tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53710531490440899082024-03-21T17:59:32.266-04:00suburbicideJeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-2443847830431288402023-10-09T19:43:00.002-04:002023-10-09T19:44:19.380-04:00Do people still read blogs?I don't really want to do do the math to see how much I've spent on this website over the years that I've had it up and not really done anything with it. When I first registered the domain I had ideas on what I wanted to do with it but never really had the time or motivation to really finish any of the websites I started or bought the domains for over the years. I've been tempted more than a few times to just let this go, too. Delete the blogs and let at least the .net domain go. When I started writing on the internet a long time ago, blogs were interesting to me but I never fully committed to doing it and they've LONG since lost popularity to numerious other social media platforms that had their "15 minutes" and then ultimately fell out of favor. I never really got into most of the social media sites post MySpace and livejournal. I don't have Twitter/X, TikTok, etc and don't care to. I've started typing posts numerous times here since the last time I've actually posted something but I get sidetracked and when I come back to it I realize that it doesn't matter, nobody is going to read it and once I've typed part of it out I stopped caring about it. So, I delete the partial post and forget about this blog for months, years... and then do it again.<br />
<br />
I have themes that I keep coming back to. They're the tags that are on the posts here. I get in cyclic moods where I want to sell and donate all my stuff and just go somewhere else. I want to live in a tiny house in the woods. I want to get in better shape and ride my bike more. I want to read more. Do more artistic things. Spend more time with my family and friends. Go see some live bands. Get another project car and spend time working on it. One thing that's rarely on my list is post on my blog, build a new website or app or do anything with technology.<br />
<br />
I get wrapped up in the day-to-day. Work, chores, errands and the little time I feel like I have I'm vegged out in front of the TV with some dumb YouTube video playing. Then I cycle again, start to type another post about how I'm not motivated to do anything, never finish it and then delete it.<br />
<br />
I'm actually going to click the publish button on this one. Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-2465628000983732782019-02-26T11:55:00.000-05:002019-02-26T11:55:49.175-05:00Writing online when nobody is readingOn all of the various websites I have had (starting with free Geocities and Angelfire hosted sites in the late 1990's/early 2000's and continuing through this site) I have done very little promotion of my internet presence. I have told a few friends and family members about some specific things over the years, but almost all of the things I've written or put online (including this site) were always just meant to be a creative and technical outlet for myself.<br />
<br />
Before the widespread use of the internet to post every minute of every day from your smartphone, I (probably like many others around my age) had notebooks of doodles and stuff I wrote that nobody had ever seen. I had physical photographs of myself with people I'd met and places I'd been. It was amazing to be able to put some of the stuff out somewhere (somewhat anonymously) to share with people that I didn't know in real life and didn't feel like were judging me. When I put things up back then I always assumed that nobody was looking at it (and nobody really cared) but still posted somewhat cautiously because anyone <i>could be</i> looking at it.<br />
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There was a brief time in the early 2000's where I was a member of an online community that had journals. Through that site I <i>met</i> a ton of really cool people. People that I didn't know IRL, before I got to know them online. People would come around to your journal on the site and ask for updates and share stories and recommendations for things (movies, music, what to do after a breakup, how to cope with a shitty job). They'd come around just to say they missed you and ask how life was. I'd regularly make posts with boring little life updates. When I had nothing to write about I'd ask people to share random things with me and people really did. I'd spend hours reading what my friends has posted and commenting back to them individually. Towards the end of that time period I was busy with work and real life relationships (spending less time online) and short on cash (paying back student loans) and I stopped paying to be a member and very quickly lost touch with everyone there. For a short time after leaving, I tried to keep in touch with people by email and later I tried to keep that online <i>community</i> feeling going briefly with free options like LiveJournal, Friendster and MySpace (remember them?) but they never really went anywhere and I struggled with posting anything regularly enough to keep people interested in coming back on those other platforms.<br />
<br />
During the early part of those years, though, I remember chatting in various chat rooms and ICQ (and later, AIM) with people from all around the US and Canada, all hours of the day and night. People I met online who were interested in stuff I'd written or profiles I had on websites that just randomly reached out for whatever reason and we started talking. It felt less <i>weird</i> back then to just randomly say "Hello. I really like your [picture]/[poem]/[story]/[profile]/[whatever]." or "I also like [author]/[band]." and then end up talking online sharing stories, pictures, trials and tribulations, relationship and family drama. Pretty much anything you'd end up talking to a good friend about.<br />
<br />
People were a little worried about online stalkers and weirdos, but many of the platforms today are tied a little too closely to the real world to feel <i>safe</i> about posting a lot of things or just randomly commenting to strangers. (Not even going to get on the topic of trolls.) Back then, if you wanted to avoid people you just made a different ICQ/AIM name and shared it with a smaller group. I didn't post my phone number, address, where I went to school, hometown, who my real life friends and family were, what I ate for breakfast and where I ate it... and that was the norm. I picked funny city names to <i>live</i> in for profiles like Eek, AK or Boring, OR (real places) but told online friends where (roughly geographically) and eventually real city/state when I had talked to them for a little while. A few even knew my full name and address (as we mailed physical gifts, mix CDs and stuff to each other) but I think what made it fun for all of us was the ability to connect with people easily based on genuine interests instead of primarily based on physical location.<br />
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I bring my personal internet history up, because lately I've been thinking about how the internet has changed over my two decades of using (or not using) evolving technologies and platforms. I'm sure a lot of it is just me growing up and out of my teen (and twenties) angst and drama. It's been quite some time since I've ranted about a bad breakup or raved about traveling hours to see my favorite band(s). It's been even longer since I posted an extremely cryptic one line post and had multiple people I've never met in real life who knew instantly what I was talking about (and laughing with me or being supportive, whatever was appropriate). I rarely write about politics or religion due to the fear of offending someone I have to sit near at work on a daily basis. The remainder for me is the fact that online is much more like (and intertwined with) real life now. If I wouldn't talk about it with someone I don't know that well at work, I don't post it on Facebook. I don't like <i>liking</i> things because they're just using the information I give them to sell advertisements. The different groups of people that are friends on these platforms don't overlap on many/most interests and I don't care enough (or have the time) to break them into groups to post to different groups, anyway.<br />
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Most of my <i>online</i> friends now are people I actually knew IRL before <i>connecting</i> with them online. Facebook (and Instagram) are shared with family, friends, coworkers, classmates and the occasional person you didn't really know all <i>that</i> well in college/high school/middle school and even probably even some parents of your friends and acquaintances.<br />
<br />
There's obviously nothing <i>wrong</i> with any of this, but these days my feeds are primarily posts about real life friend's families and pictures of their children, lots of doom and gloom about politics, and so many pictures of food. Some of it is interesting, some of it is infuriating and some of it is just <i>shares</i> to scroll past, but it just doesn't feel like it used to. It feels like a curated glance into the good parts of someone else's life and things that they want you to be [happy]/[sad]/[angry] at with them. It's nice to have a convenient way to keep up with people's lives but I feel like there's little to no actual interaction short of clicking the thumbs-up (or now long press for the heart, etc...) and typing a quick "Congratulations." post on major life events.<br />
<br />
I feel more disconnected even though I know more about what's going on in friend's lives now compared to when I actually saw a lot of them every day in school, work, etc.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-66741541536579873292017-01-27T12:26:00.000-05:002019-10-16T10:19:57.899-04:00More about simplificationSimplification seems to be a recurring theme in my life. Take <a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2010/01/simplification_03.html" target="_blank">this post</a> from January 2010 as an example where I'm writing about wandering around the apartment (early in the new year after Christmas) looking for stuff I don't need to donate or give away to family and friends.<br />
<br />
