Since I got one pseudo-angry phone call yesterday from someone demanding details about my new gig, I will share some here. Starting Jan. 11, I will be working at a large, Hartford, CT-based nonprofit organization called the Community Renewal Team (or CRT). They have about 750 employees and serve nearly the entire state of Connecticut.
Their repertoire includes providing basic needs (such as Meals on Wheels, food banks, school lunch programs, elder services, shelters, heat assistance, etc.); financial literacy education programs; employment assistance (case mgmt., training, financial assistance, job placement, etc.); policy and advocacy; youth education and mentoring; wellness; drug and alcohol education and rehabilitation; criminal reentry; and a whole bunch more. Looking at this program list will get you started.
My job in the communications office will be to help tell the stories of all of those programs, to work with the media and other publics to help raise awareness of the organization as a whole.
The CRT is nearly all grant-funded, working with a fiscal budget of somewhere around $60 million. It is the oldest community action group in America, having started much smaller in the 1950's. That's about all I know for now. I haven't seen where I'll be working yet, but I presume I'll be in a cubicle. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A Tremendous Theory
Thanks to being snowed in to my apartment all day this past Saturday, I was able to unabashedly catch up big time on my LOST re-watching. (I watched probably 10 episodes or so in one day!) Rarely leaving my couch, I finished up season three. With the LOST s6 premiere just under 2 months away now, speculation from fans and major media alike is picking up.
One of the bggest names in the LOST media world is Entertainment Weekly's Doc Jensen. Since the beginning of the series, he has offered his own thoughts on the show's future as well as shining the spotlight on some of the fan community's biggest fanatics. He just posted a new column that gets very deep into demons (or daemons, or daimons) and their possible role on the Island. I found it very dense and boring, and skipped most of it. However, he also featured an interview with an amateur LOSTie named Andrew Wilmar, aka Eye M. Sick, who has run a LOST-related blog for a while. In the interview, Jensen highlighted Wilmar's Three Black Swans theory, which he posted this past summer. And it's a doozie.
In sum, it proposes that there have been three unexpected Black Swan events that were not "supposed to happen" but did thanks to various characters, that have kept the Valenzetti equation from causing the end of the world. We've seen the first two of these events -- the Incident from last season's finale and Desmond's turning the fail safe key.
In both cases, the energy contained in the Island would lead to the end of the world if not halted in some way. In the 1977 Incident, the normal course of events would be that DHARMA's drilling into it would have unleashed the energy with Apocalyptic results, had it not been for the LOSTies and Juliet detonating the nuclear device first. Essentially the same is true when Des turns the fail safe, keeping the energy from being unleashed after Locke prevents the pushing of the button. The LOSTies and Des are the Black Swan variables that changed the normal course of events.
**This part I am embellishing a little: Faraday's mother knows this, and that is why she is so insistent on making sure Des and everyone else important back to the Island, to keep the delicate balance of the loop in place. We can postulate that Des, when unstuck in time after turning the fail safe, had the ability to change history (whatever happened, happened is wrong), could have married Penny and never gone to the Island, and therefore never would have turned the fail safe. Bam. End of the world. Thus, because of the two events, there has been a loop 27-year loop btw 1977 and 2004 going on for who knows how long (Note: The Valenzetti equation calls for a 27-year period before the world ends if not changed). That is also why Faraday's mother does not hesitate to send her son to the Island, even though she knows his end will come there at her own hand. This also adds to the 'loophole' idea spoken by the Man in Black to Jacob.
The third we shall see in the final season. It's a little too deep to try to summarize here, but it ties in my discovery of the Omega Point motif and essentially states that the two children of the Island that have been born, Aaron and Yi Jeon, must get married before 2031 to restore balance, or order, or Yin-yang, etc. to the Island, and therefore the world. I know that sounds dumb right now, but read the whole theory, and it's actually pretty amazing, when supported with evidence from events we've seen on the Island so far.
