Daynotes On A Budget, V6.0

I suppose it's been about thirty years since I did any real software development.   Yes, I worked with/for/in support of some real software developers, did some work in various tools that produced software-like results, and learned a fair bit about computering around in general. Mind you, my childhood was bereft of those machines.  I mean, if you listen to my children, I apparently pre-dated Dirt 1.0.  I may have been around for Rock, 2.0, but I certainly was too old to care when Rock 3.1 arrived on the scene.  If they tell the tale. But I do recall a number of conversations over the years - some with other IT professionals, some with people who wandered into the computer room by accident, and some with end users whom I was tasked with supporting.  And I did develop some internal rules, er, commandments, when it came to software in general. I did come to the conclusion that it was acceptable to flash entire full-screen messages on people's desktops when cer...

Here I am, April 25, and outside, we've got windchills to worry about. Mind you, those "windchill" numbers are slightly below freezing, as we see it, so when it comes to "is that cold?"  Nah.  It's knee-length shorts weather, not "yank them down before you have some explaining to do" shorts.  Yeah, there are a fair few folks up here in "da norte land" that sometimes lack the propriety that a decent person might rely on to prevent themselves from walking out their front door in a wardrobe choice that would probably result in catcalls and potential criminal charges in some neighborhoods. But then again, when you spend 9 months of the year considering the layering approach for today's wardrobe, the occasional fashion faux pas that ends up exposing a little more private real estate than originally planned, well, it's about as close as us Midwesterners get to nude beaches.  Because up here in this neck of the woods, the only guarantee ...

I am probably not looking in the right places...  Or using enough brains.  It's the twenty-first century, for crying out loud, we should by now have office chairs with proper supporting arms which also will permit you to put the chair under the freaking desk. I know.  I'm not looking in the right spots.  I've got limited space in my "home office," so I'm looking for a way to use the space wisely.  Oh, and protect my delicate tushie from the frequent long periods of sitting it has to endure with the rest of me abusing it.   Yeah, I know, you didn't need that mental picture either.  What is somewhat aggravating for me is that, about a decade ago, now, I plonked down around $120 to pick up the chair I am seated in right now.  But let's take another moment. Back about 33 years ago now, I moved out of my parent's house.  I brought what limited furniture I could fit into my Ford Tempo 4-door vehicle, and wedge into my girlfriend's apartment....

Well, let's see how tomorrow goes... Yes, it's a Monday, but I've been getting alerts on my work computer over the last two weeks reminding me that soon I shall be receiving a notice that I will have to apply a rather large software update to it.  I am apparently the trailing edge on this project, because a number of team members have experienced this update so far.   It takes five hours to apply, so we've been directed to do it at the end of our work day.  So we'll see how this goes. Being a former IT dork, I know deeply that these things can be far more complex than anticipated.  And I do remain in deep respectful awe of my employer's IT department.  Two years ago, when this whole pandemic thing rolled up on us, they had about two weeks to arrange for those of us who worked from offices to work from home.   Mind you, when I was an IT Guy, this was something that was rather unheard of.  I had an employer who did offer some employees the opti...

 I was a relatively late-comer to Twitter.  I mean, I'm always behind the cool kids, er, kewl kidz, when stuff like that shows up.  I think I was about ten minutes after reading something Wil Wheaton put up about Twitter that I signed up - and Wil was pretty new on it too. And I hung around that cesspit for far too long.  I was there when the gamer boys decided that it was absolutely verbotten that girls come into the clubhouse, er, as in, play video games, and all the shit that flowed downhill from that, I looked at Twitter, I reviewed the list of people whom I followed.  About 60% of those whom I followed were family and friends, about 25% were celebrities, and there were a few I followed just because I felt I needed to remain up to date about various things.  And there were a few informative tweat-streams. But as I continued to follow stuff on that site, I noticed that every time I visited, and reviewed what was happening, I got off the site feeling less...

Sometimes I get the feeling I might be able to change people's minds.   Then I realize that most people are so deeply rooted in their way of thinking, their prejudices, and their little corners of reality that they're just gonna keep being assholes until they die.  Won't they be surprised when they get to the Pearly Gates and the sign outside says "What part of 'Love one another as I have loved you' was confusing?"  The one three syllable word in that statement is pretty unambiguous, but I suppose the meaning of the word "Love" might confuse some of these fools. I will be flat-out honest - I do not have a hope in any way to understand the struggles that some people go through.  People who chose to change their genders, are attracted to people who are the same gender, or ... well, there are a lot of other struggles out there. But that's not my problem.  I am not asked to understand them.  I'm only asked to treat them like a fellow human be...

The older I get, the less surprised I am when a liar rolls another lie out in front of people.  I do find it a little curious as to why they're still listened to, or their views are considered "news" but I suppose with the liar is the head of a formerly respected country, well, I suppose they get what they sowed. I don't often watch the TV Evening news any longer.  This started back in 2018 when my job changed, and my work hours got different.  I tended to get my news from multiple internet sources (no, I do not consider Facebook a news source.  I tend to rely on sites such as CNN and local TV stations.  And the local newspaper).  I don't rely on one source, because I think that's how people become deceived.   But I do try to catch the weekend evening news, in part because it does seem to be a nice wrap-up of the previous week, and I usually have time to do it.  I mean, right now, my evening commute is a little shorter than my morning commute...

Turns out what I feared was coming was the other end of the tunnel.   The changes I thought were a bad sign were actually an increase in responsibility and visibility.  Just need to keep on keeping on.  A little bit easier to make my way through the day, and a new chance to learn. So I'm still going to tweak and deploy a resume, and see what might be available.  I would love to find that I am in the place where I can stay until I'm ready to retire.  Based on current rates, I believe that, at some time in the next 70 years, I will be ready to retire.  Based on current current and expected trends, I believe I may have somewhere between 10-25 years left to work.  If I am lucky and avoid falling ... well, anything, pretty much.  Germs are high on that list. So yeah.   Other than that, I do really get irritated with the cruft that comes along with the current interation of Facebook.  As a professional introvert, I do find that I am ...