28 Days from THIS Day

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WWE Stuff

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2709129-roman-reigns-vs-the-miz-rumored-feud-would-ignite-stale-wwe-raw
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2708932-john-cenas-best-potential-feuds-upon-return-to-wwe-smackdown-live
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2708968-making-the-case-for-finn-balor-to-challenge-wwe-universal-champ-brock-lesnar

Release the Clutch

https://youtu.be/d4WlqxPzQ28
https://youtu.be/d7Dq4PRqtKo
https://youtu.be/qWXzLZSNkDI
https://youtu.be/dhiBcVILo5o
https://youtu.be/zPjkQKfmVI8
https://youtu.be/s4ABpbxIPFI
https://youtu.be/vPN1EY4MIK8
https://youtu.be/6Sj76eCy6ag
https://youtu.be/4hvW001Jf9s
https://youtu.be/1tIzP3Te05E
https://youtu.be/QDgsIZ0x5lY
Full album query: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=clutch+full+album

Ignore the Urge to Switch to Another Tune into Billy Joel

"I'm a broken hearted heart breaker" - I like that lyric!

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Billy Joel's Favorite Songs

1. Scenes from an Iltalian Restaurant
2. She's Right on Time
3. You May Be Right
4. And So It Goes
5. Vienna

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Whew!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/children-injured-bus-crashes-near-st-louis-135145958.html

Please Be NBA

Peterson: It's all about defense — and mom — for Peter Jok

Holding

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Editor's Note: Also relevant:

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Firing up the Lars Lashings with the bold-italic last sentence in the article

From this article - Lars Ulrich: Who I Would Choose to Replace Me in Metallica While we're at it - who do you think would be the best choice? - comes a very broad invitation for the Internet trolls who bash Lars Ulrich's drumming to creep out of the corners of the Internet and into the broad daylight:

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Mr. Lars Ulrich was asked by 98 Rock to single out the drummer he would choose to replace him in Metallica if he had to, to which he replied (via Blabbermouth):
"If I could pick it, if I could hear somebody drum behind Hetfield's riffs, I'd take [classic AC/DC drummer] Phil Rudd.
"He's been probably my main, biggest source of inspiration when we did the turnaway from the super-progressive stuff, the crazy stuff after 'Justice,' when we got into the 'Black Album' and the 'Load' stuff, when it got a little more about the bounce and the riffs and the feel and the groove and all that.
"Phil Rudd, he's the top of that pyramid. Hearing Phil Rudd play behind James, that'd be pretty cool."
While we're at it - who do you think would be a good replacement for Lars?

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Personally, I would choose Chris Adler - Lamb of God - as Ulrich's replacement. I think he is really a phenomenal drummer, he's grounded in reality and seems like a fantastic all-around person. I realize arguments could be made for the following drummers:

1. Charlie Benante - Anthrax
2. Dave Lombardo - Suicidal Tendencies (and others)
3. Mike Portnoy - Dream Theater (and others)
4. Gene Hoglan - Testament (and others)

My hope is that there is not a day when Ulrich has to be replaced.

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Equality or Insanity -- You Decide

The Left Implodes: Male Periods, Menstrual Equity, and Tax Dollars for Tampons includes a link to Entitled Feminists Now Pushing For 'Menstrual Equity' which, in turn, includes a link to Periods, Policy and Politics: Menstrual Equity Is the New Thing...

Wow.

When Code Works Perfectly

I really am impressed with the author of this macro I found here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2007-word/possible-to-export-word-track-changes-information/e0dee9dc-aedb-41d3-92bf-8dc609cc75af - for not being bashful about their opinion of their work:

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...so works perfectly...

