Andy's Back

AndrewOlmsted.com is back, and I hope he's there to stay. That's about all for today, with the exception of it being my last day at the current job. I also got a tablet computer from the state for this new job, and it's pretty cool. Just not sure about what to do with all the paperwork it came with.

Google has an interesting quote of the day on my home page:
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." -Blaise Pascal

I think that is partially true, and only partially because I am not very religious and have known people to do evil things quite easily without religious conviction. I'm not getting into that. I'm working on something else.

Where is your church?

I ask this because I think a lot about religion and politics. That fact is usually disguised in my writing, but believe it or not, it is true. Scott over at Poetic Leanings wrote this yesterday and got me thinking.

I do not consider myself a religious person. Much like I believe that communism is a good idea ruined by people, I feel that religion is going along the same lines. Too many people are trying to be middlemen between God and us. It is occurring in all the major religions. People who are far less than honest are telling others what God would want.

I am a spiritual person who is a Christian and still consider myself a Catholic even though I don't attend church. I was unable to continue going to a building for worship when most people seemed to just go so that others could see them there. I think God knows if you are there for the right reasons and probably even knows if I choose to pray or reflect at home.

While I was in the shower last night, I was thinking about church and what would be my church. More precisely, where is my church. I decided that the golf course could probably be considered a place where I worship. It is like my Zen place. When I am golfing, I usually am relaxed and just able to think.

I also think that I find my bed a place of worship. Before you think about the wrong things, I often just lay in bed and listen to jazz or Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen and ponder life. I occasionally read the Bible or Qu'ran there and just think. Isn't that really what spirituality is? Reflecting on God, your relationship with God, and your relationship with the rest of the world?

I have also been trying Yoga and meditation. I am not very good at blocking everything out of my head yet though. I can relax and block out the outside well enough, but occasionally a thought pops in like "I wonder if M*A*S*H is on?"

Off to Atlanta

I got a slew of e-mails last night detailing next week's training. I haven't started the job yet, but I do know that on day two I'll be in Atlanta overnight. I'm a bit excited about all of this, except for the fact that we will be using SouthernLinc telephones. Cheap ones.

Anyway, things are heating up. My online classes open in two days, and I have only the weekend to get everything in order. Plus, Scott wants me to write a column for his blog, I think.

Twenty-Seven

What happened on this day in history no one cares about. I haven’t read anything astonishing yet, so I’ve made up a few facts of my own to commemorate my twenty-seventh birthday:

• I’m half my father’s age now.


• September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday, too. (for my Republican readers, of which there are none)


• John Mayer and I are the same age for about the next 20 days.


• I don’t feel any different from yesterday, when I was twenty-six.

Enough of my birthday. I had better get back to caring for my daughter who will be going to another daycare facility next week. The day I start school online will also be the first day of my new job, also next week. Forget how old I am; I haven’t the time to think about it.

Update: I will also point out that I share a birthday with Google, Inc. Today is Google's seventh birthday.

Lemme Get a Count

How many readers do I have? Please comment one time on this post. I'd hate to think that 1200 of the current 1246 hits to this site are from me checking to see if anyone is reading.

Getting Close

First, the quote of the day:

"Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know."
- Cullen Hightower

Calls came in pretty steady today, but no immediately solvable problems were left without resolution. This VoIP thing is certainly becoming a pain in the ass since it's provided by a third party. I personally think we should have put more thought and money into providing our own VoIP service locally. It would have taken a couple more years, but I think we'd be better off with local control. I realize that comes from a technical support perspective rather than a logistical one, but I really hate depending on people I've never met.

I've got one more day on call before I leave my current position, and I am admittedly anxious. I'm also a bit nervous about starting a new job, but I am sure I'll do well. I have a pretty easy time explaining computers to people over the phone (though I do not enjoy the telephone), so doing it face-to-face should prove to be easier.

A friend found a background image that should show up in Windows Vista next year, and I put it on my Linux machine for kicks:




Maybe the folks at Microsoft will be happy to know that all computers are welcome on the Internet, and can do almost as much. Linux is getting better every day, and it will soon catch up to popular technology. Market share won't change much, but I will do what I can to bring the public's attention to this alternative.

Good night.

You Should See Us Now

As long as Google doesn't go anywhere, this blog will be here forever, and I plan on writing to the world for a long time. If you look often, you'll see my daughter grow! If you wait too long, she'll be off to college before you see her again.

From the Desk of Anika Jade

She loves this computer for some reason. She even helped me type the blog tonight.
I should teach her some more of those hot typing skills. Maybe one day pass on my legacy.

