Thursday, March 25, 2010
Not talking about smurfs here
Is it me or does it seem as though all of James Cameron's block busters end with people turning blue?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
writing help
Some people need help putting stories together. Yes, I know how overwhelming grammatical rules can be at times. For example, when do you use a semi-colon and when is too many too many? How do you know if the body of your work is free from wordy excesses? I wish I could recommend an easy-to-use colon and body cleanser for your literary endeavors but your best bet is to read "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. You probably don't believe it; but I use to; and no longer; wrote like this; here. But that was before I learned to read but after I learned to write. Now, I am the bestest writer ever!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
strange assignments
One of the more confusing assignments has been one on www.tazoracreviews.com. All you will find there is a single post on Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Treatment. What's the point? It is as if someone took the effort to create a one post blog as an experiment. Is it just to measure traffic to the link? Is it to see how much spam comments it can generate? I don't know but I wish the owners luck with this one.
Health Rant #3
I bet I know what the best diet supplements are going to be! Tall, tantalizing ceese cakes! Large chocolate filled donuts covered in an inch of sweet, sweet glaze! Juicy, fat dripping hamburgers! Maybe a carrot stick or two but only in extreme emergencies. After all, insurance can't refuse to pay on conditions caused by your pre-existing obesity. In fact, those evil companies can't limit how much they can pay out to treat your less-than-optimal health. At least, it all tastes good!
Do you have health friends that don't need insurance? Great! They are the ones who get to subsidize your sickly life style. Don't worry. It's not your fault. And as long as you keep voting for politicians who support you, everything will be ok! In fact, I understand there is legislation under way to pay for all of your funeral expenses! Yes, as of today, it is good to be an Amerikan!
(Health Rant #2 is here)
Do you have health friends that don't need insurance? Great! They are the ones who get to subsidize your sickly life style. Don't worry. It's not your fault. And as long as you keep voting for politicians who support you, everything will be ok! In fact, I understand there is legislation under way to pay for all of your funeral expenses! Yes, as of today, it is good to be an Amerikan!
(Health Rant #2 is here)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Health care rant #1
Lucky for the House of Representatives, they passed sweeping health care legislation. How else are they going to pay to remove the tons of egg on their collective faces? I'd wish a pox on the faces of our Amerikan representatives but they can already afford the best treatment for acne available ... not that they couldn't before. But maybe I'm being a bit hasty.
Almost three years ago, Massachusetts began their little version of Obama's federal plan. Today, their great social experiment is running into serious financial problems. There's a reason why Boston's Mr. Kennedy was replaced by someone outside of his circle of influence. There's a reason why Obama will be making trips to "sell his new law to a reluctant public" as several news organizations have put it.
Yes, the health care process needs overhauling. But you would think Congress would start by fixing problems that they caused first, not by adding to the mess.
Almost three years ago, Massachusetts began their little version of Obama's federal plan. Today, their great social experiment is running into serious financial problems. There's a reason why Boston's Mr. Kennedy was replaced by someone outside of his circle of influence. There's a reason why Obama will be making trips to "sell his new law to a reluctant public" as several news organizations have put it.
Yes, the health care process needs overhauling. But you would think Congress would start by fixing problems that they caused first, not by adding to the mess.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Online storage
I was using Moby and Desktop to back up my data from one computer and access it from another. They both work well and are that great price of free. Desktop has a preset directory that you drop files in for backup and Moby allows you to pick which directories you want backed up. But you're limited to 1 Gigabyte which was substantial at one time. Not any more with video and music files. So I've started using Glide which has 30 Gigabytes of storage with privacy settings and the ability to share files along with a bunch of other online tools. Again for the great price of free!
Monday, March 15, 2010
is it OW-ch or OH-ch?
