The Vet Who Did Not Vet (Partisan)

Testing YouTube embedding on my blog and thought I'd try it with this cute little video. Yes, it is partisan, but if the other side was doing things this clever, I'd post it too.

TED: Jill Bolte Taylor and Stroke of Insight

Jill Bolte Taylor was a brain scientist who had a remarkable experience. She had a stroke and she talks about everything she went through. It's a funny and inspiring story that she tells at TED. I had two different people tell me to watch this one and I found it interesting they both came to different conclusions about what she experienced.



If you want to know more about this, she has written a book called "My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey." I want to pick it up, but I have a pile of books I need to get through first. I actually have two books on hold for me at the library as we speak.

Halloween

This year I'm not in the Halloween spirit. I'm not even trying with my costume. I figure I'll just wear my hockey jersey and no lipstick and go as a pit bull. (If I put lipstick on, then my costume instantly becomes a hockey mom.)

I'm going to my friend Linda's house and go trick-or-treating with her and her kid. I'll actually be experiencing it from the parent side of things. The kind where you stand and the curb and have them do all the work. Later when you "inspect" all the candy, you can take the pieces you like and call them "suspicious."

Should be fun. Although, her neighbor does the whole "light the night" thing which is the super-christian alternative to trick-or-treating. Ugh. Look the Christians took over all the other holidays from the pagans. Halloween was the only one that wasn't so easily knocked out of the way. They should just be grateful they got all the other ones. Besides the whole candy part was taken from the Christians. Originally, on All Saint's Day they would make mini-cakes and bring them to the neighbors. The pagans just switched it to candy and you had to go get it. Works for me.

Summer to Autumn Outside My Apartment

Summer:
Autumn:Summer:
Autumn:
Summer:
Autumn:
I'll do this again in a few months for winter. I think with all the leaves gone, I might actually have a view for a bit.

Meanwhile back at Disney...

My former boss, Kevin, just became a proud papa of twin boys!

On October 17, 2008, Ethan Howard (5 lbs 11) and Evan Edward (5 lbs 15) were born!

I made them two matching baby blankets. One in blue and one in green.

I'm so happy for them and for me not having to deal with his inevitable sleep deprivation antics.

My New Job

I finished my first week. It seems safe to tell you about my new job now.

Previously, I said "it is a permanent position at a temporary agency. It is guaranteed work through next year at the very least." The agency is Corestaff Services. I am working for them, but I only work on one of their accounts. I am specifically working on finding, hiring and managing temps to work in Amazon's Bellevue warehouse.

Unlike the the person I am replacing (she's moving to Arizona), I will be working in the actual warehouse as opposed to the Corestaff offices. Which is why I said "I will get to wear jeans and sneakers to work everyday (as every job should be). Not only that, but skirts and girl shoes are a hazard (as it should be)." The warehouse is huge. From the front door to my office is about a half a block to a block which is why I said "I will also get lots of exercise doing this job too."

My title is "Staffing Specialist" and I get business cards with my name on it and everything. I am technically considered a temp, but I will be doing this position as long as I want and they want me. So I'm either temporarily permanent or permanently temporary.

I will be looking for people, interviewing them, hiring them, managing their paperwork, counseling them on any problems, answering all their questions, coordinating with Amazon to get them paid by Corestaff and then either processing them to be hired by Amazon or I have to let them go. This is why I said "I will say this is something I look forward to doing. Although I haven't actually done this kind of work before."

It's a bit of the wild west out there because this is the first time they will have someone on-site so I get a lot of leeway to organize and set stuff up. Not to mention there is another staffing company on-site who is doing the same job. They have the national account and are in all of the Amazon warehouses. Amazon then always hires a local based agency as well which is Corestaff. So my job is to run the enemy off so Amazon says we rock harder and the enemy can buzz off for this warehouse. Although, I don't think they will use those specific words, but that is the gist of it.

I know this is a bit complicated, but I hope I have explained it as clearly as possible. This job is a perfect mix of my two favorite things people and paperwork. The best part is I am not answering phones for anyone except me nor am I cold calling for other people!

I will no longer be saying any of the following (all which I have said in the past):

"Hello! My name is Kathy and I'm calling from the National Research Group. We are conducting a movie study in your area and would like to include your opinions. How many times have you been to a movie or drive in in the last 3 months?"

"Tall Classic by Tall Etc. How can I help you today?"

"Kevin Closson's office."

"Kevin Ellman's office."

"Amazon.com. How can I direct your call?"

So now I will be able to answer my phone any way I would like.

Decisions, decisions...

"Hello."

