January 31, 2006
Two Weeks Notice
I was so busy yesterday that I forgot to mention that I turned in my letter of resignation. My last day will be Friday, February 10. It still doesn't seem real, especially with the two week notice. I've always expected to have nearly a month to wrap everything up and transition into my new life away from WPI. I certainly never thought that Amy and I would be doing this at the same time. I also imagined that WPI would take immediate action, whipping out contingency plans and jumping to find a replacement. Maybe I've become narcissistic, but I can't really see how the university is going to keep up appearances without asking us any questions about how the site works. It just seems foolhardy. But I suppose that's a big reason why I'm leaving in the first place.
Posted by criminal at 11:34 AM | Comments (3)
January 27, 2006
I'm going to BURST!
Literally.
I've been offered a position at BURST! Media in Burlington. The official offer is still waiting on technicalities (background checks, etc.) but for all intents and purposes, I have a new job! I'll be filling the Web Publisher Support Associate position that Gillian is leaving behind for a promotion.
I got such a great vibe from the company and it's employees. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and genuinely happy to be there, which is such a contrast from the situation at WPI. As much as I love my alma mater, there's a limit to what I'm willing to sacrifice of myself for it, and I think it's safe to say that the last few weeks have put me way beyond that limit. If all goes well, I will be handing in my letter of resignation on Monday. I have mixed feelings about leaving, but I have nothing but good feelings about working for BURST!
Posted by criminal at 04:52 PM | Comments (8)
Five on Friday for January 27, 2006
- 1. What is your favorite beverage? Why?
- Chai. At times I think I could live on the stuff, especially the blends from Starbucks.
- 2. Your preference: Tea, coffee, or hot cocoa?
- Tea. I don't drink coffee and hot cocoa is often too sweet for my tastes.
- 3. Favorite thing do drink in the heat of summer?
- Cool sparkling water. I love the fizz.
- 4. Worst beverage you've ever tasted?
- Tonic water with quinine. Ick, ick, ick. Although the first bottle of Sam Adams Triple Bock was pretty close.
- 5. How do you take your water: flavored, bottled, carbonated, or straight from the tap?
- Straight from the tap. Room temperature, or just slightly colder is best. If not that, then carbonated.
Posted by criminal at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2006
Olympic Spirit
For the past week, I've been mulling over the idea of participating in the Yarn Harlot's 2006 Knitting Olympics. The premise is simple: complete a project (from start to finish) during the 2006 Winter Olympics. The only catch is that it's supposed to be a challenge for you to complete during the 16 days of the tournament.
Today I finally decided that I would compete. My entry? The Jaywalker Socks from MagKnits. My very first pair of socks, ever. They're neither plain nor terribly complicated, and based on the reviews I've seen around the Web, I suspect a decent pattern to cut my teeth on. I've chosen something small because while I've been known to whip out giant kitty beds in a couple days, I've been struggling to knit more than a few rows a day lately.
So socks it is. Now I just have to gather my tools, start swatching, and wait for the opening ceremonies.
Posted by criminal at 04:16 PM | Comments (1)
The View from Afar
I interviewed with BURST! yesterday for the position Gillian will be vacating next month. The company is small, relaxed, and seems pretty fun. From what Gillian has told me, I think I could really be content working there. I'm not a terribly ambitious person, but I do like challenges, so the room for modest growth there is nice. They've asked me to come back on Friday for tests and more interviews, so I think it's a good possibility they'll extend an offer in the next week or so, if not on Friday.
Posted by criminal at 09:57 AM | Comments (0)
Putting the Smack Down
A discussion of the benefits of Web site administration and oversight...
zg: ...and then yell at them, which you can do by e-mail and anonymously so it's not bad
zg: it's fun & empowering
me: the great omnipotent administrator mode is fun
zg: omg it is
zg: when i'm in a bad mood i audit wrestling sites
zg: they are always doing something wrong
Posted by criminal at 09:49 AM | Comments (1)
January 24, 2006
Turn and Face the Strain
evil parzlee: I feel so naughty adding styles to format.css...
amymarr: well it's all you now
Amazing how little things make you realize the big things. Like today when I made a new style for Amy, editing the sacred stylesheet Troy created. Even with the extra graphics stuff I've been doing since he left, it hadn't hit me that he was really gone for good until I had to change the permissions on that file. Wow.
