Great minds are great because they can be changed.
Marriage. It is what I want. It is what I demand.
April 2009
10 per cent.
Today’s magic number is 10 percent. Back in the day they used to write “10 per cent”, with “per cent” as two separate words, because it really is just that if you think about it. 10 per cent means 10 per one hundred.
I wonder if they still write “per cent” in other English speaking countries. I’ll have to look into that when I finish this blog entry.
10 per cent. That’s the other shoe that dropped today. Yesterday it was a workforce reduction. For those that remain, it’s 10 per cent. Not a reduction in pay, mind you, but a reduction in the number of hours per week. And yes, I am paid an hourly rate (which is a very good thing when it comes to on-call!)
It’s not as bad as the rumour mill predicted. But then again, rumours are usually wildly inaccurate. So in that sense it could have been worse.
Am I happy about it? Nope. But it could have been worse.
We do what we have to do.
People all over the world are losing their jobs, their investments, their homes and the security of their future because of mistakes that have been made. A select number of greedy individuals have impacted the lives of millions. I believe the line from “Angels in America” is “Life will be unbearable for a long time before it becomes impossible”.
It’s a good thing I’m a survivor.
Certainly Monday.
Well today has certainly been a Monday. While I am quite happy to be off-call (at least for the next two weeks), my glee of being off-call was deterred by what many of us are facing these days.
“Workforce Reduction”.
Many Americans (and people across the world, for the matter) are working for companies that are cutting back their workforce in these turbulent economic times. The company I work for is no different. There was hope that we could weather out the storm without layoffs but apparently those that make these decisions decided it couldn’t be helped, so today there were meetings with selected individuals, followed by empty boxes being filled, passwords being changed and a few tears flowing.
I did not get laid off. This was a bright spot in an otherwise bleak day.
Today I shook the hand of a man who had a technical prowess that I admired very much and then, along with my co-workers, wished him well as he made his way to exit the building. He was a good teacher. I hope I learned enough from him.
And the bumpy ride continues.
Io.
So here I am posing next to my newest toy, which has been dubbed “Io”. This is my newest computer: a Lenovo Quad Core 2.33 gHz with 8GB RAM and 1 TB hard drive. It is running Windows Vista Home Premium Edition (64 bit version).
I. Am. Loving. It.
I have been a pretty avid Mac boy since switching to primarily OS X back in 2004. I don’t have a lot of experience with Windows Vista; I haven’t really used Vista extensively since the Release Candidate version was released in July 2006. So far I’m liking the operating system, but then again I have a pretty powerful computer to run it on.
One of the things that I’m really liking about Windows Vista is that I can essentially replace my MobileMe subscription ($99/year) through free offerings from Google and Microsoft’s Live Essentials suite of programs and still have complete access to my iPhone. This is a good thing.
With 85%-90% of the world on Windows and since I work in a technical center that supports thousands of customers on Windows, I suppose it makes sense that I continue to be thoroughly familiar with Windows.
I still love my Macs, my MacBook Pro is in the server room backing itself up to the server and my two PowerMacs are purring away in various parts of the house, but I have to say that I’m loving my Windows too. I think I’m going to start a separate blog detailing my little computing adventure. I’ll post the link once I have it set up.
I’m such a geek.
Oh, by the way, the bushy beard wasn’t working well with the spring weather we have had this weekend, so to the delight of many, I went on a pruning spree yesterday.
Dandelion.
Walking around The Manor today, I noticed a couple of definite signs that spring is here. This dandelion inspired me to get the camera out of storage and to stop relying on my iPhone for photographs.
I love dandelions. So many people go out of their way to make their life hell through unnecessary chemicals, but I find that dandelions bring a much needed burst of colour to our existence. I’m happy to see their appearance this year.
Get Up, Stand Up
I thought I’d share one of my favourite tracks to kick off the weekend.
Here’s the Stellar Project with “Get Up, Stand Up” from 2005. This track sounds best with the windows down and the sunroof open.
stay with me forever
call my name and I’ll be there
follow me wherever i will fly
TGIF.
So it’s Friday and there is much rejoicing across the land. It is a nearly picture perfect day here in Central New York, it’s sunny, breezy and 61 degrees Fahrenheit. Naturally I am sitting indoors at a cubicle doing my best to be friendly on the phone helping customers with their technically related issues.
Technically I don’t offer much more than technical support. I thought it would be fun to write that sentence. I don’t know why.
I don’t have a lot on my plate for the weekend that lies ahead; Earl is out of town with his family and I am on call. I might make it to a birthday party for my nephew if the on call gods cooperate, but I won’t be able to determine that until the very last minute.
Looking over my blog I realised that I haven’t many entries this week. I think part of this can be due to my participation on Twitter and the like; when I am constantly updating tweets and such it seems redundant to type a longer entry here. Part of me wants to fight against this trend and sit back, think and ponder about my words and then write something that has some meaning and is longer than 140 characters. Twitter was fun, and still is for the most part, but now that it’s becoming as popular as AOL was in it’s day I’m starting to lose interest in the service.
