Mixture Posture: January 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Data > Information > Knowledge

If You have to Draw Lines from English words to Your Band Logo, You need a New Band Logo

Nope

Technical Writer
Almon Inc - Waterloo, IA

Almon Inc. is a developer of technical information — manuals and training materials for industrial clients (agricultural, construction, mining, automotive, etc.). We are currently looking for hands-on individuals willing to move from their field service/dealership service positions into one that helps develop the information necessary to perform the tasks they are accustomed to performing. We are experienced in transitioning technicians into content developers; this has been our model for success in our industry.

What You'll Do

The ideal candidate will be responsible for creating and writing various types of user documentation, including how-to guides, manuals, references, or instructions. This candidate should have strong communication skills which enable them to explain complicated concepts in a simple manner. This individual will also meet with customer representatives frequently in order to understand required content.

Author technical content for a variety of clients using minimalist writing style.

Author operation, repair, troubleshooting or test procedures as required.

Use a variety of content development tools such as FrameMaker, InDesign, or proprietary software.

Determine good graphical representation to support text and work with illustrators to develop technical illustrations.

Work with client representatives as required.

Comply with each client’s specifications and style guides.

Accept ambiguity of client-supplied information.

Operate, disassemble, and assemble equipment in our facility as required.

What You Bring

Professional experience with operation, diagnostics, and repair of automotive, construction, forestry, or agriculture equipment.

OR

Three years technical content development in XML, FrameMaker, InDesign, or other desktop publishing platforms.

Ability to read and interpret engineering documentation and specifications is required.

Working knowledge of systems such as electrical, hydraulics, engines, or drive trains.

Ability to interact in a professional manner with clients, ownership, and co-workers.

Excellent writing and grammar skills.

Education in a technical field desired, but not required.

You may have been frustrated in the past with the quality of the manuals or training you were supplied; now you can be the person that puts the right information in the hands of the technicians doing the work! Don’t be intimidated by the writing aspect of this position; we will train the right individual to be successful as a technical content developer, a new lucrative and rewarding profession.

Job Type: Full-time

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Tried out a software called "Tagman" as a potential music manager to replace Windows Media Player. I got some files imported into the tool, which allows 500 music files in its 'test' version. I went to the window in the software to set up rename rules and was greeted with a drop-down list of values, as shown below:

Unfortunately, as I explain in the text on the screenshot, Tagman doesn't allow the files to be named what I want them to be named.

Uninstalling it now.

Looks Awesome

Part-Time During the Day is a Dealbreaker

"Major" Typo by the Government Rocks the World

Oh my God! Can no one give anyone a break?!?

Here's the ticket for President Trump's first State of the Union:

And it's detailed in this article: Government flubs State of the Union tickets with major typo By Karma Allen Jan 30, 2018, 2:09 AM ET

Know what I find funny? The fact that the picture of the "major" typo has a mistake in it as well. Here's the caption:

Tickets for President Trump's first State of the Union contained a major typo: The misspelling of "uniom."

If you want to pick nits out of shit, why is the word after the colon capitalized? A quick search on Google.com told me this:

Monday, January 29, 2018

First Time I saw This Part of This Video, I Laughed Just Like Ben Shapiro

Click this link - https://youtu.be/b-8T5wmrOiA?t=932 - and listen to when Ben Shapiro laughs. I kid you not - the first time I saw this clip of this performer from the 2018 Grammy's, I laughed exactly when Ben Shapiro did.

Here's the entire video:

Doing a College Assignment

Alex sent me a text and asked for help for one of assignments for his music class. He has to write a blues song. I immediately thought of "Poor Musician Swingin'" and said I'd send him what I wrote way back in 1992.

