AstroNerdBoy's Ramblings

V 2009 -- Through Four Episodes

2009-11-25T13:47:00.008-07:00

As I have mentioned before, I never saw the original V mini-series or TV series beyond a few episodes. As such, I have no ties to the original series and am approaching these first four episodes basically as a newbie to the franchise.

While V is clearly a science fiction series, the sci-fi elements aren't as prominent as a series like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5, or even the recent reimaged classic Battlestar Galactica. Obviously, this is partially due to the fact that the series is based on modern day Earth, but the production team has made it so that even when we are shown the Visitor's ships from the inside, they don't feel ultra sci-fi. There's enough of an advanced technology aspect with the holographic displays to remind the audience of the sci-fi element, but it isn't so in the face of the audience as to put off those who might not really be into science fiction.

Well, I say that but what explains the massive drop in ratings for the series? That's something I can't explain. I can only say what I like.

I've heard some complaints about the series being too dull. I haven't experienced that. I have not found the series to be boring either as the hour seems to just fly by despite the commercial breaks.

For me, I like the idea of how the Visitors are keen on invading Earth through non-military means. Part of that is by using the press to their advantage. This is something we've seen for years when it comes to our own governments in the U.S. For example, President Bush and his policies were not liked much by the press nor Big Entertainment. As such, any good news is played down and anything to suggest something negative or a scandal is played up. Comedians and political pundits often spoke of how dumb President Bush was, even though his grades at Harvard were higher than Senator Kerry's, the latter who is seen as an intellectual giant.

Transversely, President Obama and his policies are liked by the main stream press, the comedians, Big Entertainment, and many of the political pundits. As such, despite the fact that President Obama has great difficulty speaking without a teleprompter and that he has said things that would have had President Bush ridiculed to scorn, President Obama is given a pass. Anyone raising questions about his policies are discredited. After all, when comparing the two presidents, the template for President Bush was that he's an evil neo-con who hates poor people and wants to rob from them to give to the rich. The template for President Obama is that he cares for the downtrodden and wants to set to atone for the sins of the past by taking from the haves and giving to the have-nots (and ignoring that the disadvantaged only get pennies on every dollar taken from those who have).

Thus we have the Visitor strategy. After infiltrating the planet years ago to help pave the way for the first Visitor ships to arrive (the Visitors are a very patient race and apparently use incrementalism to slowly pave the way for their ultimate goal so that by the time that goal is revealed, it is too late to do anything about it), the Visitors now get the media on their side. Now, the Visitor message can get out without being questioned. After all, the public message is that the Visitors only want the best for humans. However, we the audience know that in reality, the Visitors have much more sinister goals.

With only four episodes, what those goals are remains a mystery to me. Clearly, the Visitors are invading Earth and attempting to do so without open warfare (which will cost them lots of lives and may damage whatever it is about Earth that they are keen to obtain). The best way to take over is to do so through political means under the guise of wanting to help the people. As I said, this method keeps the people's eyes closed until it is too late. Considering the huge armada waiting to come to Earth, the Visitors will need the keep the people passive until the very end.

As to characters, I like the cast pretty much. I do find the single mom (Erica Evans) raising a rebellious son to be "meh." When I think about it, I suppose this may be what folks are keying in on as being formulaic because I think this type of character is cliched a bit. Erica is a tough FBI babe but she can't get her own son to obey and she's too keen on being his friend rather than his mother (as I see it at least). Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the Erica character but as I think of it, the character is not really anything special.

The Catholic priest Father Jack Landry is a character I don't dislike either, but he too is a bit "meh." I say this because he doesn't seem like a man nor a leader of a congregation. Instead, he seems like a metrosexual type character who happens to be a priest and can't do anything. It makes the idea that he was in the army seem weak and his clocking a Visitor in episode four really hasn't changed my opinion of the character being wishy-washy. I do hope that in future episodes, the religious aspects of aliens on Earth can be further explored, though considering how that element has already been dropped, I'm not hopeful.

On the other hand, the Visitor rebel Ryan Nichols is probably my favorite character of the heroes. He's tough but kind, smart but willing to take the risks, and I hope we learn more about him and why he rebelled in the first place. Strangely though, I can't find much to say about him though I do wonder how he impregnated a human. Also, since the Visitors were the ones to reveal to his girlfriend that she is pregnant, it seems to me that they have to know she is carrying a hybrid child.

Chad Decker as the ambitious journalist doesn't do much for me. The writers have attempted to show him as someone who might sell his soul for a scoop and big ratings, but also have tried to show him as having a conscience. To me, the two don't mix much. I believe most journalist have their core beliefs and that while they may claim to be objective, the fact that they won't challenge a public figure they agree with but will dog one they disagree with shows their bias. Chad Decker doesn't come off like a main stream journalist and I think he should. He could have a change of mind over time or despite being shown more and more of the Visitor agenda, decides that "this is fine with me as long as I continue to get what I want."

