Politics.

With election season in full swing, I suppose I should be getting my underwear in a knot about this whole presidential election. But honestly I can’t find any passion within me about the whole affair. I do know that Bush Lite is not the answer. I’ve always found him to be a self-rightious, insensitive, stuttering, stammering fool, full of hate and masking it with religious beliefs. I think he’s the type that’s had sand kicked in his face too many times by the bullies on the beach and now he’s off to the show the world that he’s not a weakling, and he’s to be respected because he’s all powerful. Whatever.

Then there’s John Kerry. As a Democrat, I believe in much of what John Kerry believes in. I think he’ll make a good, or even a great president, but I don’t think he’ll make an outstanding president. There’s something missing from the equation, but I can’t put my finger on it. I will give you that I think he’d do better than Bush Lite. Good gravy, anything is better than Bush Lite.

I find it humorous that Bush Lite is constantly bringing his religious beliefs into the picture. “Abortion is wrong.” “Marriage is between a man and a woman.” One thing I can not stand about Bible beaters is that they insist on beating you over the head with their beliefs. “I’m right, I’m right, I’m right, I’m right, you’re wrong, you must stop, you’re going to hell.” Well if I’m going to hell (which, by the way, I do not believe or even believe in), then why waste your time on me? Yes, I believe abortion is wrong. But I believe that every woman has the right to make the choice for herself. Quite frankly, it’s none of the government’s business. And no, I don’t believe marriage is exclusively for the love between a man and a woman. But then again, I believe that two people in love, regardless of race, gender, whatever, can have a union far stronger than anything the government deems a “marriage”. Our ancestors came to this country to escape religious tyranny. Isn’t it ironic that our government could now be accused of the same?

I could be totally superficial and just vote for the cute one. But, there really isn’t a cute one running for President. Bush Lite is one step shy of drool running down his chin, and Kerry’s eyebrows are a little too plucked for my tastes (did he get a face lift or something?). I do find John Edwards to be quite attractive, but then again, I didn’t find anything wrong with Dan Quayle’s looks either and look at that mess. So that theory is shot.

I kind of wish Bill Clinton was back running for President. The world seemed to be a happier place when he was in the White House. Granted, it was before September 11th, the war or terrorism and all that, but people’s spirits were higher. Now everyone is running around scared, people are dying in Iraq, the economy is going down the crapper and the public in general just seems depressed. Like there’s a big cloud of gloom. I have an uneasy feeling about the months ahead. I hope I’m wrong.

I just can’t wait for this election to be over with. Even with the worse outcome, at least it marks being half way through Bush Lite’s term as President.

I Fought The Law, And The Law Won.

Earl and I decided to kick off the Labor Day weekend with a trip to Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Having received my new Apple PowerMac G4 533 on Friday (much to my surprise), I wanted to visit the Apple store for some accessories, plus we thought we’d hit the newish casino on the American side of the falls.

After a costly visit to the Apple store, we headed up Interstate 190 to Niagara Falls. About two miles from the Canadian border, traffic came to a screeching halt. Even though we were staying on the American side of the falls, we needed to go to the very last exit on I-190 to get on Route 104 and head into downtown Niagara Falls. Anyways, after sitting in a traffic about 10 minutes, I watched an SUV behind me do a quick U-turn by crossing over the grassy median between the two roadways of the interstate. Since we were in the Jeep, I thought that would be a GREAT way to get out of the traffic jam and to find an alternate route.

The cop down the road from me didn’t agree.

Ms. SUV sped up and made a quick turn, leaving me with Mr. Friendly State Police. Strike 1. Long story short, I got a ticket for making an unlawful U-turn.

