I begin an exciting 3rd week of training this week, but it is different from a conventional training in the fact that it is taken virtually with people across the country. There is a virtual classroom application and I have a VOIP headset so I can hear and interact.
It will be an interesting week.
So I decided that it was time to wipe my phone and start from scratch (again). It was running horribly slow and to even make a call I had to wait for the home screen to load. While I was making this decision I started looking through the Rom Manager app (available in Android Market) and came across ChevyNo1’s new Gingerbread build.
I did a double backup of my current setup (all possible since I have a rooted phone) so I had nothing to lose. If it messed up I just have to boot the phone into recovery mode and reload my backup. It downloaded and installed flawlessly. I did the initial Google login setup and let it load for a half hour or so when it was done. I noticed it was getting pretty warm, then I saw there was an icon in the notification bar. I checked it out and it had said that it had reloaded my 60 apps. That was pretty sweet.
With the fresh OS installed the phone works amazingly fast and looks even better. It has a Black theme, which means they got rid of the ugly grey bar that I hate so much, plus the menus and icons are all redesigned too. Visually it has a few cool scrolling and opening/closing effects, and my favorite effect is when you turn off the screen, or let it time out it looks like an old TV powering off.
I am not going to go into great detail, I just wanted to share that it has been a good experience so far. I think I’ll keep it until something better comes out. I had actually held onto the last one for a few months, probably the longest running version for my phone since I got it a year and a half ago…
So I decided to (finally) try out this whole Second Life thing. I was watching some reruns of The Office and there is an episode where Dwight has a Second Life and it is exactly like his normal life, except he can fly… So I signed up (free) and created a character that looks nothing like me (out of the 10 or so preset characters you can pick from) and installed the game.
The download was quick, and the 2nd download during install was pretty quick too. A very easy process. I did get an error that my video card wasn’t recognized, so we’ll have to see how that goes. It logged me in, made me accept the terms and conditions. Went through download part 3 and BAM there I was.
I was immediately invited to the Zombie Attack group because I was referred from their website. Lots of Zombie attacks and my first in-game impression isn’t good. This is like a horrible zombie game. I then went into the Destination Guide and and teleported myself to a random place. This time the Grand Canyon. Even after changing the graphic settings every which way, it doesn’t look all that good. Plus that graphics card error seems to be an issue in that the screen flickers or goes blank.
I guess I’ll uninstall and maybe try something else… Any suggestions?
Out of nowhere today I got a handful of emails in regards to my items for sale on Craigslist. I was excited about it, so I started to reply. Then I noticed a pattern with the emails. One was simply “We like it”, then next was “Interested” and the third was also “Interested”. Plus, they had typed something very similar to “still have your stuff?” in the subject line. I knew it didn’t look right so I decided to investigate.
Fortunately, since I am a Gmail user there is a little downward pointing arrow to the top right of the message. (as seen in the below picture.) Actually every email provider should have the same type of option, I just like Gmail the best.
Once this page is loaded it looks like the below image. What you are seeing here is actually the very bottom of the message, Starting (at the bottom and working up) with the message itself and the senders information. I pointed out the main piece of information that I was looking for, which is an IP Address.
So I picked up another DIRT CHEAP Mac computer. This time it was a $15 iMac. I found it on Ebay and contacted the seller about a local pickup to avoid having to pay a shipping charge, which would have been a lot more than the item itself. I know the PowerMac weighs a ton. It didn’t have a keyboard or mouse, but I have a box full of old parts, so I am not worried…
Looking to put some educational stuff on it for the kids. We’ll see what happens.
A lot has changed since I was last in the job market. I had done a little looking around in the past, but in doing a full fledged job search I have seen how the whole process has changed.
Up until a few months ago I was working for Flextronics, doing Tech Support for Verizon Wireless. I started the job back in January of 2001 and was almost to the 10 year point when layoffs and the removal of tech support was announced. I could have kept my job, if I wanted to have an hour long (or more) commute to the other side of the city. The layoff was a turning point that allowed us to make a life changing move to the Twin Cities area.
So (to shorten a long story) I am in the process of looking for work. And I have noticed a few things that have changed. What used to be a pen and paper search, where you would pick up the daily paper and search through listings has turned into a lot more than just the electronic version of hunting through the newspapers online listings. Today it is all about using online tools to make the job easier. Even making tools like Twitter work for your job search.
Some of the biggest tools that I have been using have been variations on the Twitter service. Many companies out there have been tweeting new jobs as they open up. Services like twitterjobs and TweetMyJOBS.com have been a great way to setup alerts for tweets that match your search criteria. Also remember that you can go right to Twitter.com and do a search right from there.
The other tool that I have been using is LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn gives you the ability to network yourself through your own colleagues, friends and people you meet at various places,such as job fairs. The only real downside is that if you want some of the more advanced features you would need to sign up for a paid subscription. I have found a few workarounds for this, though. If you do a custom Google search (ex: charlie d site:linkedin.com) it will help you find names and info about companies. The main thing to remember is that you cannot fully access their profile unless you are a direct connection with them, and to request them as a connection you have to have a job link with them, or know their email address.
So it has been a learning experience, but I feel these internet tools have made the search for a job, and probably the interview process easier. Mainly because it is so easy to find out more about the companies, and people that work for the companies before you go to an interview.
I have been pondering over setting this up for a few weeks now and finally put it online. I was a little worried about regular content, but the girl is full of 1 liners, so it shouldn’t be a problem to keep it updated just about daily…
So everyone that reads this message needs to go to twitter and follow it: http://twitter.com/5YearOldSays
So my current portable computer is dead. I use the word “portable” because the laptop has a dead battery and I can’t justify $40 or $50 to fix it. Also, by “dead” I mean the hinge is broken on it… I am still considering doing a little drilling on the top part of the flip and using a small bolt and washer on it. Hey, it might work.
So the state of mind I have been in over the last few days (ok maybe a week or more) is trying to decide the best way to go about this. I have been pricing new vs used, and windows vs mac. What it has actually come down to (at this point) is Acer Aspire One 10.1" -vs- Apple iBook G4 12".
Out of the blue the other night we ran into some WiFi issues. The wireless portion of the router decided to just stop working. Normally when it doesn’t work a simple reboot of the modem and router fixes it, but this didn’t. It almost seems to have been factory reset. So I have spent the last couple of days (on and off) changing settings and testing.
From Craigslist:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/vgm/2196387062.html
Sega genesis games to play on your TV.
Email is always on, I should be able to get back to you quickly.
I have more for sale. See everything here: http://www.charlied.co.cc/p/stuff-for-sale.html
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