We're in a different apartment in the same apartment complex than we were 7 years ago, but this past week (as I've done on numerous occasions since that post from 2010) I wandered around the apartment and took some time to put stuff in a pile to donate to charity (tea kettle, blanket, fanny pack from my childhood that I'll never use again, etc.) and added some stuff to the recycle bin (saved packaging materials and papers, mostly) and I still have a few things to give family members.<br />
<br />
The things I feel like I struggle with are the "collector" mentality and "sentimentality". Things that I collect (CDs mostly) are hard for me to weed out and I have things from my childhood that I'll never use (and some that I don't remember ever using) but for many years, I couldn't seem to part with them.<br />
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It seems like the more I move stuff from place to place and have to find new homes for the random stuff I've kept, I wonder more and more why I've actually been keeping things. The more I actually think about it, the less inexplicably attached to things I feel. That makes letting go of things that I don't actually use a little easier.<br />
<br />
I've gone through my CD collection and put all of the CDs in sleeves and sold off the jewel cases. I actually took it a step further and donated a small pile of CDs to charity. They take up a lot less room now without the cases and should be easier to move and store. I've sold off all of my guitars except my first one. I sold off or donated most of my computers and accumulated computer stuff. I gave away a few things that I'd been trying to sell on craigslist for quite some time.<br />
<br />
I still have to decide what to do with my (>15 year old) snowboard and a box of golf stuff that I may use again someday... ;)Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-25141943734197725372016-07-20T10:59:00.000-04:002016-12-14T14:32:58.936-05:00Downsizing Enough to Fit in a Tiny HouseEarlier in the year, I found myself thinking fairly often about what it would take for my girlfriend and I to downsize our "stuff" enough that we could comfortably live in a tiny house on wheels. I feel like I would love the freedom to buy property and move the house with us rather than having to try to sell a house and buy another if we should choose to relocate in the future.<br />
<br />
We currently live in a 1,000+ square foot apartment with two bedrooms, a large living room, a walk-in storage closet, a small "den", a bathroom with a full size tub and a kitchen with two small closets. One of the bedrooms functions as a craft room and the den is used as a home office but both end up also being used for storage. I'm not going to lie, we have a lot of stuff. Some of this stuff hasn't even been unpacked from the move before last when it went into storage for two years.<br />
<br />
So while we do have enough indoor space (and central A/C, which is nice in the summer) we also have horribly loud downstairs neighbors (the second set of them in two years) and we pay too much in rent, especially for the location and the lack of amenities. I have lived within two miles of where I grew up for all but 4 years of my life (2 college years a few hours North and 2 years an hour West) and I'm feeling more and more like it's time for a change of scenery and weather.<br />
<br />
If we did decide to try out a tiny house on wheels, we'd need to weed out a lot of our stuff and try to figure out what it is we <em>need</em> to have then take that into consideration when planning of the layout of the space. In our current apartment, most of our time is spent in the living room, so I think that would be the primary space we'd need to plan around. We'd give some extra consideration to the kitchen layout to try to fit a full size oven and sink. I'd also attempt to make the living space flexible enough to occasionally do things other than just sitting around watching TV. Hopefully, having less indoor space (and maybe moving to an area with more mild winters) will help push us outdoors more, though. I miss being outdoors.<br />
<br />
I'm thinking that we'd end up getting an additional storage shed for the larger outdoor items that we'd need/want (outdoor tools/bikes, etc.) that are currently in storage with family members but we have a lot of other stuff that would have to be eliminated in order to comfortably fit in a much smaller space. I know, for me at least, that many of the things I have accumulated over the years (mostly CD's, magazines, books, computer parts/equipment, snowboard, skateboard, guitars) could be weeded out a little more aggressively than I've done in the past, but I'm worried that there are things that we'll miss when they're gone. I'm sure a lot of that is just sentimentality (random things from my childhood, souvenirs), but there are things like my girlfriend's sewing machine and books and my desk and CD collection that take up space but we wouldn't really want to part with. Those are probably the biggest things that would be tricky to work into a tiny house floor plan. Then there are some other things that I'm conflicted about. I've always wanted to learn to play guitar and I have two guitars and an amplifier. However, I haven't touched them in the past 5 years except to move apartments twice. Will I make time and the effort to learn someday and wish I kept them? Honestly, probably not, but will I regret getting rid of them and end up buying them again?<br />
<br />
I'm really not sure where to start, though, aside from just taking passes through the stuff and selling/donating/recycling/discarding the things that I know I can do without. Then we're left with the more tricky/sentimental things. I don't want to end up moving a bunch of stuff and putting it in storage, so how do you work through getting rid of that kind of stuff?Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-33863530835010533042016-03-15T13:05:00.000-04:002016-03-23T13:00:30.924-04:00Have I made any progress?Just over a year ago I <a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2015/01/rebirth.html" target="_blank">posted a plan for the rebirth of my blog</a>. It's time to see how I'm doing.<br />
<br />
Since I made that post, I've only posted 4 blog entries. One was about someone (accidentally?) using my email address to sign up for accounts. Two were observations about behavior of coworkers. The last was about "corporate personhood" and the relentless pursuit of profit. I didn't post about any of the things I was planning on working on and writing about over the past year.<br />
<br />
So, here's an accountability-type update, as brutal as it's going to be for me. These were the things that I had planned on working on and writing about:<br />
<ul>
<li>eating more healthy / in-season / local food</li>
<li>cooking at home more</li>
<li>eating less prepared / fast food</li>
<li>incorporating more enjoyable physical activity into my life</li>
<li>finding ways to reduce stress</li>
<li>worrying less</li>
<li>meeting new people</li>
<li>spending more time with family and friends</li>
<li>keeping in touch with non-local friends</li>
<li>simplifying and decluttering</li>
<li>learning new things</li>
<li>attempting to work on more creative / artistic things</li>
<li>sharing thoughts and ideas</li>
<li>starting new hobbies and revisiting old ones</li>
<li>reading more books</li>
<li>spending less time in front of TV</li>
<li>spending less time aimlessly browsing on the internet</li>
</ul>
<b><i>To be completely honest, I feel I've done so poorly, it's embarrassing.</i></b><br />
<br />
I didn't make much of an effort to do too much with the food related topics. We did buy a little bit more fruit and vegetables and tried to work them into meals a little bit more. We ate a little bit less fast food but a little bit more prepackaged, frozen meals.<br />
<br />
I went for a few walks, mostly on my days off, but that was about it for additional physical activity.<br />
<br />
Reducing stress, worrying less: Not really.<br />
<br />
Family and friends: Probably worse than before. I live close to my family (after being an hour away for a couple years) but really only see them on holidays and special occasions. I spend most of my time doing the things I was trying to do less of (TV and internet browsing).<br />
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Simplifying and decluttering is one of the areas that I've made some progress. After our last move, where most of our stuff was in storage for 2 years, we moved it into our new apartment where it continued to stay boxed up in our office and craft rooms. Much of it had never been unboxed in probably 3 1/2 years. So we started going through it and weeding out much of it for donations. We have made a few trips to Salvation Army to donate stuff already and have another small pile ready to go. A lot of the challenge here is the sentimentality of objects we've had for a long time, but don't really have any use for. I've been trying to periodically and repeatedly go through things like this and find more and more I'm willing to let go with each pass. I don't really want to move it again and have to find new places to store things that aren't useful.<br />
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Learning new things: I've worked a little bit on brushing up on some programming skills and started learning about some new programming languages, but at work I've been pushed more in the direction of business analysis instead of coding, so I'm also picking up a bit of project management and business analyst skills.<br />
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I haven't done too much with creative and artistic pursuits. I haven't spent much time on photography, painting or writing. I haven't picked up any new hobbies. As far as old hobbies go, I have spent a little bit of time working on computers (doing upgrades) and have spent a little time playing some computer games (Minecraft, Farming Simulator 2015, Forza 6, Fallout 4) and done a little bit of website work for my dad's business. I haven't spent any time working on cars or anything really mechanical. I read a couple books, but not too much more or less than usual.<br />
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I haven't decreased my TV or internet browsing time much, but that is one of the things that I really want to focus on this year now that the weather is getting a little warmer here in the Northeast. Making an effort to get outside will help keep from sitting in front of various screens for the majority of my life.<br />
<br />
