So this is the Future Generation?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of heading back to my Alma Mater, the glorious UCLA (University of Catonsville, Left of Arbutus), for their annual Career Fair. This was the first fair I had attended and it was a little odd going in as an employer as opposed to a potential employee. It made me feel old... I don't want to be old... I am a Toys 'R' Us Kid.

We saw a ton of people. There were three of us there from my company and I felt like I was pretty busy throughout the four hours. I was blown away by some of the candidates, highly skilled, highly engaged, really good people... and then there were the others. Oh my the others.

So I am not sure what you have been told about presenting yourself to potential employers, but here are some things I saw yesterday, you decide if you would hire these people:

• "I am looking for a position in HR" and proceeding to hand me a HOT PINK Resume... Seriously, if you end up in HR are you going to give bonus points to the resumes that smell nice. Here's a hint, Legally Blond IS A MOVIE... COME BACK TO THE REAL WORLD.
• When asked what you see yourself doing you respond with "Well I am in Computer Science". Are you? Really? I didn't gather that by your glancing at your resume, your inability to answer my question, your wrinkled shirt that doesn't fit or that odor. Computer Science is a degree, not a job. Do you want to Develop, do Analysis or Theory. The question is what do you want to do, not what is your education.
• When I ask "Can I answer any questions about what we do?" and you respond with "No" or "Not Really." I didn't know that you were such an expert on what our company does, what the life of a consultant within our company is like, why we have a niche and how we are different than the other 50 consulting/technology firms that are standing in this giant gym wanting to talk to you. Maybe we should hire you, you clairvoyant little devil.
• When I ask for a resume you hand me something that clearly came out of the busted copier on the fifth floor of the IT building moments ago. This is a career fair where you are making a first impression. Don't give me something where the toner was running out or there is a large streak of white through the middle of the page. There are words in the middle of the page. I would like to read them.
• Don't over sell what you can do. If you list Pocket PC or mobile applications please tell me something more than you use one to check email. Everyone does, and if they don't they get how to use a stylus to point to little icons on a screen.

I am sure there are others, but for now this is a good start. Lots of people made really good impressions and then there are the others. If you are an other, maybe look into dog walking as a career. I hear pink fliers work really well.

Whoo Hooo.... We Won!!!

Finally, McNabb Has Come Back to Philadelphia.

I am not going to get my hopes up to high, but it was really nice to see the Birds take control of a game from the opening whistle. The deep passing game set up the run, the way the offense is supposed to run. Curtis and Westbrook had huge games, and McNabb showed that he is a great quarterback, despite being overly criticized. (BTW, I agree slightly with what McNabb said, but being in Philadelphia, I am sure his criticism is amplified that that of other QBs in the league, black or otherwise.)

One thing about yesterdays game that I enjoyed that many other people hated was the throwback uniforms.

This year is the 75th Anniversary of the Eagles, and for this game they decided to pay homage by wearing replicas of the 1934 uniforms. These are yellow and powder blue, not the traditional green, but these colors have meaning. These are the colors of the Philadelphia flag, the Philadelphia Warriors (later to become the Golden State Warriors) also wore these colors. They are classic Philadelphia. I also think that these Unis are cool because they are pretty basic, with a hit of the Eagle in the helmet. Plus STRIPED SOCKS.... how could you go wrong.

It is getting close to time for me to update my game day wear and one of these jerseys will be part of that update.

Are We Doing This Again?

0-2

0 and 2

Once again the Eagles have started out the season looking like a Division IAA team.

Seriously... at least we have the Phillies.. for now.

Ok. Super Busy. Talk to You Later

Update on the List

That is right... it is update time... aren't you excited???

So, Moving to Maryland... yeah... that is hard. I am waiting on copies of fun documents like a birth certificate, you know, proving I exist... cause standing in front of someone does not seem to be sufficient.

So, Joining ACM and PMI... this is actually on track. I just need to get some money together to do this. Stupid money and me not having enough.

