent in cleaning my delicate electronic equipment.
First off, no matter what anyone tells you, no matter what you may have read - cat hair gets EVERYWHERE. And not just little tufts of grey, dust bunny hair, mind you. Oh, no. We're talking full-on Pleistocene Woolly Mammoth-sized dust rhinos here. The plus of this is that you can simply grab them with your fingers - after wrestling them into submission (I recommend the sleeper hold - the figure-4 leg lock does nothing), pitch them into the bin and that's that.
The downside of this is that there are copius amounts of these dust gargantua, and they're EVERYWHERE. Any nook or cranny in the computer case will be filled with writhing, grey masses of dust and cat dander. What once took 5 minutes now takes the better part of an hour. And the dust/hair genetic hybrids tend to adhere to fans - which means that you have to pull, scrape, or pry the nasties off, infected area by infected area.
The fans are the worst: between regular dust, cat hair, and other nasties - these things get gunkier than....well, something really gunky. Windex on a paper towel takes off the first layer, and q-tips soaked in windex get into the nooks and crannies. Effective, thorough, but time-consuming as all get out. I made sure not to mix the Windex with the canned air huffing - the last time I did that, I ended up in Toronto wearing a duck suit and carrying a poster board advertising a tattoo parlor. Or was that last week...?
Anyway - between the hardware assembly, the cleaning and dust wrangling, and the upcoming 'old data scourges', it'll almost be like I have a new pc!
or, huffing canned air
I neglected to mention that, as part of my sojourn into the wonderful world of Hardware Upgrades, I took the opportunity to clean my pc. Since I had the case open and in various states of assemblage throughout the weekend, it seemed like as good a time as any to start huffing the canned air.
Normally, I try to get into my cases and corral the dust rhinos twice a year. Of course, that was in the B.C. era (before cat). With the arrival of Harley on the scene, it seems I need to be a bit more diligent in cleaning my delicate electronic equipment.
First off, no matter what anyone tells you, no matter what you may have read - cat hair gets EVERYWHERE. And not just little tufts of grey, dust bunny hair, mind you. Oh, no. We're talking full-on Pleistocene Woolly Mammoth-sized dust rhinos here. The plus of this is that you can simply grab them with your fingers - after wrestling them into submission (I recommend the sleeper hold - the figure-4 leg lock does nothing), pitch them into the bin and that's that.
The downside of this is that there are copius amounts of these dust gargantua, and they're EVERYWHERE. Any nook or cranny in the computer case will be filled with writhing, grey masses of dust and cat dander. What once took 5 minutes now takes the better part of an hour. And the dust/hair genetic hybrids tend to adhere to fans - which means that you have to pull, scrape, or pry the nasties off, infected area by infected area.
The fans are the worst: between regular dust, cat hair, and other nasties - these things get gunkier than....well, something really gunky. Windex on a paper towel takes off the first layer, and q-tips soaked in windex get into the nooks and crannies. Effective, thorough, but time-consuming as all get out. I made sure not to mix the Windex with the canned air huffing - the last time I did that, I ended up in Toronto wearing a duck suit and carrying a poster board advertising a tattoo parlor. Or was that last week...?
Anyway - between the hardware assembly, the cleaning and dust wrangling, and the upcoming 'old data scourges', it'll almost be like I have a new pc!
Monday, March 27, 2006
How to install a hard drive in 1,978,456 easy steps, part π:
OMG I DID IT!!!!111 one
So, Friday evening arrives, and with the blessed relief of the weekend comes another attempt to format and install the new hard drive. After yesterday's experience with Norton Ghost, I decided to try different softwares....Acronis True Image. Cnet gives it higher marks than Ghost, so once again - arrrr.....me and me parrot finds what we needs and gets to work, matey.
Format hard drive (AGAIN!!!!) - 5 minutes.
Begin the copy.....and, based on my experience with Ghost, I assume that it's going to take at least 2 hours. 1 hour later, I peek into the computer room to make sure that it's still running - and I see the message :"Cloning complete. Would you like to verify data consistency?"
Wow. It copies the disk AND does a data integrity check. This is my newest favoritest softwares, precious.
So, after powering down, I start the hardware monkey bit of physically swapping drives. While I'm at it, I decide to install the 40gb drive into the case, so disassembly and re-assembly begins. In short order, the 200 gb drive is installed as master (with the restore partition - I left it. Meh.), the 40 gb drive is installed as slave, and the pokey old 120 gb drive is now in the usb case, waiting to be wiped and reformatted.
Yay me.
In other news....teh job search has stagnated. There are a few nibbles of interest from some of the companies to which I have applied - but nothing firm or promising. I've really got to commit to completing the web portfolio...
OMG I DID IT!!!!111 one
So, Friday evening arrives, and with the blessed relief of the weekend comes another attempt to format and install the new hard drive. After yesterday's experience with Norton Ghost, I decided to try different softwares....Acronis True Image. Cnet gives it higher marks than Ghost, so once again - arrrr.....me and me parrot finds what we needs and gets to work, matey.
Format hard drive (AGAIN!!!!) - 5 minutes.
Begin the copy.....and, based on my experience with Ghost, I assume that it's going to take at least 2 hours. 1 hour later, I peek into the computer room to make sure that it's still running - and I see the message :"Cloning complete. Would you like to verify data consistency?"
Wow. It copies the disk AND does a data integrity check. This is my newest favoritest softwares, precious.
So, after powering down, I start the hardware monkey bit of physically swapping drives. While I'm at it, I decide to install the 40gb drive into the case, so disassembly and re-assembly begins. In short order, the 200 gb drive is installed as master (with the restore partition - I left it. Meh.), the 40 gb drive is installed as slave, and the pokey old 120 gb drive is now in the usb case, waiting to be wiped and reformatted.
Yay me.
In other news....teh job search has stagnated. There are a few nibbles of interest from some of the companies to which I have applied - but nothing firm or promising. I've really got to commit to completing the web portfolio...
Friday, March 24, 2006
How to install a hard drive in 227 easy steps, part 2:
"What do you mean it failed???"
I picked up the hard drive - new, in the box Seagate 200gb 7200 rpm drive - brought it home and prepared to format and install. I fully expected this to be a 2-evening job, so the plan was to format the drive on Thursday, Ghost all my data on Friday, and then perform the manual hardware swap on Saturday. That way, I wouldn't be tattooed to the computer for hours on end. Things of that nature tend to interfere with my evening routine - downloading MP3s, surfing Fark, watching the latest Foamy cartoon, procrastinating, etc. - so, the plan was (I thought) fairly reasonable.
What made it (in my mind) even easier was the fact that I had the shiny new USB hard drive enclosure: I thought I could install the drive in the enclosure, format, clone, and THEN manually swap it out. This way, my desktop is out of commission for a minimal amount of time, and in the event that something goes wrong - my data is still intact.
(foreshadowing!)
I installed the drive in the USB case (5 minutes), hooked everything up (30 seconds) and followed the instructions to begin formatting the drive. I launch the System Manager, and it shows the drive as having free space of 124 gB.....the hell? I performed the standard tech support steps - ignore the instructions, unplug the device, turn it around and upside down, etc. - and no change. Still showing 124 gB size. Breaking from tradition, I decide to read the manual -which informs me that older versions of computer BIOS may not show the full size of the drive. Due to limitations, the maximum size it could recognize would be 124 gB.
Ah HA! I found the answer!!!1
So - how does one solve this problem, you ask? Download updated BIOS drivers for your machine, silly!
(foreshadowing part 2!)
Of course, since both of my computers were purchased with a full 'Murphy's Law' warranty - there is no updated BIOS for either. Which means I will have to use a third-party software utility to perform the formatting. I break out the eye patch and parrot, start talking in my best 'pirate' voice, and start to look for Partition Magic. I quickly find what I need and begin to download.
At this point, it's 5:30. I've been at this for an hour, and The Lovely Bride informs me that we should think about feeding our children. Since we had decided to go out for dinner, and the download looks like it's going to take about an hour, we bundle up the monsters and head out for a nice family dinner.
(foreshadowing!!! Part 3!)
Off to Rosemount for a burger and a beer, and then off to Target for sundries. 10 minutes in the store (it's 7:00 by this point) and the inevitable 'Benjamin Meltdown' begins. To make matters worse, once we're in the car, The Fia informs us that she cannot find Dexter, her Beanie Baby kitten, traveling companion and security blanket.
