April 3, 2003
Dear Everyone:
I took last Monday off so I could take “Jeannie” to the dentist for her six-in-one appointment, and take her home afterward. I also needed the time to get my income taxes done.
“Jeannie’s” appointment was for
Then the software needed to get some updates from its home base out on the Internet. That took another hour and, as soon as I disconnected the phone line, I got a call from the dentist to come and pick “Jeannie” up. Seems the “six hour” appointment only took around three hours.
So I shut everything down and ran up to the dentist. “Jeannie” needed to do a few urgent errands (like transferring the money to cover the check to the dentist), then she was eager to get home where she could take another tranquilizer and some pain medication.
Back to my place, where it was time for some lunch, then back to the taxes, which did indeed only take a couple of hours to fill out and complete. I ran into a snag the following evening when I received confirmation that both federal and state returns had been accepted, but the software didn’t want to cooperate with my printer. Got that squared away and now there’s just the “completion” in the program which consists largely of the manufacturer trying to sell you more products.
In other news…
“Jeannie’s” PC, which was so crucified by the lamebrains at “Big Computer Warehouse Place”, is back home at my place. I picked it up this morning. The computer doctor only charged us for the hour and a half that it took him to correctly install the drivers and operating system and applications that said lamebrains had totally scrambled. I probably won’t have time to do any testing this evening; but will set up and see how things are tomorrow after work.
Also in the news…
The Global Document Management System (GDMS) that I’ve become more closely involved in lately is having its own problems. Not with the application, but with upper management. There’s a lot of pressure on the team to complete this pilot project on time, which means by a week from next Monday.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Operating Company, our OpCo President has “pledged” to save the company $23 million. A “Cost Reduction Study” (CRS) has been declared, with the OpCo vice president at the helm. (This is the same executive who is in charge of the GDMS project.) 10 study teams have been formed to “find” the $23 million to be saved. The Great Kickoff Meeting took place this morning.
During said kickoff, the study teams were informed that they have to use the GDMS to document their studies. Which means we have around 70+ not-so-willing trainees to teach how to use the system. The executive also wants all the training completed by Friday. And, oh by the way, condense a day-long course into two hours.
This explains why certain members of the GDMS team
(myself included) are officially in “Tumble-Dry” Mode.
This is not unlike having the floor under your feet constantly
shifting while someone blows hot air at you.
In other words:
Situation
But enough of that. “Jeannie” and I finally made it to a movie this weekend. (Another reason to take a day off.) We saw The Core, which is really a variation on Journey to the Center of the Earth, but without any credit going to Jules Verne.
The premise is simple: The earth is losing its electromagnetic field and all will die unless something is done. The thing to do is go to the center of the planet and fix the problem with nuclear explosions. (Because God knows, nuclear explosions are always so helpful.) Do this by assembling a colorful group of disparate people in a theoretical prototype of a machine that doesn’t exist yet. You have three months. Take your time. No pressure.
It’s actually pretty well done.
The characters are at least slightly more than caricatures.
We especially liked the
elf-like little
computer nerd. And there
are comic touches throughout.
But where the movie really excels is in the special effects
(naturally). Boring through
the earth’s crust, mantel and outer core looks a lot like blasting your
way through a gigantic bowl of cream of tomato soup; but up on the
surface, you get to see what happens when
But they do show that you can make a movie like
this without relying on
George Lucas’s
Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects company that employs
so many people in nearby
Marin
county. Maybe that’s
another reason for the special effects guys to pick on the
All in all, a nice diverting two-plus hours that will take your mind away from current events. And then you get to point out all the scientific discrepancies on the way home.
Love, as always,
Pete
PS. I
did get refunds on both federal and state taxes.
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