Video of the month

So much for such and such of the day! I have a fandom related post coming up, but I need to gather my thoughts since it's still relatively fresh and I'm so far away from fannish things. I just want to be coherent, y'know, and just not possible at this moment.

In the meantime, here is my Bollywood song of the day.

LotD

Uninsured with a pre-existing condition? Apparently there are some 'bridge' plans out there provided either at the federal or state level -- a temporary fix until all insurers must cover pre-existing conditions in 2014. There are some requirements, which seem kind of onerous depending on your situation, but worth checking out if you qualify. The article explaining all is here and the federal government site to apply is here.

Movie-licious

Finally watched Food Inc tonight; I'd been avoiding it despite rave reviews and an Oscar nomination because truth be told, sometimes you just don't want to know where your food comes from. It's an intriguing film and I definitely recommend it, but do warn there are a couple of graphic slaughter-house scenes in it (though nowhere as bad as I'd heard). It's definitely thought provoking and filled with "you gotta be kidding me" moments (corn really makes it into nearly everything we eat?). Also, new big corporate villain is introduced -- Monsanto -- and you'll be seriously creeped out by some of their activities. Unfortunately it's food and we have to eat, but at least now I'm a little more educated on what it takes to produce the food I eat; that backyard garden looks more and more attractive now.

Baby's got an out of this world name

Just in case you were looking for names for your little bouncing bundle of joy, may I suggest Trek baby names? I especially like the suggestion of 'Borg'. With the middle name of Hirogen, it rolls right off the tongue.

LotD

The War Against Women. And we haven't even covered the Georgia congressman who introduced a bill making miscarriages a felony if the mother can't disprove "human involvement". BTW, the previous link comes from Fox News...

LotD

How to make oatmeal... wrong. I never thought of McDonald's as the place to go for anything particularly helpful, but seven ingredients in cream? Really? Another seven in oatmeal, including 'natural flavor'? And wait until you read aout the sugar and calorie count in this one. Thanks, but no thanks.

I stand with Planned Parenthood

Did you hear? The House voted to bar Planned Parenthood from federal funding. They cut funding for HIV tests, cancer screenings, birth control, and more, putting millions of women and families at risk. We can't let it go unanswered. It's time for you and me to stand with Planned Parenthood. Sign the open letter to the reps who voted for this bill — and to the senators who still have a chance to stop it. You can find the letter here:
http://www.ppaction.org/IStandWithPP

Pass it on.

LotD

How the middle class became the underclass. Discuss.

LotD

Search's Dirty Little Secrets. Interesting article on how a certain retailer was trying to gain position on google's search engine. Click on the NYTimes article above to find out who it is (hint: I bet most of you have shopped there in the last 12 months).

Two more

Add Lindsey Lohan and Charlie Sheen to the list of people I wish news organizations would ignore. The former hasn't been relevant in a while and the latter is just... disgusting. Neither adds much to society. They both need help, seem willfully inclined to disregard any help that is offered, and neither shows any motivation to improve themselves (and yes, I know addiction is a disease). It's just irritating when their troubles seem to trounce what's happening in Egypt and other places around the world.

Lotd III

My friend, Tamar Carroll, wrote an op/ed on Glenn Beck and his 'special' view of history here.

Beck has repeatedly and erroneously tarred as un-American the efforts of those who have sought to increase low-income voter registration, labor union membership, interracial cooperation, peaceful resolution of foreign conflict, and the meeting of poor people’s needs within and by their own communities.

LoTD II

Defend Planned Parenthood here. I don't usually sign up for things like this but I feel the GOP is continually doing everything they can to erode women's rights to make decisions about their own bodies. In this particular case, they're also taking away a key source for health services -- 97% of which are services not abortion (ex: pap smears, breast cancer screenings) -- for low income women and men. It just boggles the mind. Again, I want to know what the GOP is doing to address that particular gap? Oh, that's right, as the party of no, they don't have to do anything at all.

LotD

It's actually a "laugh of the day" versus "link of the day," but no matter. Today's hilarity is brought to you by Glenn Beck. It'd be funnier if so many people didn't take him so seriously and take his 'geography lessons' to heart (and we wonder why we're falling behind educationally-wise?).

"One, a Muslim caliphate that controls the Mideast and parts of Europe. Two, China, that will control Asia, the southern half of Africa, part of the Middle East, Australia, maybe New Zealand, and God only knows what else. And Russia, which will control all of the old former Soviet Union bloc, plus maybe the Netherlands. I'm not really sure. But their strong arm is coming. That leaves us and South America. What happens to us?"

My favorite is Russia taking over the Netherlands? WTF? Wouldn't Russia rather have the Baltics with which it shares a land border (and continues to squabble with, especially over matters of natural gas)? What about the Scandanavian countries with which it has a common waterway? Why would Russia want the Netherlands, a relatively small European country, when Germany and Poland are much bigger priczs. I have no idea what Beck is talking about, unless when he refers to the old Soviet bloc, he's including Poland and East Germany. Clearly, Russia has got enough states to harass and occupy before they get to the Netherlands.

BTW, this post earns a new tag: conspiracy theories. I guess I should start filing any X-Files related stuff under this tag as well.

Deep thoughts

The Pandora jewelry collection is not pretty.

LotD

I've been wanting to address the efforts in Congress to defund Planned Parenthood and the separate bill that changes the definition of rape (until recently, it had to be a 'forcible' rape, as if there is any other kind), but Gail Collins in the NYT sums up my position beautifully so go there to read. I'd take the Republicans more seriously on health care repeal efforts if a) I thought they had a workable plan to replace Obamacare and b) if I thought they actually cared about people who make less than $250,000 a year and c) if their position wasn't so hypocritical: get government out of my healthcare, but by the way, ladies, we the government want to make it difficult for you to make decisions about your own bodies and whether you can have birth control covered under Obamacare. Notice we don't have these same conversations about Viagra.

The best way, mho, to put abortion providers out of business is to reduce the need. That includes providing education, contraception, and the care and support women need to raise the children (or pay the bills required to deliver and then give the child up for adoption). My greatest fear is that abortions will become so hard to get legally that women will find unscrupulous individuals to get their abortions or attempt it themselves with dire results (the WHO reports that in Europe, up to 30% of maternal deaths are due to illegal abortions). In fact, a study shows that the rates of abortions -- legal or not -- remain the same.

PP performed 340,000 abortions last year; that's a lot hearts and minds of women to change and I would argue that we can't judge those women without knowing the why of their decisions (in fact, we shouldn't judge anyway -- it's a personal and private decision). A woman's ability to make her own decisions about her personal health care is constantly being eroded by the GOP. This isn't the time to sit back and let it happen. We need to do everything we can to make abortion legal and safe but more importantly, rare. But more importantly, we need to reclaim our right to make our own decisions about our body; no bureaucrat in DC should have that power.

LotD

The entire country is in a deep freeze and something seems to be going on Cairo, but for the moment, forget all that and venture with me to the weirdly awkward world of maternity photography. And don't click if you're at work; some of these pictures are decidedly Not!Safe. Enjoy!

