The American Heritage Dictionary...

...defines "inspiration" as: "1) a. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. b. The condition of being so stimulated. 2) An agency, such as a person or work of art, that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention..." [Emphasis mine.]

Why am I sharing this with you? No, I haven't started a Word-of-the-Day club.

I mention this because I recently got back in touch (or perhaps that re-got back in touch) with an old friend from... geez, it was even before high school, wasn't it? And apparently, she enjoyed my blog so much, she was inspired to create her own. As I said to her, I don't think I've ever been an inspiration to anyone, except perhaps in a negative context (as in, "Whatever you do, don't do what JAM did...") So it's a refreshing change of pace for me. Thus, without further ado, I give you Boppie's Stripes and Plaids (though she will always remain to me, the lovely, talented, and svelte MG). She's always been an entertaining writer of ordinary events (one Christmas essay springing immediately to mind as one of the funnier things I've ever read), so I look forward to it. Who knows? I may perhaps even start reading these things too...

And on a completely unrelated note, WPE just sent me this link to the new Batman collection of Legos. Clearly the folks at Lego are trying to distract me from their more nefarious intentions... But it won't work, I tell you... oooh, shiny...

Let's see what else. I am happy to report that the Xmas decorations are mostly all down and back in their (many, many, many) boxes. Also, we had dinner this evening with my former roommate and his lovely wife, who is expecting their first child sometime around my birthday. (Might I be the first to suggest that "Jonathan" is an excellent name...)

Well, that's about it from here. I must be off to inspire others to do, you know, stuff...

If you haven't heard it before, it's new to you...

So, not much exciting to report, but I wanted to take a moment and commend to you mac & cheese. Both the tasty lunchtime food (though I must admit, it always seems to come out better when MLW makes it... I can't tell if I'm actually doing something wrong, or to paraphrase the wisdom of a former coworker, E.House-a-la-Francais, "The best meal you can have is one that somebody else makes for you...") and the episode of the same title of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Excellent and quite funny Cartoon Network show you may have heard me blather on about in these pages before...

I think I've also recommended a new British import -- Hustle, appearing in the US on AMC. Very well done. And who doesn't enjoy con artists, really. Really good stuff. Trust me; I know TV.

Finally, just a self-centered plug for the Robot Doom blog, which has really taken off, now that I'm not the only one posting. Read, enjoy, and be forewarned.

Oh, and I came across a quote that seemed to aptly describe what I alluded to the other day:

"Remember that as a teenager you are at the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you." - Fran Lebowitz

More to come...

"So... HOW did it go?"

Yep. I hate that question almost as much as the more generic (but less up-to-date), "So, how's the job search going?" I mean, don't get me wrong -- I appreciate the interest (real or feigned), but let's face it, if the interview didn't end with them handing me a signed contract or a briefcase full of cash (Mmmm... cash), but also didn't result in them sitting down at the table, looking over my resume and laughing so hard they fell out of their chair... well, then the best I can tell you is, "Um, I guess it went okay."

It was certainly one of the shorter interviews I've had, but I am attributing that to the fact that there office seemed understaffed and that they were in the process of ramping up on several tasks. The main point of concern I have is that the position would be on site at Quantico. So, anyone out there commute from DC/Alexandria to Quantico every day? Mapquest tells me (MLW, actually) it's 31 miles... how many hours does that take? Three? Four?

Anyway, I need to fill out some forms and send them back, and then I guess I'll have a second interview.

Not much else to report that wouldn't involve the ADSW and lots of obscenities...

Later, folks.

An update...

...lest I hear about how I'm not "posting enough" (from either my mom or Mr. Huge... who I believe are 50% of my readership at this point...)

More importantly, a slight bit of info to report -- which really effects when I post and when I don't (that is, when I have something to share) rather than at set time increments...