My realistic plans for the future are to actually try to eat a little bit more healthy. I plan to also get outdoors much more often to walk, run, ride my bike and do some easy hikes. I really want to make an effort to be more social, to see friends I haven't seen in a long time and be with my family. I want to continue to work on simplifying and decluttering to make it easier to move, should I choose to do so... which leads into my biggest thing to consider: moving.<br />
<br />
Our current lease is up at the end of the summer and we don't want to renew. Work has been less engaging, more stressful and less rewarding. I'm getting tired of the area I've lived in for most of my life. I don't know where I would go if I didn't stay here, though...Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-71208001296386990182015-12-15T13:59:00.000-05:002020-03-31T17:11:16.045-04:00Corporate profit before all else.Certainly there will come a time when the "corporate profit before all else" mentality has to come to an end. The questions are: When and how are we going to get there?<br />
<br />
As a younger, more idealistic version of myself, I used to think that I had a strong dislike for "corporate America" but didn't completely know what that meant. Now that I'm a little bit older, I realize that I still don't know what it means.<br />
<br />
I remember standing in a corporate bookstore flipping through a copy of Adbusters magazine, but (of course) not buying it. (Aside: How can you justify buying something with the whole profit model based off of convincing you not to buy something else? Wait, isn't that how a large portion of our consumer culture works? "<em>You'll certainly be happier if you buy this brand of dishwashing liquid instead of that cheap ass one that's sure to leave your dishes dirty and make you the laughing stock of the whole neighborhood!!!</em>") I'm sure I stood there for a few minutes in my [brand name] sneakers also flipping through a stack of magazines about mountain bikes, cars, running and whatever else I was interested in at the time thinking about "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming" target="_blank">culture jamming</a>" and the destruction that corporations were causing the world.<br />
<br />
I remember eventually coming to the conclusion that it's hard to walk the line between feeling like a socially conscious, responsible person and a complete hypocrite... and the days I feel like I'm more on the former side, it's just complete and total ignorance.<br />
<br />
The fact is that it's close to impossible to opt out of the "system" and still survive. Even if you pick an area of focus and do something that you think is a better, more responsible choice like buying "organic" foods at the supermarket from smaller companies, chances are good <a href="http://www.cornucopia.org/who-owns-organic/" target="_blank">those brands are now owned by giant corporate conglomerates</a> that have snatched them up for the brand name and the increased profit that comes with them.<br />
<br />
In this example, larger companies snatch up smaller companies with good ideas / market share / turf that they desire and then slowly kill them off internally, fold them into their massive corporate structure and then "downsize" or just grab the brand and/or patents and sit on them. There are hundreds of things that are done purely in the name of profit that are much more questionable or unethical than buying up your competition, but I don't want to turn this into a massive list / rant.<br />
<br />
Now usually when people become outraged by something they clamor for "increased regulations" but that usually just makes things worse. Tying shit up in bureaucracy for years and trusting someone that somewhere up to half of the population didn't vote for based on the side they label themselves as or even just how familiar their name is. Then these "representatives" hopefully ignore their convictions, biases and contributors and do the right thing for the country and the majority of the people. Yeah. That sounds like *exactly* what happens. (/sarcasm.)<br />
<br />
There have been some headlines in the past few years about "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood" target="_blank">corporate personhood</a>" here in the United States (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burwell_v._Hobby_Lobby" target="_blank">in light of a recent Supreme Court decision regarding Hobby Lobby, contraception coverage by insurance and religious convictions</a>) and how it's probably time that it's ended. Many of the comments about these type of articles tend to lead to the conclusion that if a corporation was actually a person it would be a heavy-handed, greedy, money-driven psychopath with no empathy, sympathy or conscience.<br />
<br />
<em>That's the whole game, though. If (corporate) profit drives all available choices, and every one of those choices is a bad choice for someone or something else, why not just pick the best choice for you and get on with your day? Why care at all?</em><br />
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<b>Acknowledging this isn't me giving up. This is me realizing that just saying you don't like something isn't going to change it. It's time to break free of conspicuous consumption and unchecked corporate profit and power.</b><br />
<br />
<b>We need to find better ways of defining what it is that makes us happy and better ways to get there if we want to have any sort of a future.</b><br />
<ul>
<li>We need to figure out how to destroy the notion of corporate personhood.</li>
<li>We need to take away incentives to destroy everything (the environment, people's rights and freedoms, etc.) in the ruthless pursuit of profit.</li>
<li>We need to tweak the legal system to end frivolous lawsuits.</li>
<li>We need to stop funding government organizations that don't have the best interests of the people they serve as their only reasons for existence.</li>
</ul>
<b>Most of all, though, it starts with making better choices as individuals. Some things that will help:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Stop coveting other people's stuff.</li>
<li>Pick some concerns that you're passionate about to focus on (environment, local business, etc.) and try to work them into all purchasing decisions.</li>
<li>Take a few extra minutes to consider whether you really need something when making purchasing decisions.</li>
<li>Try to buy secondhand goods, when possible.</li>
<li>Donate or sell things that you've accumulated that someone might make better use of.</li>
<li>Look for more durable, locally made products as an alternative to the mass-produced junk at the local big-box store.</li>
<li>Services aren't exempt, either. Find a local Credit Union to do your banking. Skip chain restaurants, haircuts, stores...</li>
</ul>
The more we can shift power (money) back into our local economies and businesses, the more quickly change will come.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-17620874618491560262015-06-03T12:47:00.001-04:002015-06-03T12:47:07.993-04:00Things you shouldn't do in the office. (Volume 2)A couple months ago I posted some <a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2015/04/things-you-shouldnt-do-in-office-volume.html" target="_blank">fairly obvious things</a> that you would think people would know not to do in the office, but do anyway. I have the unfortunate feeling that this type of post is going to become more regular.<br />
<br />
This batch is a little less obvious than the last batch, but still feels like it should be common sense.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Not following directions.</b> - I feel that I've included the information that should be necessary. If it's unclear, you'd like more detail/justification or something is missing, please ask.</li>
<br />
<li><b>Not reading the entire email/request/ticket.</b> - I wouldn't have wasted my time writing it out it if wasn't important. If there are multiple questions, answer them all. If there are multiple steps, do them all. If you're uncertain, ask. So many people pick one point to focus on and miss the bigger picture...</li>
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<li><b>Ignoring parts of email/conversation that you don't want to hear or don't understand.</b> - This is especially problematic when the answer was spelled out and you continue to ask your question in various, slightly different revisions hoping the answer will change to what you want to hear. It won't.</li>
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<li><b>Not letting people know when important, time-sensitive tasks are completed.</b> - This is important when working on a team and people are waiting for you to finish your part. It annoys both (all) of us when I have to call multiple times to find out how you're doing and when you're done, especially when I find out you've finished days ago and just didn't send a quick email or something.</li>
<br />
</ul>
<b><em>Theme of the day: Read the entire communication. Follow the directions. If you don't understand, ask. Then let people know when you're done.</b></em>
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-10342659825870502942015-04-17T10:51:00.002-04:002021-07-07T10:03:19.391-04:00Things you shouldn't do in the office. (Volume 1)In the open office that I work in it seems there has been a recent surge in people been doing things that have been annoying each other.<br>
<br>
Many of these, you would *think* would be pretty straightforward annoyances or unprofessional behaviors that most people know not to do in the workplace, but apparently even though they've probably been spelled out a million other places, here goes:
<ul>
<li><b>Sniffling and snorting.</b> - Allergies or illness might be making you congested or have post-nasal drip or whatever, but go blow your nose. Nobody wants to hear your booger noises all day.</li>
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<li><b>Cutting your fingernails.</b> - The noise is annoying and grooming is something you should be doing at home.</li>
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<li><b>Eating smelly food.</b> - Nobody wants the office to smell like fish (or some other nasty odor) for hours.</li>
<br>
<li><b>Talking loudly.</b> - Especially in open offices, when you stand up so your head is over the top of the cubes and talk loudly, it carries. People don't want to hear it. Go get a meeting room or invite the person into your cube and sit down to talk.</li>
<br>
</ul>