The supporting character Georgie is another character the writers haven't done justice too. In the fourth episode, Georgie basically decides that he needs to skin a Visitor to reveal them to the public. Considering how Georgie had lost his entire family to the Visitors and had seen his efforts at rebellion crushed before, why hadn't he attempted to skin a Visitor before? That's what I kept thinking when Georgie made it clear what he wanted to do and it came again to my mind when Georgie shot the Visitor professor that they wanted to interrogate. I guess it seemed to me that if Georgie was going to in essence lose it, he would have done so earlier.

Still, I'd like to learn more about this character.

I do like the character of Anna. The face of evil wearing a pleasing appearance as an angel of light works perfectly for me.

Despite some issues with some of the characters, I really have enjoyed the first four episodes of V. I'm not sure why the ratings have dropped so sharply (I'm curious to see the ratings for the fourth episode) and I'd love to hear some analysis on the subject.

I'm also wondering about ABC's strategy regarding the series. To only play four episodes followed by a lengthy hiatus where the series won't air again until March (assuming ABC doesn't cancel it) makes no real sense to me. I suppose ABC decided to hedge their bets and see how the ratings were for four episodes before deciding to commit to more to be played next spring. However, having that much time off from a series leads to one thing -- out of sight, out of mind. Thus, you have a major cooling off and as people move on to other things, there's a very good chance that many people won't bother to return as they don't have that much invested in the series.

Here's hoping that ABC picks up the series.

V (2009) - 01 "Pilot"

2009-11-05T04:18:00.003-07:00

*SPOILERS!*

Since my teen years were mostly spent without a TV in our home, I only watched a very few episodes of the original V TV series in 1984 (and none of the 1983 mini-series). As such, I have no attachment to that series. I watched the 8-minute preview of this new series online and found myself intrigued, though I found things to be only eye-grabbing and not much more. However, when I begin to read about how these alien visitors were preaching a message of peace, hope, and change while still being the series' villain, I had to watch. I'm glad I did.

The arrival of the V spaceships was so much like the arrival of the aliens from the movie Independence Day that I thought, "the writers better have thrown in a joke reference about that." Fortunately, they did just that and more with the mention that Independence Day took the idea from other places (like the original V). Still, their arrival seen in HD looked fantastic, as did the crash of the fighter jet after it lost all power due to the alien ship. FX-wise, things just really look awesome when it comes to the alien mother ships, shuttles, and the like.

Fortunately, this isn't a show about FX. Like the Battlestar Galactica remake, this new V reimage is about characters and ideals. The Visitors are here to invade Earth plain and simple. However, rather than do like the aliens did in Independence Day (where the aliens began a systematic destruction of Earth's major cities and military installations) or in the original anime Space Battleship Yamato (where the aliens began bombarding Earth with irradiated asteroids in order to terraform it to their needs), the Visitors have decided to take over without firing a single shot by winning over the hearts and minds of the people.

I understand the parallels people have made between the Visitors and the Obama administration. President Obama was seen by many as someone who wants to destroy the U.S. as we know it and rebuild it into something else, being surrounded his whole life by communist fascist who've stated this as their goal. A year after his election, more and more people are starting to see his plans as not good for the country and more like an attempt to take over control over all aspects of life, including speech (such as this blog).

However, President Obama looked young, fresh, and his message was hope and change, which got him elected. Who does not want peace? Who does not want hope? When things are going negatively, who does not want change (assuming of course it is change for the better and not change for the worse)? Who does not want attractive, smart-looking and sounding people taking charge, especially when they offer nothing but compassion for their fellow man? Many people looked to President Obama as a kind of savior in a religious sense. The mainstream press has often given the President passes for all sorts of things that they wouldn't give President Bush a pass on.

Thus the parallels with the Visitors. They come to Earth offering hope, change, and peace for mankind. They offer universal free health care by establishing medical clinics in cities all over the world, curing many diseases. The press fawns over these benevolent and wonderful aliens, who want nothing but good for humanity. For the most part, the people love the Visitors, though a few are protesting.

Thus comes the genius of the Visitor plan. First, infiltrate the population including government, military, and other important positions of power. Next, reveal yourselves to humanity and start offering them free goodies, such as health care and cures for many different diseases. Get the press on your side to control the story and by the time you are ready for the final solution, the population you are about to obliterate won't even see it coming.

I admit this concept is not a new one, but considering Earth's history, it has worked so well in the past for so many. So many of these despots and thug dictators didn't stage a bloody coup and take over. Most were democratically elected, got their people into position, then simply transformed the country into the image they wanted. Look at Nazi Germany. Hitler rose to power not through the gun (as he initially tried and failed), but by election. Once in power, he established all sorts of things for the good of the people including health care (and believe it or not, I've read that Nazi Germany had a very strong anti-smoking sentiment based on stuff Nazi doctors learned well before the rest of the world hooked into the anti-smoking bandwagon). After he and his people had effectively took over, he worked hard and fast to remake Germany into his image but in moving too fast, he ended up destroying Germany.

