Random Bagpipe Joke
What's the only thing worse than a bagpiper?
Good question. We're still trying to find out too.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Life Lessons from the Big Cracker
If you recall, awhile back I posted a blog about regrets. The only comment was from Big T who advised, “No regrets! Forge ahead!” And I am.
But it’s been on my mind all the same. In fact, I’ve come to a bit of a conclusion: There come times in a person’s life where he has achieved a certain level of respect and expertise in his career and should continue for a few years to exploit the situation for inevitable personal success.
The problem is recognizing these times, and also being patient enough to get to this point. I admit I was never patient enough to recognize these opportunities.
Twice, so far, I’ve been in great positions; respected in the job I was doing and with a significant level of expertise. Neither time did I think, “This is it. This is the job I should be doing.” Not even that it was the right career to be in. Just that I didn’t like my manager and wasn’t willing to continue working for her, and that I was no longer happy with the town I was living in. (It was actually sort of the same both times.)
While I could have probably found work in another department, or simply persevered, and increased my expertise, I left. Moved half way across the country. Was it the right decision? We’ll never know. But I’ve now come to a realization that I’m in a position that is still part of the same career path that I thought I left, and it’s time to exploit my respect and expertise for inevitable personal success. Onward!
Expert by Pete Prodoehl is a Creative Commons image.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sometimes Too Little Is Too Little
Lifehacker mentioned a Small Notebook post about a hierarchy of cleaning. “That’s great,” I thought, “that should be a great place to get an idea for better scheduling my housecleaning tasks.” As you may have guessed, it wasn’t. And what killed me was the huge number of positive comments; at least on Small Notebook, Lifehacker commenters were less enthusiastic.
I saw the triangular hierarchy graphic, went to the original post for more detail, and there wasn’t any. WTF? You post a graphic like that with no other description or commentary? I want to know why things are grouped the way they are. What is the expected outcome of following the given hierarchy? How is this going to help me, when I don’t know what it means? There was also no indication of how the hierarchy was derived, leaving me clueless about how to customize it for my own situation. So, thanks for nothing, Lifehacker and Small Notebook.
What methods do you guys use for prioritizing housecleaning?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Flesh v. Flush
I noticed this posted on Daily Writing Tips, but didn’t really think it was a thing until my boss said it the other day, “flush it out,” meaning that we would work out a response or solution.
For reference:
You flesh out a plan.
You flush toilets and flush out toxins.
You flush out game or people who are in hiding.
Mostly, I don’t think anyone should be flushing out their plans.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Kick-Ass
So I finally managed to watch the movie Kick-Ass the other day, and I can understand why it didn't do well in theatres. It tried to be too much. Now I never read the comic book, so maybe it's very true to its source, but I doubt it.
We start off with a comic book nerd who decides to buy a costume online and become a superhero; good times. But then we're introduced to a real, Batman-esque superhero (i.e., a regular dude with cool gadgets), who willingly, and maybe purposefully, kills his enemies. These two pieces don't fit for me.
But the story requires the mistaken identity plot line to introduce and further a second comic book nerd's supervillain. I suppose the two comic book nerds are mentored and mirrored by the actual superhero and villain, but it doesn't ring true for me. It takes a comic, light-hearted premise and makes it dark and serious.
Plus, I'm not sure I approve of a 12-year-old girl chopping people's legs off or shooting them between the eyes.
It was a good movie, but the transition from teen comic book romance to dark pulp gangster killfest was a little jarring. 7 out of 10 saltines.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
So Many Posts
You may be wondering why I’ve been writing so many posts lately, and I’m going to tell you. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m using Typingweb to improve my typing. I also need to practice using the skills I’m learning.
Hopefully, I’ll get to the point where I can type at least remotely quickly enough that typing will be as easy as writing with pen and paper. I have a novel I’d like to write, but it is too much hassle trying to do it.
So there’ll be plenty more posts on the way!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
More on Minimalism and Simplicity
Further to yesterday’s post, over the last year or so, I’ve been keeping an eye on the domain Polonius.com. I was thinking that I wanted to start a minimalism, simplicity, and productivity blog, and Polonius provided sage advice. Unfortunately, the domain is still not available.
But on further reflection, all I would’ve done is reposted or quoted from existing sites, like Lifehacker, WorkAwesome, Zen Habits, and others. So I decided that I would just try to keep you all updated on my minimalism, simplicity, and productivity efforts.
I’ve already begun a few things:
- Using Typingweb.com to improve my typing speed and ability.
- Using the TimeLeft timer to keep me focused on tasks.
- Using Remember the Milk to keep track of personal tasks, and Outlook for work tasks.
(In fact, I’m looking to update our Sharepoint project list to synchronize tasks in Outlook.) - Updating this site’s design to something slightly more minimal.
- Automating more computer-related tasks (e.g., backups, updates).
What else should I be working on?