I'm on call this week. Being on call makes me wonder if I'll miss the place. I really feel like I'm speaking too soon, but I'm looking forward to another job. This one only lasted about five months, and I wasn't exactly active in looking for the one I got, but the change is surely welcome, as is the salary. Beth and I are pushing for a house, and this will certainly prove to be a catalyst in that venture.

I will enjoy the challenge of something new. Teaching will be a new experience for me, but if I am passionate enough about what I teach, there should be no problem. I love technology and what it can do. I don't necessarily appreciate what humans have become due to its automation of nearly everything, but I like it. We have become more efficient, some richer, some poorer, and most everyone else lazy. That's for another discussion.

While I'm rambling, the Blogger for Word toolbar disappeared from Word this evening. I think Anika uninstalled it while she was working her magic.

Never mind. I closed and restarted Word and it appeared. There's your tech tip for the night.

Interesting Quote of the Day

“The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.”  - Lord Acton

And it begins...

The grudge.  I’m already getting the cold shoulder from the upper echelon.  Just for the record.

Blogger for Word

I always wanted something that I could use to write in and push-button publish to this (or any, for that matter) blog.  I was looking into Moveable Type, but I think that costs money, and this is primarily a hobby.  Like golf, except for free.

So I got this new plug-in for Microsoft™ Word™ and this is the first article I published, to test the software.  This will give me a good chance to write longer, thought-out stuff like why Bush hates midgets and drools at Fran Drescher*.

But for now I’ll play with one of the latest cool toys from the Google closet and enjoy my time punching keys.

*Name chosen at random, but really – have you seen her teeth?

John Mayer Trio

iTunes has a couple of singles out from the John Mayer Trio debut release (I think it's due in December, but don't quote me. I'm too lazy to look it up.) The first song, the one I favor, is a 50's-60's blues style song called "Come When I Call." I love it. It sounds like a blues hall recording in a way, and it sets the mood for the lyric. Great job.

The other one, "Who Did You Think I Was," is a Lenny Kravitz-style workout about how John is actually different than everyone thinks he is, proving he's a bit confused about it himself. It is a great beat with a lot of energy, and I must like it, too.

I especially like the "Stitched Up" John did on the new Herbie Hancock CD. You should get it (the song, not the album. I can only speak for one track on it.)

Enjoy yourself, and drink some coffee while listening to some good tunes.

Update:
The John Mayer Trio will release a live recording November 13 along with a DVD.

Got the Job

I got a call late this morning from the guy who interviewed me two weeks ago. I returned his call to discover a job offer. I happily accepted and will be on my way to a new occupation in sixteen days.

I [think I] will be teaching proper computer usage to people in a rather large portion of Georgia, for the purpose of keeping a low call volume in the Technical Support department. My job will be not to fix problems, but to prevent them. I hope to create knowledgeable workers who can work efficiently and therefore help those in need in better time.

That is my aim.

I will also be responsible for managing the roll-out of large software applications, and training the users in those applications. I plan to do my best to keep the questions at a minimum when I am done.

After a conversation tonight with me4president2008, I should teach people in such a fashion that they learn how to think for themselves, so they can complete more of their jobs without consulting others for help.

Maybe I'll be asking for too much, but if someone as simple as I am can think for himself, anyone can do it. At my current job, I go to customers' houses and fix their problems. After that, if there's anything I can show them that may enable them to correct or avoid the same problem, I am sure to teach them how to do so. I enjoy that part of my job, and usually the recipient is quite grateful. And they rarely call back with the same problem.

Enough for tonight. I'm sure I'll be expressing my anxiety here in the coming days.

Everything I need to know about politics,

I learned from a very famous philosopher and poet, Marky Mark. It was a stroke of political genius when Marky Mark and his Funky Bunch pronounced that "I'm a get mine so get yours." Ahh, the insight and inspiration this has provided many a politician.

I had been trying my hand at political vacations when the vision of Marky Mark came to me and uttered that moving phrase. I even cut my vacation short when I heard that my fantasy team was getting it's ass kicked and flew in to check the carnage for myself.

I partly joke, but it sounds like a political statement to me. All the President's men started White House damage control before they focused on hurricane damage control. The president remained quiet for a couple days and made it sound like a huge sacrifice to cut his vacation short. Democrats jumped on attacking the President and offered little true support for the victims for several days. They were all getting theirs.