Posted by criminal at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)
The Conference of a Thousand Names
There's a conference hosted on campus that has had nearly a dozen names in it's four-year existence. Every year it changes. And every few weeks after they decide on a date it changes. Instead of sticking with their original relatively generic title and using catchy themes to jazz it up every year they just try to change the name. It's terribly confusing for those of us trying to make the Web site, and I can only imagine how messed up it is for those trying to attend the damned thing.
Posted by criminal at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
The Long Haul
Days like today are the downside to my commute.
I left my apartment at 8 a.m., knowing full well I would probably end up late for my 9 a.m. meeting. Sweeping off the inch or two of snow that had accumulated on my car took less than 10 minutes and the local roads were a little sloppy, but managable. I knew I was in for it when the on-ramp to 495 was less clear than my street. I don't think I ever got over 35 mph the whole trip. There were a few accidents and spinouts at the side of the road, mostly SUVs and pickup trucks, of course. Because we all know four wheel drive melts the greasy slush and snow under your tires, making you invincible in the face of deteriorating weather conditions. I'll just never understand that attitude. In any case, it was a miserably slow ride. I got to campus just before 10 and had a great deal of difficulty getting into the parking lots because none of them appeared to have been plowed. I won't even begin my rant on how stupid some of our students appear to be; suffice it to say that many have obviously failed basic physics. Eventually I made it around the block and into a space in the Higgins lot. I also made it to our presentation, which luckily had been delayed until 10.
Although they're forecasting up to eight inches for the area, I'm hoping the roads will be cleaner by the time I head home. I know it won't be quick, but maybe it will be faster than this morning's commute.
Posted by criminal at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2006
Lunch From the Center of Campus
- The food court has started stocking Black Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke. That's quite a mouthful for a soda I haven't even tried yet. But I'm a sucker for new flavors, so I brought one back with me.
- Aside from the salad bar, there aren't many healthy meal options in the food court. The soups are usually cream-based and while the Culinary Table gives you real dinner-like options, they're usually in sauces and come with loads of starches.
- The bookstore is now selling shirts that say "Friends don't let friends go to MIT." Have we really sunk that low?
Posted by criminal at 01:32 PM | Comments (2)
Five on Friday for January 20, 2006
- 1. What is the wallpaper on your computer?
- PC: Richard Seymour celebrating, courtesy of Boston.com's Patriots Wallpaper page
Mac: Macro shot of a dandelion gone to seed
Laptop: Windows "Bliss" - 2. What color are the walls in the room you're in right now?
- Well, the divider is off white, the walls are a light beige wallpaper, and my cube walls are almost lavender
- 3. Describe some of the wallpapers you have lived with.
- My childhood bedroom had smurf wallpaper that I grew to hate because it was so childish. Little did I know that just a couple years after we tore it down that I would want it back. My sister had country-themed Holly Hobby paper and the dining room had horrible early 80s floral panelling in rusty oranges and brown.
- 4. Would you ever consider using wallpaper to decorate? What would it look like?
- Sure. I wouldn't mind using wallpaper to add texture and I'm a big fan of anaglypta. I also dig wall murals and big, graphic, geometric prints.
- 5. If you could use anything not specifically intended for walls (no paint, wallpaper, etc) to spruce up your walls, without any nasty consequences, what would you use?
- I have to admit that I loved the episode of Trading Spaces where Gen covered a wall with moss. It looked so earthy and rich. If the moss could survive (and not shed all over my carpet or stink up my house) I'd totally do it.
Posted by criminal at 09:14 AM | Comments (3)
January 19, 2006
Kickin' Butt
With all the moving and shaking happening at work, we fell way behind in our maintenance queue. At one point early last week we still had tickets waiting from before break. That's a long time for a queue that usually has nothing more than two business days old sitting in it. Amy and I were so busy working on large, high priority projects that we didn't have time to make much of a dent in maintenance. By Monday we had just over 80 tickets in the queue. We were adding tickets faster than we could resolve them. But thanks to some butt kicking by my student staff, I'm proud to say that we're down to 36 tickets. What's better, they're almost all new since Monday. Maybe now I can start to feel like we're on top of things again. Well, mostly. We're still living out of boxes up here.
Posted by criminal at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)
Feeding My Addiction
Oh. My. God.
Restoration Hardware is opening a new outlet in Wrentham tomorrow, bringing the possibility of well-built and classicly styled furnishings even closer. I love Restoration Hardware even more than I love Pottery Barn, but their prices are even further out of my reach. Maybe the outlet will put some of their merchandise within planning distance, rather than just wishing distance.
