Signal vs. Noise

If you haven't stumbled across this blog yet, then you have a lot of catching up to do. I've become a blog reading junkie over the past few months and this one has turned into a 'must read' for me. These guys are straight-forward, no BS and get shit done. At any rate, this is one of their latest posts that I thought would be an interesting read for most everyone... http://37signals.com/svn/archives2/palais_ideal.php

All the chocolate you can eat...

ColdFusion Web Developer in Carson, Southern California

This is a full-time, on-site position. We do not offer relocation at this time.

Excellent opportunity for a detailed & team oriented web developer with in-depth knowledge of ColdFusion. Will be responsible for the following:

Developing & maintaining sees.com
Maintaining database & content
Systems Development
Application Support
Developing functional & programming specifications
Debugging & testing
Interacting with users of all levels

Successful candidate will have the following experience:

5 years working with Macromedia ColdFusion Server, ColdFusion Administrator, Flash, HomeSite & Dreamweaver
3 years working with CSS, XML, JavaScript
3 years working with SQL, RDBMS & stored procedure. Oracle experience a plus.
E-commerce ?2 years working with b2c web sites
Web services experience a plus
Proficient with PCs and Window servers
Sun Solaris a plus
Excellent written & verbal communication skills

We offer:

Professional work environment
Competitive company benefits, including Medical, Dental, Life Insurance & Vision
Profit Sharing
Bonus Potential
Candy Discount

For immediate consideration please email your resume to MIS2006@sees.com

Code Monkey: The Song

Code Monkey: The Song
Monday April 24, 2006 10:44AM
by The Fat Man in Opinion

My Coder friend Thom sent me this link to a heart-warming feel-good pop tune about The Code Monkey Within. Says it’s by Jonathan Coulton, released under the Creative Commons license.

http://www.exegame.com/CodeMonkey.mp3

Sometimes it feels good to see little monuments built to the culture we help create. Thanks, Thom!

Here’s a little link to Thom’s website of equally heartwarming feel-good games. “Code and/or Die!”

http://www.aggressivegames.com/

FAT

Read the post here:
http://www.oreillynet.com/digitalmedia/blog/2006/04/code_monkey_the_song.html

America's Universities No Longer The Best, And ...

.... Will your developer job be outsourced? Unless you're a code monkey, it probably won't. But the broader point in this excellent article is that our schools are a few years away from being 2nd rate and many already are.

A Red Flag In The Brain Game
America's dismal showing in a contest of college programmers highlights how China, India, and Eastern Europe are closing the tech talent gap.

Ben Mickle, Matt Edwards, and Kshipra Bhawalkar looked as though they had just emerged from a minor auto wreck. The members of Duke University's computer programming team had solved only one problem in the world finals of the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest in San Antonio on Apr. 12. The winning team, from Saratov State University in Russia, solved six puzzles over the course of the grueling five-hour contest. Afterward, Duke coach Owen Astrachan tried to cheer up his team by pointing out that they were among ``the best of the best'' student programmers in the world. Edwards, 20, still distraught, couldn't resist a self-deprecating dig: ``We're the worst of the best of the best.''

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982053.htm

The Future of ColdFusion

The Future of ColdFusion – Major Flex 2 Deployments Are On Their Way, Says CFDJ Editor-in-Chief

Simon Horwith:"This acquisition is the best thing that could have ever happened to ColdFusion" Read the full article: http://br.sys-con.com/read/206256.htm

Waiting

Wait. If the time is not right, the way is not clear, the answer or decision not consistent, wait. We may feel a sense of urgency. We may want to resolve the issue by doing something -- anything -- now, but that action is not in our best interest.

Living with confusion or unsolved problems is difficult. It is easier to resolve things. But making a decision too soon, doing something before it's time, means we may have to go back and redo it. If the time is not right, wait. If the way is not clear, do not plunge forward. If the answer or decision feels muddy, wait.

In this new way of life, there is a Guiding Force. We do not ever have to move too soon or move out of harmony. Waiting is an action -- a positive, forceful action. Often, waiting is a God-guided action, one with as much power as a decision, and more power than an urgent, ill-timed decision.