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Excuse my sarcasm, but code that "works perfectly" is like the Loch Ness Monster. You've heard it exists, some people claim to have seen it, but the majority of people in the world dismiss it as fantasy. Nonetheless, here is the code for my future reference:

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Sub ExtractTrackChanges()
'
' ExtractTrackChanges Macro
'
'=========================
'Macro created 2007 by Lene Fredborg, DocTools - www.thedoctools.com
'THIS MACRO IS COPYRIGHT. YOU ARE WELCOME TO USE THE MACRO BUT YOU MUST KEEP THE LINE ABOVE.
'YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PUBLISH THE MACRO AS YOUR OWN, IN WHOLE OR IN PART.
'=========================
'The macro creates a new document
'and extracts insertions and deletions
'marked as tracked changes from the active document
'NOTE: Other types of changes are skipped
'(e.g. formatting changes or inserted/deleted footnotes and endnotes)
'Only insertions and deletions in the main body of the document will be extracted
'The document will also include metadata
'Inserted text will be applied black font color
'Deleted text will be applied red font color

'Minor adjustments are made to the styles used
'You may need to change the style settings and table layout to fit your needs
'=========================

Dim oDoc As Document
Dim oNewDoc As Document
Dim oTable As Table
Dim oRow As Row
Dim oCol As Column
Dim oRange As Range
Dim oRevision As Revision
Dim strText As String
Dim n As Long
Dim i As Long
Dim Title As String

Title = "Extract Tracked Changes to New Document"
n = 0 'use to count extracted changes

Set oDoc = ActiveDocument

If oDoc.Revisions.Count = 0 Then
MsgBox "The active document contains no tracked changes.", vbOKOnly, Title
GoTo ExitHere
Else
'Stop if user does not click Yes
If MsgBox("Do you want to extract tracked changes to a new document?" & vbCr & vbCr & _
"NOTE: Only insertions and deletions will be included. " & _
"All other types of changes will be skipped.", _
vbYesNo + vbQuestion, Title) <> vbYes Then
GoTo ExitHere
End If
End If

Application.ScreenUpdating = False
'Create a new document for the tracked changes, base on Normal.dot
Set oNewDoc = Documents.Add
'Set to landscape
oNewDoc.PageSetup.Orientation = wdOrientLandscape
With oNewDoc
'Make sure any content is deleted
.Content = ""
'Set appropriate margins
With .PageSetup
.LeftMargin = CentimetersToPoints(2)
.RightMargin = CentimetersToPoints(2)
.TopMargin = CentimetersToPoints(2.5)
End With
'Insert a 7-column table for the tracked changes and metadata
Set oTable = .Tables.Add _
(Range:=Selection.Range, _
numrows:=1, _
NumColumns:=7)
End With

'Insert info in header - change date format as you wish
oNewDoc.Sections(1).Headers(wdHeaderFooterPrimary).Range.Text = _
"Tracked changes extracted from: " & oDoc.FullName & vbCr & _
"Created by: " & Application.UserName & vbCr & _
"Creation date: " & Format(Date, "MMMM d, yyyy")

'Adjust the Normal style and Header style
With oNewDoc.Styles(wdStyleNormal)
With .Font
.Name = "Arial"
.Size = 9
.Bold = False
End With
With .ParagraphFormat
.LeftIndent = 0
.SpaceAfter = 3
End With
End With

With oNewDoc.Styles(wdStyleHeader)
.Font.Size = 8
.ParagraphFormat.SpaceAfter = 0
End With

'Format the table appropriately
With oTable
.Range.Style = wdStyleNormal
.AllowAutoFit = False
.PreferredWidthType = wdPreferredWidthPercent
.PreferredWidth = 100
For Each oCol In .Columns
oCol.PreferredWidthType = wdPreferredWidthPercent
Next oCol
.Columns(1).PreferredWidth = 5 'Page
.Columns(2).PreferredWidth = 5 'Line
.Columns(3).PreferredWidth = 10 'Type of change
.Columns(4).PreferredWidth = 35 'Inserted/deleted text
.Columns(5).PreferredWidth = 15 'Author
.Columns(6).PreferredWidth = 10 'Revision date
.Columns(7).PreferredWidth = 10 'Revision date
End With

'Insert table headings
With oTable.Rows(1)
.Cells(1).Range.Text = "Page"
.Cells(2).Range.Text = "Line"
.Cells(3).Range.Text = "Type"
.Cells(4).Range.Text = "What has been inserted or deleted"
.Cells(5).Range.Text = "Author"
.Cells(6).Range.Text = "Date"
.Cells(7).Range.Text = "Time"
End With

'Get info from each tracked change (insertion/deletion) from oDoc and insert in table
For Each oRevision In oDoc.Revisions
Select Case oRevision.Type
'Only include insertions and deletions
Case wdRevisionInsert, wdRevisionDelete
'In case of footnote/endnote references (appear as Chr(2)),
'insert "[footnote reference]"/"[endnote reference]"
With oRevision
'Get the changed text
strText = .Range.Text

