Checking Luggage: Adventures in Time Bending 9178

jShort said:
I can't even begin. So much comes to mind.

I find it funny that my wife is outnumbered by males 3-1 in my house. She grew up in a house hold with no males....just her mom and 2 sisters.

or wipes a huge booger on the couch.
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In our house, Stef is out numbered 4 to 1 and she grew up with two sisters.. Strange how that works out...

On the topic of boogers (This could be a forum thread all on its own) - We definitely have our share of booger stories.. So much so, we've made up stupid sayings when we catch someone knuckle deep - "Digging for Gold?" is my go to... I also like to sing the "Everyone is doing it, doing it, pick'n their nose and chew'n it!" song...

Anyway...

A couple weeks ago we're at my son's class play aka community social event (The same people as little league, PTA, community fairs, sports events, parties - ALL THE SAME PEOPLE).. So we find some seats and our neighbors hang with us and we managed to obtain a couple more kids in the process who wanted to sit with us and hang. So - this one kid, AJ's best friend is sitting next to me and he's making all kinds of eff'd up sinus and throat noises.. I look over and this kid is wrist deep scraping boogers off his brain - I mean - he was going for it, HARDCORE!. In usual fashion, I ask him if he was digging for gold.. He looked at me, finger still up there and after a couple seconds of pondering, smiles and nods - Yes!. I chuckle and go back to surfing facebook.. A couple minutes later I'm distracted by him and his phlemy habits and this time I ask him what he intended on doing with it when he finally gets it - He looks at me at says - "I'm going to wipe it on the seat!".

So my wife is like 10 people to the left of me and between us are all these kids - I txt her to check this kid out... She looks, smiles and txts me "Yeah, Kelly (his mom) said he's on all kinds of allergy medicine. I immediately thought, maybe this kid has all these sinus problems because his germy little hands are always up there - Just say'n.

I love kids - good clean innocent comedy.
 
Norm said:
So on the kid & germs thing, a story.

One time when Julia is maybe 3 I take her to D&D in Summit to get a doughnut. I make the executive decision to allow her a pink doughnut and a chocolate milk. As you may or may not know, Julia was prone to vomiting as a kid. FORESHADOWING. I wonder where this is going.

So as we are leaving, for whatever reason, she starts to hurl. At this point, I am used to this so it does not bother me. But to the passers by it must have been a sight to see. We are standing on the street next to the garbage can. She is tossing up what seems like gallons of pink & brown vomit into my hands. I am kneeling in front of her with my hands cupped, as if I am a beggar asking for alms. She is giving me alms in the form of vomit, buckets of gooey vomit. When my hands fill up, I toss the blob into the trash and start to collect more vomit-alms. We do this probably 4-5 times before she is mostly tapped out.

A parent who has probably been there laughs as he brings be napkins. I wipe my hands off, then we go home as if nothing ever happened.
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that's the DNA shield we all have pre-programmed
but the programming can change

During the summers, used to work at the Matheny School/Hospital as a care assistant. Everyday, I'd feed, clean and bathe the kids/young adults, most wore diapers and were wheel chair bound so clean up was less than fun, the experience with them was great and being helpful was rewarding enough that I stayed for 3 summers

nowadays, besides my family's poop, urine, vomit or hair, I'm kinda freaked out to see a foreign strand of hair on my pants leg or a left behind turd/stain in the bowl at work.

the catching puke thing is actually a great psychological gesture on your part, your daughter was likely frightened and as gross as it may seem to on-lookers, I'm sure it comforted her
 
Ah, the good old days of catching puke in your hands. My 17 and 19 year old daughters don't remember this stuff, but when I tell them that some day they will do this for their children, they are grossed out and absolutely swear they will never do that. In some ways, I really look forward to some day being a grandparent.
 
The Heckler said:
Does anyone else struggle to silent their laughing when people rip big farts in public bathrooms?

Poop is funny.
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A part of me always wants to say something reassuring like, "Nice one! No need to be embarrassed. Let 'er rip!" I feel I could make someone elses poop more enjoyable that way, but would probably end up embarrassing them more.
 
The Heckler said:
Does anyone else struggle to silent their laughing when people rip big farts in public bathrooms?

Poop is funny.
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I find it weird when you are in the restroom at work or with co-workers and they rip them like its their job, then they ask you a work-related question. At least the bathrooms are not co-ed at work.
 
