Author: Carl Setzer

A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.

Learning

Carl Setzer

One thing I let slip over the past few years is learning. I was studying, mostly with a future focus. However, I grudgingly did so, and it was somewhat painful. I need to actively learn from this point on. For instance, I used Excel quite extensively in my last few roles. However, there were several tools built in that could have made my work easier and more effective if I had taken the time to continue exploring. I generally only explored Excel when I needed to come up with something new. That generally only gave me the most basic of results. Now I will budget time for in-depth study and learning. Proactivity must be my new mantra.

Via BlackBerry

Twitter

Carl Setzer

Another of my chums has abandoned Twitter. For him, the problem boils down to communication. The platform blasts out 140 character tidbits, a pretty small droplet of information. Twitter’s strength is for the mobile, sending these small info drops from moment to moment, wherever you are. Such things are the FreeRoxana campaigns utilize this amazingly well. For many of us, though, perhaps most of us, Facebook is better. It’s easier to control who sees what, you can post more information, and for many of the key platforms, there are robust mobile applications. Twitter is still a valuable tool, but it looks like it is starting to shake out, as far as who it is valuable to.

Swine Flu, Media, “Us”

Carl Setzer

Lately, much has been pontificated online about media hyperbole surrounding the Swine Flu. I offer something of an apologia for the current state of affairs here. Mainly, the issue stems from “the public’s” inability to pay attention to anything without an immense headline. Well, unless it has to do with a celebrity’s underwear habits, but I digress. My frustration for this element of society goes deep.

Television news focuses on the shallow, sound-bite, executive summary. Brief, quick, gone. It amazes me, to this day, that so many people use this as their primary information source. So quick, vacant and empty, full of alarmist notions and language. You see this, however, within print as well. Particularly, headlines. Most of them are barely connected with a story’s content. And many people don’t read a story past the headline.

Long ago, I gave up on this as a source of information. NPR took on a piece of it, as I have often had some commute time. My preferred source, for the longest time, was print. In my heyday I would read the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Seattle Times daily. Now, with the web, my information comes from a variety of sources. Ironically, the above are still part of my routine, just intermixed with others.

With this, I think the growth of the internet has been grand. It’s best to head to, say, the CDC for information versus Faux, er, Fox news. Plus, the ability to comment on stories, whether on your own blog or in the comments section, helps ensure balance. Yet, I wonder, if perhaps the abundance of information makes the natural inclination worse.

Government tries to navigate this fine line. Get information out, accurate and action oriented. However, people don’t tend to pay attention unless there’s doom in the language. Add to that, though, that people have a sort attention span. If the doom/gloom fails to materialize quickly, the mind will turn to vapor. Play the alarmist card with caution!

As internet access to continues to grow, and understanding of its use grows as well, I hope to see a decrease in these alarmist events. That we become better consumers of information, and better able to focus our efforts effectively.

UPDATE: My local paper, The Everett Herald has a decent piece on this.

A Earbud Decluttering Tool

Carl Setzer2 Comments

The folks over at Lifehaker found this clever little item to help control those constantly tangling earbuds. If you have a laser cutter laying around, you can download the plans and build one yourself. These tips might be more useful to the rest of us.

A Philipine Journey

Carl Setzer

My e-chum, Veronica, recently returned from a trip to the Phllippines. This picture is part of her trip, and just made me howl.

Clipmarks – WHO Swine Flu FAQ

Carl Setzer
clipped from www.who.int

Swine influenza, or “swine flu”, is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of pigs, caused by one of several swine influenza A viruses. Morbidity tends to be high and mortality low (1-4%). The virus is spread among pigs by aerosols, direct and indirect contact, and asymptomatic carrier pigs. Outbreaks in pigs occur year round, with an increased incidence in the fall and winter in temperate zones. Many countries routinely vaccinate swine populations against swine influenza.

How can I protect myself from getting swine influenza from infected people?

To protect yourself, practice general preventive measures for influenza:

  • Avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and who have fever and cough.
  • Wash your hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly.
  • Practice good health habits including adequate sleep, eating nutritious food, and keeping physically active.

    • What is swine influenza?

      blog it

    Photos

    Carl Setzer

    After I left my magnanimous former employer, I was out access to Photoshop. Now, I suppose I could manage with the Vista built-in tool, or Picasa. But I’m not one to do things the easy way. I chose to mess with Gimp, the illustrious open source image editing tool. More specifically, especially since I have a PhotoShop background, I went with Gimpshop, which gives me a Photoshop-esque experience. Better, I suppose, than downloading CS3 from bit torrent or something. Though I’m not a power user, I find the thing quite nice. Some day, I hope that I’ll be able to turn the most grotesque face into a supermodel. We all have our dreams, eh?

    Jobs, Searching and Other Delights

    Carl Setzer

    I had a lovely interview this afternoon and feel good about how it went. However, this is balanced with the knowledge that many others have also been interviewed. Though it is for a position that I would be excited to get, I’m not all angsty. I’m just not too worried about the whole unemployed thing right now. However, that’s due to luck, and some skill (I guess). Savings will hold out for a bit yet, and my wife works…and it’s quite unlikely she’ll loose her job (she teaches junior high special ed…I shudder at the thought). Our worst case scenario is a radical lifestyle shift. Perhaps losing one of the cars (and it’s payment), and dropping such things as cable (the horror!). And I’m not so hell-bent on working. Work, for me, is more about contributing and making an impact. That, truly, is a luxury.

    Reminds me of my grandfather. He was “retired” (acted upon him, not of his choice) when I was about 12. His life was wrapped up in his job. He was in the same role for 30+ years, and was devastated when it ended. I learned, way back then, that I would never fully roll my identity into my job/career.

    However, there is something that’s giving me chills right now: the Swine Flu outbreak. Job loss sucks; bankruptcy sucks, too. But neither one of them will kill you, or worse, someone you love. Fortunately, here in the States, that’s less of a worry since we have some of the best medical care on the globe. Still, the severity of this helps keep all the other problems in perspective.