Posted by criminal at 09:27 AM | Comments (1)
January 18, 2006
Gut Reaction
My gut is at it again. My stomach was a bit upset all day, but I was so busy with vendor presentations that I didn't really have time to think about it. Once I got home it was apparent that things were going to get worse before they got better. I've been curled up in bed most of the evening, clutching my belly in a miserable attempt to distract myself from the pain (or maybe just to keep everything in place should I explode). The pepto has finally eased things, but I'm concerned that this could be start of the flu that's going around at Jon's office.
Posted by criminal at 09:54 PM | Comments (2)
January 16, 2006
Normal: The Gold Standard
According to the blood tests, my thyroid is "normal." Normal aside from the fact that it's enlarged, anyway. For the last few years I've been doing relatively OK with TSH levels below normal. Maybe now that it's in the "normal" range, it's actually too high. Stranger things have happened. Hopefully I'll get the full scores in the mail, so I can puzzle over them for a few weeks before seeing the endocrinologist.
Posted by criminal at 11:27 AM | Comments (1)
January 13, 2006
Web Savvy
I got a phone call today from someone who wanted to verify the e-mail adress Web updates should be sent to. So I recited the standard spiel about how questions and large projects should go to webmaster and day-to-day updates should go to webwork and be instantly added to our queue. It was all normal until...
CALLER: So, how do you spell that address?
ME: Ummm, W-E-B-W-O-R-K-
CALLER: at... W-P-I slash E-D-U?
ME: Uh, yeah. W-P-I dot E-D-U
CALLER: OK, thanks.
I know it's not nice to laugh at people who are less knowledgable, but I could barely contain myself. The caller sounded technically literate at the start of the call and by the end was grasping at straws.
Posted by criminal at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2006
You Are a Classic Martini
You area sophisticated drinker, who knows that simple quality is over-rated. You're a knowledgeable drunk, but sometimes you're a know-it-all when you're blasted.
You should never: Drink and gossip. You tend to forget who's standing right behind you!
Your ideal party: Has a real bartender. But no one mixes a better drink than you.
Your drinking soulmates: those with a Chocolate Martini personality
Your drinking rivals: those with a Margarita Martini personality
Posted by criminal at 03:29 PM | Comments (1)
Photographic Evidence
In the interest of posterity, I took photos of my goiter. I wanted to document the location and size, mostly so I could compare over the next few weeks to see if it's getting any larger. I suspect it is, but really, who can tell? I'm touching it all the freaking time now, so I certainly can't tell if it's growing. But I figure if I compare two pictures of myself, a couple days apart, it might be easier to see the difference. I'll spare you the photos of my splotchy neck (also known as acanthosis nigrica) and goiter, suffice it to say that at this point you wouldn't notice it unless you were really looking for it.
Posted by criminal at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2006
Good Morning, Goiter
A couple years ago my doctor has started monitoring my thyroid performance with periodic blood tests. Each time the TSH levels were around 0.1, which is below the normal range, but by less than the "fudge factor" of the test. According to her it wasn't even low enough to medicate. She started the testing regimen again after my last physical showed similar levels, with a test scheduled for next week. We didn't take it very seriously since I wasn't showing any of the standard symptoms of hyperthyroidism:
- Feel nervous, moody, weak, or tired.
- Have hand tremors; have a fast or irregular heartbeat; or have trouble breathing, even when you are resting.
- Sweat a lot, and have warm, red skin that may be itchy.
- Have frequent and sometimes loose bowel movements.
- Have fine, soft hair that is falling out.
- Lose weight even though you are eating normally or more than usual. (From WebMD)
Imagine my surprise when I discovered a small goiter on one side of my throat this morning. My first thought was that I had caught Jon's cold, but within seconds I realized what it really was. I'm not sure why I hadn't noticed it sooner, but it was blatently obvious once I did. Thankfully my doctor saw me this morning, ordering a full blood work-up and ultrasound, and referring me to an endocrinologist. Unfortunately, the earliest I can get the ultrasound is February 22 and I won't see the specialist until after that.
So for now, I just have to wait. And stew, contemplating my symptoms and potential diagnosis. As I look at the list above, I see that at least a few things hold true, but for various reasons I wouldn't necessarily equate with a thyroid problem...
- I'm extremely tired. To the point that I've had to pull over and nap on my way to work. I've also felt very weak, but that could be attributed to my general physical state. My nerves and mood are being regulated by other medication, so who knows if they're out of whack.
