Career Change

If you know me, then you know I've been working computer/network administration for a looong time. It has been rewarding, challenging, and fun, amongst other things.

But, it has also become mundane and repetitive. I haven't told anyone, but earlier this year, I applied for a position with Feld Entertainment, located in Vienna, VA, after reading this webpage. Feld is primarily known for producing the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey circus.

Well, Feld accepted my application and has placed me in a position where I will work closely with the pachyderms.

Feld has also assured me that, in my new position with them, I will have no responsibilities with their IT infrastructure. This was a critical piece to the negotiations. I absolutely DO NOT want to have anything to do with computers anymore.

So, thank you to everyone who has supported me in my *former* career. I start with Feld on May 1 with a road trip to Scranton, PA.

I'm joining the circus!

Mudslide!

The cliff gave way last night:

Chocolate Easter Bunnies

We Have A Winner

The winning comment came from "beach" and is reprinted here:

"Finally, as a mathemagician, I recognize that 3/14 at 1:59 is a tricky way of hiding your love of math. The circumference of a circle is pi times its diameter. Pi, an irrational number, is approximated to 5 decimal points as: 3.14159."

"beach" has won a Skyline Chili Giftcard. He has a killer blog, located here: beach

Timestamp Fun

Comment on this blog entry with the meaning of it's time stamp. If you are first, and you care to identify yourself, you will receive a prize in the snail.

A Generation and it's Rockstar Paradox

Consider this image:


Clearly, these "rock and rollers" are past their prime. However, they're still able to turn *more than* a decent buck playing rock and roll.

...thats odd.

Keith Richards has donned some haberdashery for this photo. Ron Wood isn't showing his dentures (some of the others in the photograph should not have shown their dentures either). We're left to assume balding and tooth decay have occurred.

This assumption is not a stretch, we're all getting older afterall. Heres hoping Keith Richards and Ron Wood manage balding and tooth decay at the highest levels.

Some of my favorite people are bald.

You always want to pay a compliment before you tear into someone or a group of someones. Cliff Blog has done it's best in this endeavor.

***

Balding and tooth decay are not the problem here, it happens, and with no discrimination.

No, The Rolling Stones are exemplary of a much deeper problem, that being the baby boomers' reluctance to "move on". Unfortunately, Grace Slick was dead on when she told VH-1's "Behind the Music" that, "all rock-and-rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and should retire."*

It's true.

C'mon baby boomers, aren't you happy enough with the mark your generation left on society? Zoning and bankruptcy...Time to leave the stage.

An Old Friend "Hangs Up"

No Country for Old Men

***SPOILER ALERT***

Much has been written online about 2007's Best Picture, "No Country for Old Men". Although that volume is quite thorough, some thoughts on the film are offered here:

+The US/Mexico border is a living entity. More specifically, it is a monster. A monster Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) cannot understand.+Sheriff Ed Tom Bell is THE ONLY character in the film that recognizes this supernatural, evil monster. Although he doesn't understand it, he DOES understand two things about it:
1. The monster needs humans to sustain itself. It consumes human beings as fuel.
2. Like any predatory creature, maybe if you leave it alone, it will leave you alone.
+These points are made clear during the scene in El Paso. Sheriff Bell essentially comes face to face with the monster. Walking away is his admission that he cannot stop this evil, supernatural force.
+His admission is that of a singular man. In his mind, it is acceptable to succumb to Darwin, opt for "self preservation" and avoid the predator.
+In it's ephemeral, human form, the monster takes the form of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Once it has wasted him, it will take another human form. It only needs human form to accomplish it's objectives.
+At it's core, and generally, the monster represents entropy: that from order will come chaos and vice versa. Presently, it's pendulum is swinging from order to chaos, and it has chosen the Texas border with Mexico to manifest itself.

This film was a solid A. It is the Best Best Picture since "Rain Man".