Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Operating systems as beers

DOS Beer -- Requires you to use your own can opener, and requires you to read the directions carefully before opening the can. Originally only came in an 8-oz. can, but now comes in a 16-oz. can. However, the can is divided into 8 compartments of 2 oz. each, which have to be accessed separately. Soon to be discontinued, although a lot of people are going to keep drinking it after it's no longer available.

Mac Beer -- At first, came only a 16-oz. can, but now comes in a 32-oz. can. Considered by many to be a "light" beer. All the cans look identical. When you take one from the fridge, it opens itself. The ingredients list is not on the can. If you call to ask about the ingredients, you are told that "you don't need to know." A notice on the side reminds you to drag your empties to the trashcan.

Windows 3.1 Beer -- The world's most popular. Comes in a 16-oz. can that looks a lot like Mac Beer's. Requires that you already own a DOS Beer. Claims that it allows you to drink several DOS Beers simultaneously, but in reality you can only drink a few of them, very slowly, especially slowly if you are drinking the Windows Beer at the same time. Sometimes, for apparently no reason, a can of Windows Beer will explode when you open it.

OS/2 Beer -- Comes in a 32-oz can. Does allow you to drink several DOS Beers simultaneously. Allows you to drink Windows 3.1 Beer simultaneously too, but somewhat slower. Advertises that its cans won't explode when you open them, even if you shake them up. You never really see anyone drinking OS/2 Beer, but the manufacturer (International Beer Manufacturing) claims that 9 million six-packs have been sold.

Windows 95 Beer -- You can't buy it yet, but a lot of people have taste-tested it and claim it's wonderful. The can looks a lot like Mac Beer's can, but tastes more like Windows 3.1 Beer. It comes in 32-oz. cans, but when you look inside, the cans only have 16 oz. of beer in them. Most people will probably keep drinking Windows 3.1 Beer until their friends try Windows 95 Beer and say they like it. The ingredients list, when you look at the small print, has some of the same ingredients that come in DOS beer, even though the manufacturer claims that this is an entirely new brew.

Windows NT Beer -- Comes in 32-oz. cans, but you can only buy it by the truckload. This causes most people to have to go out and buy bigger refrigerators. The can looks just like Windows 3.1 Beer's, but the company promises to change the can to look just like Windows 95 Beer's - after Windows 95 beer starts shipping. Touted as an "industrial strength" beer, and suggested only for use in bars.

Unix Beer -- Comes in several different brands, in cans ranging from 8 oz. to 64 oz. Drinkers of Unix Beer display fierce brand loyalty, even though they claim that all the different brands taste almost identical. Sometimes the pop-tops break off when you try to open them, so you have to have your own can opener around for those occasions, in which case you either need a complete set of instructions, or a friend who has been drinking Unix Beer for several years.

AmigaDOS Beer -- The company has gone out of business, but their recipe has been picked up by some weird German company, so now this beer will be an import. This beer never really sold very well because the original manufacturer didn't understand marketing. Like Unix Beer, AmigaDOS Beer fans are an extremely loyal and loud group. It originally came in a 16-oz. can, but now comes in 32-oz. cans too. When this can was originally introduced, it appeared flashy and colorful, but the design hasn't changed much over the years, so it appears dated now. Critics of this beer claim that it is only meant for watching TV anyway.

VMS Beer -- Requires minimal user interaction, except for popping the top and sipping. However cans have been known on occasion to explode, or contain extremely un-beer-like contents.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Emotional extremes

The aspiring psychiatrists were attending their first class on emotional extremes. "Just to establish some parameters," said the professor to the student from Arkansas, "What is the opposite of joy?"

"Sadness," said the student.

And the opposite of depression?" he asked of the young lady from Oklahoma.

"Elation," said she.

"And you sir," he said to the young man from Texas, "how about the opposite of woe?"

The Texan replied, "Sir, I believe that would be giddy-up."

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Friends

When I think about the people that I have in my life today, they are much different than the people who were in my life, 10, 15 and 20 years ago. I can't tell you who was my best friend when I was 13 years old. I don't think I had one. Oh yeah, there was Jasen. He was my only friend in the 7th grade. I don't know why he was my friend... I treated him like trash. The older me knows this now.

