Thursday, September 2, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
What do you mean by "Full Cavity"?
I'm going to post separate stories about my trip to Mexico but, this one seemed appropriate to start off with.
To start off with I'd like to preface this with a disclaimer:
I do enjoy the liberties that this country permits us; however, I do not, will not, and cannot, abide the hypocrisy that we live in. This country is one of the greatest in the world and we continue to live our lives in fear, complacency, and indifference. To quote Abraham Lincoln, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
So if your read this blog you obviously know what I look like, and for those of you who don't here's a quick glance...pretty sexy huh?
Anyway, I recently went to Mexico on a business trip to teach one of our outsource centers how to use a few of our billing systems. Long story short, trip was fun, they learned a lot, and everything was otherwise a big win.
Getting into and out of Mexico really wasn't that big a deal: you fill out some papers, you wait in a bunch of lines, you hit a few buttons and smile and say "Si" or "No" followed by "Gracias" a bunch of times...and then you're free to roam around the country for a few days to NOT drink the water. Getting back into the good ol' U.S. of A is a different story though.
When we first got off the plane, we had to walk like half a mile around DFW to get to immigration. I'd put up some pics, but they basically said that cameras were a no-no and would ultimately meet their end at the hands of some disgruntled employee if they were found to be on during the immigration process. So we get in line...My travelling companion (our Director of Outbound Operations) was ushered to one line where he got to go right through. I get ushered into a line with 3 families all that have like 6 kids (great...) After about 15-20 minutes I get to go through and the officer said like 2 words to me, looked at my passport and then me like 12 times, stamped it 3 times and then gave me the hit the road sign...
Next is where the fun starts. So we get our bags and hit another line to get through the baggage control checkpoint, complete with skulls on pikes, razor wire, and the oh so lovely "Abandon all hope..Ye who enter this place" signs daubed in American-ease (basically loads of "welcome to the US happiest place on earth" propaganda). The agent running the post must love his job, he gets to sit on a stool and basically be terrifying to immigrants and visitors ALL, DAY, Long. So My boss goes through no problem. But, the kid, can't be that easy...Before I even get to the podium, Ninja Security Man comes over to me from out of nowhere and writes some initials in big red letters on my declaration paperwork. I asked him what it was and he said," just routine, no worries" and then disappeared in a puff of bureaucratic smoke. So I talk to Officer Terrifying and had a quick laugh about the ABRAHAM LINCOLN shirt that I was wearing and he tells me to head to a hallway off to the side. So, I trudge into another room that has, what looked like, 12 x-ray conveyors, a bunch of examination tables and various other official looking people doing absolutely nothing. I walk about another 1/4 mile to isle 12 and a very nice officer tells me to put all my luggage on the conveyor and open it up. Apparently, I fell victim to a "random survey" that the Department of Agriculture conducts on every flight that come into the US. Right...can you see where this story is going?
So after I pack all my things again and walk back out to meet Jim, he gets a chuckle out of the "random" survey thing and we head to the security checkpoint. So, like a good little sheep I take all the crap out of my pockets, my computer out of the bag, and put all my junk into the bins for x-ray and get into the line to go through the metal detectors. No only did both of the agents look me up and down and then look at each other, one of them audibly said, "uhhhhhhh, can you step over there please" and ushered me to the FULL body scanner. So I stand in the little scanner things and do as I was instructed, and then walk forward to the little yellow footprints where I'm stopped by a Officer Lanky who tells me to wait. He then receives a little buzz in his earpiece and asks me if I had anything in my pockets. I responded "no, I don't" and maintained that response the other three times that he asked me (I really didn't have anything in my pockets, they were totally empty and some even inside out)...So then he tells me that HE NEEDS TO FRISK ME and that this was "only routine". So he starts patting me down and I'm totally waiting for the Ninja Security Man to pop back up and write "full cavity" somehwere. Luckily, I had a stay of execution when they didn't find anything, LIKE I TOLD THEM, and I was let loose on the rest of the terminal to go do my dastardly "being American" thing... Jim is standing behind me the whole time and after a short wait, Officer Lanky gets the little buzz in his ear, Officer Lanky tells him to have a nice day, and Jim walks right on through. WHAT THE HELL?!?!?
So here's a piece of advice, when you try to get back into the U.S. Here's a few simple rules:
DON'T dress in Abraham Lincoln T-Shirts
DON'T be older than 15 and younger than 50
DON'T have tattoos
DON'T look like an average American
To start off with I'd like to preface this with a disclaimer:
I do enjoy the liberties that this country permits us; however, I do not, will not, and cannot, abide the hypocrisy that we live in. This country is one of the greatest in the world and we continue to live our lives in fear, complacency, and indifference. To quote Abraham Lincoln, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
So if your read this blog you obviously know what I look like, and for those of you who don't here's a quick glance...pretty sexy huh?
Anyway, I recently went to Mexico on a business trip to teach one of our outsource centers how to use a few of our billing systems. Long story short, trip was fun, they learned a lot, and everything was otherwise a big win. Getting into and out of Mexico really wasn't that big a deal: you fill out some papers, you wait in a bunch of lines, you hit a few buttons and smile and say "Si" or "No" followed by "Gracias" a bunch of times...and then you're free to roam around the country for a few days to NOT drink the water. Getting back into the good ol' U.S. of A is a different story though.
When we first got off the plane, we had to walk like half a mile around DFW to get to immigration. I'd put up some pics, but they basically said that cameras were a no-no and would ultimately meet their end at the hands of some disgruntled employee if they were found to be on during the immigration process. So we get in line...My travelling companion (our Director of Outbound Operations) was ushered to one line where he got to go right through. I get ushered into a line with 3 families all that have like 6 kids (great...) After about 15-20 minutes I get to go through and the officer said like 2 words to me, looked at my passport and then me like 12 times, stamped it 3 times and then gave me the hit the road sign...
Next is where the fun starts. So we get our bags and hit another line to get through the baggage control checkpoint, complete with skulls on pikes, razor wire, and the oh so lovely "Abandon all hope..Ye who enter this place" signs daubed in American-ease (basically loads of "welcome to the US happiest place on earth" propaganda). The agent running the post must love his job, he gets to sit on a stool and basically be terrifying to immigrants and visitors ALL, DAY, Long. So My boss goes through no problem. But, the kid, can't be that easy...Before I even get to the podium, Ninja Security Man comes over to me from out of nowhere and writes some initials in big red letters on my declaration paperwork. I asked him what it was and he said," just routine, no worries" and then disappeared in a puff of bureaucratic smoke. So I talk to Officer Terrifying and had a quick laugh about the ABRAHAM LINCOLN shirt that I was wearing and he tells me to head to a hallway off to the side. So, I trudge into another room that has, what looked like, 12 x-ray conveyors, a bunch of examination tables and various other official looking people doing absolutely nothing. I walk about another 1/4 mile to isle 12 and a very nice officer tells me to put all my luggage on the conveyor and open it up. Apparently, I fell victim to a "random survey" that the Department of Agriculture conducts on every flight that come into the US. Right...can you see where this story is going?
So after I pack all my things again and walk back out to meet Jim, he gets a chuckle out of the "random" survey thing and we head to the security checkpoint. So, like a good little sheep I take all the crap out of my pockets, my computer out of the bag, and put all my junk into the bins for x-ray and get into the line to go through the metal detectors. No only did both of the agents look me up and down and then look at each other, one of them audibly said, "uhhhhhhh, can you step over there please" and ushered me to the FULL body scanner. So I stand in the little scanner things and do as I was instructed, and then walk forward to the little yellow footprints where I'm stopped by a Officer Lanky who tells me to wait. He then receives a little buzz in his earpiece and asks me if I had anything in my pockets. I responded "no, I don't" and maintained that response the other three times that he asked me (I really didn't have anything in my pockets, they were totally empty and some even inside out)...So then he tells me that HE NEEDS TO FRISK ME and that this was "only routine". So he starts patting me down and I'm totally waiting for the Ninja Security Man to pop back up and write "full cavity" somehwere. Luckily, I had a stay of execution when they didn't find anything, LIKE I TOLD THEM, and I was let loose on the rest of the terminal to go do my dastardly "being American" thing... Jim is standing behind me the whole time and after a short wait, Officer Lanky gets the little buzz in his ear, Officer Lanky tells him to have a nice day, and Jim walks right on through. WHAT THE HELL?!?!?
So here's a piece of advice, when you try to get back into the U.S. Here's a few simple rules:
DON'T dress in Abraham Lincoln T-Shirts
DON'T be older than 15 and younger than 50
DON'T have tattoos
DON'T look like an average American
Monday, August 23, 2010
Headin to Mexico...
