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Friday, August 8, 2014
Home For the Moment
I just got my laptop back with a clean install of Windows 7. I am now trying to rebuild all the favorites for the sites I use on a regular basis to my browser(s) as I use Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. I have to do this because, for example, Fatwire works well in Chrome, but not IE and TeamTrack works well in IE, but not in Firefox, and Firefox has the awesome add-on for viewing and editing HTML code that is on a web page and seeing the results of those edits in real-time.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Ebola
I agree with this analysis of Ann Coulter's opinion about the Ebola virus and the doctor that came back to the United States from Africa with this disease. Could he not have done work in the United States?
Darth Vader for President
Keep the mask on Darth and you could win the presidency of the United States!
Yes, I know Darth Vader is a fictional character. Sheesh!
Yes, I know Darth Vader is a fictional character. Sheesh!
His Holiness and the Internet
The Pope of the Catholic church came out against teenagers using the Internet and my fear is that Catholics will read the words of His Holiness and declare the Internet off-limits. That would be unfortunate.
Tick Tick Tick
This week has been a blur - it seems like the hours melt from one to the next.
Today is our wedding anniversary - 21 years as a husband. I don't write about our relationship very much as I consider it outside the scope of this blog.
Today is our wedding anniversary - 21 years as a husband. I don't write about our relationship very much as I consider it outside the scope of this blog.
Loaner
My primary work laptop has been in tech support all week. I checked out a loaner laptop on Monday. I had to check that one back in to get the loaner laptop I'm using now because the first loaner laptop didn't have Microsoft Office installed and today, Sonia and I are going to be combing through a user guide that is maintained in Microsoft Word.
Regarding my primary laptop, the technical support contact with whom I am working emailed me yesterday. She had a question regarding Dreamweaver CS5. I had the stand-alone version installed, but it is no longer available as a stand-alone. The question was, "Do you still use [Dreamweaver]?"
I have always liked Dreamweaver. I remember a decade ago writing up a short justification for why Dreamweaver should be purchased. I was at a different company then and I was using RoboHelp to write online Help. At the time, the built-in HTML editor for RoboHelp added proprietary HTML code. At the time, the thought was that if the online Help were ever moved to a different tool, having RoboHelp-specific code would result in extra work to move to the new tool. Since that time, apparently, the built-in HTML editor has removed the functionality that inserts that extra proprietary HTML code. I haven't touched RoboHelp for a few years now so I don't really know more about RoboHelp in its current state.
Over the years, my use of Dreamweaver has decreased. We are using Confluence more and more. In fact, some of the HTML pages I used to work on are now being converted to Confluence. I think the need for using Dreamweaver will continue to decline but I also think it's a great tool to have installed. I honestly don't know when the need to code HTML will arise but I like knowing that I have Dreamweaver installed to use for when that situation would come up. My manager agreed.
All that is background for the email I got from the technical support contact that was sent last night:
Excellent, then I will work to get you an upgrade to the suite then. My apologies for not getting back to you sooner, but I had something come up yesterday that took me away from the office all day today. I am online at home answering some emails. I will be in touch tomorrow with your laptop in hand. Thank you for being so patient.
Regarding my primary laptop, the technical support contact with whom I am working emailed me yesterday. She had a question regarding Dreamweaver CS5. I had the stand-alone version installed, but it is no longer available as a stand-alone. The question was, "Do you still use [Dreamweaver]?"
I have always liked Dreamweaver. I remember a decade ago writing up a short justification for why Dreamweaver should be purchased. I was at a different company then and I was using RoboHelp to write online Help. At the time, the built-in HTML editor for RoboHelp added proprietary HTML code. At the time, the thought was that if the online Help were ever moved to a different tool, having RoboHelp-specific code would result in extra work to move to the new tool. Since that time, apparently, the built-in HTML editor has removed the functionality that inserts that extra proprietary HTML code. I haven't touched RoboHelp for a few years now so I don't really know more about RoboHelp in its current state.
Over the years, my use of Dreamweaver has decreased. We are using Confluence more and more. In fact, some of the HTML pages I used to work on are now being converted to Confluence. I think the need for using Dreamweaver will continue to decline but I also think it's a great tool to have installed. I honestly don't know when the need to code HTML will arise but I like knowing that I have Dreamweaver installed to use for when that situation would come up. My manager agreed.
