Author: matthew

I’m a SALESMAN???

So yesterday morning around 10 AM, I walked into my new offices with the large company I work for (who shall, as always, remain nameless in public). Interesting experience!

Part of the security procedure is a check-in, assigning a badge to an individual, and taking that person’s fingerprints. It’s part of the routine; in order to get into the server room floor, or certain parts of the building, you must not only have your badge, but also put your hand on a fingerprint scanner. It works fairly reliably, and is a sensible part of general security policy, which is “what you are, what you have, and what you know: choose to verify at least two of the three for reasonable security.”

So yesterday morning around 10 AM, I walked into my new offices with the large company I work for (who shall, as always, remain nameless in public). Interesting experience!

Part of the security procedure is a check-in, assigning a badge to an individual, and taking that person’s fingerprints. It’s part of the routine; in order to get into the server room floor, or certain parts of the building, you must not only have your badge, but also put your hand on a fingerprint scanner. It works fairly reliably, and is a sensible part of general security policy, which is “what you are, what you have, and what you know: choose to verify at least two of the three for reasonable security.”

So I’m chatting with the security guard, and he blurts out, “You sure seem a lot more like a salesman than a computer guy.”

<blink> <blink>

“No, really,” he goes on, “you seem to have the personality. You enjoy people; you should really consider a career in sales. It could be good for you.”

<blink> <blink>

“It’s financially rewarding, and really, it’s all about building good relationships. You seem to have that down pat.”

Fact: I hate sales. With a passion. It’s a necessary evil, I suppose, but it’s something I watched my Mom stress out over for twenty years. It’s not a place I’m interested in going. I’m a tech, and was pretty much really anti-social until 10th grade when I decided it was time to get some hygiene and get some friends.

“Well,” I responded, “I’ve been some sort of computer admin for about ten years now. I’m pretty good at what I do, and I enjoy it a lot.”

“Fair enough,” the portly security guard responded as he turned away to finish setting up my badge and handprint security settings, “but I think you’re missing out.”

The thing is, this wouldn’t have been so weird if I hadn’t felt like I’ve had this exact same conversation every place I’ve worked for the last ten years.

“Why are you a meter reader? You’d make a great salesperson.”

“Wow, Matt, you’re far too sociable and friendly for me to imagine you stuck behind a computer screen being a geek all day.”

“I think you got into the wrong career, son; you should have been a salesman.”

What is it? Is it my short hair? My slightly-plump friendliness? Reasonably good hygiene?

(Which reminds me, after putting my hand on the same hand scanner as everybody else in the building, I better go wash my hands. Ugh.)

It’s hard to develop a serious reputation as a UNIX geek extraordinaire when most people seem to think I’ve missed my calling!

L33t shirt-folding

Today, for the first time, much like when I discovered how to tie my shoes, I had an epiphany:

I finally learned how to fold my shirts. You, too, can have l33t f0ld1ng sk1llz. Rock on!

Note to spouse: This doesn’t mean that I’ll be folding all my own shirts now. It just means I can no longer claim “it takes too long” or “I don’t know how” as a defense 🙂

Today, for the first time, much like when I discovered how to tie my shoes, I had an epiphany:

I finally learned how to fold my shirts. You, too, can have l33t f0ld1ng sk1llz. Rock on!

Note to spouse: This doesn’t mean that I’ll be folding all my own shirts now. It just means I can no longer claim “it takes too long” or “I don’t know how” as a defense 🙂

Honoring vets: 11 Nov 2004

Today I simply wanted to send out a “thank you” to some of the vets I know. Today is Veterans Day, which, unlike Memorial Day, honors the living rather than the dead.

Today I simply wanted to send out a “thank you” to some of the vets I know. Today is Veterans Day, which, unlike Memorial Day, honors the living rather than the dead.

  • William Gallagher Barnson, retired Air Force Colonel. My adopted father served honorably in the active duty and reserve stateside throughout the Cold War, and had served in the navy during the Korean War.
  • Jeffrey Kevin Barnson, my adopted brother, veteran of the First Gulf War flying a C-130 Hercules for the Air Force.
  • Brian Michael Barnson, my older brother who honorably served in the U.S. navy.
  • Ryan Rawlins, good friend and former Utah National Guardsman. Called him this morning to thank him.
  • Richard Wendell Ellis, my father-in-law, who served in the U.S. army stateside and in Germany, retiring a few years ago to Idaho.
  • Our very own Jon Brusco, friend for the last nineteen years, who served us in the U.S. army stateside and Panama, acquiring wounds that will never fully heal. Kind of like Frodo, if Frodo had a bum knee.
  • Kevin Graham, currently serving in parts unknown. I haven’t seen him for thirteen years, but I’ve heard about him here and there, one day serving here, and another day serving there.

According to Woodrow Wilson’s Armistice Day proclamation, “the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nation.”

Who would you like to give props to this Veteran’s Day? Now’s the time, because tomorrow it won’t be Veteran’s Day anymore 🙂

Wind Farms: TANSTAAFL

Robert Anson Heinlein, deceased science fiction author, popularized an acronym: TANSTAAFL. This means “There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch”.

