Paster Blaster

This weekend could have been a little stranger, if say I had been visited by Jimmy Hoffa. Instead, I went to the wedding of a former high school classmate over the weekend. This involved traveling to the coast and staying for a few nights. Now that seems fairly normal, but let me explain to you why its not.

First of all, let's start with the whole connection thing. The said former classmate was NOT a friend back in those days, nor now. In fact, he could have been responsible for early coining of the term "douche bag" when referring to losers. In this strange turn of luck, he just happened to be marrying the sister of Betsy's best friend. The tie in was that Bets' was going to support her friend and sister. I tagged along for reasons ranging from curiosity to wanting to get out of town for the weekend.

If High School taught me anything, it was to never be shocked when something unexpected happens. Now, I was being a silent observer for the most part. The rumor through the mill was that my old classmate wasn't the best of characters still to this day. This was coming from sources close to the bride and groom. From everything I saw, he was just your average guy now and didn't go out of his way to ruin your day anymore.

I entertained the thought of humiliating this guy in front of his entire family as revenge for the humiliation I endured over a decade ago. Perhaps I would grab the microphone and tell the story of how he ridiculed me for being a "Computer Geek" back when I was a Freshman. Maybe I would slip some ex-lax into his coffee. But, being the respectful and unmotivated individual I am, I instead played along with the chorus of well wishers and being cordial and congratulatory.

Thank goodness I don't often run into people I went to High School with. I certainly don't go out of my way to attend their weddings. There were others there I went to school with, but didn't recall the names of and was just fine with that. Bets' and I had a good time, but I couldn't wait to get out of there. It was a blast from the past I could have done without.

Back to the normal work week. I can't sleep thanks to not eating right all weekend and a double shot espresso after dinner this evening.

Normally,
Gregsta'

Liberated

I finally decided it was time to delete my MySpace page. I keep in touch with all my friends the traditional way, so the MySpace was not only redundant, but a source of wasting time and snooping on what my friends and acquaintances were up to in their lives. A serious waste of time.

I only feel bad that I never got around to reconnecting with some people who found me (or I found). Truth be told, since I hadn't made much effort in a year, I probably wouldn't have all of a sudden picked up and started dialogs with any of them. Not to say I dislike those long-lost friends, I just don't have the interest of reconnecting at this time.

This is a result of my quest to simplify my life where possible. While I watch the world around me get increasingly and unnecessarily complex, I doubt highly that there will be substantial long term benefits to doing so. In my mind, I would rather partake in a rich and meaningful existence - uncluttered by noise and complexity, than to immerse in too much fad-driven technological craze.

We'll see how it goes, but making things simple never made anyone go insane. Right? Right?

Heading to the beach tonight for a wedding.

More to come on that.

Freely,
Gregsta'

Late to my Party

New laptop today. IBM T61. Super Sweet.

Gotta go. Installing things.

Gregsta'

Lily

Lessons I Learned Yesterday

1. Interior Designers think too highly of themselves
2. No matter how many people you make happy, there will always be someone who's pissed that you made so many people happy
3. The shirt I'm wearing looks good on me (thanks, Bets'!)
4. Windows requires too many updates
5. Telecom is really fucking expensive

Lilyingly,
Gregsta'

Fuzzy

I love watching movies when people don't laugh at the things that make me about fall out of my seat.

Let's take Hot Fuzz - from the Shaun of the Dead folks. To me, it was fucking hilarious. Gory, yes.There were enough references to other cop flicks in this film to keep any cop film buff intrigued. But, for the average person, the references just fell on deaf ears and the shock of gory murders and injuries was what they remember best. So, needless to say - my future in-laws must now think I'm really weird - laughing at such a gory movie.

Bets' is studying this morning. I think I'm going to go back to bed and get a few more winks before getting up and doing much else. It's Sunday after all.