LotD

A politics-free post! On an entirely different note, I've been reading some of the stories on PicFic, a website devoted to "I Want to Believe" (X-Files) era fanfic, nicely divided up into before/during/after the movie. There are some really good ones here, and I'm not going to recommend any one story because pretty much all of them are wonderful. Since I don't follow fandom anywhere, it was nice to find out about this site and have all these wonderful stories by various authors all in one place. So much to read, so little time.

LotD

This article -- Repeal This -- caught my eye a couple weeks ago but due to travel, I wasn't able to post it here. It's an article dealing with a study that says half of Americans have pre-existing conditions. I looked at one of the insurance questionnaires the article linked to and found that my relatively mild case of [redacted] warrants a 50% rate increase. A coworker was telling me he's worried about getting laid off because of his wife's pregnancy -- a pre-existing condition. If you get a chance, go through the questionnaire; it's eye-opening. I daresay most people will have at least one of the conditions listed for rate increase or automatic denial.

You can look at HealthNet's guidelines here. United Healthcare and Humana's guidelines are linked within the article.

What's worrisome about the Republicans' desire to repeal the health care law is that they have NO plan to replace it or address the very real issues people are facing. We're in a new world where companies have no loyalties to their employees and will lay people off the minute it'll help the bottomline, and as a result jobs are scarce or gone forever, and yet the best way to get coverage is through your employer. Something isn't computing. If the Republicans have a plan, let's hear it already. But then again, they have the "gold plated" federal health plan, so I suppose there's no rush to make sure the rest of us have the same care.

QotD

Thomas Friedman just said on Meet the Press: "Egypt and the Middle East has been on vacation from history for the last 50 years because of oil. Egypt didn't have oil but it had the agreement with Israel, which was to Egypt what oil is to the rest of the Middle East."

The quote just struck me because I'm reading a biography of Catherine of Aragon and the first few chapters have reference to the Moorish influences on Spain and the technological and artistic contributions made to that country prior to their ousting. I'm not quite sure what the peace treaty with Israel did economically for Egypt (perhaps aid from the US?) but oil and its ensuring revenues/subsidies gave some of these countries a reason not to develop other capabilities/competencies, leading to the high unemployment rates and stagnation that we see in the Middle East today. It's not just a democratic revolution that's needed, but an industrial one as well.

Ask and you shall receive

A few weeks ago, I voiced my desire for a Palin-free month (I think more than a month would be asking too much; a Palin-free week is practically a luxury). Dana Millbank of the WaPo has declared February a Palin-free month. Unfortunately, I don't think the rest of the media will follow the ever amusing Millbank's lead.

Challenge

Some years ago, the AP tried a bold experiment: they ignored Paris Hilton for a week. Not a single story about the socialite ran for a week and amazingl, the earth didn't fall off its axis and the sun still rose in the east and set in the west. I wish they would try the same experiment with Sarah Palin; she's now becoming completely tiresome and annoying and taking attention away from credible and intelligent presidential candidates in 2012.

Happ birthday!

This blog is a decade old today! Wow. I had no idea why I wanted a blog 10 years ago (and I still don't know why) but somehow this blog has stuck around all of this time. It's been fun and I've met some great people through it. Here's to another 10 years!

Ideear

The show will be called "Baggage Wars" and 100 to 150 contestants will compete to get bags of various sides into the overhead bins on an airplane. Bonuses will be given to contestants who succeed stuffing not only an oversized bag, an huge personal item, and a jacket into the bins. Extra extra points will be given to contestant who holds up the line by rearranging all the bags in an overhead bin in order to get their bag in. Points will be subtracted if anyone uses the space beneath the seat in front of them.

Milestone

It's been a looonnng time, but I'm adding a new tag: tea party. I eventually plan to add an 'election 2012' tag as well. If I'm feeling really motivated (which I'm not), I might go back and re-tag the entries written prior to Blogger's introduction of the tags. Then there might be a lot of new tags on the block.

LotD

How the Tea Party's fetish for the Constitution as written may get it in trouble.

The problem with the Tea Party's new Constitution fetish is that it's hopelessly selective. As Robert Parry notes, the folks who will be reading the Constitution aloud this week can't read the parts permitting slavery or prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment using only their inside voices, while shouting their support for the 10th Amendment. They don't get to support Madison and renounce Jefferson, then claim to be restoring the vision of "the Framers." Either the Founders got it right the first time they calibrated the balance of power between the federal government and the states, or they got it so wrong that we need to pass a "Repeal Amendment" to fix it. And unless Tea Party Republicans are willing to stand proud and announce that they adore and revere the whole Constitution as written, except for the First, 14, 16th, and 17th amendments, which totally blow, they should admit right now that they are in the same conundrum as everyone else: This document no more commands the specific policies they espouse than it commands the specific policies their opponents support.

Anisha's wedding

Photo of the Day

I like to take pictures of food and in 2010, this was one of my favorite pictures.

LotD

Why are Republicans Changing Their Tune on Fannie and Freddie?

When your party is in the opposition with a weak minority, it's very easy to talk big. You can tell Americans exactly what they want to hear without any consequences, because you can't actually pass any legislation. But now that Republicans are in a position to actually pass bills, they need to pay a little more attention to the consequences of their talking points.

2011

Happy new year!

Bollywood Hero Flash Mob in Times Square

Dancing in the streets

What if Bollywood dancers showed up in the middle of NYC? Such a fun video (though obviously staged as a marketing tool -- not spontaneous as a 'flash mob' ought to be).

Couponing

As much as I enjoy saving money, I don't particularly care for or use coupons that often. I've found, for the most part, coupons don't apply for the food items I buy -- namely fresh veggies and some bulk goods -- and the store brands are generally just as good and are cheaper without the coupon. Every now and then, I make an attempt to coupon, like I did this morning. I took a pair of scissors to the weekly P&G saver and cut out about 30 coupons. I know I'm probably not going to buy any of the items for the coupons I cut, but it makes me feel like I'm making an effort. Especially since we now have a goal of saving at least 50 cents a week or $2/month to cover the cost of the Sunday Sweat Sock City Chronicle.

I have, however, started using Groupon on occasion. So far I've bought three of the Groupons, all to restaurants. The restaurants are all ones we like or want to try and most of them were purchased for 50% off, i.e. spend $20 to get $40. What we found however is that we overspent in order to collect the full value of the Groupon. So a dinner at a posh Mexican restaurant would have cost us about $35 before the Groupon (excluding my margarita), but because we had to spend $40 in order to get the $20 off, we got dessert (which we split). I should note in this particular instance the Groupon did not include alcohol.

Another Groupon we used, we went $10 over the value -- $10 for a $20 Groupon. Again, it was another deal where we were $5 short and we ended up ordering some sodas and an appetizer to make up the difference. Overspent and overate. We're concerned we might have the same issue with another Groupon we bought, another $10 for $20 deal; this is for a restaurant where typically we spend about $13 for our meal -- a noodle bowl, a sandwich, egg rolls, and two drinks (yes, it's super cheap). So now we'll have to find another $7 to claim the full value of the Groupon.