All that is background for the email I got from the technical support contact that was sent last night:
Excellent, then I will work to get you an upgrade to the suite then. My apologies for not getting back to you sooner, but I had something come up yesterday that took me away from the office all day today. I am online at home answering some emails. I will be in touch tomorrow with your laptop in hand. Thank you for being so patient.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Drummer with an Opinion about Bassists
I am a drummer, not a bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, or vocalist. I drum. Therefore, I have no idea if naming Duran Duran's John Taylor as "the best bassist" is right or wrong. Yet, while I have no experience with the instrument, that result is the discussed in this article.
It's also a terrible idea to name one person as "better" than another. It's a slippery slope. Considering drummers, I cannot say who the best drummer is. I like heavy metal / hard rock and, because of that, I consider Neil Peart, Lars Ulrich, and Tommy Aldridge to all be fantastic. That's because of the music I listen to on a regular basis. But that's metal / rock. How likely would my favorite drummers be mentioned by fans of jazz or country or funk or blues or any other genre? It all comes down to personal preference.
That's why the Modern Drummer magazine annual reader's poll always split drummers up by genre.
Always.
It's also a terrible idea to name one person as "better" than another. It's a slippery slope. Considering drummers, I cannot say who the best drummer is. I like heavy metal / hard rock and, because of that, I consider Neil Peart, Lars Ulrich, and Tommy Aldridge to all be fantastic. That's because of the music I listen to on a regular basis. But that's metal / rock. How likely would my favorite drummers be mentioned by fans of jazz or country or funk or blues or any other genre? It all comes down to personal preference.
That's why the Modern Drummer magazine annual reader's poll always split drummers up by genre.
Always.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Technology's Wretched Stench
Nope, it doesn't look good for my laptop. I took it down to the technical support area and I could see in the eyes of my co-worker that she didn't think there was much of a chance to recover my laptop. Maybe it's for the better. Sometimes, it's easier to rebuild from scratch (or from memory). I am pretty sure that the laptop was creating unnecessary AppData subfolders on my PC that were chewing up a lot of room on the hard drive.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Over
Today is the day that we have been counting down to as we're leaving Elkader at the conclusion of vacation. We're going to Dubuque for the birthday party and then onward to North Liberty to get ready for tomorrow morning which is when we get back into the routine.
I didn't get a chance to work on the laptop yesterday so I hope that I can spend a little time tonight. I think my primary concern is to get the files I don't want to lose off the hard drive and onto my external hard drive. I think the primary file that I need is an Excel spreadsheet with the logon / password credentials for the different environments I use at work. I hope I can get into the C drive by using Hiren's utilities. Unfortunately, I think it's going to be 8 tonight before I can sit down in the den and try.
I think it's going to be a hectic week. There's something planned each day outside of work as the summer schedule turns into the kids' school schedule. Alex and Megan both have a week to cram in as much summer as they can. Alex has a week to prepare for golf tryout on Monday, August 11th. Megan has trips to Adventureland on Tuesday and to Lost Island on Thursday and works the other days in the week.
I think work will be busy for me. I also need to get the Yamaha electronic drums ready for the gig. I think I need to practice each day to be ready for rehearsal on August 11th. I want to get myself into gig shape in addition to figuring out how to program the sets so I can have a stick click on some songs and tambourine on others.
And if all of the things above were not enough, I need to get back to the conversion project and resume ripping CDs. I think I have under 2000 to go, but that may be overestimated. I simply cannot afford to not work on the project if I am going to meet my goal of being done by December 1, 2014.
The next project that I will start working on is not going to be the 1000 cassette tapes. I have to get started on scanning the volumes of photos. I can't remember how many albums we have in the basement, but I will ballpark the number at, oh, 5000 pictures. I have not counted. The cool thing is that I got a scanner from the Elkader library for free. I am anxious to get it down in the den and try it out. I bought a $36 cord at Radio Shack in LaCrosse, WI, but with the laptop issues, I couldn't even find out if it works. It's a leap of faith that it will work!
It's 8:33 so I ought to move along.
I didn't get a chance to work on the laptop yesterday so I hope that I can spend a little time tonight. I think my primary concern is to get the files I don't want to lose off the hard drive and onto my external hard drive. I think the primary file that I need is an Excel spreadsheet with the logon / password credentials for the different environments I use at work. I hope I can get into the C drive by using Hiren's utilities. Unfortunately, I think it's going to be 8 tonight before I can sit down in the den and try.
I think it's going to be a hectic week. There's something planned each day outside of work as the summer schedule turns into the kids' school schedule. Alex and Megan both have a week to cram in as much summer as they can. Alex has a week to prepare for golf tryout on Monday, August 11th. Megan has trips to Adventureland on Tuesday and to Lost Island on Thursday and works the other days in the week.