The next hour is a blur of wailing, screaming, stopping back at the restaurant to look for Dexter without success, more screaming, crying, wailing, and screaming. We arrive back home and begin the ritual of 'wrangle the demons to bed'.
Benjamin, AKA 'Damian', tells me he wants Mommy to put him to bed.
FINE.
Fia begins crying over her lost Dexter, and is almost inconsolable.
FINE.
I head downstairs to check the progress of formatting - finished! Yay! - and head out to gas up and wash the van. A few minutes of relative quiet will be good, before I start the drive cloning.
While at the gas station, I discover Dexter lodged between the seats - 1 problem solved. I get home, and Benjamin has decided to be nice to me, and wants me to put him to bed. He's asleep within minutes - 2nd problem solved.
I head back downstairs at 9 PM, thinking I have time to start the drive cloning before bed. If all goes well, I can clone the drive overnight, get a good night's sleep, and manually swap hardware tomorrow. This 'installing a new hard drive' business isn't THAT hard, after all!
(foreshadowing!!! OH NOES!!!)
So, Partition Magic is installed and ready to go. Ghost is up and running. Hardware is attached. Drive is recognized.
I read the quick 'how-to' regarding drive formatting - simple enough, I think - and start the format process.
Nothing. Happens.
I make sure everything's attached, running, blah blah blah. Try again. This time, it starts, and then the progress meter tells me it's operating fine, 47 minutes to completion. I toddle off and busy myself with household work. About an hour later, I peek at the computer - formatting successful! Time to start cloning.
I fire up Ghost, and start the clone process. Nothing happens. Check the help file - nothing. Start it again - it runs for about 15 minutes, and then I get some weird errors, which is NOT listed in the help files OR online. I shut everything down, restart, and try again: same thing. After repeating the process multiple times, I finally e-mail Symantec with the error message. I receive the standard 'We have received your e-mail and will ignore it for a while, and respond when we damn well feel like it. :wub" canned response.
So, before I throw in the towel for the evening, I decide to try one. more. time. Fire up Ghost - successful. Start the copy - running.
30 seconds in, error message. 'Unable to complete copy.' No reason why, no explanation, no error code. It seems that Ghost just got tired, and decided not to copy my drive.
So - tonight, I'll start the process all over again. I'll re-format the hard drive, and try to Ghost my main drive over. If all goes well, I can perform the hardware swap Saturday.
(FORESHADOWING????)
"What do you mean it failed???"
I picked up the hard drive - new, in the box Seagate 200gb 7200 rpm drive - brought it home and prepared to format and install. I fully expected this to be a 2-evening job, so the plan was to format the drive on Thursday, Ghost all my data on Friday, and then perform the manual hardware swap on Saturday. That way, I wouldn't be tattooed to the computer for hours on end. Things of that nature tend to interfere with my evening routine - downloading MP3s, surfing Fark, watching the latest Foamy cartoon, procrastinating, etc. - so, the plan was (I thought) fairly reasonable.
What made it (in my mind) even easier was the fact that I had the shiny new USB hard drive enclosure: I thought I could install the drive in the enclosure, format, clone, and THEN manually swap it out. This way, my desktop is out of commission for a minimal amount of time, and in the event that something goes wrong - my data is still intact.
(foreshadowing!)
I installed the drive in the USB case (5 minutes), hooked everything up (30 seconds) and followed the instructions to begin formatting the drive. I launch the System Manager, and it shows the drive as having free space of 124 gB.....the hell? I performed the standard tech support steps - ignore the instructions, unplug the device, turn it around and upside down, etc. - and no change. Still showing 124 gB size. Breaking from tradition, I decide to read the manual -which informs me that older versions of computer BIOS may not show the full size of the drive. Due to limitations, the maximum size it could recognize would be 124 gB.
Ah HA! I found the answer!!!1
So - how does one solve this problem, you ask? Download updated BIOS drivers for your machine, silly!
(foreshadowing part 2!)
Of course, since both of my computers were purchased with a full 'Murphy's Law' warranty - there is no updated BIOS for either. Which means I will have to use a third-party software utility to perform the formatting. I break out the eye patch and parrot, start talking in my best 'pirate' voice, and start to look for Partition Magic. I quickly find what I need and begin to download.
At this point, it's 5:30. I've been at this for an hour, and The Lovely Bride informs me that we should think about feeding our children. Since we had decided to go out for dinner, and the download looks like it's going to take about an hour, we bundle up the monsters and head out for a nice family dinner.
(foreshadowing!!! Part 3!)
Off to Rosemount for a burger and a beer, and then off to Target for sundries. 10 minutes in the store (it's 7:00 by this point) and the inevitable 'Benjamin Meltdown' begins. To make matters worse, once we're in the car, The Fia informs us that she cannot find Dexter, her Beanie Baby kitten, traveling companion and security blanket.
The next hour is a blur of wailing, screaming, stopping back at the restaurant to look for Dexter without success, more screaming, crying, wailing, and screaming. We arrive back home and begin the ritual of 'wrangle the demons to bed'.
Benjamin, AKA 'Damian', tells me he wants Mommy to put him to bed.
FINE.
Fia begins crying over her lost Dexter, and is almost inconsolable.
FINE.
I head downstairs to check the progress of formatting - finished! Yay! - and head out to gas up and wash the van. A few minutes of relative quiet will be good, before I start the drive cloning.
While at the gas station, I discover Dexter lodged between the seats - 1 problem solved. I get home, and Benjamin has decided to be nice to me, and wants me to put him to bed. He's asleep within minutes - 2nd problem solved.
I head back downstairs at 9 PM, thinking I have time to start the drive cloning before bed. If all goes well, I can clone the drive overnight, get a good night's sleep, and manually swap hardware tomorrow. This 'installing a new hard drive' business isn't THAT hard, after all!
(foreshadowing!!! OH NOES!!!)
So, Partition Magic is installed and ready to go. Ghost is up and running. Hardware is attached. Drive is recognized.
I read the quick 'how-to' regarding drive formatting - simple enough, I think - and start the format process.
Nothing. Happens.
I make sure everything's attached, running, blah blah blah. Try again. This time, it starts, and then the progress meter tells me it's operating fine, 47 minutes to completion. I toddle off and busy myself with household work. About an hour later, I peek at the computer - formatting successful! Time to start cloning.
I fire up Ghost, and start the clone process. Nothing happens. Check the help file - nothing. Start it again - it runs for about 15 minutes, and then I get some weird errors, which is NOT listed in the help files OR online. I shut everything down, restart, and try again: same thing. After repeating the process multiple times, I finally e-mail Symantec with the error message. I receive the standard 'We have received your e-mail and will ignore it for a while, and respond when we damn well feel like it. :wub" canned response.
So, before I throw in the towel for the evening, I decide to try one. more. time. Fire up Ghost - successful. Start the copy - running.
30 seconds in, error message. 'Unable to complete copy.' No reason why, no explanation, no error code. It seems that Ghost just got tired, and decided not to copy my drive.
So - tonight, I'll start the process all over again. I'll re-format the hard drive, and try to Ghost my main drive over. If all goes well, I can perform the hardware swap Saturday.
(FORESHADOWING????)
Thursday, March 23, 2006
How To Install A New Hard Drive
(in 157 easy steps...)
I've grown weary of the speed of my desktop - or lack thereof, anyway. For an Athlon 2800 with over a gb of RAM - it's a pokey beast. And it's all (mostly) due to the hard drive speed. For some unknown reason, the brain trusts at Compaq sent a top of the line Athlon - with geForce 4 card, etc. etc. - out the door with a 5400 rpm hard drive. With 2 partitions. I was okay with it at first - but after a while, it's become tiresome. When I can boot my laptop (Athlon 1800, 756 mb RAM) AFTER I start my desktop, and the laptop loads faster, I know there are issues.
So - on yesterday's sojourn to Craig's List, I found a 7200 RPM Drive, new in box for $60. I'll pick it up after work, and tomorrow I'll set to the task of playing 'ghost the hard drive'.
To accomplish this task - because of the way my drive is set up - I can't just drop it in, copy it and go. Oh, no. That would be too easy. And since I have no intention of spending the better part of a day reloading OS and apps and mp3s and files, or backing them up, etc....I have to approach this with a tactical plan.
I *could* pull all the 'unused' stuff of my existing hard drive tonight - unload the unused apps, defragment, etc. Then, drop the drive in, and Ghost it whilst I slumber. Tomorrow night, when I get home, I then swap the drive bays, change the settings, and reboot. Voila! New, faster drive. Then I can wipe the *old* drive, and use that for file storage only -backups, etc.