Getting a CAPM Certification.... I am on my way. I had my first class and am trying to keep up with the reading (there is alot of reading). I think I am going to be ok, and I hope it pays off.

Go Soda Free for a Month.... This is actually going to be much easier than I thought. I am going to slowly step away from the soda and replace that with tea... from there it will be another step to water. I am doing pretty well with this, though I did slip last night at the IIBA event (I didn't even think about it.)

I hope to actually cross some things off soon... we will see. Only 963 Days left.

Kickball and Other Fun Things

First a fun little story: When I came into work today I was taken aback. Someone had just been dropped off at the office by a taxi. Now this happens daily, but how many of those taxis have SPINNER RIMS.... Seriously

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows. The lows: I was super duper amazingly sick. I woke up with a crazy headache, stumbled to my computer, emailed the office to say there was no way i was going to make it, and stumbled back to bed. That was about 8am... after I had fallen asleep at around 12 the previous night... so the running total was 8 hours. Back in my bed, unable to find Mike and Mike on TV, I turned over and went back to sleep. I was not sure if I had a migraine or a sinus headache... man headaches suck. Anyway, I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, and accomplished that task, until about 12pm... running total 11 hours. You would think I would have felt better. You would be wrong. I may have even felt worse at this point. I was considering just trying to throw up, hoping it would relieve some pressure on my head. The fact that I new I had not eaten since mid-Tuesday caused me to think the better of that plan. I of course took this opportunity to try to rollover and go back to sleep. This was clearly a good idea, cause I slept for another three hours which took the running total up to 14 hours. At this point, having see all of an hour of the day I decided that I felt slightly better. Maybe a shower would help. Up the stairs I went... I noticed a few things on this trip. First my hair must have been awesome, cause I could feel it flop from left to right with each step I took. I COULD FEEL MY HAIR MOVING. Next , I was considering the fact that I may have a tumor or some sort, then the voice of the Gov-a-nator came to me and said "its not a tumor". I made it to the shower, turned it on hot and stood there for a while. The shower helped, the hot water helped, my head still was killing me. At this point I figured that I should probably take my clean body and lay down... maybe it would make me feel better. This lasted about another 2-3 hours. I am not actually sure what time it was, though I do remember seeing PTI coming on TV. By the time I got up the last time I had slept for about 17 hours since the night before. I am pretty sure that is completely inhuman. It was one of the worst days I had experienced... but I felt better. Alot better and it was time for the high of the day. It was time for kickball.

I debated going, but I thought hey, I said I was going to do this, it was the first game, it would not be that bad, so I jumped in the SUV with my roommates and we headed down to Patterson Park. The game was alot of fun, though we did loose (I am not even sure we scored). The whole girls bunting thing was a little annoying, but the game was alot of fun. I am really excited for next week.

Well, it is almost the end of the day and I am headed to an IIBA event. I have lots to update, but we will save it for tomorrow.

Sorry, no fun posts today

I am way to tired and mentally/emotionally drained.

Maybe tomorrow

What is Your... #2

In the continuing series of meaningless questions and comment fishing

Question #2 - What is your Favorite Guilty Pleasure?

I don't want to know your crazy desires with whoopee making. I am really talking about the things that you do just because you like them though others would scoff at.

I have a couple. First watching wrestling... as you scoff. I like the production and the ridiculous stories... Plus the high fliers and hard bumps... Stop with the scoffing.

Next I would say cooking/home improvement shows. While I think this has become quite a bit more respectable recently, it is still something that is generally not a conversation starter for me.

What are your guilty pleasures?

This is Awesome

NINJAS ARE BETTER THAN PIRATES.... FYI

Sooo... I am Pretty Sure This is Me

I occasionally struggle with who I am and how I am supposed to act.

I stumbled on this article last night while reading digg.com and I think it helped me realized that I may be a stronger introvert than I thought. I have always been really weak in this personality trait when taking things like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (always a slight Introvert or a slight Extrovert). I do feel like I need "alone time" just to be with my thoughts, but the issue is that I tend to think about my interactions in the world... Am I being genuine? Am I living, and interacting with people, in a way that puts my true self out there? Do I even want to do that?

