And now the moment you've all been waiting for...

(Drum roll, please, Anton...)

Our top story:

JAM gets a new job
Friends and Family Amazed

It was announced today that Jonathan A. Mazur (alias JAM to some) had, after months and months of searching found gainful employment (like, they're paying him money and everything) at a local area computer consulting firm. When asked for comment, he expressed his profound gratitude for all those who assisted in his job search. His lovely wife, on the other hand, was heard to remark, "It's about@#$%in' time..."

Hello. So, that's my big news. Which I've actually had for a week now (I started on Monday). I wanted to make sure things went okay before I said anything (who knows, they could have chased me out of the building or something). But fortunately, that didn't happen.

So what am I doing? Pretty much the same thing I was doing... (Yeah, I realize that doesn't help most of you...) My title is Senior Systems Analyst. "Senior" -- 'cause I don't have enough reasons to feel old...

Anyway, just wanted y'all to know. I also wanted to say "thank you" to the many people who helped out with job leads, tips, offers to circulate my resume, and general comments to raise morale and make sure I was okay. So, thanks.

The blog will continue (I mean, come on, it's never been that much about the job search, right?). So we'll talk again. Oh, lookee here, MDFA tells me I'm not the only one who has a new job...

A very full weekend...

Oh, I have so much to tell y'all... But I'm trying to do things in order, so...

A lot happened last weekend... Friday we attempted (and largely failed) to finish up MLW's short-term game. But one more session should take care of it. Then very tired, went to sleep.

Saturday, I got up crazy early (for a Saturday, anyway) to go to Six Flags America with MDFA. It was just the two of us -- what amazing patience she has to spend the whole day with me yammering on and on and on... We had fun -- they have MANY rollercoasters -- though a misunderstanding of what the Penguin's Blizard River Ride was, nearly cost me the day with some severe, spinning-induced vertigo. (JAM can't do the spinning). The fine folks at Six Flags, or should I say the many 12 year olds who work there for minimum wage or so, also goofed and gave me a "premium" season pass instead of a regular one, so we'll definitely be going back and bringing friends. Which is probably why we decided we didn't need to go on EVERY rollercoaster. We tried Batwing (once we found it -- it's practically in a different park), which was pretty darn neat. And Superman: Ride of Steel, which was very fast. And several of the others. Anyway, nice day - I really enjoyed it a lot.

Then on Sunday, it was pretty much get up early again (at least for a Sunday), as we spent the day volunteering at the ADSW Expo. Once again dealt with the large quantity of incompetence on the part of NVCC, though slightly less than last year. And once again, MLW and I managed to find a few things to add to the Deco collection. (Though we managed to keep it below $100...)

Admittedly, none of the above is as exciting or funny as this bit (sent in by originalWebb), but it was still my weekend. Many more exciting announcements forthcoming very soon!

Updates, dial-up rant, and Herowear...

Geez, I don't even remember what I last told you folks... Did I talk about last week? I know I told you about part of Tuesday in the Monkey entry (I find it highly amusing that because I said the word "monkey" so many times, the google ad sense generator is now listing ads for exotic pets and monkeys...) Later that day, though, I received a call from that one company I've been going back and forth with (the "take you to lunch" people... still hungry, for the record...) So anyway, last Wednesday I had lunch with The Shark, said "hi" to one or two people back at CPI (which, after six months, looks exactly the same, except for Lori's Tiki bar...), went to a job fair in another part of Crystal City, and then capped off the day with a trip to Costco (nothing like buying in bulk on a budget...)

Later in the week, MLW & I headed up to NJ (and NY) effectively for her godmother's grandson's first communion (the relationship is actually more complicated than that, but that will suffice... if I were following Ethiopian protocol, I'd have simply said "cousin..."). Saw my family on Friday and managed to catch up with my curmudgeonly friend Greg (who seemed in high spirits) this time ('cause last time we were supposed to get together he went and broke his collar bone to get out of it). And then drove back. Oy. (For the truly bored, I think MLW put up pics on flickr.)

Oh, in a related minor update, you -- yes, you -- can now see Casa del Tiburon in all its photogenic glory.