Set oRange = .Range
Do While InStr(1, oRange.Text, Chr(2)) > 0
'Find each Chr(2) in strText and replace by appropriate text
i = InStr(1, strText, Chr(2))

If oRange.Footnotes.Count = 1 Then
strText = Replace(Expression:=strText, _
Find:=Chr(2), Replace:="[footnote reference]", _
Start:=1, Count:=1)
'To keep track of replace, adjust oRange to start after i
oRange.Start = oRange.Start + i

ElseIf oRange.Endnotes.Count = 1 Then
strText = Replace(Expression:=strText, _
Find:=Chr(2), Replace:="[endnote reference]", _
Start:=1, Count:=1)
'To keep track of replace, adjust oRange to start after i
oRange.Start = oRange.Start + i
End If
Loop
End With
'Add 1 to counter
n = n + 1
'Add row to table
Set oRow = oTable.Rows.Add

'Insert data in cells in oRow
With oRow
'Page number
.Cells(1).Range.Text = _
oRevision.Range.Information(wdActiveEndPageNumber)

'Line number - start of revision
.Cells(2).Range.Text = _
oRevision.Range.Information(wdFirstCharacterLineNumber)

'Type of revision
If oRevision.Type = wdRevisionInsert Then
.Cells(3).Range.Text = "Inserted"
'Apply automatic color (black on white)
oRow.Range.Font.Color = wdColorAutomatic
Else
.Cells(3).Range.Text = "Deleted"
'Apply red color
oRow.Range.Font.Color = wdColorRed
End If

'The inserted/deleted text
.Cells(4).Range.Text = strText

'The author
.Cells(5).Range.Text = oRevision.Author

'The revision date
.Cells(6).Range.Text = Format(oRevision.Date, "dd-mm-yyyy")

'The revision date
.Cells(7).Range.Text = Format(oRevision.Date, "HH:MM")
End With
End Select
Next oRevision

'If no insertions/deletions were found, show message and close oNewDoc
If n = 0 Then
MsgBox "No insertions or deletions were found.", vbOKOnly, Title
oNewDoc.Close savechanges:=wdDoNotSaveChanges
GoTo ExitHere
End If

'Apply bold formatting and heading format to row 1
With oTable.Rows(1)
.Range.Font.Bold = True
.HeadingFormat = True
End With

Application.ScreenUpdating = True
Application.ScreenRefresh

oNewDoc.Activate
MsgBox n & " tracked changed have been extracted. " & _
"Finished creating document.", vbOKOnly, Title

ExitHere:
Set oDoc = Nothing
Set oNewDoc = Nothing
Set oTable = Nothing
Set oRow = Nothing
Set oRange = Nothing

End Sub

---

Big Empty

This company is in New York, NY, but it serves as a reminder that when I was looking for a job after being laid off @ Pearson, I would see pages like this:

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Makes me very happy to be working where I am!

Rehearsing

https://www.facebook.com/Metallica/videos/10154391860160264/

Got Proofreader?

From http://www.dita101.com/

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Bearing False Witness

The most grievous sin: Bearing false witness

Go Hawks

The curious case of Patrick McCaffery's recruitment

The Undeath of My Expertise

Read this article - http://herdingcats.typepad.com/my_weblog/2017/05/book-of-the-month.html - about a book I have not read called "The Death of Expertise." It's where I snagged this awesome cartoon:

The way this relates to my work is that I am constantly faced with the choice to be 1) ignorant or 2) knowledgeable. My career as a technical writer has been about learning a new content area and immersing myself within its terminology and methodologies, regardless of the industry I have worked in: life insurance, MSDSs, telecommunication, medical devices, education, and disaster recovery. All of those industries require me, as a technical writer, to understand more than what is told to me by someone else. I am really only doing my job properly if I can pick and choose the details that are necessary to my target audience.