Anyway, did some thrilling and exciting web consulting for www.evolvedyoga.com finally fixing a persistent problem that more or less stemmed from Authorize.net having crappy customer service (so I switched the cart to work with PayPal.) While it's counter-intuitive, when I report this income to the VEC, rather than saying, "Wow. That's the spirit! Excellent initiative, old man! Keep up the fine work. Here's a check," they will instead (assuming I've understood things correctly) subtract my earnings from what they pay me. Which I guess makes some sense somewhere.

Also -- of perhaps slightly more interest -- I have an interview tomorrow with -- wait for it... it's shocking... -- a government/defense contractor in beautiful Crystal City, VA... I think it's literally yards away from where I used to work at CPI. Naturally, I got this interview through the wonderful world of networking, and not, of course, through the massive quantity of job postings I respond to weekly (or perhaps that's weakly). I will have more on that later, obviously.

So anyway, that's all I have right now, though I feel I should somehow leave you with a wacky link of some sort, but I don't seem to have anything handy right now. Maybe next time.

What level of celebrity...

...are we talking about when even the flotsam they remove from you medically is worth money?

Also here's this tidbit offered up by WPE, who I think likes pointing out weird news from NJ...

Yep, that's about all I got today...

So, yeah, the job search...

...what up with that?

A few things to report (but nothing to get too terribly excited about, I'm afraid):

1. Was called in to see the fine folks at the VEC -- didn't meet with Karl (the guy from last time), but instead with a woman named Colleen. She had a very soothing voice (not that there was really anything to be nervous about). She was actually fairly helpful and while we did review my claims thus far, I was told that everything was in order. She also gave me a packet of info with many other possible places to look for leads, so all-in-all, good.
2. In other, not-much-to-report-but-hey-it's-something, I did receive word that I was likely going to be called back for one (or more -- it was not clear) of the government positions I was looking at. Of course, being the government, the earliest I could get in would be the end of February. (Don't worry, I'll wake you if anything happens.)
3. And hey, yesterday MLW and saw a detailed report on how the FBI is hiring, so looks like I'll be sending some applications their way (again). Apparently, they need more IT people and project managers, so...

Hmm. I know there was a bunch of other, non-job-search-related items, but I've been writing this post on and off over the course of the weekend and today, so I think it's about time I publish it and if I think of the other stuff, well, it's not like anyone can ever get me to shut up, right...?

I was going to give you folks...

...what passes for an update on the job sitch, but it's late and I'm very tired, so instead I'm going to leave you with some random "filler material."

First, tonight signified the return of Sci-Fi Friday on the Sci-Fi Channel. While originally I didn't want to like the new Battlestar Gallactica (because they took Farscape off the air to pay for it), I can't help but appreciate a show that consistently surprises me with its plotlines.

And speaking of TV, I'm very much looking forward to this new show, Hustle, on AMC. Who doesn't love a show about con artists...? It's by the same people who created MI-5 (or Spooks as its known in the UK), which is a favorite of MLW, so I think it should be good viewing for the whole household...

And finally, I'll leave you with this random quote (which has little bearing on anything else I've said, but I thought was cool):

"The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos." - Stephen Jay Gould

So.... 2006, eh?

Well, hello all and Happy New Year. Not much new to report. It's a rainy, dreary, gray day (wow, did I just suddenly sound like my mother there...), and the Rose Parade, which MLW enjoys watching every year looked pretty darn soggy (first time in 51 years it's rained on the Rose Parade and only the 10th time in the history of the parade... see? You can learn stuff from TV Guide.)

Had a very small gathering the other night, just some close friends and relatives over for a somewhat impromptu New Year's Eve... well, "bash" doesn't sound accurate, but we had fun in what is otherwise a holiday that I'm pretty ambivalent about.

Wish I had more to report, but other than that, and the gradual enjoyment of my various holidays gifts (CDs, flipping through books, wearing the clothes, etc.) not much to say. Oh, we did go in to see the White House Holiday trees/display. Even that seemed subdued this year, though I liked the trains and the snowflakes.

More later, I guess when I have something to tell ya about....