Enjablog

Last night’s debate, in my opinion, had an obvious winner: CNN.

Their technology is far superior to what the other networks demonstrated. Their HD broadcast had 6 analysts who were scoring the debate real-time, as well as independents in Ohio with dials who could react throughout the debate.

I love watching independents react. Last week’s debate, they reacted positively every time someone spoke. Last night, they were divided on the graph as men and women. At one point, the men went back in time and reacted very negatively. The women reacted positively as stereotypically expected — personal stories, things that would cause empathy or other strong emotions, etc.

And then the analysts! Last week, Begala was asleep for the first half hour, but totally came back and had a score close to the rest of the analysts.

Rosen and Rollins were the token extremists. Their scoring was clearly partisan, sometimes giving their candidate more points than the other analysts combined. Last night, Rosen was keeping up and was pretty even with Rollins… until about 10 o’clock. At which point, Rollins fell asleep on the plus button for Palin and gave her 10 points all at once, even though she had stopped talking. This was obviously a mistake, because soon after that, he reduced that to only a 9-point increase.

By the end of the night, Rollins definitely had the win for the most total points on his scorecard, awarding Palin 4 times as many points as other analysts and twice what he awarded Biden.

QOTD: “Did Rollins just have a thumbgasm?”

This has been an insightful week for me. Chad2 (previously NewGuy) and I have bonded over the annoying incompetence of the newbies.

He is sharing an office with our dept intern and I have been working on training up a new hire. I’m also trying to move away from the New Guy/Newer Guy naming convention because I recognize the inherent flaws in the system. (Sorry, NewGirl, you’re getting grandfathered in.) So… I’m still working on a name for this guy. I’m thinking ResumeLiar is too judgmental. Like I said, still working…

ResumeLiar doesn’t seem to understand how to utilize email. He’ll email me asking me to tell him when I’m free. I respond with, “What do you need?” 1) So I can be prepared. 2) So I can allocate a sufficient amount of time for whatever it is he needs to know that I’m free for. His response? Walk over to ask me in person for something to do. Well, if you had told me that in the email, I could’ve spent 5 minutes putting something together for you to do and then talked to you. Instead, you can stand there and wait.

And yes, even though I’m putting these files in the same folder I’ve put everything else for you, I will send you an email with a link to where things are posted. Stop asking me to do the same task over and over. I get it. You’re incapable of figuring out that I’m going to put the stability files in the stability folder. I will send you the link like I have twice a day for the past 3 weeks that you have worked here.

Then there was the task I had him work concurrently with me because there was an issue that was bottlenecking the remainder of the calcs that needed to be run. And he comes in the next day asking if I got it to work. Yes. “Oh, can I see it? I couldn’t get it to work.” Hm. Well, did you try? “Well, they kept failing, so I stopped running cases.” And then what did you do with the other 8 hours of the day? The goal here is to make it not fail. Of course what you started with failed.

So, I’m going to give you my calcs and then expect an independent review back? Right. Why don’t I explain it again in simpler steps and you make an attempt at learning how to do this? I’ll take responsibility for not being a good teacher if you take responsibility for being slow.

Now, to be fair, he has shown signs of being useful. He found a couple errors when he did QA for some of my stuff last week. Slow, but diligent. I don’t think he has a grasp of any of the concepts, but he can push buttons in the right order when given detailed instructions and is reminded to follow ALL steps listed. I can build on that.

Lesson 3: If you lower your standards enough, there is a positive side to everything!

QoTD: “I can explain it again, but I can’t comprehend it for you.”

So, I got an intern put in my office a few weeks ago. He’s working for a different division and I got “asked” by their VP… well, the VP voluntold Boss Jr. Then Boss Jr asked me when I had an office full of people whether that would be ok. So I got bullied into it. He did man up and apologize later for putting me in a bad spot like that, but he got bullied into it too, since the VP and intern were standing outside my office at the time. Unprofessional.

In any case, the first day, the kid tried to make smalltalk with me, but I was genuinely busy. He asked me some questions about myself and I specifically did not reciprocate those questions. I had already gotten enough background info on him from around the office the day before he started — school, year, major, etc.. But I figured I should be polite though and keep up facades. And then he chattered on for an hour and a half.

Shut. Up.

He got named CC (Chatty Cathy). But I have once again found an application for psychology to help interact with the humans. I acknowledge that I can only control my own actions, but what the advice columnists don’t tell you?

Lesson 2: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (Ok, that was kind of directed at Boss Jr from yesterday) So, if you change your actions in the right way, the result can be a favorable reaction from the person being trained with whom you are interacting.

I noticed that once I allowed CC a conversational opening, he would yammer on for an hour or longer, regardless of whether I was facing him, paying attention, or showing any sign that I could hear him at all. The solution was clearly for me to change my own actions and not allow that opening. A week into training and we no longer speak. There is an occasional cordial morning greeting, and he turns around and stares every time someone comes into the office to discuss something with me, but there is no interacting. And he no longer tries to join in conversations, just stares.

Definitely a successful training exercise.