I learned this at my first job. My manager wrote on my performance evaluation that I needed to learn the concepts of life insurance so that I could produce usable documentation. She cited the fact that when I wrote music reviews, I had a mastery of the content (music) and I could pick and choose which details are relevant. I have taken that statement and can apply it to my belief that I have a 'mastery' about Metallica. I live, breathe, sleep Metallica and will see them in concert in 30 days!!!! When I wrote my reviews of their albums for dailyvault.com, I could pick and choose which aspects of what I wanted to write were important and relevant. I could cite the band's previous albums and highlight where patterns in the new album tunes were similar to previously released tunes.

That knowledge didn't happen overnight. It wasn't necessarily hard work, but it was an effort to listen to the albums, more than once, and internalize what I heard. Now, to some degree, that has made it so that I can't listen to a Metallica song without analyzing it. One quick example is that on "Hardwired," I hear references to other tunes, like "Enter Sandman" and "My Apocalypse." I think about those other tunes when I listen to the album.

Thus, my goal is to learn more about the subject matter than what my audience knows so that I can include only the most important details within the final product. With my current disaster recovery documentation, I have the added bonus of connecting the work individual teams into a steady of stream of a linear process - even though there are parallel activities throughout the disaster recovery process. I often talk to Team A and discuss their process for recovering systems and then talk to Team B and discuss their process for recovering systems. It's like the summary of the book where Team A knows that Team B does something, but they don't know what it is; the inverse is true also. A member of Team B admitted that she knows Team A does something, but she doesn't know exactly what it is - only that Team A must be done with their process prior to she being able to do her work.

My work is important and I am glad I woke up this AM in order to do that work.

I Don't Have to Give You Specifics Because I Know You Know What I'm Talking About

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Shocking Story

Mount Mercy College, when I was there from fall 1988 - spring 1992, didn't have frats or sororities. I'm glad.

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Editor's Note: More information: Security footage details Penn State fraternity pledge's final hours in fatal hazing ritual

Nope, Neither for Me

It's nice when I can look open positions ... and have ZERO desire to apply for either.

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Test Editor

Job ID:  RAC20170805-00436
Description:
Test Editor POSITION SUMMARY To copyedit and proofread all College Board assessments and assessment support materials using College Board’s test development style guide and other relevant style guides to update, correct, and ensure overall consistency and editorial integrity. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES Copyedits assessments , support materials, test-related communications, and other test development publications to align content with assessment stylistic guidelines, including checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, word usage, lingering issues of  internal consistency, trademarks and copyrights, and  fact-checking.  Fully accountable for editorial quality and accuracy of all reviewed publications and marketing material. Act as expert resource on all editorial matters, collaborating with AD&D staff and program sponsors within the organization to provide expert recommendations on all issues related to editorial style. Monitors workflow and prioritizes projects, informing Director of any scheduling issues or project conflicts. Work with Director to create and maintain a consistent house style for assessments delivered on paper and digitally. Requires in-depth knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style. Familiarity with The Associated Press Stylebook and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is a plus. Responsible for proofreading assessment and support publications that need cross-checking, integration, content checking in adherence to College Board elements and general publishing elements (such as for copyright and trademark violations, ISBN, Library of Congress, item numbers, mission statement, CBO line, postal regs), consistency within and across a multitude of CB programs, and judgment calls. Must make changes/recommendations that adhere to procedural guidelines and format consistency (according to assessment style guide). Performs a variety of tasks related to copyediting, including modifying and rewriting text and editing copy to conform to a high-level grammatical standard as outlined by the CB with content acceptable to a particular program, including punctuation, mechanics, and style; making text conform to the style of the publication as well as to the style/content of the program and CB overall; applying familiarity of several style guides and publishing procedures to work; and understanding/applying proofreading and copyediting symbols.  Performs project management tasks that include: establishing timelines and coordinating program components with other departments/divisions/consultants. Must adhere to deadlines that are established through mutual agreement between copyeditor and supervisor, with copyeditor estimating time on project and level of work. Must make judgment calls on content and style issues independently to bring publications to deadline. Acts as an internal consultant to College Board staff in pertinent area of responsibility. PRINCIPAL RELATIONSHIPS Internal Contacts: Maintains regular contact with staff in own and other departments with the purpose of coordinating schedules and tasks, including ADD assessment managers and program staff. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Education/Experience: Bachelor’s Degree in English, Journalism, or related field required; Master’s Degree preferred; four or more years of directly related work experience. Related Skills & Other Requirements: Specialized, proven proofreading and editing ability with complete knowledge of proofreading and copyediting symbols and general publishing/publications standards and practices. Preferred experience in editing assessments and support materials. Specialized, comprehensive knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style. Thorough knowledge of editing PDFs and Microsoft Word. Adept at editing and working in a variety of content and technical platforms Excellent interpersonal skills Ability to set priorities and attain goals Ability to solve problems and make decisions quickly and effectively Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously BENEFITS We offer our employees an outstanding benefits package which includes 4 weeks of paid time off, a generous retirement savings plan, tuition reimbursement and a commitment to professional development and training. APPLY If you are interested in joining the College Board in this position and you meet our qualifications, we encourage you to apply by submitting your resume and a brief, introductory cover letter through our Careers page at www.collegeboard.org/careers.  The posting is listed under the Finance job category. MISSION The College Board’s mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. We are a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education. Among our best-known products are the SAT®, PSAT/NMSQT®, and Advanced Placement Program®. The College Board is committed to diversity in the workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The College Board participates in E-Verify, a service of DHS and SSA, where required. Please understand that only qualified applicants will be contacted.
Requirements:
Desired Travel None Areas of Expertise Editorial Highest Level of Education Master's Degree Job Type Full Time Location Iowa City, IA Years of Relevant Experience 6-9

