Real-life zombie attack
This has to be the funniest thing I've read all day. Update, 7/14: What do zombies do after a hard day of causing panic? They go to McDonald's, of course. This photoset has had me in stitches.
How, exactly, am I supposed to obtain experience if...?
Earlier today, I applied for an IT&S Manager position with a local hospital. Late this afternoon, I received a reply:
Christopher,
I appreciate your quick response. The hospital insists that all candidates have a healthcare background in a hospital setting.
I am sure that your experience and background will generate interest in the IT industry. Unfortunately, I am unable to assist you, being focused entirely in the healthcare industry.
Good luck,
Name removed Now, this is for an IT position, mind you. So they want their IT people to have a background in the healthcare industry. I can understand that. It makes sense to a degree. However, and someone correct me if they know of some cloning procedure to which the rest of us are not privy: people are not born with, nor enter the workforce, with any particular experience whatsoever. For me to obtain a "healthcare background,"it stands to reason that someone has to take a chance and give me a shot, does it not? It's the age-old catch-22: "We're looking for someone with experience in this area." "How am I supposed to gain experience in this area unless someone gives me a chance at it?" It's not like I can up and start my own hospital tomorrow to gain a "healthcare background."
Eric rocks
I have been lamenting the fact that I did not go with a Flickr Pro account a few months back, instead opting for another service. At the time, it was probably the reasonable decision, as the Flickr Pro accounts didn't have all of the amenities they do now. So I had actually been considering anteing up for the Flickr Pro account, because I realized I would use it more than the other service. Tonight, out of the blue, during an IM conversation, Eric offers me a free-for-a-year Flickr Pro account he was given as a in-beta Flickr Pro account holder. "Problem" solved! However, even though I am filled with gratitude for Eric's generosity, he doesn't want word getting out. He's trying for that curmudgeon rep, and if he appears all nice and everything, that will never happen. So make sure you don't link to this post any where. Maybe you shouldn't even be reading it. Maybe I shouldn't be writing it. Maybe I should delete it...
Someone is just asking for a lawsuit
Spotted today on the Dallas Craigslist job boards: "Attractive Female Office Needed"
iSync 2.1 breaks T616 synchronization, sort of
After reading Colin Robertson's report that his Sony Ericsson T616 would no longer sync with his PowerBook via iSync, I set out to test this myself, since I have the same phone.
I have a 12-inch, 1 GHz PowerBook running Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.1, and I had just installed iSync 2.1 yesterday when it was released by Apple. It was then that I noticed I hadn't synced my PowerBook with the phone in a while, though the 'Book had synced with .Mac.
When I attempted to sync the two devices, iSync told me it was unable to do so with the T616. I decided to remove it as a device, then re-add it. iSync picked up the phone during its device scan, but informed me it would be unable to sync with it.
I then turned to my other Mac, a 450 MHz Cube still running 10.3.9. I added the phone to the older version of iSync installed there, and it synchronized with no problem.
About half an hour later, I decided to revisit the PowerBook's iSync version, and this time, the software recognized the phone, added it as a device, and synchronized with it. Since then, after making minor modifications to some contacts, I have made two more successful syncs with the T616. It would appear one simply needs to remove the device from iSync, wait a bit, then add it again.
Reverse DNS Lookup
Not sure where I found this, as it was jotted on a card in my Hipster. A free service, you can perform reverse DNS lookups. If you don't know what DNS is, don't bother clicking.
Best wishes
It really helps, when you have events set on a certain day, and you don't look at your calendar every day, to set reminders. So I missed Rick's birthday this past Saturday. Happy Belated, my friend! And I missed Lee's by a few hours. (You could have said something during our IM conversation, you know, Mr. Bennett. You are the older and wiser one, after all.) My best wishes and heartfelt prayers for the both of you.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
Only it's on the ukelele. Tom sent this to me via IM, and I see he's blogged it as well. It's really quite mesmerizing. This guy is good.
Retrophisch Road Rule No. 1
When making a right-hand turn at an intersection where you have a green light, it is not necessary to come to a full and complete stop before turning, thus forcing the vehicle behind you to wait, then miss the green as it turns yellow, then red. I only bring this up because it happened to me today. Twice. Within eight minutes of one another.
The 100-post barrier
I happened to look at my archives page a moment ago, and noticed that in any given month, I have never cracked triple digits with the number of monthly posts. The closest I have come was 94 posts in February 2003. I just found this interesting, and thought I would share.
