Wait...you mean this degree is actually worth something?!?

When I first started looking for work in the graphic design field, an old professor of mine passed along this sage advice:
"after five years, you'll be able to get work. Before that, nobody will hire you."

As it turns out, she was fairly accurate. After I graduated in December of 2001, I started looking for work in the field. I held a contract position for all of a month; after that, things went a bit downhill. Freelance work was sparse; and with places like McGraw-Hill and Steelcase downsizing their creative departments, I was thrust into the mix along with folks who had 10-20 years of experience. I managed to land a few interviews, but when you're up against folks with that much experience you don't stand much of a chance. So, for the next couple of years I hid out in a job that paid the bills while I kept searching for the elusive "job in the field."

Now, things are looking up a bit. I've recently taken a freelance position with a local arts/entertainment magazine. This is good primarily because it gives me experience in the field, and also because it won't interfere with my full-time job. Yay, me.

On Biking and NOT Getting Smushed...

I'm a cyclist. During the spring/summer, it's my preferred mode of transportation. The reasons are varied, but the main one right now is cost. It's much cheaper to bike than it is to drive - especially with gas at nearly $2.80 a gallon these days. There is, of course, the health benefits. There are also the health detriments, which is what I'll be talking about.

I primarily bike to and from work. It's a 22-mile round trip ride, and in the early morning it's actually quite pleasant as I bike through suburbia. It becomes increasingly less pleasant during the second part of the trip, which involves some time spent on a reasonably busy street. This wouldn't be so bad, except the folks on the road at this time - ~6:15am - are driving their yuppie assault vehicles whilst chatting on the cell phone and trying to suck down a mocha latte and a double-glazed while changing the radio station on their way to work. In a car, this wouldn't present a problem; a simple honk of the horn is usually enough to jar them back into focus and into their lane. However, it's a bit more difficult when you replace "car" with "20lb. hybrid bicycle."

I'm not pro-cyclist (although I do give them room when I pass); nor am I pro-vehicle. I'm pro-pullingyourheadout. When I bike, I obey the rules of the road. I'm in the bike lane, or on the shoulder if there's no bike lane. As I'm over sixteen, I'm not allowed to ride on the sidewalk. I stop at lights, and don't cut in front of traffic (hell, I don't have a death wish). I merely expect the same curteousy from the other folks on the road, whether they're running, walking, biking, or driving.

For example:
Last year I was biking home on a sunny summer day on the not-so busy road that I take home, when a red Pontiac Grand Am pulled directly out in front of me. The driver had seen me; had looked directly at me before pulling out. Locking up both sets of brakes and skidding the bike sideways prevented me from going over the hood of the car. Did the driver pause to see if I was hurt? Was I given an apology? No. I got the half-hearted "oops!" as the young lady drove past. If this was an isolated incident, I wouldn't have cared terribly much; would have chalked it up to a mistake on the part of the driver. However, after narrowly missing being turned into a greasy stain more times than I can count I'm wondering if a)they're out to get me, or b)they're just not paying attention. Hopefully it's b.

So, to you drivers out there I offer this:

1. Please, please, please look BOTH ways before you pull out of a side street. There could be a cyclist coming. Their cardiologist will appreciate it.


2. Remember that cyclists are on the road. Remember that you'll need to move over a bit to prevent clipping them with your side mirrors and scaring the hell out of them.


3. PAY ATTENTION TO THE FREAKIN' ROAD! That call can wait. There's cupholders in your car for a reason. Makeup is best applied at stoplights. That donut isn't going anywhere. Keep your eyes on the road, and watch out for your fellow travelers.

...and to my fellow cyclists:

1. Keep an eye out for those wacky drivers. Some of them might be ok, but most of them really aren't looking out for you.


2. Respect the rules of the road. Traffic laws apply to your spandex-wearing ass, too. I've seen some cyclists run lights, sprint across intersections with the light against them, etc.


3. PAY ATTENTION TO THE FREAKIN' ROAD!

So, please don't turn me into a greasy smear on the pavement. My wife will appreciate it. Besides, I've grown rather attached to being three-dimensional.

It's chicken even vegetarians can love...

You need this.

Before you watch this, however, take all of your precious childhood memories of your favourite toys and lock them away someplace safe. After this, you'll never be able to look at the Smurfs, Transformers, or Barbie the same way again.

Sign of the Apocolypse?

Allow me to direct you to this.

Mac users now have the option to load WindowsXP on their Intel Mac with the next release of OsX (apparently called "Leopard").

Part of this makes a bit of sense. The vast majority - something like 96% - of the market is tailored to Windows users. There's not a lot of software that's tailored to Macintosh, although with the advent of Universal software that's starting to change. However, gamers do lose out because the majority of games are released for PC/Windows. Again, this is starting to change, but slowly. Having two operating systems means that you can effectively "bridge the gap" and purchase whatever software you need without worrying about checking for the platform.

There are drawbacks, though. First, this is only a public Beta - which, I assume, means that Apple is offering it for people to test and report bugs so they can improve it before releasing a "final" version. One can only wonder, though - Windows has many "undocumented features" that are still unresolved. Will this sort of issue plague the Boot Camp software? Will Macs now be susceptible to viruses that were previously limited to PC users? Time will tell, I guess.

I guess I should also say that I'm a Mac user, which means I'm probably a little biased. I have an iBook which I love dearly. It runs smoothly, and has yet to crash; which is amazing considering at one point I had most of Adobe's CS2 programs open and running. However, I've used Windows for three years at my day job. I'm comfortable with both Windows and OsX, but I definately prefer OsX. Why? It's more intuitive, easier to work in, and - here's the most important part - it's more stable. The Windows machine I use at work requires frequent attention and reboots. Programs crash without warning daily; I spent a lot of time re-creating lost data. The iBook? Not once, and I push that little laptop as hard as my work station (if not harder).

What I do find slightly amusing is that the reports I've been hearing say that Windows runs faster on the Mac than it does natively on PC.

*sigh*

Mac and PC becoming one. What's next, Pat Buchanan and Anne Coulter admitting they were wrong?