So I'm heading to Mexico on my first business trip ever and I'm a freaky mess!! I hate flying, I'm going to miss my family but, it's going to be a great time and I get to teach! Hopefully, I'll be updating this thing with some picks over the next few days but, until then here's a little song to thing of me by:
Banditos - The Refreshments
So just how far down do you want to go
And we could talk it out over a cup of joe
And you could look deep into my eyes
Like I was a super-model
Uh-huh
Well, it's you and me baby no one else we can trust
We'll say nothin' to no one no how or we bust
And never crack a smile
Or flinch or cry for nobody
Uh-uh
Chorus:
Well give your ID card to the border guard
Yeah, your alias says you're Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Of the United Federation of Planets
'Cause he won't speak English anyway
Everybody knows
That the world is full of stupid people
So meet me at the mission at midnight
We'll divvy up there
Everybody knows
That the world is full of stupid people
Well I got the pistol so I'll keep the Pesos
Yeah and that seems fair
So put the sugar in the tank of the sheriff's car
And slash the deputy's tires and they won't get very far
When they finally get the word
That there's been a hold-up uh-huh
Banditos - The Refreshments
So just how far down do you want to go
And we could talk it out over a cup of joe
And you could look deep into my eyes
Like I was a super-model
Uh-huh
Well, it's you and me baby no one else we can trust
We'll say nothin' to no one no how or we bust
And never crack a smile
Or flinch or cry for nobody
Uh-uh
Chorus:
Well give your ID card to the border guard
Yeah, your alias says you're Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Of the United Federation of Planets
'Cause he won't speak English anyway
Everybody knows
That the world is full of stupid people
So meet me at the mission at midnight
We'll divvy up there
Everybody knows
That the world is full of stupid people
Well I got the pistol so I'll keep the Pesos
Yeah and that seems fair
So put the sugar in the tank of the sheriff's car
And slash the deputy's tires and they won't get very far
When they finally get the word
That there's been a hold-up uh-huh
Sunday, July 18, 2010
It's been a REALLY long while.
Forgive me father for I have sinned, it has been almost 2 months since my last blog post...
So life is that thing that happens when you don't have enough time in the day. I know that I should be paying much more attention to my blog. I know that I need to be more on top of my homework. The sad fact is, there is too much crap to do throughout the day and without the little reminders that we are alive, like the man-made conventions of bills and commerce, I might actually be happy for five minutes.
Pessimism begets more pessimism I know (and that is not my intention) but, for one breif moment perhaps I can be the little grey cloud full of water and hate that no one likes.
I know things will get better, I know that the sting is only momentary, and I can only hope that sleep will once again caress my thoughts and bring me dreams of a better day...that happens right?
So life is that thing that happens when you don't have enough time in the day. I know that I should be paying much more attention to my blog. I know that I need to be more on top of my homework. The sad fact is, there is too much crap to do throughout the day and without the little reminders that we are alive, like the man-made conventions of bills and commerce, I might actually be happy for five minutes.
Pessimism begets more pessimism I know (and that is not my intention) but, for one breif moment perhaps I can be the little grey cloud full of water and hate that no one likes.
I know things will get better, I know that the sting is only momentary, and I can only hope that sleep will once again caress my thoughts and bring me dreams of a better day...that happens right?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
It's been a while
I've been really neglecting this little column of mine so, I'm going to dive head in and talk about something that I have a real passion for: being a total and utter dork...
Ya, this is the part where I start talking about one of my favorite hobbies. I play a tabletop strategy game called Warhammer 40k. It is technically the updated version of grandpa painting his tin soldiers but, ours are TOTALLY RAD!!! Anyway, I wanted to start out with some fluff to set the mood, so here it is, enjoy!
In the 41st Millenia, there is only war...
Or so Games Workshop would have us beleive. Games Workshop is a gaming company based out of Great Britian. They created and still currently produce one of my favorite past times in the whole wide world, Warhammer 40k. For those of you who are not of the geeky persuasion, think of the old days when dad would paint the tin soldiers and put them up on a shelf to look at. Well, the soldiers are plastic and pewter, very small and require assembly and painting. At any rate it's an exciting a very time consuming hobby.
Basic Gameplay:
The game is played by assembling an army from a certain Codex, also known as army books, and then pitting your army against someone else's. Each army consists of at least an HQ (your leader), and to squads of "troops" (troop types vary by army.
There are also other types of army squads including: Fast attack - they go zoom, zoom; Elites - specialized troops with really snazzy abilities; Heavy Support - KABLAM! (nuff said).
Now depending on the army being played, each of the unit types will be drastically different. So to give you a breif description of each army here's the full list:
Imperial Guard: Think of the army, troops and tanks and miscommunication OH MY!
Witch Hunters: NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION! (nuns with guns)
Daemon Hunters: Grail Knights on SERIOUS steroids.
Tyranids: Cockroaches the size of a Dunkin Donuts x 1 Billion.
Tau: Smurfs piloting Gundams.
Space Marines: The vanilla of the 40k world (create a Chapter/Army). 7 foot tall, muscle bulked, killing machines in powered space armor.
Chaos Marines/Daemons: The antithesis of the Imperium.
Eldar: space elves with a bite.
Dark Eldar: space elves who not only bite, but kill, maim, steal, and do vulgar things to you after they take your lunch money.
Orks - WE'Z IS DA BEST AND YOUZ IZ NOT, OI! Big, green, and mean.
Necrons - Terminators (dun, dun, dun, dun-dun, ch, ch)
I'm current building up my Witchunter army, and supplementing it with some Daemonhunters to give it some added flavor. I'll post the pics of my scratch built models a bit later this week.
Until then just remember, In the vast reaches of the Imperium of man, millions die every day for thier own cause, reason or justification. The universe is a big place and whatever happens, you will not be missed...
to be continued...
Ya, this is the part where I start talking about one of my favorite hobbies. I play a tabletop strategy game called Warhammer 40k. It is technically the updated version of grandpa painting his tin soldiers but, ours are TOTALLY RAD!!! Anyway, I wanted to start out with some fluff to set the mood, so here it is, enjoy!
In the 41st Millenia, there is only war...
Or so Games Workshop would have us beleive. Games Workshop is a gaming company based out of Great Britian. They created and still currently produce one of my favorite past times in the whole wide world, Warhammer 40k. For those of you who are not of the geeky persuasion, think of the old days when dad would paint the tin soldiers and put them up on a shelf to look at. Well, the soldiers are plastic and pewter, very small and require assembly and painting. At any rate it's an exciting a very time consuming hobby.
Basic Gameplay:
The game is played by assembling an army from a certain Codex, also known as army books, and then pitting your army against someone else's. Each army consists of at least an HQ (your leader), and to squads of "troops" (troop types vary by army.
There are also other types of army squads including: Fast attack - they go zoom, zoom; Elites - specialized troops with really snazzy abilities; Heavy Support - KABLAM! (nuff said).
Now depending on the army being played, each of the unit types will be drastically different. So to give you a breif description of each army here's the full list:
Imperial Guard: Think of the army, troops and tanks and miscommunication OH MY!
Witch Hunters: NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION! (nuns with guns)
Daemon Hunters: Grail Knights on SERIOUS steroids.
Tyranids: Cockroaches the size of a Dunkin Donuts x 1 Billion.
Tau: Smurfs piloting Gundams.
Space Marines: The vanilla of the 40k world (create a Chapter/Army). 7 foot tall, muscle bulked, killing machines in powered space armor.
Chaos Marines/Daemons: The antithesis of the Imperium.
Eldar: space elves with a bite.
Dark Eldar: space elves who not only bite, but kill, maim, steal, and do vulgar things to you after they take your lunch money.
Orks - WE'Z IS DA BEST AND YOUZ IZ NOT, OI! Big, green, and mean.
Necrons - Terminators (dun, dun, dun, dun-dun, ch, ch)
I'm current building up my Witchunter army, and supplementing it with some Daemonhunters to give it some added flavor. I'll post the pics of my scratch built models a bit later this week.
Until then just remember, In the vast reaches of the Imperium of man, millions die every day for thier own cause, reason or justification. The universe is a big place and whatever happens, you will not be missed...
to be continued...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
So I was just having some fun.
So I if you've been following my blog, I just finished helping the big wigs at work finish a HUGE presentation for one of our clients. I had to utilize windows movie maker, power point and photoshop to get it done. Then the other day, I actually took a lunch break and had a little fun. Me and my buddy Marvin mess with each other all day long. Not only does it help the day go by but, we actually get some really good zingers in there as well. Anyhow, I sent this to him after he tried to "color me pink" in some very descriptive paragraphs. Enjoy. (The word should be WE'VE not WE'RE, I know so please excuse the mispell)
Monday, April 19, 2010
In honor of a friendship reborn...
