...Yes i actually had someone say this to me this past weekend...
Memorial day in the US is allegedly about remembering both veterans and those who have left the Earth before us. Somewhere along the line, it's original intention has taken a back seat to the overwhelming majority of people who view it as a 3 day weekend to either vacation or to party. How hard is it to take a few minutes out of your 3 day weekend to remember it's focus? Seriously.
I worked all weekend. I am directly responsible for a lot of burgers and a lot of steaks being sold to those that were going to celebrate their extended weekend away from work. Since i had to work on the holiday (monday) i asked for (and got) a shorter day. Everyone at work seemed to pause and hesitate when i told them i wanted to leave by 1pm so that i could have time to join friends to go to visit the grave of one of our friends. This bothered me.
Everywhere i turn lately i see people that are more concerned with their own lives than those around them. Why is it that it's such a novelty that someone is going to visit a grave on MEMORIAL day? I know that people are trying to be polite but where do they get off saying something like "happy memorial day" to those around them. What, is this Christmas?
I'm not saying that people should go to the parades or wave flags etc on occasions like this. All i'm asking is that they spend a couple minutes remembering what the actual name of the holiday is and put forth half an effort to keep that in mind as they enjoy an extended weekend.
It truly is bull shit to have to deal with slack jawed knuckle heads who are bragging about the size of their grill (penis anyone?) and how good their food will be this weekend when all they can concern themselves with is 'relaxing' and 'getting away' and not taking a few minutes to even acknowledge the underlying reason for their 3 day weekend. Yet another person sighs in frustration because of the extra work that has piled up and emails that must be responded to in order for the world to continue rotating. Yet another person has their BlackBerry out and gets annoyed because some event dared to interrupt their self entitled extended weekend.
I don't know about you but the thought of grilling up these burgers while breaking in my brand new grill is the core reason why this 3 day weekend exists!!!
Excuse me, someone needs me help them pick out some steaks to help them impress their guests for their cook out...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
I am God.
Q: How do I blow off steam after dealing with finding out the car needs brakes, i hate my job, lack of $, people being stupid, family bickering, and a splitting headache?
A: Play god. Seriously. Go out in the yard, dig some holes in the garden, spread my seed (lettuce, carrots, onions) into the ground and then water generously. I am their god. I am the giver of life. I am the bringer of nourishment (water) and protector of their lives (damn those bunnies). I chose who will exist and where. All else is irrelevant. My domain is growing and my followers have been fruitful and multiplied. This pleases me.
Once i put things in perspective like this, the world seems just a little bit better...
A: Play god. Seriously. Go out in the yard, dig some holes in the garden, spread my seed (lettuce, carrots, onions) into the ground and then water generously. I am their god. I am the giver of life. I am the bringer of nourishment (water) and protector of their lives (damn those bunnies). I chose who will exist and where. All else is irrelevant. My domain is growing and my followers have been fruitful and multiplied. This pleases me.
Once i put things in perspective like this, the world seems just a little bit better...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sarah Connor Chronicles - CANCELED
To those at both Fox and Warner Brothers, a hearty FUCK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Thanks for selling out fans of a sci fi show once again. Thank you for jerking it around and cutting it loose after abusing it like a $3 whore. Thank you for restoring my faith in the idea that the networks care nothing about fans. Thank you for not being clever enough to capitalize on a growing fan base on the eve of an anticipated theatrical release of a sequel to the series.
http://www.fmqinc.com/terminator-cancelled/
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/04/terminator_the_sarah_connor_ch_4.html
I'm going back to downloading all of my tv shows rather than watching the broadcast versions.
http://www.fmqinc.com/terminator-cancelled/
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/04/terminator_the_sarah_connor_ch_4.html
I'm going back to downloading all of my tv shows rather than watching the broadcast versions.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Why I Deserve New Toys
The other day I had a conversation with a girl I work with at my part time job (grunt work). This being grunt work should rightfully imply that those around me aren't all that educated or even well to do financially. I always like comparing it to Mos Eisley . :) This conversation really bothered me and I think it will continue to bother me for a long time.
The girl in question is HS drop out and an unwed/uninsured mother in her early 20's that is partially supported by the father who does similar grunt work. The child is appx 5-6 years old and is being raised in a very unpleasant neighborhood. Race is intentionally being withheld because it's a non-factor. She brings her Nintendo DS to work regularly in addition to her iPod. They have a Wii and a PS3 at home and I'm unsure about the TV situation for those consoles. She can't/won't work overtime because the additional money will change how much government assistance she receives. Yes, she found the loop holes and is using them to her advantage.
