El Cheapo Wedding

I recently read a Twitter posting from @cedarwoodwed about how they received a request for a wedding for 200 people for $1000. Their reply? “What planet”

Now color me stupid, but in today’s economy, why would this be so unheard of? Granted, maybe Cedarwood Weddings wouldn’t be able to provide this kind of service at their location, but surely someone there could help the people who inquired about this, instead of bashing them on Twitter, whose audience is around 100 million users. Especially in the south, where people are known to be helpful to others in time if need.

Why can’t inexpensive food & drink from a local eatery be obtained and served? Why can’t inexpensive flowers be purchased or solicited for cheap from a local florist or grower for the event? Why can’t a pretty location be obtained or rented for low cost? Donations are made all the time. There are businesses out there that are willing to help people. They provide materials for low to no cost in exchange for advertising. It’s not unheard of. Some businesses just have no imagination when it comes to “low cost” and are just plain greedy.

Easy Money

I just thought of an ingenious way of making money. Instead of grounding them or taking something away from them, each time the kids are bad, say something they’re not supposed to, fight, argue with an adult or whatever thing that we as parents tell them not to do, they give me money. I figure $1 per infraction should work well. This should work ok for the boys (as they’re 11 & 8), but not so much for the toddler. She doesn’t quite understand money. Yet. Someday soon I’m sure she will. But with the 2 boys in the house, I figure that’ll amount to at least $10 per week from each of them. That’s a minimum figure too. Some weeks could be less, some could be more. Guess I’ll have to subliminally focus on getting their father (I’m the boys step-dad) to give them some kind of allowance each week/month so they’ll have a steady stream of cash rolling in. If I can’t get him to do it, it’d be like me paying myself, as I give them money sometimes too. What to do, what to do…

Mini Size Me

I use @Twitter to just write blurbs, or short postings. Whether it’s an update to my website, something that I’m doing, something that the kids are doing or said, a picture, a quote from a movie or tv show, a date status, an advertisement for selling myself, an off the wall saying, a news story posting, making fun of someone, food that I’m eating or craving, making up a crazy #TT (trending topic), a direct reply to someone else, a fishing lure, connecting with people and/or businesses, quoting a proverb, posting a video link, if I’ve gone to the bathroom, just whatever I feel like posting within a 140 character limitation.

I don’t go outside the lines of the style that Twitter was designed for. I don’t use a service like TwitLonger, just because that is something that was developed to get around the “limitation” that Twitter was created for. That is, to post short “tweets” about something, someone or whatever. The service to direct a tweet @ someone was developed just for that, to direct a message, not entice a totally open conversation that potentially the world can see. If you feel you need to write more than 140 characters, then use a different medium for writing that. A blog, an email, a billboard, whatever you can find that allows you to write more than the allocated limit within Twitter. Twitter has become a way of life, an open advertising platform for anyone to use to express themselves. There are other services that trying to become what Twitter is, but they are not intended for short, micro-blogging style writing (Tumblr is one that comes to mind – I’m playing with it now, seeing what it has to offer). They are a new style communication platform, a blogging platform with more posting capabilities, but they are not “micro” by any means.

I do not use Twitter for text/email style communication, because that is what those mediums are intended for, not Twitter. So for anyone that wants to read my Twitter posts, feel free. They are out there for everyone to see. For those that want to actually communicate with me, you can email me, text me, direct message me, even call me if you happen to have my number. We can carry on a conversation with the appropriate medium. You have an email address, as you needed one to sign up for Twitter to begin with. Use it. More than likely, you have a cell phone. Use text messaging or call someone. Even see someone in person for conversation. Just leave Twitter for what it was originally intended for, a micro-blog service. Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts and it should be kept that way. Businesses use Twitter to advertise. I use Twitter to advertise myself, in my own way, but again, not for carrying on a conversation.

Smack Him Around

A Woman’s Poem

He didn’t like the casserole
And he didn’t like my cake,
He said my biscuits were too hard
Not like his mother used to make.
I didn’t perk the coffee right
He didn’t like the stew,
I didn’t mend his socks
The way his mother used to do.
I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.

