The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Another McCafé
There was a McD’s on my route this morning while I was running errands. I went through the drive-thru (I am pretty sure it is spelled that way in Ronald McDonaldland) window and ordered a hot chocolate (nonfat with no whipped cream).
So. Much. Faster. Than Starbucks.
And my original complaint – that it was a bit too sweet – proved untrue the second time around. So it seems they are entirely standardized yet. Either way, I am very pleased.
Virtual Classroom
While BU has a Virtual Classroom feature, I have never used it. I don’t like things that involve microphones. I can suck it up when I have a presentation, but like PowerPoint, I find them a necessary evil.
We are converting our HR/payroll system back to ADP, and I have tons of training to go through. Virtual Classroom is the alternative to going to ADP’s location and staying there all day. I don’t actually have a problem with going to ADP and staying all day, but we are on a tight schedule and it wasn’t matching up.
So. Virtual Classroom is rather like any other webinar except that the entire thing is online rather than including a telephone conference call. I guess the idea is that if you have to get online, anyway, you might as well not have to use the phone, too. Or maybe it is less expensive. ADP sent me a headset with a microphone that they say is absolutely necessary. It is not. I could hear just fine from my speakers and if I have to talk we could use text.
So we listen to the presenter and watch her run through the PowerPoint. There are buttons to raise our hands. Buttons to answer Yes and No questions. There are even buttons for Laugh and Applaud.
My opinion is that this is good for meetings, but for software training I prefer the packaged web based training. On my own time and not being held up by other participants that are late or having A/V problems.
I am selfish that way.
Dirty, Dirty Traitor
I was in junior high school when I discovered the wonderful, wonderful world of bath products.
Before I knew any more about skin care than benzoyl peroxide (which I am sure I could have properly spelled at the time), I was spending my daddy’s money on shower gel. The Body Shop was the first of these stores. Then came Bath and Body Works.
Bath and Body Works had distinct advantages:
Longer product line. With more scents from which to choose.
All American. They are based in Ohio, and their “manufacturing” was local.
There is one in every shopping mall in the United States.
Less freaking expensive.
I have been a loyal customer for many years. Then something happened:
I have twice been told, by a professional aesthetician, that it is time to do something about the sun damage on my face. Products containing Vitamin C were recommended. Mario Tricoci tried to sell me a serum for $138. I nearly choked.
I did some homework online and found that The Body Shop has an entire line of Vitamin C products for your face. The comparable serum, used underneath the daily moisturizer, retails for $26. Sold.
While making the purchase, I was informed that The Body Shop has a membership thing. $10 per year, 10% off everything you buy and then rewards and stuff. Sold.
Then I remembered why I liked them in the first place:
No animal testing – as opposed to “The final product has not been tested on animals”.
Fair trade on product ingredients – not all of them, but they’re trying.
Packaging is all recyclable.
So. I tried this Vitamin C thing. And I do believe it is working. So I went back today to pick up some more stuff. And found they were doing a “Spend $25 and get this free” – like at the makeup counter:
This store is not in every mall. In fact, it is a bit of a pain to go there. And it certainly costs more. But I think I love it.
The Impeachment
Among all of impeachment material in the Chicago Tribune is a piece by John Kass. The point of the article is that Rod Blagojevitch should now get his butt into the prosecutor’s office and start talking. But he went rather literary. Talking about the former governor taking a run:
Rod will run past the Biograph Theater, site of one of the great untrue myths of Chicago, which says that a woman in red pointed out bank robber John Dillinger to the FBI. It wasn’t the woman in red. It was the Chicago Outfit that tipped them. At least that’s the story the wise guys tell, and I believe them, the Outfit giving up a freelancer who had no protection, no organization, a freelancer like Dillinger bringing unnecessary heat.
There’s a certain Chicago logic to it: When freelancers bring heat to organizations, they become problems. But problems can be solved.
The theory here is that all of the politicians are on the take and they threw Blagojevitch under the bus to save themselves. I can stipulate there must be some truth to that theory. Just how much is a mystery to me. 10%? 90%? I don’t know.
One thing the Defenders keep saying is that no one has proven that Blagojevitch is guilty of anything. And we are all innocent until proven guilty. They are ignoring the fact that an impeachment trial is not a criminal court. He was fired from a job. The Illinois Assembly didn’t deprive him of Life and Liberty. Just the pursuit of public office in the state of Illinois.
Even if he didn’t mean to imply that the vacant Senate seat was literally for sale. Even if he didn’t shake down a children’s hospital or demand that editorial staff be fired. (All of which I believe he did.) I. Don’t. Care.