I’ve watched with interest as various environmental activists over the years have opposed coal, oil, and nuclear power plants. Some advocate hydroelectric power, but we’ve discovered to our chagrin that damming rivers leads to dramatic downstream ecosystem declines. Wind power, on the other hand, has been proposed by many as a viable alternative.

Robert Anson Heinlein, deceased science fiction author, popularized an acronym: TANSTAAFL. This means “There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch”.

I’ve watched with interest as various environmental activists over the years have opposed coal, oil, and nuclear power plants. Some advocate hydroelectric power, but we’ve discovered to our chagrin that damming rivers leads to dramatic downstream ecosystem declines. Wind power, on the other hand, has been proposed by many as a viable alternative.

Well, it turns out that Wind Power Ain’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be. WPAAICUTB… nah, it doesn’t quite cut it. Anyway, wind power actually raises local temperatures significantly, and if used in sufficient numbers, could cause global climatologic variances, too. While the impact of wind towers on the environment are roughly 1/5th the equivalent, per megawatt, of coal power, it just goes to show TANSTAAFL.

I dunno, I still think that nuclear power is the solution. We can dump all the waste in a very confined geographic area (like the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Tribe proposes we use some of their mostly-wasteland reservation for), and the global climate cost is negligible. But the old “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) contingent opposes storing waste near them.

Me, I live in Tooele. I’d live literally just a handful of miles from what the Goshutes propose should be the world’s largest radioactive waste dump. Store the dang stuff; it’s better to store it near my family than raising the world’s temperatures and sea levels.

Religious Statistics

I ran across a study today on people’s answers to the basic question, “What is your religion, if any?”.

Key findings:

  • the proportion of the population that can be classified as Christian has declined from eighty-six in 1990 to seventy-seven percent in 2001;
  • although the number of adults who classify themselves in non-Christian religious groups has increased from about 5.8 million to about 7.7 million, the proportion of non-Christians has increased only by a very small amount – from 3.3 % to about 3.7 %;
  • the greatest increase in absolute as well as in percentage terms has been among those adults who do not subscribe to any religious identification; their number has more than doubled from 14.3 million in 1990 to 29.4 million in 2001; their proportion has grown from just eight percent of the total in 1990 to over fourteen percent in 2001

I ran across a study today on people’s answers to the basic question, “What is your religion, if any?”.

Key findings:

  • the proportion of the population that can be classified as Christian has declined from eighty-six in 1990 to seventy-seven percent in 2001;
  • although the number of adults who classify themselves in non-Christian religious groups has increased from about 5.8 million to about 7.7 million, the proportion of non-Christians has increased only by a very small amount – from 3.3 % to about 3.7 %;
  • the greatest increase in absolute as well as in percentage terms has been among those adults who do not subscribe to any religious identification; their number has more than doubled from 14.3 million in 1990 to 29.4 million in 2001; their proportion has grown from just eight percent of the total in 1990 to over fourteen percent in 2001
  • there has also been a substantial increase in the number of adults who refused to reply to the question about their religious preference, from about four million or two percent in 1990 to more than eleven million or over five percent in 2001;
  • Women are more likely than men to describe their outlook as “religious”;
  • Older Americans are more likely than younger to describe their outlook as “religious”;
  • Black Americans are least likely to describe themselves as secular, Asian Americans are most likely to do so;
  • those who identify with one or another of the main religious groups are considerably more likely to be married than those who have no religion;
  • Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and those with no religion continue to have a greater preference for the Democratic party over the Republican – much as they did in 1990. Evangelical or Born Again Christians and Mormons are the most apt to identify as Republicans. Buddhists and those with no religion are most likely to be political independents. In keeping with their theology, Jehovah’s Witnesses disavow political involvement.

What do you think this means, if anything, for America? What do you think are the causes? The effects?

Void War’s Music Review

For the first time, I got an overwhelmingly positive review of the music I wrote for Void War. The review states:

Rock on! Void War’s soundtrack is loud, really loud. Eight tracks filled to the brim with big, fat beats, wailing guitars and classical instruments literally scream at you while you are tangled up a huge fur ball or speeding through the remains of an asteroid mining colony. There are even bits of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata” and other classical pieces in the soundtrack — heavily punkified, of course.

For the first time, I got an overwhelmingly positive review of the music I wrote for Void War. The review states:

Rock on! Void War’s soundtrack is loud, really loud. Eight tracks filled to the brim with big, fat beats, wailing guitars and classical instruments literally scream at you while you are tangled up a huge fur ball or speeding through the remains of an asteroid mining colony. There are even bits of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata” and other classical pieces in the soundtrack — heavily punkified, of course.

If that wasn’t enough, there is a free 13MB high quality music pack available for download via the game’s auto update function. On the other hand, there are the slightly dull sound effects – they do their work, but they pale in comparison to the massive soundtrack of this game. The samples are of mediocre quality, but nonetheless every power-up, special weapon, and blaster has its own distinctive sound effect.