When I was 18, my best friend was my bible study teacher. She taught me about Jehovah and the bible. She was only about three years older than me, but she treated me like an equal. She gave me good advice. Her name was Dania. I wish we had kept in touch.

Today... well, I'm done giving people labels. One thing that I've learned over the years is that no relationship is ever exclusive. You can label someone your best friend, but that doesn't mean that they feel the same way about you. They may not feel as sure about your relationship as you do. This used to bother me a lot and I'll admit that it still does. But I really can't hold that against anyone. I love hard and strong. When you have me as a friend you get me 100%. I don't let too many people in behind the wall, so if you get in, you get all of me. Not everyone can give that much of themselves and I am slowly coming to accept that.

But I wonder if the people that are in my close circle of friends now are the kind of people that I would've been friends with them in the past. I've been told that I was a brat when I was little, so I really don't know. I do know that I'm glad to have the friends that I have.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

A word from the dentist

Hello children,
If you want to avoid cavities, be sure to floss every day. A good time to do it is when you are brushing your teeth at night before you go to bed. (Yeah, he got me on that one too!)

You don't want to be like me.

Brush your teeth!

I'm begging you :(

Freakish Snow

I was watching the morning news this morning and they were talking about lake effect snow in the northern counties. I didn't really pay too much attention because I'm not in a northern county, so what do I care.

That was until I looked out my window. Dude, it was snowing wild giant flakes and they were blowing every where.

I bundled up, debated on taking my camera to capture the freak storm, and headed out into the snow. Now, for those of you who know me, you know that I live literally three minutes from work, five if the light turns red. I swear to you, by the time I got to work, the snow stopped and it was as if nothing happened.

Weird...

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Just to make this clear...

I feel like I shouuld clarify I said Monday night. I think I may have come off as a bit of a brat because I don't care for the general education classes that I have to take. I really don't hate them that much. But I do have an illustration that will clarify how I feel:

It's like this, everyone hates toll booths. They slow you down and they cost you money. But in the back of your mind you know that the money that they collect helps keep the highways maintained. You still don't like them, but you figure out a way to deal with them. I still trying to figure out how to deal with my toll booths.

Hope that explains what I meant.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Fork in the road

For some time now, I've been wanting to jump in and do more with this web design thing (I should probably stop calling it a thing). For the past couple of years, people have asked me to do websites for them and I never have the time or I just don't want to do because of the type of site they want.

About a year ago a friend asked me why I keep turning people down. She asked me if I keep saying no because I'm afraid to take a risk. In a way, website design is like giving birth. Unless the client has a set idea in mind, they expect you, the webmaster, to come up with a masterpiece. You have to come up with the site that will help them promote their business and make them millions while you sit at home trying to figure out how you're going to pay your rent and keep the lights on because they didn't pay you what you are actually worth... (Sorry, I'm eight days away from pay day and completely broke). If the client doesn't like what you do, it feels like they're you telling that your kid is ugly. I can't take that kind of rejection.

I decided to go back to school last year summer to get my bachelor's degree. I did it because I really want to teach some online courses at my community college(cc). I graduated from CC in 2001 and really had no intention of going for a bachelors. I don't have the attention span for it. I like to take a class and use my new found knowledge immediately. A university education seemed like a long drawn out process to me, filled with classes I'll never need or use. I'm still not completely convinced that I'll ever use Intro to Physical Science or American Government in the real world. But I have to take them.

So here's where I stand. I'm working fulltime and taking classes parttime. The bachelor's degree will definitely be a resume booster. But in the meantime, I hate turning people down. But what I hate more is seeing people with less skills than I have getting paid for developing not so great sites.

I don't know where to find the happy medium or if there even is one for me.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Long Day, Late Night

Today was a day of rest for me. I felt physically drained when I woke up this morning. Yesterday was hectic and I had very vivid dreams. My brain probably never calmed down.

I went to McDonald's this morning to use one of the coupons that came in the mail last week. McDonald's sent out coupon books and apparently everyone was in McDonald's redeeming the coupons this morning. I got a steak and egg bagel sandwich. The steak, if you could call it that, wasn't that good.

Anyway, the rest of the day happened... I didn't get that much more energy. I just wanted to go to sleep. But I didn't. Now, I have an outline to do and I can't get it started. I have an idea of how I want the outline to flow, but getting it on paper just isn't happening. I'm usually ok to do this sort of thing in a crunch. But it's just not happening. If I don't turn it in within the next 28 minutes, I'll get late points.