The best way, I think, to look at a Groupon is that it's a discount of a certain amount before the final bill. We haven't managed to get to the 50% savings advertised, but we would have saved if we didn't have to over order. As a result, we're being very stingy with our Groupon purchases. There are some that look like great deals, such as $50 to get $150 off a new mattress at Matress Firm, but they also lock you into that store and that purchase. It might be better off just waiting for the sale to come around.

I should also note some people are GREAT at couponing; I'm in owe of their skill. I think it makes a lot of sense IF you're going to buy those particular products anyway. In our case, it hasn't really paid off at all simply because we don't buy very many processed foods outside of whole wheat pasta and the occasional rice or couscous mix. We primarily buy store brands and buy the veggies and fruits that are on sale during the week. We also stock up when there's a big sale. When Dannon yogurt was $10 for 10 -- the usual price being anywhere from $2.06 to $2.75 -- we stocked up. We have A LOT of yogurt containers to recycle!

I'm going to keep attempting to try the couponing thing, give it a fair shake. So far though, our 50 cent/week subscription to the newspaper hasn't paid for itself at all as advertised. As each week ticks by, we have to save 50 cents more to recoup the "investment." On the upside, I like to read it, so maybe it's worth that much for the enjoyment.

Hmmm

My niece, who is only five years old, has more blog posts than me. Like, a lot more. I haven't been very dilligent about keeping this up. Mea culpa.

LotD

Interesting article: Income Inequality and the 'Superstar Effect'. I'm a big fan of capitalism but there are some downsides to it. I think this article summarizes it well.

CAPITALISM relies on inequality. Like differences in other prices, pay disparities steer resources — in this case, people — to where they would be most productively employed.
[...] Ultimately, the question is this: How much inequality is necessary? It is true that the nation grew quite fast as inequality soared over the last three decades. Since 1980, the country’s gross domestic product per person has increased about 69 percent, even as the share of income accruing to the richest 1 percent of the population jumped to 36 percent from 22 percent. But the economy grew even faster — 83 percent per capita — from 1951 to 1980, when inequality declined when measured as the share of national income going to the very top of the population.

LotD

Heavy reading from the University of Maryland: Misinformation and the 2010 Election. Andrew Sullivan summarizes here.

Hmmm

Now that the tax compromise has passed, I expect to see lots and lots of hiring in first quarter 2011. Now that the 'uncertainty' is over (and let's be real, did anyone honestly think Congress would let the Bush tax cuts expire?), there should be no more excuses on why companies aren't hiring.

LotD

Vanity Fair had an interesting article, The Simple Solution to America's Unemployment Problem. It caught my attention because I've been thinking lately, is Big Business really good for you and me? I haven't completely formulated my thoughts on the subject because I can see the pro and cons of the equation, but I can tell you think: hiring people and paying them a liveable wage cuts in profits.

Profits are what are important to companies. They want to make money and so if they can't make their sales, they cut their spending. People are among the easiest assets to let go. And my great fear these days is that with businesses doing more with less, the incentive to hire is so low. I mean, if they've got someone who can do the job of three people, that's a cost savings to the company and an improved bottomline. Who's going to go through the expense of hiring when you don't need to?

Anyway, it's an interesting rant and much to think about. We think Big Business is good for America, for us the little people, but is Big Business making their decisions with America in mind?

What I'm listening to now: Desi Girl

LotD II: the Bernie video

LotD

Which I had seen this -- Bernie Sanders' "filibuster". My favorite socialist speaks! I don't think it'll make a difference, but I'm glad he got his eight hours in the limelight (albeit C-SPAN). Here's copy of the speech and PolitiFact checks here.

This is post 2,500

One of the things about traveling a lot, you gain a new found appreciation for your own bed. Also, I've noticed the "break in" time for a hotel bed has gone from 2 days to 0 for me. I've always been famous for being able to sleep anywhere at anytime, but hotels stymied me. I couldn't find a comfortable place in the bed for at least the first two nights (if I was there for that long) and by the time I got comfortable, it was time to pack up and leave.

What intrigues me is this idea that you can now BUY the hotel's bed and linens (and towels, furniture, bath amenities, etc). I swear, there are now catalogs in the rooms selling "the experience" of hotel living and believe you me, that while it's tempting, it's certainly not cheap. Both hotels I stayed in the last two weeks -- major luxury chains -- were charging upwards of $1200 for the mattress and box-spring set. That was before the $60+ price tag on the sheet set. No wonder the beds are so comfortable!

Amenities are also getting quite high class in hotels. You get Pantene and Neutrogena, but also weird stuff like barley shampoo and quinoa lotion. I had no idea. Some hotels provide toothpaste and mouthwash, others provide slippers to walk around in. A couple had robes available and at least one sold animal print pajamas. I've taken advantage of all except the animal print pajamas, of course. That was just... odd.

Hotels also have curiously overpriced breakfasts. If you're lucky, a cup of coffee will only set you back $5. That's including the tax, the 20% gratuity, and the service charge. A bagel with cream cheese at a recent hotel set me back $9. That was before the coffee, by the way. And then there's room service... The same meal in the restaurant versus room service has quite the delta in cost. There's something antisocial about room service, some might argue, but with a bed like they provide, so much more comfortable than ye olde staid dining room.

Post 2499

I know, I've been away a long time. I wish I had a good reason why, but none really. Just... lots of time in hotels and airplanes and all that good stuff. It doesn't leave a lot of time to just ruminate or catch up on things. On the upside, I'm getting upgraded to first class on airplanes more often now. I'll think of something better for the next post -- lucky 2500.

I feel your pain

Or more appropriately, I miss Bill Clinton. Check out his two interviews on the Daily Show. He gets it and he has solution. Obama, are you listening?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Bill Clinton Extended Interview Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Bill Clinton Extended Interview Pt. 2
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

LotD

Interesting article on the current tax debate here: Five points to keep in mind as Congress debates the Bush tax cuts.

Beautiful nightmare

So it's been years since I worked in newspapers, but last night I dreamed I was working at a specialty trade paper -- electronics, a subject I know minimal about -- and that I was a one woman-show and it was my first day on the job. Deadline was approaching and an editor approached me and said I needed to come up with a cover story and layout. The dream then consisted of me running around frantically trying to figure out what story I could come up with 10 minutes and how I could use the layout to minimize word count. I don't know how the whole thing resolved. My dream did include me talking to my manager about some ideas, but whether any of them were accepted, I don't know.

I'd like to think I didn't miss the deadline as past performance implies I wouldn't have. But past performance also would indicate that I wouldn't have sat on my hands and been surprised by the task and deadline at hand. I should note that while working at newspapers was a blast and I learned a lot, it was long hours and a rather stressful environment come deadline. I'm grateful for the experience but certainly don't miss it.

LotD

File under "wow"; The Portland Press Herald apologizes for publishing a picture of Muslims celebrating the end of Eid on Sept. 11. The comments are mostly heartening.

LotD x4

It's the Sarah!Roundup. First, the scathing profile in Vanity Fair: Sarah Palin: The Sound and the Fury Politics. Follow that up with more on the infamous shopping spree. And finally, Sarah's Amazing Race. And of course, Palinisms.Enjoy.

