Month: March 2024

Photo a Day

I took today’s photo a day picture before I did my exercise this morning because I knew it was an in-the-office day and I wouldn’t have a lot of opportunities for snappin’ pics.

188/365
188/365

Little did I know that just before I left the house, the cats would pose for me. I could have used one of these instead.

Oh well. Two Hipstamatic camera app pics of the cats because artsy and stuff. I can get behind that.

I Hate That

Daily writing prompt
What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.
View all responses

I don’t have a real answer for this. There’s nothing specific that sets me off or anything like that. Nothing that I feel strongly enough about to label as “hate.” Maybe I can come up with some mild annoyances?

  • The company I work for has some goofy policies. I get annoyed when I have to explain them to people who work for other software companies. Companies that have more traditional policies that aren’t quite as goofy.
  • I don’t like being asked about religion. I won’t hesitate to give my thoughts and opinions with both barrels right into the questioner’s face. That doesn’t mean I enjoy being put in that situation. I don’t care about other people’s religious beliefs at all. Not even the faintest hint of a care. I would ask you to not care about mine in the same manner.
  • So Rob, why don’t you drink alcohol? Well because fuck you, that’s why. That one hasn’t come up in a very long time, but it used to come up multiple times per week and I would get really annoyed by it.
  • Okay, here’s one I hate. Say Rob, that donald trump is something special, right? No. He’s a fucking nazi who tried to overthrow the US government. He’s disgusting and evil and I cannot believe he has actual support from people who claim to be Americans.

Okay… I’m really pissed off now. This post is over.

Vote

Tonight at just after 7:00pm I cast ballot number 345 in Methuen, MA precinct five. It was just under an hour before the polls close. It’s 8:00pm as I type this so I can now say past tense, the polls closed.

There were no races of consequence, really. One local race was unopposed, another had about 15 candidates for 35 seats. Another was President Biden running against a few people I’ve never heard of who have zero chance of winning. There was one two candidate race. Maybe my vote will have meaning in that one.

That’s okay. I feel like a hypocrite when I miss an election. Even when there are no races that require a large turn out. We’ll have one of those in November this year. Vote against the fascists. Vote against the maga cult. Vote against trump. Vote for Biden. Vote Democrat. Let’s have a blue wave. We have eight months to organize. Let’s do it.

Two Local Political Events

Today is March 5th here in Massachusetts. This year that means two things.

First and foremost, it is Super Tuesday today. That means it’s Primary Election Day here as well as a bunch of other states. I have not voted yet. I plan to vote after dinner tonight. It’s going to be tight as far as time goes, but the polls are open until 8:00pm so I should be able to get there with time to spare. Keep your fingers crossed.

March 5th also has another noteworthy event, historically speaking. Today is the anniversary of The Boston Massacre. On this day in 1770 a bunch of Bostonians were shot by English troops. It was an important event that turned into one of our nation’s most famous propaganda vehicles, thanks in part to this Paul Revere image:

Here’s a link to the wikipedia article, which I did not read but am willing to assume it is accurate because trust is a thing. Also, I took the image from wikipedia as well.

I could have sworn I had a photo of the victim’s memorial that is in the Granary Burial Ground in Boston, but I can’t find it anywhere. I guess I’ll just have to go for a walk down the Freedom Trail this summer to take another pic.

Anyway, go vote (where applicable).

Almost Done, I Hope

Another day for the kitchen remodel project. Here’s hoping it’s the last day.

They are doing some touch up work on things that have otherwise been finished. They are hanging some stuff on top of the tile. They are doing a little painting.

I think that’s all that’s left to do. Once they are done we have to clean up any dust they left behind and then wash all of the dishes that have been sitting out collecting dust over the last week and then find a new home for everything in the new cabinet/storage setup.

I am so ready for this project to be over. I want my house back again.

Unrelated note… I used my good camera to take today’s photo a day picture. I will post it now for no reason at all.

187/365
187/365

Epic Fail

Daily writing prompt
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
View all responses

I finished high school in June of 1989 and started college that September. I was a music major with an emphasis in sound recording technology. Basically, that was music crossed with electrical engineering. The core course work included two semesters of calculus and one of physics. Therein lied my problem.

Coming out of high school, my math skills were flat out awful. I was unprepared for college level classes which meant I was unable to pass calculus, and given that calculus is the foundation of a lot of physics, I was hosed there too. There was more to it than that. I was also just not in a place mentally where I could handle school anymore. I needed a break.

All of that lead to me dropping out of college. I couldn’t do it at that time. Academically or emotionally. That was my failure. College, the first time around.

I followed that experience with a job, and then a tech school and a certification in a field where I was unable to get a job, which was followed by a shitty job in a warehouse for garbage money. When I couldn’t take it any more I went back to school.

All of that is what lead to my eventual success. I majored in computer science. Another field that required a strong math background. I went into it knowing that I had to strengthen my basic skills. I told my first academic advisor that I was going to start at the lowest math course available. I had taken a placement test that said I could start a little further along. I said no and started at the bottom. I then studied my ass off at each level. By the time I was hitting my upper level computer science courses I had aced three semesters of calculus and two semesters of physics.

Success, babie. Take that, failure. Suck my awesome grades.

After graduation I got a job in the field. Not the best job. Not a development position. I figured I’d worm my way into a development position, but then never did. I stayed in client services and moved into management. I’m still there.