Or....I just wait until the weekend, and attack it in a marathon session of anti-static bands, canned air, repeated reboots and smoke breaks.
The issue I have is whether or not to do a three-disk swap. Y'see, I have a USB Hard drive enclosure containing the old 40gig drive from my dad's old pc. Still usable. I *did* think about creating a disk image, using the 40 as my main and the 200 as the data storage, and the pokey 160gb drive in the USB enclosure.
I love making things harder than they need to be....
(in 157 easy steps...)
I've grown weary of the speed of my desktop - or lack thereof, anyway. For an Athlon 2800 with over a gb of RAM - it's a pokey beast. And it's all (mostly) due to the hard drive speed. For some unknown reason, the brain trusts at Compaq sent a top of the line Athlon - with geForce 4 card, etc. etc. - out the door with a 5400 rpm hard drive. With 2 partitions. I was okay with it at first - but after a while, it's become tiresome. When I can boot my laptop (Athlon 1800, 756 mb RAM) AFTER I start my desktop, and the laptop loads faster, I know there are issues.
So - on yesterday's sojourn to Craig's List, I found a 7200 RPM Drive, new in box for $60. I'll pick it up after work, and tomorrow I'll set to the task of playing 'ghost the hard drive'.
To accomplish this task - because of the way my drive is set up - I can't just drop it in, copy it and go. Oh, no. That would be too easy. And since I have no intention of spending the better part of a day reloading OS and apps and mp3s and files, or backing them up, etc....I have to approach this with a tactical plan.
I *could* pull all the 'unused' stuff of my existing hard drive tonight - unload the unused apps, defragment, etc. Then, drop the drive in, and Ghost it whilst I slumber. Tomorrow night, when I get home, I then swap the drive bays, change the settings, and reboot. Voila! New, faster drive. Then I can wipe the *old* drive, and use that for file storage only -backups, etc.
Or....I just wait until the weekend, and attack it in a marathon session of anti-static bands, canned air, repeated reboots and smoke breaks.
The issue I have is whether or not to do a three-disk swap. Y'see, I have a USB Hard drive enclosure containing the old 40gig drive from my dad's old pc. Still usable. I *did* think about creating a disk image, using the 40 as my main and the 200 as the data storage, and the pokey 160gb drive in the USB enclosure.
I love making things harder than they need to be....
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Google THIS, bitches!
So, anyway. Teh job thing is still up in the air. No one is around, no word on the hardware, no requirements for the additional programming they want done, no clue in general. Phone interviews for a couple of promising gigs (one's in Eagan! OMG WTF BBQ), but beyond that......boredom.
So, as always happens when boredom strikes, productivity is at a low, and teh intarweb beckons....I start 'Googling'.
Heh.
So, anyway. Teh job thing is still up in the air. No one is around, no word on the hardware, no requirements for the additional programming they want done, no clue in general. Phone interviews for a couple of promising gigs (one's in Eagan! OMG WTF BBQ), but beyond that......boredom.
So, as always happens when boredom strikes, productivity is at a low, and teh intarweb beckons....I start 'Googling'.
Heh.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Preemptive Optimism....
So, teh Contracting Company (AKA 'Teh Man') called me today. They wanted to know if I had applied for the web developer opening at the U.
:confused??
I said that I hadn't seen such an opening (considering I just looked today, even). After much verbal tap-dancing, I got the not-so-subtle impression that they may be looking to hire me full-time. Or, at the very least, strongly consider me for an upcoming opening. Teh Man did tell me that there is an opening, and that I should apply.
The bad part of this is: the existing web developer is looking to leave. They hired a manager who has no practical code experience (his words) and passed him over for consideration. He's fairly gruntled about it, and has an interview with another company today at 3 PM.
I have a meeting at 2 with my on-site manager, and I plan on bringing all this up.
(crossing fingers)
So, teh Contracting Company (AKA 'Teh Man') called me today. They wanted to know if I had applied for the web developer opening at the U.
:confused??
I said that I hadn't seen such an opening (considering I just looked today, even). After much verbal tap-dancing, I got the not-so-subtle impression that they may be looking to hire me full-time. Or, at the very least, strongly consider me for an upcoming opening. Teh Man did tell me that there is an opening, and that I should apply.
The bad part of this is: the existing web developer is looking to leave. They hired a manager who has no practical code experience (his words) and passed him over for consideration. He's fairly gruntled about it, and has an interview with another company today at 3 PM.
I have a meeting at 2 with my on-site manager, and I plan on bringing all this up.
(crossing fingers)
Monday, March 20, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
It's official. E-mail is destroying interpersonal communication skills. Between the inability of many people to spell correctly, the spate of acronyms and 'shortcuts', and the idea that it's impossible to convey 'tone' in an e-mail - personal communication has taken a turn for the worst.
I posted an ad on Craig's List for the 'backup' monitor (from the 'backup' computer - duh.), and listed it at $85 or best offer. Now - I'm willing to go $75, and take a bit of a loss (I bought it for $100) - but I honestly haven't used the darn thing more than an hour since I got it. Combined with the fact that the 'backup' computer is now, effectively, a large paperweight, I really don't need it. It's still a good box, and at 21", great for any kind of graphics or design.
I posted the ad last night, and I've received 5 e-mails already inquiring as to its' availability. The last one was a very terse 'would you take $50?'.
Without thinking, I fired off a response saying 'no, $85 is firm.' I'm still a little raw from the whole 'boat sale' episode....where, last year, I posted my dad's boat for sale for $1400 or b.o. Some assjack e-mailed me with an offer of $500. I responded - politely at first, saying, no - too little. This sniveling little trash monkey e-mailed back with 'well, how about $600?'
This went on for a week or so - e-mails, raising the offer about $50 each time to a max of $750. I finally fired off a note saying 'look, if you're going to insult me, I'm not selling the boat to you for any price." 'Dre Thor' (his e-mail name) fired back, saying 'hey, just trying to do business. I'm a businessman..."
Needless to say, I still own the boat.
The greater point is that - e-mail doesn't allow you to 'frame' your communication in any kind of emotion. Too often, we fire off quick notes, chuckling at our cleverness, or nodding thoughtfully at our consideration, when the recipient simply looks at our missive, and interprets our words in a wholly different manner. What was sent as 'teh funnay' becomes an insult. What was sent with caring thoughtfulness becomes cold and emotionless.
Don't EVEN get me started about spell check, though........
I posted an ad on Craig's List for the 'backup' monitor (from the 'backup' computer - duh.), and listed it at $85 or best offer. Now - I'm willing to go $75, and take a bit of a loss (I bought it for $100) - but I honestly haven't used the darn thing more than an hour since I got it. Combined with the fact that the 'backup' computer is now, effectively, a large paperweight, I really don't need it. It's still a good box, and at 21", great for any kind of graphics or design.
I posted the ad last night, and I've received 5 e-mails already inquiring as to its' availability. The last one was a very terse 'would you take $50?'.
Without thinking, I fired off a response saying 'no, $85 is firm.' I'm still a little raw from the whole 'boat sale' episode....where, last year, I posted my dad's boat for sale for $1400 or b.o. Some assjack e-mailed me with an offer of $500. I responded - politely at first, saying, no - too little. This sniveling little trash monkey e-mailed back with 'well, how about $600?'
This went on for a week or so - e-mails, raising the offer about $50 each time to a max of $750. I finally fired off a note saying 'look, if you're going to insult me, I'm not selling the boat to you for any price." 'Dre Thor' (his e-mail name) fired back, saying 'hey, just trying to do business. I'm a businessman..."
Needless to say, I still own the boat.
The greater point is that - e-mail doesn't allow you to 'frame' your communication in any kind of emotion. Too often, we fire off quick notes, chuckling at our cleverness, or nodding thoughtfully at our consideration, when the recipient simply looks at our missive, and interprets our words in a wholly different manner. What was sent as 'teh funnay' becomes an insult. What was sent with caring thoughtfulness becomes cold and emotionless.
Don't EVEN get me started about spell check, though........
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Yay, Wednesday.
More snow forecast.
No response regarding teh job search.
The U *still* hasn't purchased servers for the application I'm working on.
I'm out of coffee.
On the plus side, I got a good night's sleep last night - not by design, mind you. I feel asleep while reading to The Boy - who is suffering from yet another cold - and The Lovely Bride woke me at 10 to come to bed. I staggered downstairs, shut off the laptop, and wandered back into bed, asleep before 10:30.