That fuzzy, great tasting creature chewing the grass in the field is a cow, pronounced c-OW. When dog barks, we claim its sound is bow wow, pronounced b-OW w-OW. Yet, if you take a piece of cloth and put it around your neck, it becomes a bow tie, pronounced b-OH. What changed? What made the OW become OH? If we string bunch of dogs together, do we get bow ties or bow ties?
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Coerced Charity
You know that chuck of hard earned money taken every time from your paycheck for Social Security? You would think that all of that money would be going into your own account, earning interest and payable to you in your golden years. But no. Some of your extorted money goes as coerced charity to other people in their golden years. The rest goes into a pot that other government agencies get to pull from. Or at least, they did until this year. That's right! This year, for the first time since the 1980s, Social Security is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more. This means those other goernment agencies will have to get their grubby little fingers out of our retirement program and find new ways to get in your pocket. Hee Hee Hee. I'm just kidding. Those other agencies aren't going to change a single thing about how they get your money ...
Friday, March 12, 2010
motivation behind job searches
More and more, our company has made us feel as though we are simply necessary evils towards their profits. The ensuing pulmit in employee moral has us look towards greener, better managed pastures. At first we focused our job searches to laurinburg area, then the project became "job search raleigh", then "job search north carolina", followed by other states such as "job search philadelphia" which expanded to "job search United States" and now, "job search anywhere but here". Heaven help this company when the economy takes off ...
Fast Food Love
She tore my ticket from the receipt printer slowly, seductively. With a sly wink and the same unhurried motion, this beguiling senior citizen walk away with a deliberate sultry sway of her hips, and begin to complete my fast food order.
My heart pounded with passion. I couldn't help but sigh with longing. As the store manager rushed by me at the pace of an olympic walker, he screeched to a halt upon hearing my romantic tones. "Is anything wrong, sir?" he asked. "No, nothing at all," I cooed. Pointing at the aging angel, I murmured "I think she likes me! If she moves any slower, I may faint!" He glanced at his worker and said, "Sir, she moves that way because she arthritic." "But she winked at me!" I protested. He put a brotherly arm on my shoulders. "That's not a wink. She has a twitch from her medication. And she partially blind," he calmly informed me.
After that, it was a very unhappy happy meal as I salted the fries with my tears ....
My heart pounded with passion. I couldn't help but sigh with longing. As the store manager rushed by me at the pace of an olympic walker, he screeched to a halt upon hearing my romantic tones. "Is anything wrong, sir?" he asked. "No, nothing at all," I cooed. Pointing at the aging angel, I murmured "I think she likes me! If she moves any slower, I may faint!" He glanced at his worker and said, "Sir, she moves that way because she arthritic." "But she winked at me!" I protested. He put a brotherly arm on my shoulders. "That's not a wink. She has a twitch from her medication. And she partially blind," he calmly informed me.
After that, it was a very unhappy happy meal as I salted the fries with my tears ....
Monday, March 08, 2010
geeks don't age, they just become nerder
As the baby boomers get older, the news media keeps harping on how technologically backwards these aging folks are becoming. "The kids of today are forcing senior citizens to become drooling idiots who can barely operate a light switch." Hockey sticks and double hockey sticks! The media seems to have forgotten that one special segment of the Boomer generation -- the nerds. There is a reason why our own kind called us geeks (and other things that I won't share here).
Case in point. My daughter was having a little problem with her PSP. (I'm using acronyms of today from here on out to "keep it real.") Once I figured how to get the WiFi connected, I d/l the latest patches, reconfigured the OS and, Ta-Da (old school acronym "I be jammin' now"), everythin' was solid. Now, I've got some tight music (Jazz Fusion) and audio books on the PSP so my games be jumpin'. The only problem is not enough micro sd RAM. But that's ok. I don't wanna pwn the kiddies too badly. Just enough to scare 'em. Holla!