And don’t even get me started on Facebook. Love the concept, hate the new interface. It’s just the way it is.
I have been writing in this blog since August 2001. It is my intent to continue to do so, regardless of how many services try to sway me to their sexy alternatives.
13 of the 1st.
“Right beside you I feel
Right beside you I am
Right beside you I kneel
Right beside you I stand
Right beside you I see
Right beside you I stay
Right beside you I’ll be
Right beside you always”
Thirteen years ago tonight Earl and I had our first date. That first date is never ending. I still see fireworks when he walks into the room.
Sharing.
Yesterday I mentioned on Twitter (and Facebook, because my two accounts sync automatically) that I was looking for a new background image for my iPhone. I’m not big on using photos for background images, though I do feature various airliners and airplanes on my desktop at work; I prefer to use a nice graphic that looks kind of techish, is rather on the dark side and usually has a splash of colour that isn’t too Fisher Price looking.
I’m picky.
Since the debut of the iTunes App Store I have seen what I considered to be one of the best backgrounds featured in ads. So I dropped a note on Twitter yesterday saying that I was seeking this out. Within minutes I had leads on what I was looking for from my friends (thanks for all the help!) Apparently, the background that I was looking for doesn’t technically exist and the Apple ads are actually featuring a game called “Tap Tap Revenge”. Each ad featured a score or a game level or something in the middle of the graphic. I wanted just the background colours and design with no type at all on the screen.
A little searching around last night gave me the opportunity to find enough differing screenshots so that I was able to cobble something together that looks really good on my iPhone. I know that you can see where I did a little cutting and pasting (and Greg, a graphic designer, is probably cringing at my hack job), but here is what I came up with.
Feel free to download and use at your leisure.
Nope.
One of the most aggravating things about today’s digital world is that the music industry refuses to give up it’s old business model (and the shady deals that go along with it) and step into the 21st century when it comes to music track distribution.
As a former Program Director of a Top 40 Dance radio station, I spent many years working closely with record label representatives and playing the game associated with getting a track on the radio and into the ears of listeners. The system “back in my day” (the 90s) was rather shady; there’d be ominous warnings of a song coming out but we couldn’t play it before a certain date, though we had the record right there and were trying to compete with a similar station across town with who would play it first. Then the week before the “big date” would come along and there’d be flights to New York for dinner, schmoozing and flirting (regardless of sexual orientation) going on, all with the hope of getting the “big add” on Tuesday, when two or three songs (of my choosing, depending on my mood from the schmoozing) would make it to my playlist. I really didn’t like playing the game back then, though I admit I liked the jet set lifestyle that was associated with it, but I went along with it in the interest of doing what everyone else was doing in the industry and making the Spice Girls or whomever look really popular by joining every other station in the country adding “Wannabe” at once. (I met the ladies at a convention right after “Wannabe” hit the air, they were cranky.)
A while back I mentioned, courtesy of Joe.My.God. – a man who has a VERY good ear for music and an awesome knowledge of dance music, that U.K. artist Shena was releasing a ‘Nu-Disco’ track called “Can’t Stop The Rain”. The song is outstanding, has a very cool retro vibe to it and quite frankly is a blessfully wonderful breath of fresh air when compared to the shit that passes off for pop music these days. The video has been available on YouTube for a while. Like a law abiding consumer I have waited for the opportunity to legally purchase the track from iTunes before loading it on my iPhone. Despite my renegade ways from my radio days (for example, I played a song called ‘You Thrill Me’ by Madonna, which prompted a cease and desist order from Warner Brothers Music as a result of label reps passing through the area and hearing my station), I figured it would be best to support Shena through her label and play the game the right way.
I went to Shena’s site this evening and noticed that “Can’t Stop The Rain” is now available on Amazon, iTunes, HMV and 7Digital. Here’s the rub: it’s only available to consumers from the U.K.
So, despite the fact that the internet is worldwide and credit card companies are quite capable of managing an exchange rate on overseas purchases, I am not allowed to purchase “Can’t Stop The Rain” from Amazon, iTunes, HMV or 7Digital because I am a resident of the United States and NOT a resident of the United Kingdom.
I don’t know when the U.K. label is going to strike a deal with the U.S. label to offer “Can’t Stop The Rain” over the WORLD WIDE WEB and quite frankly I don’t care. I tried to play by the rules and purchase the song. I made an attempt. If the record company can’t adapt to the 21st century then why should I have to wait for them.
I now have “Can’t Stop The Rain” in glorious 320kbps on my iTunes and iPhone. It took a little effort but it’s mine to enjoy.
Here’s a lesson: you can tell me to go to hell, you can tell me to eat crap, you can tell me to go hang, you can tell me to jump off a bridge.
But don’t ever, ever, ever, tell me what I CAN’T do.
All you gotta do is ask.
