Welcome to the thoughts and photos of FLYDDW. Texas, New Jersey, and Arizona living.

Education is learning what you
didn't even know you didn't know.

-Daniel J. Boorstin


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Ain't THAT the true. Found that out very soon after entering college.

1. You can ONLY answer Yes or No!
2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and Asks!
(Whatever)

Now, here's what you're supposed to do... And please do not spoil the Fun. Copy and paste this into your notes , delete my answers, type in your answers and tag as many of your friends as you'd like to. Then see what happens.
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Kissed any one of your Facebook friends?  nope

Been arrested? nope

Kissed someone you didn't like? yeah

Slept in until 5 PM? nope

Fallen asleep at work/school? HELL YEAH

Held a snake? Yeah and shot a snake (bb gun)

Ran a red light? Yeah

Been suspended from school? Nope - I knew all the teachers

Totaled your car/motorbike in an accident?  Yeah - one car and one motorcycle

Been fired from a job? yeah, but it was a stupid job anyway.

Sang karaoke? nope

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?  I am sure I have

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose?  not lately

Caught a snowflake on your tongue?  yeah

Kissed in the rain? Like in "Love Jones"?  touched with hands but not lips

Sang in the shower? yeah - but only the instrumental

Sat on a rooftop? yeah

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes?  nope

Broken a bone? kinda, my elbow during said motorcycle accident above

Shaved your head? yeah - right now (not really shaved, but very close cut)

Blacked out from drinking? nope - not even a buzz

Played a prank on someone? oh, yeah!

Felt like killing someone? just not worth it

Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? yeah

Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? uh, nope

Been in a band? uh, nope

Shot a gun? many a times

Donated Blood? only when I got a cut

Eaten alligator meat? mmmm!  yummy!

Eaten cheesecake? yeah - all kinds

Still love someone you shouldn't? nope - once gone, gone

Think about the future? yeah - all the time

Believe in love? not anymore more

Sleep on a certain side of the bed? mostly

Talk in your sleep? yeah

Laughed until you peed your pants? nope - bladder of steel

Spend too much time on Facebook? nope - just. don't. have. time,

Play/Played a musical instrument? yeah - electronic keyboards

Lived outside of the country? 2 weeks count?

Been skinny dipping? nope

Gone sky diving? nope - not scared, but just think it wouldn't be fun - like eating lima beans

Dated someone longer than you should have? HELL YEAH - don't bring it up

Pierced a body part? nope - got ALL original equipment

wonder if this it me - looks good.

These are all good tips.  I find that I am spending a LOT of time with my kids - and no time to do some of the others.

 

Derek

 

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5 Things To Do If You Lose Your IT Job
How some IT pros have learned to stop worrying and love the time off -- or at least make it meaningful.

By Alice LaPlante
InformationWeek
March 21, 2009 07:00 AM
 

As the financial crisis plays itself out across global markets, pink slips are flowing like Mountain Dew at a WOW tournament. And while it's only natural to feel apprehension about IT job security, some are discovering opportunity in the wake of unemployment.

When Robert Fleming was laid off from his job as an IT administrator for an Ottawa software firm two months ago, he went through a period of three weeks doing nothing but trying to cope emotionally tot his situation. Then he followed the time-honored advice of experts. "I made looking for a job my job," he said. Even so, he found he had plenty of time left over to spend with friends and family.

 

Good thing, too. In the end, he got his current job -- working the help desk at a government agency -- from his mother's hairdresser's son. "I was visiting my mother, and she came home from the salon and said, 'I think I have something for you,'" he said. "It's six degrees of separation out there, and your opportunities can come from unlikely places."

 

Laid off. Downsized. Words that are heard often these days. That you would devote a significant amount of your time to finding another job -- as Fleming did -- is a given. But even the most aggressive job hunt won't take all your waking hours. There are only so many jobs ads to answer on Monster.com and Craigslist. Only so many recruiters who will take your calls. So to ward off what Fleming calls "the utter crazies," most unemployed IT workers are finding other outlets for their physical, intellectual, and emotional energy.

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1. Get Smart: Learn New Skills

 

David Christiansen wasn't technically laid off, but the writing was on the wall. Christiansen, who writes the TechDarkIT.com blog -- which he calls a "corporate IT survival guide," had an IT position at a Portland, Oregon company that was struggling.

 

Budgets were being cut, projects canceled, and little by little his department was getting chiseled away. For reasons he still can't figure out, he was allowed to stay. But there was -- literally -- nothing to do.