Well, at least I'll be consistent...
I'm going to bed...

Friday, January 20, 2006

TGIF

It's been a busy week. Even though we only worked four days, it feels like I've worked two weeks straight. There's so much going on...It makes my head swirl.

I guess part of it is that I'm finally keeping up with my homework. I'm at a point where I'm not trying to catch up. I've actually gotten quite a bit done on my research paper. I started out thinking that I wouldn't find a lot of information about blogging on college websites. But I've found a number of articles that support blogging on college websites.

With all this information, I feel energized to get this paper done. I don't know if I'll give it to my boss. I may, just for grins. But I've been working on her to give the idea some thought. We'll see how things go.

I am grateful, though, that it's Friday. I'm so tired.

Night, y'all.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Rate Your Professor

All I have to say is that ratemyprofessor.com probably saved me from a frustrating semester with a tirant of a professor. I didn't get a good impression of her from her course outline, syllabus, class procedures...basically nothing made me feel good about being in her class. So I looked her up and low and behold, no one had anything positive to say about her.

So I switched sections to a professor who had good ratings. What a great site!

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The Dormitory Boys

This is the funniest thing I've ever seen. I actually saw this on VH1, but a few minutes ago, I saw the link as one of the Blogger Picks.

http://twochineseboys.blogspot.com/

Turn on your speakers... it is soooo worth it.

I guess this is what I missed out on by not going to a university and living on campus.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Mayor Ray Nagen

I feel sorry for the people of New Orleans. They have a mayor who actually made the comment that God is punishing New Orleans with hurricanes. The increase of hurricanes is caused by environmental factors caused by human beings. Mankind is destroying the environment causing the increase of natural disasters.

It's pretty sad when a politician can't admit his own mistakes and has to resort to blaming God when disaster recovery isn't handled properly. What an idiot!

Monday, January 16, 2006

NPR News

I have been listening to NPR news lately. I think it's important to keep up with the news. The thing is that I don't understand what most of the news is about...at least not the political stuff.

Iran may have nuclear arms... we don't know for sure. But we do know that everyone is nervous about it.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Nothing to say.

I have no clever witicisms for you today. I'm in pain...lots of pain. I'll have more to talk about tomorrow.

Ok, just this one thing...

I found out that I have arthritis in my jaw... that's what is causing the pain.

Alright, time for flexiril...

Monday, January 09, 2006

Don't give in

I think every one of us has at the very least, a tiny spect of racist inclination. No matter how evolved we become and how accepting we are, there are always those lingering questions.

Are Jews really cheap?
Are African-Americans really lazy?
Do Asian people smell like garlic?
Are Whites better with money?
Are all grounds people Mexican?
Are all Muslims terrorists?

The thing to remember is that these are stereotypes.

Stereotype - an idea that many people have about a thing or a group and that may often be untrue or only partly true.

See, the thing is, none of us is perfect. So as long as we are imperfect, we will never completely let go of stereotypes. We can train ourselves not to believe those stereotypes. But there will always be something that we believe about a race of people.

Does this mean it's ok to be a racist? Of course not. My point is that we have to work hard at not giving into stereotypes.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Uninvited

These words have resonated with me since the first time I heard them. They touch my soul in a way that is hard to describe. Plus, the melody is so haunting and powerful. It's so simple with only about three chords. But it's one of my favorite songs.

artist: Alanis Morissette
title: Uninvited


Like anyone would be
I am flattered by your fascination with me
Like any hot-blooded woman
I have simply wanted an object to crave
But you, you're not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight

Must be strangely exciting
To watch the stoic squirm
Must be somewhat heartening
To watch shepherd lead shepherd
But you you're not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight

Like any uncharted territory
I must seem greatly intriguing
You speak of my love like
You have experienced love like mine before
But this is not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight

I don't think you unworthy
I need a moment to deliberate

Celebrity Fit Club 3

I really want to get in shape. I want to do it by the end of March. But really need to work hard at it. I haven't exercised consistently for two months, following my surgery and I can feel the immobility taking its toll on my body.

I watched about 10 hours of the Biggest Loser show last week and was totally inspired to get going on the workout trail. When season three of Celebrity Fit Club premiered last week, I was psyched and ready to go.

