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Ramble Archive: 01.01.04 - 06.30.04
...from the incredibly dusty cobwebs of my mind |
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SELECT A DATE BELOW TO JUMP DIRECTLY TO THAT RAMBLE |
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PMP update. I wrapped up PMP classes a couple of weeks ago and have set myself to studying for the next few weeks before I take the certification exam. My goal is to take - AND PASS - the cert exam by the end of June. It'd be nice if I could get it done earlier, but I don't think that's going to happen. The bottom line is, it's critical that I pass the exam on the first attempt, so I'm only going to take it when I'm good-n-ready. That should be by the end of June, so check back in a few weeks for an update!
Cubs DL getting longer. Man, the Cubs have a ton of guys on the Disabled List and it just keeps getting worse. The latest victim is Joe Borowski, who's been placed on the 15-day DL due to a sore shoulder.
Borowski joins Sosa, Wood, Wellemeyer, Grudzielanek, Gonzalez and Goodwin on the DL, and I just heard on the news that even though Sosa is on the 15-day DL, there's no telling when he'll be back. Wonderful.
Mark Prior thankfully returned last week, but that's just a drop in the bucket. Grudzie and Gonzo were both moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL, which completely sucks. Todd Walker is doing a pretty good job filling in at second base, but I'd still like to have Grudzie back in the line-up.
Oh, and another thing I'd like to see is for Corey Patterson to realize that there's life beyond the first pitch and the face-high fastball. Seriously. Though, he did hit a first-pitch homer tonite. Go figure.
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Training confirmed. I'm all enrolled and ready to go for my PMP training over at Microtrain in Lombard. Classes start on Monday and go for two weeks. I'll learn more about the actual certification process during the training, but I'm hoping I can go through the training, prepare and then take and pass the certification exam by the end of May. It depends on what kind of exam the certification test is and how long I'll need to prepare. I'm better at theoretic/situational exams than I am at rote-memorization stuff. Guess we'll find out soon.
It's important I pass the certification exam on the first try, as the first attempt is covered in the cost of the training course and I just can't really afford the $250 it'll cost to try a second time. Not to mention the sooner I get certified the sooner I can include the information on my resume and in job applications. Wish me luck!!!
Cool sound tech. Okay, this is just uber-cool...
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Essentially, HSS for the first time does for sound what the laser did for light — intensely focuses and channels it so it can travel great distances without dispersing. In the demo, a technician points a speaker the size of a cereal box at someone standing 100 yards away. Amid the din of the nearby freeway, the technician plays a recording of ice cubes clinking into a glass.
To the listener, the sound comes across as if it were through headphones, totally unlike a sound blaring from a distant speaker over oppressive car noise. Take two steps to the side, out of the sound beam, and you hear nothing at all. Step back in, and there it is again.
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Check out the full story here.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2004 |
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Training, baby! I'm a bit closer to getting a voucher grant provided by the Illinois Employment Training Center that I can use for IT training. I found out today that I qualified for the full amount - $3,000 - and now I just have to find a training center for the program I want to take.
Originally, I wanted to get my MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer), which I already have the experience for (not to mention I have my MCP), but after talking with a few people in my field about the situation, I think I'm going to go for my PMP (Project Management Professional). It's a long story, but it looks like PMP will help me out more given what I'm wanting to do with my IT career.
So, I just have to visit a few training centers, get some info, inform the IETC of my choice and I'm all set to go. The good news is, MCSE training averages around $6,000 for the course, but PMP training goes for about $3,000, which this voucher/grant will cover. *WHEW* The last thing I need right now is to spend out-of-pocket money on IT training.
This is really good news as this new certification should help make me more marketable for the job search. Everybody looking to hire is using MCSE and PMP certifications (as well as others) as weeding-out tools. Meaning, if they don't see MCSE or PMP on your resume, they set it aside, no matter if you have the associated experience or not. No longer does having these certifications make you stand out during a job search, but rather NOT having them makes you stand out, and not in a good way.
I guess I don't blame "them" really. I mean, if I were someone looking to hire a new IT Manager, I'm guessing I'd get a few hundred resumes (or more), and that has to be very difficult to deal with. As such, you'd need some kind of high-level criteria to start weeding people out. And, as such, employers are using certifications. Makes sense, I guess, but it really sucks. Hopefully getting my PMP will help in that area. I'd love to get my MCSE as well, but one step at a time I guess.
