Category: Random

While unemployed, time seemed to pass more gently. My return to work also brought a certain "return to franticness", which I do not enjoy as much. Of course, a significant piece to this is my return to classes. This semester I'm taking a digital art and design class, which focuses on Photoshop. As much as I don't need the time-suck, this is worth it. I've long wanted to get better, perhaps even become one of those Photoshop power geeks. Perhaps…

The additional fun, though of my son's "Super-Lion" status added to the demand. (His school mascot is "the Lions") However, the assembly was fun, and it pleases me that he best exemplifies "peace" amongst his classmates. That was followed by curriculum night, and most of that day was spoken for. Makes me quite glad I can work remotely.

Tagentally, I guess I'm one of odd iPhone users who hasn't raced over and downloded the mms update. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't feel the mad need to have this. Later today, or even "this weekend" will be just fine. Now, give me spelll-check, and I'll be racing to my laptop.

With so many pieces jumbled together, this has been a bit zany. Yet, I adore it all. No complaints, at least when I can sit back and look at the whole. When you realize that all the pieces, random decisions, all build together to this one moment in life, and that each is dependant on the last, then it's clear that today's joy is built on this clunky foundation. That is the moment that I truly have no regrets. A moment like this one, right now.

From the good folks at Geek Culture. A clever little thing, methinks. Haven’t been to this site in a awile, but I need to change that.

I’m rather conflicted by the whole 9/11 thing. Yes, I grieve for those lost. And the violence of the act was mind-numbingly senseless and evil. Yet, I refuse to give in to the mindless cheerleading type patriotism, jingoistic nonsense that the right has adopted. Their rush to destroy everything associated, however remotely, with the terrorists is counter-productive at best. At worst, retorting evil with evil is, well, feeding a mad cycle of destruction. Giving those who hate us “for our freedoms” other reasons to hate is just crazy.

I mourn the deaths of so many innocents to mindless hate. The deaths of the people just living their lives combined with the 343 deaths of firefighters “doing their duty” saddens me. It speaks to the danger of non-rational religiosity. A dangerous mind set beyond the Middle-East, joining us here in the West.

My world looks rather autumnal this morn. Cool, an even tone of grey hued clouds blanketing the sky. Soon, I expect, a light mist fills the air.

Strange, I’m sure, but I’m fond of “grey” over “gray”. Perhaps just contrarian; perhaps the remnants of a lingering regional influence. Most likely, I just prefer “e” to “a”. “A” gets so much more air-time. Firstborn of the alphabet, first of the vowels. “A”, the valedictorian, cheerleader, homecoming queen of the letters. Always first, always popular, always adored. What about poor, lonely “e”? Middle child of the vowels, lost in the full-alphabet family. “E”, that quiet, accommodating middle child. A great listener, demanding nothing for itself. The one that cleans up after Thanksgiving dinner, putting all the dishes away, with no one noticing.

Greyness calms the morn. No garish sun demanding action. Grey clouds invite to tea, to leisure. No need to run outside, to seize this last moment of summer. Relax, sit, just be. Read a book, listen to music. Sit next to me, let me listen to you. Perhaps I understand better why I like grey.

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Ok, as I’m getting my photography back up, I’m wondering about online photo services. Right now, I have a Flickr stream as well as Picasa. They both offer online editing and such things. All in all I can’t see any difference except for the networks (individuals) connected. My Flickr stream has a few subscribers, only one “link” to my Picasa. Flickr seems to offer more choices regarding formal prints, but I haven’t used that yet. Thus I feel puzzled about which to focus on.

First, I guess, I need to figure out what I need. The main thing I want is to have an easy way to connect. Most of the editing I do is on my machine. However, I have found that it’s nice to be able to edit something that I’ve sent from my phone (they rarely look like the phone screen).

So, a question to you folks. What other services have you tried? Smugmug? What is good? What features have you seen that didn’t seem important at first, but have become indispensable?

Last week, I started working again after 6 months off. It’s been a strange trip, let me tell you. First, starting work after a 6 month break was rather surreal. The first few days were quite exhausting. However, I rebounded quickly. My brain is starting to get back into the swing of organizing teams (the heart of my career to this point).

Now, I’m not back into the full-time, permanent work-force. I’m a contractor/temp, working for a large technology company in the greater Seattle area. Fortunately, I’m coming from Starbucks, so I have experience working for a large, Fortune 200 company. I now how to function in controlled chaos.

Though I’ve explored a good many career options, directions in which to wander off to, I keep coming back to administrative and office management. Finally, I feel that this really is my calling. I’m good at this, and can jump into pretty much any setting and succeed.

This next stage shall be, well, unique in the course of my career. I have never, in my adult life, not worked for 6 months. This company that I’m now working is famous for a mad, intense work style. The nice thing about contract work is the ability to test drive the culture. If I love the place, I can spend time hard-core networking. If I hate it, I split with no recriminations or hard feelings. That, really, is a blessing.

Today I re-read Robert Frost's classic "The Road Not Taken". Always, as I read, I think I should commit this to memory; I adore it so. My internal script, though, tells me I can't memorize. Laughable, really, this notion. As a musician, I memorized a great deal. Several years of drum corps shows, marching band music, myriad jazz tunes; all committed to mind. Odd, then, that this dated and disproven script still influences. I wonder, at times, if we'd cease to exist without our insecurities. So prevalent and deep seated they are. Frustrating, really; perhaps memorizing this piece would help defeat this script forever? A worthy endeavor, methinks.

Via BlackBerry

Someone after my heart…