Now, you'll excuse the brief rant, but OMG is dial-up killing me. The past 48 hours have been horrible. First Gmail was lagging -- and hey, I LOVE me my gmail, but not when it takes 4 minutes to open a message. Then for the past day or so, a certain internet giant that I shall not name [*cough*AOL*cough*], has been taking many minutes to connect, and then giving me blazing speeds of 16K or 19K baud... (I think right now I have a teeth-rattling 21K... but who can tell with things moving this fast, really... For the non-technical, yes, that was sarcasm.) It's enough (one would think... and yet...) to make me finally get off my ass and call Comcast to find out about high speed access (that I can't afford...)

Okay, enough of that...

Now that I've griped, let me gush for a minute. I recently ordered two performance tees -- basically fancy-schmancy athletic wear -- from the fine folks at PureHero.com. As the name might imply, PureHero produces athletic "performance apparel" and they have the Marvel license, so one can get workout clothes with Spidey's logo on them (and so on). I have to say, I got two of their tees (Spiderman and Fantastic Four, if you're curious) a couple weeks ago and they have rapidly become my favorite tees. The material is quick drying too, so it occurred to me it would be perfect to wear to a water or amusement park... Their stuff is cut large, so being a petite fellow, I find it a little loose, but since America keeps getting bigger (it's all the growth hormones in the milk, I tells ya...) I guess that makes sense for them. Anyway, they seem like great folks, they make good merchandise, and hey, maybe I can get free swag for endorsing them... (yeah, that'll happen...) But, hey, don't take my word for it, take the word of a complete stranger to me, Dave of Dave's Long Box (which I mentioned in my FCBD entry). He's on hiatus this week, but read down to his post on "Why Gambit Sucks..."-- funny. And more importantly, buy PureHero stuff. X-Men designs now available for pre-order...

There. Update. Check. Rant. Check. Pimping. Check. I think I'm done for today.

Save the Internet!

Look folks, I rarely (I think) get political on this thing, but there are some issues that merit it, and one of them is the very medium through which I'm communicating with you. Hence...

I probably can't explain it as well as they do, but suffice to say, that the powers that be are trying to limit our surfing options to sites that pay them money. For a truly bizarre attempt at an explanation, I encourage you to check out this video from Ask a Ninja.

So, hey, sign up. Get involved. Send your congressperson an email. It doesn't take much effort.

And just so you don't think I've completely changed, I'm sure I'll be back with the normal randomness come the weekend...

"Monkeys."

It's a phrase MDFA and I use to refer to work-related stupidity. Got started because of an incredibly stupid (IMO) "morale boosting" promotion her company did. I started asking if monkeys were in charge of the budget. And it eventually got shortened down to one of us shaking our head and the other saying, "Monkeys." (So, yes, it was with a mixture of delight and a feeling of having our idea stolen, that we have received the commercials for Careerbuilder.com).

Anyway, the interview I had scheduled for today -- well, they never sent a follow up email. So I got up this morning and called. And got a series of voicemails. So I got ready, shaved, etc. I called again. I say to the receptionist, "Yeah, hi, I'm calling because I'm supposed to be coming in for any interview at 11. I don't know who I spoke to last Friday, because she called while I was in my car..."

"Oh, you must mean, Ms. _____ in HR. Hang on, I'll transfer you."

Six or seven rings later, I'm on the phone with Ms. ___'s voicemail. So I explain that I never received the email, but I had figured out where they were and would be there at 11 unless I heard from them. So I'm tying my tie (Full Windsor, for anyone who cares... it's the only one I know how to tie) and the phone rings. It's Ms. ____. Seems the hiring manager got called to an out of town meeting. We need to reschedule. Ms. ____ was stuck in traffic and couldn't get anyone there to get my # for her (she didn't sound happy about that). But she didn't have the hiring manager's schedule, so... yep, they'll have to get back to me...

Hence... Monkeys. [shakes head]

In honor of that and thanks to a seriously dated email from ND, we give you the monkey links above for your enjoyment.

And stretching this metaphor to the breaking point, since monkeys were used in the early days of space travel (and the bad Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes), I thought I would give you this well-researched piece that WPE sent my way this a.m. on none other than the semi-mythological Space Pen.