There are a handful of others, but we'll save them for another day.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-58810430655932650802015-01-15T11:52:00.001-05:002015-02-13T15:39:12.709-05:00Email addresses and authentication of online accountsRecently I've started thinking about the problems with the security of using "free" email addresses as the main method of personal authentication and control of important / sensitive online accounts. This all started because someone signed up for a match.com account with *my* "free" email address after also attempting to retrieve usernames and reset passwords for a few other accounts using the same email address over the course of two days. (Not including match.com, as I've never had an account there.) I logged in and changed my passwords to my more sensitive accounts, just in case... It didn't seem like a case of hacking, since the person also registered a new Toshiba laptop and was likely attempting to log in to things for the first time in awhile.<br />
<br />
I've used the email address in question since at least 2006 as my main email address and have signed up for dozens of accounts with it over those years. The email address is based on my name without any numbers or any filler since I was the first one to get to it.<br />
<br />
It appears that the person has a similar name (same first initial and same last name, at least) according to the info contained in the welcome email from match, but he (unfortunately) doesn't know what his email address is. Another thing that was VERY odd to me was that they (match.com) sent both the username and plain-text password for the new account in the initial welcome email. Not like it needs to be crazy-secure, but it's possible there's sensitive information that the user has entered there and then accidentally sent control of to someone else.<br />
<br />
In researching how to get rid of my email address on the other person's account, without logging into it, it seems that their policy is to contact support to cancel the account. Which I did, via their website, when I received the welcome email. After 3 days with no response from support and continuing to get emails at least 1-2 times daily from them for three days, despite attempting to unsubscribe from those emails every time I received them, I decided to delete the account.<br />
<br />
So, this morning I logged in with the plain-text username/password from the welcome email and deleted the account. Thanks for nothing, match.com support. I didn't want to have to do that, but I also don't want to see the all of the "matches" that he may be eagerly anticipating and not getting... and you probably don't have any way to contact him to actually correct his email address, since all he likely gave you was *my* email address instead of his.<br />
<br />
I'm expecting to get another account welcome email today when the poor guy tries to log in again and finds his account deleted and builds another account. Maybe/hopefully he figured out his correct email address by now? If not, at least I know they'll send me the username/password and I can do it all over again.<br />
<br />
I had a similar experience with Wells Fargo last year when someone signed up for online banking using my email address (because they forgot one character in their email address, based on their name). It took *me* multiple emails/phone calls to get that straightened out (for them). I'm not sure they had any idea they had entered it wrong and if they did, they didn't try to change it for awhile... Fortunately, that experience seemed a little more "secure" in that they didn't give me enough info to get it on my own directly, however (thinking back on it) I probably could have reset the password, since the confirmation likely would have come to my email address. I didn't want to have anything to do with messing with their bank account, though.<br />
<br />
I'm feeling kind of fortunate that I don't have a common name.<br />
<br />
I think it's time to take an inventory of all of the accounts I have signed up over the years and clean them up and then find more secure ways to control my own accounts so that I don't have to rely on a "free" email address from a large, for-profit corporation that I also don't trust completely with all of the power I've given them as the (in most cases) sole way to control access to the accounts I've signed up with it.<br />
<br />
One more thing: MAKE SURE TO CHECK YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR THINGS!<br />
<br />
(Sorry for yelling!)Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-92034754585446442822015-01-02T15:47:00.001-05:002015-01-03T16:53:14.767-05:00RebirthThe idea of a new year being a chance for resolutions or a new start hasn't been something that I've found myself believing in. However, this past year, I've been feeling more and more like it's time to start doing things a little differently.<br />
<br />
<b>I don't want to say that I've been "in a rut" but it definitely feels like it's time to shake things up and see how they settle out.</b><br />
<br />
One of the things I've been thinking about for awhile is a rebirth of this blog. When I registered the domain name and started posting, I had some ideas as to what I wanted it to end up being about but, as with most of the things I start on the internet, I always seem to end up holding back because I know that people in my "real life" (family, friends, employers and such) have seen or may possibly end up finding things I've put up. I still struggle with the issue of keeping my private ideas private and separate from my professional life and I'm sure that I'll always have that struggle. <b>So, I'll take this opportunity to issue a disclaimer that anything here is solely my own opinion.</b> However, there have been things that I've been thinking and would love to put them somewhere. <b>Why not here?</b><br />
<br />
So, as a new start to this blog, here is a list of topics I was planning on working on in my personal life, as well as writing about on my <a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2015/01/death-of-another-motivation-blog.html" target="_blank">recently retired "motivation" blog</a>:
<ul>
<li>eating more healthy / in-season / local food</li>
<li>cooking at home more</li>
<li>eating less prepared / fast food</li>
<li>incorporating more enjoyable physical activity into my life</li>
<li>finding ways to reduce stress</li>
<li>worrying less</li>
<li>meeting new people</li>
<li>spending more time with family and friends</li>
<li>keeping in touch with non-local friends</li>
<li>simplifying and decluttering</li>
<li>learning new things</li>
<li>attempting to work on more creative / artistic things</li>
<li>sharing thoughts and ideas</li>
<li>starting new hobbies and revisiting old ones</li>
<li>reading more books</li>
<li>spending less time in front of TV</li>
<li>spending less time aimlessly browsing on the internet</li>
</ul>
The plan, as it stands right now, is to roll the (modified) ideas of that blog into this one and actually share things that I want to share. I'll probably still hold back a little bit, but hopefully be a little more open that I have been in the past.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-33181675384543294212015-01-02T14:06:00.000-05:002015-01-02T14:06:51.464-05:00Death of another motivation blogA few years ago I started up another blog which was intended to help motivate myself to exercise, eat better and get in better shape. I intended to put stuff out on the internet for everyone to see to make it feel more permanent in an attempt to hold myself accountable for my choices and decisions. However, I was faced with the struggle of wanting to keep my private information and thoughts, well... private.<br />
<br />
In the end, I doubt anyone looked at the blog. It was too targeted to my personal workout progress, which was minimal in scope and frequency and posts were few and far between and lacking in content. I stopped being interested in walking the fine line between private and public. I stopped exercising again out of boredom and excuse making and ended up deleting the blog and selectively rolling a few of the posts into my main blog, the one you're reading right now.<br />
<br />
Flash forward to the summer of 2014. I had another wave of motivation and started up another version of my old workout blog. It was (again) going to be a place for me to share my struggles and triumphs mostly about eating, exercise and possibly other things related to my challenges with motivation. In what's now feeling like a pattern, I allowed my lack of motivation for personal projects get in the way of doing anything with the blog and decided to pull the plug on that one, also. Today, I moved a few posts from July of 2014 to this site and deleted it.<br />
<br />
These are the posts that will now live here:<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2014/07/personal-objective-drink-less-soda.html">Personal Objective: Drink less soda</a></li>
<li><a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2014/07/product-review-kirks-original-coco.html">Product Review: Kirk's Original Coco Castile Bar Soap</a></li>
<li><a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2014/07/impact-of-music-on-mood.html">Impact of music on mood</a></li>
</ol>
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-1779543608576239972014-07-22T11:54:00.000-04:002015-01-02T13:26:28.032-05:00Impact of music on moodI'm sure that there are volumes of research on how music and other inputs might or might not impact peoples mood or feelings. I'm not any sort of expert on the topic, but I will say that I have been listening to two different "chillout" mix stations on Pandora at work and I feel more relaxed when I'm here.<br />
<br />
As far as typical listening habits go, I most often listen to music while driving or while at work. When I'm driving, I like something as background noise to make it a little less boring for my 1.5 hour drive (each way). As far as work, I work in an open (cube farm type) office and I find that if I don't put earbuds in I end up distracted by other people's endless clicking on Minesweeper games, phone conversations, discussions where I feel like I can give input but don't really need to, etc. <br />
<br />
<b>So, listening to music helps me to stave off boredom and focus... but what type of music do I typically listen to?</b><br />
<br />
Generally, I favor rock, hard rock, metal, punk, alternative with a little bit of pop and electronic music thrown in... but I found that I'd get too into more aggressive music at work where even that was starting to get a little distracting to me.<br />
