Camping out tonight for the second weekend. Will start bringing my laptop down or borrowing so that I can post things on-site... soonish. Or I could probably hit up the social media tent at some point. We'll see.
It's a great big beautiful work in progress. Peaceful here so far. Way too much energy at the campsite - which is a good thing, but some of it's nervous tension because no one knows what's going to happen next. Pray for peace both internal and external. Or if you don't pray, watch some of our beautiful YouTube videos.
Okay. I need to sort out my Halloween costumes and get my cute butt back down there. Oh, and since I haven't mentioned it before, find me on Twitter. My handle there is not too difficult to figure out. Which reminds me, as a camp librarian, I need to get us a copy of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Peace, love, and the camping revolution.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Found this on Yahoo today
Keeps the Trains Running on Time 
Photo: Derek Teed
Name: Derek Teed
Job: Train conductor
Salary: Expecting $100,000 or more
Age: 25
Hometown: Aberdeen, SD
My salary is based on the jobs and terminals I get assigned, but if they pan out as expected, I've been told I should break $100,000 this year.
I just graduated from the University of Minnesota and served two deployments to Iraq as a medic. Yet, I somehow landed a job that requires just a GED or high school diploma and pays over $100,000 in some areas.
I'm used to a tough lifestyle and am good at working away from home and at all hours -- and that's why the railroad pays you so much. You could get called up any time to work. Like today, if I wanted to go to a bar and have a drink, I couldn't because if I was called and I showed up after having a drink, I would be fired on the spot.
I've done five shifts so far, and four of them were 12-hour shifts. As a conductor, you're responsible for the whole train -- the cars, communicating with the dispatcher and making sure everything is set up and in order. You're the one out there making sure you have the right-away on a track, so that two trains coming at each other don't hit.
So far, it's going alright. I'm really tired, but I make enough to support myself. I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone's pretty well off, so a lot of my friends went for doctor degrees and whatnot. And I'm out here making more money than any of them.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Entirely random blog entry
So today I looked up juliecharles.com. Or maybe that was yesterday. Anyway, today I looked it up on the wayback machine, and the first time they crawled it was March 2006, when it led to a blog which looked like this:
I haven't actually read any of it yet, but I can't wait.
Random links and random thoughts. Pretty fitting blog post, eh?
Wait, still need a random thought: I'm glad my sister's an ex-pat, even though Canadian banks are, apparently, confusing and stressful.
Dogs ate my car; rats ate my lunch
I haven't actually read any of it yet, but I can't wait.
Random links and random thoughts. Pretty fitting blog post, eh?
Wait, still need a random thought: I'm glad my sister's an ex-pat, even though Canadian banks are, apparently, confusing and stressful.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Meta-Hamster
Taking allegorical form for 100% of its conscious existence, the Meta-Hamster, or Meta-Ham, is, according to those who have the ability to perceive it, a conceptual species of hamster that can only be perceived “as it ‘really’ is” if you have earned an MFA (or, increasingly, a PhD) in English, Creative Writing, or “Comp Lit.” Those without advanced degrees see only a nondescript hamster of normal height/weight, or what is known as the Common American Hamster. Those with advanced degrees in literature-related subjects, however, see—in addition to the Common American Hamster (though in recent years some have claimed to be unable to see the Common American Hamster but only the message it conveys)—“the fall of Western Civilization,” “the deterioration of a marriage,” “the loss of a child via abortion,” “[something about the bourgeoisie],” or, sometimes, “technology’s crippling effect on the youth of [the word ‘today,’ a country, or a generation],” depending on their context/goal in life at the moment of viewing. Many have argued that the Meta-Hamster is “not really meta” or “not at all meta” in the way that most things referred to as “ironic” are “not really ironic,” but usually simply “coincidental” or even “normal, not even coincidental,” but these arguments have only served to strengthen the Meta-Hamster’s brand, because to argue against its name seems, for the majority of people involved in the perpetuation of the Meta-Hamster as a legitimate species (and however ironic/sarcastic they are being in their claims of this), to only “prove” that the Meta-Hamster is meta, perhaps more meta than anyone yet realizes, even, as most people who see it have at most only one doctorate degree and two or three graduate degrees.
