Lily...

Too Much of a Bad Thing

A pretty good New York Times editorial about McCain's overuse of his war experience in his platform.

"Reminder that John McCain's solution to stop trafficking of child pornography was "a database" that every internet connection in the US could be compared against any time it was transferring data to see if it matched up with any "known" child porn images."

Yeah I'm Just a Fool in the Rain

Doldrums

So at the moment I'm between shots, so I've got a four hour gap. I went home for an hour, ate a pair of hot pockets, and sat around for a bit before dragging myself back in. Brian's been MIA since about 1:00 or so, but I'm sure he's busied himself with a meeting somewhere or whatnot.

Anyway, I went on a music spree last night and grabbed a few albums I've been meaning to get for awhile. I thought I might go all LastFM with this blog for a post and tell everyone what I've been listening to; essentially, the albums I've brought with me to work on my laptop.

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

One of my favorite discoveries of the last six or so months. Curiously enough, I recall discovering Of Montreal completely through Last FM's system of matching artists to other artists. Of Montreal came up as the first choice for those who enjoy Architecture in Helsinki. I guess they were right.

Of Montreal has a unique sound - they use some synth, some real instruments, and the singer straddles the line between eccentric genius and a cracked-out falsetto singer. The band is extremely avant-garde and arguably pretty indie. Hissing Fauna... goes through a few stages, from happier and uptone music and lyrics to taking a turn for the morbid and depressing from The Past is a Grotesque Animal onward. I really like their sound and creative lyrics, but whether it's because of their oddness or in spite of it, I'm not entirely certain. On the same vein, their new album Skeletal Lamping is pretty interesting as well.

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

I've been a Death Cab fan ever since I first listened to the Postal Service a couple years ago. Lately it seems "I Will Possess Your Heart" has been ubiquitous in most indie circles. The album really delivers more of what you expect; mostly catchy melodies and lyrics, with a couple songs that are a bit more expertly written.

I've been listening to this a lot, partially because I have to get up to speed on everything Death Cab's done in preparation for the concert on October 5th I have tickets to. It's down at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, which as I hear is a little more intimate a setting than the ridiculously large stadiums I'm used to seeing concerts in.

Peter, Bjorn and John - Writer's Block

Admittedly, I first got into this band from one of their singles, coupled with its interesting video. This Swedish band has a fairly unique sound that's most decidedly indie. Most of their songs have a pretty simple rhythm and are hard to get out of your head. Especially "Young Folks"; I don't think it's possible to not be whistling this within sixteen hours of listening to the song.

I've gotten fairly into them, especially the songs on the album that keep things simple. Once they start trying to come up with super complex melodies and rhythms it begins to wear thin.


Less Than Jake - In With the Out Crowd

I've enjoyed Less Than Jake since their Losing Streak days where they were decidedly more punk/ska than they are now. They've kept the trumpets the whole time, but have taken on more of a rock/alternative sound than the punk they had stuck to years ago. Although a lot of people seemed to dump on Anthem as selling out, I've actually enjoyed where LTJ has ended up in the scheme of things.

In With the Out Crowd is a lot like Anthem in that most of the songs have a rock feel to them. Some favorites include "Overrated" and "The Rest of My Life". The usual themes of 'Jersey sucks' and 'leaving home' appear in some of the songs, not surprisingly, but it all fits their motif. They sing about what they know, I guess.

Weekly Skedool

So this week's kind of a weird one - at least I won't be waking up at ridiculous hours quite so much, it seems.

Monday - 7:30 to 20:00 (12.5 hours)
Tuesday - 11:30 to 20:00 (21 hours)
Wednesday - 7:30 to 20:00 (33.5 hours)
Thursday - 7:30 to 20:00 (46 hours)
Friday - OFF (?)

This is probably my ideal schedule. I would likely widdle off 2-3 hours of overtime for lunch and dinner breaks, since I'm working twelve hours three of the days I'm on, and eight the last one. If I can engineer the Friday off though - choo choo, four day weekend ahoy.