We do not have to pressure ourselves by insisting that we do or know something before it's time. When it is time, we will know. We will move into that time naturally and harmoniously. We will have peace and consistency. We will feel empowered in a way we do not feel today. Deal with the panic, the urgency, and the fear; do not let them control or dictate decisions. Waiting isn't easy. It isn't fun. But waiting is often necessary to get what we want. It is not dead time; it is not downtime. The answer will come. The power will come. The time will come. And it will be right.

Today, I will wait, if waiting is the action I need in order to take care of myself. I will know that I am taking a positive, forceful action by waiting until the time is right. God, help me let go of my fear, urgency, and panic. Help me learn the art of waiting until the time is right. Help me learn timing.

Phony doctor gives free breast exams

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060420/od_nm/breasts_dc

You are still you

Because you are aware of your awareness, you can transcend it. Not only can you see what is here and now, you can visualize the best of what can be.

If you were limited to merely reacting to events, you would be a prisoner of your circumstances. But you are not any such thing.

For you are blessed with the ability to step back from even the most intense situations. You can hold and nurture within you a vision that transcends the outer reality of any moment.

Keep that in mind the next time you become frustrated by life's ups and downs. There is a very real and powerful part of you that exists above and beyond every frustration, setback and disappointment.

By all means live and enjoy and experience life in the universe that surrounds you. At the same time, stay connected to that essential part of you that exists independent of the outside influences.

Whatever happens or fails to happen, you are still you at the deepest, most profound level. A spiritual being having a human experience. Remember that, and you'll find renewed confidence to step boldly forward no matter what.

Maryland's Greatest Mysteries

Oil Change

Oil Change instructions for Women

1) Pull up to Jiffy Lube when the mileage reaches 3000 miles since the last oil change.

2) Drink a cup of coffee.

3) 15 minutes later, write a check and leave with a properly maintained vehicle.

Money spent:
Oil Change $20.00
Coffee $1.00
Total $21.00

Oil Change Instructions for Men:

1) Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, and cleaner and a scented tree, write a check for $50.00.

2) Stop by 7 - 11 and buy a case of beer, write a check for $20, drive home.

3) Open a beer and drink it.

4) Jack car up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.

5) Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.

6) In frustration, open another beer and drink it.

7) Place drain pan under engine.

8) Look for 9/16 box end wrench.

9) Give up and use crescent wrench.

10) Unscrew drain plug.

11) Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on you in process. Cuss.

12) Crawl out from under car to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.

13) Have another beer while watching oil drain.

14) Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.

15) Give up; crawl under car and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.

16) Crawl out from under car with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties. Drink a beer.

17) Buddy shows up; finish case of beer with him. Decide to finish oil change tomorrow so you can go see his new garage door opener.

18) Sunday: Skip church because "I gotta finish the oil change." Drag pan full of old oil out from underneath car. Cleverly dump oil in hole in back yard instead of taking it back to Kragen to recycle.

19) Throw kitty litter on oil spilled during step 18.

20) Beer? No, drank it all yesterday.

21) Walk to 7-11; buy beer.

22) Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.

23) Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.

24) Remember drain plug from step 11.

25) Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.

26) Remember that the used oil is buried in a hole in the back yard, along with drain plug.

27) Drink beer.

28) Shovel out hole and sift oily mud for drain plug. Re-shovel oily dirt into hole. Steal sand from kids sandbox to cleverly cover oily patch of ground and avoid environmental penalties. Wash drain plug in lawnmower gas.

29) Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.

30) Drink beer.

31) Crawl under car getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame.

32) Bang head on floorboards in reaction to step 31.

33) Begin cussing fit.

34) Throw stupid crescent wrench.

35) Cuss for additional 10 minutes because wrench hit bowling trophy.

36) Beer.

37) Clean up hands and forehead and bandage as required to stop blood flow.

38) Beer.

39) Beer.

40) Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.

41) Beer.

42) Lower car from jack stands.

43) Accidentally crush remaining case of new motor oil.

44) Move car back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during steps 23 - 43.

45) Beer.

46) Test drive car.

47) Get pulled over: arrested for driving under the influence.

48) Car gets impounded.

49) Call loving wife, make bail.

50) 12 hours later, get car from impound yard.

Money spent:
Parts $50.00
DUI $2500.00
Impound fee $75.00
Bail $1500.00
Beer $40.00

Total - - $4,165.00

But you know the job was done right!