In all honesty, I see a closer parallel between the Visitors and the Nazis, whom let's not forget were socialists in addition to being nationalist. We'll see how that aspect bears out, especially if this resistance movement gets any traction and forces the Visitors to take military action.

That leads me to my one concern -- the longevity of this series. Initially, I can see the series working quite well for a time with humanity fooled by the soft words and kind actions of the Visitors. However, if there is a resistance, at what point do people wake up and smell the coffee? If they do, then what does the series become? I'll be patient and see where things go. ^_^

As to the characters, we have some interesting ones. Scott Wolf (Party of Five) plays the TV reporter Chad Decker, who catches the Visitor's attention with his fawning attitude toward them. Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost; ER) plays single mother and FBI agent Erica Evans, who struggles to raise her teenaged son, who has very much bought into the Visitor's propaganda message of hope and change. Joel Gretsch (The 4400) plays the skeptical Father Jack Landry. Morris Chestnut (C-16: FBI; Out All Night) plays the traitor alien in disguise named Ryan Nichols. Finally, Morena Baccarin (Firefly; Serenity) was almost unrecognizable to me as the Visitor leader named Anna (I knew the voice but couldn't place it with her new, short hair style).

I can see a lot of character stories being done here on top of advancing the main plot. I just hope the writers can pull it all off. I like how things have been set up and how the main cast has been carefully placed on the board.

I've written a lot here, but in the end, I found the time flew by and I was inspired enough by what I saw on TV to write a lot here. *lol* That's a good sign that I rather enjoyed the pilot episode. We have an interesting story premise, interesting characters, and good SFX which if done right could be the start of a really good series. I sure hope so.

Another "Great" Job For Me

2009-04-07T16:30:00.008-06:00

When people are looking for work and receive e-mails about a job, do they not look at the "From" e-mail address? I suppose there must be enough who don't because I'm amazed at all these so-called job opportunities where the sender claims to represent some big company, but are e-mailing from gmail. Granted, I some some large companies are VERY cheap but they aren't going to use gmail to recruit people. *lol*

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Subject:	Open Vacancy For You at American Express
From:	"Amanda Bostler" recruiter.bostle@gmail.com
Date:	Mon, April 6, 2009 12:18 pm
To:	AstroNerdBoy
Priority:	Normal
Options:

Good afternoon
We found your resume on Jobs4You web site and after reviewing your resume concluded that you could be a positive match to a few of positions available at American Express Card and Merchant Services North American Division. There are couple couple positions listed below you might be qualifying for:

- Payment processing coordinator
- Data entry specialist
- Mail distribution coordinator
- Client database builder
- Payment collection coordinator

Guaranteed base salary package for all positions starts from $3900 monthly, incluide Weekends with holidays, Medical and Dental coverage and other benefits. There is full-time and part-time positions available.

These positions are office or home based due to our new policy on remote employee
program. We are accepting entry level positions, qualified applicants must be at least 18
years old, must have fluent reading and writing skills, bilingual is a plus.

If you are interested, email back to me and i will send you detailed information about open position.

With Best Regards,
Amanda Bostler
Company Direct Employer, American Express Corporation

Worst Virus Scam Evah?

2009-06-18T07:45:00.005-06:00

I laughed out loud when I read this message. While I am expecting a package, mine is safely en route.

Subject:	UPS Delivery problem
From:	"Deon Stanford"
Date:	Thu, June 18, 2009 4:22 am
To:	AstroNerdBoy
Priority:	Normal
Options:

Dear customer!

Unfortunately we failed to deliver postal package you have sent on the 13th of March
in time because the addressee's address is not correct. Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our department.

Your United Parcel Service of America

Attachments:


UPS_FILEMN87123912.zip	38 k	[ application/zip ]		Download

Seriously, this has to be one of the worst attempts to get me to open up a virus attachment.

ZoNation -- Never Heard of Him Before, but I like him.

2009-04-16T23:47:00.002-06:00

I just heard about this guy. Man, is he funny.

Thanks to Trenaway El'Daryl for the head's up.

Teleprompter and Our President

2009-04-02T16:29:00.004-06:00

*lol* This is too funny to me.
The Brits have apparently been much harsher on President Obama's addiction to a teleprompter than our own press has been. They've also pointed out more of the gaffs and stuff than our press has. Of course, if the president had an "(R)" after his name, we'd see all of this on the news frequently and the late night comedians would be going nuts over it (such as when the president tried to walk through a glass window or hit his head on Marine 1, reminding my of President Ford's similar accidents).

Snow -- Better Late Than Never

2009-03-27T14:46:00.003-06:00

It has been a pretty dry winter this time around, so we've been in real need of moisture. So, God provided some and we seemed to score an entire winter's worth of snow in one spring snow storm. *lol* I believe we had close to a foot where I live and a whole lot more a few miles to the south (16.5" from what I'm told). So, I snapped a shot with my cell phone camera to mark the occasion. ^_^

First Week on the Job

2009-03-22T18:11:00.002-06:00

Its strange being back at "The Company" after 3.5 months away. Its almost like I never left. Being the popular guy I am, people all over come by to say "welcome back" and to chat about things. Now that I'm again a contractor, I go back to being a "bastard step child" in terms of how "The Company" views us. Right after I and the others were let go, "The Company" forced all contractors to take massive pay cuts or quit, some upwards of 30% of what they were making. Well, the job market is in "The Company's" favor right now, so they can do that and get away with it.