Oh Wow

Wow, today's sucking almost as much as last Friday. I came in at 9am, which wasn't too bad, and the first three hours went just fine. I have a compound test shot this afternoon, my first ever, which essentially means I get to juggle two sets of people in two different places. The downside is that the same issue I had a week ago is giving me headaches today.

Now, I don't know as much as most of the others in terms of configuring the system correctly. The biggest problem is they all know it in a different manner. One of them says one thing, the other says a different thing. I don't know who to believe after awhile, so I start getting defensive about what's going wrong with my configuration sheets. Ugh.

On the Agenda

So there are several things I've been putting off that I really should try to do sooner or later. Moving comes with a lot of things, the worst of which is getting my car re-registered. I really couldn't care less about getting stupid new plates, but I've been told I have roughly sixty days to do it. It wouldn't be so bad if it were like Minnesota where you can stand at the DMV for a little while and then walk out. You have to actually go and get your car inspected in order to get New Jersey tags and to renew them every two years. What's the deal? My car's new, it's not like it doesn't meet emissions standards or some crazy thing like that.

I need to register to vote in Burlington County. I think I can probably walk to my polling place, since there's a schoolhouse not too far from my apartment, or at least I think it's one. There's a sign with a giant pencil that says "Schoolhouse Mews" on it, so it's a learning institutions for either humans or quite possibly cats.

As far as Scott's request for Jersey fast food places... seriously, there's not much different out here. California is kind of the freak state for having so many startup food places - possibly because it's cut off fromt he rest of the country for the most part by the giant wasteland of nothingness that is the Mountain Time Zone. I mean, all I see different on the east coast are Chik-Fil-A being a lot more prominent, Five Guys Burger and Fries (which is classified as "casual dining" rather than fast food), Wawa (convenience store), and Dunkin Donuts. That's pretty much it. Generally out here it's like they doubled the amount of Denny's and Perkin's restaurants and transformed 80% of them into independent or chain diners I've never heard of before. Friendly's is kind of new to me, but it's pretty much an Applebee's or Friday's with double the ice cream-related menu items.

Of course, they have the regular stable of McDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy's and Burger King.

McCain Has Five-Point Poll Lead

Oh god, not this again. Same thing as 2004 - Democrat leads massively throughout the summer, stupid Republican attack ads set in during August/September, and the Democrat takes a nose-dive.

Though I guess it is just Zogby. Rasmussen is generally better at everything.

Also this picture is awesome and shows exactly why I love Rasmussen so much.

Sites Keith Looks at a Lot: PART ONE

I'm pretty big into politics, so I check a few political sites quite regularly, especially lately. The presidential races have always been a big deal to me, and I've tracked them (in whatever capacity I could) since 1992 when I was just learning how numbers worked.

Electoral Vote, pretty much the best site for finding polling information on the 'net. They collect poll results daily from whatever states they're available in and adjust the mapping accordingly. The guy that runs it also does some impressive studies with past data, most interestingly his how good are experienced presidents? study. I like the maps the most - a very simple interface that tells you basically everything you could want to know about the poll data that's out there. Whether a state leans heavily one way or the other, just a little, what have you. You can even hover over and see the actual percentages, and there are portions of the site where you can look at all the poll data used in the past.

Though I would usually just use Google for most news, when it comes to politics nobody beats Politico. They have some of the most up to date coverage on the internet, and generally have stories that I would want to see. I've been watching it rabidly lately along with a couple others sources to find out who's going to be Obama's heralded vice presidential candidate.

An obvious one, but useful to post here anyway. Google News, and particularly the election section are always up to date with whatever's happening, although they tend to sometimes have a lot of fluff mixed in.

Finally, my beloved Laissez's Faire forum on SA, which boils down to a parody of the current events forum. It's actually a good place to find out some news, although it tends to make me laugh a lot more than it makes me learn. But both are good. Some naughty language, though, so watch out if you're a sensitive one.

El Programma de Rachel Maddow

Woo, apparently Olbermann posted an article on MSNBC's website detailing a replacement show for Verdict at the 9PM EST timeslot, starring the loveable Rachel Maddow. As much as I like Dan Abrams, I like Maddow a lot more, and am glad for the shift.