FedEx clock is slow
No, I'm not referring to a particular clock FedEx has. I'm referring to this amusing time diversion, the graphics of which fail to keep pace with actual time. The second count isn't fast enough. Using the analog clock on my wall, just above my monitor, I conducted a pseudo-scientific test. When the Just In Time clock reached the next :00 on the second count, I began counting ticks on my analog clock. Sixty seconds later, the Just In Time clock had only made it to thirty seconds in its count. At this juncture, some of my dear readers may be pondering why I went through so much trouble for something that has been posted merely for fun. Well, fun or no, if you're going to pass something off as a clock, at least get it to tell the time correctly. I have seen other such graphic-based clocks around the Web, and they count the time correctly. [With a wave of the fin to the MAKE News No. 20 e-newsletter.]
Policies toward terrorism
So what’s amazing isn’t the number of attacks we’ve lived through -- it’s the lack of attacks. September, 2001. Bali, Indonesia, October 2002. Madrid, Spain, March 2004. Now London, July 2005. On average the terrorists seem able only to strike once a year. And note the death tolls: U.S., some 3,000. Bali, 202. Madrid, 191. London, about 50.
Now, if terrorists could strike more often, of course they would. If they could kill more people in each strike, of course they would. So it’s reasonable to conclude that, since so much time goes by between attacks and since fewer people are killed in each attack, our policies toward terrorism are working.
What are those policies? Well, fighting back, for one.
The 2006 Civic
Please understand that the following comment is coming from a Honda convert. My wife drives an Odyssey minivan. I drive the Pilot SUV. I plan on my next vehicle being the new Ridgeline truck. I'm a Honda fan, okay? Could Honda have dropped the ball any lower on the Civic's redesign? Bleh.
Jihadists-R-Us
As eight of the most powerful world leaders were convening in Gleneagles, Scotland for the G8 Summit trying to figure out how to battle poverty, salvage human lives, stop the AIDS epidemic in Africa and keep our globe from warming ... what does militant Islam do to help? Well, they set off four bombs in the heart of London killing 50+ people and seriously injuring over 700.
Nissan to take on Porsche?
I read this story with some amusement. If Nissan is serious about competing with Porsche, maybe they can start with modding up their interiors so it doesn't feel like you're surrounded by cheap plastic (which you indeed are). I've sat in a 350Z, and it's nearly as bad as any given Chevrolet. I have often contrasted the 350Z against the Maxda RX-8, the interior of which looks and feels much more refined. Besides, I don't see the California Highway Patrol ordering 200 Zs. ;-)
The real extremists
David Limbaugh reveals the Democrats' plan to paint constitutional originalists as "extremists":
They are hoping to convince the people that any nominee who is reputed to be an originalist is an extremist -- "outside the broad mainstream." Because they view the Court as a co-equal policy-making branch of government, they are treating the confirmation process as another national election.
Their bogus praise for O'Connor is simply the first step in their ruse. By lauding her as a "mainstream conservative," they lay the groundwork for labeling anyone less activist than her an extremist.
A majority is a majority is a majority
There is an idiom in the sports world that "a win is a win is a win." In other words, it doesn't matter if you've beaten your opponent by 50 points or one. It doesn't matter if you win the race by .0001 of a second, or if you blow away the field, with the rest a full lap behind you. A win is a win is a win. So, in the case of politics, is a majority a majority a majority. It doesn't matter if the majority is 80-20, 70-30, or 50.1-49.9. A majority is a majority is a majority. I only bring this up because there is no apparent end to the pitiful whining eminating from the political left. I suppose when you have nothing constructive to offer the nation, the best you can do is complain about what the party in power is doing, without offering any alternatives whatsoever. Jeff has delivered, in few words and using simple math so the left can keep up, a majority primer on why the Republicans have a large enough majority to legitimately run the country.
Supreme consequences
There is no greater threat to American liberty and the future of the Republic than a central government not bound by the limits and constraints placed upon it by our Constitution. Thus, it was providential that on the eve of Independence Day this past week, there were two significant Supreme Court assaults on liberty, capped by the retirement announcement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (with that of Chief Justice William Rehnquist likely to follow). It was providential because, as we contemplated the birth of American liberty and the sacrifice it has taken to sustain it, we were confronted with what has become the greatest threat to our liberty -- judicial tyranny from within, or what Thomas Jefferson called the "despotic branch."