Later, after some gambling and a typical casino buffet, Earl and I hit the road home. As we were crossing over the first Grand Island bridge, I noticed that we were very low on gas. Not a problem, I’d simply get off at the next exit that indicated there were gas stations nearby. We exited at the next exit, which said there was gas, but simply dumped us in the middle of nowhere. I decided to follow my instincts and turned right onto a main drag looking side road, since turning left would have dumped us into the Niagara River. I cruised along at 45 (the posted speed) and headed towards a retail looking area. I noted the cop following me since we exited I-190 and made sure I maintained a speed of 45 MPH. As we got to the retail plazas, I started to turn into the first gas station, which I then noticed was boarded up (even though the street lights were on). So then I proceeded through an intersection and, not being familiar with the area, began to make a quick right into the next gas station. Without using my turn signal to change lanes.

Mr. Friendly Cop flipped on his lights instead. He was suspicious that I had exited I-190 in the middle of nowhere with an out of town vehicle. He was always not pleased with me crossing the white line without using my turn signals. And, apparently when I was horsing around with Earl right after we exited 190 (I was grabbing for his chest if you must know), I did a little swerve that apparently frightened a pedestrian. I didn’t even see a pedestrian. But Mr. Cop told me that it would have been a big mess if I had hit the pedestrian. Apparently Earl had seen her and later told me that she was quite large, but I wasn’t really that close to her.

He asked if I had been drinking and why I was driving around the island. I showed him my gas gauge (being near empty) and told him that I had followed the gas signs from I-190 and they led to nowhere. He ran our plates and my license and then sent me on my way, telling me to be careful.

The moral of the story? Go to the Apple store in Albany. And go to a casino far away from the Canadian border. And don’t hit the fat lady.

The Inevitable.

Five years ago, I would have never guessed that I would switch over to their side. At the mall they were displaying themselves in the window of their new hideout. I scoffed at them. I called them freaks. Easy. Eye Candy. Nothing but a toy for a fool’s pleasure.

Naturally, I was talking about a Mac.

This morning, I jumped over to the Mac side. Now those who have followed my blog for a while will know that I’ve dreamed about getting a Mac. A brand new, shinny, spiffin’ latest incarnation of a PowerMac.

I lied.

Today I purchased a refurbished PowerMac G4 533mhz system with 256MB of RAM. It’s already on the truck and on its way. It’ll be here in a week. I am so excited about the newest baby joining the family. He’s already been dubbed Macwarrior. He’ll get a little boost with more RAM when he arrives. And I’m sure I can find a few toys to dress him up a bit, especially after we browse the Apple store.

Yes, I did want the latest and greatest, especially since the really cool looking G5s were announced by Apple yesterday. But do I really NEED the latest and greatest? Of course I don’t. Why spend thousands upon thousands of dollars when I’m would end up using maybe a quarter of the system’s capabilities? I’ll grow into that someday, but for now, Macwarrior will do just fine for me.

Five years ago, I wasn’t a big Mac fan. I thought my capabilities were lightyears beyond anything a Mac could provide me. I was wrong. There was no challenge in using a Mac. The blasted thing even smiled at you! Hackers don’t get smiled at? They get blinked at by a stark cursor at a command prompt. They type in commands like ‘ps aux | grep fetchass’. Well now I can have my cake and eat it too. I’m ready to play in Mac OS X land. I’ve had my Linux box wearing a Mac OS X costume for quite a while. And I haven’t booted into Windows XP in weeks.

I never thought I would see the day that our house would become a Mac only zone. That day arrives next Wednesday.

Anyone want to buy a souped up HP?

How To Succeed In Business With Mom and Dad’s Help.

As I was returning to work today after a wonderful lunch with Earl, I daydreamed for a moment about work and how I’m doing. I consider myself to be pretty successful career-wise, and as I embark on this new challenge of my job it makes me re-evaluate my skills and basic business know how. I owe a good chunk of my basic skills to my folks.