- from “North American Hamsters,” a forthcoming iPhone app by Tao Lin
Tao Lin and I are tight - and by that I mean we're friends on Goodreads.com. I don't remember how I stumbled across this paragraph, but it cracks me up.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Police Brutality in Pittsburgh
My friend Eva wrote this about her experience at Schenley Plaza on Friday night at the end of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, 2009:
I went to Schenley plaza at 10pm on Friday out of curiosity. There were rumors of a hip hop caucus concert (canceled) and of a peaceful gathering for those who opposed unnecessary police brutality of innocent people the night before. I promised my parents I would leave immediately if it became riotous in any way. When I arrived, I was shocked to see the state of things—they were peaceful. There were maybe a few hundred people consisting of students, reporters, and even some families. The inhabitants of the park were hanging out peacefully playing duck duck goose, and talking. I was ecstatic at the idea that so many people could come together and make a statement by being peaceful. Then, one guy with a megaphone came around and I thought, " Oh no, this is going to be trouble." But his message was the most beautiful I have ever heard: He was saying that this is not a protest, but a gathering to attest to the fact that we have first amendment rights to gather and speak freely, that we do not condone violence by anarchists OR by the police. He asked gathered citizens not to fight, not to protest, and not to fight back if the police unlawfully attacked them. He asked police to consider the fact that we are not enemies, that we are both human beings, and that we both want peace. He asked them to merely consider their actions when they use violence on innocents in the pursuit of "peace and safety for the people”, when they are really acting on the orders, and for, the elite. (His name is Luke Rudkowski from we are change, and I believe that he is still in jail.) I thought things were going great. It was peaceful, and I believed that his words were truly resonating with the Police officers. The police started to move, and a few of us cheered because we thought that the police had received our message, and had decided that their presence was not needed. We were wrong. Nobody provoked it, nobody threatened any violence, and the worst confrontation I heard was a group of students chanting "We, the people, have the right to assemble." Apparently we don't because when I turned around, I saw that we were encircled, surrounded on all sides of the park by the cops. Some had unmuzzled dogs, snapping at us, looking ready to kill. Others had their hands on their guns, looking ready to shoot. My friend said, "What happened? What is going on?" At this point, there was an air of panic within the park. Of course I was scared, but there was also a sense of calm within me, because I foolishly believed that they would not attack if nothing violent occurred. The first thing I heard was the LRAD system, a piercing noise that hurt my ears (Apparently this is the first case of its use in the US). People began to move, and the police made a slight opening. Following the high pitched noise was an automated police message: I declare this an unlawful assembly. You must disperse immediately. It does not matter what your purpose is. If you do not disperse immediately you will be subject to arrest or other police action. Immediately after this message was played, two smoke bombs went off on both sides of the park-- and we ran. People were yelling "WALK!" And as my friend dragged me running I said, "We should just walk, we are not doing anything wrong, we are following orders. They can't do anything." Let’s just say I am glad that I ran. My friends and I stopped when we were about a block behind the line of dispersing people on Forbes avenue, and thus a safe distance from the police line moving in from bigelow. I watched those who did not disperse quick enough (they didn’t run for their lives) be subject to further gas bombs, rubber bullets, police beating, and a few arrests. The arrests were seemingly random: there was no pattern, and no apparent reasoning. I thought I was safe until I turned around and saw that there was a police line on the other side of us, barricading us in. At this point, I ran up Craig Street and was walking on the sidewalks with no more than ten people. Then an unmarked van drove by, and some police officers dressed in full riot gear jumped out. I was told to move, had a gun pointed at me, and was subject to mace, although it wasn't directly in my face. As I ran up, somebody who I was next to was pushed to the ground and beaten by a policeman. I ran into a line of cops who were yelling MOVE quite rudely and mixed with profanity so I said, ”I just want to go peacefully home, where do I go?" They pointed me back to where I came from, where now there was another line of police barricading us in. We were trapped. I am glad my friends are more lucid in times of distress, because they noticed that there was an alleyway, a golden glimmer of hope. We ran down the alleyway and finally escaped, each one of furious, terrified, and not able to process what had just happened. The next twenty minutes are a blur to me: my mind raced in every direction as I tried to recontemplate everything I had believed in my life up to this point. Tears were involved. I did not feel safe from the police intimidation and brutality until we walked all the way to Shadyside. At this point I regressed to middle school and called my Dad, a Pitt professor, to pick my friends and I up to give us a ride home. I slept at my family's home that night, because every block that leads to my apartment in south Oakland was barricaded off by police, and I wasn't about to go walk into that situation again. I am lucky to have family in Pittsburgh. I am lucky to not have been arrested. I am lucky to not have lasting physical damage. I did have a splitting headache the next day, but who really knows the cause. It could have been the LRAD, it could have been the excessive gas, or it just could have been the fact that I couldn’t sleep or eat properly for the next 24 hours because my mind was not able to process the events. This experience damaged me. Fortunately, not the physical damage that some of my peers had to endure (How can you possibly justified sending a student to the intensive care unit for 17 hours who was unarmed, defenseless, and not posing any threat?) But I underwent severe mental trauma. This experience broke down some fundamental truths I have believed (or tried to) my whole life. I thought the police were there to protect us. I thought that here in the United States we had civil rights, which we fought so hard to obtain. In the past when I heard of police violence, I always tried as hard as I could to believe the reasoning of the police, to believe what they did was justified to some extent. They were just trying to keep the peace. When I heard that people were not able to exercise their civil liberties, I tried my hardest to believe that it was necessary, that these people were posing a real threat to society. But now I realize that those excuses are just that: excuses. Friday night at Schenley Plaza, a few hundred people gathered peacefully. None had weapons, none were violent, none were provoking any violence, none hinted harm to any person or establishment, none were even protesting! Friday night at Schenley Plaza, over a thousand police officers gathered violently. They had terrifying and dehumanizing weapons, they were unbelievably and unnecessarily violent, they provoked and spoke derogatorily to many citizens, and they beat down and physically damaged defenseless law abiding people. Now who is facing charges? The people who were cruelly attacked for no apparent reason? It is shocking to me that such a large scale blatant attack on our civil rights and constitution can be ignored. We deserve answers. We deserve justice. Something must be done.