Nice. I'm having a great hair day. Just thought you'd like to know.
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Happy Easter! Okay, so I'm a day late. Kim and I enjoyed a nice day visiting her family up in Wisconsin. Kim's sister, Suzie, made a great ham and polish sausage. She even made green beans, just for me! Okay, maybe not JUST for me, but partly for me anyway. Good food all around.
Little bit o' work. I stumbled into some work last week. First time in over a year. It's a long story, but basically, an old friend of mine emailed me a week and a half ago, desperate to find someone to fill in for him at work as his wife was about to give birth and the person who was supposed to fill in for him bailed. I was more than happy to fill in as 1) I need the work, and 2) I was thrilled to help him during this special time.
So, after jumping through a few hoops to get approved for the job - background check, pee in a cup drug test, etc. - I ended up getting four and a half days of work last week. It wasn't anything exciting. I basically sat around on my butt waiting for IT fires to crop up, but they never did, so I did a whole lotta nuthin'. Hey, I'm not complaining... money is money. I'm more than happy to get paid for sitting on my butt surfing the web and playing with Carrara on my laptop.
Not sure if anything more will come of this or not. Guess I'll just have to wait and see. I do have a lead or two on which to follow-up, but I'm not holding my breath at this point.
Gimme a break. Under the heading of Special Treatment comes this:
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Fresh from the green jackets of Augusta National, Tiger Woods arrived Monday at the home of the Green Berets, hoping to get a feel for the Army training his father endured here following a tour in Vietnam.
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Read the full story here.
You think the Marines would roll out the red carpet for me if I told them my dad was a marine and I wanted to experience a 'sanitized' version of Marine training? Yeah, me neither. Sometimes the special treatment stars and celebrities get really sickens me.
Slow start for Maddux. The welcome-home-million-dollar-baby named Greg Maddux hasn't exactly started the season off in grand fashion. Lasting only 3 2/3 innings in today's home opener at Wrigley Field, Maddux got shelled for six runs on eight hits and five walks, making him 0-2 for the season thus far. Things only went downhill after that and the Cub's home opener turned into a bloodbath, with the Pirates winning 13-2.
The good news is, Maddux lost his first three games last season and went on to have a great year. So, while all the Cub-critics out there might be laughing and jeering, there's no need to panic. Read more on the Cub's home opener here.
Injuries are beginning to mount for the World Series-favorites as Mark Prior (no link) is reportedly still a week away from throwing in the bull pen, second baseman Mark Grudzielanek is still out with an ailing Achilles, which has been bugging him since Spring Training, and now Corey Patterson is sitting out with a mild right groin strain. I don't know about you, but from a guy's perspective, there's never anything "mild" about a groin strain.
Hopefully these guys can get healthy fast. I will spit nails if Corey Patterson ends up sitting out this year, as he was on course for a stellar season in 2003 before sitting out the majority of the year with a knee injury and and resulting surgery. I'm really excited that he's back in the lineup and eager to see what he can do this year.
I'm also eager to see the Cub's bats get hot, not to mention how nice it'd be to see the pitching warm up. Yes, it's WAY early in the season and there's no need to get all worried, but it certainly wouldn't help the cause for the Cubs to go into a major season-beginning slump. That won't happen, though. Just watch.
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Cridersville! Neddy sent me some photos of a town in Ohio called Cridersville. I'd heard of this place before, but this is the first I've seen of it. It's both cool and creepy at the same time. Check out the photos here.
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Shuffle up and deal! Kim and I got together with some friends this weekend to play a little Texas Hold 'em poker. We didn't play for real money or anything, as we were just trying to make sure we had the game down. Even when we finally do play for real money, it'll be chump change like nickel/dime/quarter. We're not looking to really gamble, or anything, just to get together and have some fun.
Good thing we didn't play for real money, too, as I got my clocked cleaned by Ned's son, Walker. Everyone did, in fact. He cleaned up and I was the first to fall to his no-holds-barred betting style.
Jon was the next victim and everyone else - Kim, Ned and Laura - survived until the final hand, when Walker knocked them out. I didn't get to see the final hand as Jon and I were in the other room nursing our wounds, watching Saturday Night Live and eating pizza.