Maybe there’s something below that will help …

-----------------------------

Poor Musician Swingin'

by Hanson/Schmitt

I'm broke

It's nothing new

Every time I get a paycheck

I give it to you

Say you gotta buy bread

That's okay

Give you my money

Why shouldn't I sleep all day

Poor musician swingin'

With someone naggin'

Poor musician swingin'

With my poor butt saggin'

Sleep all day . . . I swing at night

She left

She'll be back

It's nothing crazy

Just a swing attack

She'll survive

So will I

Playin', swingin'

Until I die

Wrote 8/25/1992 with my friend Ken in Sally Drive Studios

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Every Day Ordinary Life Blues

by Hanson/Schmitt

Boss is breathin' down my neck

Said son, "What's the matter with you?"

This job is getting to me

I need something different to do

Took a day off work

To enjoy life

Walked in the park

Mugged by a guy with a knife

Read newspaper of a crisis

In some distant land

Went back to work to escape

I still couldn't understand

Life is supposed to be tough

I know that to be true

But I have one too many

Things I have to do

I wonder when I try

To kiss the sky

It stays the same color

And life becomes a bit duller . . .

-----------------------------

Bad News

In the morning

I'll wake to find you gone

So I'll live

I'll find a way to go on

So when you leave

Don't take my key

And when he leaves you

Don't come cryin' to me

Cuz you've been hurting yourself

With the lies you tell

And if you wouldn't believe them

You'd still go to hell

Cuz you're bad news

Never a sight for sore eyes

Cuz you're bad news

You give me the blues . . .

You never smile

Unless you're taken out to eat

You like to lie

And say that you're just beat

You don't know

What you're talking about

And if he calls to ask

I'll give him reason to doubt

Wrote 9/2/1992

Gum Blues

Gum sticky and sweet

You make me complete

But one bad habit you do, I've seen you too

You stick to me like I'm made out of glue

You know I thought if I tried

I'd get you off my mind

But everywhere I look

I see remains of the tears you cried

There was a time in my life when I needed you

I had to believe your lies were true

Now the sun is brighter, I can see a new day

And I'm so glad I didn't invite you to stay

Gum, you're so sticky and sweet

Now you're gone, my life is complete

Gum, I don't think about you

I hope you don't think about me too.

Wrote 6/21/1993

When I showed these lyrics to Ken Schmitt, he gave me this look like, "Where in the world did you come up with this stuff?"

-----------------------------------------------------

Right In The Face

Think you got a method

I know you don't got a plan

Puttin' on your killer instinct

Searchin' for a man

But I'm here, right in your face

Open your eyes, I'm right in your face

You don't know a good thing

When it's staring at you . . . right in the face

I saw you last night

Out on the town

When I motioned to you

You looked down

I was your spark

The start of a fire

Did you forget the dark

Unleashed your desire

I'm a good thing honey

I'm right in your face

Don't ask for your money

I'm right in your face

Wrote 10/11/1993

------------------------------------

Concrete Shoes Blues

I've been tryin' baby

Tryin' to get back to you

But I don't seem to move

No matter what I do

I've been tryin' baby

But I can't seem to move back to you

Concrete shoes blues

They hold me still

Concrete shoes blues

They control my will

Nothing will make them go away

They're with me everyday

The concrete shoes blues

Drive me away

Since you said goodbye

I've waited for you

But if you're looking for me, you ain't looked hard enough

I tried to call you

You're not answering th phone

But your new man was there

I can tell you really care

Concrete shoe blues

Keep me away

Concrete shoe blues

Won't make me stay

Nothing makes them go away

As long as your new man continues to stay . . .

Wrote 1/22/1994

The Way You Are

Looking through the shattered window pane

Unaware of the wind blowing cross my face

I can't see the clouds

Your loving left me blind

I don't know why you treated me so unkind

But I guess that's just

The way you are

Narrow tunnel vision

Serves you best

That's the way you are

Why do you do this pain

Why won't you see the rain . . . makes the sun brighter

Looking at our pictures of smiles and laughs

Seem to mock the pain inside my soul

I can't see the smiles anymore

Your loving is what made me blind

Why did you treat me so unkind

Wrote: 9/8/1994

The Most Anticipated Movies Of 2019

Bohannon

Bohannon nears, reveres Chris Street's record---LINCOLN, Neb. — Send Jordan Bohannon on the road, he heats up.Send him to the free throw line, he’s even hotter.The Iowa sophomore guard has a few incredible streaks going.Bohannon canned six 3-pointers in the Hawkeyes’ 98-84 Saturday loss at Nebraska — no kidding, the fifth consecutive true road game in which the Marion product has made at least five 3s.He made five at Iowa State; five at Maryland; five at Illinois; five at Rutgers. And now six (on 11 attempts) at Pinnacle Bank Arena, highlighting a terrific stat line in defeat — 24 points, seven assists and no turnovers while playing all 40 minutes.