One of the bggest names in the LOST media world is Entertainment Weekly's Doc Jensen. Since the beginning of the series, he has offered his own thoughts on the show's future as well as shining the spotlight on some of the fan community's biggest fanatics. He just posted a new column that gets very deep into demons (or daemons, or daimons) and their possible role on the Island. I found it very dense and boring, and skipped most of it. However, he also featured an interview with an amateur LOSTie named Andrew Wilmar, aka Eye M. Sick, who has run a LOST-related blog for a while. In the interview, Jensen highlighted Wilmar's Three Black Swans theory, which he posted this past summer. And it's a doozie.
In sum, it proposes that there have been three unexpected Black Swan events that were not "supposed to happen" but did thanks to various characters, that have kept the Valenzetti equation from causing the end of the world. We've seen the first two of these events -- the Incident from last season's finale and Desmond's turning the fail safe key.
In both cases, the energy contained in the Island would lead to the end of the world if not halted in some way. In the 1977 Incident, the normal course of events would be that DHARMA's drilling into it would have unleashed the energy with Apocalyptic results, had it not been for the LOSTies and Juliet detonating the nuclear device first. Essentially the same is true when Des turns the fail safe, keeping the energy from being unleashed after Locke prevents the pushing of the button. The LOSTies and Des are the Black Swan variables that changed the normal course of events.
**This part I am embellishing a little: Faraday's mother knows this, and that is why she is so insistent on making sure Des and everyone else important back to the Island, to keep the delicate balance of the loop in place. We can postulate that Des, when unstuck in time after turning the fail safe, had the ability to change history (whatever happened, happened is wrong), could have married Penny and never gone to the Island, and therefore never would have turned the fail safe. Bam. End of the world. Thus, because of the two events, there has been a loop 27-year loop btw 1977 and 2004 going on for who knows how long (Note: The Valenzetti equation calls for a 27-year period before the world ends if not changed). That is also why Faraday's mother does not hesitate to send her son to the Island, even though she knows his end will come there at her own hand. This also adds to the 'loophole' idea spoken by the Man in Black to Jacob.
The third we shall see in the final season. It's a little too deep to try to summarize here, but it ties in my discovery of the Omega Point motif and essentially states that the two children of the Island that have been born, Aaron and Yi Jeon, must get married before 2031 to restore balance, or order, or Yin-yang, etc. to the Island, and therefore the world. I know that sounds dumb right now, but read the whole theory, and it's actually pretty amazing, when supported with evidence from events we've seen on the Island so far.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sad News
Greta Goldfish Armstrong passed away sometime between 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4 and 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 7, at her residence in the James Madison University Office of Public Affairs.
Burial services took place Monday morning, at sea. She will be missed.
Memorials should not be put toward buying me another fish. Thank you.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Late Photos
So I know I'm a little late on posting about my travels and Thanksgiving weekend. Suffice it to say that the trip was terrific as was the Turkey Day meal. Aside from a minor flat-tire-at-the-Hartford-Airport snafu, most everything went off without a hitch. I flew, cooked, ate, drove, interviewed, slept, changed a tire, flew again, rested, ate, bowled, ate again, won several board games, ate again, slept, and so on and so forth. It was nice. Here are a few photos I took on my phone. The first two are repeats of ones on Sarah's blog.
One of the days, Sarah and I traveled to Brattleboro, Vermont. Read her entry for a better description of the trip. We ate at a Thai restaurant, visited several used book stores, a few thrift stores and stopped at the unhappiest place on earth on the way back. This is a picture I took too late of the "Welcome to Vermont" sign.
Sarah enjoyed her meal at Thai Bamboo.
Sarah did not enjoy my antics.
The nail which, upon entering Sarah's tire head-first, caused our flat; costing $25 to repair plus $4 for the 10 minutes we were "parked" in Bradley International Airport's garbage-riddled Economy Parking Lot D.
Sarah enjoyed her meal at Thai Bamboo.
Sarah did not enjoy my antics.