I'd not seen her in 6 months so the conversation consisted of her showing me her new iPhone that she now has. Apparently they have matching iPhones in addition to matching iPods.
What bothers me the most is the amount of technology that they have despite lack of income. There's a child growing up in this environment. These people are partially funding their technology habits with government money. Rather than working hard to get ahead and earning their toys, they're using loop holes to cover their daily expenses while spending what money they have on pop culture technology.
Is it fair that those that earn less than I do and pride themselves in working as little as possible have nicer things than I do? Is it fair that tax payers are helping support them and others like them? The only thing they've learned from our “system” is that it discourages them from working more to get ahead. Pride? Whats that? Why would you need pride when you've got your electronic devices that everyone covets without putting forth the effort to earn them?
Something is seriously wrong here. They genuinely believe that they are entitled to stuff like this because they work hard raising their kid AND they have jobs. Congratulations! You bothered to attempt to do your parental duties while bothering to get out of bed and go to work a couple days a week. Wow. You're such a trooper. We should build statues in your honor because of how noble you are. You clearly deserve your desert for your dinner even though you didn't eat your vegetables or do your homework. You're entitled to the best that society has to offer solely because you made an effort within the confines of your situation. That's OK though. You deserve it all.
This is one of many people I work with. This is actually a very typical scenario for those that work there. These jobs will be gone in < 5 years and everyone knows that. Yet they keep self medicating with material possessions like this. No one seems to care that this is happening. Everyone that I work with has the attitude of “they beat the system and so more power to them”. I guess this is should be chalked up as my jealousy fueled rant. I've done my share. I've worked hard for years and have next to nothing to show for it. I feel as though I deserve all of those toys more than others do. Why? Because I'm special and I get out of bed every day. I pay my bills on time and sacrifice personal comforts so that I can continue to pay. This must be jealousy. Someone has something that I covet and therefore I'm bitter because I want what they have.
To the Right wing conservatives out there: I'll make sure to pass on a hearty “Thank you” to these people for your ammunition against social programs.
The girl in question is HS drop out and an unwed/uninsured mother in her early 20's that is partially supported by the father who does similar grunt work. The child is appx 5-6 years old and is being raised in a very unpleasant neighborhood. Race is intentionally being withheld because it's a non-factor. She brings her Nintendo DS to work regularly in addition to her iPod. They have a Wii and a PS3 at home and I'm unsure about the TV situation for those consoles. She can't/won't work overtime because the additional money will change how much government assistance she receives. Yes, she found the loop holes and is using them to her advantage.
I'd not seen her in 6 months so the conversation consisted of her showing me her new iPhone that she now has. Apparently they have matching iPhones in addition to matching iPods.
What bothers me the most is the amount of technology that they have despite lack of income. There's a child growing up in this environment. These people are partially funding their technology habits with government money. Rather than working hard to get ahead and earning their toys, they're using loop holes to cover their daily expenses while spending what money they have on pop culture technology.
Is it fair that those that earn less than I do and pride themselves in working as little as possible have nicer things than I do? Is it fair that tax payers are helping support them and others like them? The only thing they've learned from our “system” is that it discourages them from working more to get ahead. Pride? Whats that? Why would you need pride when you've got your electronic devices that everyone covets without putting forth the effort to earn them?
Something is seriously wrong here. They genuinely believe that they are entitled to stuff like this because they work hard raising their kid AND they have jobs. Congratulations! You bothered to attempt to do your parental duties while bothering to get out of bed and go to work a couple days a week. Wow. You're such a trooper. We should build statues in your honor because of how noble you are. You clearly deserve your desert for your dinner even though you didn't eat your vegetables or do your homework. You're entitled to the best that society has to offer solely because you made an effort within the confines of your situation. That's OK though. You deserve it all.
This is one of many people I work with. This is actually a very typical scenario for those that work there. These jobs will be gone in < 5 years and everyone knows that. Yet they keep self medicating with material possessions like this. No one seems to care that this is happening. Everyone that I work with has the attitude of “they beat the system and so more power to them”. I guess this is should be chalked up as my jealousy fueled rant. I've done my share. I've worked hard for years and have next to nothing to show for it. I feel as though I deserve all of those toys more than others do. Why? Because I'm special and I get out of bed every day. I pay my bills on time and sacrifice personal comforts so that I can continue to pay. This must be jealousy. Someone has something that I covet and therefore I'm bitter because I want what they have.