Gregsta'

Why I hate Corporate America

K-Mart detains woman for purchasing the wrong shoes
As soon as we stepped outside the store, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to face a serious-faced young man who identified himself as store security and asked me to step back inside. When he said the shoes I'd purchased were in the wrong box, I followed him inside, promising my family I'd be right back. Instead, I was led to a windowless security room in the back of the store, detained for an hour and accused of deliberately switching a more expensive item into a cheaper box. The adult flip-flops, it turned out, were $24.50, and the box had been for a child's size nine, with a $16.50 price. My stunned protestations and explanations were summarily dismissed. My driver's license and credit card were temporarily confiscated, I was told to expect a civil notice of a fine by mail, and finally, I was advised never to return to the store.

This is fucked up - a woman makes a perfectly honest mistake and is treated like a criminal. I guess this just goes to show how fucked up this world has really become. I think she ought to file a unlawful detainment suit against K-Mart. That's the equivalent of corporate kidnapping. If that were to happen to me, I'd open fire on the fuckers.

Time to go fuck up the local K-Mart.

Pissed,
Gregsta'

Das Good

It was another interesting day. Gooch visited the office to help out for a day, phones were deployed to users and we managed to get quite a bit done. Tomorrow is another day. Bets' is upstairs studying and I'm just getting done with cleaning up.

I wish I had more to write. I'm tired and going to bed.

Gregsta'

Ch-ch-changes

Fall is here. Leaves are starting to hit the ground in my neighborhood.

Bets' started school today.

This is our last full week at the office with our old phone system.

Gooch visits the office tomorrow. Sushi was today.

Last beach weekend for a few weeks awhile was this weekend.

I guess the more I think about it, I don't miss summer too much. Sure, I'd like to be lounging on a beach in Mexico or Costa Rica, but I'm not.

Gotta make dinner and hit Putters later.


Gregsta': Brief

Late Post

It was bound to happen eventually. Construction workers ruptured a gas line downtown right around rush hour.

As you might have guessed, I couldn't get my car out of the garage, as they had evacuated the building for safety.

I got home just before 7:00 this evening. I'm about as pleased as one can be.

Time to start looking for a job that isn't in the middle of a construction/war zone.

Delayingly,
Gregsta'

Induce

Microsoft is funny with promotional videos. Observe:

If you need help getting your lunch to come back up, this might help.

I'm glad that they made some improvements to their marketing campaigns.

At least they've gotten away from this on moderm promotional materials .

Tubingly,
Gregsta'

Domino Effect Radio - Alli and Traffic

Listen to Episode 3 of The Domino Effect Radio

This one is much better than episode 2 - Promise!!

Radioingly,
Gregsta'

Learn how to park

Parking Lot Etiquette Lesson 1: Waiting for a Spot
If you insist on waiting for a spot in a busy parking lot, DO NOT sit there, your blinker on, holding up traffic waiting for Grandma to finish loading her groceries and leave! It's rude, dangerous and super white-trash. Instead, park in the back of the lot and hike off that cheeseburger and fries you had for lunch. If you don't make it to the front door and die of a heart attack, then so be it. Furthermore, if you don't like busy parking lots, try shopping at a non-box-store in your local neighborhood. Can't afford to? Did you consider what it costs you in gas to travel all that way to the Walmart?

Teachingly,
Gregsta'

I, Sapien

I like cheese.

Quickly,
Gregsta'

Geek-day

Ah, Saturday. One without any requirements or expectations for getting anything done. These are the days that are far and few between. I'm going to take today to do little, but yet not become a blob of laze on the couch.

I'm going to head off to Borders to find a good book on CSS. It's all a part of a clever plan to learn some new skills. If I can pull this off, I can recode a bunch of websites I did in frames and tables over the last few years and make them "Web 2.0-like". Of course, I have a long way to go to understand Ajax, PHP, ASP and Flash - but it's a good start.

It's not Saturday. It's Geek-Day.

Geekingly,
Gregsta'

Technology Crisis

I'm an American Information Technology Specialist. I'm lazy, greedy, dumb and wasteful.