In terms of personal accomplishments, I finally finished writing MG back today, so it wasn't a total wash...

Casa del Tiburon

(Excuse my malformed Spanish). So yesterday, MLW, MDFA, and I went over to The Shark's McMansion. And Mansion-ish it is. Good taste prevents me from telling you how much it cost (and with real estate prices down here, what would it mean, anyway...?) I will say there's a walk-in closet bigger than the office I'm typing this from, and their master bath is bigger than the one we had at the Bellagio. (Yes, the Bellagio...)

So anyway, The Shark was having a combination 6th b-day party for his too cute daughter and housewarming party (I think they moved just before I left CPI, so that would be about October?) Anyway, a nice time was had by all (certainly the kids, if the screaming level was anything to go by), though there was a lot of food being pushed. I had no idea the people were such food pushers. It was like Extreme Hospitality! But seriously, nice party, and MLW got to watch the Derby (on the plasma screen... again, I say, "Must be nice to have money...")

What else? Well, a few things on ye old job search front this week. I'm sending likely my last volley to the company that had me to 3 interviews and seems to have forgotten about me since, (though, hey, people get busy. Who knows?) Then, while out on errands on Friday, I got a call about some association I applied for a position with I don't even remember how far back (checks log -- week of March 26th, apparently) who now want to bring me in for an interview on Tuesday (Whatever...) And then I have yet another career fair in shiny Crystal City on Wednesday (after which I may have lunch with some of the miscreants I used to work with). So that's what's up on the job front.

And in the interest of not just leaving you with what I did with my Saturday (oh, did I mention we saw Mission Impossible III after the party? We did. Pretty good. In spite of Tom Cruise...), I figured I would share with you a couple of the links I'd been accumulating... For some reason Hasbro keeps feeling the need to frak with Monopoly. Haven't they done enough with the NASCAR edition or whatever?

And I'd be remiss if I didn't point out this bit of George Lucas news -- not to be confused with this other one everyone keeps sending me (Huge, in particular, seemed very excited about the fact that Greedo did not shoot first... which we all know...)

Last, but by no means least, we have this reasonably hot of the press tidbit from MDFA, who wanted to make sure we all knew what our dear Mr. T was up to these days...

Stay cool, folks, I'll be back.

Hey Kids, do you know what tomorrow is?!

Free Comic Book Day!!!
And in honor of this fine celebration of an American art form, I give you a few links, that have something to do with well, comics...

The new Superman Returns trailer, for instance.

Some (finally confirmed) news on the much turned-around Iron Man movie, I believe sent in by SQ.

Apparently, Angelina "Most Beautiful" Jolie is going to be in the sequel to Sin City (cleverly named Sin City 2).

And I came across this fellow's blog about comics in my travels; it seems pretty entertaining.

So, go out, get a free comic. Read. Enjoy. Repeat as needed.

Snakes on a Plane?

Okay, so clearly I'm out of the loop. And I knew that. But still, it's not like I'm not on the web nearly every day. So how did I completely miss this one. I had to find out about it during the last session of my spycraft game (several weeks back, and yes, sadly, it's taken me this long to post about it...) I dunno. Must be slipping.

On the off-chance you're as behind the curve as myself, please check out this story, as well as this VERY FUNNY "audition reel" by this guy that does a spot-on Christopher Walken, Joe Pesci, and Beaker.

Sign me up. Samuel L. Jackson. Snakes. A plane. What more does a movie need?

Happy Cinco de Mayo! More tomorrow, folks.

I have so much...

...stored up to post, and seemingly no time to type it in.

So instead of what I was going to tell you about today, I'm simply going to share these two bits on one of my favorite shows, Veronica Mars:

The first being about the second season's DVD release schedule.

And the second and more important being a request that you vote for it in E! Online's "Watch with Kristin's" annual Save Our Show poll.

I promise more and equally eclectic stuff tomorrow.

A day of errands...

...and chores awaits me, so nothing much to tell you guys. While I'm out and about, I will be checking over all the change I'm given, though...

