And now for something different!

An online buddy pointed me to this site that ranks cities that are best suited for me based on a quiz. It's funny that I have never even thought about living in the cities listed here.




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American Cities That Best Fit You:

70% Austin

60% Denver

55% Atlanta

50% San Diego

45% Honolulu

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Certainty is Bliss

For the past 3 months or so, I have been searching for summer internships to bolster my resume and my list of skills. For about a month now, I have had 3 possible internships "up in the air" where I have interviewed, but no decision has been made.

Now that I have two weeks left before I am forced to move out of the dorm, I had to make a decision on what I am going to do for the summer. Previously I have been placing my faith in the companies that might hire me. Unfortunately for them, they have waited too long, and I have decided to stay in Bloomington and work my normal student jobs. I am really looking forward to having a nice relaxing summer. I am not going to take any classes.

Let the countdown begin toward my relaxing summer!

Excitement Builds!

As you should already know, Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" is going to be released 1 week from today. As a Campus Rep for Apple, I am extra excited about this. I am putting a Launch Party together that is going to amaze bloomington. I have 3 other campus reps coming down to help, the bookstore is holding special hours, and I am expecting to have more than 200 people in attendance.

It's gonna be a BLAST!!

Here are the details. IU Bookstore Computer Connections. 6PM Friday April 29th. BE THERE!!!

Milk money

I try really hard not to rant on this page, but this time, it is warranted.

I just went to the dorm convenience store here at IU Bloomington, and I wanted to buy some cereal and milk as study food. I know that anything I buy will be more expensive than any other store around, but one item really appalled me.

A quart of milk. How much would you expect it to be? 1.00? 1.50 at the most? HA! Not at IU! We must have amazingly special milk here. Possibly the cow lives at some special cow spa and treated like royalty. Something must justify 2.50 for a QUART of milk.

Amazing.

Do you Shuffle?

This weekend was absolutely perfect. My family and I celebrated my birthday (a bit early) on Saturday, and they gave me an iPod Shuffle (1GB).

It rocks. Nuff said.

People ask me why I needed another iPod. After two days of use, I can tell you...it's a different music experience. Relinquishing control of my music experience is something I was fairly uncertain about, but now, I actually prefer the iPod Shuffle to the regular iPod. The Shuffle is like having a radio station of all of your favorite music...and you have no choice but to simply wait and see what comes next. It is so random that I am hearing songs from my own library for the first time.

If you see me around from now on, chances are I will have a small white iPod Shuffle around my neck just waiting to hear what song is next.

Aaaaah Spring!!

I love spring weather. Who can argue with sunny skies, birds singing, and fresh air?

Like every year, I am starting my spring by going to the family cottage. My Great Grandfather Vernon Wilson (rip) built a 2 bedroom house for he and his wife when he had 13 weeks of vacation from the steel mills in Gary, Indiana. He built it on the shore of the Big Monon River which feeds into Lake Shafer. We go there every spring and summer for mini vacations and quality time fishing, grilling and playing games.

Walking in to the cottage, there is a sweet musty smell that just tells you that the house is clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy. Looking around, it is like you are stepping back in time to an era where craftsmanship always won over price and it has not been touched by technology beyond cable TV.

Some of my fondest memories growing up have been there, and someday I hope to take my family for a weekend at the cottage.

If you want to get an idea of the area in which the cottage is located, go to www.indianabeach.com

Blogger's block

I have been thinking about a lot of different issues in my life lately....a job search, academic issues, even family stuff. I could have written 5 or 6 blog entries in the last couple weeks, but I have not. Why?

In informatics, we have several classes on the social issues of advances in technology. Since I am aware that this blog is extremely easy to find by anyone who is looking (i.e. potential employers) I have to be extremely selective about what I post. Everything I write here could be scrutinized by anyone who knows me. I definitely would not want to leave a bad impression on anyone who wants to know more about me, so I can't use this as a journal. I am busy beyond belief, so well thought out articles are almost out of the question.

I think we are going to begin to see a practice that I will call "Internet self-censorship". I practice self censorship on this very blog. I can't say what I really think about some issues. I can't write an opinion article on some hot button issue. The risk that is foremost on my mind is potentially pissing off a future employer that might disagree with me. It can be more confining than I ever thought.

Freedom on the internet is a double-edged sword. It is a forum that anyone can use to say whatever they want about whoever they want. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility and in my opinion, it will fundamentally change the way we live even more than the printing press. The changes are just barely beginning to be seen. As I was told at one point during my last internship, keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.

Passing

Today marks the passing of a great man, Pope John Paul II. He served as a moral leader to the world and he will be missed dearly.

Please take a moment out of your day to reflect on the life and actions of "the people's pope"

to joke or not to joke

Today is April 1st. April Fool's Day to many. This day gives us all permission to play jokes on people and really have fun.

But what happens when you run into someone who does not have a good sense of humor? It could end up as a disasterous day.

At any rate, have a GREAT day and enjoy the April showers!