I think work will be busy for me. I also need to get the Yamaha electronic drums ready for the gig. I think I need to practice each day to be ready for rehearsal on August 11th. I want to get myself into gig shape in addition to figuring out how to program the sets so I can have a stick click on some songs and tambourine on others.
And if all of the things above were not enough, I need to get back to the conversion project and resume ripping CDs. I think I have under 2000 to go, but that may be overestimated. I simply cannot afford to not work on the project if I am going to meet my goal of being done by December 1, 2014.
The next project that I will start working on is not going to be the 1000 cassette tapes. I have to get started on scanning the volumes of photos. I can't remember how many albums we have in the basement, but I will ballpark the number at, oh, 5000 pictures. I have not counted. The cool thing is that I got a scanner from the Elkader library for free. I am anxious to get it down in the den and try it out. I bought a $36 cord at Radio Shack in LaCrosse, WI, but with the laptop issues, I couldn't even find out if it works. It's a leap of faith that it will work!
It's 8:33 so I ought to move along.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Missing Operating System
When I fix my work laptop so I don't see this error message, I will be very happy. I think it's such a waste of my efforts to be always trying to fix my technology devices. There's the Elkader PCs, the external hard drive crash that I dealt with that caused the reconversion project and others. I go from issue to issue and I can never really predict what will come up next. This laptop has been a challenge for me. A while back, I had the issue with not being able to connect to the network at work. I had the issue with not being able to connect to my network at home. Now this.
The worst part? I am, essentially, offline and trying to get it fixed. I have almost reached my data limit on my phone with 2 more days to go. I don't have any time to go to the campground office, which is where I can connect to WiFi, today. We're going to play miniature golf in Prairie Du Chien, WI, today. In fact, I think we are leaving Elkader in about one hour.
I'm not sure when I will be able to update the statistics for the conversion of my CDs. I think I will be up late Sunday night in an effort to get the work laptop to work.
The worst part? I am, essentially, offline and trying to get it fixed. I have almost reached my data limit on my phone with 2 more days to go. I don't have any time to go to the campground office, which is where I can connect to WiFi, today. We're going to play miniature golf in Prairie Du Chien, WI, today. In fact, I think we are leaving Elkader in about one hour.
I'm not sure when I will be able to update the statistics for the conversion of my CDs. I think I will be up late Sunday night in an effort to get the work laptop to work.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Twice
Megan and I just returned from seeing The Fault in our Stars at the Elkader theater. It's the second time I saw it and Megan's third time.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Vacation
Taking on the risk of data charges as I ride home from La Crosse, Wisconsin, with Karen driving home, I have nothing but positive things to write about when I think about Coalition Drum Store. I was blown away by how friendly and the vibe of the store. The owner and I talked about what kind of drums I have and about the inability to locate a reasonable remote hihat that is not $300.
While Alex and I were in the store, a drummer came in to trade in a Ludwig Vistalite snare drum. It was a clear drum, like mine, but with a smoke flavor. I think if I had stayed in the store longer, I would have walked out with it.
I think I would like to return to the store in the future with the idea of spending money and time there. Karen, Megan, and Lou and Jean were in the truck, waiting for us.
We're going to cabela's now.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Rotten Tooth
I don't care what Dave Mustaine says about former members Nick Menza and Marty Friedman not returning to Megadeth, recently comparing the potential for them to return like putting a rotten tooth back in your mouth, "Rust in Peace" is a phenomenal CD and the CDs they made after "Rust" with that lineup were the best in the Megadeth discography. Nick Menza is a monster drummer, Marty Friedman plays outstanding leads, and the four of them, created outstanding music. I wish they would reunite. That's not to take away from the current drummer and lead guitarist; it is the nostalgia of what Menza, Friedman, Ellefson, and Mustaine created that makes me long for the reformation of that lineup.
I feel the same way about KISS. I would love to have Ace Frehley and Peter Criss figure out all their bullshit with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Why they couldn't do it for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction came up again. Paul and Gene feared that there would be too much talk about a reunion. And I get that. They are touring with Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer now and, despite a setlist that is heavy on the old tunes, I get that Paul and Gene want to forge ahead.
That doesn't mean me, as a music fan, cannot long for the reunification of these bands (Megadeth & KISS) to reunite their lineups that created music I love.
I feel the same way about KISS. I would love to have Ace Frehley and Peter Criss figure out all their bullshit with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Why they couldn't do it for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction came up again. Paul and Gene feared that there would be too much talk about a reunion. And I get that. They are touring with Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer now and, despite a setlist that is heavy on the old tunes, I get that Paul and Gene want to forge ahead.