Granted, now that he’s “comfortable” around the office… he feels free to spend his day playing games that involve him mashing the keys on his keyboard, calling his gf who works downstairs to ask insightful questions like, “Are you online?” and perusing for swimsuits for his gf. The worst part about that? His gf: not hot. Those bikinis would not have been flattering on her at all.

QoTD: “It’s not the heat, it’s the stupidity.”

I’ve been working on a project the past few weeks which basically just fills in the gaps when I have breaks from the main project I’m working on. While working this, I spend about a quarter of my time doing calculations to determine the energy exerted in a collision, half of it correcting Boss Jr’s calcs because he has this compulsion where he has to do a calc every time I do one, and the last quarter trying to explain why his numbers are just made up and trying to convince him to stop.

The most recent revision he sent me had velocity subtracted from a mass. I thought this was wrong because of the dimensional analysis and what with it not making any sense. But Ian helped me understand:

Lesson 1: As velocity approaches c, mass trends toward infinity. So you add velocity to a mass, not subtract.

Other notable quotes from today’s interactions:
“I think we agree. Do you agree?” Um, no.
“Ok, so ignore the calcs for now. Do you agree with the concepts?” Do I agree with conservation of energy? Yes. Conservation of momentum? Yes. Shall we get back to the part where the calcs show no understanding of these concepts?
“Thanks, this was really helpful for me… *pause* You think this was a waste of time, don’t you?” Well, yes. But I recognize that professional courtesy dictates that I not answer that honestly. So, um, no… I’m glad you understand now.

He was so proud of himself too. He had printed out this explanation and told me how he found it on Wikipedia. Because, you know, some dude was up late one night, worked out a proof for conservation of energy, and decided he would post it to Wikipedia posthaste!

QoTD: “It would help if I were better at Physics, wouldn’t it?”

My boots arrived!! They are surprisingly comfortable and smidge big, but that means I get to wear thick, comfy socks with them. So, it all worked out. Very relieved.

So, I’ve been telling this story at work lately because people wanted to know what the big deal was with my away message all week. When I told Boss Jr at our department meeting, I said that Target only had men’s boots. And I could see him getting ready to ask why I didn’t just buy men’s boots. So I cut him off to save him the embarrassment of asking why a person with little kid feet didn’t just wear grown up shoes. Because, yeah… at this point in my life, now I’m going to concern myself with fashion and aesthetics. That’s why I didn’t buy them. I know, I’m so confusing.

I was wearing my boots around the apartment last night to get used to them and break them in a little. And I know this is obvious, but they are heavy. It’s almost a 5% increase to my weight. I’m like a walking bobo doll. Very stable though.

Alright… going back to reading. Flight takes off in an hour.

QOTD: “Are they pink? Hello Kitty steel toed boots.” Now there’s a demographic I’d like to see…

I’m in class right now and realizing that I don’t have a stapler at home. I thought I did at one point, but I have no idea where it would be. So maybe I never had one. It seems terribly important right now. I don’t have a stapler!!

QOTD: “So, there’s only one person missing. We can still have a mutiny!”

Just got back from dinner with Ian at The Melting Pot. I think I ate something like 3000 calories tonight. So much good food, and I absolutely could not resist the brownies in the cookies ‘n’ cream chocolate fondue. Mmmmm!

The onset of food coma is coming quickly. I just wanted to say that I finally made it out for Restaurant Week. I’ve meant to go the past few years and kept missing it for one reason or another. Definitely marking my calendar to check out some new places next year. One of my coworkers had reservations at 4 different restaurants. That’s way too much for me.

Off to dream about chocolate…

QOTD: “That joke was scientifically based and therefore not insulting.”

I think it’s ridiculously unfair that I have both insomnia and narcolepsy these days. How is this even possible?

I think it started last week when I finally rid my body of the influenza virus. I’ve been having some trouble sleeping, but it was mostly like 11-12 o’clock trouble. After I spent 2 days last week completely out of it, I was wide awake after pre-Thanksgiving. I stayed up progressively later each night, until Saturday night when I was up until 7am. This didn’t turn out too badly since I woke up at 11 and had a normal day. I got drowsy around 6, but willed myself to power through it by doing laundry and fidgeting a lot. And once I made it over the hump, I thought I would go to bed around 9 or so and get back on track. But no.

Once I made it through the drowsy period, I was awake. I stayed up and watched the Patriots and the Eagles play some sub-standard football. Not like bad football, but just not up to their usual standards. By that I mean Tom Brady had a less than stellar game. They still won, but not enough for me to get a fantasy football win. *sob*

Yenny suggested it might be my new meds. Which is possible… that doesn’t explain last week, but combine that with starting back up after taking a week off, and it might explain my self-perpetuating issue now. I hope I get used to this soon. The staying awake part is good. And I’m not tired in the morning — even get up before my alarm regularly now. It’s kind of scary. But it’s a little unsettling to be up at 1-2 in the morning on a weeknight, especially when I’ve been getting up early to catch the bus lately.

I’m afraid this might affect my sanity. You know, what little of it I have left…

QOTD: “The Internet: It isn’t just for porn any more.”