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Content Marketing Manager / Technical Writer

Cedar Rapids, IA

Job Information:

Leading global nutritional health company Diamond V seeks a talented marketing communications professional with experience in writing, editing, and developing science-based, consumer-friendly
technical content for the food, health, or agriculture industries. The ideal candidate for our Cedar Rapids, Iowa based Content Marketing Manager / Technical Writer position has a BS or advanced
degree and 8-10 years in editorial and marketing content creation in the feed, food, animal health, or human dietary health industries. Visit http://www.diamondv.com/

PURPOSE & SCOPE:

Responsible for creating, editing, updating customer-facing technical
documentation and accountable for all content marketing initiatives, both internal and external, across multiple platforms and formats to help drive sales, engagement, retention, and positive customer experience.

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

1. Education – BA/MA (BS/MS) degree in journalism, scientific or technical writing, or communications
2. Tenure – Minimum 8-10 years in editorial and marketing content creation for publishing, commercial or marketing organizations, well-versed in the feed, food, or animal health or human dietary health industries
3. Digital Marketing -- Experienced in SEO best practices, online marketing, social media, digital journalism, and content syndication (third party sites)

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Responsible for connecting existing Diamond V expertise in animal nutrition, animal health, and food safety to the food industry and consumer markets. Expert in all things related to content creation
(content people actually want) and channel optimization (sharing content on channels they use), brand consistency, segmentation, analytics, and meaningful measurement. Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
•Define content marketing strategic vision for Diamond V
•Create high-quality, easy-to-understand content appropriate for intended audience
•Write/edit/update all customer-facing technical support documentation
•Be accountable for all content marketing initiatives to drive traffic, engagement, and customer retention
•Collaborate across function species groups to deliver effective content marketing strategy and editorial plan
•Use publisher mindset to create the content our audience is looking for then optimize path to conversion
•Develop and partner with "key influencers" media contacts, including editors, columnists, and bloggers influential in food industry and consumer food and health markets
•Manage digital channels including Diamond V Knowledge Hub blog and key social media engines
•Establish and execute content calendar with both evergreen and seasonal stories
•Analyze performance and quantify value for Diamond V in terms of knowledge acquisition, engagement, and loyalty
•Provide one-on-one and group training seminars to sales and executive teams on how to leverage social media with key influencers to support the selling process
•Integration of content programs with brand campaigns to drive demand
•Take on other duties that may be assigned as needed

MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE:
•Assigned projects that reflect quality and are completed according to deadline
•Development of effective working relationships with others in the company through communication, cooperation, and team effort
•Prompt and effective service response to both internal and external customers
•Soundness of operational decisions
•Demonstration of Diamond V Core Values

STAFFING RELATIONSHIPS:
•Reports directly to the Public Relations & Strategic Communications Manager
•Works in association with other Diamond V Corporate Marketing staff.
•Works in cooperative association with all sales, technical, and support personnel