Doyle N Friends: Pro-Edition
Coming soon to 2010...
Let the action begin.
Coming soon to 2010...
Let the action begin.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thinking about a facelift.
So if anyone actually reads this random collection of blathering, I was considering a new page banner. I thought perhaps actually going with the namesake of my URL for the new one. Here's one idea:
I'd thought about doing this quite some time ago, but procrastilaxing is a hobby of mine and I just never got around to it, that and life kinda gets in the way sometimes. I have a few other ideas but, this is the most current/basic of them. At any rate, I really want to start playing in photoshop for personal reasons again instead of using it for work...ugh...It's starting to get annoying. At least I'm showing my colors for the new president of the company. I've been helping his new business development team put together a presentation for a big client next week. It's REALLY starting to stress me out and I don't even have to do any of the hard stuff, but I digress.
Anyway, if you like the banner, let me know. Who knows, maybe I'll do Nannerpuss dressed like "The Duke", or Nanner-zombie, the possibilities are endless. Since I don;t have anything else productive to add, here is a picture of the most action turtle ever.
I'd thought about doing this quite some time ago, but procrastilaxing is a hobby of mine and I just never got around to it, that and life kinda gets in the way sometimes. I have a few other ideas but, this is the most current/basic of them. At any rate, I really want to start playing in photoshop for personal reasons again instead of using it for work...ugh...It's starting to get annoying. At least I'm showing my colors for the new president of the company. I've been helping his new business development team put together a presentation for a big client next week. It's REALLY starting to stress me out and I don't even have to do any of the hard stuff, but I digress.
Anyway, if you like the banner, let me know. Who knows, maybe I'll do Nannerpuss dressed like "The Duke", or Nanner-zombie, the possibilities are endless. Since I don;t have anything else productive to add, here is a picture of the most action turtle ever.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Synergy and Cupcakes.
Everything is really starting to come together nicely. Not only is my schoolwork going extremely well, but work is going in a positive direction for once. I recently had the pleasure of working with the senior VP and his team, and it seems that having a bit of common sense and a pinch of determination can springboard anyone into a very welcome situation.
The VP and his crew are working on this HUGE presentation for one of our clients and I've been stepping in periodically to do random stuff for them. The most recent piece of interesting that was thrown at me, was a job editing together various video clips for a PowerPoint presentation (which I am also helping to put together). Needless to say, I am really starting to enjoy myself at work again. I'm still clueless as to what my title is, but I'm sure I'll figure that out in the next few weeks.
I really need to focus a bit more on my homework though. This week hasn't lent itself to studying very well. Between going out more than we have in a while and catching up on some sleep, homework has taken a bit of a back burner, NOT GOOD! Either way, I caught up on everything today and last night rekindled my love in the 40k army that I haven't played in a while, Sisters of Battle.
All in all yesterday scored pretty high on the "Niko's Scale of Awesome". My good friend Tony came over with his son and we had a pretty decent 3-way battle playing Warhammer 40K. If you're not familiar with that, I'm actually going to post a battle report tomorrow. Anyhow, the weekend has proved to be extremely relaxing and productive. I'm feeling very positive about what's in the future and that silver lining that everyone always talks about is looking pretty good right about now.
The VP and his crew are working on this HUGE presentation for one of our clients and I've been stepping in periodically to do random stuff for them. The most recent piece of interesting that was thrown at me, was a job editing together various video clips for a PowerPoint presentation (which I am also helping to put together). Needless to say, I am really starting to enjoy myself at work again. I'm still clueless as to what my title is, but I'm sure I'll figure that out in the next few weeks.
I really need to focus a bit more on my homework though. This week hasn't lent itself to studying very well. Between going out more than we have in a while and catching up on some sleep, homework has taken a bit of a back burner, NOT GOOD! Either way, I caught up on everything today and last night rekindled my love in the 40k army that I haven't played in a while, Sisters of Battle.
All in all yesterday scored pretty high on the "Niko's Scale of Awesome". My good friend Tony came over with his son and we had a pretty decent 3-way battle playing Warhammer 40K. If you're not familiar with that, I'm actually going to post a battle report tomorrow. Anyhow, the weekend has proved to be extremely relaxing and productive. I'm feeling very positive about what's in the future and that silver lining that everyone always talks about is looking pretty good right about now.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Testament...
Every day that I live and breath is just another Testament to how much I want to conquer the world...
More to come later.
"...We were the victims of ourselves. Maybe the children of a lesser god between Heaven and Hell..." - Jared Leto (30 Seconds To Mars)
More to come later.
"...We were the victims of ourselves. Maybe the children of a lesser god between Heaven and Hell..." - Jared Leto (30 Seconds To Mars)
Friday, March 19, 2010
Stupidity should be taxed....
So, I know I've talked about my job before and this time the amount of frustration is almost more than I can bear...
I've been rewriting some scripts for a different department under strict guidelines that they have set forth. I have this tendency of doing crazy things like, double checking my work, following up on directions that I'm given, and making sure that everything I do meets the criteria that it's supposed to. I know, I'm a wild one and completely try to subvert the system by following orders...
WARNING!! THIS IS THE FACE OF A REBEL, A SPY, AND A COMPLETELY HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING!!
Can you taste the sarcasm? It has a hint of displeasure and a healthy dose of seething hatred...
I found out today that comments are being made, by the group I'm doing all of this work for no less, that I'm now completely out of line because I'm trying to "change procedure". Now mind you, I started on this project on January 27th. I followed up on all changes that I was making over the course of 3 weeks. Now during the past month I have had a few meetings with management of the group that I'm working with to ensure that everything is up to their specifications, I've held training for the 20+ employees that these changes will affect, and I've also had the same training with the management to ensure that they are all in the loop.
The scripts went live last week and I've had very positive feedback about the way that the scripts work and very little feedback about how it can be improved. Yesterday or the day before I sent an e-mail stating that while I was listening to the call recordings for the past week I haven't heard the employees using the scripting that I had written. I also gave an idea of how to improve this and possibly re-vamp the scripting that was just enacted....
What I was meet with almost shocked me. Now, mind you, a reply from this department is a rarity, but I was appalled to find that apparently the employees had been told to do something different and that I had set up the scripting completely wrong.
WHAT!?!?!?!?!? Hold on, let me check something, I gave a clear understanding of what I was putting in place on January 27th and now on MARCH 18th, I'm told that it is wrong...Let me put this in perspective, 50 DAYS!!! That's the length of time between when I told them what they were going to have and being told that it's not what they want.
I'm pretty sure that I'm not hallucinating and I just had a psychiatric evaluation a few months ago. So, unless I've recently smoked about 50 lbs of crack or I've gone completely insane (which could be possible, one never knows) I'M NOT THE ONE AT FAULT HERE!
Just to make sure that you get my full point, here is what I felt like when I went into work today.
What do I know about office politics though...However, I do know that if the Obama administration taxed stupidity maybe they would be able to get us out of this damn recession, this country would generate a fortune...
I've been rewriting some scripts for a different department under strict guidelines that they have set forth. I have this tendency of doing crazy things like, double checking my work, following up on directions that I'm given, and making sure that everything I do meets the criteria that it's supposed to. I know, I'm a wild one and completely try to subvert the system by following orders...
WARNING!! THIS IS THE FACE OF A REBEL, A SPY, AND A COMPLETELY HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING!!
Can you taste the sarcasm? It has a hint of displeasure and a healthy dose of seething hatred...
I found out today that comments are being made, by the group I'm doing all of this work for no less, that I'm now completely out of line because I'm trying to "change procedure". Now mind you, I started on this project on January 27th. I followed up on all changes that I was making over the course of 3 weeks. Now during the past month I have had a few meetings with management of the group that I'm working with to ensure that everything is up to their specifications, I've held training for the 20+ employees that these changes will affect, and I've also had the same training with the management to ensure that they are all in the loop.
The scripts went live last week and I've had very positive feedback about the way that the scripts work and very little feedback about how it can be improved. Yesterday or the day before I sent an e-mail stating that while I was listening to the call recordings for the past week I haven't heard the employees using the scripting that I had written. I also gave an idea of how to improve this and possibly re-vamp the scripting that was just enacted....
What I was meet with almost shocked me. Now, mind you, a reply from this department is a rarity, but I was appalled to find that apparently the employees had been told to do something different and that I had set up the scripting completely wrong.
WHAT!?!?!?!?!? Hold on, let me check something, I gave a clear understanding of what I was putting in place on January 27th and now on MARCH 18th, I'm told that it is wrong...Let me put this in perspective, 50 DAYS!!! That's the length of time between when I told them what they were going to have and being told that it's not what they want.
