emptying my brain onto the internet since 1998…
The general category for posts on this blog.
Sometimes I think to myself, “Why is this happening again?”
The answer I usually come to is that I didn’t learn what I was supposed to learn the last time. But, if that be true, why do all my lessons always have to come with a kick in the teeth?
I wish I had more to say than that, but that’s about all I can feel at the moment. The same mistakes, the same problems, over and over, crushing me.
As they say (or sing in this case), Money don’t get everything, that’s true, but what it don’t get I can’t use.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a fireman. If there was a ladder set up, I ran up it. I would pick things up and run up it. I would run up them, get stuff from whatever was at the top and bring it down. I used to volunteer to water the lawn because.. it was on fire, and I had to put it out! My imagination was and is quite vivid…
Of course, I also wanted to be an astronaut. And a policeman. And a racecar driver. A doctor. A computer hacker. A superhero. Etc, etc, etc…
See the one thing missing up there? Not once while I was growing up did I actually think to myself, “When I grow up, I want to make money!”
I have to admit, I’m pretty well off in some respects. My family is fairly normal. No divorce or discord. I drive a car that I always wanted. A Jeep Cherokee, 1998, before they started making them all rounded and bubble-like. I have a woman that I love.
I still, however, also have many problems. The issue I have with my problems is that they can all be solved with one thing.
Money.
I don’t have any esoteric, emotional, philosophical, mental, relationship problems. I only have bill paying problems.
That being the case, when people tell me, “Money isn’t everything.” or “Money isn’t the most important thing.” I get a bit upset, because, well, to me, money is the only thing that can solve the problems I have. And of course, people only say those things when they mean “I’m not going to give you any (more) money.”
Oh well… this is my random thought… back to humming “Gimme some money” by Spinal Tap.
That is how you build a webpage. One icon, one link, one article. Each done in stolen moments that your boss doesn’t know about.
Makes it much more romantic than it is. 
Its 2003. A new year, and an excuse to start over.
Sure, new year’s resolutions are a cop out, and a person should be strong enough to change at any time… however, how many people truely are? In my experience, people are better at keeping a change that started with an excuse than from within. More people quit smoking because of their wife, husband, or kids than have quit just because they wanted to be healthier. Of course, in the end it only stays if they truely want it, but it has to start somewhere.
So what shall I resolve to do in the new year?
To work. And by this I mean my job and all the things related to it. There are some skills I need to pick up, and some tools I need to learn.
To work out. Cause if I don’t I’ll turn into a fat bastard. The butterball is already growing underneath my shirt. No more fattening up the turkey for dinner.
To read. I miss reading, even though lots of books aren’t worth it. I need to get back into reading the occasional book. I’ve got shelves of unread ones anyway.
To write. Here, and elsewhere. And not just silly drivel about my life, but creative things, wild things, that stuff that swirls around in my skull whether dreaming or awake needs to find its way to paper.
There’s more, but I’ll probably put those off until next year. Don’t want to overload my excuse.
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
Joy to the world, peace on Earth, and all that crap…
Drive Safely.. see ya next year.
So, yesterday was my birthday. (send cash) And I did the usual dinner with my family. (money orders) We went to Chili’s. (checks) And it was good.
Then home for cake. (gold bars) Oh, and the presents! (loose change) I got a haul of loot. (pound notes) I got some clothes, which I actually was asking for. (yen) And I scored a couple of good DVDs: Brotherhood of the Wolf, and Near Dark. (monopoly money)
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed my day.
Because it is MY day.
Its MINE.
… while working your job…
The second most frustrating thing to run into is someone else doing a job that you think you can do better.
Seeing someone fumble and stumble when you believe you could do it faster, easier, and more effieciently is one of those heartbreaking, knuckle-whitening things that can drive you up the wall and over the edge.
The MOST frustrating thing to run into is someone else doing a job that you KNOW you can do better.
Seeing someone fumble and stumble when you are secure in the knowledge that you can do it faster, easier, and more efficiently, and more to the point HAVE done it in the past faster, easier and more efficiently, is one of those things that drive people to killing sprees.
I want to do my job well, but sitting here day after day, unable to do my job because someone less qualified than me can’t seem to get it together takes me from 0 to 60 on the frustration-o-meter in under 3 seconds of walking in the door.
Ahh… the busy life.
I’m preparing myself for Jodi’s return to England. And with that, trying to prepare myself for sole ownership and care of Dr. Jones.
And then I decided, “I’m not going to be busy enough, I think I should get a second job.”
So now 2 days or so a week I’ll be putting in hours with another job. Its contract/consulting type stuff… and it gets me work that is NOT on a help desk. YAY!!
Anyway, just as I was getting ready to start updating more (notice the new background and logo – or don’t notice if you’ve never been here before) I go and give myself LESS time to do it.
Oh well.
A couple of patches ago, Verant introduced for EverQuest a customizable User Interface. This new UI uses XML and a SIDL engine to basically allow someone to do anything they want with it.
Of course, the first people to slam out new designs were those people who play the game way too much. Every mod was aimed at less lag, more visible space. Slim, compact, no frills interfaces.
Jodi says to me, “I want to have a body to put my stuff on.” Or something close to that. My first reaction was to think it would be too big, bulky and cumbersome. It would take way too much space to put in a drawing of a person and to put all the items for the inventory on it.
After letting it sit in my head for a day, I started to try to come up with a layout for inventory boxes in the shape of a person, but without the actual person. The problem of course is that in the game you have boots, leggings, and a belt, then about 15 items from the waist up. Too much to get it to lay out well while keeping it compact.
Then, while sitting at work fighting sleep between calls on a sunday afternoon, my brain was electrified with inspiration.
From there, my mind raced, placing parts from the Inventory all over and around the image. I made three or four mock-ups, then I headed home for the day.
Once home, I started fiddling with numbers. I sized the image that I wanted for the background, then began pixel placing the inventory.
A few hours of work placing pieces and fiddling with the contrast and gamma correction on the image, and I was finished.
So here are some screen shots of the final product in 2 resolutions: 1024×768 and 1280×1024. And if you read this page and want to download the mod itself, its here.
Enjoy.
The IT market sucks in Atlanta.
I can’t afford to leave, and at the same time I can’t afford to stay.
3 years ago, I was gold. I was better than gold. I was a fast learner with a little experience in everything. I was a general practitioner of the Science and Medicine of Technology. The offers on the table were fifty-thousand a year. Minimum.
Today’s IT market is looking for the person I’ve never been, and without money cannot afford to become: The Specialist. Check the job pages. They want people with 3 or more years working on a single, likely non-widespread software package. They want someone with 10 years working in a particular single function who have mastered all skills required.
The General Practitioner is dead.
So… I am left with this. What am I supposed to do?
I can’t get a good job because I can’t even get interviews due to my lack of specific knowledge. I can’t afford to take classes, or buy books to attempt to learn those things on my own. I can’t afford the certification tests, without which no amount of knowledge I teach myself is valid in the eyes of recruiters.
Its the Catch-22 of the IT industry: To get the job, you need training, and to afford the training, you need the job.
I’m overqualified for the job I have, and underqualified to get another.
And we won’t even get into the whole “But the experience on your resume isn’t current” crap.
I’m angry.
I’m pissed.
I’m mad as hell.
And there’s damn little I see that I can do about it.