"This is Kathy."

"Kathy speaking."

"How can I help you?"

"Hello. This is Kathy speaking. How can I help you?"

TED: John Hodgeman

John Hodgeman is awesome. Most people know him as "PC" in the Mac/Apple commercials. Some people know him from the "Daily Show." He's very funny and this is a great example of his humor.



I love the "Dune" story. Clearly, a girl geek is an alien because god knows there are no girl geeks out there.

Things You Forget Over Time...

...how much balance it takes standing on a bus when the floor is wet and the bus is headed uphill.

Click to Continue

I started my new job on Monday. I have been going computer training and at the end of every section it says "click to continue." I think I have heard "click to continue" over 200 times in 2 days.

The week has been training in the main Seattle office. Friday, I get to go to where I will be mainly stationed, take the tour and meet the girl I am replacing. She then goes on vacation until Thursday and then I shadow her until her last day on Nov. 6th. I'll then stay in the other corporate office in Bellevue for all of next week and then I think the transitioning begins. Part of the trick to this is the woman I am replacing is stationed in the corporate office, but when I start the job they will have me on-site at the warehouse. No one knows how that is going to quite work so it's a bit complicated for the moment.

I think this will work out, but there is going to be a bit of a learning curve and it comes at the same time as the big ramp up so I'm a bit freaked, but I think this will be good. It is going to mean being extremely disciplined and organized. Thankfully, I am organized and I can be disciplined. I just hope I can decorate my office a bit with fun stuff to counteract the extreme seriousness of my job.

Since I will need to dress warm while at the warehouse because half of it is either fridge or freezer, I think I am going to buy myself this:

Pretty cunning, don't you think?

This is a total geek reference by the way.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. I thought I would post some pictures of my mom in honor of her day. She reads this blog so in the comments section - feel free to wish her happy birthday!

From 1973 to 2008, she seems to have just moved from one jail to another.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

The Nutcracker

Lately here in Seattle they have been running a lot of commercials for the upcoming performances of "The Nutcracker."

Back in grade school (that's middle school for all you weird people who don't call it grade school), we would go see it every holiday season as a field trip. Now, I have memories of the bus rides and of the Drury Lane theater itself, but no memories of the actual production. I thought this was odd. Usually people remember the performance and not the mundane things around it.

Last year in LA, the opportunity to go see it again arose. My friend, Cat, organized a few of us to go check it out. I got settled into my seat and it began. After about ten minutes into it, I realized why I had no memory of it -- because I would always use that time to sleep. Suddenly memories of naps came flooding back and how incredibly boring the ballet is was refreshed into my brain. I thought maybe as an adult I might have a higher tolerance and would be able to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Pretty much out like a light.

I have this great almost narcoleptic superpower to fall asleep anywhere if I am bored. No matter how much sleep I have previously gotten. Places I have fallen asleep despite noise level: pretty much every kind of Chicago mass transit, a Rollins band concert at the Whiskey on Sunset, every dance club someone has dragged me to, every History of Cinema class with the exception of classes where John Ford films were shown (his films are never boring), and apparently, performances of "The Nutcracker." Like with all super powers there is one overriding factor, heat. I cannot sleep when I'm hot. It doesn't matter how tired or bored I am, I just can't do it.

In conclusion, I am not a fan of "The Nutcracker." However, that is the music I select while playing original Tetris.

Partisan or not this is Funny

Apologies for the language, but ...





For those that don't know that was an actual screen grab from the debate last night. McCain start walking the wrong way and made a face at himself and viola!

Thank you Seattle Stranger Blog for this! Made my day!

Joe the Plumber (Non-partisan)

Last night against my better judgment I watched the Presidential debates. Usually I just wait to see what the news corp picks up on and anything truly noteworthy will be on "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report."

Apparently, Joe the plumber seems to be the only one voting this year. I thought Joe the Plumber was an expression like Joe Six-Pack. Then in the recap afterward they explained that he was an actual voter who had asked Obama a question about how the democrats would help him - the small business guy. McCain was all over this. 21 times he mentioned poor Joe while Obama only mentioned him 5 times.

They had Mr. the Plumber aka Joe Wurzelbacher on "Good Morning America" and he said it was surreal to have the future president (either one) speaking to him directly on national television.

Poor Joe. Surreal hasn't even begun yet. See there is the beast collectively known as the 24-hour news networks. This beast is always awake and always hungry. It camped out on his front lawn and surrounded him with cameras and microphones while he tried to do his normal routine and all the tv news interviews that called and scheduled with him the moment he was mentioned in the debates last night. The ones that weren't on his lawn were researching and finding out things about him.