Puke and poop stories. I guess you'll get that in a thread that somewhat has to do with babies. Good stuff. I'm not a good story teller, I'm too long winded. The greatest story I've ever told involved having to go and there being no place to do it. I'll spare the details, but my friends still remind me about how awesome the story was. I could never tell it again because it only worked the one time when all the details were still vivid and fresh. It was easy, I wasn't just telling a story, I was reliving a nightmare.

jackx said:
I find it weird when you are in the restroom at work or with co-workers and they rip them like its their job, then they ask you a work-related question. At least the bathrooms are not co-ed at work.
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I think this is one of those things that you aren't prepped for when you come out of college with an idea of what working in a corporate office is and when you get there you quickly realize all those expectations can really just get thrown out. Even executives are human. You just learn to roll with it.

I had a real life Office Space moment at work yesterday. We have consultants in doing this:
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Maybe I'll have more time to do things after all. We'll see, this is another one of those things you just have to roll with. I'm a big believer in job security lies in one's employability. If you can create value, stay relevant, maintain some visibility and build good networks I tend to think you'll have opportunities. Its also important not to be naïve, I'm sure I'll get fired/laid off at some point, just hopefully not soon :cool: I also tend to push the envelope a bit compared to some of my peers, its worked for me so far but I'm sure at some point I'll ruffle the wrong person's feathers.

Still have a phlegmy cough. I want to get out an ride or run but I'll give it another day or two. Last time I pushed through a cold I ended up with bronchitis. Man it feels old to say something like that. @pearl is talking about allergies, I used to get hammered but the past two-ish years I've been much better. The spring air finally does feel like its upon us, Ugg season is over ladies.
 
ChrisRU said:
I also tend to push the envelope a bit compared to some of my peers, its worked for me so far but I'm sure at some point I'll ruffle the wrong person's feathers.
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You will, but you'll be fine. There are plenty of jobs out there where they want real people and want them to be themselves and to be happy. The corporate stiff suit BS culture is fading away. It still exists but it's fading.

I had an interview a month or so back and when I asked the guy about his setup he said, "I live in Indiana. I've never left my house. Not sure where the company is. Maryland maybe? Virginia? I don't know."
 
Too hard hitting of a subject to comment on? Coincidental that the career change thread popped up on the same day? Some good dialogue happening over there. But I'm still here. The keys to the kingdom, or rather my small box in the corner, still work.

My pre-ordered copy of Interstellar on Blu-ray showed up Tuesday night. I'll probably be watching it tonight. I saw it in IMAX when it came out. I know it got mixed reviews but I really liked it. Admittedly I'm a fan of most of Nolan's movies. Beyond that, I'm a Audio/Video geek. The cinematography and scores in his last couple of movies have been absolutely fantastic. Great demo material for anyone with a home theater. I know my opportunities to escape and just enjoy a good movie or book are going to be more limited, so I've got to grab them while I can.

Looking like tomorrow might be soggy, maybe there is some hope for Sunday. I'd like to get some rides in this weekend, but no definitive plans. Enjoy your holiday weekend, good luck to those of you doing the HoH.

Its Friday!
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You have a free day tomorrow, why not join us at Allaire?

As for work I'm not sure you know what you want to be when you grow up yet. Other than not work at a job that sucks and make real cash money. It's hard to really know what's out there until you've been out there. I'm 98% confident that I could teach you what I do in a month and you could do well at this. I feel like you're one of those guys that picks stuff up and can do a lot of things. So try shit out and see what happens. If I ever start my own company I'll make sure I save a seat for you. Your first job will be to automate the punch-clock to make sure that laxy F @UtahJoe isn't late every day.

Question of the day: Is high-end audio/video taking it in the junk because of smart phones? My audio setup in high school was light years better than it is now, which many days is me leaving my iPhone on the counter playing Spotify.
 
@Norm, thanks for the props. I know I don't know yet. I have some short run career goals. I'm pretty tied down until I finish school, but in a few years I'd like to explore my options. At times I wish I didn't let my computer skills die off. The background still helps, but outside of general comfort with systems, technical stuff, and some excel wizardry I've lost any specific skills I had.

