posted @ 14:25...

Do I really want to work for a bank? Do I really want to support a large corporation, after what another large corporation put me through? If I can get good benefits out of 'em, then the answer is yes. Why not? The company to which I have recently applied is the same company that reaches into my bank account and snatches thirty dollars every time I write too many checks. This, of course, is my own fault. I could budget better than I do. I could just refrain from paying bills. My creditors would understand, right? After all, the people to whom I owe money genuinely care about my best interests. Well, I find out within 24 hours whether or not I am destined to be a bank teller. Until then...

posted @ 09:58...

After several weeks of wondering, worrying, and taking store-bought pregnancy tests, it turns out that we're not pregnant. Part of me is relieved, but the other part of me is a little bummed. I guess the relieved part of me wins... this time. We want kids, but only two: one to replenish each of us, so as to help save natural resources.

Humans are like cats and dogs in that even though the world is overpopulated, we're still breeding the species like crazy. When I see families with more than, say, four kids running around, I can't help but think that the parents are either selfish or just plain nuts. We don't need more people, period. Regardless of what the vatican says, I believe that the use of birth control is to be encouraged and commended.

This reminds me of my whole issue with the drivers of huge SUV's. Just because you have money for all the gas that the thing guzzles, doesn't mean you should be guzzling every last drop. We only have so much oil, and ideally, we should make it last as long as possible. And 99% of the time when you see a huge SUV, or a gigantic F-350, it's a lot more vehicle than the driver really needs. But it's really an issue of ego...

The majority are drivers who have some sort of need to own the biggest vehicle on the block. Unfortunately, in an effort to emphasize their masculinity and/or power, they end up relying on the vehicle to provide the appearance of masculinity. So does the big truck prove that its driver is a manly man? On the contrary! When you see some guy thinking he's all cool and tough in his big truck, remember that he's most likely a scared little boy using a vehicle to assert his masculinity. From this, we can perhaps deduce that those of us who drive smaller vehicles are so secure in our masculinity, that we don't need a truck to be masculine for us. The real question is: are you man enough to drive a Suzuki Samurai?

Selfishness and vanity. I can't claim to be innocent of those things. But I've taken the log out of my own eye long enough to identify some obvious cases in society. It is obvious that people with over-sized SUV's do not care that they are polluting the air we breathe and using up our natural resources. These are the same people that would drill for oil in wildlife preserves if we'd let 'em.

Now you may not have a choice, financially, when it comes to what car to drive. Maybe you can't afford to trade in the old Suburban on a more fuel efficient vehicle. That's okay with me, because you're the minority. Most SUV's (along with gas-guzzling sports cars) i see on the streets of Austin are owned by the affluent, wealthy folks. Drive through Westlake, for example. These are people who, if they were unselfish, responsible citizens, have plenty of money to buy fuel efficient vehicles. But no, Johnny *needs* a sports car for his 16th birthday, and the wife *has* to have an Excursion for trips to the mall.

posted @ 23:25...

Well, here I am in San Diego. I flew out here this morning for my cousin's wedding this Saturday. The first thing I noticed was that it's not 100 degrees like Austin has been. It's a mild 77 degrees with nice breezes blowing off the bay, and Escondido (where another cousin lives) is reaching into the 80's.

I'm having a good time with various family members, but above all, I sure miss Kelly. :-)

posted @ 10:13...

I just had to write about hose training. Now, I know what you may be thinking... or maybe I don't. Maybe you're not thinking what I don't realize you may be thinking. Anyway...

I have applied to be a volunteer firefighter. I hopes that I might soon be a firefighter, I'm attending meetings (including training meetings) of our local neighborhood volunteer fire dept. Last night's hose training consisted of a 20-minute discussion about a new high-tech nozzle, as well as various techniques. And then we went outside. A long tether, not unlike a circus tightrope, was suspended between two points. On this tether was a large pill-shaped object, which could move freely along the line. One team was positioned at each end, and used water pressure to send the thing toward (and past) the opposing team. Sort of like a tug-of-war, but instead of pulling a rope, you squirt the object to the other end of the line. If the thing passes above your head and hits a predetermined point, then you lose. It was a lot of fun, and got my pulse up. And surprisingly, my partner & I did okay.

posted @ 16:02...

Whoa... it's Friday already... and 6:00 pm. Well, I'm really just posting this to document my discovery of one of the coolest websites I've ever visited: AboveAverageDriver.com.

posted @ 10:34...

There was this cat on the Today show this morning, called the "American Curl." Through some sort of spontaneous Darwinian mutation, a cat was born in the early 80's, with curled ears. So what did they do? They decided to breed more. And now it's an actual species. This presents several questions:

A) Does the world really need more cats? Why are we breeding them on purpose?
B) Doesn't the idea of breeding go against the whole natural selection thing?
C) Doesn't the idea of affirmative action go against the whole natural selection thing?

Did you ever notice that proponents of affirmative action are typically liberal? Interesting, too, is the fact that proponents of evolution and natural selection are also typically liberal. So I may have sparked a debate here. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please Explain to me why this isn't a contradiction.

posted @ 10:02...

Yeah, so... today, being a Monday, isn't as much fun as, say, Saturday. Part of it is because my wife actually has a job. I don't. And since all I have to do is some work for my online classes and some chores, I miss her. I'm a pathetic bastard, ain't I?

So, if I may, I'll rant about the Audrey some more. [Of course I may. It's my website!] I don't hate it. I think it's sort of amusing, actually. 3Com, in my opinion, marketed it to the wrong folks, and put a higher price tag on it than they should have. It was aimed at families and other busy people, as a household internet device. The problem is, the vast majority of these people already have a "household internet device" -- their computers. But the device isn't trying to be a computer... It has no hard drive, no disk storage of any kind. It's more like a desktop version of the Palm.

The people who might actually want something like the Audrey are the people who do not have a computer, do not necessarily want a computer. These folks would also be tolerant of Audrey's limitations. They don't want to access the source code of a web page to see its meta tags. They have no interest in customizing their equipment. They just want to exchange email with the grandkids, check out sports scores, or understand their latest ailment.

But it's all moot anyway, since Audrey was discontinued eariler this year. (That's how we were able to get one so cheap.) Even though Cahners In-Stat said in February of 2000 that "the five-year growth rate for total worldwide Line-Powered Internet Appliances is a very healthy 73 percent," the market just wasn't interested in Audrey. Of course the folks at Cahners In-Stat clarify their credibility when they go on to inform us, "Audrey is very user friendly ... the dial gives it a familiar feel to a TV or radio." Wow, when was the last time you had to turn a dial to operate a TV or a radio? Sometime during the 80's, most likely.

I presume that 3 com has learned a lesson, as many companies have, that real people are the ones buying the products - not market research statisticians.

posted @ 20:03...

Yes, the Audrey... part of the reason this is a separate entry into tonight's blog. The screen is barely 600 pixels wide, which makes this little window into which I type a stunning 5 lines of text in height. Beyond that, I cannot see what I'm typing, and hence, the blog is bound to be wrought with misteqaks. Oh well./ So, I'll continue when I can get back on the desktop machine.

posted @ 19:52...

So, what do I do on Sundays? Well, right now, I'm using my wife's "Audrey" to write this blog, since she's on the desktop machine doing yet another project for one of her marketing classes.