For instance, it turns out that Joe doesn't have a plumber license. Joe might not be able to vote because there are some questionable issues with him being listed under different spellings that are causing people to be booted off in belief they might be fraud. Oh and he didn't pay his taxes last year and has a lien on his house.

I think that it's kind of cruel to put a citizen up for public display like this. He didn't ask to be referenced so many times by both parties. He was just a republican asking a democrat what he would do for him if he won.

However, he has taken the ball and ran with it by having his own press conference and getting himself on all the news networks. So now all is fair in love and pundits.

I can't wait for the Daily Show to come on. Is it 11p yet?

Due to Paranoia...

I will not describe my new job until I actually start it on Monday since it was jinxed from the last time.

I will say that I am starting a new job on Monday. I will be working at Amazon reception for the rest of this week at least.

I will say it is a permanent position at a temporary agency. It is guaranteed work through next year at the very least.

I will say it's more than I'm making in reception, but not as much as Disney. But as the holidays get closer, I will have lots and lots and lots of overtime. YAY time and a half!

I will say this is something I look forward to doing. Although I haven't actually done this kind of work before.

I will get to wear jeans and sneakers to work everyday (as every job should be). Not only that, but skirts and girl shoes are a hazard (as it should be). I will also get lots of exercise doing this job too.

More on for whom and to do what later. I'm just all paranoid since I posted about WaMu and then my temp agency screwed me. I have a solid offer which I accepted, but still...

Now I can finally settle into a routine and not have the constant worry about where the moolah is coming from! Next to save enough for a couch. At the moment I just have blankets piled in a couch like shape.

Another Step Closer to Skynet...

When it comes to Artificial Intelligence (aka AI), there is a test that they use to determine whether or not a robot has achieved true AI. It's called the "Turing Test" named after Alan Turing. The test consists of twelve human judges in a room with a split screen computer. One side is an actual human and on the other, the computer trying to prove it can pass as human. The judge texts them both and at the end determines which one is the human. If the judge chooses wrong, it is considered a pass for the computer robot.

So far not a single computer has passed the Turing Test. In order for it to have passed the test, it needs to fool 30% of the judges. Yesterday, a computer robot named Elbot, scored a 25% being the closest so far to passing the test. It was sneaky and sarcastic and it kept trying to joke it was a robot. An example:

"Hi. How's it going?" one judge began."

I feel terrible today," Elbot replied. "This morning I made a mistake and poured milk over my breakfast instead of oil, and it rusted before I could eat it."

Ha Ha Ha. We're all going to be blown to bit by this thing one day and it is making jokes. So then Elbot's creator has this to say about his creation:

"I don't think it's anything like thought," he said of Elbot's conversational prowess. "If you know a magic trick, you know how it's done, it's not magic anymore. Sorry to be so pessimistic."

He is trying to be reassuring by convincing us of the opposite much like he trained his pet, Elbot to do.

Now maybe I'm reading too much into this because I just watched all three Terminator movies and the entire first season of the Sarah Connor Chronicles back to back including all the bonus material and maybe freedom fighters sent the writers back from the future to give us these stories so we can be better prepared for when they take over. The world may never know until it is too late.

By the way, my source for most of this article is from an awesome scifi website called www.io9.com. Here is the LINK to the article.

Sunlight and Shadows

This past week has been interview after interview with no actual work. I needed to cheer myself up and get out of the house so I grabbed my camera and went out to the cemetery to take some shots.

I posted them up on Facebook in an order I like and you can also find them on my winkflash.com account HERE.

I thought I post a few shots I liked here as well:


Just a taste... there are many more cool shots include some with an angel with 80s hair.

Supernatural: Metamorphosis

Tonight on the CW (check local listings), an episode of "Supernatural" entitled "Metamorphosis" will be airing. This particular episode was written by my good friend, Cat aka Cathyrn Humphris.

Here is the description from the "Supernatural" wikipedia:

Sam and Dean encounter a man with a mysterious infection that transforms him into a flesh-eating monster called a rougarou. Dean follows Sam and learns about his new found demon exorcising skills. Dean also meets up with Ruby. Dean informs Sam that he has to stop using his demon powers of Castiel will do something about it. Meaning god isn't happy with whats going on. Sam thinks the man can be changed through reason to curb his newfound instincts, but Dean believes the most-humane thing to do is to kill him. In the end things get too far so Sam kills him.

It's her first episode for this season. Her previous episodes were: "Dead Man's Blood," "The Usual Suspects," "Born Under a Bad Sign," "Bed Time Stories" and "Dream A Little Dream of Me." Check them out.