Case in point. My daughter was having a little problem with her PSP. (I'm using acronyms of today from here on out to "keep it real.") Once I figured how to get the WiFi connected, I d/l the latest patches, reconfigured the OS and, Ta-Da (old school acronym "I be jammin' now"), everythin' was solid. Now, I've got some tight music (Jazz Fusion) and audio books on the PSP so my games be jumpin'. The only problem is not enough micro sd RAM. But that's ok. I don't wanna pwn the kiddies too badly. Just enough to scare 'em. Holla!
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Free me
I'm being bombarded by "free this" and "free that", "buy one and get one free", "free buttons with every shirt purchased!" Yeah, some things are redundantly stupid. Take the advertisement of "free insurance quotes". Why did these quotes get captured in the first place? And why would anyone pay for a quote? Well, maybe if you've recently talked with the sales guy of the year who just sold a Ben and Jerry's ice cream franchise to a nice couple in Alaska. Not only did my quote cost me less than the franchise, but apparently I'm the only one in Fair Banks, Alaska who enjoys ice cream. More for me ... But if you can stop by for a visit, I'll throw in a free cone with your purchase. I've got millions of 'em and winter isn't ending any time soon.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
got to pass this one along
As you might know, I get $5 for putting linked phrases into posts. The good side is that I can write whatever I like with the phrases so long as I'm not vulgar or detrimental to the link. The bad side is that more and more of my assignments deal with weight products or skin care issues. How many ways can you make "weight loss" entertaining before hitting a brick wall of writer's block? Last week, I received one phrase that was almost impossible to write with. "Almost impossible" he said with a sly wink. After thinking I had reached my limits, here's what I wrote. What do you think?
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Pimple Power
Even when you cross that half-century mark of age, you're still plagued by random cases of acne. The thing about these pimples is that they tend to appear all over your body. While you can find information on top acne treatment for your face, there doesn't seem to be anything for bottom acne treatment. This is understandable. You shouldn't have to worry about people seeing the pimples on your butt ... unless you live in a nudist colony.
In any case, as an adult with a obvious pimple on the end of your nose, you can have an advantage in public situations. It's not like when you were a teenager and you didn't want people fixating on your facial train wreck of a skin condition. Now, as an adult standing in front of a room full of important business people, you can count on them staring at that painful looking rhino growth. Like a hypnotic wand, you point with your nose. You direct your audience's attention with your nose. When you want your audience to unconsciously agree with you, you slowly move your nose up and down while watching your public nod their head as they track your newly acquired albeit temporary facial deformity. When that happens, you'll realize that there is power behind the pizza face!
In any case, as an adult with a obvious pimple on the end of your nose, you can have an advantage in public situations. It's not like when you were a teenager and you didn't want people fixating on your facial train wreck of a skin condition. Now, as an adult standing in front of a room full of important business people, you can count on them staring at that painful looking rhino growth. Like a hypnotic wand, you point with your nose. You direct your audience's attention with your nose. When you want your audience to unconsciously agree with you, you slowly move your nose up and down while watching your public nod their head as they track your newly acquired albeit temporary facial deformity. When that happens, you'll realize that there is power behind the pizza face!
Info Overloaded
You may have heard your friends complain that there's too much information on the Internet. And understandably so. It seems you start researching one topic and soon find yourself down the rabbit hole of something completely different. Sometimes you find yourself compelled to obey the command "click here" even though you know it's only site related to dieting.
Maybe the problem isn't so much about information overload as it is about a failure of our personal filters. We tend to surf the web like two-year olds in a toy store, bouncing from one enticing aisle to another and frustrating ourselves because we can't get to all the toys quick enough. As an adult going through the same toy store, we know what we're looking for. With a cursory glance at the endless enticing choices available, we quickly filter out what we don't want and focus on finding those desirable goodies that we wanted in the first place.
To keep us from being overwhelmed when we're using the Internet, perhaps we should use the same process of filtering. This could mean having your e-mail program automatically organize your incoming messages into descriptive folders for later viewing. Or restricting your favorite topics to one or two top-notch sites. Or better yet, using that ultimate filter --- the computer's off button.