<br />
While driving I've just started listening to audiobooks, which has been going okay so far. I'm not sure if audiobooks will be a long term change or not, but I've found myself feeling like my commute takes less time while listening to parts of a larger whole, rather than dozens of songs.<br />
<br />
At work, I ended up listening to the aforementioned "Chill/Downtempo" and "Downtempo" stations on Pandora and by giving various tracks the thumbs up, I've ended up with some nice bass-heavy but mellow mixes that can blend into the background but don't get completely drowned out, are interesting enough to not be boring and don't make me feel too amped up, like the more metal music I typically listen to can do. (If anyone is interested in some example tracks available on Pandora, leave a comment and I'll post some up.)<br />
<br />
Note: This post was moved over on 01/02/2015 from another of my blogs that I shut down. Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-70740441156800326732014-07-20T08:56:00.000-04:002015-01-02T13:22:45.211-05:00Product Review: Kirk's Original Coco Castile Bar SoapAnother of my more recent goals is to try to cut down on the amount of potentially toxic chemicals I use in, on and around my body.<br />
<br />
One of my first areas to work on are cleaning products. We've been using "natural" types of dishwashing soap for years now and figured why not try out something else instead of my usual bar soap. I've been hearing for years about the antibacterial agents used in typical "antibacterial" soaps potentially helping to allow "superbugs" to grow, as well as causing other potential issues.<br />
<br />
Recently in a big box chain store near home I saw <a href="http://www.kirksnatural.com/products/original-bar-soap/" target="_blank">Kirk's Original Coco Castile Bar Soap</a> in a 3 pack for $3.28 and decided to give it a try instead of my usual Dial. I've also recently seen it in a co-op food market, also, as well as it being available on Amazon (currently through Marketplace sellers). The big box store's prices seem to be better, as expected.<br />
<br />
The ingredients are: "Coconut Soap, Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Coconut Oil, Natural Fragrance" and after trying it out for a few weeks and then picking up a bar of Dial when the three pack ran out, I must say that for me the Kirk's soap makes my skin feel better. My hands and elbows feel less dried out and I feel a little less "broken out" and irritated in spots that I tend to break out on, especially in the summer when I'm outside working in the yard, getting dirty.<br />
<br />
The reviews on Amazon are good, but as a few point out the bars seem to not last as long as the more commercially available bar soaps I'm used to. I've just started trying to dry them out before using them and I picked up a soap tray that I mounted high on the back wall of the shower and it seems to be helping the bars last a little longer so far.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqCLARh4wkYujb44ujy_9rGi6KuOixtr2k9jXKWbPAI6B8tm7sCAWnOt2aGhLYbFDU1Xa1EfsCZTfIztaQ-qOg0U3qsE7zY4IrLIcEcIc4C0uOVF9UKZj5c331kgXUEfypfPN1alAeznc/s1600/bar-soap-310x413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqCLARh4wkYujb44ujy_9rGi6KuOixtr2k9jXKWbPAI6B8tm7sCAWnOt2aGhLYbFDU1Xa1EfsCZTfIztaQ-qOg0U3qsE7zY4IrLIcEcIc4C0uOVF9UKZj5c331kgXUEfypfPN1alAeznc/s200/bar-soap-310x413.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />Note: This post was moved over on 01/02/2015 from another of my blogs that I shut down.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-89741584201784289342014-07-18T07:13:00.001-04:002024-02-13T16:12:31.783-05:00Personal Objective: Drink less sodaSince I'm a desk jockey working in a corporate building with it's own cafeteria and numerous vending machines, I find myself rarely leaving the building for food or snacks. I'm also not very diligent about preparing food at home and bringing it with me.<br />
<br />
These excuses usually mean that I grab one of the lunch specials and a soda in the cafeteria and when thirsty I grab bottles or cans of soda from the vending machine about 20 feet away from my desk in one of our floor's two break rooms, both decked out with soda vending machines.<br />
<br />
Another issue I have is that I really don't enjoy drinking plain water. Sometimes I feel like I'm even more thirsty the more water I drink. It's probably in my head, but there's something about a cold Mountain Dew that's more refreshing to me than tap or bottled water.<br />
<br />
I also have a tendency to grab a Red Bull or Amp energy drink for a caffeine kick in the morning, especially during the summer when I don't feel like drinking hot coffee.<br />
<br />
That said, though, I know I should drink more water and that it's good for me, I just have trouble drinking it.<br />
<br />
So, one of my first objectives is to drink less sweetened soft drinks.<br />
<br />
I've actually done this before as part of a work sponsored weight loss challenge a few years ago, where I ended up placing 15th out of almost 400 people who entered the challenge. I had lost about 15 pounds by exercising more, eating a little better and cutting out soda, "cold turkey".<br />
<br />
It didn't last after the challenge, though, as I ended up slipping back into grabbing sodas and energy drinks and making less time to get to the gym.<br />
<br />
For the past couple months I have traded down to 12 ounce cans on occasion instead of 20 ounce bottles 1-2 times a day but now my plan is to limit my soda intake to 12 ounce or less serving sizes, 3 or fewer times per week.<br />
<br />
I have a 32 oz BPA free <a href="http://nalgene.com/" target="_blank">Nalgene</a> bottle that I've been filling in the morning with water and two <a href="https://twiningsusa.com/collections/cold-infuse-cold-brew" target="_blank">Twinnings cold brewed iced tea</a> bags. I've found myself more willing to drink water if I put a little bit of flavor in it and I've always liked tea and iced tea, so it's been working out pretty well.<br />
<br />
I've also been trying to drink more black coffee instead of energy drinks in the morning. I'll have to post back about how well that's going, but I've already had two small 8.4 ounce cans of Red Bull this week. The other three days I've had black coffee, which, I also prefer to sweetened and lightened coffee.<br />
<br />
Note: This post was moved over on 01/02/2015 from another of my blogs that I shut down. Fixed broken Twinings tea link on 10/16/2019.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-1845205811085112762014-07-07T11:09:00.000-04:002014-07-07T11:11:15.941-04:00Cleaning up the past.For the past few years I've been working pretty intently on paying off the debt (student loans, credit cards) that I've accumulated over the past 15 (-ish) years.<br />
<br />
The student loans are all paid off. The credit card debt is mostly paid off. After this month I should have about $3,000 left to pay, which I'll whittle down over the next few months.<br />
<br />
Once all of that is done, I'll have just my auto loan for my truck and the next focus is to get money in the bank for a down payment on a house. I have a little bit in there, but not enough to be a worthwhile down payment.<br />
<br />
It feels kind of crazy, though, to spend so long paying everything down/off and then take out another even bigger loan... so I've been debating the pros and cons of home ownership versus renting again. It would be good to have the freedom to do what I want to the place that I'm living and be paying into something that I'll have equity in. It'll be nice to find a place with a garage and a yard to hang out in. On the negative side, though, I'll have to worry about the big things that can (and do) fail in houses and have the money saved up to repair and replace things as needed. I'll be a grown-up worrying about taxes and things like that.<br />
<br />
In an effort to help offset the costs of home ownership I've been trying to talk myself into looking at multi-family properties that I could rent out part of in order to pay the mortgage, but I just can't get excited about the responsibility of being a landlord on top of being a new home owner while still working a full time job, also.<br />
<br />
Part of me wants the stability and income of having someone else help offset my costs, but the rest of me doesn't want to deal with the potential hassles. So far the second part of me is winning.<br />
<br />
The next problem is that if we do buy rather than rent, do we look in the area that we were planning to or do we go back to where we were? It's 45 minutes to an hour away from the more mainstream areas where we used to live and where the jobs, culture and other stuff we like is, but it's much less expensive and less populated (both good things for us). We can get a much nicer house on more property for less money, but it'll be harder to sell and it won't really appreciate in value much. We'll probably get our money back out when we're ready to sell. The biggest downside is putting 120 miles a day on my truck... or whatever I'd end up getting to replace it that gets better gas mileage if we do decide to buy something near where we are now.<br />
<br />
While I'm working on figuring out that part of the puzzle, I've recently started the effort of decluttering again. I've started to list up some old bike parts and some computer cables and adapters on eBay. I have some golf clubs and other miscellaneous stuff on craigslist, also. So, hopefully, by the time I figure out where I'm going I'll have less stuff to move. ;)
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-24552634463104084542014-02-18T14:53:00.001-05:002019-10-16T10:44:30.640-04:00Winds of change.I've been finding myself asking different variations of a similarly themed question a lot more often lately: <b>How did I end up where I am today and where do I actually want to end up?</b><br />
<br />