There are a couple of things about the article that I really like, particularly the reiteration of

...our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts.

But even with that, I am not sure I am dealing with a battle between my introversion and everyone else's extroversion. Rather, I think I am dealing with my introverted self causing more introversion (yeah, dissect that one). I am not really sure who or what to turn too. I guess it is another in a long line of times in my life where I my head feels like it is almost being destroyed by the things happening around me. How strange is that? Being an introvert is not supposed to cause such inner conflict, to the contrary, it is supposed to allow the inner to balance out the things happening in the outer.

Don't get me wrong, I am basically fine. These are the finer points of my life that I am not as happy with as I should be. I am hoping that they improve, and I am sure they will. It can just be frustrating when you find something you don't like that you think about it so much that it can be overwhelming.

OMG... Seriously... Seriously

In yet another bungle of the current White House Administration (and I even think Gerard will agree there have been a couple) there was a celebration last night for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. One tiny small little problem.... ROSH HASHANAH IS NEXT WEEK.

I know that the Jewish calendar is not like our fun Gregorian calendar, and he holidays don't fall on the same date every year, but seriously, It is not like calendar makers got this wrong. I am in fact looking at my calendar, and there it is, Jewish New Year September 12....

This is basically like celebrating New Years on Christmas Day...

ARRGGGG... They had a press release... That means that this was probably vetted.... and no one looked at a calendar... A CALENDAR.... THEY ALL HAVE THIS HOLIDAY.... remember "Jews have all the money"... They probably own the Calendar Companies....

SERIOUSLY...

Apple Announcments: First Impressions

(Also posted at abrickoncesaid.blogspot.com)

Steve Jobs, in a black turtleneck and jeans, made a number of big announcements today. Being the fan-boy that I am I thought I would give you my first impressions

• iPod Shuffle - Nothing really big here... no real feelings
• iPod Nano "Fatty" - I think this is pretty cool, but the form factor to me does not make nearly as much sense as the original Nano. Here is the thing, the Nano was small, really really small. It was also long, rather than wide. I think the new fatty leave an opening in the iPod lineup. I honestly do not expect this version to do nearly as well as the previous Nano. Time will tell.
• iPod Classic (aka the old iPod) - This was a nice refresh. I still think Apple should follow their other products in the line by adding colors. The bigger hard drive is always nice (though I still have not filled my 30gig, so 160 is just insane). As for the Name, I am ok with it.
• iPod Touch - This was the announcement that everyone was waiting for. The interface for the iPhone is great, so this was a no brainer for Apple. The fact that they included safari and WiFi are nice touches. I think this is going to be the default iPod for alot of people. I think the amazing part is the thickness. I would actually worry about snapping this in half.
• iTunes WiFi - This is a HUGE deal. It looks like the integration has been done very well. Hearing something on the radio, or seeing something, and then being able to get it pretty quickly from the store will be great. I think this is going to be a killer app for the iPhone and a nice inclusion for the iPod Touch
• Apple + Starbucks - Yeah.... don't really care.
• IPHONE FOR $400 BUCKS - This is actually the biggest announcement made today, and it got the shortest amount of time. It makes me wonder a couple of things. First, is the 4GB version cancelled. Second, is there a major revision coming. If they are selling so well why would Apple drop the price. It makes me feel good about waiting until version two before I get mine.

Overall I think this was a pretty big day for Apple. Good Job Steve (see the pun).

Think I am right, think I am wrong, let me know. Post a comment.

What is your...

So, in my ever present need to fish for comments and satisfaction that people are actually reading this, I have decided to start posing questions to the audience. The are mostly going to start with "What is your..." Some examples:

• What is your favorite drink?
• What is your most embarrassing moment?
• What is your strangest experience with a power tool?

You get the point. So I am going to pose the question and you should leave a comment to answer.

Question 1 - What is your favorite vacation spot? (We are starting easy.)