I'm pretty sure that I'm not hallucinating and I just had a psychiatric evaluation a few months ago. So, unless I've recently smoked about 50 lbs of crack or I've gone completely insane (which could be possible, one never knows) I'M NOT THE ONE AT FAULT HERE!
Just to make sure that you get my full point, here is what I felt like when I went into work today.
What do I know about office politics though...However, I do know that if the Obama administration taxed stupidity maybe they would be able to get us out of this damn recession, this country would generate a fortune...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Talking Tolkein...
So, much like the other thousands of random sci/fi geeks, there is a special place in my heart for hobbits and Middle Earth. Although Discworld (READ TERRY PRATCHET) provides much more laughs, I find the idea of middle earth very provacative. For those of you who don;t know, J.R.R. Tolkein was first and foremost, a linguist. Tolkein had already created 4 completely WORKING languages before he realized that he needed a place for them to live. Three of his Elven languages, Tengwar, Sindarin, and Quenya are very interetsting to hear when spoken and REALLY crazy to actually write. From what I've seen and read both are based off of psuedo arabic writing and conjugated like a dead romatic language.
I downloaded a teach yourself Elven course and I haven't really had a chance to play around with it yet. Here is the link if you want to give it a shot: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~trenk/elvish/#course_sindarin. Although, I did have enough time to translate a lyric that a friend of mine wrote. I already have some of the music written for it, I just have to put everything together and have my brother record it for me. So, until I actually get that done, enjoy the pic. I'll leave the rest to the imagination.
Lamentation by Myst
(translated by Niko)
I downloaded a teach yourself Elven course and I haven't really had a chance to play around with it yet. Here is the link if you want to give it a shot: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~trenk/elvish/#course_sindarin. Although, I did have enough time to translate a lyric that a friend of mine wrote. I already have some of the music written for it, I just have to put everything together and have my brother record it for me. So, until I actually get that done, enjoy the pic. I'll leave the rest to the imagination.
Lamentation by Myst
(translated by Niko)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
EPIC
This is a completely unrelated picture of my EPIC beard. You know you like it, don't deny it. Who else had an epic beard oh ya, that's right the coolest man who ever lived, that's right respect Lincoln.
Sewing, Baking, and Model Making - What do you like to do as the time goes by?
I realized the other day just how crazy some of my hobbies seem to my friends. Among some of the nuttier things that I like to do are sewing, cooking, and playing with 25mm models. To kinda break things up a bit, I'll talk about each one individually.
Before my son was born I was REALLY heavy into sewing. Tragically, work and school have kept my sewing machine in the closet lately, but I plan on pulling that puppy out pretty soon to make a few pieces for my SCA Asian outfit:a Kamishimo and set of Hakama. My mom always told me that sewing was a skill that I could use my whole life and I couldn't agree more. She also told me to make new friends, so when I found the book "Stupid Sock Creatures" I took that advice quite literally.
Two of my favorite creations are Scraps(bottom)and Zoe(top). I made Scraps one day while I was hanging out with my wife at her parent's deli and I made Zoe for my mom when we went up to my parents house to visit a few months ago. I found that the sock creatures were an AWESOME way to get rid of my old socks while at the same time making some inexpensive and personal gifts for my friends. The few others that I've made have been given some great homes. Not to mention that I also like to make other quirky things like Nannnerpuss.
Next on the list was baking. I love cooking and every once in a while I think up RANDOM stuff that would be amusing. Going back to a conversation that my friend Graeme and I had a long time ago, we were talking about opening a restaurant. Graeme had a thing about artisan bread and I wanted to just cook really wacky meals. So we got to talking about how when you go into a fast food place or just a random greasy spoon, people tend to order the #4 or the #2. you know how places usually name their combo meals. Well, we thought it would be hilarious if you ordered the #4 and you got a burger in the shape of the number 4. Really Sesame Street style comedy, but we thought it was a riot. so, he took it a step further and started talking about ABC pasta. He was wondering about just having one letter instead of all of them and not just tiny letters, HUGE letters. The way he described it was, "Niko, I want to have the letter A with meat sauce". In honor of Graeme, I was making pasta the other day and I give you, The Letter A with Meat sauce!
Finally, one of my true loves, playing with miniatures. About 6 years ago my buddies got me into playing a table top strategy game called Warhammer 40k. It's basically a strategy game where you literally build and paint an army, set up a battle and beat the crap out of another player. There's a whole bunch of different armies that one can play and a single game can run for over 6 hours! It gives me a creative outlet because Games Workshop (the creators) encourage "converting" models. so chopping up models and making them your own is part of the hobby and I think that's what I love most about it. I just recently started playing an army called Tau (think towel without the Ls). They're a race of blue super advanced aliens that want to help others "for the greater good". If you don't want their help, they basically blow you up until you either give in or die, tee hee. Not to get too much into it but, here are a few of my favorite conversions. for those of you who know who Tank Girl is, my tank commander for my Imperial Guard army looks exactly like her. The others are just inspired by things like Invader Zim and the last picture is my Sisters of Battle army (also known as the Nuns with Guns). I've also taken up resin casting so I can make my own customer models.
So what do you do to pass the time?
Before my son was born I was REALLY heavy into sewing. Tragically, work and school have kept my sewing machine in the closet lately, but I plan on pulling that puppy out pretty soon to make a few pieces for my SCA Asian outfit:a Kamishimo and set of Hakama. My mom always told me that sewing was a skill that I could use my whole life and I couldn't agree more. She also told me to make new friends, so when I found the book "Stupid Sock Creatures" I took that advice quite literally.
Two of my favorite creations are Scraps(bottom)and Zoe(top). I made Scraps one day while I was hanging out with my wife at her parent's deli and I made Zoe for my mom when we went up to my parents house to visit a few months ago. I found that the sock creatures were an AWESOME way to get rid of my old socks while at the same time making some inexpensive and personal gifts for my friends. The few others that I've made have been given some great homes. Not to mention that I also like to make other quirky things like Nannnerpuss.
Next on the list was baking. I love cooking and every once in a while I think up RANDOM stuff that would be amusing. Going back to a conversation that my friend Graeme and I had a long time ago, we were talking about opening a restaurant. Graeme had a thing about artisan bread and I wanted to just cook really wacky meals. So we got to talking about how when you go into a fast food place or just a random greasy spoon, people tend to order the #4 or the #2. you know how places usually name their combo meals. Well, we thought it would be hilarious if you ordered the #4 and you got a burger in the shape of the number 4. Really Sesame Street style comedy, but we thought it was a riot. so, he took it a step further and started talking about ABC pasta. He was wondering about just having one letter instead of all of them and not just tiny letters, HUGE letters. The way he described it was, "Niko, I want to have the letter A with meat sauce". In honor of Graeme, I was making pasta the other day and I give you, The Letter A with Meat sauce!
Finally, one of my true loves, playing with miniatures. About 6 years ago my buddies got me into playing a table top strategy game called Warhammer 40k. It's basically a strategy game where you literally build and paint an army, set up a battle and beat the crap out of another player. There's a whole bunch of different armies that one can play and a single game can run for over 6 hours! It gives me a creative outlet because Games Workshop (the creators) encourage "converting" models. so chopping up models and making them your own is part of the hobby and I think that's what I love most about it. I just recently started playing an army called Tau (think towel without the Ls). They're a race of blue super advanced aliens that want to help others "for the greater good". If you don't want their help, they basically blow you up until you either give in or die, tee hee. Not to get too much into it but, here are a few of my favorite conversions. for those of you who know who Tank Girl is, my tank commander for my Imperial Guard army looks exactly like her. The others are just inspired by things like Invader Zim and the last picture is my Sisters of Battle army (also known as the Nuns with Guns). I've also taken up resin casting so I can make my own customer models.
So what do you do to pass the time?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Life is what happens when you're doing other things...
(this is a pic of the slacker doing homework)Do you ever feel like life is just passing you by but, there is just not enough time to live it? You turn around, go to grab a magazine and you've lost 4 hours...I guess everything is starting to catch up with me. Between work, home and school, my nerves have been kinda widgy, but I'm determined to move forward.
As far as work goes, my boss was in the hospital for the past 3 or 4 days so I had to cover a few things that I normally don't do. Not something too unusual for me, I guess I'm just trying to figure out where I'm going with all of it. My technical title is Senior Sales Supervisor; however I haven't lead a "sales" team for almost 3 months. I have however, almost single handedly overhauled most of the training material that our company uses for 2 separate departments and I feel very accomplished in what I've done. I guess where my frustration comes in, is that I really have no "home" at my job. I have no group to supervise, the new project that I'm supposed to be heading up doesn't start for another 2 months and I feel very removed from the project in general. However, I have been working very closely with the development side of what our company does and I've seen sides of Client Services and the Training and Development groups that REALLY interest me. Have you ever just had that feeling of being sucked into something bigger that just won't work? Which brings me to my next point.