Alzheimer's

Good article, but the title is not my current situation - my dad doesn't have Alzheimer's Disease. My mom had some type of dementia / Alzheimer's, which is why I wanted to remember this article in the future.Searching for an Alzheimer’s cure while my father slips away

How to Choose Technology

Money Cubed

How Metallica Tripled Their Ticket Prices

Learn from the Dummy

Growing up a scarecrow

This is True

I saw the teaser for this video and thought, "No, it has to be a joke.

Then I watched it and realized there are some people with screwed up priorities....

This is Me: Rummy Domination

I have a Rummy 500 game on my cell phone. I have played over 500 games. This is just the latest example of being a really good player!

Even if you have no clue what the above means, winning a game by 229 points is impressive. Right? [GRIN!]

Friday, January 26, 2018

Inspiration to PRACTICE!!!

Run Away from The Cheap Laptop Running Windows

Cheap Windows Laptops Will Only Waste Your Time and Money by Chris Hoffman on January 26th, 2018

Another Big Four Leaving the Gang of Four?

Are Anthrax next? First it was Slayer and now after reading Anthrax Drummer Ponders Band’s Future in Light of Slayer Farewell, I have to wonder if Anthrax is next! If so, it makes me very happy to know I (finally) saw them in concert so, if they are going to be "done" soon, I know I've seen all 4 of the Big Four (Metallica x 5, Megadeth x 2, Anthrax x 1, Slayer x 1). I adore their cover of "Carry On Wayward Son!"

The Other P Anniversary

At 10 AM on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, I went into a conference room for a meeting called "Performance Review." It was during this meeting that I was laid off from Pearson after 4 years, 7 months, 3 weeks, 5 days (1701 days). I pray that I never have to go through what happened between Tuesday, January 26, 2016, and Wednesday, March 9, 2016, EVER again. That time in my life - 1 month, 1 week, 5 days (43 days) SUCKED. It was on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, when I received the phone call with a job offer. I started a short 2 weeks, 5 days (19 days) later on Monday, March 28, 2016.

So Interesting to Me

Maybe it's because I'm not even remotely qualified for this position. Maybe not. I'm intrigued by this position:

The Senior Data Analyst will facilitate the development of Analytics solutions in support of [COMPANY NAME]'s strategic plan. This position will work closely with business units throughout the organization to develop and implement strategies that leverage data to enable enhanced decision making. The position requires strong technical and communication skills, as well as proven experience in analytics, and information management, and the insurance industry in general.

Responsibilities

Interpret data, analyze results using statistical techniques and provide ongoing reports

Identify, analyze, and interpret trends or patterns in complex data sets

Prototyping the development of databases, data collection systems, data analytics, and other strategies that optimize statistical efficiency and quality

Work with management to prioritize business and information needs

Design and build comprehensive reports/dashboards and other tools to assist business managers in making business decisions

Support the enterprise data warehouse in identifying and revising reporting requirements

Train end users on new reports and dashboards

Research opportunities for data acquisition and new uses for existing data

Recommend ways to improve data reliability, efficiency and quality

Collaborate with data architects, modelers and IT team members on project goals

Qualifications

BS in Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, Statistics, Business or related field. Masters degree preferred.

Proven (7-10 years) work experience as a data analyst or quantitative analyst

A proven successful track record of using data to support business optimization and an exhibited ability to execute

Exceptional skill at building and presenting data in a format that is easily understood by internal stakeholders

Excellent written and oral communication skills; experience working with senior level executives and a broad customer base

Strong analytical skills with the ability to collect, organize, analyze and disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy.

