July 29, 2008
February 5, 2008
Voting Booths
Oh how we change from one election to another. I distinctly remember being a judge at the voting booths in Maryland during the 70’s. We had a booth with a pull curtain and when we voted for something we had to pull a lever, and all of the levers were pulled at the same time, marking the ballots. Guess what, they worked like a charm. We will now have paper trail booths in Maryland again, but they are supposed to help us to track things better. It has been said that the other electronic booths we recently had were reliable and easy to use. Maybe the newer ones will work, but maybe not.One of my big issues is with who is to deliver the machines at this point. John Kane of The Kane Companies has been a Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party from 2002-2006.. It has been reported in the media that he has raised funds for Mitt Romney. For my money and vote, I do not want any political leader to deliver or have any contracts involving an election in any business deal.The vote in Maryland is next week, I for one want to know more about these machines, there is supposed to be a paper trail and can they be tampered with or not? The state has dumped the electronic machines which cost us the taxpayers of Maryland approximately 65 Million dollars, yes I said 65 Milion dollars and they are not paid for as yet. Now the big political leaders have spent 20 Million more dollars to buy these new machines, ho hum, it all comes out of all of our pockets you know. Yes, and .06 cents for taxes now, hmph! Not much we can do about it now. Lets see just how well the machines work. I wonder if there is a money back guarantee?
September 20, 2007
Careerbuilder.com to Financial Gatekeepers
In most career sites you will be told to not do business with those companies who want your financial information, or bank account or paypal number. That is great, however, I have been getting many offers from companies wanting me to do just that, from careerbuilder.com mostly.
I even got a solicitation from Forbes. Of course I immediately went to their web site and got contacts for their communications director and sent her an e-mail with the solicitation in the body of the e-mail. That happened two days ago. Her immediate response was “Sounds like
> a complete hoax.”
In part the job offer said “Please visit our site below for consideration for
> this
> position.
> Browse the site to become more
> familiar with the company and position available.
> If
> you feel you are
> or will be a good
> candidate for this position ensure to view the
> Employment section.” Notice the improper English
Remember folks,
There are so many bogus job offers in cyberspace it
is getting harder to tell what is a real offer or not. Use your techie sensibilities, and read all offers very closely. Make sure you read them all twice to check out facts. Do not click on their links if you are unsure of where they have originated. Check out the name of the business online and their site by typing in the company name in your url space to check on them before making a reply.
Have a great day.
Diane
August 22, 2007
Spam a Lot
How many times a week do you get spam on your computer? Everyday? Once a week? How many e-mail accounts have you closed because of too much spam in your mailbox? I do not spam anyone, never have, will never do it.
My reality is, everytime I go to check e-mail there is spam, sometimes it is ten, other times it is fifty or more. What a real pain in the ass! Personally I am on the computer about four or more hours a day because I have a web site which I perform updates on everyday. That translates into my searching the internet for information three hours each day. At times I may have to sign up for a newsletter to gather more information on a specific topic so that I can better understand what I am on the search for.
You guessed it, then I receive offers from other people or companies who deal with that newsletter. Do you think that is the price I pay for the free information?
Yes, I know I can go to the library and search for information there, however, that’s not always up to date, or applies to my subject. Libraries do have value, especially if you need in depth information. Sometimes online libraries are the answer.
My other reality is how much time should I spend online or in a library for a web site that was started as a result of the 9-11 Tragedy and which does not actually pay me any dollars, but gets my name out there in cy-berspace, with some recognition.
All of that spam I get takes me time to delete them off of my computer. It takes time to select them from what I am on task to do. I have closed three e-mail accounts, because, I received too much spam.
People will tell you not to log into gambling sites, well that is good advice for anyone, I don’t gamble anyway. Don’t enter contests, unless they say they will not give out your e-mail address to anyone else. Don’t answer ads and buy things just to get something for free. Remember if you have to buy something, you got nothing for free. If you do buy, then you risk the chance that the sponsors that you bought from will spam you, and their associates will do that as well. If a company buys e-mail lists, then your name gets on many other lists because some companies buy those e-mail lists.
Remember, if you don’t like spam, then don’t you spam either!
Thus we have Spam a Lot! And it comes to your e-mail box as well as mine. However, there are spam programs that cost money to keep spam out of your mailbox. Check them out today, take charge of your e-mail for tomorrow.
August 14, 2007
Bad Boy President and the Teflon Presidency
The Bad Boy President Rove Behind the President/The Telfon Presidency
Carl Rove described by some as influential, ruthless by some but, brilliant, boy genius by President Bush, has decided to resign. Since July of 2005 many have called for Roves resignation because of his involvement of outing Valerie Plume as an undercover CIA agent in 2003. Much ado has been made of his actions and political influence since the reported “Plume Affair”. Most of the information revolved around Rove and his truthfulness.
Much of the Iraq war has been centered around his truthfulness as well, he has exploited the press and the power President Bush had afforded him in his position. The man behind the other man has been called at times The rove President a ruthless and unscrupulous man of no principle except his own for his power. Maybe now reporters will do a better job of really looking at his role in full, as well as the limitations of the press and the time it takes to supeona papers etc. Of course you have to remember that road blocks will be put up in any instance just like he refused to testify before congress as has Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
I would hope that Senator Patrick Leahy chairman of the Senate Judicial Committee will eventually find a way around Roves audacious, unscrupulous and scurrilous behavior. One of the earmarks of the Bush administration has been their adeptness at not being held accountable for anything at this point in my opinion. Forever known as the Teflon Presidency
March 12, 2007
Monsters and Career Builders
Positions in the world of the internet, can escalate you to the outer limits of the imagination and the feeling of desperation to the lowest hole in finding what you need.