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2004 |
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Paradise. Ned and crew took another trip to Hawaii this month. Jon surprised them all by stowing away in the belly of the plane and causing a ruckus with airport security. Still, according to the photos, it looks like they had a great time. Check out the photos here.
NASA delays shuttle launch. CNN.com posted this article about NASA bumping the next shuttle flight to 2005. The space agency is apparently still working out the changes and improvements required as a result of the Columbia disaster investigation. While I understand and agree with the need for safety, I'm very disappointed in the delay.
I'm also frustrated with NASA's handling of the shuttle fleet in general. From the start, NASA intended the shuttles to be used for only 10 years, yet they've been in service for much longer and there's no replacement in sight. Furthermore, the investigative arm of Congress - known as the General Accounting Office - reports that the shuttles will be needed for another two decades.
The GAO report, released by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, can be downloaded here. Please note that this is a rather large PDF file that rings in at nearly 10MB in size. It could take several minutes for the file to load after clicking the above link. Alternatively, you could save the file to your hard drive then open it from there, which should prove faster and give you the ability to view the file while not online.
The very first shuttle mission was flown by Columbia and launched on April 12, 1981. The spacecraft was nearly 22 years old when it was destroyed in the skies over Texas during landing descent to Kennedy Space Center on February 1, 2003.
The newest shuttle, Endeavor, began flight ops on May 7, 1992, on mission STS-49. Currently nearly 12 years old, Endeavor was constructed as a replacement for Challenger, which was lost during launch in 1986.
NASA's inability to move forward with a shuttle replacement, when it has known all along a replacement would be necessary, is inexcusable. The results of this inaction are clearly visible:
- a dangerously outdated shuttle fleet that will cost billions to upgrade over the next several years (according to NASA)
- huge delays on completing the International Space Station
- the abandonment of the Hubble Space Telescope
According to this Popular Science article, NASA killed it's latest shuttle-replacement program in November 2003 and re-directed most of the $5 billion budget to pay for current shuttle fleet improvements. This happened prior to the Columbia disaster, so this action was not taken as a result of CAIB (Columbia Accident Investigation Board) mandates.
NASA says the main reason why it cancelled the replacement program is due to the cost estimates increasing from $6 billion to $35 billion, while admitting those figures were just a "best guess". The gap between these numbers is attributed to NASA's continuing difficulty with budget forecasting. Because the agency couldn't nail these numbers down, officials believed they had no choice but to cut the program and re-direct the funds to the existing fleet.
The article goes on to show something I find quite astounding: the shuttle is less efficient, more costly and extremely under-utilized than originally planned, yet NASA has put itself into a position where the agency has no choice but to keep spending money on the aging fleet.
During the original design, the Pentagon insisted the shuttle have the ability to grab satellites from orbit, resulting in increased size, weight and cost. The problem is, the shuttle has hardly ever been used to perform this task. The costs associated with turnaround maintenance and inspection are also higher than expected due to the number of people and technologies involved.
NASA had also intended to send the shuttle into space 30 to 50 times a year, on missions for both the public and private sectors, with the costs for the Pentagon-required larger and more expensive orbiter offset by the fees it could charge for the private-sector missions. Unfortunately, the shuttle has averaged only five missions per year - five - and few of those are even paying customers. At a cost of $500 million per launch, it's easy to see where NASA's budget goes.
The space agency can't move forward with a shuttle replacement because, by it's own actions and recent CAIB mandates, it must spend its funds on the existing shuttle fleet. The agency has painted itself into a corner by not aggressively moving forward with a shuttle-replacement, and the only real alternatives are to have NASA's budget significantly increased, or have the agency permanently ground the shuttle fleet so it can re-direct funds to the development of a shuttle-replacement. Despite President Bush's protestations to the contrary (let's go to Mars!), I highly doubt NASA's budget will be increased enough to fund both the existing shuttle fleet and its replacement.
So, what to do? Ground the entire fleet? Cut back on the number of shuttles in the hopes of lowering costs and freeing up funds for the replacement? While not as drastic as grounding the entire fleet, if four shuttles (three now) only fly on average of five times a year, what good are one or two going to be? Maybe just good enough to keeping the Hubble operational and the finish the ISS.
