What if...

every company did this? A part of me applauds this decision. It shows pride and support for the product you make, but the other side is it penalizes your choice to buy elsewhere.

I have said, as a consumer, that when I walk onto a car lot, I wanna see what car the salesman is driving. If he isn't driving one the ones he sells, how can I believe anything he tells me with regard to what I am buying?

"This is the best car in its class on the market!"
"Then why aren't you driving one?"
"Err.... Umm... did you see it comes in Neon Blue?"

Yogi Bear on Steroids

This was forwarded to me in an email. Thanks Sis...

The downloaded pictures are of a man who works for the US Forest Service in Alaska and his trophy bear (killed in self defense).He was out deer hunting last week when a large grizzly bear charged him from about 50 yards away. The guy emptied his 7mm Magnum semi-automatic rifle into the bear and it dropped a few feet from him. The big bear was still alive so he reloaded and shot it several times in the head.

The bear was just over one thousand six hundred pounds. It stood 12'6" high at the shoulder, 14' to the top of his head. It's the largest grizzly bear ever recorded in the world. Of course, the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Commission did not let him keep it as a trophy, but the bear will be stuffed and mounted, and placed on display at the Anchorage airport to remind tourists of the risks involved when in the wild.

Based on the contents of the bears stomach, the Fish and Wildlife Commission established the bear had killed at least two humans in the past 72 hours including a missing hiker. The US Forest Service, backtracking from where the bear had originated, found the hiker's 38-caliber pistol emptied. Not far from the pistol were the remains of the hiker. The other body has not been found.

Although the hiker fired six shots and managed to hit the grizzly with four shots (the Service ultimately found four 38 caliber slugs along with twelve 7mm slugs inside the bear's dead body), it only wounded the bear and probably angered it immensely. The bear killed the hiker an estimated two days prior to the bear's own death by the gun of the Forest Service worker.

Think about this:

If you are an average size man; You would be level with the bear's navel when he stood upright. The bear would look you in the eye when it walked on all fours! To give additional perspective, consider that this particular bear, standing on its hind legs, could walk up to an average single story house and look over the roof, or walk up to a two story house and look in the bedroom windows.

Behind the scenes...

I am wrapping up a six month job as a Help Desk Analyst. I just wanted everyone to have some insight to what I have been doing.

Sexual Harassment...

So a new article appeared on MSNBC stating sexual harassment affects most college students. I have some things to say on this matter –

1. I have never been sexually harassed... dammit.

2. I am concered about the direction our country is heading. I know our nation was founded by Puritans who wanted to escape the debauchery of the old world, but here in the 21st century, we need to loosen our ties a bit. It has become so bad that I wouldn't DARE ask a co-worker out on a date for fear of repercussions. It was just as bad or worse when I was teaching (for those who do not know me, I have spent the better part of the last 10 years teaching adults). You look at a girl in the wrong way and you are "coming on to her" inappropriately. I spent a brief stint working for an insurance company and the girl who ran the copy room was rather attractive. One day I got called into the boss' office and was reprimanded for making unwanted advances toward her... Huh? Yeah, the extent of my "advances" was stopping to say Hi and striking up a little conversation while getting supplies out of the room.

I was once pulled into my Training Manager's office for being degrading to women by using "Yeah Baby (Austin Powers quote)" during my lesson. Someone found that offensive and complained. I seriously don't get it. When did people decide to become so thin-skinned?

I am not saying sexual harassment doesn't exist, but I categorically deny ever being inappropriate in the work place, and I think people should step back sometimes and get perspective.

If any girls are reading this - before you go tossing around sexual harassment complaints consider that just because a guy has found you interesting and asks you out, that is not sexual harassment. Just because a guy takes a moment, stops and says "Hi", that is not sexual harassment. You are the fairer sex and your company is enjoyed. Use common sense and consider the damage potential of the allegations. Thanks Babe!

Comment from:
DBooth said...

Perhaps these links to Sexual Harassment training films can help clear up some of the confusion.

Link 1

Link 2

January 26, 2006 2:25 PM

Every now and then,

Something happens that causes people such as myself to go crazy. I am a pretty avid hobbyist-photographer who really has an appreciation for nature's beauty -- whether it be a well lit flower, scarlett johannson, or a rainbow. To come across a situation like these without a good camera at the ready drives me nuts. So imagine my dismay when this afternoon around 4pm when an unbelievable double rainbow appeared outside my office window. I have seldom seen a rainbow so vivid in person (excepting a few instances in Panama), and it wasn't just part of one, it was two complete rainbows. Gorgeous!

