I can not remember the plant this flower is part of. Off the beach at
Brackett’s landing in Edmonds.
Author: Carl Setzer
A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.
A Design Career
As cool as another web design class sounds, I’m thinking of getting a copy of CS5 and exploring “manually”. In particular, I haven’t had a chance to mess with InDesign for several iterations. I believe that the last version I explored was prior to the CS Suite bundling. I’ve never used InDesign in a professional setting. The last product I used with Quark, and I’m not sure the version. So I’m really interested in bringing my desktop publishing skills current. Well, at least production environment software-wise. I am up-to-date with MS Publisher. Anyway, I could try and get CS4, as with CS5’s release, I should be able to get CS4 at a huge discount. And, from what I’ve been reading, getting my skills up-to-date with CS4 might work well.
NYTimes: Seven Children Killed in School Attack in China
Yet again, another frightening attack on children. The NYTimes does a
good job here exploring some if the possible causes of this string of
attacks. Questions are raised, though some of the hypothesis are
simplistic. It will be telling if the Chinese government finally
decides to deal with the issue versus simply hiding it.
From The New York Times:
Seven Children Killed in School Attack in China
The children and a teacher were stabbed to death at a kindergarten in
China in the latest in a bizarre series of attacks on children.
Alliterative Du Jour
Modern monkeys mastcating meatloaf mull meaningful melodies. Madly,
masterfully modifying moronic mysteries.
Career? Pain in the Rear?
Still wondering about my career next steps. I’ve been an admin so long, it’s hard to envision some other role. I like to picture myself in some creative function, whether writer, web designer, or such. Yet I wonder whether I’m gifted creatively. Am I pursuing something I have no talent in?
When I consider what people tell me I’m gifted at, it isn’t art. I’m a talented organizer, manager, even a good analyst. There is so very much more to learn to be excellent in those roles.
Perhaps these views are due to limited exposure of my creative efforts? I don’t show my work much. I’m a bit self-concious, still. Perhaps a residual of my suburban upbringing? Maybe that should be a focus of mine in the near-term?
As my contract at Microsoft creeps upon it’s end date, these discussions take on an added urgency. Yet answers aren’t easily forthcoming.
Drill-Baby-Drill
Needed to fix a stupid typo. “Drill Baby Brill” indeed! I are a colledge graduit?
Food
I’ve been exploring MyNetDiary.com’s offerings. Particularly their iPhone app. Though not surprised by the number of calories I consume, I am stunned by the amount of fat and just blown away by the amount of sodium. Eating fewer calories won’t be the real challenge. Getting my sodium intake to a healthy level, though, will require wholesale lifestyle rework.
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
News and Humanity
Reading headlines like this chills me, compelling me to stop and read: “Girl, 7, airlifted to hospital after accidental hanging”. I connect solidly: my child is 7. With all the random injuries I sustained as a child, seems rather amazing at times that I avoided becoming such a statistic. While my thoughts and prayers are with this family as they navigate this horror, my attention wanders.
As often happens with stories such as this, there is a burst of information, of “story”, which then vanishes from the public eye forever. It is likely there will be no resolution. In this age of data, and the near limitless ability to present information, would there be value in news orgs following up, finding the end of this story? With our ability to tag and link coalescing this thread into one story would be easy. That, to me, is a key power in this new medium.
Of course, I tend to play both sides and, thus, wonder if there is value of just having the burst and then letting this alone; allowing people to exist in the mystery? Would the follow up I propose invade? Do I, as an observer, really have any rights towards resolution? Certainly the family’s needs are paramount. Is there, in the end, a clear answer? I, being me, find my answer “no”. Yet I will respect your different finding. Humanity is quite complex, is it not?
Prayer of St. Francis
A prayer attributed to one of my favorite spiritual guides.
The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.”
iPad and other glories
Perhaps I’m the only Macfan that’s not gaga over the iPad. It’s an interesting idea, but I’m just not sold on the concept. For what it offers, I think it would be valuable (to me) at a much lower price-point. Say, < $100. Then I could conceive. Heck, if it were $200 I would be sorely, SORELY tempted. But not $500. It doesn’t offer me much more than my iPhone. And I almost never use my Sony eReader (if the Mac version of the desktop software actually worked with it, then I might use it more). Anyway, if the iPad had handwriting recognition, or could do more with photo editing…I don’t know.