12.29.06 |Permalink|Comments Off on Anatomy of a job search
Despite the upturn in the economy around Silicon Valley, it can still be tough to secure employment. A colleague shared the statistics of a job seeker he knows with me, and I thought I’d share them with you:
So while things can and do improve, it can still be a tough road out there to find employment. If you’re looking and ever feel discouraged, check this list out again;. it is impressive.
12.27.06 |Permalink|Comments Off on What a storm! (Updated)
We’ve had escalating wind and waves all night long, the plots from NOAA buoy 46012 are displayed below. Wind gusts to 50mph and wave heights now at 29.2 feet with a 13 second dominant wave period. Suffice to say, it’s a little noisy here on the coast today. And, knock on wood, we’ve still got power AND internet. Normally at least one would be down right now…(New, there’s a small video I hacked together below.)
Well, it’s the day after Christmas and all through the house the creatures created a mountain of trash…and my poetic aspirations are now dead. I never fail to be amazed at exactly how much rubbish is part and parcel to the holiday season. We have many relatives and friends far, far away who have sent us numerous thoughtful items (for which we are very grateful) that generate shipping trash, we ourselves have ordered things that have come from far, far away which also generates shipping trash, then there is the requisite wrapping trash, and finally, the most insidious and indeed, unnecessary trash of all, the toy package trash.
To my knowledge I’ve never met a toy package designer and it’s not likely toy package designers read this blog, but I’ll give it a shot anyway. Toy package designers, hear my plea, get help, fast. It is neither necessary nor helpful to layer a $20 toy with “plastic defense in depth” – it’s the parents you’re killing (i.e. broken toys due to impatient extractions from the mummy-like layers of crap surrounding each toy.) The joy of having to get a knife and clipping shears to even think of freeing Barbie from the evil clutches of her container. Untwisting the 900 wire ties securely lashing My Little Pony to a cardboard backing where the ends of course are buried in superglue adhesive tape. You’d think a Care Bear might be immune, but no, it’s not only twist-tie lashed and plastic wrapped with multiple layers, it’s also vacuum packed.
Aside from the endless aggrevation this packaging madness inflicts on over-tired and over-sugared parents at a time of stress, it’s also the source of 50% of all post-holiday trash. Those layers add up and they can’t be good for the environment. The thing that puzzles me about the toy wrapping phenomena is that you’d think there was something valuable in the package to go to that much effort to prevent easy opening. It’s not about protection of the toy, that’s for sure as it’s very easy to damage them even with patience and care. Oh well, stop the madness. How about a simple box next time? Keep your plastic, vacuum packing, wire ties, and super-glue tape. Free the toys!
