Domestic Geek

I was still on the computer doing some work when one of the guys from 2nd shift sat down to work next to me. He had a cup of Starbucks in tow. I was interrupted by another coworker that needed to access the program I was using to archive DVDs (only one person can access the database at a time), so I spent my little impromptu break reading the "The Way I See It" quote on his cup. I was intrigued because it's a topic with which I have been struggling so much lately. I didn't take the time to write what it said, but fortunatley Starbucks had some of the sayings on their site, including #204:

The Way I See It #204

Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your Personal Legend. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting. You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.

-- Paulo Coelho
Novelist. His works include The Alchemist, The Zahir and The Devil and Miss Prym.

I decided to not totally procrastinate and am in the process of doing this year's taxes (I'm updating TurboTax right now). This last year has been so screwed up for me financially that I didn't even want to consider tackling it early. I also misplaced the document I got from the State for my unemployment which I just found, so I guess we'll see here in a couple of hours if I owe again this year. I'm expecting that to be the case.

EDIT: Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Since I was overcharged taxes on my final paycheck at the job I was let go from, it covered any taxes I owed as a result of doing paid blogging. I would've gotten a small refund if not for the fact that I still owe the IRS money from last year. Oh, well. That's OK, at least I don't owe.

Is it wrong that I just visited the web site of the place I was let go from last July and am just a little happy that I discovered that they're producing even less magazines than they were at the time I left? I've even noticed that at least two franchisees are totally gone and those remaining have not built up any new areas (and a couple have even lost ground). The owner was all talk about how within a year he was going to have all these new franchises and x number of magazines and there would be double the design staff so that they would have to move into a bigger office. With all the similar publications I see come through where I work now, I knew they couldn't be faring that well, but I had no idea they were losing ground. I know the Karma police are going to get me for this, but I'm giddy with glee. I can just imagine how they're all still at each other's throats with so little to do. The process sucked at the time, but I am so glad I no longer work down there.

I'm no stranger to browser shortcuts. I've known for a long time in Firefox that you could type "imdb moviename" in the address bar and it would search imdb.com for that movie (or actor or whatever). The same applies with searching on Google.

Well, I was reading a site a couple of days ago called Learning Movable Type (because it's been awhile since I played with MT and wanted to refresh my memory) and came across the article about Firefox Shortcuts. Basically, you assign a keyword to a URL in your bookmarks and all you have to do it type that keyword in the address bar to get there. Just go to Bookmarks>Organize Bookmarks...Right click (or command click if you're using a lame apple one button mouse) on the link you want to add a shortcut to and select Properties. You'll see the following screen:


After you type in a short keyword and click OK, when you type that keyword in your address bar, you'll go to that URL. Cool, huh? Very useful for frequently visited sites such as my EE control panel. Typing a couple of letters sure is a lot quicker than arrowing through visited sites in the address bar or finding my bookmark in the bookmark toolbar.

Thirteen of My Favorite Comics

1. Foxtrot — Bill Amend's Fox family is the greatest creation ever. I think one of the things that makes me love it so are the inside computer jokes. Bill went into semi-retirement at the first of the year and only publishes the strip on Sundays now.
   
2. Funky Winkerbean — I loved this strip, especially the world's greatest band director, Mr. Harry L. Dinkle. It was really popular during the time I was studying music and in marching band, so again it's relevant humor to me.
   
3. Helen Sweetheart of the Internet — It's been well over a year since this strip went on sabbatical. Sadly, I don't think it's going to return. It's about a gorgeous, blond computer geek chick. I just love her attitude! There's a collection of Helen strips called Techies Unite still for sale used over at Amazon. I have to get it.
   
4. Joy of Tech — Another geeky cartoon. I love this one because it's more geared towards Apple/Macs, but there is other computer humor thrown in here and there.
   
5. Sherman's Lagoon — I love Sherman and all of the creatures in the lagoon. I'm a lot like Megan in the strip below. One of my favorite themes was when they were going to sell their island to Bill Gates. I'll have to see if I can find that comic. They were funny!
   
6. Garfield — Who wouldn't love a lasagna-eating, teddy bear loving, dog-booting cat?
   
7. Peanuts — A timeless classic. This strip reminds me of my childhood. I really liked the strips that had Schroeder on his toy piano.
   
8. Dilbert — You don't have to have a corporate job to appreciate the humor of Dilbert, but it sure helps!
   
9. Get Fuzzy — I get this one emailed to me everyday. A single advertising guy and his pets. I really feel sorry for the poor dog, Satchel. Bucky, the cat, is always so mean to him! Anyway, this one below is one of my favs since the author threw in a little Harry Potter.
   
10. Day by Day — I started reading this strip because I agree with a lot of the political message the author has. I really love the young tech guy, who happens to be black and a conservative. He battles quite often with the liberal woman. There are also a couple of 40-something engineers. Good stuff.
    
11. The Far Side — Once again, a strip that was very popular back in my college days. Even though the comic was retired it 1995, it is still everywhere. The humor is priceless and still gives me a good chuckle whenever I see it.
    *Here's a special one in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday!
    
12. Love is... — This one has been around as long as I can remember. I think my mom used to cut these out of the paper every day. I still think they're touching (although sometimes a little sappy!).
    
13. Ziggy — Even though this strip has been around forever, I still love it.
    

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