Scientific and evidence based mindset, experience using clear measures to inform decision-making and sell ideas

Technical expertise regarding data models, data mining and segmentation techniques

Strong knowledge of and experience with reporting packages (Tableau, etc.) and databases (SQL, etc.)

Knowledge of statistics and experience using statistical packages for analyzing datasets (SAS, R, Python, etc.)

Ability to create content rich and concise data visualization outputs for easy consumption by business users

Demonstrated experience in handling large datasets, structured and semi-structured data formats

Ability to deliver incremental value via an Agile Development Methodology

What Do I Say?

https://m.signalvnoise.com/the-25-most-popular-icebreaker-questions-based-on-four-years-of-data-893df9b27531

My Future?

Saw this set on sale for $5995!

2017 Pearl Masterworks Ultimate Custom Maple kit in Metallic Emerald Tamo with Nickel Hardware
Brentwood, TN
$5,9952017 Pearl Masterworks Ultimate Custom Maple kit in Metallic Emerald Tamo with Nickel Hardware... Lists for around $16k, but I'd let it go for $5895. Anyone interested, just message me. The kit is completely hand made by Pearl Drum Artisans. You'll also see a picture of it on the inside cover of the Pearl 2017 General Catalog. Shipping would be extra, but I'm in Nashville TN. The hardware in picture #2 (center photo) is all included). The kit has never been played or out of the boxes aside from the photos taken here. Thanks

Lesson for The Day

Hating on St. Anger by a Band I Hate

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cradle-of-filth-frontman-calls-metallicas-st-anger-album-dreadful-says-machine-heads-robb-flynn-wanted-to-be-fred-durst/

It's a Country Thing

Touching On the Parallels between Leia and Vader in ‘The Last Jedi’

Star Wars spent three whole movies exploring the relationship between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, but the original trilogy barely touched on Leia’s link to her father.

Coach Signs Deal Extension

This was an interesting article about Coach McCaffery, who signed an extension. From the article:

What was Gary Barta thinking? That’s the crux of the question I heard most from Hawkeye fans Thursday — many of them outraged that the Iowa athletics director had 2 months ago quietly, without public announcement, signed a deal that more than doubled the buyout for men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery. The new contract says that McCaffery would be owed $10.2 million if he’s fired without cause before July 1 — up from $4.6 million under the previously amended deal in 2016. McCaffery’s seat, as it turns out, is not as hot as some people may wish it was. So far, McCaffery’s eighth season has been worse than any except his first — when it was a total rebuild from the three colossal years of failure under Todd Lickliter.

Read the entire article here: Gary Barta Fan McCaffery Buyout.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Code in the Bug

Despite the bug in the HTML code I found this AM on https://www.metallica.com/blog/news/451096/reissues-re-revisited, as shown below:

I am convinced working as the Metallica.com webmaster would be a totally AWESOME job! Surely, a technical writer would be in heaven, creating snippets of text like the above. I would make this a snippet "The $5.98 EP – Garage Days Re-Revisited (Remastered)" and then just append the description after it, like this:

[snippet] CD & T-shirt Bundle
[snippet] CD Longbox & T-Shirt Bundle
[snippet] Vinyl Picture Disc & T-Shirt Bundle

I could store all of it in RoboHelp, coding the HTML in Dreamweaver, set up a template to make it look like the website does now (or make it easier to navigate through a tri-pane interface GRIN!!!!)
In the meantime, while I continue my disaster recovery documentation work, here's a great tune to make the day go by:

KILLER!

Something Not Quite Right

I receive email from Gabe's Oasis, a music venue in downtown Iowa City, on a fairly regular basis and I've seen this issue before, but don't recall writing about it. I've been receiving email from Gabe's Oasis for quite a while - it was how I found out about Flotsam & Jetsam playing there because, for whatever reason, bands that play at Gabes or at The Blue Moose Tap (like Saving Abel does tonight) don't get a lot of promotion in the newspaper or on radio.