I suppose it would help if NASA could get a handle on the cost estimates for the shuttle-replacement. Ballooning from $6 billion to $35 billion is pretty drastic. Does that mean NASA needs to scale back its goals for the shuttle-replacement, resulting in a less-expensive solution? I don't know. Maybe the agency just needs to hire a decent project manager who can forecast cost estimates better than a nine-year-old saving for a new bike.
It seems to me NASA has squandered the past ten or twenty years and the agency is now left patching a fleet that is well beyond its intended life-span. As a result, existing projects, such as the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope, are paying the price. I won't pretend to know exactly what is needed to set NASA on the right course, but the really frustrating thing is, it appears NASA administrators don't know either.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2004 |
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Welcome back, Maddux! Greg Maddux is once again wearing a Cubs uniform. Check it out here.
This is great news for Cubs fans, for several reasons. Dusty Baker will now have three ace pitchers in his starting rotation, which will really help to relieve the pressure faced by Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, not to mention the bullpen.
Also, Maddux-the-veteran should bring an added sense of stability to the starting rotation that was lacking last year. Wood, Prior and the others will be able to look to and count on Maddux for that veteran leadership.
Having Maddux will also help to counter Clemens and Pettitte's relocation to Houston. The Astros gave the Cubs fits last season, and the addition of two of MLB's best pitchers to their roster should only make it worse, but hopefully Maddux will help counter that. One thing is for sure: the Cubs-Houston games should certainly prove exciting this year.
It looks like it'll be Zambrano and Clement rounding out the Fab Five. If Zambrano has matured and learns to keep his emotions in check, he could be counted among the ace pitchers in the Cubs lineup.
I can't wait for the season to start!
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2004 |
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Daytona 500, Baby! I'm excited about the Daytona 500 tomorrow. It not only kicks off the NASCAR season, but it's the biggest race of the year. NASCAR does things a little differently than other sports. They do their biggest race right up front as opposed to at the end. It's a little funky but nice.
C'mon Greg, decide already! I'm getting a little sick of waiting for Greg Maddux to make up his mind whether or not he's going to join the Cubs.
While I think he would be a wonderful addition to the roster, I'm not completely thrilled with his attitude about spring training. Here's a quote from the above article...
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"Spring Training is two weeks too long as it is," he added. "I've done my work all winter. I think after 20 years in pro ball I know how to get myself ready for a season."
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I'm not a big fan of the prima donna types who don't feel they should go through the same experience as the rest of the team. Yes, being in baseball for 20 years should get you a certain amount of respect, admiration and leeway, but not at the expense of building camaraderie and team spirit.
Join the Cubs, Greg, and show up to spring training on time. Oh, and spot me some playoff tickets, will ya? Thanks. That is all.
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2004 |
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Unbelievable. Just when I thought I was going to catch a break and congress was going to extend unemployement benefits another six months, the Republicans - many of whom broke party lines and voted with the Democrats to approve the extension - swoop in and remind us all just how evil they really are. Here's a blurb from the article...
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The vote may be little more than symbolic, lawmakers from both parties predicted, because opposition from GOP leaders is expected to prevent the measure from ever becoming law, which means unemployed workers are unlikely to receive the benefits.
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Here's a link to the CNN.com article (it's a quick read): House votes to extend unemployment benefits
Why on earth would GOP leaders want to block this extension? I realize that the GOP isn't a big fan of government services, but no matter what the 'official' numbers say, there are still thousands and thousands of Americans out of work (including me). This extension would be a huge help in keeping our heads above water.
If it's an issue of not having the money, perhaps President Bush should re-route the 1.5 billion he wants to spend promoting marriage to the extension. Those who think promoting marriage is more important than keeping unemployed Americans afloat are clearly not in touch with reality.
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 2004 |
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Slow going. Looks like I'm starting the year off slowly with website updates. I just haven't had much desire to post anything lately. Not to mention that there hasn't been much going on in my life that deserves posting. Everything is pretty much status quo at this point - unfortunately.
Superbowl Sunday. With :09 left in the game, the score tied at 29 and the Pats about to try a 41-yard game-winning field goal, this game has turned out to be much better than I thought it would. I've been pulling for the Pats but really don't care all that much who wins.