Then I turned around and
smacked the shit out of him….

Like his mother used to do.

X Marks The Spot

Job seekers…have you ever wondered if you’re not getting a job because you’re “marked” in some way? It’s like employers see your resume on their desk and they just ignore it. They read over it, but even though all the right criteria is there, it just goes right to the circle file.

I’m beginning to feel this way. It’s as if the employers here just don’t want a person with 13 years experience in the field that they are trying to fill the position with. They want a green horn, someone who is fresh out of college, with that paper they can hang on their wall. They want someone who will work for lower pay because they think that’s what supposed to happen fresh out of college. They want someone with little to no experience in the field, so they can fill a quota with “educated people”. Maybe, just maybe, employers would get more qualified applications/resumes on their desk if they would post more accurate job descriptions instead of misleading ones. Put in all relevant details for the job duties and location so you won’t waste my time, much as I don’t want to waste yours.

Hey, employers, I’m right here! See me waving my hands in the air! Over here! Yeah, you. The one’s who keep dumping the experience in the trash because you don’t think I want to work for lower pay on an experience level degree. Yeah, that’s right, I have an experience degree, one that takes years to accomplish. Not in a classroom, but in the real world. Stop passing us by and actually “look” at the information that passes over your desk. Don’t just mark me for deletion by pressing that X.

Is It Really?

Is it really “out there” that in future decades we will fly around in cars instead of drive them? (Back to the Future)

Is it really hard to imagine that we will transport humans by disassembling molecules and reassembling them  in another location? (Star Trek)

Is it really far fetched that we will fight with light/laser based weapons instead of ammunition/bullet based? (Star Wars)

Is it really impossible to manipulate the human brain into thinking that you went on a vacation to a distant planet but really didn’t? (Total Recall)

Is it really unthinkable that a weather changing phenomenon could cause another ice age? (Day After Tomorrow, 2012)

Is it really outside the realm of technology to have robots that will replace humans in certain human based job roles? (I, Robot)

Is it really hard to believe that people will build their own rockets to go into outer space? (Star Trek – First Contact, The Astronaut Farmer)

While some science fiction movies may have unrealistic plots that probably would never happen, some of the 20th & 21st century sci-fi movies have plots and details in them that certainly are very capable of happening, either now or in the not so distant future. So what drives the writers of these scripts to come up with the story lines and technology in these movies? Do they “know” something that others don’t? I’m just sayin’.

10000 Toys & Nothing to Do

Ah, the joys of summer vacation. No more school. Sleep late, go to bed late. No homework, no tests, no teachers. Kids have it great in the summer. I vaguely remember those days, seeing as how I’m getting on up in there in age.

However, there is a silent killer during these summer vacation days. It’s called boredom. Yes, that dreaded word that all kids will say at least once a day, because “they have nothing to do”. Those two words, “I’m bored” really get under my skin. Of all the 10000 toys that are contained with a household, there’s nothing to do? Really? Now that you’ve said those words, please let me find something for you to do. Because, believe me, I can find something for a child to do in a house during the summer, when “there’s nothing else to do”.

Besides, the free ability to watch tv, play video games, read a book, play outside, ride bikes, skip rope, skateboard, talk with friends, listen to music, eat, sleep, draw, paint, play basketball, play soccer, surf the internet, climb a tree, swim, play in a sprinkler, build legos, torture your little sister, build a racetrack, pick weeds out of flower beds, feed the dogs, play with dogs, burn ants with a magnifying glass, play cards, play a board game, play handheld games, play guitar, play with remote control cars, play bop it, play baseball, play football, play air hockey, play dodgeball and shoot bb guns (I could go on & on with this list), I really don’t know what you could be bored of.

Now if you tell me you’re bored, be prepared, cause you’re not gonna like the answer I give back. You’ll be vacuuming, mopping, doing dishes, doing laundry, dusting, picking up said 10000 toys from around the house, scrubbing toilets & bathtubs, cleaning pee from your sisters chair because she had an accident, building fences, cleaning gutters, cooking, paying bills and picking up dog poop (like the previous list, I could go on and on here).