My wife works with her parents at their Deli but, she's going to start staying home after this week. We've already decided that we can swing it with just me working as long as my pay scale doesn't change. We're also looking into getting "assistance" like other people do, but you wouldn't believe how hard it can be if you are TRYING to do the right thing. I swear some government agencies were developed just so people can do nothing and get all the help that they need...grrrrr.
School is just one of those things that I can't get over. I still can't believe that I'm still doing it, I'm getting my degree. Still, there is that nagging feeling that I might fail. I hate that, and I usually don't hate anything; it makes me feel weak. I am kind of sweating the anatomy paper we have to write. I didn't budget my time extremely well and YET AGAIN, I find myself walking that line right at the very end of too late... oh well it'll get done. Next time I just need to get it up to my standards.
Anyway, I know everything is going to work out, it always does. I was told once that as long as I thought I was lucky, then I always would be. My four leaf clover has held up so far.
Now that I've vented, I find myself thinking about the Tao Te Ching. In chapter 11, Lao Tzu states, "Thirty spokes share the wheel's hub;
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore profit comes from what is there;
Usefulness from what is not there."
So in a way I guess I'm the hole in the wheel. Not sure if that makes any sense but, at least I've got some clarity now. I'd have no reason to write this if it wasn't for the fact that I know someone was going to read this so I guess I should thank you.
Domo...
Thursday, February 18, 2010
If Your Body Is Your Temple...
Then mine has some AWESOME stained glass. I'm a big fan of tattooing and really like some of the ideas that people come up with. Yes, I do have to constantly put up with the startes and the guffaws from the older generation but, everyone has a personal mode of expression. Do I have to validate it to anyone, No. Do I ususally have to, yes... The only thing I have to say to anyone considering getting a tattoo is to make sure that it means something. OMG THAT TRIBAL DESIGN LOOKS AWESOME! To me, is not a good enough reason to get a tat, and some tattoos are just plain mistakes. Make sure that you believe in what you I'm not too heavily involved in organized church anymore but, I do consider myself to be a very spiritual person. My belief structure is varied and my convitions on those idealisms are stolid and unshwaivered. Here are some of my tats and the resons why I got them:
My guadian angel, my crosses, and my mistake...
My angel is based of an old White Wolf picture and shows an angel smoking a cigarette and cocking back a gun. the text going around the angel says, "No Compromise". Going back to my previous statement, you should never have to compromise who you are for anyone. If people don;t like you for who you are, tell them to get over it. I'm not saying completely lose tact but, stay true to who you are.
The medic crosses reflect a part of my idealogy about who I am, a healer. I have a deep and profound interest in spiritual and medical healing. I find it only fitting that the medical crosses be put on a very vital area of blood flow throughout the body. Also, it's also a symbolic gesture about proximity to the hands, which are what enable most healing practices.
The king of hearts has a few meanings to me. First, when I was a swing dancer in high school, I used to give out my phone number to girls written on a king of hearts with the whole, "Let me give you my card line". It was also the same card I had in my hat (instead of a feather). Second, and the main reason I got the tattoo, my ex-fiance was a casino boat dealer. She had the ace of hearts on her arm so, I figured, what the heck. Unfortunately, it's a gamble that I lost. No regrets though, everything happens for a reason.
My clavs and my back. On my clavicles I have the celtic trinity knot, or triskel, entwined with the circle of life. Again, these stem back to my basic judeo-christian beliefs in the trinity but, I also have a love of celtic artwork and expression. Plus, those druids were SMART cookies.
The work on my back is two-fold. The first tattoo I ever got was the cross in the middle of my back, on Halloween night of the year 2000. the script over the top says, "Come What May", which is a line from the movie Moulin Rogue. An epic film about love, loss, and music. My wife has the same script on her back in a bit more femanine way. "Come What May" means just that, whatever happens we'll be there for each other.I disagree with getting names tattooed for any reason, it's just a superstition but, I will adhear to it forever. The only name I may ever get will be "mom" in one of those sailor jerry style tattoos but, probably not. Anyway, when we got together and knew that we would be for quite some time, my wife and I solidified our friendship by getting the matching tats.
My legs just add to the childlike part of me. On my right leg I have the America McGee version of Alice with the Cheshire cat. Devious, dark, and a bit twisted. Hmmm, how does that sound like? On my other leg I have my favorite comic book character ever, Squee. Squee symbolizes the child in me, scared of the world, always getting put into odd situations and for some reason always getting out of them a bit traumatized but, o.k. Squee also has someone constantly watching out for him, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. No matter what happens to Squee, Johnny happens to be about and lends a bloody but, helping hand.
My arms are home to my largest pieces. On my upper left arm I have an interpretation of the Green Man. The Green Man, also known as Puck or Pan, is a character of celtic mythology who is a prankster, whimsical,and a spirit of nature. My right arm is sleeved in an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. Alice has a direct bering on my life as I feel like I'm constantly falling down the rabbit hole. My life is crazy but along the way I've meet some very colorful characters and every morning I wake up and everything seems to be alright.
I still need to upload a few more pictures of the back where I've had some more fill doen but, I plan on going to get some color work finished pretty soon, so I'll probably just get them uploaded after that.
My guadian angel, my crosses, and my mistake...
My angel is based of an old White Wolf picture and shows an angel smoking a cigarette and cocking back a gun. the text going around the angel says, "No Compromise". Going back to my previous statement, you should never have to compromise who you are for anyone. If people don;t like you for who you are, tell them to get over it. I'm not saying completely lose tact but, stay true to who you are.
The medic crosses reflect a part of my idealogy about who I am, a healer. I have a deep and profound interest in spiritual and medical healing. I find it only fitting that the medical crosses be put on a very vital area of blood flow throughout the body. Also, it's also a symbolic gesture about proximity to the hands, which are what enable most healing practices.
The king of hearts has a few meanings to me. First, when I was a swing dancer in high school, I used to give out my phone number to girls written on a king of hearts with the whole, "Let me give you my card line". It was also the same card I had in my hat (instead of a feather). Second, and the main reason I got the tattoo, my ex-fiance was a casino boat dealer. She had the ace of hearts on her arm so, I figured, what the heck. Unfortunately, it's a gamble that I lost. No regrets though, everything happens for a reason.
My clavs and my back. On my clavicles I have the celtic trinity knot, or triskel, entwined with the circle of life. Again, these stem back to my basic judeo-christian beliefs in the trinity but, I also have a love of celtic artwork and expression. Plus, those druids were SMART cookies.
The work on my back is two-fold. The first tattoo I ever got was the cross in the middle of my back, on Halloween night of the year 2000. the script over the top says, "Come What May", which is a line from the movie Moulin Rogue. An epic film about love, loss, and music. My wife has the same script on her back in a bit more femanine way. "Come What May" means just that, whatever happens we'll be there for each other.I disagree with getting names tattooed for any reason, it's just a superstition but, I will adhear to it forever. The only name I may ever get will be "mom" in one of those sailor jerry style tattoos but, probably not. Anyway, when we got together and knew that we would be for quite some time, my wife and I solidified our friendship by getting the matching tats.
My legs just add to the childlike part of me. On my right leg I have the America McGee version of Alice with the Cheshire cat. Devious, dark, and a bit twisted. Hmmm, how does that sound like? On my other leg I have my favorite comic book character ever, Squee. Squee symbolizes the child in me, scared of the world, always getting put into odd situations and for some reason always getting out of them a bit traumatized but, o.k. Squee also has someone constantly watching out for him, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. No matter what happens to Squee, Johnny happens to be about and lends a bloody but, helping hand.
My arms are home to my largest pieces. On my upper left arm I have an interpretation of the Green Man. The Green Man, also known as Puck or Pan, is a character of celtic mythology who is a prankster, whimsical,and a spirit of nature. My right arm is sleeved in an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. Alice has a direct bering on my life as I feel like I'm constantly falling down the rabbit hole. My life is crazy but along the way I've meet some very colorful characters and every morning I wake up and everything seems to be alright.
I still need to upload a few more pictures of the back where I've had some more fill doen but, I plan on going to get some color work finished pretty soon, so I'll probably just get them uploaded after that.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Peanuts
No, this is not Charles Schultz. This is George Washington Carver, the father of the peanut. If you don't know who he is, do everyone a favor and prostrate yourself right now and beg for forgiveness, while apologizing profusely...DO IT NOW!! Not only did this man figure out over 300 uses for the peanut but, he actually turned down an BOATLOAD of cash (between patents and otherwise) just to continue researching what he loved, Agricultural Chemistry. Just wanted to give him the proverbial "shout out" and recognize that he was a truly great American. That, and the fact that I LIVE off of peanut butter. KAMPAI!...peanut.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
"All over the place" or "Anywhere the Wind Blows"
Wanna know what goes on in my head? It's frightnening but, I thought I'd just write down the stream of thoughts that are going on in my skull right now. It might be amusing or scary...
