Recovering Baptist

Shades of the millineum

Saturday, May 31st, 2008

One of the worst things about losing my job was losing my laptop. Yeah, I know that’s stupid, but it’s true. The more I look back at it, that job and I really weren’t meant for each other, but that laptop, well, it was nice. It ran Microsoft Windows XP. One of the last things I did on it was to master some music.

Before packing up the laptop, I copied all of my files over to my linux server. No problem. Everything worked nicely. Now I need to create some music CD’s from the files I copied to my server. Simple enough. I figured that this morning was a good time to fire up my wife’s laptop, which is running Vista, to take care of that. Sounded easy enough. Nope. So far this morning I’ve had everything from networking problems to having the computer completely hang. At least older versions of Windows had the grace to give a blue screen when things were totally FUBARed.

So now I’m using my ancient XP laptop to get the files I need. I’m having to copy the files to an external drive so I can then connect that to the Vista machine and burn the CD’s. I can’t wait for my new linux desktop to be up and running so I can bypass all of this Microsoft mess.

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When tools attack

Sunday, May 25th, 2008

It took Fox a long time to be accepted as a “real” network. If you watch Simpsons reruns, you’ll hear the occasional crack at their own network. And, let’s be honest, it’s hard to take Fox seriously when it airs shows like “When Cars Attack!” Too bad the cameras weren’t rolling in my garage yesterday.

I’m still in the process of becoming proficient with the router table. I used a bit like this to route the slots in the sides of our new drawers. Tongue and Groove Router Bit That’s the same bit shown twice. When set up like on the left it creates a slot, and when set up as shown on the right, it creates a tongue which fits into the slot. I was feeling pretty good that I managed to set things up to create a nice, consistent slot for the plywood bottoms for our drawers. After switching bits to route the tops of the drawer sides, I put the tongue and groove bit back in the router to experiment with it some more.

We’ll be using this bit for our doors and drawer fronts. We’ll create a slot in all four sides of the door and then reconfigure the bit to create a tongue so the top and bottom pieces of the door fit snugly into the sides. It’s a nice look. And I needed to practice getting the bit set up right. The guy at Rockwell made it sound so easy; everything is supposed to just line up. But it wasn’t. After ruining about 10 pieces of scrap I was getting frustrated. I should have stopped, especially when I noticed the router sounded a bit different than usual. But who wants to be beat by their own tool? I made another adjustment and started routing yet another piece of wood when the router bit went airborne. You know those kids toys where you pull the string and a disk flys like a helicopter? Think of that, only with a very, very heavy and sharp router bit. As soon as I realized it wasn’t on the table any more I hit the deck and covered my head. The bit landed 6 inches from my head, maybe less.

I changed my shorts, grabbed a beer, and called it a day. Fox’s producers would have loved it.

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At least I’m not alone

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

One of the strange aspects of losing your job due to a “reduction in force” is that you might find yourself holding a lot of paperwork. One document that I have lists every every employee by position only (no names) and age. It’s to show that there’s no age discrimination going on. When I first looked at it I was pretty pissed off. I had been told that my employer was laying off 10% of its workforce, and I didn’t see that many cuts in this document.

As it turns out, my ex-employer is updating the document daily. I just found out that another person from my group lost his job today, and so far 29 people in my division are gone. That’s a pretty big chunk. My ex-coworker also ended up revealing more than she intended. I now have in my head at least one more person that I’m quite confident will get cut, and I know at least one person who is safe.

I’m torn. I’d love to tell my friends that I KNOW their job is in danger, more than they thought. But, that won’t really help anyone. So I guess it’s back to career assessments for me. It did feel good to tell my ex-coworker that if she wanted my help she could hire me.

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I’m such a geek…

Monday, May 19th, 2008

One of the many annoyances of losing my job is that I’m losing my laptop. That’s a shame, because it’s a killer machine. So what to do next?

I thought about buying a laptop, but even my killer laptop has some quirks. And if I want something portable, then I want it very portable. I considered something ultra tiny (I found one cool HP machine with a 9″ screen and no moving parts). But I also need something with enough horsepower to edit audio. And I’d like my desktop to look totally awesome.

Since I can’t afford a Mac, the only way to have a great computer experience is with linux. Specifically I plan on using Ubuntu’s latest Hardy Heron release. From everything I’ve heard, it’s as pretty as, if not prettier than, Mac. And it’s free. Want to upgrade the OS when it comes out? $0 Want some new software? Free Need some support? Plenty of help online.

I just placed an order for the parts for my new computer. I’ve never built one completely from scratch, but I’m looking forward to trying it. And I’ve got plenty of time on my hands these days. And for those Mac nuts who are going to say that PC and Mac work out when you consider what you’re getting for your money, that’s not true when you build it yourself. Assuming I got all the parts I need (I might be missing a cable or something stupid like that), the total for this new machine is $454, and it’s completely loaded. I can’t wait to get it up and running, but while I’m waiting for the parts to arrive, I guess I’ll work on the kitchen. Time to climb into the attic and run some electric cables…

Posted in Technology, House | No Comments »

Yet again

Monday, May 19th, 2008

I think I’m going to need to get a refill on that Ambien before I lose my insurance. Oh yeah, it doesn’t do me any good in the bottle. Why didn’t I take it hours ago?

Posted in Work, Health | No Comments »

Insomnia sucks

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

I’ve had sleepless nights before, but tonight may be one of the worst yet. I can’t sleep, obviously. But I also don’t have any couches, so I can’t even lie down and watch TV. If I think about this damned job loss for another minute I think I’m going to completely lose my mind…

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I’ve said it before

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

and I’ll say it again. My pastor is cooler than yours. His response to me telling him that I lost my job was, “Damn…that sucks.” And then he prayed for me. I don’t recall a member of the clergy praying for me personally in many, many, many years.

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Friends

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

It’s always good to have friends, but today my friends have been absolutely incredible. I’ve barely been able to work on my resume because I’ve been reading emails and talking on the phone. Word spreads quickly, especially when you’re a part of a small church. And that’s good. I need all the friends I can get right about now. I could especially use some who write paychecks…

Posted in Work, Friends | No Comments »

Always

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Keep your resume up to date. You never know when you’ll lose your job.

Sure takes the joy out of the new countertops.

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And the kitchen sink, too

Monday, May 12th, 2008

This weekend was pretty productive. How else would you describe a weekend when you connect a dishwasher, install two hand-made lazy susans, replace the internals to a toilet, and paint a room? Oh yeah, my kitchen sink is now in my front yard, and that’s a good thing.

Yes, my life is very, very weird.

Posted in Fun, House | Comments Off

Archive for May, 2008

Shades of the millineum

When tools attack

At least I’m not alone

I’m such a geek…

Yet again

Insomnia sucks

I’ve said it before

Friends

Always

And the kitchen sink, too

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