(Just) Popped in My Head

May 6, 2009

Idol Wednesday

Kris is the first one SAFE!! That is EFF-ARR-EAKIN awesome!! WAHOO! Way to go Kris!

Adam is safe. Not really a surprise, but dang what a bummer. So, he is top three, huh? Let's hope that's as far as he gets...

Danny is safe, which is a HUGE relief! I was afraid he might be in danger of being booted tonight.

Allison is going to have no problem with her career. She is incredibly good for being only 17 years old! She had a great run on Idol and the doors are flung wide open!

Paula's song was cool, but did you noticed she had to use an overabundance of effects in order to pull it off?? "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" had the same thing. Someone needs to wake up realize her career is oh-so-ovah...

May 5, 2009

Idol Tuesday and running flat out

Name-----Shan---Dave--
Adam------N------N----
Kris------Y------Y----
Danny-----Y------?----
Allison---?------?----

Shan and I agree that Adam's screaming was way out of control. Of course, so was Danny's. Shan is not a fan of this kind of rock music, so she had a hard time with the songs. She said YES to Danny and Kris because she likes them and wants them to keep on going. For me, these were the songs I 'grew up' with and I know them well. I cannot stand Adam, though this was right up his alley... And someone stepped right on his alley-cat tail making him yell like that. Awful. Danny went the same route. Not good. I liked Kris' version of "Come Together," though I have to say the best version of that song goes to Michael Jackson in my book. And, to be honest, I don't even remember what Allison sang.

The duets were interesting, and Adam and Allison sounded so much a like that I could not tell who was the girl in the duo.

No "40 things..." tonight, folks! I have been basically running flat-out with work for a straight week. I am beginning to understand how my boss(es) feel now. I don't know how they do it. So far as I can tell, they work 7 days a week and at least 14 hours a day. I'd be dead.

I have come to realize that I have got to get more organized, though. Outlook has a 'tasks' feature that I have never used, but I think the only way for me to keep up with the different things I am asked to do is by using that feature. Too many things going at once means I usually have some thing (or things) slip through the cracks, which does not bode well for remaining gainfully employed! So, one of my goals for Wednesday is to put everything I have due into tasks so I can keep track of things. And, hopefully, that will help me cut down on things falling through.

On the plus side, we opened bids for the new building the city is going to build and lease to us! We (LOL, yeah, like I have anything to do with it!) did not make any final decisions, but it was very exciting to see all the bids we got - I think it ended up being close to 20! That's pretty major, and you can tell the economy is affecting a LOT of people.

The rest of the week is going to full, too! I am going to a statewide technology meeting hosted by the state dept of information technology, then spend the night in 'the rock' and on Friday help out with a training until noon. At noon, I'll head back home and then serve as chaperone for a group of kids enjoying their reward for earning reading points! I'll talk more about that after it happens!

Of course, there will be more Idol commentary tomorrow when we see who gets the boot. I'm guessing Allison.... or maybe Danny, though I'd love to see Adam get kicked to the curb.

May 4, 2009

(not quite) 40 Jobs I've Actually Held

(Updated 04/25/2019)

Yes, believe it or not, I was able to come up with (not quite) 40 different jobs I've had in my life. I am the consummate 'Jack of All Trades, Master of None.' I may have forgotten some. If so, I'll add them in. Meanwhile, prepare to be confused:

Litter Picker-Upper - The first job I ever had. I had a stick with a nail in it and walked around the apartment complex where we lived and picked up trash. I sucked at it, and Mom (who was manager of the complex) fired me.
Seasonal Dept Associate - I worked at Target in Toys and Seasonal. It wasn't too bad of a job, really. Well, except for putting together lawn mowers and patio sets.
Fry Cook - Yeap, I put my time in at McDonald's. In fact, I worked at several different ones during my life.
Pizza Delivery Guy - I've worked at several different Pizza Huts in different states. At one point, I actually worked at Mickey-D's AND Pizza Hut at the same time. Ah, Shan hated those days...
College Lunch Line Cook - Believe it or not, they actually let *ME* cook on the grill at the first college I attended and they paid me for it! Crazy people!
Computer Sales Associate - I worked for a small computer consulting company. They offered me an assistant manager position if I would stay and not go back to college. Thank the Lord, I chose to return to school!
Lawn Mower - I was hired to mow a hill.
Computer Lab Manager - At the first college I went to, I got a job working in the computer lab. I loved that job, and it is probably what started my career path, though I spent most days playing Wizardy on old clunky IBM-PC's!
Door-to-door jewelry salesman - Seriously. I drove my car all over the state, trying to sell jewelry to business employees.
Radio salesman - I sold ads for a radio station.
Radio disc jockey - I worked for the local commercial radio station in college.
College radio DJ - When I wasn't working at the commercial station, I was working at the college station.
College radio news director - I was in charge of newscasts for the college station. I won two awards for my work there.
College radio station manager - I eventually made it to manager (co-manager) of the campus radio station.
Virginia Whiskey - I had a temp job where I was the guy who made sure the bottles of whiskey got put into boxes. The bottles came down a line single-file and then at the end of the line, they formed a 3x3 grid. Below the bottles, the boxes would come along and my job was to expand the boxes so the 3x3 bottles would drop in. Lots of bottles would smash into each other and I left there smelling like (and wearing) whiskey.
Administrative Assistant - Yeap, I was an office manager once. I helped the interim director for a state organization.
Human Resources Assistant - I worked for a great woman who taught me a lot about human resources, organization, law, etc. I actually had two bosses, and the second one had me running all over the place getting the company ready for JCAHO certification.
Network Administrator - While at Youth home, I was allowed to troubleshoot computer and network issues, and they added those duties to my job and paid me for it! That was where I cut my teeth on Netware 2 and 3 and first learned just what the heck a token ring was. I also wrote an access database program for them. I loved that part of the job.
Computer Repair Tech - I worked for a local university as a computer tech. I liked the job fine, mainly because the higher-ups included me in everything we did. I learned a ton working there, and it's there that ultimately led to what I do now.
Education Service Center Technology Coordinator - I left the university to take a job that I knew nothing about other than I was asked if I liked gadgets and if I liked to help people with technology. Since my answer was 'yes' to both, there I was. Little did I know that I'd be TEACHING technology classes. I was pretty rough at first, but over time, I learned how to take things slowly and actually help teachers understand the technology they were being asked to use.
Pizza Waiter - Oh, i forgot, for a while I worked as a waiter for pizza hut. I made good tips because I was good at it.
Pizza Cook - and, I was also a pizza cook for a while at pizza hut. I enjoyed it a lot, but I always got dinged for putting TOO MANY toppings on my pizzas. Rather than use the scale, I used my eyes. I laid enough toppings to make the pizzas LOOK good... Yeah, I used way too much. Oh well!
Distance Learning Coordinator - I enjoyed the 'techie' side of distance learning and I have to admit, visiting the baseball hall of fame through interactive video is AWESOME!! I had a lot of fun in the job.
Computer Consultant - My catch-all independent work. I've done work for friends, family, and a congressman. This job covers everything from networking to virus removal to recovering lost files. I really never know what each will bring.
Internet sales guy - eBayer. For a while, I was hitting it hard and heavy - buying things off other sites then selling them on eBay.
Lifeguard - for a very short time, I worked as a lifeguard.
College Practicum Instructor - while serving as radio station manager in college, I also team-taught the class in which students got their 'hands-on' experience at the station.
School District Technology coordinator - I served as the district technology director for a local school district.
Education service center technology coordinator - yes, I know I already listed this, but it is sort of a running joke around my circle of colleagues because it seems I always come back to this title (I've had it three times, well, technically four times).
Podcast Host - Starting in 2015, have been co-hosting the EduTechGuys podcast. We not only do a weekly show, but also provide coverage at education conferences around the country.
YouTube Creator - In 2016, officially launched a YouTube channel. As of April 2019, it has 5100 subscribers. Not bad for a 50-year old, eh.
Adjunct Professor - I taught English Comp I at the local 2-year college.
Author - I have two published books and have a short story in an anthology as well.

May 3, 2009

40 places I've been

Welcome to another installment of "40 things." Today, we take a look at 40 places I've been in my life:

Prescott, AR (where I live)
Eureka Springs, AR (Honeymoon!)
Pittsburgh, PA (Born and raised Black-n-Gold!)
Washington, DC
Denver, CO
Boulder, CO
Cleveland, OH
Phoenix, AZ
San Diego, CA
Seattle, WA
Dallas, TX
Chicago, IL
St. Louis, MO
New Orleans, LA
Shreveport, LA
San Antonio, TX
Williamsburg, VA
Hershey, PA
Woodbridge, VA
Niagara Falls, NY
Niagara Falls, Canada
Colorado Springs, CO (when you were free to see the Academy Chapel)
Memphis, TN
Bowling Green, KY (DUH, almost forgot that one!)
Nashville, TN
Texarkana, TX/AR
Houston, TX
Hot Springs, AR
Branson, MO
Oklahoma City, OK (left my appendix there)
Orlando, FL (Disney World!)
Springfield, MO
Mobile, AL
Vail, CO
Gunnison, CO
McKeesport, PA
West Mifflin, PA
Fayetteville, AR
Sandusky, OH
Arlington, TX (Rangers!!)

Okay, I admit that some of those are 'nit-picky' but they have meaning in my life, which is really what this is all about anyway, right?

May 2, 2009

40 TV Shows

In the irregular schedule of posting these, I present to you forty TV shows that I enjoy or have enjoyed (translated: addicted to) over the past 40 years of my life (not in a particular order except that in which they popped into my head):