I really need to fix my grill. The damn hoses have been blocked for almost a month and I really want to make a London Broil this weekend. My son is having his 40 day blessing this weekend. Does anyone care that Ada Lovelace was considered the first computer programmer even though computers were not even invented until like 100 years later? I need to get out my guitar and tune it up again, I have like 10 songs that I need to write and the chord progressions are really starting to sound good. What Difference can the engine make? No one knows what the hell I'm talking about right now...Man, this cookie is really tasty, I like mint. I want to be a cowboy, that would really be cool, well, not really but I would like to know what it was like to live in the old west. I can't find my bowler derby. Shoot, I still owe Luke a new one. Did Eddy Vetter die? I can't remember... I Have SOOOOOO much work to do this weekend between writing all these school papers and getting the housework done. I need to paint my models and build my army. I was actually thinking about putting together my Tau but, I don;t have any troops. I could get some Fire Warriors but, I REALLY want to get the new Space Wolves, they're sweet. I don't want to work for Sally, I really want to work for Kathy again...I like working for Carrie, she is probaly the coolest boss I've ever had other than Martina, or Mr. Hurst, LOL he was awesome. Hello caller, please state the nature of your emergency, please tell me. At the end fo the day, when the buildings are razed what we see is black and grey, will we ever be the same will we ever be the same WILL WE EVER BE THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello caller, I think I have an emergency, will you please help me....Man, Antonio needs to call me so we can record that damn song...I told him he needs to get those beats recorded but, at least he's reading his books again instead of drinking. A man without faith will no longer be true, and a mind without purpose will walk in dark places. Black Library really needs to write, "The Spheres of Longing". They quote that book all the time but there is NO actual book, "The Spheres of Longing". I really need to make sure that my scripts work tommorrow, I have to get the rest of the Powerpoints done but those scripts need to work before that. Where is my Clash of the Tartans CD? I want to watch the old Johnny Quest movie. I hope it will only take two more sittings to get my arm finished. I feel so unbalanced with no color on half my tattoo. The caterpillar needs to be as colorful as the Mad Hatter. I wonder if I'll be able to get in that Software class next term. I also need to get SQL for dummies. I want to have that Access program written before my next Nutrition class. It would be so cool to be a baker. Storytelling needs to be a profitable profession, no degree needed BOO. I was totally born in the wrong century. Oooo, Iron Chef...
I really need to fix my grill. The damn hoses have been blocked for almost a month and I really want to make a London Broil this weekend. My son is having his 40 day blessing this weekend. Does anyone care that Ada Lovelace was considered the first computer programmer even though computers were not even invented until like 100 years later? I need to get out my guitar and tune it up again, I have like 10 songs that I need to write and the chord progressions are really starting to sound good. What Difference can the engine make? No one knows what the hell I'm talking about right now...Man, this cookie is really tasty, I like mint. I want to be a cowboy, that would really be cool, well, not really but I would like to know what it was like to live in the old west. I can't find my bowler derby. Shoot, I still owe Luke a new one. Did Eddy Vetter die? I can't remember... I Have SOOOOOO much work to do this weekend between writing all these school papers and getting the housework done. I need to paint my models and build my army. I was actually thinking about putting together my Tau but, I don;t have any troops. I could get some Fire Warriors but, I REALLY want to get the new Space Wolves, they're sweet. I don't want to work for Sally, I really want to work for Kathy again...I like working for Carrie, she is probaly the coolest boss I've ever had other than Martina, or Mr. Hurst, LOL he was awesome. Hello caller, please state the nature of your emergency, please tell me. At the end fo the day, when the buildings are razed what we see is black and grey, will we ever be the same will we ever be the same WILL WE EVER BE THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello caller, I think I have an emergency, will you please help me....Man, Antonio needs to call me so we can record that damn song...I told him he needs to get those beats recorded but, at least he's reading his books again instead of drinking. A man without faith will no longer be true, and a mind without purpose will walk in dark places. Black Library really needs to write, "The Spheres of Longing". They quote that book all the time but there is NO actual book, "The Spheres of Longing". I really need to make sure that my scripts work tommorrow, I have to get the rest of the Powerpoints done but those scripts need to work before that. Where is my Clash of the Tartans CD? I want to watch the old Johnny Quest movie. I hope it will only take two more sittings to get my arm finished. I feel so unbalanced with no color on half my tattoo. The caterpillar needs to be as colorful as the Mad Hatter. I wonder if I'll be able to get in that Software class next term. I also need to get SQL for dummies. I want to have that Access program written before my next Nutrition class. It would be so cool to be a baker. Storytelling needs to be a profitable profession, no degree needed BOO. I was totally born in the wrong century. Oooo, Iron Chef...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Nanner Banner: Warhol Edition
In honor of Mr. Warhol and my last post, I give you what I've titled, Four Nanners.
As Andy said, "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes..." (1979)
As Andy said, "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes..." (1979)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
What's in a name? About another $50.00....
When you go to the store, what prompts you to buy a product? The Good Value© brand crispy rice cereal or the "snap", crackle", and "pop" of Rice Crispies©. Now think about it they both make the crackling sound in milk, they both are made of rice they both have relatively the same nutritional value. What makes Rice Crispies© so much better? You got it, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Just because the box is blue and there are some cool cartoons on it, the cereal is supposed to be super fortified and needs to cost 5000% more right? You're paying for the comfort of knowing that you are eating a name. I was thinking about this today at work. Let me preface this with a few things. I shop at thrift stores, LOVE to save money, and the only name brand I really care about are my Converse, HAIL TO THE CHUCKS!. C'mon I got married in my Chucks, everyone has their vices so leave me alone...
Anyway, there's this one group of "ladies", I'm being very generous, that work in the other part of our building. Luckily, I don't have to hear the incessant babble about the newest Coach bag or Prada bag or Dolce & Gabbanananana glasses they just bought for $35,000. I just can't fathom how a person can justify paying an exorbitant amount of money for something that you can get at a fraction of the cost. It may be status thing , it may be a need to fit in, or just a simple preference. I remember back in middle school you HAD to have a Billabong jacket to even be considered normal. I never had one or wanted one but, then again, I was never really a normal kid (that, and I couldn't afford one, meh...) Back to the point, if you have two items identical in make, look, and aesthetics but one has a name brand on it, which one do you purchase?
In the book The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, he was quoted as saying, "What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it..........." (1975).
After I read that, it put things in perspective a little bit. Think about it, who else is eating the same Campbell's tomato soup as you? It may be in a different bowl, different spoon, or right out of the can but, it doesn't really matter. Regardless of how much you paid for it, how hot or cold it is, or where it came from, it's all the same soup. Speaking of which, I need to eat some dinner. Mmmmmm....Mmmmmm....Good.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Calling All Nanners!!!
I think there's something to say about propaganda artwork. Some are really soft and inspiring; they make you feel good to be upholding a cause. Others just feel gritty and mechanical, the way you might feel after watching an Otto Preminger movie with a small child in the room (Random side-note: I do suggest Trumbo's "Johnny's Got His Gun" for anyone who reads anti-war literature).
Anyway, whatever your take on art is, just wanted to share a piece of nanner-ganda that I made, enjoy!
Anyway, whatever your take on art is, just wanted to share a piece of nanner-ganda that I made, enjoy!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Archetype: Gunslinger
“Have you any idea of what a man must endure who leads such a life? No, you cannot. No one can unless he lives it for himself." -- Frank James
When you think of a gunslinger, what comes to your mind first? Is it the lawman cleaning up “Random Gulch” from the sinister bad guys, a young inexperienced outlaw on the run, or perhaps the charlatan huckster with the ace up his sleeve? Any of these images might give you the impression that when I mean gunslinger, I mean the cliché western type of Deadwood/Wyatt Earp character. In a way, you are correct however, I want to convey a different image so hear me out.
Clear your preconceptions, blank your thoughts, and from the deepest recesses of your mind think…
Truth…Consequence…Justice…Mercy…Fortitude…Fury…Apprehension…
Anything different? Perhaps you get a flash of a lonely man walking down a street trying to figure out how his life ended up the way it did. You might hear the grinding cough of a wheel-man waiting for his signal before plowing through downtown traffic after picking up that next big score. What about the sigh of a single mom working at the all night greasy spoon to support her 3 month old son and a slight drinking habit?