- Nothing here except occasional muscle tremors in my shoulders and upper thighs.
- I don't sweat much at all, although I do feel I'm itchier than I used to be
- As an IBS-D sufferer, this is the norm. But is it IBS or a thyroid problem?
- Just about everyone on my father's side of the family has fine, soft hair. My hair is even thicker than it was several years ago, when the idea that my thyroid could be messing with it was first suggested.
- I've been gaining weight steadily over the last year, not losing it. I attribute it to a sedentary lifestyle and gregarious lunches out at work.
If anything, I feel my symptoms are more aligned with those of hypothyroidism, but my biggest symptom right now, fatigue, is common to both of them. As patient as I am, I really don't want to wait to find out what's wrong and how I can fix it. I'm going to try to find an earlier opening for the ultrasound so I can see the specialist sooner and get an answer.
Posted by criminal at 02:59 PM | Comments (3)
January 06, 2006
A New Climate
Forecast for 2006: Above normal temperatures with a 90% chance of reactive storm cells and an occasional ray of sunlight.
Now that we've been in the new office for more than just a few days, I can safely say that my winter wardrobe is going to have to change. Normally I would wear one of my 7 ribbed turtleneck sweaters each day, mixing it up with a twinset or button-down maybe once a week, but I've found that it's far too hot to wear them here. Maybe my thermometer is broken because it has read 80 degrees every day this week. My neighbor was nice enough to loan me her small fan, but I still end up wearing twinsets and peeling off the cardigan an hour after I arrive. At least the air quality is better.
As much as we joked about the vision in the IT division, I really miss its emphasis on proactivity. I'm feeling very rushed and reactive here, and I get the feeling that's the norm.
But I do have beautiful arched windows to look at when the curtains are open, and there are more opportunities for me to do some design work here. And who can't use a little portfolio expansion every now and then?
Posted by criminal at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)
Five on Friday for January 6, 2006
- 1. What kind of computer do your have?
- I have a Sony VAIO laptop, an R505, 12.1" display, 1.2MHz P3, 30 GB, 256MB RAM, CD-RW/DVD, and an integrated dock. Of course I say this like it's totally hot, and it probably was when I bought it. But now it's only worth a few hundred dollars on ebay.
- 2. How old is it? Are you happy with it?
- I bought it in the summer of 2002, so about 3.5 years. I've been pretty happy with it - in fact, I can count on my hands the number of times it has crashed on me, despite having been powered on for almost every moment of the 3.5 years I've owned it. Now that I know I don't cart it around at all, I wish I had sprung for a larger model. A bigger display would've been worth the sacrifice in weight.
- 3. How many computers are in your household?
- At least three, sometimes more. I would really have to ask Jon since I really only use one of them.
- 4. What is your favorite thing to do on your computer?
- Surf the web for new things to learn, closely followed by designing things.
- 5. What is your dream computer?
- It's sitting at my desk at work. Along with inheriting Troy's graphical responsibilities upon his departure, I also inherited his PowerMac and Cinema Display. The only way it could get better is if it were a G5, but beggars can't be choosy.
Posted by criminal at 10:42 AM | Comments (1)
January 05, 2006
Litmus
After dealing with a few particularly silly web requests I've begun asking myself if the community is really ready for the responsibilities of a content management system. It might speed up a few things, but how many more could it complicate? We've always been accused of ruling the Web with an iron fist, but with good reason. Stupid people do stupid things to Web sites.
I think we may need to create some sort of litmus test for content authors, like requiring that their grandfathers had access to the Web server in order for them to add things to the site...
Posted by criminal at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2006
Five on Friday for December 30, 2005
Resolve
In the new year...
- 1. List one person you've lost touch with that you will look up.
- Catherine Raposa, although technically we're not completely out of touch, we don't talk or hang out as much as we should
- 2. List two places you want to go.
- Michigan
- Alaska
- 3. List three habits you want to change.
- underestimating the amount of time it takes me to do something
- overestimating the amount of time I have
- throwing my clothes into the laundry basket instead of folding them
- 4. List four things you hope to learn.
- Spanish
- Fair Isle
- JavaScript
- how to complete a CDR ;)
- 5. List five goals you would like to achieve.
- finish my degree
- eat healthier
- get to work on time
- wear my skinny clothes again
- put together a strong portfolio
Posted by criminal at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)