Author: Mark Alexander

Posted on

They Like Me

We’re just about finished with the rollout of the new equipment for this department. This is kind of bittersweet because, as I’ve written about before, I really enjoy working with my IT colleagues as well as pretty much everyone in the department here. My supervisor has made no secret of the fact they like me too, and has strongly urged me to apply for any open IT position in the organization—even if its not in this particular department—just to “get on the list” so that when an IT job does become available in this department I’m ready to jump on it.

In the meantime I’ve been wondering where they were going to shuttle us next since we’re going to wrap up here by the end of the week—if not sooner.

This morning my supervisor approached me and asked if I’d be willing to come on—unfortunately still as a contractor (but at my current pay scale which is fabulous)—as a full Desktop Support Tech. Of course I would!

Long story short, he was unable to get funding at this time for the full time perm position he was hoping to get me into right now, but was approved to bring on a contractor in the role. It’s not 100% official yet, but he’s confident enough that his boss will sign off on it that he’s assigned me a cube and put in a request for a cell phone.

At this point I don’t even care if it doesn’t go perm (other than the lack of paid holidays and time off). Just get me through until full retirement baby, so I don’t have to go through unemployment again!

Posted on

The Best Thing That Could Happen To This Country Right Now…

…would be for Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to all go out of business. Shuttering Twitter especially would finally silence The Orange Russian Menace in the White House and starve him of the attention his malignant narcissism demands. It might also go a long way toward restoring some semblance of civility in society when the ignorant among us no longer have such a ready venue to spew that ignorance like monkeys flinging feces and make it that much more difficult for foreign actors to influence our elections.

(I used to respond to at least the particularly egregious tweets by the Shitgibbon, but then I realized that any response—positive, negative, or neutral—simply feeds his sociopathy. So I’ve stopped. “Do Not Feed The Trolls” is a perfect strategy.)

I know people say, “Facebook is how I keep in touch with my grandchildren!” or “Twitter is how I stay abreast of events in the world!”—neither of which were apparently possible before the advent of these platforms.

I think social media in general—once a fun, positive way of bringing people together—has become a scourge. We’ve become so addicted to the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline from being outraged at what other people are saying or doing online that we can’t tear ourselves away from our devices long enough to remember that there is real life outside the confines of our screens. Nope, we have to tap-tap-tap that vein.

And as I recently reminded Ben—after he was called to the carpet professionally because of something he posted on Facebook—not all the “friends” in your social media circle are truly your friends, or even have your best interests at heart.

I quit Facebook nearly 5 years ago and it took months for the itch to reactivate my account to go away. Nowadays I go onto Twitter maybe twice a week for only a few minutes at a time before I’m overwhelmed by the overwhelming stupidity of humanity on display. (But TBH I do enjoy the comedic antics of the residents of Vaca Muerta Estates so I keep it around just for that.) While I have loved the photography on Instagram all these years, I’m ready to drop it as well because it seems that lately all I do there is block bots and unwanted ads for crap that wouldn’t sell from a Sharper Image catalog.

So if all those “services” dropped off the face of the earth tomorrow I’d undoubtedly go through a bit of withdrawal and I might feel a small tinge if loss at not being able to easily ogle handsome men showing off their impossibly toned bodies in trendy worldwide locations, but my life would go on.

Your thoughts?

Posted on

Released 41 Years Ago Today


Sphinx: Sphinx (1978)

Under the name Sphinx, Alec R. Costandinos and Don Ray released an album with two side-long tunes, Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter, telling the story of the betrayal of Christ. Judas features some monk-like chanting, and a pretty simple ascending and descending theme, but as usual it goes through a bewildering series of tranformations, including what sounds like a bouzouki duel, before climbing to a rousing finale. It’s also a good case study in how Costandinos keeps the rhythm section pumping out dance beats no matter how overwrought the orchestra gets. Simon Peter explores similar territory and about seven minutes in, it breaks into the most furious, kick-ass disco you’re ever going to hear.

Much like Costandinos’ work with Cerrone on Love in C-Minor, I was initially unaware of Don Ray’s contributions to this album, but upon subsequent listening it’s obvious.

And no doubt because of the subject matter, I don’t recall ever hearing it played in the clubs. I only stumbled upon it because it appeared in a full page ad in Billboard Magazine along with Costandinos’ other work.

Posted on

Satisfying

We wrapped up first season last night and I have to say The Umbrella Academy is one of the freshest, most entertaining things I’ve seen on television lately. From the minds of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy is the story of a super-dysfunctional family of superheroes who have eight days to get it together and save the world. The story, the sets, the special effects…all are spot-on. And it’s fun!. Check it out.

Posted on

Security Theater

My present place of employment has two entrances: one for full-time employees and one for the public (and contractors). The main (public) entrance requires that everyone pass through a metal detector and have their belongings x-rayed. The employee entrance does not. (In fact there’s also an employee bypass at the main entrance.)

If you’re a contract employee like I am and arrive before 8, however, you are allowed to enter the building using the employee entrance because the main entrance isn’t staffed until then. Since I typically get to work around 7:15, I am allowed to use the employee entrance and enter the building like a real boy. On those rare instances when I arrive after 8 however, I automatically become a potential terrorist and am forced in the front door, where I must pass through the metal detector and have my bag scanned.

So this means anyone can bring a weapon into the building before 8 am (or if they’re a full-time employee any time of the day or night), but apparently not afterward? Am I crazy, or is this profoundly, mind-numbingly stupid?

I feel safer, don’t you?

And in case you’re wondering, anyone can leave through that entrance…