He was ineffective on a good day. Positively toxic in the last year or so. Don’t get me started on the taxpayers’ private plane and the fact that he never moved downstate. Even without a federal indictment hanging over his head. His removal was in the best interest of the state of Illinois. And that’s what it’s all about, Charlie Brown.
Ice Storms
USA Today had the quote from the President:
“My children’s school was canceled today, because of what … some ice?” he said. As one of his girls pointed out, Obama added, “in Chicago, school is never canceled. … You’d go outside for recess. You wouldn’t even stay indoors.”
I was at AU during the ice storm of 1994. School was shut down for an entire week. I remember hearing, at the time, that the District only owned one salt truck. And it was out of salt.
A few years ago, after my office consolidated some operations in DC, many of my colleagues moved there from Chicago. The first snow day they had, I was poking fun at the transplants. I might have used the word, “pansy”. My friend John said, “It’s not our fault the government shuts down! The Metro shuts down! The whole place shuts down!”
Since Chicago is in the midst of its second horrid winter in a row – and by “horrid” I mean Lake County whines that Cook County is bogarting all of the salt and Cook County has run out its budget to pay the overtime to the people that drive the salt trucks – I have a bit more sympathy for how much it freakin’ costs to clean up the mess. So I can see how DC, with insane commutes on a good day, just finds it easier to shut down.
Also, I read a book last year about the Chicago Public Schools. One reason they don’t shut down for snow is the huge number of kids on the hot lunch program. The fear is that if they don’t go to school, some kids literally won’t eat that day.
Finally – with snow you clear it away. I find ice rather scarier. I believe it is not just about the roads, but the power lines.
So I’m not making fun today. I’ll leave that to the President!
Edit to add: WGN news just ran this story and added that the last time the Chicago Public Schools closed for snow was January 1999.
The School Water Cooler
Classes started back up the week before last. I am working on the fifth course of the eight I need to complete the program. There seem to be fewer HR people this time around.
While the courses are similarly structured for the online experience, the expectations of the professors differ. For example, in my first class, I was marked down on my final project for failing to properly format my bibliography according to APA standards. In my second course, taught by the head of the department, I asked about the standards in advance. He told me not to worry about it. As long as they could tell I was citing my sources, points were not held back for punctuation. Two of my four classes had a midterm exam. Two had final projects. Some had graded weekly assignments. So yes – in that respect it is like being in live classes.
The difference? The Water Cooler. The fear in online coursework is that students will not interact enough. So weekly discussions posted online are required in each course. And there is a general discussion board for chatty use. In my last class, there was an uprising from the masses after the midterm was scored. People actually insulted the professor on the Water Cooler. Excuse me while I don’t participate.
This time around, there are plenty of newbies struggling with the amount of work. I was right there in my first class. I adjusted. I considered offering up some thoughts, but then I read the other comments. They were along the lines of:
“Wait until you get to Marketing! Twice as much reading and written assignments every week!”
I am glad I didn’t hear that kind of thing when I was a newbie.
My goal has been to read ahead as soon as I receive the course materials and stay ahead of the syllabus for the duration. So far, so good. Due dates each week are Tuesday at midnight. My goal is Sunday before I go to bed. This will be easier now that football season is over.
I have now determined my best advice:
Develop your schedule and stick to it. Leave room for unexpected events and your nephew’s birthday party. Don’t let other students scare you. And for the love of all that’s Holy, do not trash the professor in public.
Blago
I was going to write something thoughtful on the impeachment trial of Governor Blagojevich, but the more I read, the harder my eyes roll and I feel a headache coming. So I am just going to reprint his schedule for Day 2 of the trial, being held in Springfield. From the Chicago Tribune:
Here’s the governor’s schedule in New York today:
6:45 a.m. CBS’ Evening News (taped before CBS’ The Early Show)
7 a.m. CBS’ The Early Show (Central Park studios)
8:10 a.m. Fox & Friends (FOX)
8:45 a.m. Associated Press’ TV studio (450 W. 33rd St.)
10:30 a.m. Fox Business Network (1211 Avenue of Americas)
11:15 a.m.- In Session/TruTV: Jami Floyd: Best Defense (600 3rd Avenue)
12:30 p.m.. Glenn Beck (FOX)
1:30 p.m. Campbell Brown (CNN Center)2 p.m.- Rachel Maddow (30 Rockefeller Center)
2:30 p.m Greta Van Susteren (undisclosed location)
3:30 p.m. DL Hughley (CNN Center)
On Monday, the governor appeared on the “Today Show”, “Good Morning America,” “The View” and the “Larry King Show.” It was on “Good Morning America” that he revealed he had considered television superstar Oprah Winfrey for the open Senate seat but eventually rejected the idea because it could be seen as a “gimmick” and she likely wouldn’t take the job anyway.
Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded, by John Scalzi
Buying a copy of Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded, by John Scalzi, was an indulgence. Barnes and Noble had a limited number of signed and numbered hard cover copies, so I used a Christmas gift card. Wil Wheaton wrote the introduction.
Scalzi is a writer of many things and this book is a “best of the first 10 years” from his personal blog, called “Whatever”. Sci-fi fiction seems to be where his heart is, but he is clearly a pen for hire. I like the way he writes about the business of writing. That his head might be on his next novel, but he has committed to a deadline for a client. I think he said that Oppenheimer Funds was one. He seems very level-headed about money, which I find awesome.
He is an agnostic that talks an awful lot about Christianity. I don’t have the direct quote, but his attitude is:
I don’t have a problem with Christianity. I wish more Christians practiced it.
I agree with his premise, and enjoyed hearing him talk through raising his daughter to be curious and understanding without imposing his own ideas on her. But, boy that was a lot of posts on religion.
He wrote about how sci-fi suffers by an unfair comparison to Star Wars. True. But his idea is that the two can not be compared because Star Wars is not entertaining. I would argue that I was perfectly entertained by Star Wars. I just wouldn’t call it science fiction.
He mentions both the meanness of the “childfree” movement and the way that some people turn into jerks when they become parents. I like that he has strong opinions on the subject while expressing an understanding of the alternate point of view:
Kids are kids. But:
Parents should teach kids the proper way to behave in public. But:
People that don’t have kids might show just a bit of patience. And:
“Out in Public” is not synonymous with “Adults Only”.
That said. The fact that Starbucks is overrun with screaming children has just sent me back to McDonalds. Where they have a playground.
Finally, I had a moment when I got to the September 12 post. He had a similar reaction to mine – that the most striking thing about the day was how clear the sky was and how there were no airplanes in it. For him, it was a guilty moment of seeing something beautiful and feeling badly about it. For me, there was a new definition in my psyche:
Planes in the air = Things are right in the world.
Oh, and Scalzi talks politics a lot.
I enjoyed this book and will continue to read his blog. But he won’t get me into science fiction.
Weekend Progress
When I started loading my first iPod, I was picking and choosing my music. It held only 4GB, so for the most part, everything on there had a purpose. Now I am loading the Grandaddy iPod with everything in the house. I am astonished by some of the things I found in my collection. We can discuss that when I am finished (when did I buy the Animaniacs soundtrack?). But it is all going in there.
John Scalzi had an essay in his book about his daughter discovering that old horrid tune, “The Final Countdown”. He made a point of sitting her down and playing her the entire thing so as to teach her just how terrible it is. He doesn’t say whether he had a copy already in the house. But that is a purpose – so I felt a bit better about this project.
The picture above represents the weekend’s progress. First I thought I would start at the beginning of the alphebet. Then decided I wanted all of the soundtracks first. Then I wanted everything where I have a whole bunch of CDs from one artist. Then I decided that I don’t need a pattern – it is all going in eventually.
McCafé
I was jonesing for fries today, so I went to my local McDonald’s and had lunch. I thought I would bring the new coffee home for my mother to try. Incidentally, my McDonald’s is two doors down from the Starbucks.
I did some people watching while I ate. A couple of families eating quietly with young children. Some older folks having coffee and talking football. It was very low key. I thought that compared to Starbucks, this was a much nicer place to read a book and drink hot chocolate. If the hot chocolate is any good.
I like hot chocolate from Starbucks because it isn’t as sweet as the stuff that comes from the machines. I order it with skim milk and no whipped cream. Will McDonald’s let me go all high maintenance like that? The answer is Yes.
I wondered because McDonald’s has made a science of reducing the “time to served”. The sign on the wall of my store said Target: 34, which I presume means 34 seconds from the end of the order to the time the food is delivered. How does McCafé factor in to that?
Cost: The medium hot chocolate was $2.39 and the medium mocha was $2.79. Compared to $3.00 and $3.50 or so from Starbucks.
The Verdict: The mocha had more chocolate syrup than seemed necessary, but the coffee was strong. The hot chocolate was sweeter than I prefer. It occurs to me that the staff is probably still learning how to prepare this stuff. But to have a quiet place to have a drink and read…and give the business to McDonald’s? I am perfectly happy.
The Next Dark Age 