For one thing, I’m a really, really, really good typist. Not to sound wildly cocky, but I’ve come across maybe a handful of people that can type faster and more accurately than myself. That’s my Mom’s fault. When I was six or seven, the little geek in me became very intrigued by her Royal manual typewriter. I would type away, banging on the keys with my fingers and hope for the best. My Mom said that if I’m going to play with her typewriter, I was going to do it the right way, and pretty much taught me to use the correct fingers while I was typing. The first time I used an electric typewriter in fifth grade, I flew along and astounded those around me. Teachers trusted me, in my elementary school years no less, to type their ditto masters, because I could do it quickly and without errors, because if you made a mistake on the ditto master, you had to scrap it and start over. To this day I can type along while chatting with Earl and not miss a beat. I owe that ability to my Mom.

Another business skill I think I’m pretty good at is my telephone etiquette. Again, that’s my Mom’s fault. My Mom was a telphone operator for good ol’ Ma Bell in the mid 1960s and to this day has a telephone voice and manner that rivals few. She taught my sister and me to speak politely to the operator when she asked for our phone number when we dialed long distance (Yes, we had a party line where you had to give your phone number so they knew who to bill). She taught us to speak directly into the phone and to listen carefully and respond kindly, in a pleasant voice, because the person on the other end of the line couldn’t see you. While I’ve waivered from time to time while in a heated discussion (especially in my previous job), I like to think that I maintain that manner to this day.

My Dad had his hand in my business upbringing as well. My father’s side of the family owns a hardware/lumber store and contracting business. I worked there in my teen years, and before I was an official employee, I often tagged along in the summer to hang out with everyone. My Dad taught me that when you’re part of a company, it’s never “I”, it’s always “we”. “What can WE do for you today.” “PVC pipe? WE have four different sizes to choose from.” “OUR contractors are the best in the business.” When you’re dealing with the public, you are a representative of the whole “we”. The customer is not dealing with me, he’s dealing with US. A team, while they may disagree amongst themselves, are united when dealing with a potential customer. I firmly believe that those that succeed in business think in the “we”, not the “me”.

Since high school, I’ve accumulated many skills that has put me where I am today. I still continue to learn on a daily basis, from those I work with and those I love. But I like to think that Mom and Dad laid a pretty good foundation.

Out To Lunch.

One of the perks of my new job is the fact that I get a lunch hour. I know that statement makes me sound like I just stepped through the looking glass or something, so I better explain myself a little bit better.

At my previous job, I almost always ate lunch at the office with the rest of the crew. There wasn’t really a defined lunch hour. Phones continued to ring and things continued to need tending to, so we sort of ordered in and gathered around the kitchen table and ate lunch while we answered the phone (with our mouths full) or talked about work related issues. While we did take a moment to eat, we didn’t really stop, so there was no break in the work day.

At my new job, I have a lunch hour. Once I’m in the job full swing, the timing will jump around a little bit depending on what shift I’m on (work shifts are staggered by an hour, depending if you’re on call that week or not, and lunch time follows suit). But I’ve taken the opportunity to leave the office for the full lunch hour every day since I’ve started. I love it! Even if I bring my lunch to work, I still go for a ride in the car and see what the world is up to, listening to Sirius Out Q or the disco channel on the satellite radio. A little Gloria Gaynor and I’m good to go.

It’s amazing what an hour of “me time” can do in the middle of the day. It’s like a rejuvenating kick in the pants. An hour of sunshine does wonders for the soul. Big gulps of fresh air. A break from the computer hypnosis. I think I’ll even enjoy my lunch hour outside year round… it keeps me grounded.

So if you’re sitting inside on your lunch hour, grab your lunch pail and head outside, and enjoy it.

Service With A Smile.

Earl and I took the opportunity this weekend to go on a little bit of a shopping spree. It wasn’t anything exceedingly wild (at least for us), but we did make a couple of purchases our home, including a new DirecTV system.

We had DirecTV in our old house because there was nothing else available. Cable hadn’t been strung to our rural location, in fact, we were just four poles away from the end of the line and the cable company wasn’t about to extend it any further. So we went with the DirecTV route. Earl, being the rabid football fan that he was, loved the NFL Sunday ticket that gave him every game possible from every angle.