-------------------
For a news article about the incident, and other incidents and arrests during the G20 in 2009, see this article. Keep in mind that Friday night, the G20 was over, the world leaders that the police were supposed to protect had all left, and Pittsburgh was left with a lot of frustrated young people and a huge buildup of police force that had no real purpose anymore. The police presence in Pittsburgh that week was unreal. Schenley Plaza, where the worst repression took place, is basically the University of Pittsburgh's front yard. It's a public park, and should be fine as a place for citizens to peacefully assemble. I wasn't there that Friday, but every description I've heard of what happen lines up with what Eva said - the police surrounded a group of people, then demanded that they disperse... which was impossible, as they were surrounded. Then the police said that since they hadn't dispersed - and remember, they COULD NOT disperse - it was open season for arresting, chasing, and beating people. So fucked up. The only good thing that police did that night was that the university police prevented other police officers from chasing students into the dorms. So, good job university police for standing up to injustice and protecting your students.
Sorry for the long block of text, but it's her writing and I wouldn't want to edit it by adding paragraphs where she might not have intended them. I feel it's powerful as is, and hope that it wakes a few people up to the reality we live in. Who knows? Maybe a law enforcement person will see it and realize that "just following orders" is no excuse.
I went to Schenley plaza at 10pm on Friday out of curiosity. There were rumors of a hip hop caucus concert (canceled) and of a peaceful gathering for those who opposed unnecessary police brutality of innocent people the night before. I promised my parents I would leave immediately if it became riotous in any way. When I arrived, I was shocked to see the state of things—they were peaceful. There were maybe a few hundred people consisting of students, reporters, and even some families. The inhabitants of the park were hanging out peacefully playing duck duck goose, and talking. I was ecstatic at the idea that so many people could come together and make a statement by being peaceful. Then, one guy with a megaphone came around and I thought, " Oh no, this is going to be trouble." But his message was the most beautiful I have ever heard: He was saying that this is not a protest, but a gathering to attest to the fact that we have first amendment rights to gather and speak freely, that we do not condone violence by anarchists OR by the police. He asked gathered citizens not to fight, not to protest, and not to fight back if the police unlawfully attacked them. He asked police to consider the fact that we are not enemies, that we are both human beings, and that we both want peace. He asked them to merely consider their actions when they use violence on innocents in the pursuit of "peace and safety for the people”, when they are really acting on the orders, and for, the elite. (His name is Luke Rudkowski from we are change, and I believe that he is still in jail.) I thought things were going great. It was peaceful, and I believed that his words were truly resonating with the Police officers. The police started to move, and a few of us cheered because we thought that the police had received our message, and had decided that their presence was not needed. We were wrong. Nobody provoked it, nobody threatened any violence, and the worst confrontation I heard was a group of students chanting "We, the people, have the right to assemble." Apparently we don't because when I turned around, I saw that we were encircled, surrounded on all sides of the park by the cops. Some had unmuzzled dogs, snapping at us, looking ready to kill. Others had their hands on their guns, looking ready to shoot. My friend said, "What happened? What is going on?" At this point, there was an air of panic within the park. Of course I was scared, but there was also a sense of calm within me, because I foolishly believed that they would not attack if nothing violent occurred. The first thing I heard was the LRAD system, a piercing noise that hurt my ears (Apparently this is the first case of its use in the US). People began to move, and the police made a slight opening. Following the high pitched noise was an automated police message: I declare this an unlawful assembly. You must disperse immediately. It does not matter what your purpose is. If you do not disperse immediately you will be subject to arrest or other police action. Immediately after this message was played, two smoke bombs went off on both sides of the park-- and we ran. People were yelling "WALK!" And as my friend dragged me running I said, "We should just walk, we are not doing anything wrong, we are following orders. They can't do anything." Let’s just say I am glad that I ran. My friends and I stopped when we were about a block behind the line of dispersing people on Forbes avenue, and thus a safe distance from the police line moving in from bigelow. I watched those who did not disperse quick enough (they didn’t run for their lives) be subject to further gas bombs, rubber bullets, police beating, and a few arrests. The arrests were seemingly random: there was no pattern, and no apparent reasoning. I thought I was safe until I turned around and saw that there was a police line on the other side of us, barricading us in. At this point, I ran up Craig Street and was walking on the sidewalks with no more than ten people. Then an unmarked van drove by, and some police officers dressed in full riot gear jumped out. I was told to move, had a gun pointed at me, and was subject to mace, although it wasn't directly in my face. As I ran up, somebody who I was next to was pushed to the ground and beaten by a policeman. I ran into a line of cops who were yelling MOVE quite rudely and mixed with profanity so I said, ”I just want to go peacefully home, where do I go?" They pointed me back to where I came from, where now there was another line of police barricading us in. We were trapped. I am glad my friends are more lucid in times of distress, because they noticed that there was an alleyway, a golden glimmer of hope. We ran down the alleyway and finally escaped, each one of furious, terrified, and not able to process what had just happened. The next twenty minutes are a blur to me: my mind raced in every direction as I tried to recontemplate everything I had believed in my life up to this point. Tears were involved. I did not feel safe from the police intimidation and brutality until we walked all the way to Shadyside. At this point I regressed to middle school and called my Dad, a Pitt professor, to pick my friends and I up to give us a ride home. I slept at my family's home that night, because every block that leads to my apartment in south Oakland was barricaded off by police, and I wasn't about to go walk into that situation again. I am lucky to have