Crazy.
More snow forecast.
No response regarding teh job search.
The U *still* hasn't purchased servers for the application I'm working on.
I'm out of coffee.
On the plus side, I got a good night's sleep last night - not by design, mind you. I feel asleep while reading to The Boy - who is suffering from yet another cold - and The Lovely Bride woke me at 10 to come to bed. I staggered downstairs, shut off the laptop, and wandered back into bed, asleep before 10:30.
Crazy.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Friday, March 10, 2006
So, I've stared at my home page for quite a bit over the last few weeks......
Okay, that's a lie. I've looked at it *ONCE*. The lack of content and inspiration has been depressing, to say the least. Every week, I put 'work on MysteryCheese' in big, fat letters on my 'to do' list, with the best of intentions to complete/revamp/jazz it up/add fries and make it a Happy Meal. And every week, it gets glossed over, forgotten, neglected.
In a way, it's become a metaphor for the rest of my life: all sorts of projects, things I'd like to do, want to do - hell, even need to do - but week after week, lost in the shuffle of daily activities. Casualties of a lack of prioritization, personal focus, and piss-poor time management.
And every week - the 'to do' list gets longer, items slowly migrating from 'this week' to the 'open' category.
I'm normally not one for resolutions - every one I've made has failed miserably. But I need to make some kind of change....
Okay, that's a lie. I've looked at it *ONCE*. The lack of content and inspiration has been depressing, to say the least. Every week, I put 'work on MysteryCheese' in big, fat letters on my 'to do' list, with the best of intentions to complete/revamp/jazz it up/add fries and make it a Happy Meal. And every week, it gets glossed over, forgotten, neglected.
In a way, it's become a metaphor for the rest of my life: all sorts of projects, things I'd like to do, want to do - hell, even need to do - but week after week, lost in the shuffle of daily activities. Casualties of a lack of prioritization, personal focus, and piss-poor time management.
And every week - the 'to do' list gets longer, items slowly migrating from 'this week' to the 'open' category.
I'm normally not one for resolutions - every one I've made has failed miserably. But I need to make some kind of change....
Friday, March 03, 2006
Why?
Star Tribune Story
As a father of two (three, in July) - this just tears at my heart. Why would anyone involve their children in that lifestyle? How can you make a decision - staring down a load of armed police - to start a gunfight, knowing your child - a defenseless, INNOCENT child - is in harms' way?
(angry.)
Now - on to out regularly scheduled blogging.
One of the more interesting aspects of contracting in the tech world is what I call "The Temp Factor". Many firms that need developers have no clue as to the extent of the development they actually need: what happens is usually this:
Company needs (development). Now, it could be a software package, a website, integration/update, etc. So - committees are assembled, plans are written, documents are documented - all by very nice business people with too much MIS experience (and not enough development). If the company has an established IT department, the plan is then sent to them, who promptly point at it and laugh, mock it, and then re-write it with what *really* needs to be done.
Sometimes, however, the "plan" makes its' way through the system: bypassing the IT department, or never making it there. It lands on the desk of someone who decides "Hay! Let's implement this derf derf derf...we have our own programmer lol". Who then lets them know how busy they REALLY are. And then - the clarion call is raised:
"SEND. US. A. TEMP...."
The important part to keep in mind is that - until this point - developers really haven't estimated the time and effort necessary to pull off whatever code voodoo the company wants done: they just know that they're too busy to *do it*.
The director of said department decides that "hay since its a web project lol we'll get one of the intarweb programmers rofl." They contact a consulting firm, who then starts looking for a (fingers making quotation marks) 'Web Programmer'. The consulting firm then calls or e-mails someone like me - and the conversation usually goes like this:
'Hi Craig, Company X needs a web programmer. Are you available?'
(me) 'Perhaps - what are they looking for?'
(them) 'um....a.....web developer. [pause]'
(me)'Well, what skills?'
(them)'Oh! AH - let's see.....HTML, JavaScript, Cold Fusion, CSS, Adobe Photoshop, Flash, Java, SQL, Pascal, C++++, VBScript, Binary, Apache server configuration, Linux, Unix,....and Dot Net."
Seriously: those are the types of e-mails recruiters send to me. Anyway.
(me) 'They want ALL of those?'
(them) 'Yeah - it's for a one month project to get a multi-tiered e-commerce application up and running. But there *is* a possibility for extension....'
So - let's see if I have this right. Company X wants a web site, fully developed, up and functional, in ONE. MONTH.
At this point, you could say, "well, that's doable. If they've done all the prep work, like requirements, definitions, etc." And - if I don't want to sleep, eat, or bathe for a month - but that's another rant....
Anyway - in most cases - they haven't done requirements. The best they have is a scribbled stick figure diagram on a bar napkin (or equivalent). They're looking for someone to come in, do the requirements (or - in many cases, re-do them THE RIGHT WAY), code and deploy. In a month. And - in most cases, these companies have no idea regarding the hardware status. "We have a server. Somewhere......yeah! There it is! That old IBM 486 sitting in the corner."
So - they want it yesterday, but they have no idea what "it" is. They know "it's" going to be on the World Wild Intarweb, but they have no server, no support, no backup plan, no idea what "it" should like like or how "it" should run. And - design?
"It should look like our other intraweb sites roflmao"
And: they want a temp to program it, because once it's live, "Jane in Accounting can make the updates omg lol wtf bbq"
Now - this turns out to be lucrative for a lot of contractors and contracting firms: once a contractor gets on-site, a one-month project turns out to be three, and then 6 months long, because of bureaucratic hassle and general ignorance. Not to mention that - once it's live, SOMEONE wants to make changes right away, and "since the contractor's already doing it, let's keep them on omgOMG!" Unfortunately, this also means that - at any minute - the plug could get pulled, and the contractor is packing up his/her Star Wars figures and Dilbert cube goodies on their way out the door.
And the end result is that half - if not more - of these projects end up costing 3+ times more than they needed to, and taking 10 times longer - simply because of the reliance on the fact that "hay we can always hire a tempz0rz omg".
Star Tribune Story
As a father of two (three, in July) - this just tears at my heart. Why would anyone involve their children in that lifestyle? How can you make a decision - staring down a load of armed police - to start a gunfight, knowing your child - a defenseless, INNOCENT child - is in harms' way?
(angry.)
Now - on to out regularly scheduled blogging.
One of the more interesting aspects of contracting in the tech world is what I call "The Temp Factor". Many firms that need developers have no clue as to the extent of the development they actually need: what happens is usually this:
Company needs (development). Now, it could be a software package, a website, integration/update, etc. So - committees are assembled, plans are written, documents are documented - all by very nice business people with too much MIS experience (and not enough development). If the company has an established IT department, the plan is then sent to them, who promptly point at it and laugh, mock it, and then re-write it with what *really* needs to be done.
Sometimes, however, the "plan" makes its' way through the system: bypassing the IT department, or never making it there. It lands on the desk of someone who decides "Hay! Let's implement this derf derf derf...we have our own programmer lol". Who then lets them know how busy they REALLY are. And then - the clarion call is raised:
"SEND. US. A. TEMP...."
The important part to keep in mind is that - until this point - developers really haven't estimated the time and effort necessary to pull off whatever code voodoo the company wants done: they just know that they're too busy to *do it*.
The director of said department decides that "hay since its a web project lol we'll get one of the intarweb programmers rofl." They contact a consulting firm, who then starts looking for a (fingers making quotation marks) 'Web Programmer'. The consulting firm then calls or e-mails someone like me - and the conversation usually goes like this:
'Hi Craig, Company X needs a web programmer. Are you available?'
(me) 'Perhaps - what are they looking for?'
(them) 'um....a.....web developer. [pause]'
(me)'Well, what skills?'
(them)'Oh! AH - let's see.....HTML, JavaScript, Cold Fusion, CSS, Adobe Photoshop, Flash, Java, SQL, Pascal, C++++, VBScript, Binary, Apache server configuration, Linux, Unix,....and Dot Net."
Seriously: those are the types of e-mails recruiters send to me. Anyway.
(me) 'They want ALL of those?'
(them) 'Yeah - it's for a one month project to get a multi-tiered e-commerce application up and running. But there *is* a possibility for extension....'
So - let's see if I have this right. Company X wants a web site, fully developed, up and functional, in ONE. MONTH.
At this point, you could say, "well, that's doable. If they've done all the prep work, like requirements, definitions, etc." And - if I don't want to sleep, eat, or bathe for a month - but that's another rant....