I've been feeling like trying to decide what you want to do with the "rest of your life" as a teenager has it's drawbacks. I initially thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer because I had a strong interest in machines such as automobiles and bicycles. I used to love to draw and doodle and think of how things I drew would work in real life. I built model cars and then took them apart and made them "better" out of parts of other kits. I took parts off of all of the spare/outgrown bikes that we had kicking around in our family of four kids and made "better" bikes out of them. I felt like I would love to find a job creating new bicycle suspension designs or cars like the ones I was seeing in car and bike magazines and Popular Science... but on a tour of one of the colleges I got into (I think it was Virgina Tech) I was told that a lot of their graduates work in a "toilet paper factory down the road" designing machinery, which was probably meant as a positive that engineers were everywhere. However, I came to the opposite conclusion that to end up as an automotive or bicycle mechanical engineer was a very slim chance. I also felt that even if I did come to a find a job in the automotive or bicycle industries that I'd really end up making other people's artistic renderings a reality instead of actually doing the designing.<br />
<br />
You would think, then, that I'd decide that a career in mechanical engineering wasn't what I really wanted... but I ended up going to a good engineering university for mechanical engineering for two years before offically deciding that I liked "computers" better. So, instead of staying there and switching to computer engineering or computer science I ended up going back home and getting an associate degree in computer information systems from a local community college, just as everyone was saying that the "tech bubble burst". At that point it seemed difficult/impossible to find a job that was "entry level" that didn't want 5+ years of hands-on experience especially in the area I lived in. So, I decided that at that point I was just going to find some sort of job and figure it out as I went. I felt that someday I'd finish my computer science degree and be a computer programmer. I interviewed around for jobs on the edge of what I wanted to do. I had been working summers at a family friend's fast food restaurant and then ended up working in a supermarket bakery department just before I graduated with my CIS degree. I spent a couple years working there followed by different positions in the same company's headquarters starting with a special project with the Bakery and IT departments. While working on that project I found out that the company had a very good in-house IT department that had quite a few functions and was encouraged to keep in touch with the people I worked with and apply for entry-level things that came up. So I continued to move around to different jobs in the bakery HQ, the corporate pricing department and eventually ended up in the IT department as a Programmer/Analyst, then a Software Developer.<br />
<br />
So, I guess that answers the question of: How did I end up here? However, the question about where do I want to be is the harder question to answer.<br />
<br />
How would have my life been different if continued with mechanical engineering? What opportunities would have presented themselves if I was willing to move away from my family, friends and hometown? What would be different today if I stayed in school and gotten a <i>better</i> degree? Would I be in this position right now if I didn't spend 10 years in a company doing different jobs while learning about the industry and systems in it?<br />
<br />
What would happen if I decided I wanted to do something different right now? What if I was willing and able to move? What if I could afford to go back to school for something different? What if I'd rather start a business related to something I'm actually interested in? (I'm definitely losing interest in the overall mission of what I've been doing for the past 13 years...)<br />
<br />
If I was to "start over" now, though, what would I do? The biggest question I have is that once I'm "there" would I be left wondering the same things on the other side of the fence?Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-30526277867146952292013-07-18T12:56:00.001-04:002017-02-07T11:41:31.759-05:00Mountain BikingIn an attempt to get myself back in shape and exercising again, I picked up a new mountain bike late this spring. As I've written about here before sometimes I need a little kick to get myself interested and motivated in exercising and the last time I tried to get back into cycling I <a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/2008/07/re-refurbishing-my-bicycle_03.html" target="_blank">refurbished my mid-90's mountain bike into an orange cycle-path cruiser</a> and, still, I just couldn't get back into it.<br />
<br />
So this spring I decided it was time for a new mountain bike. First, though, I have to have a little nostalgic flashback: Bikes have changed a lot since I was really into them in the mid to late 90's! Back then 26" was the only wheel/tire size for mountain bikes but now there's 29" and 27.5" (650b) and 26" wheels have fallen out of favor except for downhill and all-mountain bikes. Not to mention that there used to be "mountain bikes" that people rode both up and down hills but now the "mountain bike" classification has been split up into more specialized categories. I've seen bikes classifed as recreational/sport, cross country [XC], freeride, all-mountain, enduro, gravity/downhill, dirt jump... and I'm sure there are others that I've missed. Also, in the olden days, there were a decent amount of quality steel frame bikes available. Now, if you can find them (not counting the hi-tensile department store "steel"), they're mostly custom built high-end (expensive) creations. I remember liking the ride of a good steel frame and thinking aluminum alloy frames (which were on the more high-end of the specrum) rode more harshly. Now alloy frames are the most common with quite a few carbon fiber frames available in the high-end and expensive range. A new (okay) entry level suspension fork could be had for less than $100... Now the (okay) entry-level forks are closer to $200-300 and they're heavier than the ones I remember. I also don't remember tires costing $50-100 each. <br />
<br />
So, back to my story. I'd always wanted a full suspension mountain bike... and I happened to find one on eBay at a very reasonable price this spring at the same time I had my tax refund money burning a hole in my pocket. I could do something responsible like put the money in the bank or towards some debt... but I'm a good consumer and I'd rather have a new bike.<br />
<br />
I wasn't sure whether to try out a 29'er or wait for 650b bikes to become more common in the local shops. (I haven't actually seen one in a shop or been able to ride one yet.) But I happened to come across a new (overstock) <a href="http://www.marinbikes.com/us/bikes/description/2012-east-peak-5.5-usa-canada-int" target="_blank">2012 Marin East Peak 5.5</a> in matte black with white and green accents on eBay. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UrQOnzZUDyI/WJNDbFhd1XI/AAAAAAAAEfk/cOfB-KQbQA8cn9Ni7Azl8rmHQAefOSdtQCPcB/s1600/marin_east_peak_5_5_front_side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UrQOnzZUDyI/WJNDbFhd1XI/AAAAAAAAEfk/cOfB-KQbQA8cn9Ni7Azl8rmHQAefOSdtQCPcB/s320/marin_east_peak_5_5_front_side.jpg" width="320" height="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assembled 2012 Marin East Peak 5.5 (All original parts except pedals.) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It is a 16.5" (small) frame with 26" wheels (which I'm comfortable with, especially with me being 5'8" tall and it being a 120mm travel full-suspension bike), an entry-level RockShox suspension fork and mostly decent entry-level Shimano Alivio 3x9 componentry. <br />
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I then went to town on <a href="http://www.pricepoint.com/" target="_blank">PricePoint</a>, <a href="http://www.nashbar.com/" target="_blank">Bike Nashbar</a> and eBay finding mostly Shimano XT components (hydraulic disc brakes, derailleurs, cassette, hubs [with Mavic rims]), XTR shifters, <a href="http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/home" target="_blank">Ergon</a> grips and a <a href="http://www.ridefox.com/filter.php?m=bike&t=forks" target="_blank">Fox</a> Float 32 RL fork at really good prices. The only stuff really left to do is to continue to ride and get used to the bike and customize my fit (handlebars, stem, seatpost and saddle) and then shorten the brake lines once I get everything dialed in. I've been off-road a few times on it and it's been great so far both up hill and down. To get some miles in on the bike and get stuff dialed in, I've actually been doing some bike-path cruising on it and with the fork locked out and the rear shock pumped up, it's been okay for that, too!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1iwLCTIMWuM/WJNDbIUmXmI/AAAAAAAAEfk/LsPXCLbSJfIRgNLJJPoDx5QRN9oyOp0OQCPcB/s1600/IMAG0180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1iwLCTIMWuM/WJNDbIUmXmI/AAAAAAAAEfk/LsPXCLbSJfIRgNLJJPoDx5QRN9oyOp0OQCPcB/s320/IMAG0180.jpg" width="320" height="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With some of the upgrades...</td></tr>
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Now I'm planning on putting a bunch of the take-off parts (brakes, derailleurs, shifters, cassette) plus some of my other accumulated bike stuff on eBay. (I've already sold the fork on craigslist which helped to fund one of the awesome Shimano XT brake lever/calipers.) I'll probably end up reinvesting any "profit" from those parts back into the bike and accessories. I still want a hydration pack and a repair stand. One thing that hasn't changed about cycling is there's always something new to buy. Maybe if I stick with it I'll build up a carbon 650b hardtail next...</div>
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-75048787039260803202012-10-11T11:38:00.000-04:002013-02-04T14:38:03.944-05:00On life changes.Long time, no post. To catch up, the past couple years have brought some life changes. I'm a year and nine months or so into a career change to what I actually went to college for. I'm actually somewhat of a computer programmer now. (My official title is Programmer / Analyst.) I spend a lot of my time doing user support and ad-hoc SQL queries to create or update one-off reports. I have done some program feature enhancements and bug fixes but nothing too crazy yet. I still work for the same company that I've been at for the past 11 and a half years or so.<br />