Feminine hygiene

If you     are a woman and use pads, but especially if you use tampons, 

read  this and pass it on to your friends. For the men receiving this email, please  forward it to your friends, significant others, sisters, mothers, daughters,  etc.).

Thanks!

The next time you buy sanitary pads or tampons, check the labels and 

see whether you spot any of the familiar signs stated in this email.

No wonder so many women in the world suffer from cervical cancer and 

Womb tumors. Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in 

tampons?

Why would they do this? Because asbestos makes you bleed more, if 

You bleed more, you're going to need to use more. Why isn't this against the law since asbestos is so dangerous? Because the powers that be, in all their wisdom (not),

did not consider tampons as being ingested, and therefore, didn't 

consider them illegal or dangerous.

This month's Essence magazine has a small article about this and 

They mention two manufacturers of a cotton tampon alternative.

The companies are: Organic Essentials @ 1-800-765-6491 and Terra Femme 1-800-755-0212.

A woman getting her PhD at University of Colorado at Boulder sent the following:

"I am writing this   because women are not being informed about the 

dangers  of something most of us use: tampons. I am taking a class this month and I have been learning a lot about biology and women, including feminine hygiene.

Recently we have learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for other 

reasons than TSS). After learning about this in our class, most of the 

females  wound up feeling angry and upset with the tampon industry, and I for one, I am going to do something about it.

To start, I want to inform everyone I can, and email is the fastest 

way that I know how." HERE IS THE SCOOP: Tampons contain two things that are potentially harmful: Rayon (for absorbency), and dioxin (a chemical used in bleaching the products). The tampon industry is convinced that we, as women, need bleached white products in order to view the product as pure and clean.

The problem here is that the dioxin, which is produced in this

bleaching process, can lead to very harmful problems for a     woman.

Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic (cancer associated) and is toxic 

to the immune and reproductive systems. It has also been linked to 

endometriosis is and lower sperm counts for men. For both sexes, it breaks down the immune system.

Last
September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported 

that there really is no "acceptable" level of exposure to dioxin given that it is cumulative and slow to disintegrate. The real danger comes from repeated contact(Karen Couppert "Pulling the Plug on the Tampon Industry").

I'd say using about 4-5 tampons a day, five days a month, for 38 

years is"repeated contact", wouldn't you?

Rayon contributes to the danger of tampons and dioxin
because it is 

a     highly

absorbent substance. Therefore, when fibers from the tampons are 

left behind in

the vagina (as usually occurs), it creates a breeding ground for the 

dioxin. It also stays in a lot longer then it would with just cotton tampons. This is also the reason why TSS (toxic shock syndrome)
occurs.

WHAT ARE THE     ALTERNATIVES?

Using feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached and that are 

all cotton.

Other feminine hygiene products (pads/napkins) contain dioxin as 

well,but they are not nearly as dangerous. So, what can you do if you can't give up using tampons? Use tampons that are made
from 100% UNBLEACHED. 

Unfortunately, there are very few companies that make these safe tampons. They are usually only found in health food stores.

Countries all over the world (Sweden, Germany, British Columbia, 

etc.)  have demanded a switch to this afer tampon, while the U.S. has decided to keep us in the dark about it.

In 1989, activists in England mounted a campaign     against chlorine 

bleaching. Six weeks and America is not #1 in every arena. 50,000 letters later, the makers of sanitary products switched to oxygen bleaching, one of the green methods available MS magazine, May/June 1995).

 WHAT TO DO NOW:

Tell people. Everyone. Inform them. We are being manipulated by this industry and the government, let's do something about it! Please write to the companies: Tampax(Tambrands); Playtex; O.B.; Kotex. All the 800 numbers are listed on the boxes.

Let them know that we demand a safe product! ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED 

TAMPONS...

Clientcopia : Stupid Client Quotes...

There's no getting around it. At some point in your career, your patience will be tested with a stupid client who is so clueless that you'll question your sanity, career choice, and the future of mankind.

You may have dealt with one already, one that just stuns you like a deer in headlights. Dumbfounded to utter anything but an "uhhh...". Some clients have no concept of reality. They make up their mind, just to change it again to an even more hideous decision. And will end up blaming you for the mess. Can we honestly blame the client? Sure we can...

Clientcopia was created to give you an escape. Take joy in knowing you are not alone.

http://www.clientcopia.com/