In which I remember a month later that I have a blog.
There is not much new to report from the past 30 days. I have been working a temp position I hope will become permanent and should know whether that happens in the next week or so. Regular work would be nice.
I have not been running this month after noticing how the bone structure of my right foot does not quite match the bone structure of my left foot. Is it due to injury or just goofy asymmetry? I hope to find out at the doctor’s appointment next week.
With the lack of running and a bit of overindulgence my weight has crept past 150 pounds. I should be able to get it back down under control in the new year once I am back running. If I can’t run then…um…I’ll improvise, somehow.
Other than that, Christmas was pleasant and unexciting, just the way I like it, though I got a bothersome head cold as a bonus and unwanted extra gift.
I shall endeavor to blog more in 2013 but will make no specific resolutions for such, beyond making an official and content-free ‘first blog post of 2013’. You’re excited, I’m excited, everyone’s excited.
Keep fit? I spent the last three months of the year pretty much not exercising thanks to my stupid body.
Keep slim? See above. I gained weight.
Keep working? I ended the year out of work.
Keep writing? I utterly failed at National Novel Writing Month and wrote little in general otherwise. Apart from being with my wonderful partner, 2011 was a bust for resolutions (I use pretty much the same set every year).
I aim to do better in 2012, Mayan predictions of doom notwithstanding.
Maybe it’s just me but in the live video of R.E.M’s “Oh my Heart” (a fine song from a fine album, by the way) Peter Buck looks a bit like a woman. It’s the hair, I think. It reminds me of the old Monty Python gang when they would dress as (rather frightening-looking) women for some of their sketches.
To his credit, Mr. Buck is not frightening looking at all. Except for the hair. It is mildly frightening — much like my own.
Also, Micheal Stipe appears to be the only member of the band still looking lean. Maybe that explains why he started taking nude photos of himself. Brr.
In this thread on Quarter to Three Tom Chick asks for random questions for a gaming podcast he does. A question is asked during the podcast and the first person to correctly answer wins a game of some sort. It seems this week he was drawing a blank, hence the seeking of suggestions. I am compelled to answer some of the random questions being proposed, specifically the ones in posts by Wade42 and Jason Cross.
Random Answers to Random Questions, Part 1
Do you sing when you’re alone (in the shower/in the car/etc)?
Yes. Many years ago I shared an apartment that had hardwood floors and pretty good acoustics. My roommate once came home early and heard me singing from outside the apartment door. He said I sounded pretty good!
What’s the state of your sock drawer?
Remarkably organized, right down to color and size (the ankle socks I wear with shorts on one side, the longer socks on the other).
What did your parents do for a living, and does it at all relate to what you do for a living?
My dad was a logger and owned his own logging truck until he retired early. My mom was a housewife and had her hands full raising five kids. The closest I have come to logging is chopping wood for a fireplace. I’ve pretty much been my own housewife, though.
What time do you generally go to bed/wake up?
These days I am usually to bed between 11 p.m. and midnight. Getting up depends on where/if I’m working but generally between 7 and 8 a.m. I don’t sleep in on weekends.
What is the last new food you tried?
I can’t remember this one. I don’t shy away from trying most new foods but it’s been awhile since I had something truly new and different.
Boxers or briefs? (Wait, do we really want to know?)
Boxers, but the modern kind!
What was the last live music performance you attended?
Not counting something outdoors and free, probably a Morrissey show back around 1998. Yeah, it’s been awhile.
Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met?
I once served coffee to David Duchovny.
What would you like them to print on your tombstone?
“This wasn’t the kind of immortality I wanted.”
Which is your favorite Muppet, and why? (Don’t even PRETEND that there isn’t at least one Muppet you like.)
Rowlf the Dog. Easygoing, friendly, plays the piano, doesn’t pee on the rug. What more could you want?
What is your favorite alcoholic beverage? I don’t drink much. When I do, it’s usually an apple cider and I’m not hung up on the brand. After two my face is numb and I’m done, anyway.
If you could make yourself a little more attractive or a little smarter, which would you choose? A little more attractive. I think I’m smart enough to get by but I’m just vain enough to want to look a little better. Smaller ears or better hair, please!
