Ionrock Dot Org

Today I spent all day working and working some more. I didn't get to eat anything until about 6:45pm and I was actually up at 6:45am. This gives you an idea about what my day was like. When I have one of these ultra productive days where there seems to be no time to stop thinking, I get in what I would call a very "academic" mood. What I mean by this is that my mind starts working a mile a minute and just won't seem to stop. I just realized my current state of mind because Lauren and I are going to a party tonight. I had to check Lauren's email to find directions and there was an invite to some other party that some "international" house was having. I am not sure of much regarding party other than the people throwing are not the best spellers.

Before I go on, let me make it clear that having two party invites is pretty rare for us. Now I realize this might shatter the stylistic image of Lauren and I as uber-hipster fun types but the truth must be told. We don't get out much. With that said...

The subject of this email was "Invite to PArty" which in my overthinking state caused me to reflect on why the author would have capitalized the "A" in party. I thought to myself that it is possible this could be some sort of reflection on how a party is like good art. Deep down I understood the sender just wasn't so swift with english, but I indulged nonetheless in what relationship art has with parties. My resolve was as follows.

A party in its essence is simply a meeting that revolves around the company of others for no other reason than to enjoy each other. This is somewhat similar to art in that it often serves no practical purpose other than to provide some sort of enjoyment or challenge to the viewer. The relationship between the two comes from the same root of the human desire for happiness and in fact are both very similar examples of that desire.

This short hypothesis seemed very interesting to me for a moment. This moment ended when the first sentence read "I hope I spelt your name right."

I think I have made it clear that it is good to take a break every now and then or else you just end up thinking more about pointless things instead of enjoying them. Have a good weekend everyone.

(Note: Please excuse me if I spelt anything wrong...)

I had a bit of a revalation today regarding Linux on the desktop. Many argue that it just isn't ready yet and while I agree with them that it is not best for everyone, it is not the system that really is flawed. Really, the problem lies in how people expect their computers and software to work. When I first started using Linux the big issue was a decent word processor. I remember when Abiword was first released and I tried it out. I was very happy with it and thought to myself how now Linux would take over every desktop known to man. Did I mention I was a lot younger then.

Now I realize that things are much more complicated. Desktop Linux is not about writing papers and sending email. Desktop Linux is about enterprise applications that allow for easy collaboration with others. People use windows because they use it at work. This is why Apple has not been more succesful. It is just too hard to work in a Windows world. Consider then if Linux is really ready for the desktop? The fact may be that it is more than ready. Many people could easily understand the benefits of the command line and how more abstract forms of writing help to create better documents than wysiwyg applications but since they have a system they are used to, there is no desire to change.

This really is not that big of a deal if you ask me (and I am sure someone did). Free software has done a great job at showing how programming and technology is about being smart and enjoying problem solving. I think that this realization will only help the entire tech market in that it will spawn more people trying to learn more and just be smart. I know microsoft has tons of really smart folks there. A little pressure to get them thinking might be a really great thing for them. I think I've lost site of what this post was about... oh yeah desktop linux. My main point here is that when you compare Linux to Windows you don't give Linux enough credit because being ready for the desktop is being ready to be just like Windows. Since, most in the Linux community are pragmatists, most would use Windows if they wanted it. In other words different strokes for different folks. Linux is ready for my desktop and that is fine with me.

Tonight I upgraded from my alpha 1.2 of wordpress to the current stable version. And let me tell you, it was a pain. There were some broken session issues that made little to no sense so I just moved things over in the database. It made more sense since it would work. I don't have time to debug wordpress at the moment. Hopefully I can find a solution to the spam situation. Any tips on the matter is appreciated. Just email me b/c I can't stand getting the comments any more than I have to ;)

This may be a bit nitpicky, but today I was using a mac at school and I was looking at the rounded corners of the windows. What struck me was how they were extremely jagged looking. I had read an article a while back that essentially looked at this same issue on windows, which is admittedly much worse. Still, it is pretty ugly if you ask me. I guess that is why I use Linux!

And for any Microsoft recruiter that happens to take a look at my blog, this doesn't mean I dislike windows. I just enjoy working with Linux on my desktop (in other words I still dual boot ;).

Well, last night Lauren and I went to a bar to see some friends play. They are somewhat of a cover band but I didn't recognize many songs. They are an "alt country" band that would fall in the vein of artists like Johnny Cash... and... others. They are trying to get a regular gig at the bar and while I traditionally keep the term gig off the tip of my tongue, in their case it is pleasantly fitting. They did a great job and from what I saw, the bar did pretty well so hopefully things will work out. The one negative was that they made them stop a little early in order for the next band to start right at 10:00pm. Being a touring musician, I can understand the importance of keeping a schedule but when 10:45 rolled around and we were still without the next band, I thought it was a pretty rude gesture to my friends, who played for 3 hours.

The second act was a guy playing covers on his acoustic and surprisingly, I have seen him before. In fact, I have seen him play about 6 times. Why would I be such a fan of this soloist? The truth is I am not really a fan at all. He actually plays a different bar in town each night and often times I happen to go to the bar on the night he plays. He does a good job and while I am not a fan of the covers really, I still become totally engrossed in how he performs. I see him play his songs in front of tons of college kids who are talking too loud to enjoy the music and singing along to a few words in the chorus when it is popular to do so and wonder why he does it. It is clear that no one was breaking down the door to watch this guy play. It is not as if it is easy to learn thousands of these cover songs and remember them all, much less to remember the lyrics and chords while drunk college kids screem out requests for their favorite Pearl Jam song. It takes real grit to play in that kind of enviornment. I know I couldn't do it.

What really fascinates me about it is that I really think he loves what he is doing. Admist the obvious critisms some people might hurl towards someone who scrapes by playing covers in jock bars, he seems to really love what he does. I suppose it could be the challenge of keeping someone interested even though you cannot play the song they want. It could be fun knowing when to throw out crowd pleasers after doing a request from the yours truly that no one really likes. Whatever it is, this guy seems to really love it and I have to say, I happen to like watching him because of it. He does a great job and while I obviously don't understand everything that happens, I do see that it is more than simply playing an acoustic guitar and singing "Don't Call Me Daughter" every day of the week. It is more personal.

I recently submitted my resume to Fog Creek for an internship. I feel like I did a pretty good job and I hope I have a good chance of getting an interview. The real issue with writing a resume and cover letter is that you always have a feeling you left something out. A good example is my job as a Youth Minister. That was a pretty good job! I had a salary and budget I had to keep track of as well as a ton of planning. It can be pretty hard to mention that you were essentially the sole executive person involved in the planning and implementation of an entire youth program. I haven't even mentioned that I had to make presentations and create entire curriculums along with dealing with the politics of a large organization. To say all this in one sentence is a "wicked" problem!

Time will tell how I did with it. I do want to mention that I do have a bit of a strategy in this posting (if you happen to be reading this Joel!). If for some reason they take a look at some of my work they will hopefully arrive here. I don't really consider this blog a very good example of my work and I have mentioned it many times that it is only a scratch pad for writing and projects. This is why I didn't list it or mention it on my resume. But, if someone (namely Joel) does happen to come by, they will learn a little more about my background as a leader and strong communicator (along with other "power verbs").