"Something Different" - God

This blog is more for the books than it is for notifying anyone of my current situation, but I also realize that there will be some who read this news and it will be the first they've heard of it. So, bearing that in mind, I'll write this as if addressing those people even though my main purpose for this entry is to have a written record of what was going on during this time and the process that has led me to my recent decisions.After today, Friday, December 19th, I will go on "Layoff" status at SRC. A couple weeks ago, SRC Corporate concluded that with the current economic downturns and the resulting effects that it has had on our sales numbers that we as a Corporation are over-staffed by roughly 100 people. SRC is an amazing company, though. After seeing big layoffs and plant closings making...

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Strike 3, but NOT out

Everyone knows that times are tough. The economy seems to be rocketing towards disaster at a pace never seen before. And it is for people my age. I don't know first-hand how bad it was back in 1982 when the economy was attempting to recover from another steep recession like this, but I was there. At three years old, I didn't even notice the crisis, but throughout my employment at SRC I've been reminded of it over and over.SRC was founded in 1983 and we celebrated our 25 years in business in a big way earlier this year with lots of food, Three Dog Night, and The Doobie Brothers at the Shrine Mosque. SRC only became a company because International...

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Getting Opinionated Again

Warning: The following is a representation of my opinion. If you don't like it when people make their opinions public then I suggest you stop reading now and go on with your day. Also, this may be my longest blog ever. So, if you don't like to read then may I suggest playing a video game or building something out of Popsicle sticks. If, however, you think that you can make it through then you will have done a great thing and should feel proud of yourself for making such an accomplishment. Leave a comment and I may even send you a trophy.I wrote this blog over the span of several days, so bear with me as it is lengthy and covers two issues that can both be summed up as bigotry. I felt compelled to write this as I feel that those who do not agree with the liberal left generally will keep...

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Coffee

Many people in my generation have seen the popularizing of coffee drinks over their lifetime from just that drink that was offered to our parents after dinner at a restaurant to the "coffee shop on every corner" present. And it's true that coffee has been popularized in recent years in ways that it hasn't been in the past. Most coffee is served darker than it once was. With Starbucks and coffee chains like it advertising dark brews the tendency of many is to look for the darkest brews that they can. Several TV shows and movies have also done their part in popularizing the drink. The WB's Gilmore Girls were almost constantly drinking coffee...

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Google Sketchup 7

It's my lunch break and I just threw together a plan on Google Sketchup 7 for the desk that I'm going to build tonight. If you haven't ever used Google Sketchup then you should definitely check it out. It's a whole lot of fun and can be easily learned. I picked it up in about an hour (months ago) after going through all of the tutorials that came with it. The tutorials are especially easy because they're hands on. It shows you something and then they have you do it before you can go on to the next thing. It's pretty cool.Another amazing thing they have is the 3D Warehouse. While in the program (as long as you have an Internet connection)...

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GIMP 2.6

I've been promoting GIMP for years now and have told countless people about it. Usually, this is accompanied by an explanation in laymen's terms what "open source" software is, so that the person on the receiving end might just understand why the program is free to use. It's funny that during this time, I've spoken with lots of people and they all seem to have roughly the same attitude towards GIMP. They're interested to find out that as a photographer I don't use Photoshop. They are still interested to find out that I use GIMP. Their interest is still hanging on when I explain that GIMP is just an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program....

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