- I had an interview again today for another position here at work. I think I’m up against 2-3 other people, but I won’t know the result until after next week. I feel okay about it. I was prepared and involved and not very nervous. I feel like I made a good effort, but I dislike the self-appraisal that follows. It’s difficult not to meditate on things you did or didn’t say or do, especially in light of the fact that my last few attempts did not result in me getting the jobs in question. If I were to compare my performance this time compared with the other times I would say I did better than I usually do. Big mistakes I have made in the past:
- Getting defensive over fair criticism
- Forgetting the interview and being dressed like a slob as a result (hugely stupid mistake)
- I called Bruce Williams about something and was on the air.
- We were going to have a contest last week to see if this guy here at work could eat 10 McRib sandwiches. He backed out (Booo!!), but I had a good opportunity to use my mad Photoshop skillz. Before and after. Notice how I used his left arm and made a matching right arm?
22
Nov 04
Keep Trying
16
Nov 04
Learn-ding
With every new project I learn something. Every time I have a vision of how a project should turn out I keep trying different tactics until the desired result is achieved. Having to try a bunch of different things is frustrating but also very rewarding when you have a breakthrough moment. Last night when I was working on something I figured out a couple of things that are probably obvious to millions of other people. Namely:
- Blending two layers using a layer mask in Photoshop
- The utility of saving swatches of color and storing them with the base files
The strategies you learn get added to your mental arsenal like wads of gum. You won’t need to learn the same things twice. Websites like CreativeBits are a big help. My next goal is to master Adobe Illustrator.
08
Nov 04
Propaganda claims
Eventually, the Iraqis will eject the Americans from their country. The fact is, they live there and we don’t, so victory will eventually be theirs. Until then, it’s just a stalemate. I think it’s ironic when the Americans make claims against the other side’s propaganda since there has never been a more media-aware American military intervention. I found the following passage revealing:
One key reason to take Fallujah hospital early was likely to control information: The facility was the main source of Iraqi death tolls during the first U.S. siege of Fallujah in April, and U.S. commanders accused doctors there of exaggerating numbers.
The U.S military said Monday that insurgents had been in control of Fallujah General Hospital — located on the west bank of the Euphrates — and were “forcing the doctors there to release propaganda and false information.”
The media has lauded the ‘capture’ of the Fallujah hospital as a win for the Iraqis fighting “shoulder to shoulder” with the Americans, specifically this refers to Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion. The Americans use the brown-skins to put an “Iraqi face” on the assault on Fallujah. Who are the 36th Commando Battalion?
“The 36th was originally known as the ‘political battalion,'”
he said. That’s because it was formed from the militias of five major
political groups in Iraq: Iyad Alwai’s Iraq National Accord (INA), Ahmed Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress (INC), the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which backs Ayatollah Ali Sistani, and the two main Kurdish groups, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). About 110 soldiers were originally culled from each group.
This group isn’t representative of Iraq. They are splinter groups who have an interest in gaining more power in Iraq. When you have 10,000 American soldiers and a few hundred Iraqi mercenaries leading the assault, it’s clear who’s in charge. More importantly, it’s clear that the Americans do not have the support of the Iraqi people on the ground.
05
Nov 04
The Incredibles
The company rented a screen at the Barton Creek AMC theatre today for everyone at work to watch the debut of Pixar’s new animated film, The Incredibles. We were able to bring a guest, so I brought Jody with me and she really enjoyed it. The Incredibles was …incredible. It seems like Pixar gets better with everything they do and it didn’t hurt that they enlisted the talents of Brad Bird, the man responsible for The Iron Giant. While I was watching it, I kept thinking how amazing it would be to be involved in something like that. To nurture a project from idea to reality over the course of 3 years. It is rare to see a group of individuals who are so focused on producing work of true quality. It is awe-inspiring. Real quality takes tremendous discipline and talent to achieve and when you see something done right, you can’t help but feel a large measure of respect for those responsible.
04
Nov 04
Bits
I’m trying to be more concise with my entries. Here are some notes:
- Cool thing: Paypal debit card pays 1.5% cashback when you use it at point-of-sale locations when you use it as a credit card.
- I had another job interview today for a production artist job here at work. I think it went okay. We shall see. I applied for it with little notice and had to put together a portfolio of work. Eventually I’ll find something really cool to do.
- Breen’s mom has a blog. I’m waiting to see if her husband is the new sheriff of Archer City.
02
Nov 04
Vote!
Vote! You’ll be glad/mad/sad that you did!!
“We’d all like t’vote fer th’best man, but he’s never a candidate.”—Frank McKinney (Kin) Hubbard
“Democracy will prevail when men believe the vote of Judas as good as that of Jesus Christ.”—Thomas Carlyle
29
Oct 04
gmail exploit
All gmail users should be aware of the potential for a gmail exploit. Described here.
29
Oct 04
My so-called life
After driving down to Dripping Springs for a meeting, I came back, had dinner and watched ‘The Apprentice’. Around 10 o’clock I started on my jack o’lantern. I am now finished and am very tired. The pumpkin guts dried out my hands. It was either that or the gunpowder from the ‘black cats’ I used to decorate it.
Updated: Here is a pic of my pumpkin. It’s supposed to be a suicide bomber, hence the firecrackers I used for the beard and moustache. I actually won the jack o’lantern contest, which was a surprise to me. Lord British took some of the firecrackers out and blew them off during the meeting:
28
Oct 04
Graffitti Fairy
The graffitti fairy has paid me a visit for the second time this week. Whoever it is, their tag says something like “Bender” or “Gender”. Maybe Gender Bender? This time they did the large tag as usual on the left panel with the two underlining marks, and then a smaller tag I couldn’t make out on the right panel. I took a minute to paint it over before I went to work. Since this is now the sixth time this has happened I don’t even get upset. Sooner or later, one of us will have to stop and it won’t be me. I’m going to figure out some way to catch whoever it is so I can dispense some sweet Justice(tm).
Other things worth noting, I watched most of season three of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”, the most insane show I’ve seen in a long time. I laughed so hard that the back of my head, where some of the face muscles attach, started to hurt.