Anyway - in most cases - they haven't done requirements. The best they have is a scribbled stick figure diagram on a bar napkin (or equivalent). They're looking for someone to come in, do the requirements (or - in many cases, re-do them THE RIGHT WAY), code and deploy. In a month. And - in most cases, these companies have no idea regarding the hardware status. "We have a server. Somewhere......yeah! There it is! That old IBM 486 sitting in the corner."
So - they want it yesterday, but they have no idea what "it" is. They know "it's" going to be on the World Wild Intarweb, but they have no server, no support, no backup plan, no idea what "it" should like like or how "it" should run. And - design?
"It should look like our other intraweb sites roflmao"
And: they want a temp to program it, because once it's live, "Jane in Accounting can make the updates omg lol wtf bbq"
Now - this turns out to be lucrative for a lot of contractors and contracting firms: once a contractor gets on-site, a one-month project turns out to be three, and then 6 months long, because of bureaucratic hassle and general ignorance. Not to mention that - once it's live, SOMEONE wants to make changes right away, and "since the contractor's already doing it, let's keep them on omgOMG!" Unfortunately, this also means that - at any minute - the plug could get pulled, and the contractor is packing up his/her Star Wars figures and Dilbert cube goodies on their way out the door.
And the end result is that half - if not more - of these projects end up costing 3+ times more than they needed to, and taking 10 times longer - simply because of the reliance on the fact that "hay we can always hire a tempz0rz omg".
Thursday, March 02, 2006
*sigh*
I can't read the news anymore. Between daily overdoses of 'teh stupid', and the apparent belief that *all* Americans are attention-deficient twits that are more interested in PARIS HILTON OMG or what actor is banging which actress and what they wore on the red carpet at one of the 8 freakin' million awards shows - there's very little to be optimistic about.
Economy news? Reports on how our highly-paid elected officials are serving our best interests? Some level of accountability for the gub'mint?
Naaaaaaaaaah. That doesn't sell. Run another story about Lindsey Lohan's Bulemic tirade about Paris Hilton stealing the boyfriend that appeared on American Idol. Now THAT'S news. 15 seconds of fame my ass.
And - when it does come to 'journalistic integrity' - you have the stories about the 2 year old girl who died from a heroin overdose in NYC, and how the Department of Family Services and Happy Thoughts is backlogged to the point where this poor little girl just 'got lost in the system.'
Of course, note how these stories happen to surface during 'Sweeps Week' - to draw more reader interest, more viewers, and so the media companies can jack up their advertising prices blah blah blah.
In the meantime - my search for 'teh job' continues. Tons of positions posted, nothing relevant to my experience or career path.
I can't read the news anymore. Between daily overdoses of 'teh stupid', and the apparent belief that *all* Americans are attention-deficient twits that are more interested in PARIS HILTON OMG or what actor is banging which actress and what they wore on the red carpet at one of the 8 freakin' million awards shows - there's very little to be optimistic about.
Economy news? Reports on how our highly-paid elected officials are serving our best interests? Some level of accountability for the gub'mint?
Naaaaaaaaaah. That doesn't sell. Run another story about Lindsey Lohan's Bulemic tirade about Paris Hilton stealing the boyfriend that appeared on American Idol. Now THAT'S news. 15 seconds of fame my ass.
And - when it does come to 'journalistic integrity' - you have the stories about the 2 year old girl who died from a heroin overdose in NYC, and how the Department of Family Services and Happy Thoughts is backlogged to the point where this poor little girl just 'got lost in the system.'
Of course, note how these stories happen to surface during 'Sweeps Week' - to draw more reader interest, more viewers, and so the media companies can jack up their advertising prices blah blah blah.
In the meantime - my search for 'teh job' continues. Tons of positions posted, nothing relevant to my experience or career path.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The Job Market's Improving! The Job Market's Improving! Oh, wai-
A recent set of articles, plus the usual propaganda from the Fed, state that the economy is poised for growth. All the major companies are expecting to be hiring for tech workers, and the demand for IT Professionals will soon outpace the available workforce. We're being told to prepare for 'qualified worker shortages in most of the major IT fields.' (quotes from somewhere.)
To an experienced IT Professionaltm like myself, this kind of blather ranks right up there with 'The check's in teh mail' and 'Of course I love you - Missy? Michelle? Um....'
Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that my skillset is highly specialized, and that I would rather be selective with the positions that I pursue. And that I'm motivated by a passion for mediocrity...
Monday, February 27, 2006
So much for teh daily blogging. Friday was a blur of activity - pickup the new table for the dining room, and by the time the kids were abed, it's midnight. Saturday - The Lovely Bride had a day out with her friend Tara, and between dance lessons for The Fia, wrangling The Benjamin, supper and baths, bedtime came way too quick. Sunday was *supposed* to be a Family Fun Daytm, but on the way to church, The Fia started vomiting, and so we turned the van around and headed home. The remainder of the day was spent cleaning the house, playing with The Benjamin, snuggling The Fia, and washing cars.
I did get to sneak out for a few hours - just to bum around, but after 2 hours of wandering and browsing, I headed back home. Bored, bored, bored.
This week, I really have to resolve to start knocking items off the 'to do' list.
I did get to sneak out for a few hours - just to bum around, but after 2 hours of wandering and browsing, I headed back home. Bored, bored, bored.
This week, I really have to resolve to start knocking items off the 'to do' list.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
We had the ultrasound yesterday. 10 fingers, 10 toes, heart looks good, lungs, et al. - development fine, healthy little baby. Based on the measurements, etc. - it appears that the due date is sometime in the last week of June....or so. The exact science of due dates has still eluded modern medical professionals, so - for all the M.D.s, Ph.D.s, R.N.s, and other assorted acronyms, it's still a guessing game.
"Hmm.....based on the measurements, and the date of the mother's last cycle....let's see....(throws dart) - June 27! That sounds good."
The important thing - to me, anyway, is that the little one is healthy. Everything looks fine - as much as they can tell through the ultrasound, anyway. No major problems.
Prior to starting the ultrasound, we had the 'Are you going to determine gender?" segment of the show, and the RN looked at Doree. Who looked at me. I nodded my head frantically, and off we went. Throughout the ultrasound - as they check head size, heart, and other organs, the nurse keeps remarking that 'the legs are crossed, and it's moving, so I don't know if we'll find out the gender." Doree and I both shrug - if we can't find out, it'll be a surprise, and we're fine with that. After all the measurements, and regular checks, the nurse tries a different angle - and - could it be? Yes, it is. A penis. So - either we're getting a little boy, to share a room with his Big Brother Ben, or the nurse made a mistake.....
Names are already being discussed - and Doree is adamant that the middle name be 'Rodney'. Now - nothing against her dad, or his name - but 'Rodney' is not going to be an easy one to match up. We like 'Brian' - which works well, but we also liked 'Scott' - as an homage to my Grandfather. 'Scott Rodney' is just BEGGING for teasing, later in life. Or....
"Dad, why the HELL did you pick 'Rodney' as my middle name?"
"You're named in honor of your grandfather, Rod - your mother's father. Just like your brother, who's named in honor of my father."
"Yeah, but do you know what they call me at school? Seriously?"
"Yep. I tried, son. Talk to your mother about it."
"Dad - 'Scott Rod'? Really?"
"Talk to Mom about it."
"I hate you, Dad."
I better up my 401(k) contributions to save up for his therapy.....
"Hmm.....based on the measurements, and the date of the mother's last cycle....let's see....(throws dart) - June 27! That sounds good."
The important thing - to me, anyway, is that the little one is healthy. Everything looks fine - as much as they can tell through the ultrasound, anyway. No major problems.
Prior to starting the ultrasound, we had the 'Are you going to determine gender?" segment of the show, and the RN looked at Doree. Who looked at me. I nodded my head frantically, and off we went. Throughout the ultrasound - as they check head size, heart, and other organs, the nurse keeps remarking that 'the legs are crossed, and it's moving, so I don't know if we'll find out the gender." Doree and I both shrug - if we can't find out, it'll be a surprise, and we're fine with that. After all the measurements, and regular checks, the nurse tries a different angle - and - could it be? Yes, it is. A penis. So - either we're getting a little boy, to share a room with his Big Brother Ben, or the nurse made a mistake.....
Names are already being discussed - and Doree is adamant that the middle name be 'Rodney'. Now - nothing against her dad, or his name - but 'Rodney' is not going to be an easy one to match up. We like 'Brian' - which works well, but we also liked 'Scott' - as an homage to my Grandfather. 'Scott Rodney' is just BEGGING for teasing, later in life. Or....