That doesn't mean me, as a music fan, cannot long for the reunification of these bands (Megadeth & KISS) to reunite their lineups that created music I love.
In My Brain
While I am in Elkader, I don't have the opportunity to listen to a lot of music. Thus, here's the song that entered my brain yesterday.
Reconversion Update
I just ran the DOS command that tells me I now have 58131 File(s) in my collection. Perhaps that seems impressive on the surface. Scraping off a layer, I find that there are a lot of duplicates.
There are 607 files found when I run this command: dir *(2).mp3 *(2).wma *(3).mp3 *(3).wma /s
58131
- 607
57524
There are 607 files found when I run this command: dir *(2).mp3 *(2).wma *(3).mp3 *(3).wma /s
58131
- 607
57524
The Fault in Our Stars
At the Elkader theater, there is only one movie screen and this week, it is a movie Megan had seen with Logan, called "The Fault in Our Stars." It is based upon a book with the same name and, while I haven't read the book, I found this review from http://johngreenbooks.com/the-fault-in-our-stars/, which includes these reviews:
The movie was tremendously awesome. It is probably one of the best movies I have seen in a long time because of its honesty. It deals with terminal cancer but, right from the beginning, it isn't making the disease anything beyond what it is: a terrible situation.
Proudly, I will say that I cried a lot during the movie. As I walked out of the theater, I heard a young lady tell an older lady that she almost fell asleep while watching it. I turned to them and said, "I couldn't fall asleep, I was too busy crying."
- "A blend of melancholy, sweet, philosophical, and funny. Green shows us true love…and it is far more romantic than any sunset on the beach.” -New York Times Book Review"
- “One doesn’t like to throw around phrases like “instant classic” lightly, but I can see The Fault in Our Stars taking its place alongside Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret in the young-adult canon. Green’s book is also a good example of why so many adult readers are turning to young-adult literature for the pleasures and consolations they used to get from conventional literary fiction.” -Time
The movie was tremendously awesome. It is probably one of the best movies I have seen in a long time because of its honesty. It deals with terminal cancer but, right from the beginning, it isn't making the disease anything beyond what it is: a terrible situation.
Proudly, I will say that I cried a lot during the movie. As I walked out of the theater, I heard a young lady tell an older lady that she almost fell asleep while watching it. I turned to them and said, "I couldn't fall asleep, I was too busy crying."
Plans for the Week
The plans for this week and our vacation in Elkader are somewhat in flux, somewhat in concrete.
- Monday - It's 7:48 AM now. At 10:30, Lou, Alex, Jim Rousch, and I are going to golf at the Elkader golf course. After golf, we are getting wood for our campsite so, if we have a fire at our site, we have our own wood. There is Bingo tonight in Prairie Du Chien, WI, and since it is only on Mondays, it is required.
- Tuesday - I think we are taking a day trip to LaCrosse, WI.
- Wednesday - There was talk about going fishing.
- Thursday - uncertain
- Friday - uncertain
- Saturday - uncertain
- Sunday - we will pack up and go to Dubuque for Alice Link's 90th birthday party and then, from there, head home to North Liberty
Online and Alive!
When we camp in Elkader, there is Wi-Fi available for a fee. Since we are paying for our campsite until early September and will be in Elkader for the next 6 weekends (I will be up here for 5 of 6 because of the Uncle Rico the Band gig at the Elk's Club on Saturday, August 23rd but Karen and Alex are camping that weekend), it makes sense to pay $20 for the ability to come up to the office and sit outside on the patio chair with my laptop plugged in, the music from the last Uncle Rico the Band rehearsal to play on my phone, and to mess around with the external hard drive. Predicting that I would have Wi-Fi available, I even brought a spindle of CDs to rip while I sit here.
My plan is to be up to use Wi-Fi in the mornings we are up here in Elkader. Despite my best efforts, I tend to not sleep in, even when I am on vacation. I consider myself an early riser, a morning person, a person that likes to get up early and, probably after 5 minutes, I am no longer tired. It's the staying up late that gets to me. I infamously fall asleep in front of the campfire until, with a sudden jolt, I wake up and go to bed. That's just the way I am.
My plan is to be up to use Wi-Fi in the mornings we are up here in Elkader. Despite my best efforts, I tend to not sleep in, even when I am on vacation. I consider myself an early riser, a morning person, a person that likes to get up early and, probably after 5 minutes, I am no longer tired. It's the staying up late that gets to me. I infamously fall asleep in front of the campfire until, with a sudden jolt, I wake up and go to bed. That's just the way I am.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Drumming News
- I never really, truly, followed the story of why drummer Chris Slade stopped playing in AC/DC, but this article sheds some light on it.
