Monday, November 18, 2002

Remember the days, not so long ago, when if you knew computers, you could write your own ticket? Ah, the memories. Then the stock market tanked and CEOs started bailing out with million dollar parachutes to avoid any hint of responsibility for thrashing the lives of thousands of employees. But I'm not bitter.

But I am irritated. The economy in general seems to be holding right now, with no major trend up or down. But the tech industry is still in the pits with no sign of a hint of the vaguest intimitation of a dim hope of a slight upturn.

I'm skilled, experienced even. But I don't have any certifications because I picked up those skills on the job. And between jobs I have no way to get certifications, even for the stuff I do know, since it would amount to paying Sun Micro for a sheet of paper, with no guarantee that I'd get any return on the investment. I might as well play Lotto.

On the other hand, the last two months or so of my job hunt, HR departments have discovered that the Unix world has certifications. If I thought it was hard to get an interview before, it's going to be nigh impossible now.

Looks bleak, doesn't it?

Thursday, October 10, 2002

Those of you who have never juggled and in particular never passed clubs with other jugglers, will probably not understand this missive. Those who have will recognize the sensation described within.

It is a special feeling- you are passing clubs and Oops! you drop one. No big deal, you just wait for the right moment to bend down and pick it up. You pass again as you are standing up and look at your partner.

He is not passing you a club and neither does he have an extra laying around. And there is something, well, expectant about his expression.

Your brain slips into overdrive as you realize that somewhere- where you can NOT see it- there is a club heading your way, destined to leave a mark.

Exciting, isn't it?

Monday, September 30, 2002

Hey, it's been a while. I've been up to no apparent good and not really been thinking about adding stuff to this page.

But today I was encouraged to take a digicam picture of something that I had video taped off the local news here in Denver, Colorado. That is an important point-- the broadcaster of the following image is in Denver, Colorado.

You may need to load the larger image (by clicking) to be able to see the state lines on the map. Go on, take a look. And remember that Fox 31 News is based in Denver, Colorado.

Tuesday, July 30, 2002

I find something vaguely disturbing about the fact that while I was squeezing the water out of my can of tuna, I mis-read the brand name. Why would the name "Starkist" turn into "Friskies" when read upside down?

And if I opened the bottom of the tuna can, would I get cat food?

Wednesday, April 17, 2002

It's hayfever season. Plus in Colorado we get heavy winds in the Spring which amplifies the suffering for me.

So I'm getting ready for bed and I decide to clear my painful sinuses. Honk. Honk. Blot! Something lands on my leg. Ewwwww.

I look down and there's this dark thing about an inch long! and it's got legs! and antennae!! and it's moving!!! Aiyyeee!!!

Needless to say, it startled the crap out of me. Well, I calm down after flinging it (and my Kleenex) to kingdom come and can sort through my impressions to realize that it was just a beetle.

Now I just want to know how it got up my nose.

Wednesday, February 13, 2002

Here's a belated story from my Christmas trip. If you've been following along, you know that in December I broke my foot.

So I got to go through the new security at DIA on crutches. Well, on one crutch as I figured it would be easier to get around with a suitcase and a carry on if I only had one crutch.

I was right, it was much easier. But I didn't plan on the security system being cranked up to absurd levels. Stripped of my carry on, my keys, my coins, my crutch, I still set off the metal detector. All I had left were my clothes and my wallet. It turns out there was my emergency car key in my wallet which did the trick, but I'm getting ahead of the story.

So, I've hopped into the box and set off the bleeper. Security converges and gestures imperiously toward the penalty box, a glassed in tunnel for people unlucky enough to bleep. I stand my ground and insist that I will wait until they return my crutch to me. They reluctantly grant that as a reasonable request.

I now pogo my way down the penalty cage which is blocked at the end. I have to wait for the security people understand that I can't get through without one of them moving the blockage for me.

Finally, I've reached the wanding station. I'm still trying to be good natured about things and in fact, except for them being a little slow about the problems of moving about on crutches, it's going pretty well. The guy with the wand briefs me on what he's going to do, then he points at my good leg and says, "Lift that foot."

There's a couple of moments while I stare at him and then roll my eyes toward heaven. I finally tell him that I will need a table or something to lean on, since it is pretty obvious that I can't stand on just the crutch. He laughs and says, "Yeah, I guess that would help." Support is found and the rest of the wanding goes well.

A final thought about the process-- after they found that my wallet set off the wand, they took it away from me and sent it through the X-ray machine. So now I'm standing in security with no ID on me. And now that I'm clean, they make me go back through the upright metal detector, with all the attendent dropping off the crutch and hopping through both ways that that entails. Why? Isn't the wand enough? Then I got to wait while the rest of my things were gathered from the X-ray people and I could finally proceed.

All in all, it only took about 5 extra minutes even with all the contretemps about waiting for the crutch, waiting for help with the blockage and waiting for something to lean on when he wanted me to lift my good foot.