The billionaire Koch brothers’ war against Obama: newyorker.com

LotD

Not that many people would care, given Obama's approval ratings, but I found this fascinating -- the millions poured into various causes supported by Obama. From healthcare to environmental regulation, their money has been there. And everything they support supports their business. Fascinating profile in the New Yorker. Take a look if you have time. Regardless of what side of the political spectrum you're on, it's always good to know where the money trail stars and ends.

The billionaire Koch brothers' war against Obama

"Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?": America's misguided culture of overwork

LotD II

Interesting article. It's always good fun to tease Europeans about their extensive vacations, how parts of the Continent just seem to flee in the summer months to cooler climes, but really, would you want four weeks or more of paid vacation? I know *I* would. Anyway, so this was an interesting interview to read. Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? America's misguided culture of overwork

Newsies

We got awesome news today when we went to see the apartment folks about our lease. They let us know that our neighbors "could not renew and will be moving out." Hooray! Our neighbors have been a drunk party in our side for nearly the year we've lived here. We're actually convinced they only come home Friday and Saturday because Sunday through Thursday they're quiet as cockroaches. Come Friday night though, WHOO HOO! PAHR-TEE-TIME!

Our place is not that far from the new hip strip to get alcohol here in Sweat Sock City. We think that's the attraction for our neighbors because they clearly entertain every weekend (music comes on around 9:30 pm and goes on until midnight or later) and then go out afterwards. Once, on our way to the gym at 9 in the morning, we actually saw them coming home from wherever it was they were partying. And they were talking about going out again by lunchtime. J and I looked at each other and groaned and then decided to run lots of miles so for sure we'd sleep through whatever ruckus they made that night.

We thought about moving but we really like the location. It's perfect for both of our commutes and it's in the neighborhood we'd eventually like to buy in. We also frequent the local businesses in the area and chain restaurants take a back seat to locally owned places. In other words, it's great for now except for the neighbors of doom. We happily renewed because we now know we will be able to enjoy weekend nights without the pounding bass and random shouting. We do, however, feel bad for these guys' future neighbors.

LotD

I think it's important to be prepared for a job interview. That means wearing the right (appropriate) clothes, completely researching the company (including using google news for any new developments, and having at least three questions about the company and/or job already prepared. Here's a link to help with the last bit. The 10 Best Questions to Ask at a Job Interview. It goes without saying that if you're going to ask a question about the company, try to avoid obvious ones like what the company does or where it's headquartered. Your research should have already revealed the answer to those questions. A safe bet? "Where do you see the company in five years?" As always, in a first interview, stay away from salary, benefits, etc., type questions.

Groupon

We're trying our first Groupon experience tonight. I bought a $20 gift certificate to a restaurant we've been interested in trying for a while for the price of $10. So theoretically, it's a "buy one, get one free" deal, or a 50% deal. That's if we stay in the $20 range (which, btw, doesn't include tip or tax, and this particular deal doesn't include alcohol). Now if we spend an additional $10 for $30 worth of food, then we go over and our savings decrease accordingly. By then, I'll have $20 and our savings will be $10, or about 33 percent. If I spend an additional $30 on a $40 bill, then the savings decrease again. All in all, we'll see how it goes tonight. Luckily, this isn't an expensive place, so I think we'll probably spend an extra $5 or so on tax and tip. I'm just curious as to how these things work so I thought this would be a good one to try. If anyone else has tried and liked, let me know!

LotD

Interesting opinion piece: Five Reasons to Stop Worrying About Home Prices. On the flip side, Is Housing Still a Good Investment?

On a lighter note

I keep meaning to update the sidebar on this blog, but I never do. Maybe this weekend... lots of computer activities planned so maybe I'll have the discipline to a) stay away from Facebook games, b) update all the software on the computer, and c) finishing the blog transfer from the seema.org domain.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying a nice crisp buzz off this wine, a green wine from Portugal. It's sweet, crisp, and I actually felt refreshed. Most of the time, wine just makes my mouth dry out and then I sneeze. A lot (I blame the tannins). But this wine was genuinely delightful and I like the price -- as low as $4.49 -- a lot. So if you're looking for something with a little bit of a sparkle, this might be a good one to try.

LotD

I was planning to stay away from politics a bit, but I found this article on Roger Ailes, the founder of Fox News, fascinating. Check out The Dark Genius of Fox News. Honestly, I think everyone on Fox News looks like they've eaten something bad and are suffering from perpetual heartburn. Must take a lot of energy to stay that chronically angry all. the. time. (I can't say anything about Keith Olbermann because I don't get MSNBC but I suspect he must also be suffering the ill effects of dyspesia).

Happy Birthday, 19th Amendment!

Happy Birthday, 19th Amendment (And thanks to Harry T. Burns mom). Reading the stories of the women's suffrage movement reminds me that progress takes time (in this case, more than 70 years) and guts.

LotD II

The anatomy of a firestorm. How a project in Manhattan went from basically being ignored and in a couple of instances, supported by the very people who are now attacking it. Intriguing. How the ground zero mosque fear mongering began.

LotD

I had another post planned for tonight, but a headache is preventing clarity of thought and a rogue mouse (read: laptop touchpad) is making words and letters move around on their own volition. All this to say, I'm pointing you to reason.com, which is an interesting news magazine. I haven't decided what I think of it yet, just that I'm intrigued. I think it's libertarian, but not quite sure yet. There are some articles I'd consider socially conservative and others that would be liberal. Most of all, it's rational and in this crazy summer, rational is good.

News blues

Our local station -- which once featured an adorable but utterly useless weather dog named Radar -- is reporting on mailboxes that were installed backwards. You have to feel for the poor field reporter spending time interviewing people about their mailbox confusion and investigating WHAT HAPPENED TO HAVE MAILBOXES INSTALLED BACKWARDS (you just know she never anticipated this kind of story when she went to J-school or maybe she's grateful that she's not standing in the surf in the middle of a hurricane; mailboxes are, after all, less dangerous).

After the three-minute story concluded (featuring lots of people parking, getting out of their cars, and mailing letters and letting the reporter know they were confused), the anchors went on their Facebook page and started reading viewer comments (which, btw, is the new "thing" for this news station. Highly annoying as no one is as witty or funny as they think they are on Facebook).

Backwards mailboxes. Hard hitting stuff. It's right up there with the breaking news story from a few years ago about how filthy movie theaters are. And oh, wait! After their commercial break, they're coming back with a story about a dog in a wheelchair... I have no words.

LotD

Scanning for reviews of "Eat Pray Love", I came across this one in Vanity Fair. It's quite amusing and not your usual paint by the numbers review. Enjoy.

Uh oh

Obama supports the Muslim community center/mosque near Ground Zero. My Magic 8 Ball tells me all hell is going to break out now.

LotD

I found the following paragraph in Judge Walker's ruling hilarious:

Proponents also point to harm resulting from “a cloud of uncertainty” surrounding the validity of marriages performed after judgment is entered but before proponents’ appeal is resolved. Doc #705 at 10. Proponents have not, however, alleged that any of them seek to wed a same-sex
spouse.

Poor Prop 8 supporters. It seems they might have been able to make a better case for themselves if they insinuated they wanted to marry someone of the same sex and in which case, "the cloud of uncertainty" would have certainly caused them harm.