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
Education, Experience and Skills:
•BA/MA or BS/MS degree in Communications or related discipline
•Proven track record designing and executing successful public relations campaigns at a local, national, and global level
•Strong relationships with local and national business, agricultural industry, or consumer healthmedia outlets
•Comfortable and skilled in both broadcast and print media interviews
•Exceptional writing and editing skills, especially in adapting scientific or technical content onnutrition and health for business and consumer media
•Solid experience with social media channels, including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
•Demonstrated ability to optimize performance of co-workers (without authority) while fostering
strong working relationships
•Communication skills, including demonstrated capability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing
•Proven ability to complete projects in a timely manner with appropriate direction
•Ability to work effectively and respectfully in a multi-cultural and multifaceted organization
•Capacity to represent the Company in a professional manner at industry activities and in consumeroriented venues
•Capability to respect and maintain the integrity of highly confidential business information
•Flexibility and service orientation in dealing with a wide variety of demands and changes in the scope of responsibilities of the position

Travel Requirements:
•20% of the time
•Travel by automobile and airplane is required
•Must be able to travel with a valid passport

Physical, Mental and Environmental Requirements:
This position requires the ability to use audio and visual equipment and a personal computer (word processing, spreadsheets, database management, etc.). Walking and standing are required. Duties require depth perception and color vision. Fine finger movement and hand movement is required for picking, pinching, typing, filing, grasping and feeling. Talking, hearing, reading, and writing are required.

Do You Take Personal Responsibility?

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Die Quickly

Editor's Note: This was too big of a revelation to put on the politics page - that one American political party believes the other political party wants Americans to die.

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Editor's Note: This video was embedded on this page: freebeacon.com/issues/gop-will-kill-everyone/

Melodic and Soothing

Exchange DR Info

http://exchangeserveredbfile.blogspot.com/2017/05/microsoft-exchange-2013-disaster.html

13 Links in a List

It was a busy weekend. I was offline until late last night. These are the links I sent to myself for future reference. There are links about topics such as music, drums, movies, & professional wrestling. Some may have Adult Language Considerations so consider yourself warned.

1. Editor's Note - the video in question was removed from youtube.com so it is no longer available for your viewing pleasure.
3. Editor's Note - the video in question was removed from youtube.com so it is no longer available for your viewing pleasure.
10. Editor's Note - the video in question was removed from youtube.com so it is no longer available for your viewing pleasure.
12. Editor's Note - the video in question was removed from youtube.com so it is no longer available for your viewing pleasure. 

Yes, I STILL Need to Sit Through the Original

Bad Guy Convention

New Thoughts from Newsted

We Asked JASON NEWSTED If He Could Just Live Off METALLICA Black Album Royalties For The Rest of His Life

Interesting

From Indeed.com:

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TECHNICAL WRITER - TELECOMMUTE/OFFSITE - InDesign / XML / DITA - NETWORKNG PRODUCTS

Johnson Service Group Inc. 6 reviews - San Jose, CA

Part-time, Contract, Other

Johnson Service Group., Inc. is seeking a Technical Writer, on a contract basis, for our client's contact management group.

Scope of Work:

We are seeking a contract Technical Writer to work remote/offsite.

Must have knowledge of InDesign.

Experience with task-based, topic-oriented writing.

Projects include PDF and for print documents.

Projects will include documenting consumer and business networking products and devices.

Must have you own XML editor.

XML editors include include Oxygen, and DITA aware XML editor.

Access to CCMS and DITAToo will be provided.

Work portfolio and samples are preferred.

Type of employment : This is an indefinite, part-time (remote) contract position.

Location: San Jose, CA

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Ranking the Seven

I respect the ranking in this article - The only correct ranking of Star Wars films - as Matthew Walther's arguments are sound and his reasoning without flaws.  This is his list:

---

7. Attack of the Clones
6. Revenge of the Sith
5. The Phantom Menace
4. The Force Awakens
3. Return of the Jedi
2. The Empire Strikes Back
1. A New Hope

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As with anything in life, others may have a different opinion and that's all this is - my opinion.