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I traded in my grey 2007 Subaru Legacy for a blue 2012 Subaru Impreza because the Legacy was approaching 100,000 miles, had a newly diagnosed but somewhat common leaky head gasket and the new Impreza was touting approximately 7 MPG more than I was getting in the Legacy. <br />
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Most recently, I've moved about an hour west of where I spent most of my life to an area I could actually see myself staying for awhile.<br />
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All of these things have me feeling like I'm growing up... (I know, I know, I should be mostly grown up already at the age of 33) but I seem to find myself becoming more and more restless.<br />
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Now that I'm actually paid to be a programmer, I find myself growing less interested in computers and technology. Sure my interest had already faded some in the 10 years since I finished college while I was occupied with other less technology related employment, but it feels like it's continued at a more accelerated pace lately. I haven't built a computer in a long time. I don't know what the best video card is anymore and don't really want to play any games that would need a good video card. To an extent, I still know what's going on in the consumer technology market but can't help but grumble when people ask what I think about things like iPads and the "cloud". I use off the shelf PC laptops and don't bother upgrading the hardware. I recently purchased a new laptop but only because it wouldn't be much cheaper to put a new battery, decent hard drive and some more memory in the old one and even if I did it probably weighed close to 8 pounds and wasn't very portable, so I didn't even like dragging it out to the couch. All I ever do on a computer at home is listen to music and surf the internet anyway. I probably should have just picked up a tablet and put my music on the "cloud" somewhere... but I hate typing on touchscreens.<br />
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My Impreza still has the stock 16" wheels and hasn't had it's first detailing and I've had it since May. What's happening to me?<br />
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Also, now that I've moved out of the apartment I've been for the past 5+ years (to a place other than the area I spent the better part of the last 3 decades), I want to actually find a house and spend time doing projects around it. I want to have some space around me, a garden and maybe a garage. <br />
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I've recently put some books about gardening and sustainable living on my Amazon wish list and thought about what it would take to grow all the ingredients needed to brew beer. I've debated opening a brew pub. I've had moments where I had a fleeting thought about quitting my job and being a landscaper.<br />
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Recently I've actually even caught myself daydreaming about becoming a farmer while driving past various farms on my commute to work. I don't actually think I want to be a farmer... I think I just want to do something different than what I'm doing now. I've been sitting in various office chairs for almost 12 years now and it's getting boring and feels less rewarding than when I first worked my way into the office world.<br />
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I don't actually dislike what I'm doing now. The actual programming is fun. The problem solving and analysis is interesting and rewarding but I'm still just keeping the wheels turning. I rarely work on anything new or exciting and when I do get to work on new things they're almost always rushed. I spend a majority of my time solving problems that could have been avoided if a little more care was put into the planning and getting everyone in the same boat before setting sail... but I don't have a say in that part, so I just sit in my chair and figure out how to undo what I was asked to do... but the "undo" has to happen more quickly than the "do" and the "do" was expected in less time than it should have really taken to get done. So it's a never-ending cycle of chasing my tail.<br />
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The problem is, I don't know what I'd rather do.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-54377620057550055062012-03-07T11:48:00.001-05:002022-02-16T15:55:47.290-05:00What is suburbicide?This really should have been an introductory post written years ago when I started this blog but the truth is that I really didn't know what this blog would evolve into and, honestly, I still don't. Every now and then I'll get a little bit of inspiration and write a few posts and then forget about it for varying lengths of time...<br />
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The story begins simply. Anyone who's tried to come up with a .com domain name in the last 10+ years knows that it's a frustrating effort to come up with something that can be easily remembered but isn't already taken and being used or held for resale way more than it's worth.<br />
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One day while thinking up possible domain names the word "suburbicide" came to mind. It seemed simple enough. Somewhat easy to remember. Not (too) bad to spell and it was available! My thoughts on the "meaning" of the word suburbicide are <a href="http://blog.suburbicide.com/p/about.html" target="_blank">already written on my about page</a> so I won't rehash them again here.<br />
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These days, I'm finding myself more and more interested in the idea of trying to break down old ideas and find better, more responsible ways of doing things. I'm tired of hearing people blame problems on others while never taking responsibility as their role as a cog in the machine. I'm not excluding myself, I'm definitely guilty of this.<br />
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Waaaaaay, back in March 2009 I read a feature that I found interesting on <a href="http://www.time.com/" target="_blank">TIME</a> called "<i><a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601090323,00.html" target="_blank">10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now</a></i>" and in particular a portion called "<i><a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884756,00.html" target="_blank">Recycling the Suburbs</a></i>".<br />
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I had already owned this domain at the time and had been working on trying to tie ideas like this into my blog, so I filed this article away for a day that I felt like writing a post about "suburbicide" and why the idea stuck in my head.<br />
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I live in an area that is a perfect example of suburban sprawl. there are three "cities" within 30 minutes of each other and suburbs in between an all around. At the place that I work in one of the three cities, most have a commute from suburbs of one of the other cities.<br />
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What would bring people back to the cities? Is that what we want? If we did go back to cities what would happen to all of the unwanted things in the suburbs? Are we just going to continue to move and expand leaving a trail of unwanted buildings and decay in our wake?Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-74277957121464029922010-12-03T18:35:00.013-05:002012-10-11T10:31:04.240-04:00Thoughts About a Shrinking WorldI have just finished reading <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/World-Flat-3-0-History-Twenty-first/dp/0312425074/" target="_blank">The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century</a></i> by Thomas L. Friedman and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/SuperCorp-Vanguard-Companies-Innovation-Profits/dp/0307382354/" target="_blank">SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good</a></i> by Rosabeth Moss Kantner and noticed some trends that I felt like writing about.<br />
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The biggest point that I took from <i>The World is Flat 3.0</i> is that the overall scale of the world is seemingly shrinking mostly due to the major influences that technology has played in linking different parts of the world together. The bigger the improvements and the greater the advances we make, particularly in the areas of communications, work flow planning, software, information storage and retrieval processes the more the world will seem to shrink.<br />
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Friedman calls the shrinking "flattening" which seems to be his way of saying that the proverbial "playing field" is being leveled. Areas of the world that don't have great amounts of natural resources to sell to the rest of the world (particularly oil) are using this technology to start other industries that can leverage their vast workforce into a competitive force to enable them to become a part of the global supply chain of goods and services.<br />
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This shrinking or "flattening" of the world can be used for good or bad. Most technologies are the same way. You can use a delivery van to make deliveries or you can back it through the window of a bank and rob it. You can use the internet to do research for a book report or you can create a "hate site". This is a problem with human nature and not with technology.<br />
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Friedman mentioned that terror, war and protectionism are reasons that might be used to put the walls back up and "unflatten" the world but he seems to feel that in most cases everyone involved benefits from a flat world. The benefits aren't limited to improved standard of living, stronger economies and better educational opportunities for countries that are taking on new responsibilities. There are also the benefits of cost reductions, redundant around the clock supply chains and new, large, eager sources of the exact level of labor required for a task for the companies doing the outsourcing.<br />
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<i>SuperCorp</i> pointed out many "vanguard" companies that are using their size and global influence to do good things in the world and that as we progress this will become more necessary and almost expected of them.<br />