As you search for that perfect job, the lines of demarcation soon become blurred. There are so many choices, and you have to make a choice. When recruiters tell you that you really may change careers three times or more in a lifetime, why not look for all of those interests as the time allows? Becaue it is a trap of the genuius brain. You go nowhere, you get confused. You are thinking well, I can do that, why don’t I just do it. Because dummy, it isn’t as easy as it looks.
Lets say you are spending about three hours a day looking online for a better professional position. That is a reasonable amount of time. You get bored. You think okay, I’m sitting here on my arse, not getting anything done, and no money coming in. Can’t afford a typing service, can’t afford a resume service, just have to keep plugging on. Well, no that is not right. What you say! Why not? Depending on your family status, you might be able to get food stamps or other serives to help you during the really sparse time you are out of work.
Because there are other places where you can get help! You can go to your local YWCA if you are a women to get help to rewrite your resume. You can go to the library to check out the volumns of information there. You might as well get out of the house and find the help. Why not ask your best friend to help you as well? What line of business is that person in? Are your skills and education the same? Do you have enough professional respect for that person to ask them?
When you go online to check out the databases of Monster, and Careerbuilder, it can take hours just getting through their stuff. And even then, you may not have found what you really want.
Depending on the particular specifics and technical aspects and the up to dateness of the computer you are using, the search may go well, or be frustrating. The tehnical differences in high speed internet is vastly different than DSL services. You may have a great experience in DSL, then feel like your girlfirnd dumped you if you are using high speed internet. Sometimes it can be agonizingly slow when going back and forth between pages by uploading your resume, then changing the cover letter to the specifications of the companys requirements etc. That can be especially so if you are using the computers at the library or using a friends computer or elsewhere.
However, having said all of that, you must keep up a good attitude. Getting a better job may not generally happen in a few days, or even afew months. What you need is a resilience of attitude, some savings or another part time job to keep the hunger pains at bay. Don’t forget to laugh at yourself, you can’t be a goodytwo shoes all of the time, you have moments of feeling really sad. Yes, those are harsh words, but trust me, they are true. Remember, the sun usually comes up everyday, some days it will rain, but when it does rain it is to make the flowers, grass, and vegetables grow for us to eat and animals to use. The rain will clear the atmosphere for each of us, to make the earth a better place to live in for us all.
Triple Threat
Cable VS Digital March 2, 2007
You say you want to switch from your cable company because the rates are too high for your programming, and not only that, but, the digital broadband company has a triple play deal! Welcome to reality of commerce. A hundred bucks a month for internet, tv, and your phone with free local calls anywhere in the U.S., such a deal. It really is a deal these days, because your phone used to cost you $60.00 monthly or more, the tv cable $60.00 or more and the internet $25.00 a month which totals $145.00. They also do not have to dig up your yard to install cable wires. Good deal, You are now saving $45.00 per month, which equals $783.00 a year. That is enough to go away for a good weekend somewhere where it is warm, in January or February. Next year that savings might even be enough to get one of those fancy flat screen tvs that you can hang on a wall. Remember, put the savings away for something else that next year will save you even more money. Or you could even use the money now toward a laptop computer, which you can use to get more work done, and make more money$$$$. Ah capitalism!
Remember when you were younger and Ma Bell used to charge hundreds of dollars to your parents when you would ring up hundreds of dollars in long distance calls to your new romance partner. Those special hours on the phone which would erupt in giggles and sometimes tears you would eventually have to pay for in one way or another may or may not have been worth the trouble in retrospect.
Your mothers face got all red and she almost cussed you out when she saw the bill. Well in my house, I had to get a part time job to pay it off. If my dad had seen the bill, my bottom would have been real red, with handprints decorating it, and hot at the same time. I spent some time staying to myself when Dad was home before I paid the bill off.
Ah Technology and People Power
Screech, swoosh, and fly on by the toll taker, but, don’t forget to pay the toll. Although these days states are trying to make money by sending you violations that are not accurate, they say oh yes you went in this lane on that day, at this time. Well, maybe you better check with whoever else was riding with you. Do you know that a photograph is taken of each vehicle that goes through a toll booth?
Your feet are also going to go screech, and swoosh when you get the violation bill, in fact you might want to sit down in a chair before you open the envelope. The envelope please! Oh just $2.50 toll, that isn’t bad, but check out the whopping fine of $15.00 as a violation fee. You could end up owing the state of Maryland hundreds of dollars just because of their EZ Pass technology which isn’t working correctly.
Ah oh yes, you have turned in the ID strip that you bought when you first signed up for the pass. Yet, you are still getting violation notices, and yes, you are paying cash when you go through a booth. AGRRHHH!!
So what do you do? Mail a well written letter to your governor who has been newly elected to void and null all violations because the technology just isn’t working. That might work if the rest of the people who are having problems also decide to take action.
Technology isn’t working the way it is supposed to, because people are getting fined when they should not be. Ah technology, now we really need people power to take the techies to task to fix the buggies. I say march on but, send letters to the Governor, and the press, yes they will get published.
Have a great day!