So please, go ahead, tell me you’re bored. You’ll wish you hadn’t. 🙂

Pick It, Flick It, Post It

What is with the desire for the complete control over everyone’s every action? We now have school districts stating they have control over students even when they’re not in school. Granted, in this example, sexting is the problem. However, if the issue arises after school hours or on the weekend, it is not the schools right to punish a student for 90 days suspension. If something happens during school time, then yes, the school does have a right to have a say in it.

This desire for companies/organizations/schools to think they have the right to control a persons actions outside of the role (student, employee, etc…) has got to be brought to an end. We are moving forward as a society, advancing in technology and surviving the worlds events as they are presented to us, but I don’t believe that we should moving in the direction these entities are trying to force us into.

I hereby declare that nexting (the photo capture & posting of nose picking) be brought to life henceforth. I mean, look to the left and take a look at Kate Hudson digging for gold. She should be banned from starring in any movies from this point forward. There should be a severe and unjust punishment for any nexting action that is captured. If you’re a CEO of a large social networking org (500 million members strong), look out. I’m gonna get ya. Be prepared for me to show the world that you too pick ‘n flick. What should your punishment be?? Maybe the story of your company shouldn’t be brought to fruition. Or hey, Hef, next time you’re caught in a dig, no more naked women for you! Or for a student caught “in the rough”, no more school for you. Wow, you’ll learn from that action.

A Subjective Statement or Thought About an Issue or Topic

I’ve posted about this subject before: companies scouring online websites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, my own personal website, etc…), looking for information about prospective employees (or current employees for that matter). If you’ve read my prior postings, you know how I feel about this: I think it is asinine (I’ve used other adjectives before).

In no way, should you judge me based on what I write. I am a human and thus have my own opinion on things and can write about what I choose. If I choose to write a review on a company and give it a bad one, that is my right (if I’m not disparaging the company I can write a negative review). If I choose to write about my family, that is my right. If I choose to post something really stupid (a quote from a movie for example) that is my right. If I choose to write the word fuck 10000 times in a posting, that is my right. All in all, it is my opinion and can do what I choose with it.

Now if you come across my postings online after looking for information about me for a job position, feel free to read it. But do not, I repeat do not, make a decision to not even bring me in for an interview just because you think my writings/postings are not your cup of tea. I have job qualifications and know how to function in a workplace. But for these companies today to weigh a judgement based on a Twitter account or a Facebook account is just plain ignorant. And I don’t even want to get started on the practices of some companies not even wanting to interview a person just because they are unemployed. A person could be unemployed because it was economically sound to stay home with kids instead of working for a low wage, only to have that money go right back out to childcare. In some cases, it makes sense to not be employed under certain circumstances. A Twitter friend (@stephfaris) has also written a blog about this subject as well.

Ignorance is bliss. I personally have over 13 years of experience in the IT field. Yet, I know some of these companies today are not even wanting to bring me in for an interview based on what they read online on my PERSONAL (read: not company affiliated) websites. These websites in no way reflect what I do in the workplace, as I keep that information for the most part out of these websites. Now if I have an opinion about my job, I do have the right to write about it, just as long as I am not mentioning names (individual or company) or flaming the company in the process. Actually read my resume, call me to discuss my qualifications further. Don’t just pass me on by because I have an opinion.

Bumps in the Night

Joran van der Simpson, err, Sloot was never found guilty of killing Natalie Holloway, but you’re going down for this one you fucker. Ain’t no white glove needed here Mr. Sloot. While your non credible confession to killing Natalie got you off on that murder (so far), your full on babble and DNA evidence for this one should net you 35 years in prison, douche bag. Weird thing is that this murder took place 5 years to the day of the disappearance of Natalie. Is this a coincidence or was this planned out in some psychotic manner by this killer? Whatever it is, he should be punished severely. Once he gets out of jail, maybe he too will go to Las Vegas and try to get his stuff back.