Check It Out

Links to cool places or things.

There are 1,530 posts filed in Check It Out (this is page 133 of 153).

WSJ story runs – without my interview

Dadgummit. The Wall Street Journal article about being jobless at Christmas ran two days ago without any of my interview being used.

Ah, well. Its still a good read, even if it won’t help my job search after all. Maybe I need to learn how to be a more colorful interviewee?

As far as the issues the article raises, I admit to confronting them, too. At the time of my interview, I told the reporter I thought Christmas would be largely the same. Since that call, I’ve discovered that I see the holidays as more of an obstacle rather than something to celebrate. It’s tough not to blame the holidays for the lack of phone calls: “if only the hiring managers were in the office I’d already be employed.”

If as a kid I thought the wait for Christmas day was excruciatingly long, now the wait for Christmas to be over feels just as long. Sad, isn’t it?

Dog foods

Here’s a great forum thread on dog (and cat) nutrition. Our dog trainer mentioned some of this last week and it opened my eyes. I never gave much thought to what is being put into dog food.

The good news is that the food we’re feeding Rocket is some of the best. Check the label of the stuff you’re using to see how it stacks up.

NC IT job openings drop 30%

Ugh:

Job openings fell by nearly a third in November from the previous month to just over 2,000, according to the latest “IT Jobs Survey” from the North Carolina Technology Association and SkillProof, a national IT talent management and recruiting firm.

With 2,010 openings, the total is just over half the jobs available a year ago (3,910) and far fewer than those posted in November 2006 (4,450).

Probation series

MT.Net readers know I like to take swipes at the News and Observer, but I have to applaud the paper for spotlighting the state’s broken probationary system. Far too many convicted criminals go back to their criminal ways upon leaving prison. While probation officers can’t turn those ex-prisoners into saints, they can at least keep tabs on them – information that might prevent the next crime.

I hope the attention the probation system is getting spurs our legislators to fix it. Thanks, N&O, for spreading the word!

The Reality of Pearl Harbor

I found this DailyKos posting an interesting read yesterday, Pearl Harbor Day:

The Reality of Pearl Harbor (updated)
by railsplitter
Sun Dec 07, 2008 at 12:12:42 PM PST

Note: I originally posted this on 12/7/07. Several folks have emailed me to re-post today. Minor updates are included

=================

This is one of several diaries today on Pearl Harbor. If you’re looking for a syrupy retrospective, stop reading now.

First, the good news. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was an unmitigated failure. Of all the ships damaged during the attack, only three were total losses; The Arizona and Utah remain where they sank, and the Oklahoma floundered being towed to the West Coast after re-floating. All other ships damaged in the attack were repaired and returned to active service before the end of the war.
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The Moon, Venus, Jupiter and now Neptune!

I enjoyed the dusk sky last night as the waning moon was joined in the southwestern sky by Venus and Jupiter. Tonight those three will be joined by Neptune, though you won’t see Neppy without the aid of binoculars or a telescope.

Seeing those other worlds shining down on us is a timely reminder that there are things much, much bigger than us.

The joyful shoveler

Kelly’s letter about a highlight of Saturday’s Christmas parade got printed in today’s N&O:

There were lots of highlights to Raleigh’s Christmas parade Nov. 22, but for me the best part came early — and from an unexpected quarter. Behind each group of horseback riders walked someone responsible for cleaning up after the horses. Following Raleigh’s mounted police officers was their clean-up crew — a man in an orange safety vest carrying an enormous shovel. He marched all morning, in front of thousands of people, to clean up horse poop.

This gentleman made the most of his morning. He hammed it up. He played to the crowd. His shovel became a microphone, a guitar, a dance partner. He took an unpleasant job and turned it into a stage from which to entertain thousands.
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