He asked me a couple of weeks ago to go ahead and get the cable company’s version of the Sunday ticket for this NFL season.

“There’s isn’t one.”

“What do you mean there isn’t one”, he asked as he began to pale slightly.

“The cable company doesn’t offer an NFL Sunday Ticket. They show the Bills and the Giants and that’s it.”

“Bastards.”

Actually, I don’t know if he said “bastards” or not, but you get the idea. So I offered the thought of getting DirecTV here at the new house. They’ve made a number of strides since we were last served by then, including Hi-Definition television. The only problem is that in 1999 the Federal Government (the wise sages that they are), decided that the satellite companies can’t provide the network channels if you can get them off an antenna. You had to apply for a waiver. Since we already had satellite service when this law was put into play, we were grandfathered, and enjoyed the networks from both the east and west coasts. Since we’re a new install now, the chances of getting the network crap is a little dicey.

This weekend we decided to go for it and play in the red tape. So we went ahead and ordered DirecTV. The kind gentleman on the phone told us that to get TiVo again, we’d need to go to Best Buy or Circuit City and purchase the newest unit so that we could record in Hi-Def.

Off to Best Buy. An attractive, if yet clueless, sales associate greeted us and looked at us like we had asked her to take a dump on the floor when we asked her about this latest incarnation of TiVo.

“It’s not available to the general public yet.”

“But the guy at DirecTV told us to come get it, you’d have it.”

“Nope. Not available. And it’s not going to be for at least six weeks.” Apparently, she doesn’t need a computer or anything, because she rattled off this little nugget of information right off the top of her pointed little head.

Well Earl went a little crazy. You see, we tried to buy satellite radio at Best Buy a couple of weeks ago, and after selling us on a particular unit they informed us that they were sold out and would not have it in stock again for at least six weeks. I don’t know why six weeks is a magic number. It just is. Before the satellite radio incident, I tried to buy some Linux gear, in which the sales associate told me that they didn’t carry anything like that, while he was standing next to the latest distribution of SuSE Linux.

So like last week, we jumped in the car and drove across the street to Circuit City. They didn’t carry the particular TiVo we wanted, however, they did have them in the warehouse and would have it delivered to our home this week.

THANK YOU.

I also took the opportunity to apply for a Circuit City credit card, which they promptly approved with TWICE the credit limit of Best Buy and offered me 18 months of no interest.

Today I went back to Circuit City to get a couple of upgrades for my computer and I was greeted with a smile and a knowledgeable salesperson. In addition, I wasn’t distracted by Best Buy’s flashing lights, out of control music, lack of intelligent salespeople and refrigerators that have a built in television.

I don’t expect a lot when it comes to customer service. A pleasant greeting. Some knowledge about what you’re dealing with, or the resources to answer a question if you can’t do it on your own, a pleasant pass through the checkouts and a hearty thank you after giving you our hard earned money. By the way, I always say “Thank you” when handed my package that the cashier just bagged up. It’s my way of being pleasant. It irks me beyond belief when they say “You’re welcome”. No, asshat, you should say “Thank you” as well as I, at the very least, just contributed to your paycheck.

Customer service has gone by the way of the full service gas station. No one cares anymore. Everyone is so surly and uninterested. When I go to McDonald’s I’m happy when the cashier gives me my food without blowing her nose in my hamburger wrapper or snapping her gum in my ear. I’m grateful when the witch behind the counter at the department store doesn’t shred my credit card. I consider myself lucky when the grocery store clerk doesn’t mash my bread. Remember when the bag boy used to take your groceries out to the car for you? Well, he didn’t do it for me, but he did for my mother and grandmother, and then he got a little tip! I could use the pick me up of seeing the bag boy’s cute ass near my trunk. Why don’t they do that anymore? No. Instead we have to scan the groceries ourselves and listen to a computer speak in elementary terms on how to pass the barcode by the laser.

