This is how I feel sometimes!

 

Hmmm...Ides of March?

Sometimes I get the feeling that I am constrained more than I would like!

Speaking of the "Ides of March"...testing function of an additional photo via email to Blogspot.

Hmmm

Something is amiss with this app...does not update or feed from Blogspot.

Check me out!

<<...>> I was able to use my email to publish a photo to Blogger which then
went to Facebook and maybe on to Twitter...nerdy huh?!

_____

avast! Antivirus <http://www.avast.com> : Outbound message clean.

Virus Database (VPS): 090420-0, 04/20/2009
Tested on: 4/20/2009 10:29:07 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2009 ALWIL Software.

He's one bad ass mofo!

I am just coming to grasp with the social media and social networks that have grown-up like wildfire. It's interesting to me the amount of effort that people put into the technologies to enable such content...the contextualization or virtualization of environments into the etherworld.

We now have the technology to post those things around us onto the Internet and various sites that allow people to follow our every move, as if they were there. Case in point, the iPhone allows everyone to edit blogs, twitter, facebook, etc with ease.

Imagine a world where you are no longer private and everything is known about you...from different aspects of those around you.

New Year Resolutions

Hmm...I inevitably have New Year Resolutions (NYR) that do not come true because I do not try hard enough. There are numerous reasons that I could come up with that prevents these resolutions from coming true, but it boils down to me not putting enough time and energy into it.

So, what am I going to put on my list this year? What will I not accomplish by the end of the year? What will I look back on and say to myself that I should have followed through?

My NYR List:

1. Dress better. I have always worn clothing that is not what someone who wants to get ahead in life wears. Case in point, I sometimes wear clothing that is not ironed or not very professional to work. I have often worn clothing that does not indicate my status in life, middle class white male in a white collar job. True, I am in the tech industry and the jobs that I have held did not necessarily require me to wear my best duds, but that should not have stopped me from dressing better.
2. Communication. I need to improve my level of communication in my personal as well as professional life. Often I have failed to talk to my fellow coworkers because I could care less what they have to say or if they had any impact on what I was trying to do at work.
3. Lose weight. I have a family history of obesity and a myriad of health issues that accompany being overweight.
4. Exercise more. This dovetails into NYR number 3. I have often felt better after exercising and have fallen off the exercise bandwagon in the past...look where it has gotten me now. Overweight.
5. Eat healthier. A recent trip to the doctor for my yearly physical showed that I have high triglycerides. In order to get these numbers down, I need to exercise, lose weight, and eat healthier. (I guess that goes without saying....but I had to say it so that I would realize it.)

I am sure that there are a number of other NYRs that I could list; this should do it for now...YEAH.

Missing Mail Icon Control Panel

This is the shit since I was missing my mail icon in the control panel...stupid Outlook 2007.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937763

H.R. 1424: Title II: Section 211

As part of the economic bailout that was passed, House of Representatives Bill No. 1424, there was an inclusion in there for bicycle commuters. From what I understand, it is up to the employer to reimburse employees for said expenses; and, employees will be able to exclude said reimbursements for these expenses from their gross income.

See Title II, Section 211 at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR01424:@@@L&summ2=m&

"(Sec. 211) Allows employees to exclude reimbursements for bicycle commuting expenses from gross income."

Several questions come to my mind.
1) Is this viable for the 2008 tax year?
2) What are the limitations of said expense reimbursements?
3) Should I get the Kestrel Talon or Felt B12? (My Christmas present may very well be getting here earlier than expected.)

Hmmm...wonder if HR knows about this?
Stevan

Dell's Craptacular Support

I love calling technical support and being routed to call centers in foreign countries. It seems to me that the chase to the bottom has resulted in piss-poor customer service from major corporations.

Case in point, my dad has called several times to Dell with issues on his 1720 Inspiron. He has had the same issue several times; and, yet, the customer support systems do not seem to keep track of his issues, nor do they take ownership of the issues.....hmm, god bless dell!

Austin Distance Challenge

I was happy to see that the ADC web-site was up, http://austindistancechallenge.com This year Gerardo Flores, aka Jerry, and I are running against one another to see who gets the better time.

Last year was filled full of injuries and disappointment since I lost the race with him to beat the overall timing. I will say this, it was fun to run against him. He says that he is not a strong runner, but he pulled out some damn good times despite what he thinks to be bad running. I am hoping this year that I can run injury or relatively injury free; we'll see.

I am starting off slow by pulling out the biking and what-not as I commute to school. I think that this running season will be better than the last as I am preparing way ahead of time. Last year was a prepare as you run each race type of situation...hence the injuries.

AT&T Uverse Issues

So, I signed up for this UVerse account with AT&T, which is supposed to be this miracle. The installation itself was a hassle, took 6+ hours, but seemed pretty cool...high speed Internet and lots of cable channels over the same line...reminds me of Timewarner Cable TV & Internet, except cheaper.

