Still Here

Wow.  I hadn’t realized that it’s been 2 1/2 weeks since I last posted.  Life’s been a little busy.   The job’s going very well.

I spent last weekend on my dad’s roof helping him shingle.  35 hours over the course of 3 days.  I’m still sore.

OK, so since I really don’t like diary blogs, and this is turning into one, let’s just share something funny I found, shall we?

The evolution in teaching math since the 1950’s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?
2. Teaching Math In 1960’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990’s
   A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it’s ok. )
6. Teaching Math In 2008
   Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

Week 1:Complete

I finished my first week at my new job yesterday.  It was great. I don’t remember ever really feeling so much like I was meant to do a certain job as I do so far with this job.  I like everything I’ve done so far, and it’s sinking in so fast that I’m already being given some programming tasks to do on my own.

And the work environment is really great.  There’s only about 10 people in the office, and we seem to share a lot of the same inerests.  We’re all technical (which probably goes without saying since it’s an IT job).  We’re mostly all within a few years of the same age.  Everyone seems to like Sci-Fi.  And there’s really a sense of comeraderie within the group.

So, I’m expecting next week to get even better.  Life is good.

Twitter

I’m going to (temporarily at least) resurrect my “Program of the Week” posts and talk about a web service I’ve known about for over a year but haven’t really used much.  It’s called Twitter, and can be found at twitter.com.

It’s kind of a neat concept.  Basically just think of Facebook status updates on steroids, delivered via text message to your phone, or via IM to your favorite IM client.

For example, I’ve signed up for twitter, and my page can be found at www.twitter.com/gregschimek.  At that location, you can see all the people I’m following, and any updates that I post (which there aren’t any yet, because nobody I know is following me).  So let’s say I decide to post the fact that I’m struggled with Dell tech support on Wednesday night.  I post (via phone, web page, or IM client) about it in140 characters or less and voila!  Everyone that’s following me gets a text message about it.  You can post anything you like.  It’s kind of a mini-blog.

I know a lot of people use it for getting together.  They’ll post something like “Going to the mall at 7:00.  Come too if you like.”  And boom, 30 friends show up to hang out at the mall with you.

So take a look at it.  I’m following about 14 people right now and it’s pretty fun.  And if anyone I know decides to follow me, I may actually decide to post something. 

Gainfully Employed

This will probably be a surprise for most, but I got a new job yesterday.  I’ve been with Aflac for 3 years and enjoyed it for the most part.  But it seems to have slowed down a bit in the last 6 months or so.  I’m guessing it’s partially due to the economy.  Plus with the new baby on the way, I wanted to get something that had some benefits.

So around the first of April, I decided to test the job market waters.  I applied for just one job.  I got a call back the next day for a phone interview.  Then I had a 1 on 1 interview the next week, and a panel interview the week after.  I guess it was meant to be, because on Wednesday I got a call that they wanted to offer me the job.

What is the job, you ask?  I’ll be working for a company called North Country Business Products, programming and installing point of sale systems in restaurants.  They’re those touch screen terminals that the waiters and waitresses go punch your order in on.  I’ll be handling the setup, installation, training, and initial support of the systems.  It should be a lot of fun.  I’ve missed being in the IT field while I’ve been with Aflac, so it’ll be good to get back into it.

So, wish me well on my new endeavor.

Which “The Office” Character Am I?

So my friend Jodi told me this weekend that she took a “Which Office Character Are You?” quiz and wasn’t terribly happy with the results.  So I Googled it tonight and found that there are a lot of those quizzes out there.  So I took a few of them.

The first one said I’m Angela, with Jim being a close second.
The second one said I’m Ryan the Temp, with Jim being a close second.
The third one said I’m Pam, with Jim being a close second.
And the last one said I was Michael, with Jim being a close second.

Since none of them agreed, I think I’m going with my second choice.

I AM Jim Halpert.

The Big Announcement

I realized today that I never did get around to telling you the big announcment that I mentioned a couple months back.  So I’ll just come out and say it.  We’re having another baby.  Sorry I kept you all on the edge of your seats for so long wondering what the announcement was.

So now that you know, you’re probably wondering if we know what we’re having.   We did find out last week, but weren’t sure when we wanted to tell people.  Cause boy, it’s sure a big deal.  I mean, we have 2 boys already, and boy-howdy, if we had another boy, that’d be something.  We’d probably have to buy stock in Chefboyardee just to keep food on the table.

So for now, we’re going to hold off on telling people if it’s a boy or a girl until we’re ready.  It’ll probably be soon, because boy oh boy, the wife’s having a hard time not telling people about it.

Meat Loaf

I’m a pretty big Meat Loaf fan.  The singer, that is.  Which is ironic, because I really hate meatloaf, the food dish.  I’m of the opinion that you shouldn’t eat anything with loaf in the title unless it’s bread.

Anyway, I stumbled on this earlier and laughed out loud (really).  I thought I’d share.

He’s a demon on wheels

I just saw a movie trailer that I’m more excited about than any movie I’ve seen in a long time.  A live action Speed Racer movie comes out May 9th!  This will definitely need to be seen in the theater.  I’ll be there.

Shrubbery

I’m a Winner

I got this email today.  My life will never be the same.  Hello, riches, here I come!!  (Does it matter that I never entered anything?  Oh, who cares?  It sounds professional and must be legitimate.)

Dear E-mail Bearer,

You have won the sum of 980,000 pounds. in the British
Online Sweepstake Promo held on 21ST  March 2008.
To file in your claims kindly contact us with
the below informations and for more details
on how come you are the winner.

Full Names:
Present Address:
Sex:
Age:
Occupation:
Tel/ Fax #
Nationality:
Country Of Residence:

Congratulations once again.

Yours faithfully,
Mrs. Kate Brown