I also found the Judge's thoughts on whether the Prop 8 supporters even have standing to bring an appeal interesting. The real defendents are Schwarznegger and Brown, but they couldn't be bothered to show up (in fact, are actively siding with the plaintiffs), so now the B-team is taking the ball and trying to run with it. If the Prop 8 supporters weren't so annoyingly self-righteous and illogical, I'd actually feel sorry for them.

Take this job and shove it!

Take this job and shove it!

A Hong Kong news station has kindly provided a re-enactment of the JetBlue incident.

Vermont

Picture of the day

Burlington, Vermont.

Seriously lame

I usually have high respect for the Christian Science Monitor, but I can't believe they published an article like this one. Okay, maybe I can see it -- looking for opposing opinions, and may be even a fresh take, and this is seriously one of the weirdest spins I've seen on the issue. In Gay marriage: Why Judge Walker got Proposition 8 ruling wrong, the author argues: Marriage is not about couples or lovers – it’s about the physical and moral integrity of women. When a woman’s sexuality is involved, human communities must deal with a malign force that an individual woman and her family cannot control or protect. WTF? The author then goes on to conclude, "[...] most of us who prefer to leave marriage (with all its defects) as it is are not concerned with homosexuality at all. We are merely voicing a sensible desire to preserve an institution that recognizes and protects the special status of women. If marriage becomes a legislative courtesy available to everyone, like a key to the city, it will be women who will lose."

This argument, so charmingly chauvinistic, is laughable in every way. "Special status of women"? Really? That's what this whole thing has been about? After reading this opinion, I feel like I ought to be standing on a marble pedastal or something like that, with a plaque, maybe some safety glass and someone nice to come and dust me off every now and then just in case a spec of dirt hurts me. It's an insulting argument in every way and makes no sense; we're in 2010, after all, and we women seem to have come far ahead in our abilities that three of us sit on the Supreme Court, a woman was a credible candidate for president, and one serves as Speaker of the House. Those are just the headlines. There are awesome women -- some of whom are (gasp!) single -- making extraordinary contributions every single day, seemingly unaware of their "special status". It's insulting in this day and age to read something like this. I'm surprised the CSMonitor allowed the author to get away with such a lazy argument. If you think it's okay to discriminate and create a whole second class citizenry, at least put in the time to come up with an justification that doesn't sound so atavistically patronizing.

Computer update

Today, we took the old computer (with J's old hard drive installed in it), the monitor, keyboard and mouse to the Salvation Army and donated it. With J's old hard drive in it now, it works -- just needs to be reformatted etc., and I figure it'll be a good machine for someone who is looking for very basic applications. We assured the Salvation Army that it was in working condition and hopefully they can find someone who can make use of it. I also thought it might be good to take apart and rebuild for a computer technology training class. Either way, it felt better to take the computer to the Salvation Army than to the electronics recycling center. It was easier to part with my old "buddy", knowing there was a possibility of another life for it out there. The electronics recycling center would have meant an inglorious end in a Chinese landfill for a trusty machine.

I've begun the slow process of transferring documents to the new computer from a collection of back-up CDs and also from the laptop, where most of my pictures from recent travels are stored. On the upside, it looks like the damage from the hard drive failure is minimal. In other words, I didn't lose as much as I thought I had and I do have documents going all the way back to 2003 saved here and there. So that's the good news. I also have some of my iTunes backed up, but not all of it. So hopefully I can pull the music off the iPod itself. As soon as I get everything situated, I'm looking forward to doing two things I haven't done in a while: writing and editing! So much easier on the desktop than the laptop, that's for sure!

More on the Mosque controversy

This time from Fareed Zakaria:

If there is going to be a reformist movement in Islam, it is going to emerge from places like the proposed institute. We should be encouraging groups like the one behind this project, not demonizing them.

The entire editorial is here

Also, a history lesson for Newt over here.

LotD

Ann Taylor explains itself here.

Deep thoughts

I worry when the rights of the minority are determined by the majority. It's for that reason I'm excited that the gay marriage ban was overturned in CA today. We have to watch that slippery slope where we intentionally deprive members of our society rights on the flimsiest of premises. We can't be a free society if we are oppressing others, no matter the reason behind it. If you read the original transcript of the trial, you'll find just how weak the defendants' case truly was.

On the same topic, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is my new hero for his spirited defense of the mosque/community center two blocks away from Ground Zero. To be honest, I don't have a horse in this race. I'm not Muslim and I have no personal connection to 9/11* or NYC. What concerned me was the idea that we would act to restrict the religious freedom of a group without any real basis other than bigotry and fear and whipping up a frenzy around the issue (I'm looking at you, Gingrich, and yes, you too, Sarah Palin, and oh wait, Pat Robertson, you don't get off either). Once you say it's okay to deny a mosque that location, you say it's okay to deny any religion any location based on an abstraction. Bloomberg says it best:

Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question - should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.

For more reading, here is a profile on the Iman behind the mosque. It's worth a read because honestly, didn't know anything about him, and when I read the profile, I thought, we keep wanting Islamic leaders to speak out against terrorism, and here's someone who is, and this is how we treat him?

The thing is, if you attempt (and succeed) to deprive people of their Constitutional rights, as was done in CA and as being advocated in NYC, you automatically make it easier -- and even justifiable -- to do it over and over again. To me, that's incredibly scary, because it's only a matter of time before it comes back to bite you in the butt.

Updating

I forgot how long it takes to get your computer exactly the way you like it, with all the files and shortcuts and bookmarks, etc. So far, I've added some of my favorite software like Mozilla, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and of course, Civilization 4, but I've yet to transfer over some of my files. I backed up irregularly so I may be missing a document here or there so I'm going back to my oldest back-up, circa 2006 (there might be one from 2004 or thereabouts, but I didn't label the CD with anything more descriptive than 'Backup'). So getting those docs transferred over will be quite the interesting task. I'm hoping that for the most part everything is here.

And for those of you wondering (or not, as the case may be), I got a Dell Studio XPS 8100. I'm starting to navigate Windows 7 Home Premium (miss me my XP; don't know if Office XP will work on Windows 7. Anyone know?). All in all, no compatibility issues yet except McAfee doesn't like ZoneAlarm. That's okay; I don't particularly like McAfee so it'll be gone as soon as my free trial is up. Avast, I found, works so much better.

Deep thoughts

I can't believe that a singer as talented as Martina McBride couldn't come up with a better ditty for her Sunny-D commercial than the repetitious "Shine on, shine on..." No matter how melodious your singing voice, it still sounds lazy.

LoTD

The NYTimes had an interesting editorial in today's edition on the current economic situation. You can read it here. I like it because it basically lays out the facts without all the wavy hand movement sky is falling prose. It's scary stuff. We went from surpluses in the Clinton era to deficits in the Bush era, which was then exacerbated by Obama. Then you have the 40% of the budget -- entitlements -- that are just impossible to deal with in a logical way, the tax cuts that decrease revenue, and the persistent joblessness that means extending unemployment. I sense tax increases in our future but don't just blame Obama. W had a lot to do with it as well.

New computer!