family in Pittsburgh. I am lucky to not have been arrested. I am lucky to not have lasting physical damage. I did have a splitting headache the next day, but who really knows the cause. It could have been the LRAD, it could have been the excessive gas, or it just could have been the fact that I couldn’t sleep or eat properly for the next 24 hours because my mind was not able to process the events. This experience damaged me. Fortunately, not the physical damage that some of my peers had to endure (How can you possibly justified sending a student to the intensive care unit for 17 hours who was unarmed, defenseless, and not posing any threat?) But I underwent severe mental trauma. This experience broke down some fundamental truths I have believed (or tried to) my whole life. I thought the police were there to protect us. I thought that here in the United States we had civil rights, which we fought so hard to obtain. In the past when I heard of police violence, I always tried as hard as I could to believe the reasoning of the police, to believe what they did was justified to some extent. They were just trying to keep the peace. When I heard that people were not able to exercise their civil liberties, I tried my hardest to believe that it was necessary, that these people were posing a real threat to society. But now I realize that those excuses are just that: excuses. Friday night at Schenley Plaza, a few hundred people gathered peacefully. None had weapons, none were violent, none were provoking any violence, none hinted harm to any person or establishment, none were even protesting! Friday night at Schenley Plaza, over a thousand police officers gathered violently. They had terrifying and dehumanizing weapons, they were unbelievably and unnecessarily violent, they provoked and spoke derogatorily to many citizens, and they beat down and physically damaged defenseless law abiding people. Now who is facing charges? The people who were cruelly attacked for no apparent reason? It is shocking to me that such a large scale blatant attack on our civil rights and constitution can be ignored. We deserve answers. We deserve justice. Something must be done.
-------------------
For a news article about the incident, and other incidents and arrests during the G20 in 2009, see this article. Keep in mind that Friday night, the G20 was over, the world leaders that the police were supposed to protect had all left, and Pittsburgh was left with a lot of frustrated young people and a huge buildup of police force that had no real purpose anymore. The police presence in Pittsburgh that week was unreal. Schenley Plaza, where the worst repression took place, is basically the University of Pittsburgh's front yard. It's a public park, and should be fine as a place for citizens to peacefully assemble. I wasn't there that Friday, but every description I've heard of what happen lines up with what Eva said - the police surrounded a group of people, then demanded that they disperse... which was impossible, as they were surrounded. Then the police said that since they hadn't dispersed - and remember, they COULD NOT disperse - it was open season for arresting, chasing, and beating people. So fucked up. The only good thing that police did that night was that the university police prevented other police officers from chasing students into the dorms. So, good job university police for standing up to injustice and protecting your students.
Sorry for the long block of text, but it's her writing and I wouldn't want to edit it by adding paragraphs where she might not have intended them. I feel it's powerful as is, and hope that it wakes a few people up to the reality we live in. Who knows? Maybe a law enforcement person will see it and realize that "just following orders" is no excuse.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Still here
It's been awhile, eh blogfriends?
Having no Internet at home seems to be seriously cramping my updating style. Nevertheless, I am happy, healthy, employed, and part of a great group of beautiful people here in Pittsburgh. Check out the new badge-thingy on the side of the page! It's my account over at Peaceburgh, a social networking site.
More stuff soon, I promise.
Having no Internet at home seems to be seriously cramping my updating style. Nevertheless, I am happy, healthy, employed, and part of a great group of beautiful people here in Pittsburgh. Check out the new badge-thingy on the side of the page! It's my account over at Peaceburgh, a social networking site.
More stuff soon, I promise.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Statement from J-Street
Just got this in an email from a mailing list I'm on:
Julie --
Below please find J Street's statement on the recently announced direct talks between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,
- Hadar
Hadar Susskind
V.P., Policy and Strategy
J Street
August 20, 2010
J Street Statement on Direct Talks
August 20, 2010
J Street welcomes today's announcement of direct talks between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the United States closely shepherding the process. We applaud President Obama's leadership and the work of Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell in bringing the parties to the table.
But bringing the parties together is only the starting line on a difficult road that will demand real political leadership and courage from the parties and from the United States and the international community. President Obama has said before that talks and process are not the goal - the goal is two states living side-by-side in peace and security, with defined borders and an end to the conflict. We urge President Obama and his team to continue to actively lead the way toward that destination.
J Street is pleased by the announcement of a one year timeline for talks and by the assurances given by U.S. officials that the United States will be actively engaged in the process, helping the parties close gaps and keep moving forward.
The United States and the broader international community - including the Quartet and the Arab League - will have to help the parties to overcome the many obstacles and challenges they will face. We hope that this will include taking an approach that is regional and comprehensive in nature, placing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a regional framework that attempts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole.
The window of opportunity for progress is brief and closing. This could well be the last opportunity to save the two-state solution. We believe that Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic home, not to mention vital American interests in the region, hang in the balance.
We urge the United States, Israel, the Palestinians, and the greater Arab world to approach these negotiations with a seriousness of purpose suited to the urgency of the moment. The stakes are high, and the status quo unsustainable.
----------J Street is the political home of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement.