To the Right wing conservatives out there: I'll make sure to pass on a hearty “Thank you” to these people for your ammunition against social programs.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Links
These are notable links that I've read lately.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#Broken_and_discarded_lamps
http://earth911.com/plastic/plastic-bottle-recycling-facts/
http://www.container-recycling.org/mediafold/newsarticles/plastic/2006/5-WMW-DownDrain.htm
http://www.wayneporter.com/2009/03/22/the-end-of-wayne-unplugged/
http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/History/
http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/browse/sort-by-votes
https://help.ubuntu.com/7.10/basic-commands/C/
http://www.hulu.com/
http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/
http://xkcd.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#Broken_and_discarded_lamps
http://earth911.com/plastic/plastic-bottle-recycling-facts/
http://www.container-recycling.org/mediafold/newsarticles/plastic/2006/5-WMW-DownDrain.htm
http://www.wayneporter.com/2009/03/22/the-end-of-wayne-unplugged/
http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/History/
http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/browse/sort-by-votes
https://help.ubuntu.com/7.10/basic-commands/C/
http://www.hulu.com/
http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/
http://xkcd.com/
Saturday, April 4, 2009
dreams
Is it better to have never dreamed than to have dreamt and then had those dreams swept away?
How many times can you endure being built up just to have everything crumble before your eyes?
Perhaps ignorance really is bliss.
How many times can you endure being built up just to have everything crumble before your eyes?
Perhaps ignorance really is bliss.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Comments on "Is there life after Windows?"
Courtesy of Independent.co.UK
I am now a Linux user. Not only am i a user but I'm also using the same distro mentioned in this article. Yes my version is 8.04 vs 8.10 but there isn't all THAT much difference between them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the article and the feedback comments at the bottom really make it complete. That fact that they bothered to identify what most average users use their computer for (browsing, IM, Office, and music) was a relief. For years i have argued that most of the garbage on a standard PC isn't needed by home users. At best, they need a thin client and they'd never notice the difference. Finally an article has addressed what i've felt has been obvious for a long time. One of the reasons for making the switch for myself was specifically because the bulk of what i do daily can be done on any platform.
When reading the feedback of the 4 testers I found myself having flashbacks. Every lesson learned over the years of dabbling came flooding back to me in an instant as i read the words of the reviewers.
My first reaction to this was that none of the 4 testers had the same problem. As maddening as this can be, i think it's a sign that things have really come a long way. Everyone views their computer in a different way. For some people it's a media center where they have their music collection that gets them through the day. Some people base it's performance solely on how Office behaves. Others use it excusively for browsing and checking sports scores. This is what it comes down to. Developers shouldn't tell people how to use their machines. People have to tell developers how they use it and developers should react accordingly.
The feedback comments seem to really focus in on the tester named Tony Messenger. He tried to zero in on codecs being the issue which seemed to me to be his way of seperating himself from the rest of the pack. The reality is, this was a vanilla install and therefore didn't have any mp3/flash/adobe plugins enabled because of EULA's that need to be agreed upon and other fun stuff. If this had been a virgin install of Windoze, he would have had the same problems. Perhapse it's been too long since he's had a clean install or maybe he's never even used a clean install before.
Someone like Mr Messenger needs to heed the advice of Yoda and "unlearn what you have learned". The harsh reality is that this is a fairly typical response for someone who has used Windoze exclusively. It's easy for commenters to sit back and say "all you need to do is enable this via add/remove and it'll grab the packages for you and do the work". I would laugh if someone had the same problem if it was their first time on a Windoze machine. "Didn't you know you're supposed to install flash so you can view youtube? Duh!" It was only after reading the simple documentation about mp3's + linux that i understood why it's like that out of the box. Just because it's logical doesn't mean it's common sense!
Finally, the tester named Androulla Polydorou hit the nail on the head with their comment: "I had a few problems at first, such as finding the right icon to turn up the volume. I think perhaps I'm so used to Windows that I'm not used to searching around for icons." There's a glimmer of hope yet! Rather than attacking Mr Messenger about his inablility to deal with the "codecs" issue I'd hoped that the feedback comments would have zeroed in on this instead. Here was someone who was able to acknowledge their own personal bias based on history and they seem acutely aware of how it's influencing their testing experience. Whether you're using a Mac, PC, or *nix, you should be aware of what you're used to seeing. The benchmark has already been set.
Do I think Ubuntu/linux is ready for the people en masse as an alternative? No. There are still dependencies and "quirks" which need to be resolved. People will not be willing to make the jump until they know they can do everything they're used to doing on their old PC. They're willing to roll the dice and deal with their AV's and malware if it means their machine runs the way they're used to. Installing windoze apps under Wine can still be a nightmare.