My point here is that this classic persona can be more than just a cardboard cut-out character. Regardless of incarnation, The Gunslinger has one attribute that can never be denied or hidden; a purpose. Think about it. Driven by an urge to go on, not bound by the laws of men, or just upholding a pure idealism to its fullest extent.
Stick to your guns and keep your aim true…
(Stopping while I’m ahead because my thoughts are getting messy…)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Deus Ex Machina
I always knew that I had aspirations in life beyond what I was applying myself to. About 6 years ago I was simply content to let every day run into the next. No cares, no worries, NO aspirations and then everything started to fall apart. I finally began to loathe the life that I had constructed for myself and I felt absolutely powerless to correct it. I was a big boy and made my own mistakes but, found a new direction when I meet my wife.
We saved each other from mutually horrible relationships and now here we are, married with a baby boy that will one day take over the world (Weapon X style).
When we first got together, about 5 years ago, we were both working paycheck to paycheck at a telemarketing firm as sales agents. I was also working for the School system as a Lunch Lady and part time janitor. It was a pretty fun time and yet there just felt like something was missing, a hole that no words could quantify. The telemarketing firm we worked for ended up closing and we were all laid off, which really sucked. I started working with my cousin at his pizza shop and that relationship ended after about 6 months. I was tired of his “chronic” bad habits (yes, pun intended) and the constant haranguing about being “too efficient” at what I did. I also, ended up leaving the school system after a prolonged illness and started working for another telemarketing firm called “Evergreen Sales”. This still make me laugh considering I DESPISE talking on the phone and, at the time, couldn't’t sell water to a man in the desert. Anyway, I’ve been at Evergreen ever since and have made a pretty good name for myself through my work ethic and determination. Right now I’m working under the Director of Training and Development and my duties as of right now are to overhaul the training program for our company (ya, it’s been a fun 3 weeks).
Still, no matter how much fulfillment I thought I had, there was always that hole. Through my “career” at Evergreen I’ve meet some pretty interesting, and derelict, people and very few have moved me in a personal way. I do have to say that when my friend Graeme moved away to finish his degree, I finally realized what that hole was; my education. I’d never finished going back to college and as good as Evergreen has been to me, I want more from my life than taking Supervisor calls from pissed off customers. I looked online for schooling and finally settled on Kaplan because they had a degree program that I was interested in: Nutritional Sciences. My goal is to be a registered dietitian at some point and hopefully, fulfill my lifelong dream of moving to Canada (different story for a different time).
I really enjoy going to school online. I’m usually a pretty laid back person so the fact that I can do the work in my PJ's is a BIG plus. My computer doesn’t judge me based on my hair and tats so I do like the fact that I don’t really have to have that much face to face contact however, I do enjoy the conversations with other people (how crazy is that). I’m a storyteller by nature so, talking and typing is more my style.
I’m really digging this whole “having to blog” thing for one of my classes. It gives me a creative outlet that I really don’t get anywhere else. I mean, playing the guitar and sewing sock monsters is one thing but, neither really interact with me (well the monsters….never mind ^_^). I also think that as people begin to express themselves more freely outside of a normal “classroom” atmosphere they can also begin to fully immerse themselves in what they’re doing. Am I awesome in a classroom? No. Can I entertain people and lead the new world order from the comforts of my living room? Absolutely.
We saved each other from mutually horrible relationships and now here we are, married with a baby boy that will one day take over the world (Weapon X style). When we first got together, about 5 years ago, we were both working paycheck to paycheck at a telemarketing firm as sales agents. I was also working for the School system as a Lunch Lady and part time janitor. It was a pretty fun time and yet there just felt like something was missing, a hole that no words could quantify. The telemarketing firm we worked for ended up closing and we were all laid off, which really sucked. I started working with my cousin at his pizza shop and that relationship ended after about 6 months. I was tired of his “chronic” bad habits (yes, pun intended) and the constant haranguing about being “too efficient” at what I did. I also, ended up leaving the school system after a prolonged illness and started working for another telemarketing firm called “Evergreen Sales”. This still make me laugh considering I DESPISE talking on the phone and, at the time, couldn't’t sell water to a man in the desert. Anyway, I’ve been at Evergreen ever since and have made a pretty good name for myself through my work ethic and determination. Right now I’m working under the Director of Training and Development and my duties as of right now are to overhaul the training program for our company (ya, it’s been a fun 3 weeks).
Still, no matter how much fulfillment I thought I had, there was always that hole. Through my “career” at Evergreen I’ve meet some pretty interesting, and derelict, people and very few have moved me in a personal way. I do have to say that when my friend Graeme moved away to finish his degree, I finally realized what that hole was; my education. I’d never finished going back to college and as good as Evergreen has been to me, I want more from my life than taking Supervisor calls from pissed off customers. I looked online for schooling and finally settled on Kaplan because they had a degree program that I was interested in: Nutritional Sciences. My goal is to be a registered dietitian at some point and hopefully, fulfill my lifelong dream of moving to Canada (different story for a different time).I really enjoy going to school online. I’m usually a pretty laid back person so the fact that I can do the work in my PJ's is a BIG plus. My computer doesn’t judge me based on my hair and tats so I do like the fact that I don’t really have to have that much face to face contact however, I do enjoy the conversations with other people (how crazy is that). I’m a storyteller by nature so, talking and typing is more my style.
I’m really digging this whole “having to blog” thing for one of my classes. It gives me a creative outlet that I really don’t get anywhere else. I mean, playing the guitar and sewing sock monsters is one thing but, neither really interact with me (well the monsters….never mind ^_^). I also think that as people begin to express themselves more freely outside of a normal “classroom” atmosphere they can also begin to fully immerse themselves in what they’re doing. Am I awesome in a classroom? No. Can I entertain people and lead the new world order from the comforts of my living room? Absolutely.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Photoshop, Nannerpuss, and World Domination
I just recently got another working copy of Photoshop and have been going nuts ever since. Through extensive online tutorials and just playing around I learned how to use the program and have been enjoying photo manipulation ever since. One of my hobbies, in addition to everything else under the sun, is to chop and edit photos for my own sinister purposes.
It all started when I used to play an old school TSR card game called "Spellfire". It's a D&D based card game that is really fast paced and can be played by LOTS of people at the same time. Anyway, one of the things I noticed on the forums is that people were making their own cards and submitting them as "online expansions" and TSR was actually endorsing these player made sets at tournaments!
So I figured, what the heck let's give it a whirl. Mine weren't as flashy as some of the other expansions but, it got me going with Photoshop. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the flash drive that had all of that information on it so, instead, here's a picture of a potato that looks like Cthulhu! RAWR!!!
Anyway, I though that I would go ahead and personalize this home for my inane blathering. As you can see, I changed the main display banner and in honor of my URL, I've created what will be the first in a line of "Nanner Banners". So look for them periodically for a quick giggle. Here's the first one just as a kick off.
I plan on doing sort of like an "Adventures of Nannerpuss" comic at some point but, that's another idea for another time. For those of you who don't know who Nannerpuss is, check out the below video. Yes, it all started as a Denny's commercial but, my wife watched it about 10 times a day for a month and finally I just got fed up with it and made her a stuffed Nannerpuss to laugh at. It pretty much did the trick and now it stands in the baby's room waiting for the little guy to be old enough to play with him.
So now that I've shared the fact that I'm a techno geek and a Susie homemaker, I feel it only fair to warn you that since I'm maintaining a blog now, you'll probably see LOTS of posts about really silly things that involve fleece, yarn, and in some cases other sculpting mediums. By the way, I'm learning how to crochet now so, that should prove to be really interesting. Jesus, this post makes me realize how bad the movie, "Daredevil" must have felt when I made fun of it for having no cohesion...
It all started when I used to play an old school TSR card game called "Spellfire". It's a D&D based card game that is really fast paced and can be played by LOTS of people at the same time. Anyway, one of the things I noticed on the forums is that people were making their own cards and submitting them as "online expansions" and TSR was actually endorsing these player made sets at tournaments!
So I figured, what the heck let's give it a whirl. Mine weren't as flashy as some of the other expansions but, it got me going with Photoshop. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced the flash drive that had all of that information on it so, instead, here's a picture of a potato that looks like Cthulhu! RAWR!!!
Anyway, I though that I would go ahead and personalize this home for my inane blathering. As you can see, I changed the main display banner and in honor of my URL, I've created what will be the first in a line of "Nanner Banners". So look for them periodically for a quick giggle. Here's the first one just as a kick off.