Typing at you from a new, awesome computer. I'm still in the process of setting it up but looking forward to zoomin' along and not plodding painfully through. It's just amazing how far computer technology has come in the last decade since I bought the previous machine. I'm pretty psyched right now.

Once I get all of my documents reloaded and software squared away, I'll start making much needed updates to my website. I know it's kind of a mess but haven't been able to do anything with it since my previous computer sadly passed away. (I'm still a bit sorrowful, btw, as I sit in my office, staring down at the carcass of the old computer and thinking of all the things we did it to coax it back to life. It was a good machine for me).

Yum

Soft foods I have eaten in the last few days:

*Buttermilk
*Plain yogurt
*Vanilla ice-cream
*Cherry ice-cream
*Chocolate cake
*Crepes with Nutella
*Stuffing
*Grandmother's Soft Peanut Butter cookies (Which are NOT as soft as advertised; not recommended, btw, if you're looking for a 'soft' snack).
*Apple sauce
*Fried mozzerella cheese

I visited the dentist today and the verdict is I'm healing very nicely. Hopefully by next week, all will be back to normal.

LotD

The NY Times has an intriguing article in its most recent Sunday magazine that explores what the new social media means for privacy and how difficult it is becoming to control one's image online. It's a thoughtful analysis but no real solutions. Worth a read over here.

The loss of wisdom, part 2

So far so good. Other than the fever, my worst symptom has really been itchy gums. I'm SO desperate to scratch the back of my mouth. That's not a good thing though, so I must be patient. I've been told the itchiness is a sign of healing. I guess I'd rather itch than have a dull throbbing pain in my jaw.

I also have uneven mouth opening. The right side of my mouth isn't as amiable to opening as the left side, so it creates an odd situation when it comes to eating. I have a new appreciation for soft foods.

The loss of wisdom

I'm a bad blogger. Finally figured out what was up with blogger and then I took off. I actually had to travel out of the country for business and the morning after I returned, I dragged my jet-lagged self to the dentist and had the thing done that I've been dreading all the years of my life: wisdom teeth extraction. All four teeth are now gone.

I ended opting for the optional sedation for I don't remember much and apparently went on a soliquoy on the merits of a new grocery store in our neighborhood. I think I felt some tugging, some smashing, but for the most part, while I was awake, I was blissfully unaware. The aftermath hasn't been as bad as I feared. Well, Saturday morning was less than fun but not for reasons I thought.

For the most part, pain has been minimal. In fact, I felt nothing on the left side of my face, prompting me to ask whether anything had been done on that side. I felt some tightness in my right side and some minor pain that radiated down the front side of my neck. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic and two pain prescriptions -- ibuprofen and Tylenol plus codeine. I took pain pills that first day and not since. The pain really hasn't been that bad -- my gums just feel really, really itchy and like there's stuff back there, pieces of peanuts or the like.

What was surprising was the fever. It started the evening of the surgery and I just figured I was cramping up after spending 10 hours the previous day on an airplane and then lying on the sofa all day. By the time Saturday early morning came around, I was absolutely miserable. I couldn't figure out if I was hot or cold, my body ached, my head was splitting, and I was woefully nauseous. My temperature registered at 101.6 at the highest.

J called the dentist at 7:30 am and he assured us that this was normal, though everything we read online seemed to imply otherwise. Around 8:30 am Saturday, my fever broke in a particularly grotesque manner that I hope won't lead to further complications (read: dry socket). I spent the rest of the day on the sofa, recovering and by early afternoon, my temperature was normal. I tried solid foods -- crepes with nutella -- for dinner and that was good, though quite the chore to chew. My right jaw just doesn't seem to want to open for me.

Today for a special family occasion, I chomped slowly through two slices of pizza (try chewing pizza only on the fronts of your teeth -- it's highly inefficient) and even eating cake was not fun. Tonight, I think I'm giving up on solid food because even though it was delicious, I don't think I'm up for making that effort again. Luckily, I have some celery and potato soup made from last week that was frozen especially for this occasion and there's plenty of ice-cream and yogurt in the refrigerator.

All in all, this experience isn't anything close to the horror stories I've heard people tell and for that, I'm grateful. I think it'll still be about a week before I can eat normally again, but I'm doing my "jaw excercises" and rinsing now with salt water so hopefully I'm speeding the recovery along nicely.

LotD

On the Fourth of July, I wanted to post the text of the Declaration of Independence. You can read the whole thing here. I took the opportunity to read it for the first time and I'm ashamed to say that I never actually had read it before or if I had, didn't remember anything past the famous preamble. If you get it chance, read it; it's enlightening. The list of grievances are long and surprising, especially in light of today's political climate.

Parenting is apparently no fun. You can read about it here. That's not to say people don't love children, it's more than they don't enjoy the act of parenting. It's a fine distinction. On the same subject, why more women are remaining childless.

The Quiet Hell of 10 Years of Novel Writing and who do you write like? are the two writing links for this week.

Test, Test, part 2

I found the workaround -- it's annoying but useful. I'm posting it here in case anyone else is having the same problem with blogger. Basically, blogger keeps "loading" in the input window, which makes it impossible to type anything at all. If you're having this problem (and I was having it on two separate laptops, though running the same browser), then when you get stuck on the "loading" new post screen, hit "Save now," and then go to "Edit post." You'll be able to type just fine in the "Edit post" screen. It's only the "new posts" that don't seem to be working (at least for me).

Test, test

My being offline has been inadvertant and actually rather annoying as blogger hasn't been allowing to me to post since at least the 4th of July and I have a lot to say! This may be the first of a couple of test posts as I may have found a workaround Blogger's weirdness.

LotD 2

It's easier to find a job when you have one, the old adage goes, but for some companies, if you want to work there, you better already be employed. Check out this job posting by The People Place in Angleton, TX. I'm guessing the People Place is a staffing agency, which makes it even more crazy that they would write "Client will not consider/review anyone not currently employed regardless of the reason..." in their posting. I don't know how widespread this is, but it's definitely a cause for concern.

LotD

It's an oldie, but you can find the script for Yahoo!'s 1,500-employee layoff here.

LotD

Imagining a Liberal Court is a rather high-brow analysis of conservative versus progressive thinking and how it has evolved over the years. The title, I think, is misleading because it's not really imagining what a liberal court would be like; it's more a look at various landmark Supreme Court cases over the years and the contradictions between conservative and progressive thinking upon the actual case outcomes.

Today, we are moving toward a contemporary version of this debate between liberals and conservatives about what we need to fear most — an overreaching state or unconstrained market forces. The positions in this debate today are not identical to what they were three-quarters of a century ago, but there are important similarities. Progressives today view regulation as the necessary response to the market failures that led to the present economic crisis. Many conservatives fear that taking regulation too far will cripple the possibilities of economic recovery and long-term growth.

Prep time

The last few days have been a little intense in terms of cramming. Not for an exam, but for interviews. I've been fortune to land several interviews recently and so I've spent some of my free evening time just getting ready.

Things I like to do to prep for an interview:
* Research the company by reading the website, rereading the job description, checking out recent PR, and doing a google search to see if anything comes up. I'll also checked LinkedIn to see who works at the company. If they're given any presentations or papers lately, I'll review one or two of those, maybe even print it out and take it with me to the interview so I have something to read while waiting in the lobby.