Of course, "The Company" can deny that they cut wages because their cuts were to what they paid the contract companies. Therefor, the contract companies are the ones who cut the wages. Clever, eh? Not that any contractor buys that crap. They know what the deal is and they don't blame their contract companies. Still, I think "The Company" is playing a dangerous game. Sure, the economy sucks right now (and thank you President Obama for making it worse but that's another issue) and "The Company" can do anything and get away with it. However, eventually the economy will change and people won't put up with this kind of treatment. Further, all it takes is someone channeling their anger in such a way that "The Company" is harmed greatly. That hasn't happened yet, but man, I can see someone snapping and doing something ugly.

Me, I am trying to follow the advice a former boss and mentor gave me -- when you are dealt lemons, make lemonade. So yeah, it does suck making 50% less than I did before (and that's because as an employee of "The Company," I made WAY more than contractors back then though now my pay is pretty much in line with every other contractor's), but I'm learning something new (VMS) and I have an opportunity to score some certs. I can pay my bills, put some aside, and even splurge on a few things if I like (but not too many things). So I am thankful to the Lord for giving me a job at all. There are lots of folks still unemployed after months and months and months of searching.

As to the job itself, I'll be quite proficient within a month. I'm sure my current manager will have me learning his A/S 400 accounts because he knows I'm good like that. ^_^ So begins a new yet old adventure in employment.

Magic Squirrel and Jedi Squirrel

2009-03-22T18:09:00.001-06:00

A friend sent me a couple of pictures which just had me laughing. Ah, the secret life of squirrels. Too bad I couldn't find larger versions of these pictures.

The Return

2009-03-16T15:17:00.003-06:00

Well, I have a badge again, thus making me a mostly real person at "The Company." Sheeze. It has been rather troublesome to get though, mainly because my contract company contact is an Indian. While "Sudip" speaking English, he doesn't communicate that well in English and so it took quite some time just to square things away. *_*

So, with a badge, I start work immediately. ^_^

Despite not being the ideal situation, I am glad to have a job in this economy. Word is that of the five of us who were let go from my old team, I'm the only one with a job. I hope they can land something soon.

Slick Dogg -- Arab Gangsta Beat

2009-03-10T13:43:00.003-06:00

Having enjoyed the first song I hear from Slick Dogg song so much, I thought I'd share the love on a 2nd song from him.

As before, you can find his music on his website if you wish to buy his CD's.

So I Have a Job

2009-03-10T13:28:00.002-06:00

As expected, I got hired by Company 3 on Monday. It also means that I'm back at "The Company." *lol* Yeah, 50% less pay stinks and no benefits stink too but it is a job and I'll be bringing in more money than I did on unemployment. That also means budgeting in order to maximize savings and pay for school. Since the job I wanted at "Company 1" did not come through and I won't accept an offer from "Company 2" (unless they match what I'm being paid as a contractor for "The Company"), I now see a career path heading before me and I know what classes to take and what certificates to get when I get back to class.

Amazingly, I'll be seeing Taco's Rule, Savage Piper, and the others again since I'll be working the same shift I worked previously. The only difference is that I'll likely be on a different row from them.

So, goal 1 is to get all the paperwork cleared to actually get started working. Goal 2 is to learn VMS (a new skill for the resume) and become my usual guru self at my new job. Then goal 3 is to start classes and get those certs. From there, I can then branch out into another, better job.

I do want to thank God for taking such great care of me throughout my life and setting things up so that during this time of unemployment, I have been provided for. Seriously, it was God who put it in my mind to get my medical bills paid off sooner rather than later. It was God who put it into my mind that I should go ahead and buy a condo (thus also scoring tax benefits). It was God who put it into my mind to start saving money, though I could have saved more had I been on a budget. God now has me on a budget and now I will keep to it in order to make the best of the situation.

I also want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers and words of encouragement to me during this time. I really do appreciate it. ^_^

BiteFight Cheats?

2008-03-08T22:15:00.004-07:00

I know people are looking for BiteFight cheats, BiteFight help, BiteFight gold, BiteFight trainers, BiteFight strategies, etc. Would you believe you could find what you want --> HERE? Well you might not because I could be just another smeg head trying to get you to click a link or I could be legit. After all, if you are playing BiteFight and reading this, you obviously have an interest, right? Sure you do and so did I.

Yeah, OK. It wasn't a cheat help. Actually, I'm doing a little experiment and I thank you for taking the time to participate. ^_^;

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I'm the Perfect Financial Manager!