Maybe the problem isn't so much about information overload as it is about a failure of our personal filters. We tend to surf the web like two-year olds in a toy store, bouncing from one enticing aisle to another and frustrating ourselves because we can't get to all the toys quick enough. As an adult going through the same toy store, we know what we're looking for. With a cursory glance at the endless enticing choices available, we quickly filter out what we don't want and focus on finding those desirable goodies that we wanted in the first place.
To keep us from being overwhelmed when we're using the Internet, perhaps we should use the same process of filtering. This could mean having your e-mail program automatically organize your incoming messages into descriptive folders for later viewing. Or restricting your favorite topics to one or two top-notch sites. Or better yet, using that ultimate filter --- the computer's off button.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Update on work
During the first week into December, the business numbers looked bleak compared to the company's overly optimistic and misguided projections. The owners and investors quickly implement furloughs and pay-cuts for all of us worker bees. By the end of December, the numbers turned out to be very close to their original higher-than-normal goals. Surprisingly, January turned out to be a record sales month. Now February is also looking to be much better than the numbers given to the bank. Yet, the furloughs and pay cuts remain. Kind of reminds me of a skin condition --- a 'rash' decision that has turned into a nasty eczema with festering employee resentment and rapidly decaying morale.
Business is picking up for several surrounding companies as well. With the departure of a couple more employees to these prospering businesses, this may be the medicine that kills the blundering patient.
Business is picking up for several surrounding companies as well. With the departure of a couple more employees to these prospering businesses, this may be the medicine that kills the blundering patient.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
College bound ... again
I've been asked to review Western Governors Online University's site at http://wgu.edu. This request came at a good time. I've just finished my umpth phone interview with lots of kudos about my experience. But without having all of my training and classes coalesced into one overrated piece of paper know as a degree, I keep losing out on the jobs. So what I need to do is return to college. But I don't have time and money to retake every class again. WGU states that they will let you progress through your course work at your own speed. And if you can prove that you know the material, you may be able to jump ahead. But the wording on their isn't very promising. I get the impression that you could be a qualified nurse and working on your rn to bsn online with them and still not be qualified enough to get your BSN in record time unless lots of time on your hands.
I'm looking at the IT Technology degree which requires 121 "Competency Units". WGU is expecting you to take at least 12 CU during a 6 month term at $2890 per term and devote a minimum of 20 hours per week. Yes, for 5 years of schooling, a $30,000 BS degree is cheaper than most colleges. But is it better for me? I'm going to investigate other colleges and see what else I can find in comparison.
I'm looking at the IT Technology degree which requires 121 "Competency Units". WGU is expecting you to take at least 12 CU during a 6 month term at $2890 per term and devote a minimum of 20 hours per week. Yes, for 5 years of schooling, a $30,000 BS degree is cheaper than most colleges. But is it better for me? I'm going to investigate other colleges and see what else I can find in comparison.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Feel The Burn
I have worked hard at having links without doing actual fat burner reviews. This free-form post is no exception. I write because I've been wondering what would happen if I took several fat burner pills and then exercised like crazy. Would my fat spontaneously combust? Not that anyone would be surprised since I seem to have no problem with making an ash of myself. And, in this case, I will have urned my place in the minds of many. "Remember how Ron became consumed with exercise?" "Yeah, he was on fire!"
A Spicy Post
Hi, I'm Ron and I'm an addict. Specifically, a thyme addict. I love that spice to the point of eating nothing else. And while it was one of the best unintentional weight loss products I had ever used, it became like all bad habits -- very expensive as it consumed my life. Soon I found myself going for neighbor to neighbor, getting them to lend me as much of that evil spice as possible. Shortly after that, I reached rock bottom and had to clean up my act as neighbors shunned me and my health deteriorated. But what can you expect when you live on borrowed thyme ...
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