It is amazing sometimes what Mother Nature can do. She drew me a map today, and it was pretty accurate. Today in the clouds I saw the full Western Hemisphere -- the Americas from Northern Canada to Southern Chile, and connected correctly. Almost perfect, except Central America was slightly misshapen and not long enough, and Florida was too wide. The shape was actually formed by a gap between clouds, and it quickly morphed into nothing recognizable.
Cloud-watching shouldn't just be for kids. To me the sky is a work of art, and each day it is a fresh new canvas waiting to be painted. So I have decided to relay my observations in my blog from time to time. It may seem silly, but I am Rainman, after all.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The Five Minute Phone Call With No One
<dialing 555-6242.>
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
(maybe 8-10 more rings.)
An answer!
"5-5-5-6-2-4-2. Is not available. To leave a message, please wait for the tone. Then record your message. After you record your message, you may hang up. Or, press 5 to replay your message. Or, press 2 to edit your message. Or, press 3 to delete your message. Or, press 1 to record another message. Or, press 6 to hang up, redial, AND record another message. Or, press 7 to hear this message again. Or, press 8 to change THIS message. Or press 9 for more options."
BEEP.
<Forget who I was calling in the first place.>
Ok, honestly, that is slightly exaggerated. But I was calling multiple people yesterday for work, to try to set up some interviews with job applicants. I quickly tired of hearing that I may hang up when I am finished recording. Really? I thought maybe I should stay on the line just to make sure my message was taken successfully. Why did our cell phone companies think that this new technology would cause us to forget how answering machines worked?
On one of the phone calls I made, I was greeted with something else: A recorded song. It was an enjoyable tune, but when it started the second verse, I hung up. Please note: If you're applying for jobs, leaving a long outgoing message on your phone is one of those things you're not supposed to do.
After having a hard time finding quality applicants who A) had a working phone number and B) actually answered or called back, I eventually had to call that one back and hear the rest of the song. It wasn't that enjoyable.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
(maybe 8-10 more rings.)
An answer!
"5-5-5-6-2-4-2. Is not available. To leave a message, please wait for the tone. Then record your message. After you record your message, you may hang up. Or, press 5 to replay your message. Or, press 2 to edit your message. Or, press 3 to delete your message. Or, press 1 to record another message. Or, press 6 to hang up, redial, AND record another message. Or, press 7 to hear this message again. Or, press 8 to change THIS message. Or press 9 for more options."
BEEP.
<Forget who I was calling in the first place.>
Ok, honestly, that is slightly exaggerated. But I was calling multiple people yesterday for work, to try to set up some interviews with job applicants. I quickly tired of hearing that I may hang up when I am finished recording. Really? I thought maybe I should stay on the line just to make sure my message was taken successfully. Why did our cell phone companies think that this new technology would cause us to forget how answering machines worked?
On one of the phone calls I made, I was greeted with something else: A recorded song. It was an enjoyable tune, but when it started the second verse, I hung up. Please note: If you're applying for jobs, leaving a long outgoing message on your phone is one of those things you're not supposed to do.
After having a hard time finding quality applicants who A) had a working phone number and B) actually answered or called back, I eventually had to call that one back and hear the rest of the song. It wasn't that enjoyable.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
My First Blog
Ooh, I feel like a grown-up now. I'm posting my first freestanding blog on the World Wide Web. It wasn't long ago that I was wondering what a "blog" was, and the word wasn't even in the previous edition of the Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary. But now I know, and I know I can pretty much make it what I want it to be. Which is to be determined. Or maybe I should say it is to be sculpted. Yes, that sounds more creative.
The only thing I'm really concerned about right now is that my chosen title might throw someone off: It kind of looks like "raisinbran.blogspot.com," which I'm sure is something totally unrelated to me. Although it might have more flavor.
Ok, so this is actually my second freestanding blog (meaning, not confined in subject matter to the specific content of another web site). I am shopping around for a blog space on the Internet, and wrote a "test" blog a couple days ago someplace else. But it is tucked away in a private little spot, and it will disappear when my free trial expires sometime next week. I'm not paying $X a month just to write my thoughts down in a blog that is to be sculpted as I go along. Not that my thoughts aren't priceless, mind you.
The only thing I'm really concerned about right now is that my chosen title might throw someone off: It kind of looks like "raisinbran.blogspot.com," which I'm sure is something totally unrelated to me. Although it might have more flavor.
Ok, so this is actually my second freestanding blog (meaning, not confined in subject matter to the specific content of another web site). I am shopping around for a blog space on the Internet, and wrote a "test" blog a couple days ago someplace else. But it is tucked away in a private little spot, and it will disappear when my free trial expires sometime next week. I'm not paying $X a month just to write my thoughts down in a blog that is to be sculpted as I go along. Not that my thoughts aren't priceless, mind you.
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