2009-03-07T10:00:00.001-07:00

Oh! Stop the job search now! I have to have this job no matter what!

Subject:	Job Proposal (Specially for AstroNerdBoy)
From:	"Diana Green"
Date:	Fri, March 6, 2009 5:00 pm
To:	AstroNerdBoy
Priority:	Normal

Dear AstroNerdBoy,

My name is Diana Green and I am a Chief Manager of HR Department of DC Group Inc.

This letter confirms that your resume (found at careerbuilder.com) has been duly processed and your skills completely meet our requirements for Financial Manager vacancy.

I’m representative of a world-famous company founded and based in the USA, which deals with financial services like escrow services for buyers and sellers of online auctions around the world. We offer our services both on closed commercial auctions where the number of buyers is not large and on ebay.com, amazon.com, yahoo.com - popular online auctions.

Financial Agent position is:
- part-time (you can work only 2-3 hours a day (Monday through Friday).
- work at home (all communication is online).

What do you need? Internet access and e-mail.

This position is offered on a trial period (first month) basis. You will receive training and online support while working and being paid. Trial period is paid $2300/month. Also you will be keeping 8% commission from
every payment received from customer and successfully processed. Total income, with the current volume of clients, will be up to $4.5k per month. After first 30 days base salary will be increased up to $3k per month, plus 8% commission!

You may ask for additional hours after trial period, or proceed full-time.

If you are interested in our offer and would like to learn more about Financial Agent position, please send the filled form to Dc.diana.job@gmail.com

Our representative will contact you within 24 hours.

++++++++FORM++++++++FORM+++++++++++
First name:_____________________
Last name:___________________________
Country of residence:__________________
Contact phone:______________________
Preferred call time:_______________________
++++++++FORM++++++++FORM+++++++++++

We found your resume at www.careerbuilder.com. This letter confirms that your resume has been duly processed and your skills completely meet our requirements for the Financial Manager vacancy.

Best regards.
Diana Green

The Job Hunt Continues -- Prospects

2009-03-06T17:29:00.004-07:00

My search for employment continues as it has been over 3.5 months since I was let go due to headcount being shifted to Brazil and India. It amazes me that it has been that long. In some ways, it feels like a long time but in other ways, it feels like the time went by in a flash. In all, I want to thanks friends and family for their support in all this nuttiness. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers for sure. ^_^

Last week, I had a third interview for an IT job at "Company 1." They are a non-profit insurance company dealing exclusively with the under-insured. There's a possibility of a fourth interview and while I greatly impressed them according to the contract company, they don't want to make a move until they've talked to at least two more people, ostensibly to make sure I'm the right choice.

Pay: Good. Better once converted from contractor to regular employee. No worries about paying the bills, having money to save, and still being able to go out and catch some summer blockbusters.
Job: Good. The work being done is interesting and would keep me busy. There'd be some oncall work, but that's fine. Also, since this company is in the health insurance business, the jobs won't go overseas legally, even if somehow the company decided to outsource. The job is days, Monday through Friday which is cool for going back to school. The commute would be awful because of rush hour Denver traffic but oh well. I could deal with that and after a time could always move closer to the job should the commute really start bothering me.
Career: Above average. The job starts as contract position but in 3-6 months is a conversion to regular employee status. Once a regular employee, the opportunities for growth are there, especially as this company is growing due to the type of client base it serves. Opportunities to go back to school exist so getting some IT certs would be a high priority for me.
Overall: Ideally, this is the job I'd like to get. I just don't think they are going to move that quickly because the position is a newly created one, not a back-fill.
Chance of Being Hired: 75%

Today, I interviewed with "Company 2." They are a market research company who've developed some impressive software to find out what people are saying on the Internet about a product or service. The interview was nearly three hours in length and there were four of them today. ^_^;;;

Pay: Poor. Seriously, even though the job is listed as "entry level," the experience they are looking for combined with the amount of work being done (and by everyone's account, a six-month learning curve just to become proficient in the job) would suggest a much higher starting pay grade. Indeed, Company 2 is actually a sub-subset of a major corporation and retains the same pay-grade structure they had in the late 80's (adjusted upward dollar-wise for current times). Back then, one could get an entry-level operations/production support job at level-9 or 10. However, this operations/production job has been banded at level 7 and the pay is so low, I'd actually be making less than I made 11-years ago in actual dollars (and its worse when you adjust for inflation the 1998 dollar amount). Sadly, I think they've gotten away with it because the kid they hired a year ago had zero experience in IT and so they took advantage of that.
Job: Good. The work being done here is very interesting and somewhat challenging. Even after becoming proficient, things are constantly changing to improve the research being done so I'd be changing right along side. I'd be working closely with developers and SA's so there's a chance to improve skills. Also, the job is Monday through Friday days and that's nice, especially for school. In fact, it wouldn't be that far to drive to a major university to take classes after work and the overall commute isn't too bad.
Career: Above Average. Being part of a large corporation, all job opportunities world-wide would be available to me. Education would be paid for so I could move in a direction I choose (programmer, system admin, whatever). The downside is that since this division is small, career opportunities within the division are pretty slim. That also means that I'd remain at pitifully low pay for an undetermined amount of time and would have to have the good graces of my manager to move someplace within the company where I could get paid.
Overall: The pay is what kills this job. With my current unemployment pay budget, I would be about $50 in the red each month (under unemployment, I'm about $50 in the black each month). Keep in mind that my only debt is my mortgage, so my other costs are just living costs. Now, it is possible that because I'd be making so little money, the interest deduction (assuming our glorious government haven't completely destroyed that in their desperate greed to steal my money) would likely be enough so that I would be among those who pay little to no Federal income tax. That might be enough to cover the wage gap but frankly, that's not how I want to live.
Chance of Being Hired: 55%. I interviewed quite well for all four interviews, but no doubt my expression of concern over the pay has lowered me percentage-wise, but the hiring manager could bring me in as high as level 10 if he wanted, and that would likely pay the bills.