Got linked to a different version of the test from Lenny: Myers Briggs

E - 4
I - 14

S - 9
N - 10

T - 14
F - 9

J - 7
P - 7

Consensus: INTP.

The issue in the last category is that I like being organized with lists and schedules to facilitate multiple projects. I procrastinate, but will usually get things done on time in the end. It’s just not as important to me to stick to the actual schedule, just that I have a plan. The other test was more focused on the scheduling and deadlines aspect of things, so I was strongly J.

QOTD: “HOWEVER, don’t let me catch any of you talking about streamlines in a time-varying flow.”
Yeah, because I was totally gonna…

This is so cool! I was watching a DVD with Dellilah and was fast-forwarding through the previews when I discovered that she plays movies at increased speeds. So, you can still hear the dialogue when fast-forwarding. This was especially awesome because I was watching Letters from Iwo Jima and there was a lot of talking accompanied by not that much in subtitles. So, I watched a 2.5 hour movie in 2 hours. So efficient!

QOTD accompanying a Stetson cologne ad with hunky Tom Brady: “I want to be his wide receiver.”

Feeling miserable today, so called in sick to work. Pretty glad I made plans to not go anywhere this weekend. No family meals, no socializing, nothing.

Was in a 3-hour meeting yesterday where they discussed U-tubes for about half an hour. The whole time, all I could do was suppress my giggling and try to stop picturing that dog on a skateboard in the iPhone commercials.

QOTD: “”You’re young… Do you know how to use the internet?”

I woke up yesterday convinced that it was Sunday. I was very confused when my alarm clock went off, so I tried to remember what had happened on Saturday. Maybe I accidentally set my alarm? I didn’t even remember Saturday. What did I do? Did I have lunch with my family? Did I go out after work on Friday? I don’t remember the whole week!! The last thing I remember is Monday. I must have amnesia. Remember. Remember. What happened?

Ian explained to me very calmly that it was Tuesday.

QOTD:

Classmate1: Class is at 6, correct?
Classmate2: 6:30 I thought
Classmate1: well, that would explain why no one is speaking….thx!

S-M-R-T.

Woo! We got our new replacement sofa today!

Also, forgot to mention yesterday — saw one of TLD’s clowns on the metro and Prime Number Boy. Oh, how I loathe PNB. He was there with his weird gf too. She’s nice though, just very introverted and weird.

QOTD: “If it weren’t for Carbon-14, I wouldn’t date at all.”

Friday — Got out of work relatively late. Big presentation at work this week and we were trying to get everything QAed and commented before the weekend. So… our dry run went 2.5 hours over with comments on pretty much every slide. But I was assured this was a good presentation. Awesome.

Got home and watched Happy Feet. Wow. The opening sequence was pretty much an animated version of March of the Penguins. Then, there was a lot of cheering and breeding. It was … different than I expected. I thought it’d be more of the cute baby penguins singing and being cute. But there was a story line that went with it and stuff.

Saturday — Got groceries, hung out with my gramma, ran errands… Went over to Ben’s for board games and booze. It was loads of fun. SPJ even came down from NY to hang out. There was boggle, clue, guitar hero II (2 player!), poker, and, of course, celebrity. Some memorable celebrities: Livvy’s mom, GOP (Which, btw, Ian and I later figured out was supposed to be God. Oops.), George Washington Carver, Claude Debussy, and Don Hyatt. Ah, friends…

Now, I’ve just started trying to remember as many of the celebrities as I can. I’m up to 33. Out of 52, I think. Must… keep… remembering…

Sunday — loafed around and slept a bunch. Went over for Gilmore Night at Ian’s parents’. The electricity went out. It was very exciting.

Monday — Slept a bunch again. Went over to hang out with gramma, Yenny, Sonny, and Anna. Sonny and Anna got me a hokie vase! It’s so cute. It’s not actually hokie, just hokie-colored. It’s under our TV now. :)

QOTD: “Oh, that’s just cervical mucus. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Man, casseroles are so easy to make. I put this together for a party last weekend, but didn’t end up making/serving it, so I baked it up tonight and had way too much food for myself. But that’s ok. It was pretty good and sooo easy.

Hearty Tuna Casserole
INGREDIENTS
3 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tomato, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add noodles, and cook until al dente; drain.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine noodles, tuna, celery, and green onion. Stir in sour cream, mustard, and mayonnaise. Season with salt and thyme. Spoon 1/2 of the noodle mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Arrange a layer of zucchini over the mixture. Top with the remaining noodles, followed by a layer of zucchini. Top the entire casserole with cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle the casserole with tomatoes before serving.

Notes: I didn’t follow most of the recipe, so that might explain why it wasn’t as awesome as the reviews said it would be. I used regular noodles (whole wheat, actually, for most of it and a handful of regular noodles because I didn’t have enough), frozen veggie mix instead of celery, and no thyme. And I forgot the salt, but I didn’t notice a difference because I don’t salt my food much anyway.

I think next time I would put a layer of cheese between the noodle layers. I think this would also have made a good cold pasta salad.

QOTD: “If counseling were a competitive sport, I would totally win.”