In the end, people don't like change. When WinXP launched, the die hards said they were sticking with 98 or 2k forever. Where are they now? Running XP. Vista/7 are drastically different from XP and once again users will not have a choice. In 2 years there will be less grumbling because users will be acclimated to the new environments and resistant to the newest release. Facebook recently changed their layout again. Everyone wants it to revert back to the old way. Nevermind the fact that when the "old" version launched 6 months ago, people grumbled and wanted it to go back to the version before that. The changes held and there was no mass exodus. The world did not stop spinning.
I would like to say that i really liked this article. It never announced a verdict one way or another. It presented the facts and left everything open ended. My only grumble that i have is that they should have given users vanilla installs of a Windoze OS on identical hardware for a side by side comparrison. Hindsite is 20/20 and this doesn't keep me from enjoying what i read. I look forward to reading further articles on this topic as time goes by.
I am now a Linux user. Not only am i a user but I'm also using the same distro mentioned in this article. Yes my version is 8.04 vs 8.10 but there isn't all THAT much difference between them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the article and the feedback comments at the bottom really make it complete. That fact that they bothered to identify what most average users use their computer for (browsing, IM, Office, and music) was a relief. For years i have argued that most of the garbage on a standard PC isn't needed by home users. At best, they need a thin client and they'd never notice the difference. Finally an article has addressed what i've felt has been obvious for a long time. One of the reasons for making the switch for myself was specifically because the bulk of what i do daily can be done on any platform.
When reading the feedback of the 4 testers I found myself having flashbacks. Every lesson learned over the years of dabbling came flooding back to me in an instant as i read the words of the reviewers.
My first reaction to this was that none of the 4 testers had the same problem. As maddening as this can be, i think it's a sign that things have really come a long way. Everyone views their computer in a different way. For some people it's a media center where they have their music collection that gets them through the day. Some people base it's performance solely on how Office behaves. Others use it excusively for browsing and checking sports scores. This is what it comes down to. Developers shouldn't tell people how to use their machines. People have to tell developers how they use it and developers should react accordingly.
The feedback comments seem to really focus in on the tester named Tony Messenger. He tried to zero in on codecs being the issue which seemed to me to be his way of seperating himself from the rest of the pack. The reality is, this was a vanilla install and therefore didn't have any mp3/flash/adobe plugins enabled because of EULA's that need to be agreed upon and other fun stuff. If this had been a virgin install of Windoze, he would have had the same problems. Perhapse it's been too long since he's had a clean install or maybe he's never even used a clean install before.
Someone like Mr Messenger needs to heed the advice of Yoda and "unlearn what you have learned". The harsh reality is that this is a fairly typical response for someone who has used Windoze exclusively. It's easy for commenters to sit back and say "all you need to do is enable this via add/remove and it'll grab the packages for you and do the work". I would laugh if someone had the same problem if it was their first time on a Windoze machine. "Didn't you know you're supposed to install flash so you can view youtube? Duh!" It was only after reading the simple documentation about mp3's + linux that i understood why it's like that out of the box. Just because it's logical doesn't mean it's common sense!
Finally, the tester named Androulla Polydorou hit the nail on the head with their comment: "I had a few problems at first, such as finding the right icon to turn up the volume. I think perhaps I'm so used to Windows that I'm not used to searching around for icons." There's a glimmer of hope yet! Rather than attacking Mr Messenger about his inablility to deal with the "codecs" issue I'd hoped that the feedback comments would have zeroed in on this instead. Here was someone who was able to acknowledge their own personal bias based on history and they seem acutely aware of how it's influencing their testing experience. Whether you're using a Mac, PC, or *nix, you should be aware of what you're used to seeing. The benchmark has already been set.
Do I think Ubuntu/linux is ready for the people en masse as an alternative? No. There are still dependencies and "quirks" which need to be resolved. People will not be willing to make the jump until they know they can do everything they're used to doing on their old PC. They're willing to roll the dice and deal with their AV's and malware if it means their machine runs the way they're used to. Installing windoze apps under Wine can still be a nightmare.
In the end, people don't like change. When WinXP launched, the die hards said they were sticking with 98 or 2k forever. Where are they now? Running XP. Vista/7 are drastically different from XP and once again users will not have a choice. In 2 years there will be less grumbling because users will be acclimated to the new environments and resistant to the newest release. Facebook recently changed their layout again. Everyone wants it to revert back to the old way. Nevermind the fact that when the "old" version launched 6 months ago, people grumbled and wanted it to go back to the version before that. The changes held and there was no mass exodus. The world did not stop spinning.