On Monday, I have an interview with "Company 3." They are a large corporation dealing in IT/IS solutions. I have several connections inside this company, including the hiring manager. ^_^

Pay: Average (somewhat lower when taking into account that I'll have no insurance, vacation, or anything else). I would be able to pay my bills under my current budget and have some left over for saving (which I'd have to do in order to buy things like an HDTV or new windows for the condo). There would be O/T opportunities though, so the chance of increasing the take-home pay is high.
Job: Average. Although the systems I'd be working on would be new to me, in the end, I'd be in operations again. Every time I think I've left mainframe for good, I seem to get sucked back in. ^_^; Don't get me wrong, a job is a job and if I have to do mainframe again, sobeit. I'd be working 12-hour night shift, which has pluses and minuses. I would have to see how online classes would work in this scenario because going to regular classes just isn't likely to happen unless I sleep during class or sleep at work, neither of which I want to do. The commute is the biggest plus though since it is the closest to where I live.
Career: Almost zero. I'd be a contractor with zero chance of being hired as a regular employee and almost no chance of moving to a better job in another department. Education would have to come out of my pocket and as I said, traditional education would be impractical. Basically, this would be a job to pay the bills and work on some education so that I can find something better.
Overall: It would be a job easy to learn and working nights would mean I'd have some time to do homework. My bills would be paid and supposedly, the job will be around for 2-3-years (seeing is believing though). So while not my first choice, I'd take the job to stop being unemployed. ^_^;
Chance of Being Hired: 90%. I do know the manager and team lead for this job and that helps a great deal. Monday will be the formal interview so I'll know more there. This job being on a platform alien to me is a negative and it is possible that the hiring manager will find a guru who knows everything and can come right on in and do the work. Baring that, since I have a good reputation with the hiring manager and team lead, I feel confident that after Monday's interview, I'd be getting an offer sometime shortly thereafter.

We'll see what happens. Lord willing, I'll have a job soon. In the meantime, I keep on hunting.

Slick Dogg - Time For Us To Pop (Get Down, Y'all)

2009-03-03T13:16:00.003-07:00

I realize that this kind of music won't be for many, but MAN -- I love this kind of tune.

I can feel a mix of different styles with Slick Dogg's music -- there's funk and certainly a bit of Zapp there too. Since Slick Dogg is an independent music maker, you won't find his music in most places, but you can find it on his website.

She Loves Me! I Know She Loves Me!

2009-03-02T07:45:00.007-07:00

Heh. I haven't seen one of these in ages. I know "she" must love me truly because "she" sent me several of these (from different mail addresses and names of course). ^_^ Ah, be still my beating heart. ^_~

Subject:	I shall wait from you the letter with the big impatience!
From:	"Myles Jacobs"
Date:	Sun, March 1, 2009 2:36 pm
To:	AstroNerdBoy
Priority:	Normal

Hello. My name is Oksana. I understand that you don't know me, and I don't know you, but in the future all can change probably. I ask that you have given me some minutes on perusals of my letter. I hope that
it will not make difficulty to you. Agency Acquaintances in Cheboksary gave me your e-mail address. To me explained that you very good person and you very much approach to me. I have come to Agency to find the
future husband from other country. Why from another country? Because I have been very much disappointed with Men from my country and now I search my life in abroad. I has tired to be lonely and to carry spend
all days equally. I want to love and to be happy! I asked myself a question why I can not it. And I come in this agency with such the request that they have helped me to find the person for that I will
happy. Yes certainly I have paid some money that has found the person for me. But what is it the money in comparison with love? Nothing. It is simply emptiness. Love is the most important feeling in a life,
without which our lives grey and empty. I shall not speak how many I have paid. I hope that you will understand me. I very much hope that you will be interested in me and we can continue our dialogue after that letters. And I very much hope that I shall leave in yours opinion good Impression about me. I want to tell some words about me. As I already spoke my name is Oksana. I'm 28 years. I live in Cheboksary. You can look my external qualities in my photo which I have attached in the letter. I live with my mum together and I work as doctor. I
have gone studies on this profession, in order to help people. I look like on my father because he gave your life to rescue the little girl, and he has rescued her only he lost. I shall tell you about it later. I love my professional though In Russia it is not as well appreciated as in other foreign countries. I love an active way of life but time
not suffices. In my life I dream to find the person with which I can to lead all life and I shall be happy. I dream about big and cheerful, friendly family. I don't search ideal man. The main thing that in him there were high qualities as skill to love, to respect, to appreciate relations, to love children and is skilful to love and make the happy partner. For me the age does not matter because the love has not limit. I very much hope that you will write to me and will tell about yourself. I am already lonely very long time. I had earlier shot relations but it was failed. I very much hope that you become my unique person in my life. So let's not lose time. I ask you that you
have answered my letter and then we can learn each other better. I hope that I have liked to you. If serious relations aren't interesting to you or I am not pleasant to you, say me it please. Is it well?