What is your worst bad habit? Procrastination.
What is the oldest thing in your wallet/purse, besides a birth certificate or social security card? Everything in my wallet is no more than a few years old. I recently cleaned it out, so all the old junk got tossed.
Does your phone number spell something? If so, what? My phone number does not spell anything except gibberish.
What was your first computer? An Atari 400 with 16k ram, purchased in 1982.
Who is your favorite relative (besides wife/children/parents)? I don’t have ‘favorite’ relatives. They’re all pretty decent, for the most part.
When you’re hanging out at home, do you prefer it to be dimly lit or brightly lit? Why? Watching a movie or TV, dimly lit. At the computer, eating/cooking or reading, brightly lit. For movies and TV, the picture is more vivid and immersive if the room is dark. For the rest, bright light just helps to see things or reduce eyestrain (in the case of the computer).
The recent testing I did to assess my values also included a deck of cards to ascertain one’s needs. Like the Values deck, it asks you to split the deck into three categories: High, Higher, highest. You then take the Highest pile and sort it into three more piles and then finally take the top 8 from the first (most important) pile. As it turns out, I only had 8 total. I’m not sure if that makes me efficient or just not very needy. Here they are, in no particular order:
an environment where my thoughts and ideas are welcome. Who doesn’t like to be heard? Not me, obviously!
a culture that allows for direct communication between people. The opposite of this would be using the Cone of Silence, I imagine.
to work in a chemical/dust-free environment. Are there people who would prefer a chemical/dusty environment? Sludge monsters from space, perhaps?
to be in a helping role. I like helping people, it gives me warm fuzzies. Unless they yell at me, then they get a warm fuzzy in the face!
to work in an environment where people are treated fairly. Again, the opposite of this would be “I like to work under the boot of a dictatorship, it’s fun!”
an environment that provides time for analysis and observation. Not too much time, mind you. But enough.
freedom to make decisions independently. I hate top-down organizations. Do as I say, minion! Not for me.
to be fairly compensated financially. I wonder how many people tell a prospective employer, “Pay me as little as you want, I don’t need to eat every day!”
Frankly, these needs are kind of boring. Oh well, I guess that’s why they’re called needs and not Super Exciting Things, Wow!
Recently I went through an exercise where you take a bunch of cards with values listed on them and sort them into three piles: Never Important, Sometimes Important and Very Important. You then toss aside the two lesser piles and order everything that is Very Important. After this you finish by selecting the top 6 Very Important values but I read the 6 as a 5, so I my final result is slightly value-deficient:
Teaching
Creativity
Listening
Leadership
Cooperation
The values are, of course, constrained by the options in the deck of cards you use. If a value isn’t listed, you can’t choose it, but it seemed fairly complete. I am always aware of my tendency to game these evaluations so I picked quickly to reduce the possibility of my brain being too clever for its own good. Let’s see how these values break down:
1. Teaching. I was about halfway to a teaching certificate many years ago before shifting gears and I’ve always tested strongly for it, so this does not come as a surprise. I really enjoy teaching others how to do stuff. The positive feedback is incredibly rewarding to me.
2. Creativity. I write, I draw comics, I dream up elaborate worlds and systems, I make maps of imaginary places. I sometimes arrange my food on my plate more for the aesthetics than the practical. Yeah, this is pretty spot-on.
3. Listening. I have always thought of myself as a good listener. If the person is at least somewhat engaging, whether they are talking about things positive or negative, I find it easy to stay engaged and absorb like a human-sized sponge. I generally prefer to listen rather than talk, though the inner stand-up comic in me does sometimes want to take over.
4. Leadership. Have you ever been in a situation where you’re part of a team assigned to some task and everyone just sits around and shrugs at each other and nothing happens and you find yourself thinking, “Stupid people! Do something!” and then you suddenly realize that you have to be the one to take charge and so you do and then things happen and it turns out okay? I’m that person.
5. Cooperation. This one seems a bit weak as a top 5 value. Sure, it’s got a good beat but can you dance to it? I guess I prefer cooperation to the alternative but what rational person wouldn’t? Well, one who didn’t have to cooperate to get things done, I suppose.