It's sad that a country that loves it's technology so much (i.e. America), is desperate to bring qualified engineers into the country from elsewhere on the grounds of both lower wages and higher skill levels. Apparently there are a lot more geeks outside of this "great" country that are smarter and cheaper than myself and others who are more qualified. Just read any diatribe on the H1-B Visa issue that's flying around the tech world right now. We consume, but we cannot produce.

Competition isn't just about saving money - it's about having a superior product or (more commonly) service. It's a simple cause and effect: If American workers can't produce innovation for the same price as workers in other countries, why hire them? This is the age of the global economy has produced a crisis.

Meanwhile, rather than trying to better themselves and be more competitive in a growing arena of outsourced positions, Technology workers are getting out more and more. From the looks of it, I can't see a lull in this trend anywhere on the horizon. It would appear that if things continue to go the way they are going now, we're going to have a country devoid of domestically produced Technology and Technology support. You think it's bad calling Tech Support now? Wait until you get someone in China who can't speak Engrish berry good.

Obviously, we started out with high expectations for wage, job autonomy and security. Now, all of that has been thrown out. Either innovate your job, or be outsourced. You may work for less money in the future. You may be expected to know more and continue to improve your education.

So why would anyone want to endure such "torture"? There are plenty of opportunities in this great countries for ex-techies.

I can't give you a good answer without being labeled a hypocrite or fascist. Oh wait, when has that ever bothered me?

If you are truly concerned with the American Dream, it's your duty to raise the bar. Learn a new programming language - trust me, they're getting easier. Accept that you're going to work harder (possibly longer hours). Heck, if you do it right, you likely can work fewer hours and produce more because you are smarter. Don't give up just because you don't get much of a raise or have to take a pay cut. Remember that we here in America have been living off of the spoils of the rest of the world for decades. Spend some time in Mexico or Cuba and you'll see what I'm talking about. We're got it good here, Chuck. All of a sudden, driving a Hybrid Camry vs. a Ford Excursion seems like a really, really good idea. Living in a 1300 sq ft house instead of a 3000 sq ft house is an upgrade.

Change sucks. Guess what? It's going to happen to every other industry, too. Tech is the easiest to do this to. We have the Internet, which has made a commodity out of international communications. Good work, geeks. Wrote your own demise, huh?

Back to work. I've got to learn Cascading Style Sheets and ASP this weekend. Bite me, uneducated slobs.

Slobingly,
Gregsta'

Vino y Portas

Last night, 4 of us polished off 3 bottles of wine and a bottle of port.

Did I mention the port had been fortified with Everclear?

Now I know.

Knowing IS the battle.

My new favorite quote:

"Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

CleanEndingly,
Gregsta'

Why can't I remember?

I changed my password about 3 weeks ago, as per my own policy. It seems as though I got too used to my old password, as I continually try to type the old password.

About 2 weeks ago, I setup a container on my desk, in which I deposit a quarter every time I forget my password. The fund will be used to buy lunch for my network administrator.

I'm up to $4.25.

Creature of habit? Yes.

Changingly,
Gregsta'

Missing? Not really.

I left the house without my Treo. I didn't feel naked or otherwise disconnected. I feel... released. Released from the leash for just one day. I shouldn't get used to it. Eventually, Animal Control is going to find, capture and throw me in the back of a truck and hold me until I've bene reunited with my Treo. Only then will I be released back into public.

Kennelingly,
Gregsta'

Morbidly Obtuse

Day 2 of a 3 day weekend. Where did day 1 go?

It's challenging to make something mundane like, say yard work, sound anything but mundane. This was the epitome on my existence yesterday - trimming hedges, pulling weeds and raking up debris. Wow. Exciting.

Domestication is fun. I get to avoid going out and doing dangerous things like hang-gliding and Bocce Ball. Instead, I enjoy the safety of my back yard with garden implements that have been featured in horror movies previously. Excitement isn't what I'm looking for these days. Stability, solidarity and diversification are my new mantras.

'scuse me... I've got to my WA* meeting.

Lettingly,
Gregsta'

*WA: Wussies Anonymous