I ask this question for a very important reason. I am looking to take a vacation sometime early next year. I am not sure when exactly, or where, but I am looking for some advice.

My current favorite vacation was the Cruise I took with a bunch of friends about three years ago. We were on Royal Caribbean and went to Cozumel and Costa Maya. It was amazing. the weather, the ship, the destinations, the food and the excursions. It was really all great.

So help me out and answer the question.

How to Build a Better Container

Do you know what I hate....

These things



The question you may be asking is "Ryan, as a self proclaimed foodie, how could you hate this staple of modern food transportation convenience?"

Well, let me tell you why I hate these things. THEY LEAK. To illustrate, lets say you have a container filled with your favorite food, something like this



No imagine that you are riding in your car back to your place of residence in order to enjoy such a lovely dish. (FYI, I pulled that pic of off the net, I have no idea what that actually is) Here is my issue... this food is covered in Sauce, which I am sure is delicious. Now imagine said container on the seat of a car.... you see where this is going.

Oh, and they are bad for the environment.

This is my plea, if you are own a restaurant, STOP USING THESE... Invest in your customers and your containers, get the plastic ones with the snapping lids.

End Rant

The King of Quarters

So Matt recently posted about the King of Kong. This is a movie about a middle school science teacher and a Hot Sauce Mogul. If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.

Seriously, I am really excited to see this, maybe at the Charles theater, but probably on DVD. I mean it is a documentary about Donkey Kong... How can you go wrong???

Plus the tagline of "Don't get Chumpatized", is that not the best thing ever.

XFL Draft: In Review

Once again, the XFL draft was a great night with great people. The Hendlers did an excellent job of hosting and there were trophies this year... that is right trophies




There are some things I would like to point out about this picture

1. There are two trophies, the one on the left is our championship trophy, and will have each year's winner engraved on the large brass plate on the left. The one on the right is the Toilet Bowl trophy. The winner of the (i.e. the league's 5th place team) will need to bring the trophy back with a new roll of quilted 2-3 ply each year.


2. Yes that is my empty Wawa Diet Green Tea Container... But at least I used a plastic cup and didn't drink it out of the Jug.


3. Yes the Hendlers decorated the table, and the whole basement for that matter, in Philadelphia sports gear... That's right, Phillies and Eagles place mats.

As for the Draft itself things went really well. I got my pick of Joseph Addai with the forth pick, and ended up with Steve Smith, Marc Bulger, Edge James and the Bears Defense as my big name players.

Below are some picks of the festivities, enjoy

Chad and Monica working hard

Andy and Krangel are clearly more interested in the game on TV than the game in front of them.

The Krets... and there lone QB. PEYYYTON.

He is the King in his Castle

Matt and his iPhone are all curled up

It looks like something really important is going on.

I think Monica may hurt me for taking this picture.


Well, that is the official draft recap... I should never be a sports writer.

Lets Play Kickball

I have crossed another off my list. Goodbye #16. Last night I signed the papers, paid my fees and now I am officially part of a kickball league. Actually it is the Kickball League of Baltimore. The team, Jiminy Kickits, is made up of some of my Fraternity Brothers and friends of ours. Our first game is the 12th. I am really looking forward to it.

In my youth I was quite an avid kickballer (check out that lingo). We used to play at Jew camp (day camp, not overnight or concentration). I tended to be the guy who would roof the balls. In case you don't know, roofing a ball is the process of applying enough force, and appropriate directional velocity, to the rounded surface of a rubber ball that it leaves the point of contact (foot to ball) and finds its final resting place on the top of the building where children are making paper-plate-bean-shakers (a Jew camp staple). I was the only person to have roofed a ball at the JCC (it is the Jewish version of a YMCA, with less Village People) and have it's final resting place be the ground ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING. Yeah, I was pretty great.

Needless to say I am pretty excited to get my kick on and tap into the only sport that I may still be good at. I will keep you all updated.

Chad Started a Blog

For those of you who don't know Chad... you should. He may be the funniest person I have ever met. Check out his new blog at can-of-beans.blogspot.com