Donate Fan us on Facebook Read our blog Follow us on Twitter
Get involved locally
________________________________
1. I like this statement a lot. My favorite part is:
2. I'm off to continue enjoying my Grand Tour of America. There will be napping in the car. Have a nice day!
Julie --
Below please find J Street's statement on the recently announced direct talks between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,
- Hadar
Hadar Susskind
V.P., Policy and Strategy
J Street
August 20, 2010
J Street Statement on Direct Talks
August 20, 2010
J Street welcomes today's announcement of direct talks between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the United States closely shepherding the process. We applaud President Obama's leadership and the work of Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell in bringing the parties to the table.
But bringing the parties together is only the starting line on a difficult road that will demand real political leadership and courage from the parties and from the United States and the international community. President Obama has said before that talks and process are not the goal - the goal is two states living side-by-side in peace and security, with defined borders and an end to the conflict. We urge President Obama and his team to continue to actively lead the way toward that destination.
J Street is pleased by the announcement of a one year timeline for talks and by the assurances given by U.S. officials that the United States will be actively engaged in the process, helping the parties close gaps and keep moving forward.
The United States and the broader international community - including the Quartet and the Arab League - will have to help the parties to overcome the many obstacles and challenges they will face. We hope that this will include taking an approach that is regional and comprehensive in nature, placing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a regional framework that attempts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole.
The window of opportunity for progress is brief and closing. This could well be the last opportunity to save the two-state solution. We believe that Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic home, not to mention vital American interests in the region, hang in the balance.
We urge the United States, Israel, the Palestinians, and the greater Arab world to approach these negotiations with a seriousness of purpose suited to the urgency of the moment. The stakes are high, and the status quo unsustainable.
----------J Street is the political home of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement.
Donate Fan us on Facebook Read our blog Follow us on Twitter
Get involved locally
________________________________
1. I like this statement a lot. My favorite part is:
The United States and the broader international community - including the Quartet and the Arab League - will have to help the parties to overcome the many obstacles and challenges they will face. We hope that this will include taking an approach that is regional and comprehensive in nature, placing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a regional framework that attempts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole.
2. I'm off to continue enjoying my Grand Tour of America. There will be napping in the car. Have a nice day!
Just FYI
I'm in California this weekend, to greet friends from China, and then we're going to New York to take my "Chinese little brother" to his boarding school (upstate, for the New Yorkers in the house; WAY upstate, for you New Yorkers who believe the world ends at the fringes of New York City). Right now we're in LA, at a very nice hotel (Hilton ain't famous for nothin', y'all) in some sort of Chinatown. Tomorrow it's road trip time: up the 101 to Monterey Bay, stopping in Carmel, and then up to San Fran, to hit up downtown and do a bit of sightseeing. Tom's Dad is in-country for 10 days, but my extremely dear friend Zhongyuan (aka Sally) and I will be traveling together for about a month. We'll see how it goes and where we end up.
There will probably be more posts when we get to my parents' place next week, but I'm not going to make any promises.
Ideally, supercool times will be had by all and we won't run into any huge transportation snafus. Keep your fingers crossed, send us happy thoughts, pray for us, whatever you like.
Oh, and since I'm hitting up Googlism.com (random reasons, long story, don't ask): here's a few of my favorite portions of the current "Julie" page:
julie is taking your name in vain over on general
julie is???
julie is hesitant to set herself up for further heartbreak
julie is known for her warm
julie is originally from quebec
julie is currently the apegga representative on the faculty of science at the university of calgary
julie is no more
julie is irate at the pregnancy
julie is forced to give it up
julie is playing next
julie is identified
julie is far from being some crass yank
julie is an innovator who visualizes how software will actually function in the real world
There will probably be more posts when we get to my parents' place next week, but I'm not going to make any promises.
Ideally, supercool times will be had by all and we won't run into any huge transportation snafus. Keep your fingers crossed, send us happy thoughts, pray for us, whatever you like.
Oh, and since I'm hitting up Googlism.com (random reasons, long story, don't ask): here's a few of my favorite portions of the current "Julie" page:
julie is taking your name in vain over on general
julie is???
julie is hesitant to set herself up for further heartbreak
julie is known for her warm
julie is originally from quebec
julie is currently the apegga representative on the faculty of science at the university of calgary
julie is no more
julie is irate at the pregnancy
julie is forced to give it up
julie is playing next
julie is identified
julie is far from being some crass yank
julie is an innovator who visualizes how software will actually function in the real world
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Two unrelated things
First, if anyone wants to thank a UN Peacekeeper: click here and the Better World Campaign will hook you up. In related news, Bangladesh is sending a mostly-female UN police troop to Haiti. Not exactly a cheery article, but you can read more about the situation here.
This page lists a few online courses in computer graphics programming. Could be useful as a refresher. And wouldn't my life be easier if I had Internet access at home? ... also sillier, in all likelihood, as I cannot resist the Flash games.
This page lists a few online courses in computer graphics programming. Could be useful as a refresher. And wouldn't my life be easier if I had Internet access at home? ... also sillier, in all likelihood, as I cannot resist the Flash games.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
UN Peacekeeping website
This thing is awesome. It's a website developed by the good folks at the Better World Campaign. Front page is a quick overview of UN peacekeeping missions around the world, clickable by continent.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Veteran's Day
I went out to buy some white-out, and ended up watching a good bit of the Veteran's Day parade. As a near-pacifist, I'm opposed to war in almost all cases, so flag-waving and cheering the military make me a bit uncomfortable. However, today didn't feel like that. I respect the people who serve, and who served in the past - it's hardly their fault when the leadership of our country makes horrible decisions and sends them into places where I feel we shouldn't be. I was a bit startled by the huge booming sounds that one of the parade units was setting off. Hello, flashbacks? Seems like an odd thing to have in a Veteran's Day parade. Also, the young reservist recruits - dressed ominously in black - had me nearly in tears. Just FYI. Also also, marching bands and baton twirlers are fun, and wear funny hats.