Obviously, over the next couple weeks the convention coverage will take up the majority of the schedule at MSNBC. Abrams will run his last show on Thursday, and Maddow will begin hers on the eighth of September. She's always been well spoken and is very similar to Olbermann in her humor, though there's a marked difference between their reporting and opinion-giving styles. Of course, this means another mark against MSNBC in the whole "liberal media" onslaught, since she originally hosted a show on Air America. Regardless of the partisanship, she's a good host and worth watching.

I remember watching Abrams years ago when Olbermann's Countdown began on a show called The Abrams Report. Since he's the chief legal correspondent, he went through the legal stories and news of the day and had on other legal experts to give their opinions on where cases were going. It wasn't riveting, but it made me become a Dan Abrams fan. He was offered a job as the general manager of the entire network, which he took, dissolving his show and undoubtedly leading to the creation of Tucker or something. I hate to see him crash and burn with Verdict, although the splashy use of graphics and idiotic segment names seemed really cheap and flimsy. Glad to see he'll still be with the network, though.

I Feel Like Crap, But

This song can cheer me up.

Television Prospects

So we managed to finish all of Dexter's first and second seasons, and the third still looms on the horizon next month. We're nearly done with the first season of 30 Rock, and I don't yet have the second season, so this is definitely a possibility to continue. Here's what I can come up with, from comedy, drama, and action.

House
A favorite of mine for a long time, and a long running show. It's clever and well written, dramatic, and sometimes quite funny. I've dropped off in watching it lately, but when I initially got hooked on it, it was just because of the pilot alone. I didn't really like the show until I watched an episode, and then bam, I was hooked immediately. I blazed through over two seasons in less than a week, so this is a definitely favorite of mine. Hugh Laurie is amazing, and the supporting cast of characters is enough to make the show enjoyable, much less the romantic subplots and medical mysteries.

Heroes
Another pretty good drama with a nice science-fiction/superhero spin. The new season begins on September 22, last I checked, so it would be good to get back up to speed with this show. Although it can sometimes be a let down to see the lack of all-out battles, the character drama and how cool the actual characters are sustains the show pretty well, especially the interactions between Noah Bennett ("HRG") and the powered characters. Season 3 promises to be more action-oriented with the introduction of (up to) a dozen previously unseen villains which break out of the Level Five confinement facility. After how great Sylar alone was as a villain, I'm curious to see where they go with this.

My Name is Earl
A member of the Thursday night NBC block of greatness, alongside its 30 Rock, Scrubs, and The Office. Another in the line of single camera sitcoms that doesn't include a laugh track or studio audience. It's well-written and most of the humor derives from the stupidity or misconceptions of the characters. It centers around Earl Hickey, who is hit by a car after winning the lottery, losing the ticket in the process. He embarks on a quest to right all those who he had wronged as a professional thief, and makes a list of all said people, crossing each off when he rights his mistakes. Earl's goal is to satisfy karma and work his way back to being a good person.

The Office
An office filled with quirky personalities and a few straightman characters, I've been a fan for quite some time. Developing from a British comedy of the same name, it has managed to become a real platform for successful character introspection and interaction. Aside from that, though, it's pretty funny, mainly for these same character quirks. Michael is stupid and inept as a boss, Dwight is ridiculously dedicated and paranoid, Jim is the prototypical slacker who likes to shake up the others, etc.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Local flavor. Danny DeVito. We've already watched some of it, and I'd like to go through them all at least once more, even after watching them quite extensively in the past year or so. Great show.

The Smell

It smells like whiteout at this desk for some reason. This is inspiration.

It smells like whiteout
I just heard a lawnmower
CSEDS is lovely

All Alone

Brian decided to take off today and tomorrow, so I've stolen his desk and have to fend for myself all day. I got my first test set up just fine and am now relaxing until the next one begins, but that should be a lot easier considering it's the same shot, just extended. It's weird when someone says there are errors in the setup, but you ask the expert and they say that you set it up fine, though.