Then I saw the train wreck that is Jeff Conaway. He's so messed up on prescription medication and it appears that he doesn't realize how bad it really is. The thing that I get out of CFC3 is that 1.) I never want to get so out of shape that my body starts falling apart on me and I need prescriptions drugs 2) if I need prescription drugs, I don't want to be dependent on them and 3) I really want to exercise so that we don't even have to mention 1 and 2 ever again.

So here's my goal. I found that walking did the trick for me as far as shedding the pounds. So I my goal is to get to the weight room and do at least 2-3 miles a day, 5 days a week. I also want to cut down on the sugar, meat and (Gina forgive me) caffeine. My doctor keeps telling me to watch my caffeine intake and I certainly don't want to die over a caramel macchiato.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Poked and Prodded

I went to get my blood work and x-rays done today. I waited a long time for both. But at the radiology center, I met a lady who was a regular and she made me feel at ease about getting x-rays. Her name was Joan and she was probably in her 60s. She told me that she had had breast cancer and stomach cancer. Both were gone now, but she still comes to get x-rays every three months because they won't make sure everything is still clear.

I'll get the results of my x-rays on Thursday when I go in for my follow up. In the meantime, I have some pain medication to help me sleep. I just took some and already, I'm ready to go to sleep.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

16 days later

I know I mentioned a headache a week or so ago. I still have it. I went to the doctor today and he thinks it may be muscular. It appears that my neck may be having spasms. Or it could be TMJ or good old fashion migraines. Tommorrow I'm getting some blood work and x-rays. Dr. Goodwin said that he'll know more after he gets the results back. In the meantime, I have some muscle relaxers to help me sleep.

Of course, I can't take them tonight since I have to get my blood drawn tomorrow. But I think that after I get the x-rays done, I'm coming right back home and get in the bed and see where life takes me.

Here's some links to check out:
What is Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ)?

What are common migraine triggers ?

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Oh Happy Day!

Guess who got an A in her Advanced Internet class? Oh yeah, that's right!!! Here's my final project, which garnered an impressive 100% and the love and respect of millions worldwide. (That was a little over the top, I know. But who can blame me?)

http://nova.umuc.edu/~ct386f03/website/index.html

Next semester's schedule

CMST450 Web Design Methodology and Technology
Prerequisite: CMST 386. An in-depth survey of the design and delivery of professional Web content. Focus is on using comprehensive tools and the latest technology to enhance the Web presence of a small business. Topics include multimedia and interactivity. Online commerce and Internet security issues are discussed. Assignments include a comprehensive project. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: CAPP 498D or CMST 450.


IFSM Intro to Computer Based Systems (Don't laugh - I have to take it)
(Course activities require access to a standard office productivity package, i.e., word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation software.) An overview of computer information systems in which hardware, software, procedures, systems, and human resources are explored in relation to their integration and application in business and other segments of society. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: BMGT 301, CAPP 101, CAPP 300, CMST 300, IFSM 201, or TMGT 201.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Back to Work

I went back to work today. working at computerIt's great to have a job that gives you a winter break. And it's paid time! You can't beat that with a stick.

So it was back to the cube today for another day of crunching the numbers. At the beginning of each month I run statistics on the web site to see how many people have visited our web site. Believe me, it isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds. It will be interesting to see how our yearly statistics look.

I don't mean to make my job sound so exciting. I don't want to make you jealous. I can see it now... the jealousy is eating you up inside. You can't stand it. You want to smack me.

LOL
dorky nerd

Monday, January 02, 2006

Wise words for the new year

Today I was listening to two CDs in the car that I haven't listened to in a long time, Mary J. Blige - No More Drama and Madonna - Bedtime stories. I really like these CDs but it was strange because I got so inspired by two songs.

No More Drama
Mary J. Blige - No More Drama
I don't know
Only God knows where the story ends for me
But I know where the story begins
It's up to us to choose
whether we win or lose
And I choose to win


Bedtime Stories
Madonna - Secret
You gave me back the paradise
That I thought I lost for good
You helped me find the reasons why
It took me by surprise that you understood
You knew all along
What I never wanted to say
Until I learned to love myself
I was never ever lovin' anybody else


These are such powerful words. Words that inspire me to keep reaching for my goals, to keep me motivated to learn to love myself more and most importantly words that help me accept that I alone am responsible for my happiness.