Naturally, because I'm always on the forefront of the hottest trends, I have combined all my errands into one hyper-efficient loop.

What else? Finally, finished the spygame last night, after many more sessions than originally planned. Letting MLW take over the GM duties of the next game (while I eventually finalize preparations for the conclusion to my superhero thing this summer...)

Anyway, perhaps something exciting will happen while I'm out and thus I'll have something to talk about later....

Small update...

Hey there. So, let's see what's what. Spent a few days of last week in NJ - primarily for my Grandmother's 91st b-day, though we also saw some friends (and additional family). Also started/continued (depending on one's perspective), the long process of dragging all my childhood crap down here to VA. In this case, mostly GI Joe toys, and... um, well, some sorts of books... I haven't opened those boxes yet...

Before that I had an interview with a small contracting firm in DC. Seemed to go well, in that they had me back on Monday of this week to meet the other founder of the company. I also talked with some of the other people that worked there to get a sense of the day-to-day. Now they want to take me to lunch. Or something. We'll see what happens; I've given up on any ability of myself to be accurate in my perceptions on this stuff anymore...

In random entertainment news (no, not the stuff about "tomkitten"), we have this backstep on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. DVDs as well as an interview with one of the villains of the upcoming (next year) Spiderman 3 movie.

That's about it from here (for now). More to follow, I'm sure.

So yesterday...

...I went to this career fair (yes, another one) at GW that was put on by the fine folks at Idealist.org (and brought to my attention by original-Webb, thanks). I had a bit of a concern (many would say unhealthily so) about getting there and parking and getting out in time for a 2 p.m. appointment, but I'm happy to report there were no problems on that front. But boy, was it crowded. It's like college students want a job or something. (And yes, it made me feel old...) On the other hand, I had experience to offer, whereas mostly, these kids seemed to have nose rings...

As an addendum to my post of Monday, let me just say this about my trip to the National Press Club for my ADSW Board meeting: there is nothing to make most (local) people support your cause like hosing up DC traffic. Seriously.

I have an(other? I had a phone one already) interview today with another tech consulting firm -- actually doing stuff very similar to my last job. We'll see what happens.

And finally, I leave you with this bit (another courtesy of SQ) on the latest plans from the fine folks at NASA. In all seriousness, I appreciate what they do, but they need to get better PR/spin people...

Still not much...

...to report. Unless it's on the Man from U.N.C.L.E. DVD's apparently...

Or you're my increasingly famous (teacher) Cousin Allyson...

A lot going on this week (or at least a lot on the schedule), though I don't know as that any of it amounts to anything.

Tonight I have another ADSW Board meeting.

So I'll leave you with this bit SQ sent along on X3. Enjoy.

Not many...

...options at yesterday's career fair, or at least options that were geared towards me. Or perhaps I'm being "too choosy."

Dave Bernard (he of header fame) sent me this quote today, which I hope he doesn't mind me sharing:

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Samuel Beckett

Heh.

In less personal news (but probably more interesting), TV Shows on DVD.com is reporting that The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is apparently finally coming out on DVD. In fact, one can already pre-order it at Amazon.com...

I know I'm not the only one that's been waiting for it. And I heard Robert Vaughn is doing the commentary, so that's cool.

More later, we're about to have a thunderstorm, so I should probably be going...

Career Fair today...

...at the Ronald Reagan Building (man, that's a big building...) Sponsored by the fine folks at Careerbuilder.com.

Don't know as that it will amount to anything, but hey, you know, gotta try these things out...

More to follow, perhaps...

Tumbleweeds

(You sorta expect to see the digital version blowing through here, no?)

Sorry, I've been away so long. I can't decide if I had nothing to say or just didn't feel like saying...

So, to briefly summarize my world since last we had a chance to chat...

In early February, MLW and I went to check out Chinese New Year in Chinatown (I suppose that's self-evident, but...)

The following weekend, we had a few close friends over to help me celebrate the 35th anniversary of my presence on this fine planet of ours, but mostly people ate pizza and watched the Winter Olympics (I could not be less interested...) I got them back by breathing all over the cake...

Later that same weekend, MLW and I played tourist for Valentine's Day (she does so love an excuse to take off of work...)