I would like to say that i really liked this article. It never announced a verdict one way or another. It presented the facts and left everything open ended. My only grumble that i have is that they should have given users vanilla installs of a Windoze OS on identical hardware for a side by side comparrison. Hindsite is 20/20 and this doesn't keep me from enjoying what i read. I look forward to reading further articles on this topic as time goes by.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Idle Time
You'd think that while being unemployed now I'd have lots of time to blog and spew my semi-coherent thoughts onto the interwebz. Then you lok at my posting history this month and realize something is missing.
The adjustment to this amount of free time is hard for someone like me who needs structure of stuff going on. I spend a lot of time trying to find things to queue up to do so that i can just be "busy" for a while. This consists of everything from working on a computer, to going for a walk or bike ride, or playing obnoxious amounts of Star Craft. In between all of that excitement I've been teaming up with a friend trying to come up with the next big business idea that will make me rich. Of course these plans won't get off the ground but they seem to have some real potential. Nothing like getting a Philosophy graduate to help you think outside the box!
I think part of what's keeping me from posting lately is i'm afraid to think too deeply these days for fear of shaking my blind confidence and hopes of finding a job again. If i focus in on what's going on around me and the reality i'm going to have to face in the coming months, it's damn scary. The last thing i need to do is get scared or even nervous because my confidence will be shaken when i interview and it's all down hill from there. The best way to prevent that is to just ignore the obvious as long as i can.
Is this a cop out? Maybe i'm in denial. Perhapse i'm subconsciously setting myself up to fail. Can it just be as simple as trying to keep my chin up like everyone tells me to? Do i even believe anymore? Is this the right time to start reevaluating "faith" in general?
See? There's still plenty bouncing around inside the ole skull!!!
The adjustment to this amount of free time is hard for someone like me who needs structure of stuff going on. I spend a lot of time trying to find things to queue up to do so that i can just be "busy" for a while. This consists of everything from working on a computer, to going for a walk or bike ride, or playing obnoxious amounts of Star Craft. In between all of that excitement I've been teaming up with a friend trying to come up with the next big business idea that will make me rich. Of course these plans won't get off the ground but they seem to have some real potential. Nothing like getting a Philosophy graduate to help you think outside the box!
I think part of what's keeping me from posting lately is i'm afraid to think too deeply these days for fear of shaking my blind confidence and hopes of finding a job again. If i focus in on what's going on around me and the reality i'm going to have to face in the coming months, it's damn scary. The last thing i need to do is get scared or even nervous because my confidence will be shaken when i interview and it's all down hill from there. The best way to prevent that is to just ignore the obvious as long as i can.
Is this a cop out? Maybe i'm in denial. Perhapse i'm subconsciously setting myself up to fail. Can it just be as simple as trying to keep my chin up like everyone tells me to? Do i even believe anymore? Is this the right time to start reevaluating "faith" in general?
See? There's still plenty bouncing around inside the ole skull!!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mexican soldiers deploy to Juarez
Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
My initial comment about this was how much I love the caption under one of the pictures.
"Bringing out the big guns: Armed federal police prepare to patrol the streets as they arrive in Ciudad Juarez yesterday"
What strikes me the most about this article is not the number of murders in one month (250) but the fact that there's already 2500 troops there. This is a city of 1.6 million people and there were 250 people killed last month. This isn't a city, it's a war zone.
Questions worth considering upon reading this article:
Is sending in more federal troops merely going to displace this problem while murder rates drop to "an acceptable level"? What will be the measure of progress? Is this "iron fist" rationale the best way to deal with organizations that are above the law? How long can an occupation of a city like this continue? How long will it take before the local military officers get bought out to look the other way? What's to stop the cartels from working with the military against each other and thus letting the military do their dirty work (by raiding, arresting, and hampering) in the struggle against their opponents?
My initial comment about this was how much I love the caption under one of the pictures.
"Bringing out the big guns: Armed federal police prepare to patrol the streets as they arrive in Ciudad Juarez yesterday"
What strikes me the most about this article is not the number of murders in one month (250) but the fact that there's already 2500 troops there. This is a city of 1.6 million people and there were 250 people killed last month. This isn't a city, it's a war zone.
Questions worth considering upon reading this article:
Is sending in more federal troops merely going to displace this problem while murder rates drop to "an acceptable level"? What will be the measure of progress? Is this "iron fist" rationale the best way to deal with organizations that are above the law? How long can an occupation of a city like this continue? How long will it take before the local military officers get bought out to look the other way? What's to stop the cartels from working with the military against each other and thus letting the military do their dirty work (by raiding, arresting, and hampering) in the struggle against their opponents?
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