First, I would bump "The Force Awakens" higher than "The Empire Strikes Back" as "Empire" is not my favorite in the original trilogy. In "The Force Awakens," I liked seeing Han Solo's integration into the plot and the way the off-screen turmoil had shaken Han & Leia's relationship to the core. I was also okay with the character arc of Han Solo, though I wonder who is going to translate what Chewbacca says in "The Last Jedi" and whatever the third film (Episode IX) is called - assuming Chewbacca survives to the 9th film.

What I didn't like about "The Empire Strikes Back" was the lack of screen time for the core heroes - Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO - being together. From the first time I saw "A New Hope," the scenes on the Death Star were my favorite - especially the mysterious trash compactor scene, which no one gives enough credit to as far as its value in developing Leia's character and exposing Solo's true motivation. When I saw "The Empire Strikes Back," I was seeing those heroes being separated from pretty much the beginning of the movie. Sure, they're together as Luke is recovering, but soon thereafter, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and C-3PO go one way and Luke & R2-D2 go another. I did like the introduction of Lando as another layer to the Han Solo character and look forward to seeing more of their history in the forthcoming Han Solo solo movie.

That's why I liked "Return of the Jedi" better - having the core heroes together in two action sequences - first at the beginning at Jabba's Palace and then at the end on the forest moon of Endor - is what spoke to me. It gives "Return of the Jedi" the ever so slight edge. I also have to mention two other parts of "Return of the Jedi" that have resonated more and more over time. The first is the infamous quote "It's a trap!" which any married man thinks when his wife asks for his opinion. Second, I really like Obi-Wan Kenobi's careful explanation to Luke about Darth Vader's origin. Yes, "The Empire Strikes Back" had the epic cliffhanger (is Darth Vader really Luke's father?!?) and seeing it specifically addressed even after Yoda avoids the question is something I liked. I especially like Kenobi's phrase "from a certain point of view" and equally like Luke's skeptical reaction to that reasoning.

As for the prequel trilogy, I actually liked "Attack of the Clones" for its backstory about the Clone Wars, which were mysteriously mentioned in Leia's hologram message in Obi-Wan's house and then never really addressed again in "The Empire Strikes Back" or "Return of the Jedi." I also liked the way Kenobi's fight with Grievous explains his disdain for blasters with his "so uncivilized" comment. The opening action sequence with the chasing of the bounty hunter through the city is mesmerizing. Listening carefully, I can pick out the seeds of disarray between Obi-Wan & Anakin as Obi-Wan is trying to instruct Anakin, whose ears are not able to listen to his teacher.

For the same type of backstory explanation, I liked "Revenge of the Sith" for both its magnificent opening battle and for allowing me to see the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. It wasn't about wanting to see the physical act of Anakin being burned - it was to see the motivation behind his actions and why he had a falling out (to put it bluntly) with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

By default, then, "The Phantom Menace" falls to number 7. I thought the opening scenes jumped from one to the next too  quickly. They're on a ship to negotiate, then their ship is destroyed, then they're on a planet, they meet a new alien, then they're going through the planet core and seeing one fish eating another, then they're escaping the planet, and rather conveniently end up on Tattooine, where they just happen to run into a young Anakin Skywalker. What I really did like was this concept that was introduced where an entire planet is a single city - that was something brand-new. Since it was never mentioned in the original trilogy, it served as a new layer to the Star Wars universe.

Thus, to summarize, this is my order for the 7 films is as follows:

7. The Phantom Menace
6. Attack of the Clones
5. Revenge of the Sith
4. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Force Awakens
2. Return of the Jedi
1. A New Hope
And because my job is to communicate ideas, here's a nice table showing Walther's ranking and my ranking of the 7 films:

Rank	Matthew Walther's Rank	prhmusic's Rank
7	Attack of the Clones	The Phantom Menace
6	Revenge of the Sith	Attack of the Clones
5	The Phantom Menace	Revenge of the Sith
4	The Force Awakens	The Empire Strikes Back
3	Return of the Jedi	The Force Awakens
2	The Empire Strikes Back	Return of the Jedi
1	A New Hope	A New Hope

Honestly, though, ranking the movies in the Star Wars franchise is a lot like ranking Metallica albums - for as much as I would like to say that only "[my favorite album]" can be number 1, there are likely equally passionate fans who would disagree. As long as people are open to new ideas and perspectives, we can all live in harmony.