So, bought some Pittsburghy doodads from a street vendor, clapped a lot, said "Thank you!" to some soldiers, and chatted with a few random people about politics and the weather. Sunshine makes any parade better, even when, because of tall downtown buildings, it's only available in a few patches.
Ooh, and I also ran into a gaggle of toddlers, whose adult leader gave me contact info for Brightside Academy, their school. So, another opportunity for teaching Chinese to short people, which I may pursue if I decide to stick around The 'Burgh for a bit longer... as I am sorely tempted to do. New part-time job starts this week, at this place, while the old part-time job, at this place, continues. And I do have a twice-a-week Chinese lesson with a very small girl, if that counts as a third part-time job. Hopefully the new job will not be crazy amounts of hours, as that would probably result in me getting the flu or something. I am not the strongest, healthiest girl on the block. Curse you, anemia!
How did I start out this post? Veteran's Day. Happy (belated) Veteran's Day to all our troops and veterans. Take care of yourselves. It's rough out there, even in the sunshine.
So, bought some Pittsburghy doodads from a street vendor, clapped a lot, said "Thank you!" to some soldiers, and chatted with a few random people about politics and the weather. Sunshine makes any parade better, even when, because of tall downtown buildings, it's only available in a few patches.
Ooh, and I also ran into a gaggle of toddlers, whose adult leader gave me contact info for Brightside Academy, their school. So, another opportunity for teaching Chinese to short people, which I may pursue if I decide to stick around The 'Burgh for a bit longer... as I am sorely tempted to do. New part-time job starts this week, at this place, while the old part-time job, at this place, continues. And I do have a twice-a-week Chinese lesson with a very small girl, if that counts as a third part-time job. Hopefully the new job will not be crazy amounts of hours, as that would probably result in me getting the flu or something. I am not the strongest, healthiest girl on the block. Curse you, anemia!
How did I start out this post? Veteran's Day. Happy (belated) Veteran's Day to all our troops and veterans. Take care of yourselves. It's rough out there, even in the sunshine.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Summer draws to a close
It's been a very quiet summer for me - a little working, a lot of Flash game-playing, many many books, and librariness. And I turned 30, which went over fairly easily, really. I got a spectacular free meal out of it from a couple of chef friends of mine. Scallops, steak, and creole shrimp helped the major aging milestone go down easier.
My cats and I moved to Uptown in April, and so far none of us have been mugged, unless you count the fights I'm pretty sure my cats have had with the neighborhood strays. A studio apartment is really too small to keep my two cats cooped up in permanently - fortunately I have a roof and fire escape they can hang out on. I'm actually still trying to figure out if they can get out to the street on their own... not that anyone cares. Enough about my cats.
The current plan is to polish up my resume and apply for an entry-level Technical Director position at DreamWorks Animation. My internship there during summer 2007 was supremely fantastic, and although I'm not crazy about LA, the DWA campus there is, in my opinion, just about a perfect environment for creative people to do good work in. And if, for whatever reason, DreamWorks and Blue Sky Studios and their ilk won't have me, China's still hiring English teachers. I figure 6 months or so of teaching English again should give me enough time to make connections and shoot for a programming job over there - hopefully graphics programming, although their feature animation industry isn't nearly as well developed as ours. And with the current salaries for foreign teachers, I could actually pay my student loans down reasonably well just as an English teacher, and even more so as a programmer. At least that's the word on the street.
So there you have it: an update on my world.
My cats and I moved to Uptown in April, and so far none of us have been mugged, unless you count the fights I'm pretty sure my cats have had with the neighborhood strays. A studio apartment is really too small to keep my two cats cooped up in permanently - fortunately I have a roof and fire escape they can hang out on. I'm actually still trying to figure out if they can get out to the street on their own... not that anyone cares. Enough about my cats.
The current plan is to polish up my resume and apply for an entry-level Technical Director position at DreamWorks Animation. My internship there during summer 2007 was supremely fantastic, and although I'm not crazy about LA, the DWA campus there is, in my opinion, just about a perfect environment for creative people to do good work in. And if, for whatever reason, DreamWorks and Blue Sky Studios and their ilk won't have me, China's still hiring English teachers. I figure 6 months or so of teaching English again should give me enough time to make connections and shoot for a programming job over there - hopefully graphics programming, although their feature animation industry isn't nearly as well developed as ours. And with the current salaries for foreign teachers, I could actually pay my student loans down reasonably well just as an English teacher, and even more so as a programmer. At least that's the word on the street.
So there you have it: an update on my world.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Interesting little game: MyBrute
I wasn't too enthralled with this the first time I checked it out, but with a long list of classmates participating, whom I could fight against, it became more interesting.
Create your Brute and fight creekpilgrim, if you dare. Fear my cute pink hair! Fear it!