I always double-up on these tests to see what, if anything, changes when I do it again. Here are the results from take 2:
Creativity
Teaching
Utilizing
Listening
Honesty
Here we see Creativity and Teaching swapping spots at the top, so no big change there. But then we have:
3. Utilizing. I’m not sure how this got in. I’m not even sure what it means. Maybe I wrote down the wrong card. Utilizing. Okay, the dictionary says “To put to use, especially to find a profitable or practical use for.” Seems very practical. I’m not sure how it’s a value. I think I picked the wrong card.
4. Listening. Swapped from #3 to #4, not much change here.
5. Honesty. Is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue. Like Billy Joel, I also like honesty, though I’m not as bitter and jaded about its apparent absence. Nor do I record songs about it and make millions of dollars and blow it on coke and crash cars and marry woman half my age, either. Anyway, this seems like a reasonable choice for me, as honestly is pretty fundamental. If you’re not being honest, you’re lying and there’s a good chance you’re a big ol’ poopypants because of it. I see a lot of people refusing to communicate effectively because they are afraid to be honest.
Yeah, so much for National “Write something every day on your blog” Month. Good thing I made that up because I can now say there was a typo and “month” should read “week” (darn my clumsy fingers) and I exceeded the minimum by a fair margin.
I will have more to write shortly. In the meantime I have added a very exciting “Currently” listing so you can see what stupid forms of entertainment I have chosen at the moment. Enjoy!
A year ago CBC decided it would be nifty to give the public a voice on its news website by allowing user comments. As shocking as it may seem, a lot of the comments are belligerent, ignorant and dumb. I know, I know, it is hard to believe that people with extreme (or Xtreme!!) opinions would leap at the chance to share their idiotic views with a large if anonymous audience.
The federal NDP says it’s time the Conservative government made it easier for people to get employment insurance benefits.
***
The federal NDP is asking the government to eliminate the waiting period for EI, reduce the number of work hours needed to qualify, expand eligibility to include self-employed workers and encourage retraining.
Here is the first comment:
can’t come quick enough !
Okay, a little weak on the whole capitalization thing and in his or her excitement there is an errant space before the exclamation point but this person has expressed a viewpoint in a concise and non-controversial manner. But this is the first post, so pretty much a fluke. Let’s dig a little further…
By the fifth post we have KooteneyForestryGirl saying:
Its already such an abused system, you don’t need to make it even easier.
Personally I’d rather just keep my own money and be able to invest as I see fit for tough times. I hate being “babysat,” I think the whole program should be scraped. If people don’t have the foresight to plan ahead then tough luck..
Without saying why, she claims the system is abused, but hey, no need to back up an opinion, right? She perhaps doesn’t quite understand how EI actually works, but if we just scrape the program then, I dunno, maybe scientists can gather a sample to examine and figure out how to make it work better! Now here’s the important thing — KFG has staked out a position that EI is bad and thinks it should go away. She has 43 agreeing but 146 disagreeing. No surprises there. The groundwork has been laid for a nice fight.
Bi Polar Bear uses breathless hyperbole to make his case in support:
I’ve known dozens of people who don’t like their jobs – so they quit … then expect to get EI. It doesn’t work that way folks. If you don’t like your job – get another job.
Yes, he knows dozens — that is to say, at least 24 or 36 people — who have quit their jobs specifically to collect EI. He must hang around dumb folks to make himself feel smart. I’ve never known anyone who quit their job thinking they could get EI (you can’t). Obligatory slam at the NDP:
The NDP would gladly tax us to 95% if they could.
Because all socialists want to tax people into ruin because that’s what they do, amirite?
Irrelevant potshot at current government that has nothing to do with the actual news story:
It’s time to overhaul the federal government too; that is, give Harper and his neo-clown posse the boot all the way back to Cow Town!
And on it goes. This story is actually a fairly mild one in terms of the user comments but it’s still kind of depressing. The average person who posts just seems kind of ugly and uncaring. These are not people you really feel like sharing a coffee with at Tim Horton’s.