With the installation, I was supposed to receive a month's free cable as well as $150 back within 4-6 weeks. 12 weeks later I have not received the moneys, just thought to check on it.

I call in to check on the status and the initial person with whom I talked to seemeed like I was doing her a disservice by calling in and providing her with a job, to answer the GD phone. I was transferred to the rebate center where they were taking a number of calls, judging by the background noise...but the person was nice and pleasant to deal with. There was only one issue; she did not have me in their system for discounts. The call ended with me agreeing to have the AT&T customer service reps calling into the rebate center to do a 3-way call and take care of the rebates issues.

I eventually talk to customer service rep who not only knew her ass from a hole in the ground, but was pleasant to deal with as well. Come to find out that I was due a $100 back and the one month free service, instead of the $150 like the previous customer service person said I would receive. (I guess that is what hooked on math does for you.)

Needless to say that things have been "fixed". I need to check back in at https://rewardcenter.att.com/ with my AT&T account number to get the rebate...which is more than I really should have to do at this point. I feel that AT&T is not the best to go with when it comes to issues like this...guess they are banking on the fact people will not be so diligent when trying to get rebates back.

`Jacob the Jeweler' gets 2 1/2 years in US prison

http://www.austin360.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Other_Entertainment/People_Jacob_the_Jeweler.html

Is it truly any surprise that rappers have gangster ties? What are we, stupid?!

I guess that we are...but one should not assume that gangster rappers are actually rappers...should we?

Wordle - Check It

http://wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/07348/Stevan_W._Pierce

Traditional Marketing Media v. New School Media

Older media is not going anywhere anytime soon. As a matter of fact, I see that traditional media is blending with the newer media to allow for an easier integration into society. Due to the differences in our communities within the US, new school media cannot just flip over and start using new techniques for communication, marketing & sales, etc, etc...however, as the people within our society die and the next generation comes to the forefront, I believe that we'll have progressed in terms of the media.

In other words, Gen-Xers' will use some of the technologies that Gen-Y will use, but not quite all of them. As Gen-Y comes to the forefront, they'll use some of the technologies that the generation after them use, to some degree, until we have seen a revolution in the media.

Online or Offline Communities

A recent NPR radio program got me to thinking about how we interact within the different communities to which we belong. Not only do we react differently in person, but we do so based on the context in which we meet people. There are many forms or types of interactions and interactants .

What have you seen in life?

People

So, I understand that people don't necessarily want to commit to anything. I have had a number of people that I discussed business ideas with and had them flake. A couple of my friends and I had these great ideas but would never commit to them. We would talk about them time and time again, always coming up with new ideas with no push to actually implement them.

One friend turned out to be an ex-friend as he was unstable mentally. Another friend of mine moved away to Houston and became too busy to do anything with. Albeit, he had a seperate life going on and had been in Houston for quite some time. We never really committed to anything, which I wholeheartedly understand. Another person and I recently sat up to the wee hours of the morning discussing ideas and came to the conclusion that we move forward. A couple of calls as well as a couple of emails proved fruitless...so what went wrong with either or, in this case, all three of these people and, for that matter, anyone else that I have come across that wanted to do something "extra".

I believe that it had several factors affecting the relationship that we all shared. With the first friend, I can rightfully say that it was a change in the friendship. These changes surmounted any possible friendship due to personal reasons and the drastic change that he underwent mentally. With the second friend, I believe that life happened. We both went our seperate ways. While we still maintain a good level of communication with one another, it is the lack of proximity that dealt the deathblow that doomed any kind of business relationship that we might have had. (I don't fault him for this as it goes both ways.) The next person...well, god only knows. Maybe he had a change of mind...maybe he just did not care enough to move forward or maybe he was just threatened enough to not bother. (I am gracious for this individual for opening my eyes to possibilities that I did not know existed.) The last person?! There will always be others out there and therefore I cannot comment on the last person. I am sure that many more will follow.

I have learned several different and very important lessons throughout all this. First, involve only those that you know for a fact are committed to the idea. Ensure that they are not only going to be a part of the plan, but a contributor as well. Second, with distance there comes a seperation. Make sure that the person you are interested in working with understands that and is willing to work to make things happen. The last lesson I have learned is probably the most important; make sure that the idea either of you works on is something that everyone is onboard for and willing to put in the manhours to make it happen.

Groundswell

So, I am at work listening to this online book called Groundswell...the social tools that we have grown to love and know in recent years. Blogging is just a prime example of this tool that will allow us to talk in a future world. I like the book as it helps me to understand what Web 2.0 is and why the new label....rapid innovation.

Social Theory

This is the first blog posting for a Social Theory Blog for class at St Edwards.