…Void War is a perfect example where good game play and balance can make up for less-than-perfect graphics and sound effects, and in my eyes also demonstrates how much a decent music score can add to the entire experience. I found myself compelled to yell “Yeah!” after winning some particularly challenging battles more than once. And I’m seriously motivated to hone my skills until I get to unlock that final bonus fighter – the Cyclone. With its skirmish mode that’s every bit as fast-paced as the true multiplayer game and a campaign that spans roughly two dozen missions, I can recommend this game both to the casual solitary gamer as well as the free for all deathmatch fan.

I’m pretty darn excited about the game. It’s fun to play, and getting reviews that say how much a good score can add to the experience is gratifying.

Now if only it would actually bring in some decent money 🙂

Circling the drain

So I figured out that my small division of a much larger company (which has remained nameless for good reason here at barnson.org is circling the drain. Going belly-up.

Unfortunately, the division was created to provide certain services to a customer which didn’t materialize. Stinks when that happens, but my job is going to be “collateral damage”.

So here’s my question: when you’re searching for a new job, what are your primary resources? And, of course, know anybody that’s hiring a Sr. UNIX Systems Administrator?

So I figured out that my small division of a much larger company (which has remained nameless for good reason here at barnson.org is circling the drain. Going belly-up.

Unfortunately, the division was created to provide certain services to a customer which didn’t materialize. Stinks when that happens, but my job is going to be “collateral damage”.

So here’s my question: when you’re searching for a new job, what are your primary resources? And, of course, know anybody that’s hiring a Sr. UNIX Systems Administrator?

My first stops are, of course: * Monster.com * Washingtonpost.com (Hey, I can hope for a good job in/near DC, but the cost of living is going out of control there) * Dice.com * hotjobs.com * saltlakecityhelpwanted.com (you mostly end up with government jobs there, but it’s a start) * Talking to friends (this is the most important lead type I’ve ever used)

The weird thing to me is that I’ve been getting a call nearly every day from one form of recruiter or another until three weeks ago. Then the calls dried up. I felt like I was kind of “in demand”, and now… I’m not so sure.

There are days I’m sick of the technology rollercoaster. And others, when I solve a major problem or figure out a terrific optimization, that I remember why I got into the business in the first place, because I love this stuff.

It’s still nearly enough to make me want to give up and try my hand at being a novelist sometimes!

Green Bay Packers Carry Kerry To the Presidency

As noted by an anonymous reader of barnson.org, the Green Bay Packers won the last Redskins game before the election.

According to the linked page and story, if the Redskins continue this successful prediction sweep for the 76th year, Kerry will be President of the United States this January 1.

Of course, the chances were already 1 in 262,144 that they would successfully predict the presidency as long as they did. If the game succeeds in predicting the outcome of the presidency again, it would up the odds to 1 in 524,288.

As noted by an anonymous reader of barnson.org, the Green Bay Packers won the last Redskins game before the election.

According to the linked page and story, if the Redskins continue this successful prediction sweep for the 76th year, Kerry will be President of the United States this January 1.

Of course, the chances were already 1 in 262,144 that they would successfully predict the presidency as long as they did. If the game succeeds in predicting the outcome of the presidency again, it would up the odds to 1 in 524,288.

Coffee: The New Health Food?

According to The Web MD, two recent studies (one eighteen years long, the other twenty years long, so “recent” relates to their findings, not to the timing of the study), Coffee consumed in large quantities reduces many health risks, and is positive for other factors. Included on the list are:

According to The Web MD, two recent studies (one eighteen years long, the other twenty years long, so “recent” relates to their findings, not to the timing of the study), Coffee consumed in large quantities reduces many health risks, and is positive for other factors. Included on the list are:

  • Parkinson’s Disease: Consumption of six or more cups of coffee per day reduces risk of this disease an amazing 54%. Due to the evidence from this study, new Parkinson’s drugs are including a caffeine derivative to combat progression of the disease.
  • Asthma. It’s the caffeine in coffee that dramatically reduces risk of asthma attacks.
  • Headaches. An average Excedrin Migraine or Anacin dose contains 120mg of caffeine — about the same as a cup and a half of coffee.
  • Endurance. The caffeine in coffee seems to improve endurance in pro athletes. But be warned, “If you a recreational athlete who is working out to reduce weight or just feel better, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough to get an athletic benefit from coffee or other caffeinated products” according to Terry Graham, PhD.
  • Diabetes. Coffee promote insulin sensitivity (the opposite of insulin resistance) in cells. For borderline cases of Type II diabetes, this can prevent the onset of the disease — even if you drink decaf.
  • Depression. Coffee in moderate doses, with milk, alleviates depression in many adolescents.
  • Cavities. Yep, the weirdest outcome of the study, in my opinion, is that the risk of dental caries is much lower for coffee drinkers than for the control group. There is a group of chemicals, responsible for the bitter taste, which scientists are investigating due to its known antibacterial effect as possibly being responsible for this side effect.

But be warned: according to the article, “Coffee may also raise cholesterol levels in some people and may contribute to artery clogging.”

My mantra lately has been:

Your body… your science project.