And why don’t people smile? Say hello. Be friendly. Don’t warble “can I help ya?” in an annoyed voice. Say “What Can We Do For You?” Be interested! Care! Is it too much to ask?

I Hear Music.

As I’ve been enjoying our Sirius satellite radio this week, I can’t help reflect upon the fact that Top 40 “Pop” music has really gone down the crapper. Top 40 music seems so repetitive, angry and just plain bad these days. I’ve only heard three songs in the past two years that I’ve truly enjoyed:

1. “The Game of Love” by Santana featuring Michelle Branch. An infectious tune, I still crank it up whenever I hear it. The mixshow DJ in me would try to mix it into the old “That’s What Love Can Do” by Boy Krazy, as it has somewhat of the same beat. You can’t help but sing along to this one.

2. “Invisible” by Clay Aiken. Clay will always be the true American Idol from the second season in my eyes and this song just proves it. While Ruben apologized for his travesty of “Sorry 2004”, Clay’s “Invisible” is a true pop gem. I especially enjoy the bridge of the song… it has a nice classic pop feel to it and for some reason reminds me of David Cassidy and Shirley Jones singing a Partridge Family tune. Classic Stuff.

3. “The Eighth World Wonder” by Kimberley Locke. Again, another melodically pleasing song with pleasant harmonies and a classic pop sound. I can’t help but sing to this song when I hear it.

Aside from those three songs, whenever I turn to a “hit music channel”, satellite or not, it’s playing crap. From the thump, thump, thump of an electronic drum track to the beep, beep, beep of unnecessarily rude lyrics, I can’t help but wonder what happened to pop music in the past 10 years. When did Top 40 music get so angry? And doesn’t anyone have an original idea anymore? Will Smith’s dumb rapping over Patrice Rushen’s “Forget Me Nots” is nothing but blasphemy and I think Destiny’s Child should be prohibited from ever showing their face again after chanting some crap over “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks. Don’t even get me started on Crystal Waters’ “Come On Down”, a remix of the theme from “The Price Is Right”! To think I enjoyed “Gypsy Woman” back in the day.

Now, I’m not so old as to not know that the last three songs I mentioned are ancient by Top 40 standard. I just buzz by the crap so fast that I don’t know what’s hip. Or bad. Or Phat. Or whatever it is. Thank God I’m not in radio anymore. I’d sound like Dick Clark on New Years’ Eve.

Getting Sirius About Radio.

One of the many benefits of my recent career change include the release of guilt. I’ve always been very interested in satellite radio. I had heard wonderful things about it – you can listen to the same radio station all the way across the country. There are no commercials. There are specialized radio stations. You have over 160 radio stations to choose from. The list goes on and on.

When I worked in the radio industry, I thought it would be insanely hypocritical of me to go buy a satellite radio system. After all, satellite radio, along with CDs, MP3 players and in-car entertainment systems (DVD, etc) are slowly eroding the grip traditional radio has on a driver. My salary was derived from ad revenue. To own a satellite radio would make me feel very guilty.

I officially left radio on Friday at 5 p.m. I had a satellite receiver installed in my car at noon on Sunday. It would have been sooner, but we had a wedding to go to on Saturday.

My last day of work was shared with a co-worker, who is becoming a broadcasting industry instructor at one of the local BOCES (vocational schools). He had his satellite radio installed Thursday night. I guess he could deal with one day of guilt.

I’d been planning this since tendering my resignation, so I had three weeks to do lots of research. After some silent debate, I decided to get a Sirius radio made by Audiovox.

OH MY GOD.

To say that I love this radio system would be a drastic understatement. Driving in traffic is now the equivalent of an audio orgasm, if you will. I can listen to nothing but disco from Buffalo to Baltimore if I want to. I can keep up on financial news from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. I can listen to all 80s music from Walla Walla to Watertown.