The controversy surrounding the half-time show is boiling at a rapid pace. CBS is getting hammered by their decision to let Justin tear off Janet's shirt, exposing her breast.
Personally, I think it was absolutely ridiculous to let something like that happen. I mean, the Superbowl is THE most watched television show of the year, with children and people of all ages watching. Who's the genius that thought such a bearing of a breast would be acceptable?
Patriots Win!! After nailing a 41-yard game-winning field-goal, the Pats went on to win Superbowl XXXVII (that's 38 to you and me). Football season is over, thank goodness, save for the Pro Bowl game.
Now, let's get ready for the start of the NASCAR season with the Daytona 500 on February 15th and baseball's Spring Training! (players report mid-Feb, games begin early-March)
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With the start of 2004, I've archived off the second half of 2003 to the Ramble Archives. There's a link to the archives at the top of this page, so if you're looking to catch up, check it out.
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Happy New Year! Yeah, I know... it's the 11th of January and I'm just now making my first ramble for 2004. Oh well... such is life, I suppose.
Kim and I had a nice New Year's Eve at home alone. We made a killer surf-n-turf dinner including garlic shrimp, lobster tails and filet mignon - all on the grill. Yeah, baby! It was totally killer and surprisingly inexpensive when you shoplift.
We relaxed with food-coma on the couch watching movies until about 11:00pm, when we switched on the local Fox TV NYE coverage at the House of Blues in downtown Chicago. We watched that for the final countdown, and at 11:50pm we popped a bottle of sparkling wine, waited until the stroke of midnight then toasted the New Year.
Kim was asleep in bed by 12:03am.
I, on the other hand, stayed up to watch the South Park movie on the Comedy Channel and swill champagne... err... sparkling wine. Talk about hysterical (the movie)! I remember when Grant and I went to see it at the theater a few years back. We laughed like crazy.
Anyway, it was nice to spend a quiet evening alone with Kim for NYE. This was only our second NYE together, in fact. Our first NYE we spent with Tony and Heather - we had dinner at Retro Bistro, which is where I proposed to Kim back in July '03 - and we were excited to spend the evening alone, just the two of us. And I'm glad we did.
Rants? I'm thinking of putting up a section for rants I have about stupid crap that goes on in this world. Or, maybe a general "column" section where I can spout off with "serious commentary" in a more organized and official manner than I do here in these rambles.
See, here in these rambles, I just sort of shoot off some quick thoughts and opinions, but for the past several months I've been getting the bug to write sort of a column or such where I expound upon various things going on in the world.
I mentioned this to a friend of mine and he replied, "Sheez... you really do think alot of yourself, don't you?" To which I replied, "Yes... yes I do." Heh.
Actually, I didn't reply with that glib comment, but I did say something along the lines that there are things going on in this world that I feel strongly about, I happen to have this medium with which I can express my opinion, I know there are at least three people in this world who read my site on a fairly consistent basis, so why in the heck shouldn't I go for it? Seriously... why not?
Shut Your Mouth! I've decided that, as of now, I'm going to try and do away with the common cursing I do in my ramblings. This is fairly significant for me, so don't just roll your eyes and move on.
See, I've always enjoyed writing the way I think, feel and act. Don't get me wrong... I'm not exactly some crass crud who can only express himself with vulgarity - snorting and scratching himself like that one guy I knew in high school who always snorted and scratched himself in class. He was such a disgusting creature, always... Oh, wait... that was me. Never mind.
Anyway, over the past year or so, I've had a few people suggest that I tone down the cursing and vulgarity, to which I mostly replied with cursing and vulgarity in spades. But, lately, I'm thinking that the constant use of cursing and such is the easy way out when it comes to writing and expression. I mean, if I can't express what I want without resorting to the F-bomb every time I turn around, that says to me that I'm not as creative as I thought.
So, long story short, I'm gonna try and lay off the cursing and vulgarity. That doesn't mean I'm gonna start writing all proper and British-like (i.e., like a Nancy Girl), but it does mean I'm going to try and use more thought in what I post and how I post it. There will be the odd curse word from time to time, and if I'm really worked up, there may just be a string of vulgarity, but only if I feel it's really called for. Got it, assdickshitfucker? Sorry. Had to get that out of my system. Guess we'll see how it works out.
*snort* *scratch*
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