Back to the email, there seems to be something automated in the content of the email and, in this case, there seems to be duplicate records for the upcoming "Crazy Town" concert on February 22nd as it is listed twice.

In the first record, it states that "Metro Concerts Live Presents" but not in the second record. In the first record, the band "Davey Suicide" is in blue text whereas in the second record, it looks the same as "Crazy Town". In the first record, bands called "TV Cop" and "To the Surface" are listed, but they are not listed in the second record. In the first record, it says "5:00 PM" whereas in the second record, it says "Doors: 5:00 PM / Show: 6:00 PM".

I really don't have any skin in this game - I just use the email to review the bands that are scheduled for bands I would want to see. I am happy to see that "Black Hilt" is one of the bands that is opening for "Crazy Town" as I enjoyed their set when I watched them open for Flotsam & Jetsam not too long ago.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Here

Star Wars

What is the Debt?

Of Mice and Men put out this cover of Pink Floyd's "Money" tune. The significance is that it is in 7/4 time, so each quarter note gets one beat and it is counted: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. When I was preparing to audition with a band that had included this tune on its playlist, I counted it as: 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 | etc, because the 5 6 7 is what drummers might play in a waltz (usually in 3/4 time) where the bass drum is on 1 and the snare is on 2 3, which is also the pattern played by the Pink Floyd drummer (I believe it was Nick Mason on the "Dark Side of the Moon" release) and how I learned to count it years upon years ago when I was much younger.

And the original to use as a comparison...

I have always enjoyed this tune. It is a nice introduction to playing odd time, which is explored in this video:

Hope Crushed

Hope was raised when I saw this:

Hope was crushed when I saw this:

I even know what ITIL is - I took a class at work!

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

A New Vlog

Tpyo

Seeing things like this make me happy.

Why? When I worked as a Technical Writer at that Unnamed Hellhole in Southern Iowa, I might not have seen it. When I saw it "today" - when I have enough distance from that place to see that it was a stop on my journey to where I am that I really had to include on the journey - I realize the benefits of that place. Otherwise, I see no benefit whatsoever to that stop on my journey.

Is This Really a Spoiler? Just in Case: SPOILER WARNING!

On the Internet, there's a lot of sites that publish movie and TV show reviews that often have a giant disclaimer "SPOILER WARNING!" as a way for the reader to stop reading if they don't want to know what happens in the movie or the TV show.

I'm wondering when a spoiler warning is really warranted. Case in point, I watch the show "This is Us" on NBC on Tuesday nights. The previous episodes have made it clear that a major character is dead - we've seen the aftermath of his death played out in the living characters on the show.

Thus, I came to this article - with a major spoiler in the title and wondered what the parameters are for issuing a spoiler warning? Is it assumed that if I click on the articles title, I already have watched the previous episodes and know that the major character is dead?

What about for every single article about TV shows that are done? In this era of binge watching TV shows on services like Netflix, does every article about "Lost" or "Prison Break" need a spoiler warning? What if I come across a TV review that was originally published the day after a major event on either of those shows? If I am binge watching, and haven't made it up to the episode being reviewed....

It'd suck to be the one to ruin a show for someone else. I've read spoilers about movies before I see them in the past because I want to know what to look for in the movie. I knew, for example that HS died in a recent Star Wars film, before I saw it. I wanted to watch for nuances that the director inserted as it progressed to that scene. Perhaps the line in the sand can be drawn between movies based upon actual events are exempt from needing to have a spoiler warning whereas movies that are fictional do. For example, articles that were published when the "Titanic" movie was released didn't include a spoiler warning about the ship's status at the end of the movie, right? But if I go to "Black Panther" next month and don't want to know the plot or how it ends (though seeing the character in the trailer for "Avengers: Infinity War" tells me that the character survives whatever dangerous situation he encounters in the movie), then I should be able to shut down my news feeds and walk in 'cold' and without prior knowledge.

Search This Blog