January 2005 Archive

Welcome to the Archive for January 2005! What you will find here may be old. It may scare you. It may even scare me! More importantly, you might find links that no longer work, and *gasp* information that is no longer, or possibly never was, accurate in any way. Don't rely on this information to save your life!

January 2005 Archive

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

[Comments: 0] 3:42 AM - updates-updates-updates

I've thrown together some revisions to various pages. My projects pages are definitely in dire need of revision, but I'm not prepared to fix them just yet. (Before I can really do that, I need to reorganize and catalog exactly what it is I've been working on....)

In the meantime though, drop by for a new rant, some new links, and new information about me.

[Comments: 2] 3:10 AM - words-are-words

Anyone who'd rather not see "swearing" should probably not read on, but keep in mind I won't be swearing at you.

So, why is "fuck" a bad word? What group of people got together and decided it was worse (enough) than all the other bad words, that this one is over the line which the FCC must draw. Why draw lines at all?

If I want to mean it this way, "Have a cracking day" could mean I am wishing you to break every bone in your body. I could mean that line with as much malice as I could possibly imagine, and yet it's FCC clean. However, if I were to say, "This is fucking brilliant," as had been uttered on air by an extremely excited Bono, in came the (potential) FCC fiasco. I was pleased to see the FCC choose not to take any significant action in the case. I mean, the entire meaning he threw behind that word.... it was positive. It was used to mean "extreme." Obviously mentioning this incident probably makes me seem like I'm stuck in some kind of a time warp. I realize this happened a while back, but it's a useful example nonetheless.

Growing up, even as hard as we strive to keep these specific words and phrases out of TV and radio, and other media, it's amazing how they crept in all around me. Kids were using them before we got out of elementary school. I can vaguely remember the words from fourth grade. It's not the media that's feeding them into the pool. I think it's often the parents. But even so, and even as I was always taught not to use these "certain words," I've come to understand they don't mean a damn thing unless you throw some particular intentions behind them.

They're just words like any others. They're used frequently, in friendly context, in jest, in playful chatter between friends, and they don't harm anyone. After I realized that there wasn't much reason to be offended by the words themselves, I just stopped. I'm still just as offended by the meanings people put behind them, but rarely do I run into people that are feeling quite that rabid. The malice is separate from the words. The words are just a reference to the idea, and if you chop off the set that offends for today, people just take the opportunity to use another set that isn't yet banned later on. This happens, and it will always happen... and I still don't see these "swear" words harming anyone, or anything....

To me, it just seems like we're wasting our time policing language. Instead, we should spend more effort on being friendly, and then we won't need to worry about what kinds of "nasty" things people are saying to us. Maybe?

I know many people won't agree with this stance. A lot of people will surely point to the fact these words have got dictionary definitions that say they're vulgar—that they're designed to offend. But, really, I could offend you viciously with lesser words, and many people try and succeed every day. Words like "shit," "fuck," and "asshole" may have been at times singled out for this purpose, but these words offend only so long as people accept them as offensive. I see no reason to allow them that function at face value. At face value, they're simply nicely arranged letters with a specific pronunciation. We choose to attach whatever meaning and emotion we want to them. And perhaps it's healthy to have a few words that are reserved to show just how extreme we feel about something. Perhaps we should read their use as that, and not be deeply offended at the thought that people feel strongly enough about things to say so.

Monday, January 17, 2005

[Comments: 0] 2:13 AM - but-I-already-have-a-job

I just tweaked the layout of my resume in the Green theme quite a bit. I will probably tweak the other themes later to make them look a little nicer as well, but the Green stylesheet was the highest priority.

I think the new style looks quite a bit more distinctive. Right now it doesn't print that way, but I'm considering the idea.

Saturday, January 15, 2005

[Comments: 2] 3:35 AM - happy-new-year

Oh.... Um.... Hi!

Happy belated new year! Many important things have happened since I last remembered to post something.

I am moving to Chicago. The exact date hasn't been set, but my last day at Harborfields is officially set for Friday, January 21st. Everyone I've told of my departure has said at least one of the following:

- It's a great opportunity for you.
- What are we going to do without you?
- We'll miss you!
- We figured this was going to happen sooner or later.
- Congratulations.

I'm pleased to know that I'm so loved. I'm going to miss all the folks at Harborfields. It was a great opportunity for me and for them, and I wish them the best as they hopefully look for someone to fill my position. Ironically, the week I announced my resignation, they finally gave me a phone at my desk. Oh, well... ;)

I met Karl and Ray for the first time over the weekend of January 7th. They're nice guys, and they should be great to work with at Steadfast Networks. They would love it if I move out there as soon as possible, so I am going to endeavor to end up out there by the end of this month. If all goes well and weather permitting, within a week of leaving Harborfields, I'd like to be making the trip out to Chicago with my computers, clothes, and any other essentials. I'll stay with Karl and Ray until I find an apartment of my own.

Equinix, the hosting facility we use, is really impressive. To get in you have to pass through plenty of security, and then keep getting your hand scanned as you move around, while cameras watch you from various angles. You definitely don't want to do anything you wouldn't want someone to see while you're in there. :)

My flights out to Chicago and back were wacky. On the way out, my layover took me through Atlanta, and a weather delay threw into question making my connection. Fortunately, the connection was delayed as well, and all went fine. On the return try, Delta opted to simply cancel my flight, and rebook me on another airline. Walking up to the Departure board to see a nice red "CANCELLED" next to my flight was displeasing, but it all worked out in the end. The trip was fun.

I'm still excited and nervous about all that's preparing to happen. Stay tuned as the saga continues. :)