The nail which, upon entering Sarah's tire head-first, caused our flat; costing $25 to repair plus $4 for the 10 minutes we were "parked" in Bradley International Airport's garbage-riddled Economy Parking Lot D.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
TV Time
So, it's been a while since I last posted, but in my defense, these have been by far the busiest weeks of the year for me at work, and I've been spending a lot of my free time exploring my new TV. It's not the snazziest, top-of-the-line behemoth I could have gotten. No, I was sensible, did lots of research and settled on a nice mid-range set. It's a 32", 780p LCD TV. If you know what that means, or care about more bells and whistles, comment and I will answer more, but since most of you probably don't know and don't care, I will leave it at that.
The one feature I wanted to highlight is that fact that it has an input port solely reserved for computers. Unfortunately, it's a VGA (15-pin) input (a somewhat outdated technology), not the best for streaming digital video, etc. My laptop has a DVI (29 pin) output port. Thankfully, my computer did come with a DVI-VGA converter, but I still had to buy a VGA cable to hook it into the TV. I ordered one, and it came last week. The result:
Having purchased a 10' cable, I can place my computer under my coffee table, run the cord along the floor and into the TV, and watch programs on Hulu with comfort. The quality is actually very good, at least from my viewing distance. However, to get sound, I would have had to buy another cable and adapter to have sound output from the TV, so instead I bought some computer speakers on sale for $5 at Target, and simply listen to sound from the computer using them. It's not the classiest setup, but it suits me. Lately, the flavors of the month for me have been "Andy Barker, P.I." a comedy starring Andy Richter as a mild-mannered accountant-come private investigator, co-starring Tony Hale of "Arrested Development" that lasted only 6 episodes; and "Kitchen Nightmares," a show where enfant terrible and uber-chef Gordon Ramsay visits struggling restaurants in America and turns them around in a week (it's disingenuously edited and probably mostly scripted) but it's still hilarious.
In other TV news, apparently AMC is planning on running a 6-episode miniseries beginning this Sunday that is essentially an updated version of the 1960's cult sci-fi classic "The Prisoner." This version stars Jim Caviezel, a favorite just sub-star-level actor of mine, most famous for playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," as the central character No. 6; and Sir Ian Mckellen as his nemesis, No. 2. Some other details have been modernized. Read all about it here in the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/arts/television/11prisoner.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
The one feature I wanted to highlight is that fact that it has an input port solely reserved for computers. Unfortunately, it's a VGA (15-pin) input (a somewhat outdated technology), not the best for streaming digital video, etc. My laptop has a DVI (29 pin) output port. Thankfully, my computer did come with a DVI-VGA converter, but I still had to buy a VGA cable to hook it into the TV. I ordered one, and it came last week. The result:
Having purchased a 10' cable, I can place my computer under my coffee table, run the cord along the floor and into the TV, and watch programs on Hulu with comfort. The quality is actually very good, at least from my viewing distance. However, to get sound, I would have had to buy another cable and adapter to have sound output from the TV, so instead I bought some computer speakers on sale for $5 at Target, and simply listen to sound from the computer using them. It's not the classiest setup, but it suits me. Lately, the flavors of the month for me have been "Andy Barker, P.I." a comedy starring Andy Richter as a mild-mannered accountant-come private investigator, co-starring Tony Hale of "Arrested Development" that lasted only 6 episodes; and "Kitchen Nightmares," a show where enfant terrible and uber-chef Gordon Ramsay visits struggling restaurants in America and turns them around in a week (it's disingenuously edited and probably mostly scripted) but it's still hilarious.