- Crappy news from Mr. Big. Their drummer, Pat Torpey, has Parkinson's Disease. There's also information on their official website.
To our fan's around the world:
Pat Torpey, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and unfortunately will be unable to perform all of his normal drumming duties on our upcoming World Tour in support of our new album, …The Stories We Could Tell.
From Pat: “I’ve been dealing with Parkinson’s symptoms for the past couple of years and only recently received a confirmed diagnosis as symptoms worsened. I intend to fight the disease with same intensity and tenacity that I drum and live my life by and will continue recording and performing, as always, to the best of my ability."
We intend to announce a drummer in the near future whom will handle most of MR BIG’s drumming duties on the Fall 2014 tour but expect Pat to jump on the drums on suitable live songs as well as participating in the our acoustic set.
Thank you for your unwavering support and we'll see you out there soon!
MR. BIG
Chapter III of PW News
Finally, the other major story going on is that TNA has returned to a ring with 6 sides. Many of the wrestlers did not want this for various reasons. The way I see it, the 6 sided ring distinguishes TNA from WWE and, if TNA ever wants to compete with WWE, they need to be different. The only other "main" professional wrestling organization is Ring of Honor and their only hope of becoming a legitimate competitor with WWE and TNA is to get a budget. Their television broadcast looks awful and they are in small dinky venues. The only thing ROH has going for them is that AJ Styles left TNA to go to ROH. I don't see Styles as an icon in the world of professional wrestling and I don't think his involvement with ROH can elevate the organization.
Anyways, TNA and ROH are simply made up of pro wrestlers that either have never wrestled in the WWE or they are wrestlers that left the WWE for some reason. Considering that Kurt Angle is the current main player for the faces and that MVP is the current main player for the heels, TNA seems like an organization without a flow. There's also Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer and Rhino - all who had runs in WWE at various points in time - so there's a nostalgia element to watching TNA.
I hope that TNA does emerge from their current distant second standing in the professional wrestling companies that are around. While they don't need to worry about competing with the PWA, they do need to create a quality product. I hope they do.
Anyways, TNA and ROH are simply made up of pro wrestlers that either have never wrestled in the WWE or they are wrestlers that left the WWE for some reason. Considering that Kurt Angle is the current main player for the faces and that MVP is the current main player for the heels, TNA seems like an organization without a flow. There's also Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer and Rhino - all who had runs in WWE at various points in time - so there's a nostalgia element to watching TNA.
I hope that TNA does emerge from their current distant second standing in the professional wrestling companies that are around. While they don't need to worry about competing with the PWA, they do need to create a quality product. I hope they do.
More Pro W News
CM Punk built up a following in the WWE, going from a hated heel to an iconic major player. After a PPV, he "quit" the WWE. Recently his contract ran out and despite fans cheering for his return, he has not returned and, per his recent comments, and with his profile being moved to the WWE alumni page, it would seem he is done.
That said, this is professional wrestling. Anything can and does happen within this twisted and crazy pseudo-world.
That said, this is professional wrestling. Anything can and does happen within this twisted and crazy pseudo-world.
Pro Wrestling Update
My attention is elsewhere. I am not keeping up with the happenings with WWE or TNA, at least on this blog.
For WWE, the biggest news is that Sting was at Comic Con in an appearance with Hulk Hogan, Daniel Bryan, and Paul Heyman. The words circulating around the Internet is that, simply, Sting wants to wrestle the Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXI in 2015. Sting is 55 and the Undertaker is (I think) 49. The draw of the two icons that haven't crossed paths finally colliding has to be marketed correctly. Personally, what I'd rather see is the two of them teaming up in a tag team match at Wrestlemania. That would send shivers through the fans. Instead of being rivals, here's what I would do.
The night after the last PPV in 2014, Monday, December 15, 2014, would be my target date. It is the night after the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV and that's when I would have Sting show up, unadvertised. I would not make him a special guest or announce in any way that he was going to be present. That means not leaking his appearance to the Internet in any way, shape, or form - not even with a teaser trailer about "someone" showing up on Raw. Anyways, out of nowhere, Metallica's "Seek and Destroy" starts up. Mind you, I would also *not* start out Raw with this segment. I would give the opening segment to the winner(s) and loser(s) of the PPV from the night before. Normally, the first segment sets up the main event for the night and, okay, sure, set that up if it needs to be done.