QOTD: The smart phone culture has certainly had an impact. High-end AV has always been niche, so I'd imagine the demand for the really high end stuff stays relatively stable. The lower to mid level camera market is taking a hit, no one really needs a point and shoot anymore. The flatscreen TV market is struggling. Everyone needed to replace their screens in the conversion to HD, but now everyone has one. There is no new tech mandate and the prices on TVs have bottomed out and killed margins. The industry keeps pushing new tech like 3D and UHD/4K but it isn't really catching on.

I think where the big difference comes in is consumer tastes have shifted because there are so many different ways to consume media now. Back in the day you either had a clock radio, a boombox, or a sweet stereo. Now you can listen to music from your bluetooth refrigerator. It seems people are happy with ok quality stuff and there isn't much of a demand for what I'll call regular consumer high end. People skip surround sound and are happy with a sound bar, if they go beyond the tin can flat screen speakers at all. Plasma TV's are another example. They were better then any LCD/LED tech available over the past ~5 years, and they sold at lower price points. They are dead now for a number of reasons, but a big one is that consumers went for the bells and whistles marketed on LCDs and skipped the better quality displays available from plasmas. Smart phones/tablets have also put streaming on the forefront. Physical media might be one of the next technologies to die off.

I might be able to swing the Allaire ride, I'll think on it.
 
On the job security topic- I faced this last spring.
The writing was on the wall for the institution, my department and definitely some colleagues.
When the rumblings started to get official, I had a talk with my boss to let him know I was going to start looking.
He assured me I should not be concerned, but I told him it was time for me to go.

There was also the fact that I was being evaluated on metrics that didn't really apply to my role, and that I didn't have full control over.
The pressure from those alone for so long was enough, add to that the morale hit the place was taking, it was time to move on.

I landed a new gig over the summer, and it has ended up working out really well.
Everything I liked about the old job, stronger institution, better package and evaluation criteria that is appropriate for my role.
I'd like to take full credit for making an awesome career move, I did all the right things during the search,
had a solid resume and skill set (employability), but there's also a degree of luck involved too.
I mean this job had to be there when I was ready.

Anyway, I think my point was job security- you don't have full control over it,
but the part you do have control over (performance, skill set) is also what will serve you in the event the Bobs decide you should be laid off.
 
So, were plasmas the betamax to LCDs VHS?
 
Betamax was before my time. Was Betamax marketed as a premium product to VHS and sold at a higher price point? Sony has a history of that. If so not really apples to apples to Plasma's death. Who else had a mini disc player? Major points if you owned a laserdisc player at some point.

I've been wearing a few extra hats lately, so I still haven't picked up a regular riding routine. I'll get there. The weekend was busy with a bridal shower Saturday and a big family gathering for Easter. The bride is my cousin and my wife is in the bridal party so the shower was an all day event setting up before hand then after partying.

Reading the career change thread, it turns out I'm the guy on the other end working with guys like @Norm and @soundz when he was in his old role. We outsource a lot of administration and fulfillment activity, which means lots of vendors and implementations. @fidodie, what the hell required a terabyte of storage in the 80's? Didn't the entire internet fit on a 5.25" floppy?

You may have caught the granite countertop thread I fired up awhile back. After a few estimates we're moving forward. Turns out its a major pain in the ass to coordinate the work like removing the countertops and plumbing, since the counter guys don't do it. I was hoping to just sit on the couch for this, but I'll have to get the hands a little dirty. I got the call from the wife yesterday afternoon that she made an appointment for the template guys to show up today at 10am o_O So the counters had to come off last night. First time I've pulled counters, it wasn't too bad once I found all the hidden screws from the hackjob of an install.
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If plasmas had been available with a screen that didn't glare/reflect so much in a moderately lit room, I'd have bought one for sure.

Those countertops are giving me flashbacks. You doing a backsplash or just the 4-in jobber in granite?
 
ChrisRU said:
Betamax.....mini disc player.... laserdisc
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Have had every one of those things. Flipping the laserdisc halfway through the movie was such buzzkill but the picture and sound was so good compared to tape. Mini-disc was amazing back in the day for so many reasons...analog to digital recording (and re-recording!) without needing a DAT, portable, no skipping. My Sony mini-disc player still works. Sony always made the longest lasting stuff. A mind blowing swath of creative destruction carnage left in the wake of mpeg compression, cheap storage and the internet.
 
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