Later still in February my genetic source material (i.e., my parents) came down to wish me a Happy Birthday. Now, it should be noted that we don't have a good track record for visits during the years where Winter Olympics are being played. Last time they came down our hot water heater broke and we had to shuttle back and forth to MDFA's place (she was fortuitously on vacation) to shower. Also, I was deathly ill. This time, however, it was they who got deathly ill. But somewhere in there my dad managed to install some fixtures and we got out to a movie and to a restaurant or two. But I think they are banned from any further visits during Winter Olympics, just for safety's sake.

Somewhere in here, I learned this very important information regarding the latest James Bond movie. (Mmmm... Eva Green...)

After that, on the job front (yeah, remember that?) -- I had a series of interviews for a government gig I was pretty excited about. More on that in a moment.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that we held a special Mardi Gras edition of our monthly Poker Nite to round out the Month o' February. It was sparsely attended, but wildly exciting for those that were there.

As we rolled around into March (I don't recall whether it was like a lion or a lamb... or a fox or an ostrich for that matter...), I got some bad news regarding the aforementioned (and previously alluded to in other posts) government gig. Which was disappointing. Which is an understatement. (I think, "soul-crushing despair" was how I referred to it.) Which was probably an overstatement. But it was the first time I had a sort of goal and it didn't pan out. Fortunately, they make a sign for that.

Moving right along -- or rather after I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity for a few days -- I got back on the horse (or perhaps that's pony...) and went to my first job fair. Not really knowing what to expect, I can't say that it was good or bad. But it didn't take as long as I thought it would, so that's a plus. (Naturally, the jobs I closely matched well, they were up in Baltimore, though the one fellow did mention the company moving down here in either April or July... or perhaps that was between April and July... I wasn't clear...)

Um, then what? I know I started hitting Monster.com a lot harder than usual. The problem with all the jobs sites is that daily updates aren't really useful. That is, out of all the jobs they send one daily, really checking once a week is enough to find the few that one... okay, I, me, myself... is qualified for. But anyway, the search proceeds a pace.

I've had some phone interviews. In theory I'm scheduled for a follow-up in person interview (though I thought it was today, and apparently it's next Wednesday, so I'm a little concerned about their internal organizational ability... but then I'm not really one to talk, so...) and tomorrow I have another job fair.

Oh, and somewhere in there they discovered that Homer (the poet, not the Simpson) was the first author with a merchandising deal...

In our continuing travel series, MLW and I went to Great Falls, which is seriously demonstrating the drought conditions from which the area is suffering (I have no idea if that storm we had on Monday accomplished anything or not).

Then I found out more on the next Bond movie.

And then I think we rolled around into April with me not hearing of any major April Fool's pranks, internet or otherwise. (But I may simply have been not paying enough attention...)

And that more or less brings us up to date. At least with all I can remember right now.

I'm still grossly negligent in my personal correspondence and need to get back to that. And I'm sure I've forgotten one or two (no doubt equally scintillating) details. But I will endeavor to be more forthcoming, or at least consistent in the future...

I'd like to apologize...

...in advance, particularly to Jado, who I suspect will later be angry with me for introducing him to this, but y'all have to go check out this REALLY funny webcomic that came my way courtesy (or through the mechanations) of ND.



You can begin with Issue #1 (as I did... and I wonder where this week is going...) or I imagine you can just start with the most current issue (though I don't see how you'd know what was going on...)

Also, be sure and read the FAQ, as it explains why you may or may not be getting all the jokes (read: are you an RPG geek?)...

Remember that's ... too funny.

More later.

Note: Blogger, for whatever reason, would not cooperate with me, 48 hours ago when I was trying to post this "really quickly" the last time I had a moment to do so. It was supposed to be post this, than post a longer more informative update later, but the Fates were conspiring I guess. Got stuff to do today so more later, if everyone's feeling cooperative...

A quick break...

...from frantic cleaning (is there any other kind?), so I thought I'd post this, which came my way via MDFA...

You scored as SG-1 (Stargate). You are versatile and diverse in your thinking. You have an open mind to that which seems highly unlikely and accept it with a bit of humor. Now if only aliens would stop trying to take over your body.