* Get my resume printed on nice paper. I usually go to Office Depot and make 5 to 10 copies on the heavier cotton paper. It's been rare that I've actually had to give an interviewer a copy of my resume, but I like to have it. Also, it's good to be able to pull it out and review it at the same time as the interviewer. Honestly, I wrote my resume, but I can't always remember off the top of my head what's on it.

* Prep my questions. My rule of thumb is always to ask three questions at every interview. I don't have a good reason for the number, it's just what I've always done and in general, has been successful. In order to have three questions to ask, I brainstorm and write down at least 10. I've found that the majority of those get answered during the actual interview, but if my list is long enough, I'll be able to get at least 3 questions in.

My go-to questions are as follows. In fact, I think I've used this list pretty consistently over the last 5-7 years, and the questions have worked pretty well. Keep in mind, these are the 'general' questions -- I like to have at least one or two questions written down ahead of time regarding the job in question.

1. What do you expect the person who is in this position to accomplish in the first three months? First six months? Nine months?

2. How do you measure success?

3. What is the toughest challenge facing the person in this position?

4. What percent of the time will this person be expected to travel?

5. What skills do you think are the most critical to be successful in this position?

6. How would you describe a typical day in this position?

7. What is the management organizational structure?

8. How many people are in the team? What groups will the person in this position be expected to interact with?

The remainder of my brainstormed 10 questions usually have to do with the job posting itself. These questions give me a good idea of the pace of the organization and how the manager works. I never ask about salary, vacation, or other benefits on the first interview. During the second interview, the benefits usually come up for discussion and I may have a question or two at that time.

Most people advise not disclosing salary information. I gave up this tactic a while ago and now I just tell the employer up front what my current salary is and what my expectations are for a switch. I've usually been in a situation where I'm switching from one job to another, so it's never been a problem. I also don't fudge the salary number or do a range; it's super easy for HR to check if you fudged your salary and it might be grounds to rescind an offer in the future.

In general, it has never hurt me to reveal my salary expectations ahead of time. Could I have done better if I didn't? Sure. But I've never been disappointed in the results. Also, because what I do has such a wide range of salary based on experience level and education, I found it best to let people know where I'm at the beginning of the process or fairly early on. It definitely has thrown me out of the running for a couple of jobs but I don't think that's a bad thing.

In general, I don't like to play games, I like to be honest and up front, and I like to be uber-prepared. So far so good. I'll keep you posted on how all this plays out.

LotD

I was googling Direct Buy "just because" and came across a bunch of sites panning the site. I have no experience with the business at all, just curiosity because they are running soooo many ads on television right now. I did find this article from Consumer Reports, which I feel is a pretty reputable source. Per Consumer Reports , you'd have to spend at least $20,000 to recoup your membership fee (which is around $5k). The other thing is, you get a one-time shot at it: show up for the open house and cough up the membership fee or you can never return. Sounds kinda dire to me. Also, Consumer Reports says it's not possible to return items, cancel orders, or even terminate your membership. Definitely sounds like a scam to me and I think I'll pass on this one.

Utopia

When I'm President of the World -- president, because it sounds more benevolent than "dictator" and I do intend to be benevolent -- I plan to enact legislation that will:

* Make it mandatory to return your shopping cart to the little shopping cart stalls in the middle of the parking lot. No more of this leaving the cart anywhere for the vissicitudes of wind to take it away and crash into someone else's car. No more leaving the cart in the middle of a perfectly good spot that makes it unable for anyone else to use. No more blocking someone else in "just because".

* The yield sign will be used correctly, that is, one will stop when one is merging into traffic. A yield sign is essentially a stop sign when moving into traffic, yet it's an oft-ignored sign. It's almost like yield means "go fast, dang it, and heck with anyone who is coming up behind me." Yield. It's the right thing to do.

* Blinkers will be used so everyone around the car in question will know where it's going. And while I'm ranting about blinkers, outlawing left turns from the right lane will be a step in the right direction (I know this last one sounds intuitive, but you'd be amazed at how many times drivers in Sweat Sock City suddenly realize they need to make this left turn while they're in the right lane and they make it, never mind that they nearly get t-boned by the people in the left lane who never saw the turn coming).

* You'll be able to select which channels you want in a cable package so you don't have to buy the whole package, just the ones you want to watch.

I'm sure I'll have other legislation to implement but this is a nice start.

How to write a misleading headline

Dr. Dre Loses Round In Death Row Court Battle. When I first saw this headline, I thought, "What? Dr. Dre on death row? What? How? Where? Is this another Dr. Dre?" Turns out I can step down from red alert; Death Row is the name of a record label. Some of you may have already known that. But for those of us who were unaware, definitely this headline is unclear. I'm not sure what the spacing/character count constraints were on this headline but I think "Dr. Drew loses in record label court battle" would be a more clear headline as to what's actually going on.

LotD, part 2

I read a lot of HR blogs these days, looking for that magic winning formula that will propel me into my dream job at my dream company and where I'll totally be able to put my rock star moves to good use. I've recommended Ask a Manager before as a good source of advice and things not to do (or to do!) and I think it's a great blog to read. Today I found Punk Rock HR, which is chock full of good ideas and advice but rather snarky in its delivery. Which I love, because I'm all about the snark. And also, it reminds me not to take this situation too seriously (okay, so I am taking my situation seriously, but at least I'm *laughing* when I'm reading interview advice).

LotD

You should totally apologize to BP, if you haven't already. And when you're done that, you can check out the death of the desktop computer.

LotD, double the fun edition

This analysis on what we learned from Tony and Joe amused me greatly.

And writers, what's your narrative rest stop? Mine is food, descriptions thereof, but this article says one of the more popular ones involves the barking dog in the distance.

And bonus: The cheapskate next door. I think describing pennypinchers as "heroes" is a bit much though. Okay, a lot much.

LotD, BP edition

A bunch of links today. I've been meaning to weigh in on the oil spill, but haven't had a chance to do so. The always observant Dana Milbank describes what happened when Tony Haywardwent to Washington. Anne Applebaum talks about how the oil spill isn't Obama's Katrina. The NY Times talks about a five-decade old spill in Nigeria here. And Joe Barton got his "shakedown" comment from a GOP memo. Slate takes on the WSJ's review of Obama's speech here. And what would be a post about energy without Sarah Palin?

LotD

I found this website, Adventures in Fake Meat, which reviews a variety of meat substitutes. The writer has a good sense of humor and attitude towards trying all of these products. It was kind of fun to check out the reviews and compare them to my own perceptions. I am intrigued by the Gimme Lean sausage; another friend recently recommended it and now this site is giving it an A+, so on my next grocery trip, I'll pick it up. We definitely disagreed on the Morningstar buffalo chik'n wings though, as I really like them (though the assessment of spiciness is indeed true). Anyway, fun site for those of you who enjoy fake meat and a good pointer for those of you thinking about trying some.

LotD

Interesting article on Rwanada's national health care plan here. Not much offered for what $2/person/year, but what minimal services they do offer seem to be paying some dividends. Rwanda's come a long away since its genocide days.