I very much ask that you have answered to me ONLY to my personal e-mail:
oksanalive28@googlemail.com.

I shall wait from you the letter with the big impatience!
Bye bye!
Tired from loneliness Oksana.

Attachments:


Oksana.jpg	38 k	[ image/jpeg ]		Download \| View

Another Job Scam

2009-02-11T04:26:00.003-07:00

Another great job scam spam e-mail has come to my attention. Apparently, everyone gets "accepted" and then for a low, low price of $5000 (or more), they'll "market" you so that you can get that job you want. However, you have to act NOW lest the price go up to $6500 or more (sounds kinda like our president, trying to ram through the spending bill before people realize just how little stimulus is in it, cause we gotta do it NOW)!

People desperate for a job aren't going to have that kind of cash laying around to burn and somehow I can't see unemployed executives blowing that kind of cash either, no matter how much they have stashed away. So I have to wonder who pays these scammers.

* * * * * * * * * *

Subject:	Mr. AstroNerdBoy, we may have immediate openings at DBP
From:	cwilliams@dbpexecusearch.com
Date:	Wed, February 11, 2009 2:45 am
To:	AstroNerdBoy
Priority:	Normal

Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin
West Loop Center, 10 Riverside Plaza, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-474-6018 FAX: 877-222-8019




Are you still in the market?

We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that could
be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.

Delaney enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. Our
clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000
corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are no
fees.

To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level
and in your geographic area, please do the following.

Click on http://www.dbpexecusearch.com

The "Post Resume" button will take you to the profile information that we need.

Regards,


Charles Williams
Senior Vice President
Delany, Byczinski & Potamkin

President Obama and Democrats to Old People -- DIE!

2009-02-10T01:04:00.003-07:00

Bloomberg has this interesting piece about yet another element of the so-called stimulus bill wherein Big Brother creates a Health Czar to allegedly control the costs of health care. In fact, this system is worse than the crappiest health insurance company out there as ALL doctors must submit to Big Brother. Big Brother will then determine is a course of treatment, tests, drugs, whatever should be done. If Big Brother feels it isn't required, screw you. If you are an old person and the cost of a treatment outweighs whatever life expectancy you have, just get over yourself and die already!

So, let the glorious new Big Brother Obama world form as we start down the road of Eugenics. *_*

Man, I'm afraid this is going to be a rough four years or longer. The outrageous spending on Democrat paybacks is bad enough. This little tidbit about Big Brother trying to run our lives more in matters of health just takes the cake.

Change I Can Believe In

2009-01-31T00:45:00.003-07:00

Congrats to Michael Steele on becoming the RNC chairman. I hoped he'd win because I've liked a lot of what he's said. Now, go kick some bottom in the war you are going to face against the press. Also, get out there and be what you are, not "Democrat Light." Ugh. I hated that about President Bush and many Republicans -- they seemed to think that being Democrat Light was a way to stay in power. I guess they now know better. If people want Democrat ideas and policies, they'll elect the real thing, not faux crap.

A New Job Hunting Phenomenon

2009-01-26T17:12:00.002-07:00

Today, I learned something that is rather depressing -- the job I was a sure hire for has been pulled from the market. That makes five jobs by my count where this has happened -- a job placed on the market, interviews are conducted, things feel great, then all of the sudden, "the company has decided not to fill this job at this time" (or something like that).

I've checked with a couple of other guys who are also unemployed and they've encountered some of the same things. It seems that some companies have a job opening, but the they hear President Obama and his administration imply that the economy will stink for his whole term and he'll need to be re-elected in 2012 to have enough time to get things right. OK, the president hasn't said those words, but that's what's being heard from what I can see. Thus companies are saying, "if this guy is now saying that all his campaign promises were typical politician lies to say whatever to get elected, then we better prepare for the worst." So some companies reduce work force and others decide not to fill job openings they have.

I know that everything is in God's hands and as such, I have to trust the Lord. That means I may be forced to do things I don't want to do such as move or take on what I would consider crummy jobs and work all the time to make ends meet.

The New Nigerian Scam -- Contact Us If You've Been Scammed!