I plan on doing sort of like an "Adventures of Nannerpuss" comic at some point but, that's another idea for another time. For those of you who don't know who Nannerpuss is, check out the below video. Yes, it all started as a Denny's commercial but, my wife watched it about 10 times a day for a month and finally I just got fed up with it and made her a stuffed Nannerpuss to laugh at. It pretty much did the trick and now it stands in the baby's room waiting for the little guy to be old enough to play with him. So now that I've shared the fact that I'm a techno geek and a Susie homemaker, I feel it only fair to warn you that since I'm maintaining a blog now, you'll probably see LOTS of posts about really silly things that involve fleece, yarn, and in some cases other sculpting mediums. By the way, I'm learning how to crochet now so, that should prove to be really interesting. Jesus, this post makes me realize how bad the movie, "Daredevil" must have felt when I made fun of it for having no cohesion...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Get Inspired
This is the Thrice song "Moving Mountains" that I mentioned in my previous post. I've been listening to the "Earth" album again today and really felt like sharing. Enjoy lyrics, dig the tunes, and get inspired.
Moving Mountains
I speak in many tongues of many men
Argue with angels and they always win
But I don’t know the first thing about love
I prophesize and know all mystery
All living things are opened up to me
But I don’t know the first thing about love
Know the first thing about love
I have the keys to open many doors
Give all my possessions to the poor
But I don’t know the first thing about love
I’m moving mountains and have faith in me
Have faith enough to caste them to the sea
But I don’t know the first thing about love
I don’t know the first thing about love
all other things shall fade away
Love stands alone and still holds sway
all other things shall fade away
Into the ground into the grave
I give my body up into the flames
And never once did I deny your name
But I don’t know the first thing about love
I don’t know the first thing about love
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sonic Alchemy
While I was at work today a thought occurred to me, I listen to vastly different styles of music and love ALL of it. This really isn't different from any other day but, it became much more apparent to me for some reason so I thought I’d share one of my play lists with you. As I was doing some paper work, I popped one of my mix CDs in my computer to pass the time. I'm usually the first person in the building but I still use a headset because some of the music I listen to is best enjoyed at very high volume.
The first batch of songs on the disc was by a group called, Sons Of Liberty.
Sons of Liberty is a band that was started by Iced Earth frontman John Schaffer. The music is of similar style to Iced Earth but the lyrics have more political undertones, very much like the groups Bad Religion and Rise Against. There's something both energizing and infuriating about a song that preaches how this country is being run by a non-government agency (The Fed). I must admit, the album pales in comparison to a live Iced Earth show but, then again, that’s like saying fresh orange juice and frozen orange juice just don’t really taste the same. However, the next song group of songs was a welcome tranquilizer to the soapbox style vocals that Schaffer puts out.
Next on the list were some songs by my favorite band, Thrice. Saying they are my favorite band is a gamble but I absolutely love their music and have followed the band since they formed, in 1998, and have watched them metamorphosis into what they are today. They started with a style that was a mesh of hardcore and alternative and they have now settled into more of an experimental/indy genre. The song I listed to that really stuck out is named, “Moving Mountains” from the album "The Alchemy Index Vol.II". The Alchemy Index is a set of 4 discs that all feature one of the four elements (fire, water, air, earth) and each song on the CD is influenced by that particular element. There were several different songs from the Earth and Water CDs on the play list so, I was pretty mellow for most of the morning.
This was followed by Abney Park’s "Herr Drosslmeyer's Doll" and the title track from a limited release of the new Vernian Process album “Behold The Machine”. Both of these bands are labeled as "Steampunk" and their sound is pretty eclectic. Think of what a Vaudevillian would sound like if you gave them electric guitars and a computer loaded with drums beats, synthesizer melodies, and sound effects. The also fuse their sound with more traditional instruments such as violins, harpsichords (which could just be a synthesizer but who cares, it sounds awesome), and orchestral brass. So, I was in a pretty good mood when the next cache of songs assaulted me.
When I say I was “assaulted” by the next group of songs I’m being very lenient. There is nothing tender, mild or soft about Trivium or Five Finger Death Punch. I found these guys by accident, thanks to my wife, and have been listening to them ever since. Probably one of the best hardcore groups I’ve heard, Trivium uses very hard thrash core guitar riffs and screaming vocals for the verses in their songs but, follow it up with melodic almost harmonic chorus lines and sweeping guitar solos to keep the songs moving. I was almost shocked the first time I heard the song “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepadition” but I’ve been hooked on the group ever since. Trivium falls into the same category as groups like Killswitch Engage, 36 Crazyfists, and Underoath (all bands that I still enjoy today).
To cap it off, the last few songs on the CD just made me laugh because I had forgotten that I put them there. All of us grew up listening to certain music and I must say that I thank my parents for exposing me to all forms of classical, jazz, and rock (yes, even Bryan Adams). The two songs that stuck out to me were Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” and Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung”. I listened to these two again on the ride home just because they are really fun songs. I laugh every time I hear Peter Gabriel because I think of the dancing turkeys from the “Sledgehammer” video. Others songs at the end of the CD included, “A Fifth of Beethoven” by Walter Murphy and “Take 5” as performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. I know what you’re thinking, “How do you go from heavy metal to THAT?”. The simple answer is, as I stated at the beginning of the post, I love ALL styles of music (yes even some country...grumble grumble). Randomly, I’ve had that Reba McEntire song, “Fancy” going through my head for about a week now, talk about annoying...oh well.
I'll just blast it out with some Static-X later. Rock on people!
The first batch of songs on the disc was by a group called, Sons Of Liberty.
Sons of Liberty is a band that was started by Iced Earth frontman John Schaffer. The music is of similar style to Iced Earth but the lyrics have more political undertones, very much like the groups Bad Religion and Rise Against. There's something both energizing and infuriating about a song that preaches how this country is being run by a non-government agency (The Fed). I must admit, the album pales in comparison to a live Iced Earth show but, then again, that’s like saying fresh orange juice and frozen orange juice just don’t really taste the same. However, the next song group of songs was a welcome tranquilizer to the soapbox style vocals that Schaffer puts out.
Next on the list were some songs by my favorite band, Thrice. Saying they are my favorite band is a gamble but I absolutely love their music and have followed the band since they formed, in 1998, and have watched them metamorphosis into what they are today. They started with a style that was a mesh of hardcore and alternative and they have now settled into more of an experimental/indy genre. The song I listed to that really stuck out is named, “Moving Mountains” from the album "The Alchemy Index Vol.II". The Alchemy Index is a set of 4 discs that all feature one of the four elements (fire, water, air, earth) and each song on the CD is influenced by that particular element. There were several different songs from the Earth and Water CDs on the play list so, I was pretty mellow for most of the morning. 
This was followed by Abney Park’s "Herr Drosslmeyer's Doll" and the title track from a limited release of the new Vernian Process album “Behold The Machine”. Both of these bands are labeled as "Steampunk" and their sound is pretty eclectic. Think of what a Vaudevillian would sound like if you gave them electric guitars and a computer loaded with drums beats, synthesizer melodies, and sound effects. The also fuse their sound with more traditional instruments such as violins, harpsichords (which could just be a synthesizer but who cares, it sounds awesome), and orchestral brass. So, I was in a pretty good mood when the next cache of songs assaulted me.
When I say I was “assaulted” by the next group of songs I’m being very lenient. There is nothing tender, mild or soft about Trivium or Five Finger Death Punch. I found these guys by accident, thanks to my wife, and have been listening to them ever since. Probably one of the best hardcore groups I’ve heard, Trivium uses very hard thrash core guitar riffs and screaming vocals for the verses in their songs but, follow it up with melodic almost harmonic chorus lines and sweeping guitar solos to keep the songs moving. I was almost shocked the first time I heard the song “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepadition” but I’ve been hooked on the group ever since. Trivium falls into the same category as groups like Killswitch Engage, 36 Crazyfists, and Underoath (all bands that I still enjoy today).
To cap it off, the last few songs on the CD just made me laugh because I had forgotten that I put them there. All of us grew up listening to certain music and I must say that I thank my parents for exposing me to all forms of classical, jazz, and rock (yes, even Bryan Adams). The two songs that stuck out to me were Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” and Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung”. I listened to these two again on the ride home just because they are really fun songs. I laugh every time I hear Peter Gabriel because I think of the dancing turkeys from the “Sledgehammer” video. Others songs at the end of the CD included, “A Fifth of Beethoven” by Walter Murphy and “Take 5” as performed by The Dave Brubeck Quartet. I know what you’re thinking, “How do you go from heavy metal to THAT?”. The simple answer is, as I stated at the beginning of the post, I love ALL styles of music (yes even some country...grumble grumble). Randomly, I’ve had that Reba McEntire song, “Fancy” going through my head for about a week now, talk about annoying...oh well.
I'll just blast it out with some Static-X later. Rock on people!
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