Having had a deep-seated ambition to work for a startup, he decided to learn more leading-edge technologies. "I'd literally show up in the morning with a book and study all day," he said. Among other things, he taught himself Ruby on Rails, which helped him land his current job as senior software developer at the Collaborative Software Initiative, in Portland. "There are so many opportunities to pick up new skills -- classes, books, Websites -- no one has any excuse for not refreshing their capabilities," he said.

 

In fact, he wrote "Slacking Off During a Recession" for his blog, in which he recommended that IT workers take a little time during their current workday to learn new skills that will actively advance their ability to survive should there be a layoff.

Marketing guru and author Seth Godin also recommends slacking. "Become an expert. For free, using nothing but time, you can become a master of CSS or HTML or learn Python," he recently wrote on his blog.

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2. Jumpstart A New Venture

 

Hyatt. Burger King. FedEx (NYSE: FDX). And, of course, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). What do these companies have in common? They were all started during recessions. Which illustrates the point that for Type A people, there's probably just one way to fill up those days: Keep working. Although there's less seed money, and venture capitalists are being tight with the purse strings, opportunities with Web 2.0 technologies, new handheld devices, and other innovations are bountiful.

 

The tools you'll need to build your empire are plentiful, and many of them are FREE. Investing time and earning sweat equity could be the path to your next job -- or even independence.

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3. Get In Shape

 

Long hours behind a desk can lead to flab, fatigue, and mounting stress. The best remedy is physical activity, but who's got the time when deadlines loom and the Blackberry never stops blinking?

 

After being laid off from his long-time job at Liz Claiborne, Tom Reeve -- who had been a senior IT manager in charge of planning and implementing new technologies and business processes -- decided to put an emphasis on his health. I'm in the habit now, if I don't go to the gym every day, that I really feel it," Reeve said. "I've focused on changing my lifestyle, so hopefully when I go back into the workforce I will have gotten into a much healthier daily routine."

 

Although he's also spending more time with family, his sons are well into the teenage years, "and progressively want less of my time," he said. Still, they've taken small family trips, and engaged in activities of mutual interest, like history.

 

Reeve is looking for an executive-level IT position, and, "fortunately for me, I can still wait it out a little bit more. So I've enjoyed the stress-free time." Reeve said he looks younger, feels younger, "more like 35 than 49," as well as rejuvenated. "I'm ready to go back to work when I find the right situation," he said.

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4. Spend More Time With Friends, Family

 

Mike Boyarski has a much more relaxed attitude toward his now-free days. He received a generous pension when downsized from his job as director of partner relationships for a large Silicon Valley company. He's taking his time looking for work. "I'm not going to jump at the first thing that comes my way," he said. "I have the time to wait for the right opportunity." In the meantime, he has lots to keep him busy: two small children, aged two years, and four months, respectively.

 

"I'm spending a lot of time hanging out with them, going to the park, really enjoying myself," he said. Because he and his wife have always been conservative with money, they were prepared for such an eventuality. Boyarski estimates he has six to nine months he can spend in this fashion "before worrying."

=====
5. Volunteer To Help Others

 

Phil Freeman was a QA manager at NetApp when reorganization forced him out in early February. He's currently doing all the right things to dig up opportunities. Networking. Answering ads. Talking to recruiters. But to fill what would otherwise be empty days, he's also doing a lot of volunteering.

 

He goes down to the senior center at the City of Sunnyvale, in California, where he lives, and helps organize and supervise activities, serve meals, and otherwise do what he can to help. "It's energizing," he said. "Helping other people is the best way to keep your mind off your own problems."

 

It's also a good way to put your new skills into practice. If you're learning a new programming language, or honing your MySQL abilities, taking on a project that forces you to apply what you're learning in a real world way might look good on your updated resume. It will almost certainly feel good to have acquired new knowledge, and to have helped someone else in the process.

THE "MAN" RULES

 

We always hear 'the rules' From the female side ...Now here are the rules from the male side.

 

These are our rules!

 

Please note: These are all numbered '1' ON PURPOSE!

 

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:

-- Subtle hints do not work!

-- Strong hints do not work!

-- Obvious hints do not work!

-- Just say it!

1. "Yes" and "No" are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. "Peach", for example, is a fruit, not a color. "Pumpkin" is also a fruit. We have no idea what "Mauve" is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched...We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say 'nothing,' we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely "anything" you wear is fine. Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball or motor sports.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.