Anyway, this weekend's going to be a dull one I fear. With Whitney setting sail down to the familiar (to her) waters of DC, I'll be stuck in South Jersey by myself, eating hot pockets and downing cola. Maybe I can actually get something constructive done, though? I'm kind of doubting it at this juncture (though if you consider blog posts constructive...), but maybe I can make something of myself. Or I could lay in bed for most of the weekend and read things. That one sounds a little more appealing, to be honest.

I mean, with so many possibilities out there... build a kite, bake a pie, eat grass. Too many choices. Ooo, discovering new bands seems cool. Most of the time when I go on a music-listening spree it ends up yielding two or three new bands that I latch onto and really like - case in point Of Montreal last time I did this. Another option is just to sit around and watch more Olympics, considering the closing ceremony is supposed to be broadcast on Sunday evening. Because of work I didn't really get to watch as much as I usually like to, but the parts I did catch were fairly enjoyable.

I suppose I should focus on getting through the week before thinking on all this. I've got plenty of work to do, and a side project handed to me this morning certainly doesn't mitigate that fact. Perhaps I was short sighted in wishing for more to do a month or two ago? Maybe I just grew complacent and content with only responding to calls rather than doing the calling myself. Oh well, I'll evolve and get through it.

Also, check out this rad tattoo.

Scheduletron 9000

So as far as my decision, I've decided to go with staying where I am. I've only been here for a paltry six or so weeks, so there's plenty more I can learn from sticking around. Brian's great, I love the hours - what more could I ask for?

Monday - 7:30 to 20:00 (12.5 hours)
Tuesday - 7:30 to 16:00 (21 hours)
Wednesday - 7:30 to 20:00 (33.5 hours)
Thursday - 7:30 to 16:00 (42 hours)
Friday - 11:30 to 16:00 (46.5 hours)

So, plenty of hours. There's a four hour gap between shots on Wednesday, so I might just go home from noon to four. Also, way too many early days - I don't know how I'll live, since I'm so used to Monday and Tuesday being late wake-ups. Oh well; not like it matters a whole lot, anyway, since I'm sure I'll be exhausted by the time I get home tonight.

Things that suck today: XKCD and Silverlight.

Everybody's Workin' For the Weekend

So I'm through the toughest part of my week, hooray! I worked 11.5 hours both Monday and Tuesday, leaving only 17 to spread over three days; today I'll be working for five and a half, so I'm looking forward to a nice rest of my week. Also, today is already a good day because I spent an hour and a half in a meeting just listening and there was pizza in the conference room I always sit in. Everyone knows that when they leave food out, it's going to get eaten - free lunch for me.

Sadly because of work I missed my chance to go to what I can only assume was a great Radiohead concert. I'm still a big fan of the week-frontloading, though. Speaking of work, though, I'm at a crossroads in terms of where I want to go in the next few months and years of my job. I was originally hired in one group and was swapped to another temporarily - workloads ebb and flow, so they put me where they needed help at the time, and also to ease me into every day operations here. Anyway, I have the choice to either shift back to the group that I was originally hired for, or stay where I am now. Of course, either option confers its pros and cons, which I will lay out thusly for my own organization and all of your (hopeful) entertainment.

Staying in My Current Position
1) I know what I'm doing, I know many of the people here. Brian, who has been a mentor and conferred a lot of advice on me and showed me all of the ropes has been a tremendous asset not only for helping me solve problems but also giving me the straight dope on what goes on in the Moorestown facilities.
2) I honestly really like the hours. The fact that I can work 10+ hours the first two days of the week and have Wednesday and Friday as half days is really appealing to me. Working eight hours of the day doesn't work as well for me - I start to get sick of it after four and thus every day kind of drags on. If I work 12 hours for two days, yeah I get sick of it after four, but I get to reap the benefits of going home early on two other days.
3) A fairly laid back boss in the sense that I wouldn't be micromanaged. As long as I get things done, he'll leave me be.

