Not that anybody really reads this but...

I would like to clarify that I in no way think that if you are what I would call a "nerdy" Star Wars fan that there is something wrong with you. I see no problem with liking Star Wars enough to enjoy it as a hobby. I DO see a problem when you convert your whole lifestyle into trying to manipulate the force and role-play your own Star Wars universe on a daily basis.

Today I get to work out of the Lancaster, PA office. This is a good thing because it cuts my commute down about 32 miles each way. The Lancaster office resides in a huge building in the center of the city on the fifth floor. I don't know any of the people that work here, and none of them do anything that is related to what I do in my department. Therefore, I'm kind of working independently here. I don't mind that, because it challenges me to think harder about solutions since I have less help surrounding me. Which brings me to another topic...

...thanks to the inventions of instant messaging and e-mail, work productivity is all more efficient in this type of environment. I can instantly communicate via IM with all of my coworkers on any given day about topics. We can send files to each other via e-mail or through our network. Even if we are 35 miles away. This is something that would have been impossible 20 years ago for most people. I sometimes marvel at how wonderful it is that we have these tools to communicate these days. This kind of thing probably sounded science-fiction when I was a kid. I also can keep great communication with family and friends with e-mail and instant messaging no matter how far away we are. Not that this should ever replace a decent phone call, but it sure is nice to be able to have these options available.

Enjoy your Memorial day weekend everyone. Let's all take a moment this weekend to stop and remember those who gave their lives on the battelfield for our freedom. Its sometimes amazing to think of the amount of courage and bravery people have had for the love of their country and its honor. To all of the soldiers who did this....Thank you.

"Star Weird"

With the opening day of the final prequal to the original Start Wars trilogy upon us, I figured that it would be necessary to comment on some glaring details of what happens when a movie like this is released. But first, let's comment on what I feel is a healthy star wars fan, a nerdy one, and an unhealthy one.

Common Characteristics of a Healthy Star Wars Fan:

1. Grew up playing with Star Wars action figures and watching the original trilogy.
2. Possibly keeps old Star Wars toys in attic for nostalgia.
3. Has seen all the latest movies, and understands the story line and theme.
4. Still enjoys watching Star Wars.
5. Probably lives on their own, has a girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, and a decent job.

Common Characteristics of a Nerdy Star Wars Fan:

1. Grew up playing with Star Wars action figures and watching the original trilogy.
2. Knows the names of all of the star wars characters, and detailed biographical information on most of them.
3. Collects Star Wars action figures as an ongoing hobby.
4. Has read every book every related to Star Wars and knows details beyond the scope of the movie themes.
5. May or may not live on their own and may or may not have a girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, and a decent job.

Common Characteristics of an Unhealthy Star Wars Fan:

1. Grew up playing with Star Wars action figures and watching the original trilogy.
2. Collects and plays with Star Wars action figures reguarly as an adult.
3. Goes to every opening day showing of a Star Wars movie dressed up as a wookie or other Star Wars character.
4. Camps out in a tent in line to get tickets weeks in advance of them going on sale.
5. Has no job, or at least uses paychecks to finance his/her "active star wars" lifestyle
6. Most likely still lives with their parents with no girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife out of a room that still has original Star Wars posters adorning the walls.
7. Actively pursues the "Force" and believes that they possess this power.
8. Has legally changed their name to that of a Star Wars character.


So as you can see, these are how I classify the Star Wars fans of our day. What gets me is how the Media loves to highlight the "unhealthy" among us and create a common image of a Star Wars fan as someone with no life or no grip on reality. I can definitely vouch for those of us who are NOT crazy lunatics. I like Star Wars, but I don't think I'll be dressing up as a Wookie any time soon.

Weekend Warriors

This past weekend turned out to be very productive for us. We decided to organize our very unorganized basement an relocate the items to our also disorganized shed. After organizing both basement and shed, we ended up with more space in both. Our shed has tons of space for more stuff, and our basement is working its way towards being temporarily inhabitable. Our goal is to get the basement to be usable space for a future family room. This will add loads of space for our little place.

We also finally got around to putting away the winter clothes and re-discovering that we have summer clothes. Of course, it also leads to revelations in weight gain over the winter, which I hate to say seems to happen to me every year. Since changing professions from teacher to computer programming I've gained probably somewhere between 15 to 20 lbs. I guess if my next profession were sumo wrestling, I'd be heading in the right direction, but that's not the plan.

To update an old thread, the construction patterns on 222 still seem to show no signs of improvement. On any given day, traffic will be backed up for at least half a mile for no aparent reason. I think that it might have a lot to do with how bad Pennsylvania drivers merge. I even had a guy try to force me off of the road because he didn't want me to merge into his lane. I don't get it. When the signs say, "use both lanes to merge point" and "take turns merging into single lane", you'd think people would honor that. In any event, I found it irritating to need an hour and forty-five minutes to get from work to home thanks to a tractor trailer with a flat tire blocking the oncoming lane in a two-lane construction zone. The only thing that keeps my sanity through all of this is knowing that it will eventually get better as the new roads are finished.

Finally, an article that defends us.

Here's an article that I found that addresses the complaints of united states performance in the programming and engineering industry against other nations. Tons of article come out talking about how our educational institutions are failing us in math and science, and how we will lose our jobs because of the lack of competitiveness that we have against other countries in the industry. This article defends against that statement. Pretty interesting perspective.

Another Geek-like Entry

This article was really interesting to read. A lot of the news out about the new forthcoming Windows O/S has been on features. This one takes on that topic, as well as a few more broader aspects of how Microsoft affects the technology industry. I just thought that it was interesting to read on how many factors are directly related to this coming release.

PenDOT woes

I drive 35 miles one way to work. Sure it sounds like a long trip, but its not too bad. Its pretty much 95% highway travel, which makes it seem quick. However I have some issues with my route. Route 222 goes north and south between Lancaster and Reading. Right now there is existing construction on that route in Reading where they are building a new highway to support more lanes back and forth. Each time I travel out there, for about 10 miles there is construction which brings traffice down to one lane going each way. It slows things down, but what is encouraging is how much you can see getting done. There are tons of workers and a lot of highway and bridges being built. BUT. There is also construction that just began at the beginning of 222 on my route. This construction makes no sense. They've been cutting giant square slabs out of the road and are doing this for about 7 miles of road. Why? I have no clue. All that I know is that when I go to work at 7am each morning I never see anybody working. And when I come home from work I still don't see anybody working. What's the deal!!!! I mean, they leave all of their equipment and vehicles on the side of the road, they block off a whole lane which slows down all of the traffic, but the workers just don't show up? Maybe they are all up at the Reading end working? All I know is that thanks to this new construction where nobody works, my commute just grew by 15 minutes. Stupid PenDOT.