http://redjenosu.com/Musings/ Rambling through my mind (Musing May 2002 - August 2008) en Copyright 2008 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:42:23 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://redjenosu.com/wp/]]> http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002516.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002516.html Site Updates Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:42:23 -0500 I'm working on a revamp of the site. I'm not sure if it would be considered version 2.0 or this as part 1 and that as part 2. Either way, I'm planning on leaving this part intact when I finish to keep it as history. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002515.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002515.html Site Updates Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:28:59 -0500 About this time last year, I was making plans to simplify the things around my house that take up extra time. The whole housing bust had other ideas. So now it is a year later, I’m in the same location, but not exactly the same place. After 9 months on the market, the house didn’t sell and I was feeling the strain of keeping the place perfect all the time. The cats were also showing signs of stress. The past 3 months have been a nice break even if I didn’t bring everything back into the house. If a garage sale didn’t take so much effort, I might have decreased the pile of boxes occupying the garage. I’ve been working my way up to talking to a new therapist. I haven’t actually talked to her yet, but I broached the subject with GK and got an official referral. It may not sound like much, but it took me 2 months to figure out how I wanted to bring up the subject with GK in the first place. I keep getting stuck at the point where I say, “Hi, I’m a grown adult and I have no idea how to manage day to day and ongoing communication.” I’m not sure exactly how or where the conversation will lead, but I’ve decided to find out anyway. I found out at the end of May that my doctor is leaving her current practice this fall, which means that I have to pick a new doctor. I’d only been seeing her for about a year, but I liked her and she saw me through a rather rough patch at the end of last year. This is actually more of a footnote than anything else. I called in Thursday for an appointment for an ear infection. She was on vacation, so they set me up with another doctor to get my ear treated. This is where things get interesting. After she checked my ear and rechecked my blood pressure, made a tsk-tsk sound and asked if I had a nervous habit of scratching my arms. To such a pointed question, I have a hard time sidestepping the uncomfortable reality, so I admitted that I do and added that I was scratching at wax nodes that formed under my skin. That sent her back to my charts where she started underlining and circling numbers from the results of previous blood tests. By the time she got done, she told me some things that I haven’t been looking forward to hearing, but expected to come up sooner or later. All of this is of course subject to change, but based on the information she had, she suspects that the wax nodes are actually fatty cholesterol depostis due to high levels of triglycerides in my system. They are called Xanthomas. They are both painless and benign, but may indicate underlying disorders. The treatment is to get control of blood lipids (triglycerides & cholesterol). The most likely suspect at this point is a metabolic disorder such as familial hypercholesterolemia. Hopefully there will be more answers when the latest round blood tests are back from the lab. Even without genetic testing, there are strong indicators that familial hypercholesterolemia is likely. I’ve been trying to eat healthily for quite a while, so hopefully my diet won’t get too much more restricted. One thing I’m afraid of is that I may eventually be forced into a diabetic diet, but that hasn’t been brought up so far. Such is the current mind and body updates. Growing older sucks. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002514.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002514.html Family Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:30:32 -0500 ]]> http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002513.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002513.html Musing Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:03:10 -0500 There has been so much and so little going on of late. Work has been consistent, which has been a blessing if a bit boring. I’m not sure if I would have been able to deal with high stress at work and at home. The crash of the housing/mortgage market conspired to keep me from my first attempt at simplifying things. The activities of preparing the house for show and sale have left me with a garage half full of stuff from various areas of my house. When I originally packed things up, it was with the assumption that I would be moving in under 3 months. Nine months later, I found myself with lost of showings (over 100) and plenty of positive comments on the house, but no bites. It also found me highly stressed out from having to keep the house in show ready status at all times. My stress has been matched by stress on the poor cats. Blue and Mya are still working through territory issues resulting from stress over having random strangers in the house. They are slowly going back to calm, but I’m still seeing a few fur flair ups from time to time. Trying to save money in order handle a move, prepared me rather handily for dealing with the rising fuel costs. It has had the less than ideal side affect of turning me into more of a homebody than before. While there are merits to being frugal, I’m afraid that without some other changes, I may isolate myself. I’m looking forward to having Cassie down next weekend. We’ll be taking a week of vacation while she’s here, assuming I can figure out where we’ll be headed. I’m getting closer to more writing. After taking the house off the market, I’ve been slowly relaxing. With that I hope I’ll also be writing and painting more. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002512.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002512.html General Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:28:30 -0500 Not much else to say about that one. Hope you have a great day. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002511.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002511.html Family Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:12:59 -0500 Question: My question though is how do you all feel about listing military background/ experience when it doesn't really pertain to the job? I always list it to show that I can work as part of a team, or as a leader. I list what I did, rank, and any honors earned. RedJen's Answer: If it is within the last 10 years, I would list any miliary service. The further from the position you are applying for, the less details I'd include, but rank, time frame and branch at a minimum. While not directly relivent, it shows you can commit to something, work as a team, work within a system and have some leadership training. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002510.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002510.html Career Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:59:10 -0500 There are three questions I ask each person I interview: 1 - At your last/current position, what have you contributed that would remain after you moved on? 2 - Personal or Profressionally, what mark are you the most proud of leaving? 3 - What is something unique, impressive or distinctive about yourself? I had someone tank an interview on the last question. He said he was average. If he thinks he's average, then I'll take his word on it. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002509.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002509.html Career Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:57:53 -0500 The point of the resume After I read your resume, you want me to have questions! If I don’t have any questions, then I don’t need to talk to you. If you want the job, then you want to talk to me! Make sure we have something to talk about. SUGGESTIONS FOR RESUME MAKEOVERS Resume Length •> A resume with 2 pages has the best chance to spark my interest. • A resume with 3 or more pages starts with negative points. • A resume with 5 or more pages had better belong to someone who saves the world on a regular basis and builds houses for disadvantaged children every weekend and on their yearly vacation or I won’t even talk to you. Have an expanded resume and a tailored resume •>> Get rid of stuff that has NOTHING to do with the position you’re applying, especially if your resume is over 2 pages long. •> Before you send your resume, read the description of the position AND look for information on the overall employer as well. Tailor your resume to the position and the employer. If they are a proponent of Linux and OpenSource, don’t list things that are seen as antiquated to that segment of technology. • Keep the long detailed resume, but keep it private! This has a lot of things you don’t want to forget, but not every employer needs to know about your entire history • I need a project manager, so the year you were a car salesman does not interest me. The same goes for the year spent as a music instructor. If you are passionate about music, have a hobbies section to show you are a well rounded person. The skills list •> Tailor it to the position! • Do not list every computer program you had ever touched. Please don’t tell me that you are proficient in Mozilla, Foxfire, Netscape and Internet Explorer. If you can’t use a web browser, you are not the right person for a Program Manager at a technology company. • Outdated technology – Unless the job requires it, get rid of it. The only thing it will do is mark you as “old” and make me look for dates so I can guess your age. Dates •> Think of this like the Fifth Amendment. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say can be used against you. • I can’t ask you about your age, marital status, children and many other touchy things. Use this to your advantage! • If you tell me you graduated from High School in 1970, it shouldn’t be much of a jump to assume that I’ve pegged you as over 50 (56 plus or minus 2 years). • Any experience longer than 10 years is more than 10 years of varied experience in the field. Twenty years is more than ten years, but doesn’t always sound as good on a resume. Less is More •> Try to get your resume down to 2 pages. I’ll forgive 3 pages if you have RELEVANT stuff that is RECENT. • Jobs from more than 10 years ago should be summarized or not listed. • Awards from 10 years ago are cool, but not good resume material. (The exception being Pulitzers and Nobel awards.) • Professional training should be limited to 6 lines or less. You can group things together and let me ask about the specifics later. • Drop sections that don’t make you look good. • If you have 10 years of experience and only a High School diploma, drop the education section and put more into the professional training ]]> http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002508.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002508.html Career Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:51:58 -0500 Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. ~ Thomas Jefferson http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002507.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002507.html Quotes Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:13:08 -0500 While a lot of people probably won't find this as funny as I did, it made me chuckle, then I had to explain what a MMORPG was...]]> http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002506.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002506.html Humor Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:11:10 -0500 I have a new toy. BlackBerry has added some nice new features in the last 8 months. I think I'm going to like it. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002505.