Moving to the Other Position
1) More variety in the sense that I would be doing something different than I currently do, on a completely different baseline. New people, new methods, new terms.
2) Travel is involved, which high density of travel during certain times of year. This is helpful from both a money and a variety standpoint, considering that I'd have all food paid for, wouldn't be using electricity at home, etc. The only downside to this is it'd mostly be to the gulf coast of Mississippi.
3) Less downtime is another consideration - in the new position I would expect to have less of a support role and more of a direct role. I would be writing specifications on a technical writing level for starters, which doesn't sound all that great, but it's something I think I could enjoy.

So I have no idea where I'm going for now. I have the weekend to decide my fate, and in the meantime I'm going to speak with several managers and other workers that have more experience than I do in different fields and work environments.

Hahahahahahah

YORK, Pa. -- Using the Georgian president's nickname -- although mispronouncing his last name -- McCain said he spoke with President "Misha" Saakashvili today and reassured him that "the thoughts and the prayers and support of the American people are with that brave little nation as they struggle for their freedom and independence."

"And he wanted me to say thank you to you, to give you his heartfelt thanks for the support of the American people for this tiny little democracy far away from the United States of America," McCain said of his conversation with Saakashvili. "And I told him that I know I speak for every American when I say to him, 'Today we are all Georgians.'"

War

Well I guess we're all going to die because of all this stuff going on in Russia/Georgia. In following the news I find it kind of funny that both sides are lying through their teeth about pretty much everything. It seems America is inexplicably on the Georgian side of the conflict in PR terms, since Russia is super evil and all that. Regardless, it seems Georgia is begging for a ceasefire while Russia continues to slam their military complex.

Honestly, I tend to lean on Russia's side so far. I mean, Georgia decided to go out on a limb and smack a seceding territory that had close ties (not to mention their name itself) to Russia. Russia hits them back and drives them away - Georgia had to see this as a possibility as consequence for their actions. I mean, you can't provoke a war and once you start losing you throw up your hands and think the other side's going to cooperate the way you want. And yes, Georgia has withdrawn from Ossetia for the most part, and Russia continues to hit their military complex. Essentially Russia is simply trying to shut down Georgia's ability to wage war utterly and completely so that a ceasefire can be accepted without the possibility of a regroup and counter-attack.

With the disinformation coming from both sides it's hard to get a clear picture of what's going on. South Ossetian media, predictably, are telling stories of horrible wartime atrocities and up to 30,000 refugees when only 500 have been accounted for. Georgia continues to claim that Russia is destroying apartment buildings and hospitals and is targetting their civilian areas. Honestly I think Georgia is ready to give up and Russia just wants to give them a second black eye before this is all over.

EDIT: A great resource from the Georgian side of the conflict. Russia appears to have a denial of service attack underway, so they posted it on blogspot.

Belated Schedule

Schedule for the upcoming week, as much for me as for you all, whoaaaaaaaa!

Monday - 7:30 to 20:00 (12.5 hours)
Tuesday - 13:00 to 24:00 (23.5 hours)
Wednesday - 7:30 to 16:00 (32 hours)
Thursday - 7:30 to 20:00 (44.5 hours)
Friday - 11:30 to 16:00 (49 hours)

So nine hours overtime as it stands right now - I may cut out eight hours on Thursday and not come in until later, or skip an early shot on Wednesday to cut four. We'll see what Sam says tomorrow about it.

Massive Update

So I've been lazy in updated my blog in the past week and a half or so, but it's really no wonder. This post will probably need to be updated in chunks, so if a new paragraph just appears don't be surprised. Anyway, I'll go through day by day.

Saturday, August 2 - After eating a delicious lunch at Five Guys I was lazy for a bit and headed to the airport that evening, at about 7:30 or so. Leigh's plane was about a half hour early so it caught me by surprise. A little while and some confusion later I grabbed Leigh from the pavement and we headed back to my apartment. I drove around a bit and showed her my work and downtown Moorestown and we just kind of relaxed.

