MiniMage's Non-Tech Talk

I’m a little below average. That means I’m face nearsighted ;). That explains a lot, don’t you think, dear relative-who-must-not-be-named? So, this little test might indicate that I do not have prosopagnosia (Face blindness), but a lady I’ve been working with for years fusses at me with me about once a month when I walk by without speaking. It’s her fault; she changed her hair style (including the color), and now I don’t know it’s her!

Rose Camilleri wonders what she could have done to make Zales fire her and procrastinate on getting her the COBRA paperwork she needed to get the surgery required to save her life. She’s not the only one wondering. Apparently, five months ago, she was a valuable enough asset to the corporation; she’d just been awarded her 5th diamond and had received nearly a dozen commendations for what seems to be a phenomenal sales performance – in less than five years of service. When informed that her illness was so serious that even getting upset could endanger her life, and that she needed to take some time off, her new regional manager (I’m being good, I started to call him a would-be assassin) let Camilleri know that she no longer had a place with the jewelry outlet. It seems impossible to show less concern for someone who earned them so many millions in so little time, but Zales managed to do so by delaying faxing their former employee the info needed to get new insurance coverage.

Can you feel the love?

Of course, there are two sides to any story, and we have only Camilleri’s. Zales will not, and possibly even can not (due to privacy concerns) give theirs. However, the numbers are damning. In 4 1/2 years, she was given 5 diamonds. She was commended 11 times. One person in her region has ever reached million-dollar sales in one year, and that’s the lady in question. A scant 5 months pass. One week after she says she’s ill and needs surgery, she gets the boot. Someone check my math; does that add up to 666?

My ring and my husband’s ring were purchased at Zales. I buy jewelry every year, but when it comes to future purchases, I think my alphabet will stop at ‘Y.’

Link: Star saleswoman, facing health crisis, axed - recordonline.com - The Times Herald Record

via: Nine at FriendFeed

Dang it, I was really hoping I could fly.

1.  The blue belt I wear in Taekwondo is older than any of my classmates (I take TKD at the local uni). I first wore it in 1981.

2.  I was born one month early. As a result, I spent my first two weeks in an incubator and was never breastfed, unlike my sibs.

3.  In 2006, I left the North American continent for the first time. It was a one-week cruise with stops at Costa Maya, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

4.  I fully intend to get my feet on another continent before my next birthday, a milestone. I’ve got to do this before midsummer to meet my objective. So far, it looks like we’re going to take a trip to China and Japan.

5.  Sci Fi/Fantasy stars I met:  Mark Lenard, George Takei, Walter Koenig, James Doohan, Marina Sirtis, David Prowse, Bruce Campbell.

6.  Like some other folks on FriendFeed, I was reading at the age of 3. In fact, one of my earliest memories is of sitting on my pediatrician’s lap and reading to him, while he’s exclaiming things like, “That’s amazing!”

7.  I started playing Magic: the Gathering the year after it came out.

8.  Like at least one other FriendFeeder, I started kindergarten at the age of four. Obviously, I could already read.

9.  When I was in the second grade, I wouldn’t stay in my chair, so my teacher tied me down. I wouldn’t stop talking, so she taped my mouth shut.

10.  I tried making sushi in the 90’s. It fell apart. My Taekwondo Master’s wife and the mother of a couple of the students have advised me to use Kokuho Rose or any short grain rice (I attempted this with jasmine rice), but I haven’t tried again.

11.  I bought an automatic motorcycle last year (looks like a motorcycle, but I don’t have to shift the gears) last year and took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation weekend course. Danged QLINK has been in the shop for 3 months.

12.  I hate typical women’s wear, preferring shorts, t-shirts, jeans, athletic shoes, etc. The positive thing about my flat feet is having my health care provider recommend that I wear the shoes I like.

13.  I have a problem with paying attention – hey, Helen’s posted a 25 list!

14.  Anne McCaffrey is probably my favorite author. I love her Pern series, among other things she’s written. I had the pleasure of seeing her, her husband, Todd, and Jody Lyn Nye in person at…

15.  I finally got to attend a DragonCon in 2008! I’d only been wanting to go since 1993!

16.  I disparaged iPhones for at least a year, then bought a 2G secondhand in October 2008. It has totally won me over, though I can still see its flaws.