"Dad, why the HELL did you pick 'Rodney' as my middle name?"
"You're named in honor of your grandfather, Rod - your mother's father. Just like your brother, who's named in honor of my father."
"Yeah, but do you know what they call me at school? Seriously?"
"Yep. I tried, son. Talk to your mother about it."
"Dad - 'Scott Rod'? Really?"
"Talk to Mom about it."
"I hate you, Dad."
I better up my 401(k) contributions to save up for his therapy.....
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Windows shmindows.
My wife's cousin is staying with us while she looks for a job - seems a degree in Business Administration and speaking fluent Japanese doesn't get you much in Nebraska - and her laptop has been having 'issues'. She informed me that her friends had worked on it previously - reinstalling Windows, performing sacred Santeria rites to the almighty Gates, and it was 'working', just not well.
So I take a look, being the nice guy I am (and the resident techie). It's a refurbished HP Pavilion, Athlon 2800, running Windows XP.
With 256 mb of RAM. Barely enough to drive a screensaver in XP, much less anything else.
So, my first order of business is to upgrade her RAM. Since my laptop and hers take the same memory, and I just got my 512 stick in the mail from New Egg (I LOVES TEH NEW EGG OMG!!!!11 one), I give her the 256 from mine, upping hers to 512. All is well in the universe.....
....until she boots up her laptop and gets the dreaded 'Blue Screen Of Doom'.
So - her hard drive is shot. Remembering what happened when my hard drive took a dirt nap, I give her the bad news - $300 + a couple'a weeks with the Geek Squad. I start doing a little digging around, though - and find that hard drive replacement is actually pretty easy. Fifteen minutes of hardware swap, and three hours of formatting, loading drivers and OS, and reinstalling her apps. So - in an effort to save her a few bucks, I offer to replace the hard drive and fix it for her.
MISTAKE #1.
From Teh Book of Webguy, ch 42, v. 19-25:
'Woe unto you, Windows.
For thou providest restore disks without drivers
Thy instructions are arcane
And thou dost not number them properly.
Thy onscreen instructions are faulty
And leadeth down the path of confusion."
Anyway...after another visit to New Egg (:wub OMG!!!111 one hundred eleven), I order her a new hard drive for $70, and it arrived yesterday. After supper, I dig into the box, grab the restore disks, and head to the basement, intent on fixing and finishing to be in bed at a reasonable hour.
I plug the hard drive in: detected.
Load the BIOS and drivers: no problem.
Drop in System Restore disk #1, and fire it up. After 15 minutes of 'Initializing......Calculating.......Loading...." - I get the prompt to insert disk #2.
Or.....wha?
"Please insert Windows System Restore Disk."
That's it - no number. Well, I'll just guess that it needs disk #2 - 'cause 2 comes after 1, right?
MISTAKE #2
From Teh Book of Webguy, ch 73, v. 5-11:
"Woe unto you, Windows
For thy arcane file system
Does not follow logic
And is confused
Scattered to the winds across many disks
Like wheat before the storm...
Or something."
So, I drop disk #2 in, and wait. It spins, starts loading drivers, and then tells me that it needs "cshdchinesearcanefilename.qvcsomethingorother". Okay - that must be on disk #3, right? Because I already did disk 1, then 2, and 3 comes after 2, so.....I insert disk 3, and wait. Same error message. I try again - same thing.
The hell?
I spend the next 1/2 hour trying every disk available. I even re-inserted the BIOS disk - just in case - no soap. Since I have my desktop on, with the reference manual up (just in case), I check the troubleshooting guide for reference to the file, or the error. Nothing.
Since I'm reasonably intelligent, I decide to look on all the disks for that particular file - I'll locate it using my desktop, and once I find it, I'll put that disk in the laptop and proceed. This assumes that I'll *find* it, however...
1/2 hour later, I decide to just skip that particular file....the reasonable assumption being that, since I'll have to run the Service Pack updates once the OS is installed, I can have Windows download updated drivers then. Right? RIGHT?
2 hours, 8 disks, 17 reboots, 256 messsages prompting for 'Windows Restore Disk' later, it's running. Still no battery, though. Fine. I'll just use the real-time HP chat to see if updated drivers are available. Since I already looked at the HP site, and nothing was listed, the techs should have an updated driver reference available *somewhere*, right?
Hello? Is this thing on? *tap tap tap*
10 Minutes later, I'm in the middle of a chat session with 'Chandra' at HP. Her first suggestion is to uninstall and then re-install the battery. (derf) After I tell her that I've tried that - TWICE - she then has me go into the Device Manager, and start removing some 'Power Management Services'.
MISTAKE #3
From Teh Book of Webguy, ch 125, v. 3.14:
"Why can't you name drivers logically? Seriously. Asshats."
Since she is a Licensed HP Chat Professional (tm), I do as she says, blithely unconcerned with the results. She's gonna help me fixes it, Precious. Once the device is uninstalled - the laptop starts 'detecting' things. Like the graphics card (which was already installed). The CD/DVD drive (ibid.). The touchpad. And so on. And still - no battery. Then - to make matters worse, it needs to reboot. AND reinstall Windows Service Pack 2.
AAAAGH.
Midnight. I've reinstalled Windows SP 2. I've downloaded all 65 'Critical' updates from Windows. I've rebooted and rebooted and reboooooted. I've even run a virus scan (to get rid of the Annoying 'Your computer may be at risk! Click this balloon to have us nag you about it." pop-up that SP2 now features). I've constructed a fort of Legos in the basement, and am starting to emit a low, rumbling growl. The facial tic I developed somewhere around Restore Disk #Four (I think - 'cause they're not numbered! But they are! Hahahahaha!!!111_) is now affecting the entire right side of my body.
And the battery still. isn't. installed.
My wife's cousin is staying with us while she looks for a job - seems a degree in Business Administration and speaking fluent Japanese doesn't get you much in Nebraska - and her laptop has been having 'issues'. She informed me that her friends had worked on it previously - reinstalling Windows, performing sacred Santeria rites to the almighty Gates, and it was 'working', just not well.
So I take a look, being the nice guy I am (and the resident techie). It's a refurbished HP Pavilion, Athlon 2800, running Windows XP.
With 256 mb of RAM. Barely enough to drive a screensaver in XP, much less anything else.
So, my first order of business is to upgrade her RAM. Since my laptop and hers take the same memory, and I just got my 512 stick in the mail from New Egg (I LOVES TEH NEW EGG OMG!!!!11 one), I give her the 256 from mine, upping hers to 512. All is well in the universe.....
....until she boots up her laptop and gets the dreaded 'Blue Screen Of Doom'.
So - her hard drive is shot. Remembering what happened when my hard drive took a dirt nap, I give her the bad news - $300 + a couple'a weeks with the Geek Squad. I start doing a little digging around, though - and find that hard drive replacement is actually pretty easy. Fifteen minutes of hardware swap, and three hours of formatting, loading drivers and OS, and reinstalling her apps. So - in an effort to save her a few bucks, I offer to replace the hard drive and fix it for her.
MISTAKE #1.
From Teh Book of Webguy, ch 42, v. 19-25:
'Woe unto you, Windows.
For thou providest restore disks without drivers
Thy instructions are arcane
And thou dost not number them properly.
Thy onscreen instructions are faulty
And leadeth down the path of confusion."
Anyway...after another visit to New Egg (:wub OMG!!!111 one hundred eleven), I order her a new hard drive for $70, and it arrived yesterday. After supper, I dig into the box, grab the restore disks, and head to the basement, intent on fixing and finishing to be in bed at a reasonable hour.
I plug the hard drive in: detected.
Load the BIOS and drivers: no problem.
Drop in System Restore disk #1, and fire it up. After 15 minutes of 'Initializing......Calculating.......Loading...." - I get the prompt to insert disk #2.
Or.....wha?
"Please insert Windows System Restore Disk."
That's it - no number. Well, I'll just guess that it needs disk #2 - 'cause 2 comes after 1, right?
MISTAKE #2
From Teh Book of Webguy, ch 73, v. 5-11:
"Woe unto you, Windows
For thy arcane file system
Does not follow logic
And is confused
Scattered to the winds across many disks
Like wheat before the storm...
Or something."
So, I drop disk #2 in, and wait. It spins, starts loading drivers, and then tells me that it needs "cshdchinesearcanefilename.qvcsomethingorother". Okay - that must be on disk #3, right? Because I already did disk 1, then 2, and 3 comes after 2, so.....I insert disk 3, and wait. Same error message. I try again - same thing.