In Supreme Court nominations, weak liberals and Democrats are getting theirs handed back to them. They didn't think of the ramifications of losing the election for the country. They were only thinking about getting theirs. They wanted to win or some Dems voted for Bush because they wanted to be safe. Neither got what they wanted and we are all getting shit on because of it.

Supporters of the Right to Choose deserve to have Roe v. Wade overturned.

Liberals and Progressives also deserve to see wealth redistributed to the top and away from those in need. Make no mistake that is what Bush's and conservative tax plans are. They say they are opposed to redistribution of wealth, but that is exactly what they do. They think that if the wealthy can get theirs, then the poor can also. Why not help out those who have gotten theirs so that those who haven't become inspired to do so. It is not a logical argument, but many Americans buy the every man for himself philosophy.

Politicians also talk about the ownership society. They just get it wrong. They think that people who have managed to become owners of property and wealth should have a larger say in what goes on.

I also believe in an ownership society but I see it as owning some of the responsibility for the society. I figure that if we all take responsibility for the society as a whole, we will all benefit. Goes along with my "blow up" economics theory of giving tax breaks to the poor and it working it's way through the markets to the wealthy or "owners".

I think that is enough thinking and philosophizing for the day. I have to slowly work my brain out of vacation mode and don't want to go too fast and get a cramp.

Two New Words

I have heard two words lately that I have never associated with the United States. Since the landing of hurricane Katrina, many things have happened. many people are dead who, if it weren't for those responsible, would quite possibly still be alive.

I never would have called all the people who fled New Orleans refugees. The thought never occurred to me to think of a hurricane escapee in the same manner of someone escaping a harsh government or war in an underdeveloped country. This is America, isn't it?

Taken directly from Houghton Mifflin Company via Answers.com

ref·u·gee (rĕf'yʊ-jē') pronunciation
n.

One who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution.

ref·uge (rĕf'yūj) pronunciation
n.

1. Protection or shelter, as from danger or hardship.
2. A place providing protection or shelter.
3. A source of help, relief, or comfort in times of trouble.

Hmmm... Were the radical Islamists right in saying that this was punishment for being Americans? Something to think about. I guess that by definition, these people were refugees, and many still are since they've nowhere to go. They're homeless, tired, sick, and dying. And it's not their fault.

The other word I heard today on NPR as they were telling me that the President was to address the nation tonight, and he may name a czar of the recovery effort for the area affected by hurricane Katrina. Czar.

Czar? Lemme look that up.

Taken directly from Houghton Mifflin Company via Answers.com

czar (zär, tsär)
n.

1. also tsar or tzar (zär, tsär) A male monarch or emperor, especially one of the emperors who ruled Russia until the revolution of 1917.
2. A person having great power; an autocrat: “the square-jawed, ruddy complacency of Jack Farrell, the czar of the Fifteenth Street police station” (Ernest Hemingway).
3. Informal. An appointed official having special powers to regulate or supervise an activity: a racetrack czar; an energy czar.

I guess the people at NPR were being informal, but it was odd hearing that word used in reference to an official in this country. I'm not saying it's bad, but one doesn't on a normal day hear "czar" used very often outside of history class or international news.

These are my thoughts, and yes, they are random.

1069

Congratulations to me!

I guess I wasn't there when I broke 1000 hits the other day, but I happened to notice this morning that I had gone over the top. I shall now revel in my glory and wait for Scott to bow.

Or maybe I'll just go to lunch.

No Job Yet

Found this new time waster, surprisingly enough, through my boss.

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

20% Dixie

10% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

What's Up Random Thoughts

I have been trying to think of a special post for my first one on a blog I was invited to post on, but it is not going so well. So, I decided to just tell you a little about my writing style so that you are not shocked and awed into a catatonic state.

That said, here is a little of what you may read, censored in case Anika is with Daddy at the computer.

@!#$ Bush
Rumsfeld is a &*^%
Cheney is an @$$!&#@
I hate @#!$%&% Fred Phelps
Ann Coulter is a $#%@^

There is probably more, but I will let everyone adjust before I write more.

Update
I forgot to show that I can work in a bipartisan manner. Democrats are %$##@!$.

Not Bush's Fault

In the local paper (which, by the way, is still fucked up) there is a section every day entitled Rant & Rave. I would like to quote one rave and burn them here:

I was reading in [Tuesday's] Rant & Rave where it is a shame and why not help and I would like to know why people are blaming the government when it is not the government's fault. It is the governor of New Orleans, the mayor of New Orleans, the senators and representatives from New Orleans. It is not Bush and the government's fault. They can't get things in there overnight. I know. I just came from out there. I left home Sunday night before the hurricane hit. ...It's not Bush's fault, and it's not the government's fault. It's their own fault. I know. I have family there. I know.