It's an odd little game in that you don't really do anything except choose whom to fight - the things that happen during a fight are all automatic and don't require any actions or choices on your part. And you get experience from other people fighting your brute when you're not around, and possibly some kind of experience from the experience of your pupils - that part I'm not too clear on as yet.
There are one or two other games I know of that basically play themselves - you just let them run and they level up over time. Sadly, I cannot remember their names....
Update: Creekpilgrim is good with a knife. Just killed two brutes, although the first one stole my weapon and killed me with it. Talk about adding injury to insult.
Create your Brute and fight creekpilgrim, if you dare. Fear my cute pink hair! Fear it!
It's an odd little game in that you don't really do anything except choose whom to fight - the things that happen during a fight are all automatic and don't require any actions or choices on your part. And you get experience from other people fighting your brute when you're not around, and possibly some kind of experience from the experience of your pupils - that part I'm not too clear on as yet.
There are one or two other games I know of that basically play themselves - you just let them run and they level up over time. Sadly, I cannot remember their names....
Update: Creekpilgrim is good with a knife. Just killed two brutes, although the first one stole my weapon and killed me with it. Talk about adding injury to insult.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Damn you, Turbine
It figures that they come out with Leaves of Lorien just as I lose access to my shiny ETC machine.
For those of you unfamiliar with Lord of the Rings Online, or those of you who would like to see pretty screenshots from my favorite part of The Lord of the Rings, you can find some linked from this page. (Update: sadly, they've changed the website and I can't find the pretty screenshots. Link is to a map with overhead views, so not nearly as lovely to look at. Unless you really like looking at the tops of trees.)
For those of you unfamiliar with Lord of the Rings Online, or those of you who would like to see pretty screenshots from my favorite part of The Lord of the Rings, you can find some linked from this page. (Update: sadly, they've changed the website and I can't find the pretty screenshots. Link is to a map with overhead views, so not nearly as lovely to look at. Unless you really like looking at the tops of trees.)
Grad school hates me, again
On the other hand, this is my favorite grad school advisor EVAR. When life hands you a Leave of Absence, if you're patient enough, you might receive a Spanish computer graphics guy to make up for the sour taste in your mouth.
Of course, when grad school subsequently hands you a Letter of Dismissal... I'm not sure what happens after that, although I'm doing okay with the patience bit (at the moment). Thank the good Lord for library Internet access. And friends. And mothers.
Update: Carnegie Mellon University apparently cannot be bothered to give me a final answer as to what happens after one receives a letter of dismissal and one appeals the aforesaid letter. It's been a year, people. What? You can't pick up a phone and call me back after I call you 2 times in one week? Is your arm broken? At this point, you've passed over from accidental ineptness and you're pretty deep in Extreme Rudeness Territory. The Entertainment Technology Center, naturally, cannot pay me enough money to return and finish my master's degree, at this point. The rest of Carnegie Mellon, including the graphics lab and the entire school of computer science, has deeply disappointed me and I hope they realize their error before I write them off for good and go seriously looking for another institute of higher learning to which I can transfer two and a half years' worth of grad school credits.
Edited Saturday, August 21st, 2010
Of course, when grad school subsequently hands you a Letter of Dismissal... I'm not sure what happens after that, although I'm doing okay with the patience bit (at the moment). Thank the good Lord for library Internet access. And friends. And mothers.
Update: Carnegie Mellon University apparently cannot be bothered to give me a final answer as to what happens after one receives a letter of dismissal and one appeals the aforesaid letter. It's been a year, people. What? You can't pick up a phone and call me back after I call you 2 times in one week? Is your arm broken? At this point, you've passed over from accidental ineptness and you're pretty deep in Extreme Rudeness Territory. The Entertainment Technology Center, naturally, cannot pay me enough money to return and finish my master's degree, at this point. The rest of Carnegie Mellon, including the graphics lab and the entire school of computer science, has deeply disappointed me and I hope they realize their error before I write them off for good and go seriously looking for another institute of higher learning to which I can transfer two and a half years' worth of grad school credits.
Edited Saturday, August 21st, 2010
Friday, February 27, 2009
Link to read after sleeping
This is the end of my Internet wanderings for tonight. I swear it!
A friend of a friend recommends this fabulous post by Rob Donoghue. I was intrigued enough to read the one about mooks; looking forward to finishing this up tomorrow. After the voxelizing has been conquered. Or at least the collision detection that is holding up the voxelizing.
A friend of a friend recommends this fabulous post by Rob Donoghue. I was intrigued enough to read the one about mooks; looking forward to finishing this up tomorrow. After the voxelizing has been conquered. Or at least the collision detection that is holding up the voxelizing.
3 am
YouTube served me up a lovely new voice tonight, and then it suggested this, a mashup of said voice, Katie Melua, and... well... watch it. I believe it's a film called Threads, but I can't be bothered to check because Matchbox 20 is singing me a lullaby and I don't feel like interrupting. Say what you will about the pop band, and then take a look at his eyes in the last few seconds of the song. That's quality humanness.
If I'm going to be awake at 3am, I might as well be in this sort of mood. Connections, insights, a sudden view into the territory around this momentary rut my life is in. And I don't mean rut in a bad way. At least not entirely. Not that my performance this semester has been perfect, but the semester itself has been... reasonable. I'm currently walking a waiting-for-student-loans tightwire, with bad consequences for having absolutely no cash waiting just a few steps ahead. And I need to somehow kick my independent study into gear. But these are not things that are going to kill me, and I have faith that people are going to be kind to me this time around.