Maybe 75 minutes into the show, this segment starts. "Seek and Destroy" starts up. A lot of WWE fans are not going to be sure what is going on until Sting walks out. He goes over, stands in front of the WWE logo and says, "Who would have thought this night would happen 20 years ago?" or something like that, to give the marks on the Internet fodder for gossip. Sting enters the ring and says, "Good evening. My name is Sting. I am here tonight to tell you that hell has frozen over and I am in this ring." He can talk about his history in professional wrestling, perhaps mentioning WCW, and then, after a brief promo, have John Cena come out. They shake hands. Cena tells Sting it is a honor to be in the same ring and that, someday, he hopes the two of them can work together. About that time, and here's where I get slightly cliched, Cena's enemy from TLC comes out and challenges the two of them to a 3 way dance. Throughout the promo, there's no indication where Sting stands, whether he's aligned with Cena or the enemy.
Later, in the main event, the three are fighting. Cena turns heel. He joins up with the enemy and the two of them beat the hell out of Sting. Then, and only then, the Undertaker's bell chimes. He appears in the ring and looks at Sting. The two of them take out Cena and the enemy. Raw goes off the air.
For WWE, the biggest news is that Sting was at Comic Con in an appearance with Hulk Hogan, Daniel Bryan, and Paul Heyman. The words circulating around the Internet is that, simply, Sting wants to wrestle the Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXI in 2015. Sting is 55 and the Undertaker is (I think) 49. The draw of the two icons that haven't crossed paths finally colliding has to be marketed correctly. Personally, what I'd rather see is the two of them teaming up in a tag team match at Wrestlemania. That would send shivers through the fans. Instead of being rivals, here's what I would do.
The night after the last PPV in 2014, Monday, December 15, 2014, would be my target date. It is the night after the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs PPV and that's when I would have Sting show up, unadvertised. I would not make him a special guest or announce in any way that he was going to be present. That means not leaking his appearance to the Internet in any way, shape, or form - not even with a teaser trailer about "someone" showing up on Raw. Anyways, out of nowhere, Metallica's "Seek and Destroy" starts up. Mind you, I would also *not* start out Raw with this segment. I would give the opening segment to the winner(s) and loser(s) of the PPV from the night before. Normally, the first segment sets up the main event for the night and, okay, sure, set that up if it needs to be done.
Maybe 75 minutes into the show, this segment starts. "Seek and Destroy" starts up. A lot of WWE fans are not going to be sure what is going on until Sting walks out. He goes over, stands in front of the WWE logo and says, "Who would have thought this night would happen 20 years ago?" or something like that, to give the marks on the Internet fodder for gossip. Sting enters the ring and says, "Good evening. My name is Sting. I am here tonight to tell you that hell has frozen over and I am in this ring." He can talk about his history in professional wrestling, perhaps mentioning WCW, and then, after a brief promo, have John Cena come out. They shake hands. Cena tells Sting it is a honor to be in the same ring and that, someday, he hopes the two of them can work together. About that time, and here's where I get slightly cliched, Cena's enemy from TLC comes out and challenges the two of them to a 3 way dance. Throughout the promo, there's no indication where Sting stands, whether he's aligned with Cena or the enemy.
Later, in the main event, the three are fighting. Cena turns heel. He joins up with the enemy and the two of them beat the hell out of Sting. Then, and only then, the Undertaker's bell chimes. He appears in the ring and looks at Sting. The two of them take out Cena and the enemy. Raw goes off the air.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Best Movie EVER!
The other night, there was nothing on television so when I came across the best movie ever made, in my opinion, I watched it again. I have the movie on DVD and I know the majority of the dialog by heart. I don't care, though. This movie is my favorite.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Dead Daisies
A band called The Dead Daisies are opening for Def Leppard and KISS tour when the bands come to Des Moines on Wednesday, August 20th. Who are the members of this band?
