Year: 2017
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Connect The Dots
So the market for voice-controlled ‘smart speakers’ for your home has picked up in the past year or so, with Amazon’s Echo devices, Google Home, and no doubt some Siri-enabled thing from Apple in the near future. Although I’m usually quick to jump on any technological bandwagon, I’ve been keeping away from this one thus far. This is partly just to give the technology time to mature, but mainly because I already have a Sonos speaker set-up, and I really don’t see the point of playing music on a $99 multi-function speaker when I have a couple of grand’s worth… Read more
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Did you get my meme-o?
So, somehow someone at work managed to send a routine system failure notification to a mailing list that included everyone who has access to that system. Like 26,000 people. Not a smart career move. I received the notification, saw it wasn’t really meant for me, deleted it, and moved on. But there’s always people who can’t just delete an email (maybe because it took them time to read it, which counts as work, so now they need to let everyone know they are working) and who decided to reply to it. And not just reply, but Reply All. To everyone… Read more
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Antisocial Insecurity
I know people claiming social security are sometimes seen as jobless spongers who are just too lazy to get a job, but based on my recent experience, getting the Social Security Administration to actually give you money is more work than an actual job. Allow me to explain. For reasons we don’t need to get into, my three kids became eligible for social security payments (in lieu of Child Support) in January this year. Although they automatically became eligible, I still had to apply (on their behalf) for said social security payments, which necessitated filling in a shit-ton of forms… Read more
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Keeping abreast of gender issues
Last weekend I went to the Houston Pride Parade – partly because my bestie was heavily involved in organizing a contingent from my company to actually march in the parade and I wanted to provide moral support, but mostly because the current Administration seems intent on removing LGBT rights at an alarming pace, and in good conscience I can’t just sit idly by and say nothing (whereas standing idly by the parade route and clapping politely is a level of resistance I’m comfortable with…). I dragged along my GF, my daughter and a friend of hers with some skin in… Read more