Sweet dreams or beautiful nightmare

Lately I've been having "exam" dreams. You know, the ones when you're rushing late into a classroom on the day of a final exam or you forgot your homework and the teacher berates you in front of the class?

Last night, I dreamt that I had an assignment due and I showed up with a 3-page paper on some subject unknown but it had the random exclamation, "I'm going home!" in the middle of the text. I think there might have been charts too, but it's a bit foggy. In my dream, the teacher was collecting the papers from all my classmates and they all had these the thick piles of paper to hand in, with lots of supporting documents and evidence. They all pointed to my three-page paper and laughed. I panicked and somehow managed to find more paper in my class binder, attached it to the paper, and turned the whole mess in. I woke up then so I have no idea how this all turned out. I'd like to think I got an A.

I don't know what these dreams mean. I have been thinking about taking a class or two to hone my skills for this competitive job market, but that's a rather vague connection. My stress level is actually very low, the lowest it has been in a couple of years (aside from that whole job situation, but that's another story entirely). So I'm at a loss really as to why I'm suddenly sitting in a classroom, scrambling. One thing for sure, the dream does make me grateful though that most of my formal schooling is behind me.

LotD

I can't remember if I've pointed y'all to I Will Teach You To Be Rich. This is a PF blog in a different vein; written by an Indian-American, Ramit Sethi, the blog focuses on defining value, negotiating skills, boosting earning power, automating finances and saving for what you want. I like this blog because it's different than most blogs about frugality or personal finance; no recipes for making your own detergent and not a big emphasis on clipping coupons. It's probably the only PF blog you'll read that makes the argument that buying a new car isn't necessarily a bad thing or if you want a $28,000 wedding, go for it. Frankly, it's a breath of fresh air.

LotD

The NYTimes published an interesting article, In Sweden, Men Can Have It All. This is a pro/con (mostly pro) analysis of Sweden's leave policies and their effect on the working world and gender equality. I found it fascinating (and attractive!).

Sweden had already gone further than many countries have now in relieving working mothers: Children had access to highly subsidized preschools from 12 months and grandparents were offered state-sponsored elderly care. The parent on leave got almost a full salary for a year before returning to a guaranteed job, and both could work six-hour days until children entered school. Female employment rates and birth rates had surged to be among the highest in the developed world.

The question to wrestle with is whether paying nearly 50 percent of your income in taxes to get what Sweden would be worth it. The article seems to imply that Sweden does have it together in terms of economy and productivity, but I think there would be extremely stiff resistance in the US to implement any kind of policy like this here.

Memorial day weekend in Shelburne, VT.

Worst case

I hate looking for a job. It's mind-numbing, pedantic, and can be overwhelming, depressing, stressful, and agitating.Plus, as a job hunter these days, the power is with the employer. So that makes it even harder. The employer can let you go at-will (my state is at-will employment) and they can hire you at will.

Lately though, I've seen people who never saw it coming being let go from their jobs. To be honest, if you'd asked me if those people would be let go, I would have said no. That's why it's so important to always have a resume at ready, to constantly check what's out there -- even when you have no intention of looking for another job -- "just in case."

The best time to negotiate a new position is when you have one. We don't always have the luxury of picking our own timing, but if you have an inkling that things might not go as well as you'd like at your company, it's time to start writing/reviewing/updating the resume and sign-up for alerts at some job hunting sites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com.

The thing is, looking for a job is free (well, except for the time investment), and just because you're looking doesn't mean that a) you'll get an interview or b) you'll get an offer. And even if you get an interview, it doesn't mean you have to go and just because you get an offer, doesn't mean you have to accept (though I think if you get to this last step in the process, you should have a fairly good idea at the last interview as to whether you want to proceed or not; it's only fair to let the hiring manager know your interest level).

"Looking" is not a commitment to do anything. It's a step towards securing your own future and perhaps gaining a modicum of power. Okay, maybe not so much the last, but you get what I mean. I always feel better when I'm in action, like I'm doing *something* to make sure I'm taking care of me.

The employers have all the power now, so the only thing we can do is keep our eyes open and our ears to the ground and keep renewing our network, letting people know casually that you're looking or you have some interest in case they hear of something. Regardless, it's important to understand what the job market in your field looks like, to understand how qualifications may or may not be changing, and to just get out there the minute you hear a hint of trouble.

Easier said than done, I know. I've been floating on the longest river in Egypt for a while now just because. But time is ticking and since I very much prefer to be employed than not, it's time to get back out there.

Computer update

So I froze the hard drive. Well, before I did that, I dropped it from 2 to 3 feet on to the carpet. It landed with a nice thud, which I consider payback for the downstairs party hearty folks. Unfortunately, the drop didn't jolt the motor into action so into the freezer the hard drive went. It spent a day in there, hopefully thinking about what it had done and hopefully forgiving me for hitting the power button prematurely. But alas, the freezing technique did not work either. Now there's only one thing left to do -- take the drive apart and transfer the heads into a working hard drive. Surgery will probably commence this weekend.

Semi good news

So far nothing has really worked to get my computer up and running. This afternoon, we headed to the local tech store and picked up an adapter for the hard drive. I removed the hard drive from my computer and hooked it up to J's laptop. Nothing. The drive did spin up but there was no recognition. Disconnected it and tried another hard drive from another desktop. That one not only spun up, the laptop also recognized it and we were able to access the files. When we tried hooking up my hard drive up again, it refused to power on. So now we're going with the last ditch resort of putting it in the freezer to see if that will help.

The upside of all of this is I did find a back-up from August of last year. I checked that disk and the good news is I did have presence of mind to back up all of my iTunes music (also available on my iPod), all of my stories, resumes, and tax information to the CD. I've probably lost some data and email, but eh. What can I do? I just need to be more dilligent about backing up, especially given the age of the computer. But the story I was worried about -- the sequel to Fugue in Blue Minor -- is indeed on my disk so WHEW! (of course, I haven't worked on it since March 2009, but at least I don't have to start on it from scratch).

Oh and it goes without saying that there will be no website updates until I figure out what to do about the software etc. I'm using J's laptop for now, but at some point, I'm going to have to get another solution.

LotD

20 Worst Charities in America -- worth looking at. "Worst", however, seems kind of a harsh term though -- I'm thinking "inefficient" would probably be a better term.

Seems like everyone and their brother has a charity these days and I personally never know who's legit and who's not. I do have my favorite, but every now and then, smaller ones catch my eye for one reason or another. Luckily, none of mine are on this list.

RiP

So after 9 years, or more precisely, eight years and 10 months, my beloved Dell Dimension 2100 has given up the ghost (or so I think). I got impatient with the computer yesterday when it hung up uploading photos and hit the power off button. Big mistake. Now the computer refuses to boot or recognize the hard drive. I'm hoping this is just a temper tantrum, nothing serious, but if it is, I'm kind of wondering how to get my data off the hard drive. My last back-up was in August of 2009 (I know, I know), but I haven't created many new files since then. I'm most worried about my next story in the "Lines in the Sand" series and my resume/job checklist spreadsheet.

I was planning to get a new computer in August but it looks like I'll need to get one sooner rather than later. Sadness.