The hell?
I spend the next 1/2 hour trying every disk available. I even re-inserted the BIOS disk - just in case - no soap. Since I have my desktop on, with the reference manual up (just in case), I check the troubleshooting guide for reference to the file, or the error. Nothing.
Since I'm reasonably intelligent, I decide to look on all the disks for that particular file - I'll locate it using my desktop, and once I find it, I'll put that disk in the laptop and proceed. This assumes that I'll *find* it, however...
1/2 hour later, I decide to just skip that particular file....the reasonable assumption being that, since I'll have to run the Service Pack updates once the OS is installed, I can have Windows download updated drivers then. Right? RIGHT?
2 hours, 8 disks, 17 reboots, 256 messsages prompting for 'Windows Restore Disk' later, it's running. Still no battery, though. Fine. I'll just use the real-time HP chat to see if updated drivers are available. Since I already looked at the HP site, and nothing was listed, the techs should have an updated driver reference available *somewhere*, right?
Hello? Is this thing on? *tap tap tap*
10 Minutes later, I'm in the middle of a chat session with 'Chandra' at HP. Her first suggestion is to uninstall and then re-install the battery. (derf) After I tell her that I've tried that - TWICE - she then has me go into the Device Manager, and start removing some 'Power Management Services'.
MISTAKE #3
From Teh Book of Webguy, ch 125, v. 3.14:
"Why can't you name drivers logically? Seriously. Asshats."
Since she is a Licensed HP Chat Professional (tm), I do as she says, blithely unconcerned with the results. She's gonna help me fixes it, Precious. Once the device is uninstalled - the laptop starts 'detecting' things. Like the graphics card (which was already installed). The CD/DVD drive (ibid.). The touchpad. And so on. And still - no battery. Then - to make matters worse, it needs to reboot. AND reinstall Windows Service Pack 2.
AAAAGH.
Midnight. I've reinstalled Windows SP 2. I've downloaded all 65 'Critical' updates from Windows. I've rebooted and rebooted and reboooooted. I've even run a virus scan (to get rid of the Annoying 'Your computer may be at risk! Click this balloon to have us nag you about it." pop-up that SP2 now features). I've constructed a fort of Legos in the basement, and am starting to emit a low, rumbling growl. The facial tic I developed somewhere around Restore Disk #Four (I think - 'cause they're not numbered! But they are! Hahahahaha!!!111_) is now affecting the entire right side of my body.
And the battery still. isn't. installed.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
As a child, I was fascinated by airplanes. I grew up near the South St. Paul municipal airport, so there were always planes in the sky overhead. Mostly private planes - Cessnas, Beechcraft, etc. The airport - Fleming Field - also happened to be the home of the Confederate Air Force's Minnesota branch. The main plane based there was a Texan - an old T-38, used for pilot training back in WWII. Hearing that Pratt & Whitney growling overhead one day in the summer sun, I became hooked on vintage aircraft. I devoured texts regarding WWII airplanes, scoured the libraries for picture books on all the planes, and spent many a day cleaning Testor's Model Glue off the carpet in the basement. I had a shelf full of models - a B-24J Liberator, B-17G Flying Fortress, and my all-time favorite, the F4-U Corsair - among countless others.
Eventually, my fascination with the airplanes led me to explore much of the history of WWII, and the surrounding era. I became enamored of art deco at an early age, learned about the history of the US and global policies after the Depression, and listened endlessly to big band swing with my grandfather.
One of the things that I found interesting, even at an early age, was America's positions prior to, and during, WWII. In the wake of the Depression, under Roosevelt's 'New Deal', American had become isolationist in many of its' policies and feelings. To paraphrase, 'as long as it didn't happen here' seemed to be the mandate of the masses, and our government as well. If any nastiness started to raise it's ugly head, the government/law officials hopped to in a semi-paranoid frenzy. Union Organization? That could lead to another Bolshevik Revolution. Better squash that - call out the troops. Anarchists protesting failing social policies and bloated, corrupt government? Round 'em up, and get those guys - that one, Sacco, and his friend, Vanzetti - they look like they was gonna bomb something.
Admittedly, the world *was* changing, much more rapidly than society was ready for (in a lot of ways). It's understandable that social policies would be a bit out of step with what was necessary, or *should* be done. But - very few politicians - Founding Fathers excluded (maybe) - have had the foresight to truly craft living legislative policies, or to engineer societal change in an evolutionary way. Most legislation and governmental action is (and should be, in most cases) reactionary.
Anyway....
I read this story in the Strib today:
3 Indicted of planning to attack military
And - at first, I thought it was the normal grist from Baghdad. Until, that is, I read on.....The perps in question are living in Ohio.
Ohio.
For some reason, I immediately flashed back to something I had read, many years ago. It was about the detention camps in the West for the Japanese-Americans during WWII. After Pearl Harbor, the US deemed that these people - citizens, either naturalized, or born here - could potentially be a threat. They rounded them up (nicely - sort of), forced them to sell their homes, businesses and possessions (at pennies on the dollar, in many cases) and herded them to camps in the desert. They had committed no crime (innocent until proven guilty, anyone?), yet they were treated as less than citizens. Some died in the camps - others told tales of brutalities - and yet they tolerated their fate, knowing that, despite their current situation, they were still Americans, and they would not be forgotten. Many of their sons and daughters joined the military, and fought in both theaters, or served as hospital and support staff. Many earned commendations, many were killed. It wasn't until the 1980s when monetary reparations were paid, and an offical apology was issued, condeming the actions of the government against its' citizenry.
What's the point, you ask?
America has been in isolationist mode for many years. It wasn't until the events of September 11 that we realized that radical islam posed as great a threat as it does. Yet - because of the mistakes of the past, we don't want to 'offend' anyone, or be too hasty. We have a huge problem with illegal immegration - and I'm not talking about from Mexico (when was the last time they tried a terrorist act, btw?). We're also forced to worship at the altar of "diversity" and "respect" others beliefs, faiths, etc. - to the point of allowing just about any asshat into our country to do is he/she/it pleases.
I'm not recommending that we start rounding up the muslims. Conversely, I'm not saying we should just close down our borders completely, either. But we need to do something. I'm just not sure *what*.
Eventually, my fascination with the airplanes led me to explore much of the history of WWII, and the surrounding era. I became enamored of art deco at an early age, learned about the history of the US and global policies after the Depression, and listened endlessly to big band swing with my grandfather.
One of the things that I found interesting, even at an early age, was America's positions prior to, and during, WWII. In the wake of the Depression, under Roosevelt's 'New Deal', American had become isolationist in many of its' policies and feelings. To paraphrase, 'as long as it didn't happen here' seemed to be the mandate of the masses, and our government as well. If any nastiness started to raise it's ugly head, the government/law officials hopped to in a semi-paranoid frenzy. Union Organization? That could lead to another Bolshevik Revolution. Better squash that - call out the troops. Anarchists protesting failing social policies and bloated, corrupt government? Round 'em up, and get those guys - that one, Sacco, and his friend, Vanzetti - they look like they was gonna bomb something.
Admittedly, the world *was* changing, much more rapidly than society was ready for (in a lot of ways). It's understandable that social policies would be a bit out of step with what was necessary, or *should* be done. But - very few politicians - Founding Fathers excluded (maybe) - have had the foresight to truly craft living legislative policies, or to engineer societal change in an evolutionary way. Most legislation and governmental action is (and should be, in most cases) reactionary.
Anyway....
I read this story in the Strib today:
3 Indicted of planning to attack military
And - at first, I thought it was the normal grist from Baghdad. Until, that is, I read on.....The perps in question are living in Ohio.
Ohio.
For some reason, I immediately flashed back to something I had read, many years ago. It was about the detention camps in the West for the Japanese-Americans during WWII. After Pearl Harbor, the US deemed that these people - citizens, either naturalized, or born here - could potentially be a threat. They rounded them up (nicely - sort of), forced them to sell their homes, businesses and possessions (at pennies on the dollar, in many cases) and herded them to camps in the desert. They had committed no crime (innocent until proven guilty, anyone?), yet they were treated as less than citizens. Some died in the camps - others told tales of brutalities - and yet they tolerated their fate, knowing that, despite their current situation, they were still Americans, and they would not be forgotten. Many of their sons and daughters joined the military, and fought in both theaters, or served as hospital and support staff. Many earned commendations, many were killed. It wasn't until the 1980s when monetary reparations were paid, and an offical apology was issued, condeming the actions of the government against its' citizenry.