Here are the few pathetic attempts made by the camera on my phone... please forgive the quality, but you should be able to get an idea of what I saw.

Damn Monday...

Yep, got the Monday Blues. I am fighting a headache, my Redskins succumbed to the Seahawks, it is a cold dreary day, and my bank account still doesn't have 6 zeroes.

Friday night was a Poker tournament at a friend's house. 15 players at 2 tables, moderate buy in. I make it to the final table and am holding my own. 5 players left, and I am still sitting. If I make the top 3 I am in the money. Thankfully I get dealt Pocket Aces!!! YES!! I am looking at the board, and Q 3 4 hit the flop, 2 of them spades. This is important because I am holding the Ace of Spades. On the turn comes another spade, and everyone has folded except the player to my right. I check to him and he bets into me pretty big. So I am looking at 4 cards to a nut flush and am holding pocket Aces with the highest card on the board being a queen. I call and the river yields a 3 of hearts. I again check to him, wanting him to bet into me. He doesn't let me down and goes all in. YAHOO!!! I call and triumphantly flip over my pocket Aces. The happy dance lasts for .67 seconds as he calmly flips over pocket queens. With now only a single $100 chip, I am doomed 3 hands later.

Us losers decided to play another game while the top 4 battled it out, with a lower buyin and only 2 winners -- 2nd gets his buy in back and winner takes the rest. I won that, and actually went home ahead for the evening.

My official Poker name is going to be "Almost".

I know some of you are still having problems accessing some of my graphics and links which point to my FTP server. A fix for this is in the works and hopefully (Nick willing) will be in place within the week. Thanks for your patience.

It's a Poker Night!

A bunch of my co-workers and I are getting together for a big Texas Hold 'Em tourney tonight. I can't wait! I have over the past several months become a real poker fiend! I will let ya know how I do.

I submitted my two weeks notice today as I have been offered a job as the Manager of a training facility in Sacramento. It's the potential of this job that has me excited -- that and the fact I will be getting medical insurance again (first time in over 3 years).

The Redskins are inexplicably still in the Playoffs, but I am not too enthusiastic about their chances against the Seahawks tomorrow. But let's not forget the Redskins did beat those guys earlier in the season. The magic number? +120 -- the number of yards the Redskins had last week. This must go up.

Model or Novelist?

Actually she is both. Australia's Tara Moss is stunning to be sure (the pic grabbed my attention), but apparently she is highly regarded as a mystery novelist. If anyone reads her work, let me know what you think.

Got a link to this from a friend...

This just had to be shared!!! Take a moment and just... laugh!

I would like to peek into this person's brain...

A friend of mine (I will call her "Belle*", so as not to unduly embarrass anyone), just relocated her office to another part of the massive Intel Folsom campus. She packed up everything that had to go to the new location, and the office was moved yesterday while she worked from home (I had to use a rolling chair and pile everything on top of it when I moved -- geez!).

This morning she went to her new office and discovered some stuff missing. Turns out her Administrative Assistant (yeah, the clerk!) decided Belle apparently had too much stuff and proceeded to go thru the boxes and remove things which Belle didn't need. When Belle told the assistant she wanted her stuff, the assistant said "Well, you'd better go get it then!" It is not a short walk to the old office, literally about a 1/2 mile of trudging. Then back.

Kudos to Belle for not placing a roundhouse kick upside the assistant's head. I cannot believe Belle didn't call her out on that and make the assistant go get the box. Belle, you are a better person than I.

As for the Assistant, I would like to know what analytical process or brainstorm of an idea would go thru your brain that would make you think to rifle thru your boss' packed stuff and decide what should and shouldn't be moved? Not something I usually see in a job description. Does this fall under the category of efficiency or dementia?

* – French for beautiful

A little bit of insomnia...

and I am working on some music stuff. Re-discovered one of my all time favorite songs, Africa by Toto. This is one of those masterpiece albums that is just brilliant. Notice the vocal harmonies in the chorus, and the layered percussion. Most of the new stuff out there today can't touch Toto IV in quality. If you haven't heard it before (or just forgot), I've included it here.

Happy New Year

Isn't that what I am supposed to say? Well, Ok.

For some, the links to my FTP site (where the larger versions of my graphics and other things) aren't working. Weird, the links work fine from both Internet Explorer and Firefox from my computer at work. I don't get it.

I will be doing some re-routing of my network later on this week, and all these problems should be resolved. Thanks for your patience.