2009-01-22T04:34:00.003-07:00

I had to laugh out lout when I received this e-mail from one of my many accounts. So now the scam is to hopefully hit someone who has been scammed, get them to call up with questions about claim, then scam then again. Nice.

* * * * * * * * * *

Subject:	The fraudsters that scammed you has been caught and some of your money recovered.
From:	"Honorable Justice Umaru Abdullahi"
Date:	Thu, January 22, 2009 4:25 am
Cc:	recipient list not shown:;
Priority:	Normal

Dear fraud victim,

This is to inform you that four of the fraud syndicate that defrauded you has been caught although two escaped . These men used fake identities and documents to scam innocent victims. They confessed that they use tricks of Contract, Inheritance, Lottery and all other manner of payment tricks to lure and defraud their victims. They were caught in attempt to defraud one British. They pleaded for a lower jail term and the court agreed to grant them lower jail terms if only they would confess their victims so that the court could pay their victims reparations from the loot recovered from them because the court recovered expensive cars, houses and huge amounts in their accounts. The court has sold the properties confiscated from these syndicate to realize more money for reparation payment to their victims. The four are currently serving eight years jail term each. I am contacting you based on the confessional statement of the fraudsters that you were among their victims so if you have lost money to fraudsters in the past, do let me know how much you lost so that we can work out how much reparation you will receive.

Please do not be deceived by the bogus claims of money in Nigeria or any other place in Africa because Africa is a very poor continent with greater percentage of its population very poor. Most spam emails you receive from around the world has been established to emanate from Africans living in foreign countries. Please spread this news to your friends and relative that there is no such bogus money in Africa as claimed be scammers so that they won‘t fall victim especially in this time of economic recession.

Finally, it is a criminal offence to claim more than what you lost. If you have forgotten exactly how much you lost, to these fraudsters, you have to approximate your lost such that it won’t be in excess of USD 2,000. If you are not the person they defrauded please disregard this mail as it was sent to you based on confessional statement and information provided by these fraudsters. I am aware that the two escaped fraudsters will still be communicating you. Please if you receive any mail from them, don’t reply from henceforth. If you need further clarifications, call me directly on +2348074037620 or email (user080375@gmail.com) for clarifications.

Yours faithfully,
Honorable Justice Umaru Abdullahi
(President, Court of Appeal Nigeria & Chairman, Crusader for a better Africa)

A Doctor's Visit

2009-01-10T00:26:00.004-07:00

My recent medical adventure had several friends get in touch with me on their own experiences with the old stomach or nearby regions. It is a sign of getting older I suppose -- things don't quite work as well as they did in one's 20's. ^_^;

For me, the loss of 15-pounds is good, but losing that much in a week is not what one would want to see. So, after a complete physical and the doctor looking over the ER charts (ah, the joys of modern computer technology when medical records can be sent digitally to those who need them), it is the generic version of Prilosec OTC® (got to save some money someway) for now and a follow-up visit with the doctor in two months. The blood lab work will be sent to me and should there be something negative there, the doctor and I will hook up sooner.

So that's out of the way for the moment with the doctor giving the usual good advice before I left.

Fun Times w/ Gastritis

2009-01-05T04:11:00.003-07:00

Last night, I ended up going to the ER as a precaution. My stomach has been acting up for months and sometimes it causes chest discomfort and pain that goes down the left arm, almost as if one were having a heart attack. However, last night, the pains were shooting up the left side of my neck and into my jaw and that caused some concern. Afterward, I puked and thought, "you know, I better have this checked out even though it is going to cost me a fortune."

So, a trip to the ER and five hours later, no heart problems or major organ problems that could be detected (and they did a lot of tests). The doctor determined that I have Gastritis and combined with the strained muscle in my left shoulder blade, this gave me all the symptoms of the problem I had. With as primitive as our medical technology still is, her diagnosis is still a best guess, but baring some other things happening, we'll just take it that this is in fact what I have -- Gastritis.

A couple of things were revealed to me while in the ER. First, I miss my TV. I haven't had satellite for some time now and getting to watch some documentaries on Discovery Channel made me really long to get my service restored. But I can't do that, more so since this ER bill is likely to be outrageously expensive.

Second, I guess I'm really missing human contact. When I had my job, I talked a lot with my co-workers. We were a tight team and though we didn't agree on things like politics or religion, it didn't matter. Savage Piper, Taco's Rule, Red Baron, Lepidus, and the others were people I enjoyed talking to. I miss the laughs we shared as well as the shared frustrations when annoying people like "Busy" would cause us more problems than the initial problem being reported.

So, I've decided that even though it is an extra cost, I will start going to church on Sunday's. Traveling to Greeley may seem a bit much, but the church I'd attend there is one that I believe preaches the Gospel so it is worth the travel in that regard. Either way, I don't think that wanting to be with other children of God is a bad thing at all.

Hopefully, I can hook up with my former comrades this month, assuming everyone's schedule can be cleared.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!