17.  I LOVE Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs. I can’t get into netbooks. I need that digitizer.

18.  I have an OLPC. At least, I’m pretty sure I do, but I’ve never opened the box.

19.  I married a virgin.

20.  I LOVE martial arts flicks.

21.  I’ve never smoked marijuana. That seems to be a rare thing. Curiosity eats me up, though; I’d probably try it, if it were legalized. Hubby says he’d leave me, if I did, as that’s a “gateway drug.” Personally, I think people who decide to go ahead and break the law go on to decide to break it some more with harder stuff. This is not my area of expertise, so I admit I could be wrong.

22.  I’m a swagaholic. Since my employer has really tightened up the rules on what vendors can give us (which is now nothing), I’ve wondered where I can work and accept swag. I’m guessing the vendors’ freebie budgets are way down right now, though. Seriously, a techie person who can’t accept free t-shirts, stress balls and light-up pins? PUHLEEZE! Like that makes us so much better!

23.  I might have an attitude.

24.  I have killed five PDAs and maimed two PDA phones (including my current Sprint phone, the HTC Mogul). They just keep falling. I drop all of my portable technology; if I haven’t dropped it, it belongs to someone else.

25.  I didn’t do this list until someone showed a desire to see me do it. I wanted to, but I needed an invitation. Marco’s request wasn’t to me, specifically, but it was enough, since he asked it of anyone “even remotely considering it.”

26.  I’m not sober right now. This means I have to do a lot of corrections. I think I’m doing ok.

This was just too cool a picture not to post. Let’s hope he helps us avoid Krypton’s mistakes. Thanks for the heads-up, Wired.

I need my car to go. I need it to be reliable. Good mileage is a definite must, as is a decent safety rating. It should be able to keep me cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The enterprise that employs me must always be operating normally, even during the most inclement weather, so four-wheel drive would be nice; I mean, sure, the National Guard might help me get to work, but they've not been so concerned about getting folks back home.  Unlike my RAV4, a potential new ride's doors/locks should not freeze shut on really cold work days, forcing me to contort my decades-old body in a mad, clambering, invective-laced rush over the front seats from the back seat. Like my RAV4, it should have sufficient room for hauling around computers, printers and peripherals from site to site without being a miniature, land-bound cargo tanker. I should not require a step-ladder to get in, despite my lack of stature. If manufacturers must insist on making fewer manual transmission vehicles available, I should at least be able to start the vehicle with a remote. I'd like my compact SUV to broadcast the music from my mobile devices without additional devices, wires or power sources. It should provide outlets for powering my mobile devices and beverage holders that will no longer result in my mopping up sticky messes. It goes without saying that I shouldn't have to be a CEO to be able to afford it.

I suppose what I'm saying is completely foreign to any fellas out there. No, actually, I'm lying; I don't suppose that at all, but the folks at CarTango.com think we women require a completely different approach to get us on the road. Apparently, we need to answer questions about outlet malls and celebrities to help us figure out what car to buy. Since I don't give a rat's bum about outlet malls or rich folks who are more talented at flashing their nethers than flashing ROMs, I'm only mildly surprised that their car soulmate survey come up with a big, fat zero results for me. At least the "hotel heiress" bit was amusing.

I might think they're misguided, but I wish the CarTangosians the best of luck. Maybe they'll find a way to help women get car deals that are closer to what men pay.

While trying to locate information about my never-used Second Life user name and password, I came across month-old newsletter from BlogHer which mentioned a post about swearing in the workplace. Being easily distracted, I took time out to read the post and the comments. Mostly, I was amused, but a couple of the comments hacked me off. in particular the ones that implied that using profanity wasn't becoming for ladies,

To be sure, I have no desire to be a lady. As far as I'm concerned, there are few people less useful than ladies. Life would be very boring, indeed, if the high part of my day was picking out matching ribbons and hats for my evening attire and making sure the maid didn't act too saucy as she served the tea and crumpets. Yeah, I know, it is likely that ladies have become a bit less pathetic than they once were, but until I see one crawl under someone's desk and restore life to a dusty, dead computer, I'll hold my reservations on their desirability. However, I digress. The issue of ladylikeness aside, there were people who were saying that the use of profanity should be left to the males. It's a wonder these folks aren't questioning our right to express ourselves through voting (or are they?). As a child, I didn't buy the "pink is for girls, blue is for boys," crap, and that also goes for blue-tinged invectives. We're talking about freaking chromosomes, here, people, not thinking capacities or souls. That kind of thinking belongs in the stone age, along with the opinion that females don't belong in IT, on the police force, or on the racing circuit. Now, granted, profanity is not to be confused with a career choice, but it's still quite narrow thinking to decide that some things belong to people with outties and should be kept from people with innies.