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I can't say that I completely disagree with a lot of the points raised in either book, most of it kind of seems like "common sense" but I was left with a lot of questions about religion, politics and war, "haves versus have nots" and the responsibility of business in the world.<br />
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Is outsourcing ultimately good, bad or a shade of gray? Does outsourcing for cost savings really free up money to reinvest in new jobs or does it just go to the bottom line?<br />
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Investors always want to see a company that is making more profit than the previous year. At what point does this "growth" become unsustainable?<br />
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Are large corporations too powerful? Are they using this power responsibly?<br />
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Does human nature ruin everything?Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-21266069348374074492010-08-12T19:00:00.030-04:002010-11-15T16:16:06.075-05:00What makes us happy?If you take (or have taken) a few minutes to venture around my blog you'll see that like many other people I struggle between the conflicting feelings of wanting to simplify my life and eliminate my debt and buying shiny new toys.<br />
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Over the past couple years I've been more on the simplification side of the struggle but I have to admit that I have a few websites that I like to browse regularly for new gadgets and car stuff. I've been really good about not buying much stuff lately but sometimes I temporarily feel unhappy when I see something that I think that I would really like but know deep down that it would be foolish (financially or otherwise) to buy it. That feeling subsides somewhat quickly once I start to think about all of the things I've purchased over the years and ended up rarely using.<br />
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Over the past couple years I have sold and donated quite a few things that I know I'll never use again and haven't missed them. I know that I still have quite a few things left that I know I wouldn't mind seeing gone... I just have to make the time to put stuff up on craigslist, eBay, Amazon and gather together the rest to donate.<br />
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Another reason behind my quest for simplification is that I really don't like clutter. Clutter makes me unhappy and in our two-bedroom apartment with a den/office both the spare bedroom and the office have a good amount of semi-organized clutter, most of which is mine. I would love to see that gone. That would make me happy.<br />
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So my question is: What makes us happy? <br />
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Money? Stuff? Vacations? Cars? Clothes? Simplification? Having lots of things around? Plain walls? Pictures and decorations all over? Having money in the bank? Being outdoors? Movies? Music? <br />
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Is it more about things or is it experiences? Is it security or possibly rewarding risks? Is it what others think of you or what you think of yourself?<br />
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I think for me it's:<br />
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Trying to straddle the fine line between having hobbies and things that I really like but keeping everything else in check.<br />
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Getting rid of the "clutter" of things that I don't use and won't need but keeping my CD collection and books. <br />
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Spending time doing things I like like going to see bands and making it to a beach every once in awhile.<br />
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Spending time with my family, having friends over or spending quiet nights at home instead of spending hundreds of dollars out for dinner and drinks.<br />
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Spending more money on car washes than clothes.<br />
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Wearing said clothes until they're worn out instead of getting a new wardrobe every year.<br />
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Not buying a bigger, better TV or computer every year even though I might think I want one.<br />
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I guess I'm probably pretty average. I could never do a 100 item challenge or anything like that... but I think I'd feel a lot better if I could get rid of extra stuff, keep control over my desire to spend money, pay off my debt and get myself to a position where I feel more stable.<br />
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<b>Aside</b>: This blog post was brought to you by the Friends episode "<a target="_blank" href="http://uncutfriendsepisodes.tripod.com/season8/814uncut.htm">The One With The Secret Closet</a>" ("hidden" clutter) and the recent New York Times article "<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html">But Will It Make You Happy?</a>" (simplification and conspicuous consumption).Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-68514339381287757572010-03-26T15:10:00.003-04:002024-02-13T16:32:03.051-05:00Want - Energy Star Certified Gasoline-Powered Alarm ClockOn <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/" target="_blank">Inhabitat</a> today there was a story that was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/science/earth/26star.html" target="_blank">reported on NY Times</a> [paywalled link] about the US Government Accountability Office looking into the Energy Star certification process and how easy it was to get an Energy Star label. They <i>created</i> a few fictitious products including a gasoline-powered alarm clock and put them through the system and received Energy Star certification.<br />
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The articles made a few good points, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's all well and good but now I want a gasoline-powered alarm clock. Make mine a <a href="http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200712/2009-chevrolet-corvette-z-41_460x0w.jpg" target="_blank">supercharged LS9</a> from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette_C6_ZR1" target="_blank">Corvette C6 ZR1</a>. I'd wake up to that!<br />
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On a serious note, though, it's kind of good that we have government organizations to keep an eye on stuff like this. I mean, Energy Star certification, that's super important! Wow... What's wrong with me? I just can't be serious today.<br />
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[02/13/2024: Removed broken inhabitat story link. Noted that NY Times link is now paywalled.]Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-7456218658078756742010-03-25T10:15:00.000-04:002010-03-25T10:15:39.336-04:00Blog comments.I don't know if anyone else out there does this, but I find myself almost constantly reading a blog post or article somewhere and typing out a comment in response and then when I'm just about done I close the window and never post my comment.<br />
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I do this because I usually find that what I've typed out has either already been said or I feel that it doesn't matter what I'm typing because the people who's comments or post I'm commenting on have already moved on and probably won't read what I've spent time thinking about and writing down. So I don't bother. <br />
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It popped into my head a few days ago that I almost always do this. Anyone else?Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-19524805814313448622010-03-15T23:39:00.005-04:002010-11-29T20:55:11.617-05:00What are the odds?What are the odds that both the book that I'm reading right now and the one I just finished mention <a href="http://www.rtp.org/main/" target="_blank">The Research Triangle</a>?<br />
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I just finished <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Generation-Novel-Douglas-Coupland/dp/1439157014" target="_blank">Generation A</a></i> by Douglas Coupland a few days ago and just started <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Makers-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765312794" target="_blank">Makers</a></i> by Cory Doctorow and both of them mentioned The Research Triangle in North Carolina. It was more involved in the plot of <i>Generation A</i>, but then tonight there it was mentioned in <i>Makers</i>, too.<br />
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It's not so weird... Right? ;)<br />
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Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a huge Douglas Coupland fan... so obviously I'm going to recommend <i>Generation A</i> pretty strongly. <i>Makers</i> was something that I added to my Amazon Wish List on a whim after reading the description and I like it so far.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5371053149044089908.post-18945129169148200262010-03-11T23:26:00.003-05:002010-11-29T16:13:55.088-05:00Website changes.Google is removing FTP publishing support for Blogger which I have been using since I started this blog. It was a bit of a struggle to switch to Blogger's custom domain option but I persevered. After a few temporary stops, I'm back online at blog.suburbicide.com.<br />
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While I was messing around with switching from FTP publishing, I also took the time to get everything switched over from the the old "Template" style to the newer "Layout" format. It took a bit of work and I'm sure I broke a few things here and there but I think I managed to capture most of what my blog looked like.<br />
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Something I learned today: If after making major changes to your blog's layout, the order of the "Posted by" and "Labels" stuff in your actual post is messed up and you can't move them where you want them: In your Dashboard click on "Layout" and then on "Edit HTML", scroll down to the bottom and click on "Revert widget templates to default" and it seemed to magically work for me.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16740907192465013867noreply@blogger.com0