In other TV news, apparently AMC is planning on running a 6-episode miniseries beginning this Sunday that is essentially an updated version of the 1960's cult sci-fi classic "The Prisoner." This version stars Jim Caviezel, a favorite just sub-star-level actor of mine, most famous for playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," as the central character No. 6; and Sir Ian Mckellen as his nemesis, No. 2. Some other details have been modernized. Read all about it here in the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/arts/television/11prisoner.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Mind Trap
Sid Shady and Sam Sham are sitting at a bar. Both order a double shot of Johnny Walker Red Label Scotch. Sid offers a wager to Sam: Sid tells Sam to place his shot on the solid oak bar and place a solid glass bowl completely over the shot. Sid then bets Sam $1 that Sid can drink Sam's shot without touching either the bowl or the shot glass, and without the use of any other person or object. Should Sam take the bet?
Note: This is a paraphrased (and probably improved) version of a question from a substandard mind-problem/trivia game from the early 90's called "MindTrap." I purchased an unused copy of the game from Goodwill today for $1.95, and played it for a while with Greg and Sarah, with semi-hilarious results.
Please post your answers (Yes or No, with explanation either way) in the comments, and I will post the correct answer sometime tomorrow (Greg and Sarah obviously excluded).
Note: This is a paraphrased (and probably improved) version of a question from a substandard mind-problem/trivia game from the early 90's called "MindTrap." I purchased an unused copy of the game from Goodwill today for $1.95, and played it for a while with Greg and Sarah, with semi-hilarious results.
Please post your answers (Yes or No, with explanation either way) in the comments, and I will post the correct answer sometime tomorrow (Greg and Sarah obviously excluded).
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Aqua Man
I've not updated about the gold fish for a while. Greta is still doing well, and seemed to be happy in her vase/bowl contraption I had set up in my apartment. However, winter is approaching the Valley rapidly, and along with it, serious cold. Greta is a Betta fish, whose native climate is tropical. I've read form various sources that the species thrives in temperatures in the mid-to-upper seventies, though they can survive in waters as cold as 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
My apartment does not have central heating and cooling, but rather two wall units in the front and back of the space. This is economical for me and the environment, as I spend no energy or money heating an empty apartment while I am at work during the day, or even heating the other side of my apartment when I am in my bedroom.
Unfortunately, this means the temperature can get downright frigid during cold days and nights, which is not good for the fish. The other night was a chilly, but not horrible temperature, and Greta's water registered at just 67 degrees. That is probably too cold for her. And the temperature fluctuations between day and night and at the whim of my personal comfort are even worse for her.
So, rather than spend about $20 on a heater to maintain the temperature for my $0.13 fish, I bought a $10 decent-looking aquarium for her and moved her into my office at work. As much as we at work complain about the inconsistency of our building's heating system, it does manage to maintain a fairly stable temperature in the low 70's, which is much better for her. The new aquarium also has a self-filtering system and bubbler, which means changing water less frequently, and more space for her to explore (I even ponied up for a nice little fake plant). Here's a picture of the new digs:
She survived the first night, though I think it took her some getting used to the sound of the bubbler and the direct light from the aquarium lid. She seems to be enjoying the new space, plant and attention.
My apartment does not have central heating and cooling, but rather two wall units in the front and back of the space. This is economical for me and the environment, as I spend no energy or money heating an empty apartment while I am at work during the day, or even heating the other side of my apartment when I am in my bedroom.
Unfortunately, this means the temperature can get downright frigid during cold days and nights, which is not good for the fish. The other night was a chilly, but not horrible temperature, and Greta's water registered at just 67 degrees. That is probably too cold for her. And the temperature fluctuations between day and night and at the whim of my personal comfort are even worse for her.
So, rather than spend about $20 on a heater to maintain the temperature for my $0.13 fish, I bought a $10 decent-looking aquarium for her and moved her into my office at work. As much as we at work complain about the inconsistency of our building's heating system, it does manage to maintain a fairly stable temperature in the low 70's, which is much better for her. The new aquarium also has a self-filtering system and bubbler, which means changing water less frequently, and more space for her to explore (I even ponied up for a nice little fake plant). Here's a picture of the new digs:
She survived the first night, though I think it took her some getting used to the sound of the bubbler and the direct light from the aquarium lid. She seems to be enjoying the new space, plant and attention.
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