Now that we understand that a pair of chromosomes doesn't factor into how I manipulate my lips, tongue, teeth and vocal cords, let's move away from my disgust at even having to say that and onto my personal choice. I don't cuss at work (or even in public, for that matter). I use non-words like "dagnabbit," and "dadgummit," when the PC won't run Windows Update for the fourteenth time, or when I drop a tiny screw in the laptop chassis (or drop a PC on my foot). I don't say anything when I hit my head on those evil, sharp keyboard tray corners (because that's embarrassing, and, God bless it, doesn't anyone ever think of the technicians?). While our management has ordered us in the past to keep our language G-rated (to protect the virgin ears of a director who had an office in our space, the very same director who stomped our of her office and yelled, "SHIT!" on a day a major ordering system decided not to cooperate), what The Powers That Be had to say about it had no impact on my choice, which was made long before. I'm not certain I buy my mother's platitude that only people who lack the intelligence to articulate their feelings use profane language, but I know that some people -- either genuinely or hypocritically -- will be offended by vulgarity, and I need to keep working in order to support my technology habit. In addition, I think it's just better not to risk offending people, and the presence of profanity is more likely to offend than the absence of it. So while my over-used pager hears a blue streak from me occasionally, my co-workers do not, with one exception. There was a time a few years ago when I had too many rattlesnakes at a send-off we had for one guy; my co-workers found my liquor-loosened tongue quite entertaining and, despite my threats to let their hard-earned money go to waste, they kept the supply going. You can be sure I've learned my lesson; since then, I've managed to make certain I did not leave any going-away parties impaired, even if it required fooling someone else into thinking the beverage bought for me was bought for him or her.

What you do or say is your own business, as long as you don't hurt anyone else. If blue language is ok or not ok at your workplace, or if it helps your morale or helps you to bond with your colleagues, that's nice. You have to make your own choices, as I must make mine. However, don't tell me that my gender has anything to do with it, because I might have to tell you to take your parasol and hoop skirts (or your gentleman's club) and f*** off.

Every time I forget why I need to be doing the job I do, someone reminds me. It's not so that I can get to play with support and learn about the cool technology; that's a perk. It's not so that I can afford to buy my own electronic wonders; that's merely professional development. In the end, I must do my job well, because people who make sure folks like James Kendrick can keep telling their stories are counting on me and my team.

I kind of lose sight of that not working at the main site. Just today, I fantasized of different ways to reduce my incessantly buzzing pager to mangled bits of plastic and metal. This evening, annoyance gave way to relief, as I placed the now-silent device where I would remember to grab it the following morning, no longer on my hip but still within 15 feet at all times. Tonight, relief gave way to shame, as James' sixth anniversary post reminded me of what that pager represents. People with fears. People who hope to live, not just for themselves, but for others. Families. The caregivers who need to see to them all, without Blue Screens of Death, viruses or dead motherboards slowing them down. My embarrassment is overwhelming. How could I possibly forget again? Will the time ever come that I don't need a reminder, when I go to sleep and wake up knowing it's not just another PC here, a PDA there? Am I capable of comprehending my role without being in our customers' shoes first?

Sometimes I explain to my users that a processor is like a computer brain; the motherboard, a spinal column. Never have I tried to give a computer a heart. That's probably a mistake.

Thanks for the anniversary gift, JK.

Now we know what it takes for me to stop ignoring one of my blogs for two months: Delta Airlines' detaining paying customers on the tarmac for seven hours and refusing to either feed them or let them get food. According to the crew, when Delta decision-makers were informed that people had been holed up on the ground for hours, "This flight isn't scheduled for food" was the carefully considered and empathic response. Yes, that's right, Delta's convenience and bottom line mattered more than hungry children. I suppose Delta thinks the bottom line won't be hurt by angry passengers choosing other airlines in the future and telling everyone why! I'm sure all the airlines have their horror stories, but I'm so glad my last couple of trips were on US Air.

Derelicts
Elevating
Laxity to
Titanic
Altitudes

Delta, dear, your slip scorn is showing!

via Robert Scoble

tags: Delta+Airlines, customer+service

Scenes from nearly three weeks ago (I'm such a procrastinator!):

I wondered why the ground looked so strange, until I realized that it was the first time I'd ever seen snow over grass that had just been growing a couple of days before. The frosted pale green was something I just wasn't used to.

The last time I saw April snow in the Southern US, it was just flurries that didn't hang around.  That was just a few months after Prince released a certain song from the Under the Cherry Moon album.  The title?  It's the same as the title of this post.