The band features
The band features
- vocals: Jon Stevens (Noisewoks, INXS and rumour has it a 90s Van Halen audition)
- guitar: Richard Fortus (Guns N' Roses/Psychedelic Furs)
- guitar: David Lowy (Mink/Red Phoenix),
- bass: Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake),
- keyboard: Dizzy Reed (Guns N' Roses/Hookers & Blow)
- drums: Brian Tichy (Ozzy Osbourne/Whitesnake/Billy Idol)
Rise Hand to Face and Perform Abrupt Slap
Sometimes, I read things that seem like jokes (like the Planned Parenthood working telling a 15 year-old about sex shops and fetishes) and it's difficult to grasp where the person that is being described is coming from. Despite the posts on this blog with the "Republican Tendencies", I consider myself open-minded. That said, if Nigel Sykes ends up winning $260,000 ... we have a real problem within America. I had never heard of Nigel Sykes until reading today's Fox News First email newsletter:
A man who pleaded guilty to robbing a Delaware pizza parlor is suing the establishment for its employees being too rough with him when they tackled him to keep the gunman from getting away. From The News Journal: “In his self-written complaint, [Nigel Sykes] admits, ‘I committed a robbery at Seasons Pizza’ on Maryland Ave. on Nov. 30, 2010, just before 8 p.m. He admits he ‘displayed’ a handgun and that an employee – a delivery driver and one of the named defendants – ‘handed me $140.’ He says he then started to make his way forward in the store when a different employee grabbed him from behind and other employees wrestled the gun from him, with at least one shot being fired during the struggle. ‘That is when the assault began,’ according to Sykes' suit. ‘All of the Season's Pizza employees participated in punching, kicking and pouring hot soup over my body. I was unarmed and defenseless and had to suffer a brutal beating by all of the employees of Seasons Pizza,’ he wrote, adding the beating knocked him unconscious.” Sykes is seeking more than $260,000 for his pain and suffering.
Again, wow.
A man who pleaded guilty to robbing a Delaware pizza parlor is suing the establishment for its employees being too rough with him when they tackled him to keep the gunman from getting away. From The News Journal: “In his self-written complaint, [Nigel Sykes] admits, ‘I committed a robbery at Seasons Pizza’ on Maryland Ave. on Nov. 30, 2010, just before 8 p.m. He admits he ‘displayed’ a handgun and that an employee – a delivery driver and one of the named defendants – ‘handed me $140.’ He says he then started to make his way forward in the store when a different employee grabbed him from behind and other employees wrestled the gun from him, with at least one shot being fired during the struggle. ‘That is when the assault began,’ according to Sykes' suit. ‘All of the Season's Pizza employees participated in punching, kicking and pouring hot soup over my body. I was unarmed and defenseless and had to suffer a brutal beating by all of the employees of Seasons Pizza,’ he wrote, adding the beating knocked him unconscious.” Sykes is seeking more than $260,000 for his pain and suffering.
Again, wow.
Interesting Article
This is an article about a conference the author attended that attempted to answer the question, "Does God love women who have abortions/?" My initial response was "Yes."
I really like the summary of the conference in the final two paragraphs:
... Democrats have a habit of changing their language when the current language is found out by the majority. In other words, once people understand they are talking about killing babies they need to use different words – as if saying it another way makes it something different ... God’s truth doesn’t enter into the discussion for progressives. Like every other subject for liberals, it is wholly about what they feel. And if they don’t like it, it’s not good. The label of sin is not good because they don’t like it. They don’t believe abortion is a sin and they don’t want women who’ve aborted to be called sinners. In fact, abortion is a sin and women who’ve aborted are sinners. Also in fact, we are all sinners and God loves all of us.
I really like the summary of the conference in the final two paragraphs:
... Democrats have a habit of changing their language when the current language is found out by the majority. In other words, once people understand they are talking about killing babies they need to use different words – as if saying it another way makes it something different ... God’s truth doesn’t enter into the discussion for progressives. Like every other subject for liberals, it is wholly about what they feel. And if they don’t like it, it’s not good. The label of sin is not good because they don’t like it. They don’t believe abortion is a sin and they don’t want women who’ve aborted to be called sinners. In fact, abortion is a sin and women who’ve aborted are sinners. Also in fact, we are all sinners and God loves all of us.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Sour Grapes
Notice the bold / italic text in the original email sent to me. They want someone with "comfort with working with geographically dispersed teams" but require the person that fills this role to be based on-site. So, what does "geographically dispersed" mean if it doesn't mean people in different geographic locations working on the same project?
That's okay, I didn't want to do a contract for the next 12-18 months anyways.
From Me
Yes, I guess I am out of consideration.
I'm sorry that is their requirement as I recently worked on exactly this type of work. We have multiple user guides, one for each customer, and because there was not a single source solution, which is what I gather your client wants, there were multiple versions of the same user task. I took the multiple versions of the same task and consolidated them into a single version that was applied to all customers. This consolidation of text is something that can be done remotely.
I hope you find the right fit.
From Recruiter
This cannot be done remotely, unfortunately. They want someone on site. Would this take you out of consideration?
From Me
This sounds like a great fit for me. I have done exactly this type of work at various companies over the 19.5 years of being a technical writer. I have a dozen years of RoboHelp experience and 3+ years of using Confluence.