What's the point, you ask?
America has been in isolationist mode for many years. It wasn't until the events of September 11 that we realized that radical islam posed as great a threat as it does. Yet - because of the mistakes of the past, we don't want to 'offend' anyone, or be too hasty. We have a huge problem with illegal immegration - and I'm not talking about from Mexico (when was the last time they tried a terrorist act, btw?). We're also forced to worship at the altar of "diversity" and "respect" others beliefs, faiths, etc. - to the point of allowing just about any asshat into our country to do is he/she/it pleases.
I'm not recommending that we start rounding up the muslims. Conversely, I'm not saying we should just close down our borders completely, either. But we need to do something. I'm just not sure *what*.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Someone has a case of the Mondays.....
Monday definitely seems to be the 'black hole' of the week, in terms of job searches. There's the Sunday paper to sift through, updated postings from Friday on all of the job sites, and the 'work' that you have to do at your job that just seems to get in the way of it all. Recruiters rarely call, and seem impossible to get in touch with, and the only time to hear anything on a Monday from a prospective employer is the obligatory letter/call to let you know that "we're evaluating a candidate that better fits our needs...."
To compound things, this semester I have class on Mondays, which means my day is about 18 hours long. Up at 6 am, stumble through a shower (shaving optional) and breakfast, then out the door for the commute. Work work work until 4, then it's over to Midway for my class (which NEVER gets out early) and home at around 10. By the time I catch up on the day and wind down a little, it's 11:30.
So - for all my half-assed, grandiose planning, Mondays just never seem to work out. Which then throws the rest of my week into an anxious state of flux. From now on - I need to resolve that Mondays are going to be the 'do not schedule' day on my calendar.
Monday definitely seems to be the 'black hole' of the week, in terms of job searches. There's the Sunday paper to sift through, updated postings from Friday on all of the job sites, and the 'work' that you have to do at your job that just seems to get in the way of it all. Recruiters rarely call, and seem impossible to get in touch with, and the only time to hear anything on a Monday from a prospective employer is the obligatory letter/call to let you know that "we're evaluating a candidate that better fits our needs...."
To compound things, this semester I have class on Mondays, which means my day is about 18 hours long. Up at 6 am, stumble through a shower (shaving optional) and breakfast, then out the door for the commute. Work work work until 4, then it's over to Midway for my class (which NEVER gets out early) and home at around 10. By the time I catch up on the day and wind down a little, it's 11:30.
So - for all my half-assed, grandiose planning, Mondays just never seem to work out. Which then throws the rest of my week into an anxious state of flux. From now on - I need to resolve that Mondays are going to be the 'do not schedule' day on my calendar.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Damn, it's cold. Will someone please remind me why I live in Minnesota, anyway?
My 'interview' went fairly well yesterday. It seems that the company in question wants a web developer with my skillset. Oddly enough, they're located in the old American Express Customer Service Center....it seems that the 14-floor behemoth was just a bit too much building, and since the 'Ameriprise' spin-off, they've been laying people off. So.....they've rented out space in the building, and it appears that this company has taken up residence there.
They wanted samples of my work - between the static stuff that I have, it *should* be enough. I really have to get off my ass and finish MysteryCheese, though - and soon. Maybe this weekend....since I don't plan on leaving the house.
My 'interview' went fairly well yesterday. It seems that the company in question wants a web developer with my skillset. Oddly enough, they're located in the old American Express Customer Service Center....it seems that the 14-floor behemoth was just a bit too much building, and since the 'Ameriprise' spin-off, they've been laying people off. So.....they've rented out space in the building, and it appears that this company has taken up residence there.
They wanted samples of my work - between the static stuff that I have, it *should* be enough. I really have to get off my ass and finish MysteryCheese, though - and soon. Maybe this weekend....since I don't plan on leaving the house.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Once again, more proof that our society is in decline. 'Plasticine' Pam Anderson, noted animal rights activist, mother, 'actress' (and I use the term loosely), and silicone spokeswoman, sounds off about the Kentucky Derby and why she thinks it should be stopped:
"It makes me want to avoid Kentucky altogether, which is sad because there are so many great people there," Anderson said in a statement released Tuesday by Idiotic Sandal-wearin' Hippies, er...I mean, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Like most people, I don't want to support cruelty to animals, whether it's forcing horses to race for our amusement or scalding chickens alive for our plate," Anderson said. "We have to be more evolved than this."
"More Evolved"??? This from a woman who (allegedly) pumped her breasts and lips so full of silicone that she became a caricature? Who built a career on the masturbatory fantasies of men? Oh, right. Caring about animals is 'evolved'. Just like gobbling Tommy Lee's knob on camera?
I think this gets my STFU award for the week. Someone needs to stick something in her mouth and shut her up before she hurts herself.
"It makes me want to avoid Kentucky altogether, which is sad because there are so many great people there," Anderson said in a statement released Tuesday by Idiotic Sandal-wearin' Hippies, er...I mean, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Like most people, I don't want to support cruelty to animals, whether it's forcing horses to race for our amusement or scalding chickens alive for our plate," Anderson said. "We have to be more evolved than this."
"More Evolved"??? This from a woman who (allegedly) pumped her breasts and lips so full of silicone that she became a caricature? Who built a career on the masturbatory fantasies of men? Oh, right. Caring about animals is 'evolved'. Just like gobbling Tommy Lee's knob on camera?
I think this gets my STFU award for the week. Someone needs to stick something in her mouth and shut her up before she hurts herself.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
So - I finally found out *why* I didn't get considered for the U of M jobs (the ones that I am already doing as a temp, btw)....It seems that I didn't have anough database experience to be the developer, and not enough graphics experience to be a designer.
.....I've spent the better part of the morning trying to wrap my head around that conundrum. And I have come to the conclusion that I - with my combination of practical coding experience, usable design, familiarity with W3C and WAS complience....am out of luck, as far as clueless companies are concerned.
I have another "let's meet over coffee and talk about some GREAT opportunities that fit your skill set!" meeting with a recruiter tomorrow. Maybe this time I'll remember to let them pay for the coffee.....
.....I've spent the better part of the morning trying to wrap my head around that conundrum. And I have come to the conclusion that I - with my combination of practical coding experience, usable design, familiarity with W3C and WAS complience....am out of luck, as far as clueless companies are concerned.
I have another "let's meet over coffee and talk about some GREAT opportunities that fit your skill set!" meeting with a recruiter tomorrow. Maybe this time I'll remember to let them pay for the coffee.....
Monday, February 13, 2006
Well, shit.
I haven't posted here in a hideously long time. And - while I'm really not in the mood to just jump right in and 'HAY GUYZ OMG LOL!!!1' - I need somewhere to get stuff out of my head.
My best friend Terry died last week. He just turned 40 on Feb. 2 - 'Pigdog Day', as I used to tease him. I was lucky enough to have had the chance to spend an evening with him and some of the boys, playing poker, about 2 weeks ago. We tossed a few beers back, played poker, yakked about anything and everything, and laughed. A lot. We generally did that when Terry was around. He could make you laugh about anything. His unique takes and observations - usually liberally sprinkled with more than a few expletives, and so far off the charts in terms of 'non-politically correct' - were always enough to keep us laughing.
I'll probably be posting more as it all starts to come together for me - but right now, all I can feel is sad, and very much alone. A day didn't go by when I didn't talk to him in some form - e-mail, the forums, or by phone - and my world is just a whole lot quieter since Wednesday.
I haven't posted here in a hideously long time. And - while I'm really not in the mood to just jump right in and 'HAY GUYZ OMG LOL!!!1' - I need somewhere to get stuff out of my head.
My best friend Terry died last week. He just turned 40 on Feb. 2 - 'Pigdog Day', as I used to tease him. I was lucky enough to have had the chance to spend an evening with him and some of the boys, playing poker, about 2 weeks ago. We tossed a few beers back, played poker, yakked about anything and everything, and laughed. A lot. We generally did that when Terry was around. He could make you laugh about anything. His unique takes and observations - usually liberally sprinkled with more than a few expletives, and so far off the charts in terms of 'non-politically correct' - were always enough to keep us laughing.
I'll probably be posting more as it all starts to come together for me - but right now, all I can feel is sad, and very much alone. A day didn't go by when I didn't talk to him in some form - e-mail, the forums, or by phone - and my world is just a whole lot quieter since Wednesday.
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