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002505.html General Sun, 25 May 2008 11:09:31 -0500 Blue & Mya are now sporting pretty collars with jingle bells on them. After a few tries getting Mya's adjusted correctly, everyone seems to have settled into wearing them without too many complaints. I've gotten a few more requests for neck skritches, but I'm happy to oblige. Blue seems to have calmed down a bit. Her collar means that Mya can no longer ambush him. He's still a bit on edge, but more playful. My fingers are crossed on this one. I realized today that I've officially reached my numb phase. Hopefully two long weekends will give me enough of a break. Otherwise I may have to spend some vacation time to vegetate. It isn't like I need to horde the time off, just that I hate spending it to do nothing. Not like I could really get there for a few weeks yet anyway. Until the end of the month I'm gong to be on edge regardless of what I'm doing. There is much to be said for apartment living. Not having to deal with selling the apartment when you want to move being at the top of the list. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002504.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002504.html Random Wed, 21 May 2008 15:41:07 -0500 Things have been pretty blah lately. I've tried not to bore everyone with the frustration of having my house on the market. Assuming I get an offer on my house, I've identified the townhouse I'd like to acquire. If the house doesn't sell by the end of this month, it is going to come off the general market. I'm sick of living like I'm in a hotel where I'm both the guest and the maid. I want to be able to throw all my laundry across the kitchen without worrying about what I'll do if someone calls to see the house. Blue and Mya are going through a tough spot. Every time I think I've figured out which one of them is upset, the other one proves me wrong. I'm hoping that they are just upset about their birthdays this month and being cranky, but I'm pretty sure that's wrong. I spent Friday at a work seminar and the first speaker said something that really hit me. "Just because I bought the ticket does not mean I have to stay for the second act." http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002503.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002503.html Random Sat, 10 May 2008 08:30:57 -0500 Do I think that healthcare needs revised? Yes, but I’m not convinced that the government is the one to do it. They’ve made a pretty good mess of things by legislating damages against doctors to the point where I’m not sure any sane individual wants to go into private general practice. In my opinion, going into general medicine seems a lot like going into a teaching career. It isn’t something you go into for the money, because you are going to start way in debt and if you’re lucky you’ll manage to pay off the loans you used to put yourself through school before you retire. Why don’t I trust the government to revise/enact socialized/universal healthcare? These people are reforming Social Security, but voted to put themselves on a separate retirement plan. If the Social Security System is going to be fixed, why aren’t they signed up for it? If they won’t eat their own cooking, why should I trust that it is good for me? As one executive put it "eat your own dog food before you sell it to me." It isn’t only the insurance companies that are squeezing people, hospitals are too. My mother works in a hospital where the hospital’s staff doctor (the one under whom all procedures are performed) quit because she wasn’t willing to risk her medical license on the hospital’s level of care. Did you get that? It isn’t the insurance company taking short cuts; it is the hospital administration that is refusing to perform certain types of testing. The idea that a noble man will want to take care of the less fortunate is as much of myth as the idea that morality can be legislated. We want to believe that good will and charity abound, but the proof of such has not materialized. The legislation of charity and morality does not work. Both are individual codes and governed by our personal thoughts. If I follow the law, it does not make me moral, it only makes me law abiding. In the same way, if I am forced to give money to those less fortunate, I am not being charitable; rather I am a part of a socialist system. There are altruistic people and groups, but I believe that only a tiny fraction dwell without limitations in the “for profit” landscape. Individuals can be altruistic, but if they are fettered by a “for profit” infrastructure, their work will most likely be curtailed by the same infrastructure that funds their research. This is an issue lodged in the integrity of the system. When it came out that big tobacco funded research that led to the statement that cigarette smoking was not the only cause of lung cancer, the research results became questionable. This type of integrity is at the heart of the treatment versus cure debate. A treatment will cause an influx of money over the lifetime of the person. A cure will generate a one time payment. Whether we cure an illness or manage the symptoms, a “for profit” model will likely suppress the cure in favor of long term profits. If you want an example, look at panty hose. The technology for making panty hose that don’t run has existed for over 30 years, but noone will make them because there is no profit in making them. Why did the auto industry buy the patent for the first viable electric car battery, then refuse to manufacture it? They determined that making the technology available would lose them money. Until healthcare is completely non-profit or completely free-market, I don’t see any of these problems going away. It is in trying to have both an entitled population and profits that leads to these problems. http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002502.html http://redjenosu.com/Musings/archives/002502.html Musing Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:24:35 -0500