The work is good. The teammates are cool - tonight's afterhours movie selections were Shinobi and Shaun of the Dead, so you know the bonding's topnotch. Which, unfortunately, meant that I missed the last bus home and here I am. Fortunately for you, if you're a long-lost friend wondering what's up with Julie these days. And most of my friends are at least a bit off the radar, so.
I'm not sure whether I wish I didn't need the kindness. It would be great to do everything right and never need help, at least in theory. But maybe it would be even lonelier.
If I'm going to be awake at 3am, I might as well be in this sort of mood. Connections, insights, a sudden view into the territory around this momentary rut my life is in. And I don't mean rut in a bad way. At least not entirely. Not that my performance this semester has been perfect, but the semester itself has been... reasonable. I'm currently walking a waiting-for-student-loans tightwire, with bad consequences for having absolutely no cash waiting just a few steps ahead. And I need to somehow kick my independent study into gear. But these are not things that are going to kill me, and I have faith that people are going to be kind to me this time around.
The work is good. The teammates are cool - tonight's afterhours movie selections were Shinobi and Shaun of the Dead, so you know the bonding's topnotch. Which, unfortunately, meant that I missed the last bus home and here I am. Fortunately for you, if you're a long-lost friend wondering what's up with Julie these days. And most of my friends are at least a bit off the radar, so.
I'm not sure whether I wish I didn't need the kindness. It would be great to do everything right and never need help, at least in theory. But maybe it would be even lonelier.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Working for The Man
Here's another one Juleigh sent out, this time featuring advice about how to restructure instead of downsize, should you be a video game company executive feeling the pinch of the current financial climate.
While I'm not a video game executive, nor do I plan to be one anytime soon, I really enjoyed the article. Thinking back to my time in financial software (hello Ontario Systems), the advice here really makes sense. I don't think I was ever there during painful layoff sessions, but I do pay attention, read pretty widely, and hear stories from people who've worked at various companies; also, Ontario was unusually open about the financial status of the company, at least internally, so I got me some finance and accounting education whether I needed it or not.
I can picture how the suggestions that Mr. Mencher gives might work better than the standard "We're trimming 7% of our workforce in order to meet (or approach) our yearly earnings projection." And given the state of the world economy, who couldn't use advice about better ways to keep a business viable? Really, I think it boils down to: if you let your numbers men or women run the show, you're going to piss off your employees, or at least frighten them into polishing their resume when they should be working harder to fill in for all those people you just fired. Wouldn't it be better to take a look around and find some ways to tighten the collective belt before you resort to decreasing your labor force? Perhaps you don't need that corporate jet after all, or your financial planners and industry forecasters should give up their yearly bonuses for dropping the ball on this one.
While I'm not a video game executive, nor do I plan to be one anytime soon, I really enjoyed the article. Thinking back to my time in financial software (hello Ontario Systems), the advice here really makes sense. I don't think I was ever there during painful layoff sessions, but I do pay attention, read pretty widely, and hear stories from people who've worked at various companies; also, Ontario was unusually open about the financial status of the company, at least internally, so I got me some finance and accounting education whether I needed it or not.
I can picture how the suggestions that Mr. Mencher gives might work better than the standard "We're trimming 7% of our workforce in order to meet (or approach) our yearly earnings projection." And given the state of the world economy, who couldn't use advice about better ways to keep a business viable? Really, I think it boils down to: if you let your numbers men or women run the show, you're going to piss off your employees, or at least frighten them into polishing their resume when they should be working harder to fill in for all those people you just fired. Wouldn't it be better to take a look around and find some ways to tighten the collective belt before you resort to decreasing your labor force? Perhaps you don't need that corporate jet after all, or your financial planners and industry forecasters should give up their yearly bonuses for dropping the ball on this one.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Good links for job hunters
The ever-fantastic Ms. Juleigh DeCarlo just sent these out to us, and I want to dig into them (and possibly post about the first one) when I get a bit of breathing room. The sprint to Quarter Presentations is on and things are a bit hectic around the offices. Cool that we have "offices;" a suite of rooms is just what one needs when one is doing serious development.
Six Words that Make Your Resume Suck
The AWN Career Connections
The Five Worst Mistakes You Can Make on a Resume
Evidently, AWN.com is a good resource for entertainment technologists. Who knew?
Six Words that Make Your Resume Suck
The AWN Career Connections
The Five Worst Mistakes You Can Make on a Resume
Evidently, AWN.com is a good resource for entertainment technologists. Who knew?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Beginning again
New year, new semester, new chance to have a fulfilling and useful semester at the ETC. And so far, everything is fab-o, a-ok, could not be better if I had custom ordered it. I mean, having my old housemates back would be perfection, but since they've all abandoned me for the West Coast (except for Zikun! who is in Pittsburgh somewhere), I'll take what I can get.
My main semester project: Crayon 3D which you can investigate here and here. Someday we will have a shinier website. With possible mailing list! Our dreams and future feature lists are bigger than one semester can contain.
My main semester project: Crayon 3D which you can investigate here and here. Someday we will have a shinier website. With possible mailing list! Our dreams and future feature lists are bigger than one semester can contain.
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