Sunday, August 3 - We left at around noon to head to Cape May and ride the May-Lewes Ferry. It was a little under a two hour drive, but it was a fantastic day. We arrived and parked,
grabbed a bite to eat and bought tickets for the ferry. The parking was free and the tickets were pretty cheap as far as a day of entertainment goes, $34 for round trip for the both of us. I imagine the car tickets would be significantly higher in price. The trip across the Delaware Bay takes about eighty minutes, so we had plenty of time to hang out, sit in the sun, retreat to the air conditioned inside, etc. All in all it was well worth the money, even if we only had a few minutes on the Delaware beach before we had to return to the ferry to head back to Jersey.

The ferry on the way back was a lot cooler than the one we first rode on. It had, among other things, a dance floor inside a restaurant, a gigantic duck that kids could sit on and take their picture with, a deck that had a full covered bar where a bunch of drunk women were hanging out, and nice sitting area at the fore of the ship where you could sit comfortably and watch the waves.

The way back was fairly interesting. Since it was Friday night at about eight when we got back to the Jersey side, everyone was coming back from the southern shore. It took about two and a half hours to get back, so we were pretty exhausted by the time we pulled into my apartment.

This is the ferry route, though keep in mind we didn't take my car across.

Monday, August 4 - I had to work 12-20 on Monday, so it was another pretty uneventful day. Basically all I could think of all day was heading home and hanging out with Leigh more, though it was a pretty busy day so I didn't have much free time to be thoughtful.

Tuesday, August 5 - I had to work 16-24, so Leigh and I decided to head to a diner for lunch before I had to leave. She needed to get her fill of diners since there really aren't any back in Minnesota. Regardless, I went to work and slaved away for my eight hours and ended up leaving at about 11:30 that night. Leigh made chewey brownies for me during the time I was working, and it made the perfect dessert for the Wawa sandwich I bought on the way home.

Wednesday, August 6 - We decided to be lazy Wednesday. Essentially we just watched all of Arrested Development Season 3 and I got a Dunkin Donuts sandwich. Very fun if you ask me; I'm never the one to want to go and go and go, and just sitting around with a good friend is satisfying enough to me.

Thursday, August 7 - ZOO! We woke up around 11:30 and got ready to leave for the zoo. We were out the door by about 12:30 and drove into Philadelphia, parked, and got into the zoo by one. With parking and both tickets it was about $50, so not too terrible in price. We walked around and saw a bunch of different animals (the big cats and the anteater were my favorites). The best part by far, though, was the swan boats we got to ride around in. For $5 apiece we got to climb into the big pedal boats shaped like swans. We steered around the lake twice so that we could look at the lemurs on "Lemur Island," and dodged ducks and geese that we posited must be very confused at the size of our watercraft. We rounded out the day at the gift shop where I bought Leigh a panther stuffed animal, which was odd because we didn't see a single panther all day. Oh well, I hope it was appreciated anyway! The zoo closed at five, so we got out of there at about 4:15 in order to get home before rush hour hit.

Friday, August 8 - After about two and a half hours of sleep we roused from slumber to head to the airport. We said our goodbyes and Leigh headed to her terminal, but her flight was moved to a different concourse and delayed by an hour. She ended up taking off a little after nine eastern, and landed in Minnesota a few hours later while I took a long nap. Later in the evening Whitney and I watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics and drove fruitlessly to Camden to try and buy a floor fan for my room.

All in all it was a tremendously long but happy week for me. Thanks to Leigh for coming all this way just to visit me and hang out with me - I had a blast at the zoo, which I didn't think I would, and it was probably because of her animal knowledge and commentary about all the animals.

yadseuT rehtonA

So I'm about halfway through my shift here today, and then I'll be done until a week from yesterday - pretty great as far as things go. The next few days hold quite a bit of activity, so I'll definitely need to rest up considering how drained I've felt. I don't have a tremendous amount of time this evening so I figured I'd toss a post on here since it's been nearly a week.

"So you sit and wait for a sign
That the coming days will be alright
And you drink
So you can forget another night
Bruised from the blackouts
And your blood red eyes
Try to start looking
For the brighter side
Wait for a sign
Wait for a sign
Wait for a sign
Welcome home
Everything will be alright."