And I never have to listen to another damn commercial again. Now that’s what I call getting Sirius about radio.

The First Day of School.

Well, it wasn’t really like the first day of school, but today I did something that I haven’t done in a long, long time. I started a new job. It was absolutely wonderful. The group of people I work with are very nice, the job is going to be a challenge to learn, but once I get the hang of it I’ll enjoy it very much. I’m looking forward to the experience.

I learned a lesson today – just how public my life is through this web site. I was greeted by Shirley, one of my new co-workers, who put a bag of microwave popcorn on my desk because I mention on my road site how much I love popcorn. They all asked about Earl and then told me they’d like to try some of his fabulous cooking. It was a major ice breaker. Do I have regrets about this website? Not really, because it’s all pretty much harmless. I learned a long, long time ago that you don’t write something electronically that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times. At one time I wanted to be on a reality show… I guess this is sort of the same thing on a smaller scale.

I haven’t been writing in my blog as much simply because my mind has been preoccupied with changing careers and training people and thinking about my new job and all that. Today I started a new chapter in my life. It’s wonderful that I have an outlet that I can actually write this chapter down.


Here’s proof that things can live forever electronically:

From: wingj@social.dec.com (wingj@social.dec.com)

Subject: Re: BRADY BUNCH THEME SONG LYRICS

This is the only article in this thread

View: Original Format

Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv

Date: 1989-12-17 10:06:43 PST

Yes, but the real Brady fan will be able to sing the lyrics from

“The Brady Kids”

Lines like “…and there’s Jan the middle one who’s really groovy”

“…you’ll meet Mop-Top and Ping and Pong the Pandas…”

================================================================================

John Wing | | wingj@social.dec.com

Digital Equip. Corp. | 🙂 | …!decwrl!social.dec.com!wingj

Concord, Mass. | | wingj%social.dec@decwrl.dec.com

——————————————————————————–

“Stay away fools, ’cause loves rules at the Love Shack!”

– The B-52’s

================================================================================

Some of my babble from 1989, just a Google search away!

I See The Light!

Trudging through this last week of my current job has been somewhat of a chore, even though it’s only Tuesday. You see, I can see “the light at the end of the tunnel”, as my current employment comes to a close on Friday and I start my new adventure on Monday. I’m really anxious to get going on the new job, and as I start to wipe my hands clean of my current responsibilities, the days start to drag out just a little bit. I suppose I should revel in the accomplishments of the last 10 years in this gig, and while it gives me a smile, I must admit that I am ready to move on.

Ironically, work has been going wonderfully (if not a little slow) since I’ve given my notice. Training others of my duties is going well, for the most part. There are some things that you just can’t teach, as I tend to rely heavily on a sort of an electronic intuition and I believe you’ve either “got it” or you don’t. I don’t mean to sound snobby and all tooting my own horn about having the stuff to make computers and networks and such tick, but it’s like someone trying to teach me to be an artist – try as I might to paint something beautiful and original, the best I can do is trace a snowman off of a Christmas card.

I’ve been taking my lunch to work everyday since turning in my resignation, mostly to keep on the healthy side of things (the scale is confirming my decisions), but I’m really dying for some Chinese food. I know there’s about three days worth of calories in that little styrofoam container of goodness and rice, but it’s just so damn good. I think I might take the leap and have some for lunch tomorrow.

I had my annual physical on Friday (four years late, I may add) and was astounded to find that my blood pressure was 110/74. At my last physical it was 172/102. Dr. Lance (he likes to be called that) gave me a big thumbs up on that. Everything seems to be holding together pretty well. I attribute the better blood pressure to the impending career move and Earl not traveling as much… things just feel so ‘right’ right now. I guess the universe is confirming this with really strong feelings of deja vu appearing all over the place.

Life is good. I’m going to enjoy it.