I shall say first that someone this ridiculously stupid probably doesn't know what Bush's position is, since he/she thinks someone has the distinction of being the Governor of the State of New Orleans. Also, this person was fortunate enough to have somewhere to go. A lot of the people who died did so because they had no family, no place, and no way to get outside New Orleans. The person who ranted here obviously practices conservative thought. "I got out and you didn't, so that makes you stoopid. I know."

Then I will say that it is Bush's fault. He's the boss. The President of the United States. The one who brought "liberalization" to an entire country with a great quickness, and ousted its leader. He can put over half the Army on the other side of the earth in a matter of weeks and wreck an entire country, but he can't manage to get help down to New Orleans over the weekend.

It's Bush's fault that nine days later people are still starving to death and women are being raped because the safety of each person left homeless by Katrina is in the hands of the government.

If I were the president (and this is entirely hypothetical), everything except the care for human beings would be out the window. We found enough money for this fucking war, so we should wait until later to figure out how we're going to pay for the cleanup. "Just get it done," I would say.

"Hello, sir! Do you not have anywhere for your family to stay? Go stay at the White House. I'm never there anyway; I'll be at the ranch. And we'll build you a nice new home right where Trent's house was. We have this new thing called imminent domain. He'll understand."

Bring our soldiers home and give those people a home, you comfortable fuck.

No More Newton

I am giving up on trying to read Michael White's account of Isaac Newton's life. On to what is hoped to be a better book for my attention span: Know It All by A.J. Jacobs.

For the Sake of Simplification

tech_pickle is gone now. The articles I wrote there can now be found in the archives here at Random Thoughts.

tech_pickle

I'm considering getting rid of my other blog, tech_pickle. I'm not really interested enough. My website will still be www.techpickle.org, but the blog is not really getting anywhere. I don't have any readers, and all my sources are on the same sites accessible to those potential readers. Why duplicate? If I did decide to keep it and post daily, how would I gain readership? Hell, I post more tech articles here than I do at tech_pickle, so WTF am I doing with a separate blog?

I've been trying to simplify my life for some time now. Beth and I have thrown many things away in the past year for the sake of organization and simplification. We're both getting new laptops to cut down on computer clutter (and there is a lot of it at our house), so I think keeping up with one blog is enough. Effective today, I'm re-posting here what is currently on tech_pickle and deleting the blog. If I have any technology news or opinions, I'll post them here, since technology is a big part of my life, and this blog should reflect my Random Thoughts about it.

One topic that came up yesterday in the blogosphere is the legality of refilling ink jet printer cartridges. SlashDot links to a blog at Corante discussing the issue. Read all about it - I'm not here to join in any fight. Just know that from my experience, Lexmark makes an inferior product anyway, and I'm not sure how many people actually use Lexmark printers. If you ask me, HP is the way to go, and recycled/refilled cartridges are crap anyway. If I printed more, I would have a laser printer. Since I don't print that much, I buy one black cartridge about every 8 months, and I buy the HP brand. This is due to the fact that I am somewhat stubborn, and I have seen poor quality printing from cheap replacement printer ink. You decide.

Google Desktop

There's a new toy out from Google. It's got a sidebar now, and it's really smooth. Take a look at it here. If that's not convincing enough, see it on my desktop.

Most of Google's products are integrated into this sidebar. I can see my Gmail account, photos from Picasa, and talk on Google Talk all in this sidebar. There are also no advertisements. This is another great product from Google, and all companies should follow Google's lead for quality software. If only I could blog from it...

With all the advertisement software and spyware that sneaks in to your computer these days, the Google Deskbar is a breath of fresh air. When installing this one, there is a warning that some of your personal information (such as your surfing history, not your name or credit card numbers) may be sent to Google and you can opt out of that part of it.

I realize that some people may not use the desktop program, and some similar programs are cool for a couple of days until one realizes that he or she doesn't use it and it's a waste of space on the desktop, but I will try to leave this one up for at least a week and see if it's worth my time.

I Lied.

I don't think I'll tell all the details, because the interview was not that interesting. I totally hosed the presentation, but the rest of it went well in my opinion.

I'm really tired. Goodnight.

Excited and Scared at the Same Time

For those of you who don't know, I have a job interview tomorrow. This is potentially exciting because getting the job would increase my salary by about 75%. I am scared shitless, though, because it is a panel interview which includes me giving a short presentation.

I'll spare no detail tomorrow.