SG-1 (Stargate)		81%
Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)		75%
Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)		75%
Serenity (Firefly)		75%
FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files)		63%
Moya (Farscape)		63%
Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)		63%
Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)		63%
Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)		56%
Enterprise D (Star Trek)		56%
Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)		44%
Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)		38%

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com


Ain't it the truth though...

Oh man, I owe...

...I owe you folks a post. I owe MG a major response to her various missives and blog posts (and have had over a week to get that done to no avail... soon, dear, soon...) I owe responses to the fine folks who wished me felicitations at jumping into the next survey bracket (more below). And I owe myself a day off. But it never seems to happen. "But how can that be, JAM?" I hear you ask (at least I think those are the particular voices I hear). It seems that my activities are a fluid -- they will expand to fill the size of the container. So no matter how much "unscheduled time" I have, I still seem to have no time. (No, ADHD doesn't help with that either...)

So yeah, when did I last post? A while ago. Every time I see Huge, he's all, "Well, clearly you don't care about the blog anymore..." Well, excuse me, Man. I'm not your dancing monkey, okay? I have a life. I don't do this for you I do it for me. Capice?

Anyway, so since last we chatted, I jumped into the next survey bracket. What does that mean? Well, did you ever notice surveys are like, "Age?" And then they give you a bunch of choices, "18-24," "25-34," "35-50," etc. Yeah, so finally moved out of that "you're young enough that you have disposable income and thus we want to sell you things" bracket and into the next one. I don't pretend to know what that means. But on February 12th at 8:25 p.m. surrounded by Winter Olympics obsessed (really, I just don't care... I'm sorry if that makes me unAmerican or something) friends and family... (well, surrounded is probably overstating it, but there were people there for the free pizza and cake...) So, yeah, I share my birthday with such greats as Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin (so I don't know if I could celebrate my birthday in Kansas or not...)

The rest of my time seems to be filled with the aforementioned, life-sucking, soul-crushing "volunteer activities" (i.e., ADSW, HOA, etc.) You know, I can't help but wonder if maybe I wouldn't be better off if the genetic source material had taught me that it was okay to quit, through in the towel, give up, surrender, etc... Ah, well.

What isn't taken up by that seems to be taken up by the job search (oh, yes, that's still going on, btw.) Several responses to things lately, though none of them good. One guy really wanted to hire me, but the contract they wanted me to manage never materialized. Another person filled their slot, but wondered if I'd be interested in another position, but then used a bunch of business speak jargon I'm still translating back into English (that's big corporate America people).

What isn't job search is filled with chores (I am happy to report that Xmas is finally up in the attic where it belonged far before my birthday -- even if that is the tradition in my parents' house), which seem to keep multiplying. And for recreation, well, I'm running a short game, which naturally requires me to do more research than I'm sure the average student puts in during a marking period (that would be the OCD at work, for those trying to keep track at home). It's a fictional (I hope I don't have to say that, but gods know who's reading what these days) superspy/espionage game, the details of which I'm sure would bore the uninitiated, and well the rest of you are likely playing, so... (Actually, there's just a lot of "spy" stuff over the next little bit -- taking the folks, who are visiting over the next couple of days -- to the International Spy Museum, more research, and at some point I'll probably continue watching MLW's Nikita DVD's (which I tend to do while doing something else, like a chore, etc.))

So, I reckon that's enough of my b*tching and moaning for one post (I know, I know, you really missed me.) I'm sure I'll have more later.

Oh, and for those of you on "Shatner Watch" I found this one recently... I'm sure Mr. Huge is already a member...

Just once I'd like to see a headline...

...that reads "Star Trek Fan's Obsession Leads to Cure for Cancer" or "Trekkie's Devotion is What Inspired Him to Discover Alternative Energy Source"... But no, instead we get this, which I sort of wonder how many people will send to me... (Click through to a more detailed account.)

[FYI, I haven't been able to connect to Blogger for something like 36 hours. I have more stuff for y'all, but it will have to wait until later.]

More to come. Live Long and Prosper but practice good money management (or something).