Can this work be done remotely on a part time basis? I have a den in the basement that has served as a home office when working on other contract-based projects. I am hoping that your answer is "yes"!
I will send you my updated resume before Monday morning.
Thank you,
From Recruiter
Good Afternoon,
(company) has new opportunities available for a Technical Writer in (location) area for a 12-18 months contract. I am sending this to you because I came across your resume in our internal database. Please take a moment to review this opportunity and let me know if you would like to learn more. If you are not interested or available but know of someone who may be please feel free to pass this along to them. If you are interested, please reply back with an updated resume. Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you!!
Start Date: September 1st, 2014 or earlier if possible
Duration: 12-18 months contract
Location: (location)
Part of the National Implementation Team – will be working in a team environment to document and write for an online help system AND Content Management System
This company is currently in the process of taking all of the documentation that share common topics across multiple business lines that have differing versions, taking out all of the information in sections, then re-writing the sections to be ONE version so business lines can build their own COMPLIANT documents.
They are finding this section in ALL documents, writing one common version, and distributing for ‘re-entry’ into the full document.
Recreate this over and over for each section in each of the 1,000’s of documents within Consumer Lending.
Job Description (day-to-day responsibilities):
Demonstrated topic-based authoring experience; either in an online help system or content management system.
Comfort with working with geographically dispersed team’s
Proven ability to author content as part of a team.
Must Have's / And Top Priority Skill Sets:
Previous experience using RoboHelp, Framemaker, AuthorIT, or DITA-based documentation systems.
They are currently using Robohelp, but are migrating to a new system. However, They do not know WHICH system as of yet. This is why ANY content management tool experience will suffice.
That's okay, I didn't want to do a contract for the next 12-18 months anyways.
From Me
Yes, I guess I am out of consideration.
I'm sorry that is their requirement as I recently worked on exactly this type of work. We have multiple user guides, one for each customer, and because there was not a single source solution, which is what I gather your client wants, there were multiple versions of the same user task. I took the multiple versions of the same task and consolidated them into a single version that was applied to all customers. This consolidation of text is something that can be done remotely.
I hope you find the right fit.
From Recruiter
This cannot be done remotely, unfortunately. They want someone on site. Would this take you out of consideration?
From Me
This sounds like a great fit for me. I have done exactly this type of work at various companies over the 19.5 years of being a technical writer. I have a dozen years of RoboHelp experience and 3+ years of using Confluence.
Can this work be done remotely on a part time basis? I have a den in the basement that has served as a home office when working on other contract-based projects. I am hoping that your answer is "yes"!
I will send you my updated resume before Monday morning.
Thank you,
From Recruiter
Good Afternoon,
(company) has new opportunities available for a Technical Writer in (location) area for a 12-18 months contract. I am sending this to you because I came across your resume in our internal database. Please take a moment to review this opportunity and let me know if you would like to learn more. If you are not interested or available but know of someone who may be please feel free to pass this along to them. If you are interested, please reply back with an updated resume. Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you!!
Start Date: September 1st, 2014 or earlier if possible
Duration: 12-18 months contract
Location: (location)
Part of the National Implementation Team – will be working in a team environment to document and write for an online help system AND Content Management System
This company is currently in the process of taking all of the documentation that share common topics across multiple business lines that have differing versions, taking out all of the information in sections, then re-writing the sections to be ONE version so business lines can build their own COMPLIANT documents.
They are finding this section in ALL documents, writing one common version, and distributing for ‘re-entry’ into the full document.
Recreate this over and over for each section in each of the 1,000’s of documents within Consumer Lending.
Job Description (day-to-day responsibilities):
Demonstrated topic-based authoring experience; either in an online help system or content management system.
Comfort with working with geographically dispersed team’s
Proven ability to author content as part of a team.
Must Have's / And Top Priority Skill Sets:
Previous experience using RoboHelp, Framemaker, AuthorIT, or DITA-based documentation systems.
They are currently using Robohelp, but are migrating to a new system. However, They do not know WHICH system as of yet. This is why ANY content management tool experience will suffice.
Woodstock 1999
Hard to believe that Woodstock 1999 was 15 years ago. The event has left quite the legacy, as discussed in this article about the event.
Lars on Cocaine?
I never knew Lars Ulrich used cocaine, as he discusses his drug habit in this article. Maybe my placement of him on a pedestal should be questioned.
Jamming the Anger
As I've written previously, I strongly feel the Metallica release "St. Anger" has been unfairly dismissed because, what, there's not a guitar solo to be found and the snare drum sounds different. C'mon. Take in the video below.
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