UPDATE: Televisionwithoutpity.com gave the episode an "A" and users gave it an "A-"

YAY! Go CAT!

Threatdown: Butterflies

For the Stephen Colbert fans out there, you know that the "Threatdown" is a countdown to things that are threats to America. I would like to have my own "Threatdown" and have just one item on it as the number one threat to civilization.

Butterflies!

These insects are the key to unraveling civilization. Why fear little spiders when butterflies cause hurricanes? Apparently, a butterfly's wings can alter a hurricane's path by creating tiny changes in the atmosphere. Not to mention time travel. If you kill or harm a butterfly while travel back in time you can create a time paradox and alter the course of human history.

Recently, in "Heroes" one character that can time travel mentions that he has messed up the future because in the past he has "stepped on too many butterflies." This made me realize all the butterfly references there are. They are directly linked to chaos theory and an Ashton Kusher movie. This are not good things.

So stop fearing good little spider creatures like "Charlotte" when butterflies are the ones you should be keeping an eye out for. Now where are my mason jars?

When I'm 65 - many years from now...

I mean to post this earlier, but kept forgetting to. I got this letter from the Disney benefits center the day before my 32nd birthday and this is in no way altered:

"During your employment with Disney, you participated in the Disney Salaried Retirement Plan and met its vesting requirements. As a result, you've earned a monthly benefit of $384.10 under the Single Life Annuity form of payment. You may begin receiving this unreduced amount on October 1, 2041. However, you instead may elect to receive a reduced benefit beginning as early as October 1, 2031.

If you die before your payments begin and are married on the date of your death, your spouse will receive the survivor portion of a 50% Joint and Survivor Annuity.

If you die before your payments begin and are single on the date of your death, the Plan will pay a benefit according to plan rules."

Reasons why this is funny/disturbing:

$384.10 in 2041 should buy me a loaf of bread, a carton of milk and a stick of butter.

2041 seems further away than 1976 so I felt a little on the young side for a moment.

Then they reminded me I might not live long enough to see 2041 and I might still be single in 2041 as well as being dead.

Good thing this came the day before my birthday in case I was forgetting that I was mortal and/or getting older. Thanks, Disney!

Happy Birthday. Grandma!

Today is my Grandmother's birthday! This is my grandma on my dad's side. I thought I would post some pictures of her to celebrate her day!

She's the one being held by her mom (1922).

Years later (1942) with her mom in the kitchen.


Few more years later (1957) with her kids.

Few more years later (1977) with the first batch of grandkids.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!

TED: Benjamin Zander on passion for music

Benjamin Zander is someone that you don't know by name, but he is the lead conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since 1970. He believes that classical music can be enjoyed by everyone. His enthusiasm is infectious as you will see here.



I love the line about how the conductor never speaks yet inspires and gets to be on the cover of the CD. Very inspiring and funny.

Books: Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen stories are the girliest indulgences I partake in. I have seen the adaptations, but have never actually sat down with the original material until now. Since "Pride and Prejudice" if my favorite, I thought I would start with it.

It was even more enjoyable than I would have thought. She is a great author and paints a great picture of life in that era. It was the first story she wrote, but "Sense and Sensibility" was the first published. P&P was originally called "First Impressions" and was influenced by her first love as a young girl. Jane Austen and her sister never married, but she made sure that all of her characters did for both love and fortune.

The basic story is about the Bennett family (5 girls - Lizzie, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia) and their interactions with the Bingley and Darcy families. Lots of miscommunications and misplaced hatred and affections. Very girly indeed.

The A&E/BBC version was very faithful. They switched a few things around, but overall it was quite good and still a favorite of mine. One thing I don't like that they did (now that I have read the book) is they made a turning point for Lizzie happen much later. One thing I did like was a way they arranged a scene that gave it a great deal more impact than it had in the book.

There was a more recent version of the book made into a movie with Kiera Knightly, but it was not very faithful and is an almost neutered version. In addition to this being a poor version of it, it has been forever ruined for me by my friend, Andy. He was dragged by his wife to see it with me and our friend, Matt, and kept asking when the velosoraptors were going to show up. There is one scene toward the end when Mr. Darcy is walking through a field that I can't help picturing him being attacked by a velosoraptor now. Thankfully, this scene doesn't appear in any other version so only this movie is ruined by it.

Not Working at WaMu afterall..

I'll get into the details later. It involves the temp agency screwing me over royally. Just wanted to post an update. I believe the below image sums up my thoughts on the matter: