don't you hate it when you make a mistake? and your boss catches it? after you've sent the report?
the big boss had me do a consolidation of six reports into two last week. it was in excel, which is my least favorite program in the universe, and i needed to put everything together, then sort it, which isn't a task i've done very often.
i laboriously did it, fighting to make everything the same so it would sort correctly. i mean, what were these people doing? some of the information was in caps, some of it was missing descriptions, some of it was in inverse order -- those slackers! and it all needed to be the same so it would sort correctly and i had to take the time to redo everything. but, finally i had it all finished.
i read the initial e-mail one more time to make sure i didn't miss anything, and figured out there was another 'type' which needed to be sorted. it hadn't been apparent on first read, so i quickly ran down a different report to get the appropriate data, which took awhile.
FINALLY. i had everything finished, i had checked and rechecked to make sure no one was left out, and i sent the report on its way.
the next day the big boss came in saying something wasn't right with the report. i looked at her with shock and trepidation -- how could that be? i looked at her computer and she showed me what she was talking about.
that damn excel program! each of the six files had tabs at the bottom of the worksheet and i hadn't even noticed them! so each of the files opened in either one or the other tab and that accounted for the discrepancies. dammit! dammit! how had i missed that?
she asked if i had checked to make sure i hadn't left anyone out, and i said i had double- and triple-checked and if it turned out i had missed someone i was going to tender my resignation right then.
so she had me call the gal in the central office to see if the gal needed me to redo the report with any other data. as i talked with her it turned out she not only didn't need the report redone with more data, it was pretty obvious she could have gotten along without having the report done in the first place. kinda irritating, since it took me a lot of time over a couple of days with putting off other of my work to get this frivolous report done.
regardless, i really hated missing those tabs. especially since the big boss saw it. damned excel. damned, damned excel. mutter, mutter, mumble, mumble, mumble...
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
vingnette ~ The 11th Planet, chapter 3
He tossed his backpack and duffel in the skimmer and headed out of town. Might as well do some exploring, he thought.
It was only three years ago that settlers had come to this planet. The terrain was flat, rocky, dusty, and fairly inhospitable. After quite a bit of searching, the first settlers founded a community in the only logical place -- right over a vast chamber of water which only stretched about five miles across, but was deeper than they could estimate.
With a little bit of construction here, hydroseeding there, and adjusting to the local peculiarities, a base of about 1500 people had materialized and settled in -- give or take 20 or 30 in any given week, the difference being travelers and visitors. The planet was positioned as a good stopping point and had finally been added to most of the runs in this solar system.
In spite of the fact that almost all of the planet was very unfriendly, Mark’s curiosity had gotten the better of him and he had loaded up with enough supplies to stay away from the town for at least four days. He had sophisticated travel gear in his backpack, so there was no worry about getting lost or not making it back to town, and as he glided on out he started a rudimentary cataloging and mapping system to help him make sense of the sameness.
The skimmer smoothed along as he checked the area ... rocks here, rocks there, rocks, rocks, rocks. But the sun was warm, the temperature a steady 48 degrees, and the isolation soothing to his soul.
Damn that mess at headquarters! But unless a miracle occurred and he found out who had sabotaged him, it wouldn’t do any good to replay the horrors he’d faced. What was done was done and he was light-years away from all that malignance. He forcibly reminded himself there was no way they could trace his location, wormholes being undependable that way, and he dragged his attention back to the rocks.
Taking a deep breath, he studied what was ahead. There actually is variety in the landscape, he realized after several hours. What looked like simply a pile of rocks at first, eventually became recognizable as a crescent-shaped pile or an amorphous-shaped pile, a lateral pile, a steep pile or a pyramidal pile. There was never variation on the rest of it though -- no vegetation or life-forms, and never any water. There was no soil either, the gritty surface varying from small pebbles to large stones, without any uniformity or shape to the overall design.
But finally, after he’d been exploring and observing for about eight hours, it occurred to him that there actually was order to the placement of the crescent-shaped rock piles. He had kept to an easterly path all day and eventually noticed the crescent rock piles, or cressies as he had begun thinking of them, showed up at a regular rate. Sometimes they were off to the left of the skimmer and sometimes off to the right, but they were definitely more prevalent than any of the other formations.
He decided to check out one such formation about the same time he realized it was time to eat some supper. He swung over to the rocks, circled them slowly so as to make sure there were no surprises around, although he couldn’t imagine what would pass for a surprise in this desolation, then stopped the skimmer just outside the crescent area.
He ate and mulled over the possibilities that the placement of these rocks did not seem to be random. Yet if they weren’t random, that meant purpose, and purpose meant intelligence, and he’d never yet heard of an intelligent rock.
Grinning, he remembered that his grandfather invariably had to remind him that the universe was much more complex and diverse than we could ever imagine. Mark, everything you can see is just the beginning. There are things out there you can’t see, sounds you can’t hear, and wonders you can’t imagine. As long as you stay open to possibilities, you just may realize those things are there when they appear in front of your nose.
Thinking about his grandfather made him sad, then mad, as his thoughts segued to Hilson and the mess he’d ended up in. Sighing, he jerked his thoughts back to the rocks and finished his meal.
When he cleaned up and put everything away, he left the skimmer and walked to the center of the crescent. They were actually pretty rocks up close. From three feet away he could see blue and green in the fissures of the rocks, and occasionally a deep purple.
He chuckled. I haven’t enjoyed looking at rocks since I was a kid, he mused, and shook his head at himself. Gingerly dropping to his knees, he was reaching out to touch the rock when he realized there was a lateral opening in the center of the crescent. He hadn’t noticed it before, which seemed astonishing because now that he could see it, it was obvious. It was about two inches high and ran across the center of the formation for about two feet.
He moved his hand toward the opening and felt cool air. That’s a surprise ... I wonder what’s down there? Then he moved his hand above the cool air and touched the rock. It was warm and almost soft and, oddly enough, made him feel ... happy. Whoa, that’s weird, but as he withdrew his hand, the area where he was kneeling collapsed inward, throwing him down on the inside of the rock.
It was only three years ago that settlers had come to this planet. The terrain was flat, rocky, dusty, and fairly inhospitable. After quite a bit of searching, the first settlers founded a community in the only logical place -- right over a vast chamber of water which only stretched about five miles across, but was deeper than they could estimate.
With a little bit of construction here, hydroseeding there, and adjusting to the local peculiarities, a base of about 1500 people had materialized and settled in -- give or take 20 or 30 in any given week, the difference being travelers and visitors. The planet was positioned as a good stopping point and had finally been added to most of the runs in this solar system.
In spite of the fact that almost all of the planet was very unfriendly, Mark’s curiosity had gotten the better of him and he had loaded up with enough supplies to stay away from the town for at least four days. He had sophisticated travel gear in his backpack, so there was no worry about getting lost or not making it back to town, and as he glided on out he started a rudimentary cataloging and mapping system to help him make sense of the sameness.
The skimmer smoothed along as he checked the area ... rocks here, rocks there, rocks, rocks, rocks. But the sun was warm, the temperature a steady 48 degrees, and the isolation soothing to his soul.
Damn that mess at headquarters! But unless a miracle occurred and he found out who had sabotaged him, it wouldn’t do any good to replay the horrors he’d faced. What was done was done and he was light-years away from all that malignance. He forcibly reminded himself there was no way they could trace his location, wormholes being undependable that way, and he dragged his attention back to the rocks.
Taking a deep breath, he studied what was ahead. There actually is variety in the landscape, he realized after several hours. What looked like simply a pile of rocks at first, eventually became recognizable as a crescent-shaped pile or an amorphous-shaped pile, a lateral pile, a steep pile or a pyramidal pile. There was never variation on the rest of it though -- no vegetation or life-forms, and never any water. There was no soil either, the gritty surface varying from small pebbles to large stones, without any uniformity or shape to the overall design.
But finally, after he’d been exploring and observing for about eight hours, it occurred to him that there actually was order to the placement of the crescent-shaped rock piles. He had kept to an easterly path all day and eventually noticed the crescent rock piles, or cressies as he had begun thinking of them, showed up at a regular rate. Sometimes they were off to the left of the skimmer and sometimes off to the right, but they were definitely more prevalent than any of the other formations.
He decided to check out one such formation about the same time he realized it was time to eat some supper. He swung over to the rocks, circled them slowly so as to make sure there were no surprises around, although he couldn’t imagine what would pass for a surprise in this desolation, then stopped the skimmer just outside the crescent area.
He ate and mulled over the possibilities that the placement of these rocks did not seem to be random. Yet if they weren’t random, that meant purpose, and purpose meant intelligence, and he’d never yet heard of an intelligent rock.
Grinning, he remembered that his grandfather invariably had to remind him that the universe was much more complex and diverse than we could ever imagine. Mark, everything you can see is just the beginning. There are things out there you can’t see, sounds you can’t hear, and wonders you can’t imagine. As long as you stay open to possibilities, you just may realize those things are there when they appear in front of your nose.
Thinking about his grandfather made him sad, then mad, as his thoughts segued to Hilson and the mess he’d ended up in. Sighing, he jerked his thoughts back to the rocks and finished his meal.
When he cleaned up and put everything away, he left the skimmer and walked to the center of the crescent. They were actually pretty rocks up close. From three feet away he could see blue and green in the fissures of the rocks, and occasionally a deep purple.
He chuckled. I haven’t enjoyed looking at rocks since I was a kid, he mused, and shook his head at himself. Gingerly dropping to his knees, he was reaching out to touch the rock when he realized there was a lateral opening in the center of the crescent. He hadn’t noticed it before, which seemed astonishing because now that he could see it, it was obvious. It was about two inches high and ran across the center of the formation for about two feet.
He moved his hand toward the opening and felt cool air. That’s a surprise ... I wonder what’s down there? Then he moved his hand above the cool air and touched the rock. It was warm and almost soft and, oddly enough, made him feel ... happy. Whoa, that’s weird, but as he withdrew his hand, the area where he was kneeling collapsed inward, throwing him down on the inside of the rock.
coincidental events
My Older Son and daughter-in-law had an unusual experience earlier this week. she had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. they didn't even know she was pregnant until the morning of the surgery. she'd been having some bleeding, then started feeling a lot of pain. after seeing several doctors, they admitted her, and decided to do the surgery that afternoon.
she lost about 5 liters of blood (it had collected in her abdominal area), but they got the situation under control and she came home the next day. her mom went over to stay and help out.
the grandaughter's first birthday party is sunday (the birthday is really monday) and dau-in-law still wanted to have it, so we're heading down tomorrow. it will be fun and if dau-in-law needs to rest that won't be a problem.
the grandaughter is getting big and is into everything. she's a smart little puppy and i expect that won't change. they're going to need to be on their toes to keep up with her.
since they hadn't realized about the pregnancy, it wasn't traumatic to lose the baby. a friend told me that the same time dau-in-law was having her experience, my friend's son and girlfriend (who was 5 months along) lost their baby. s and r were very upset about it and since the baby was beyond 20 weeks old, a funeral service needed to be involved. they handled the whole thing in a very spiritual way which i loved hearing about. s is a very sensitive young man and i figure he will work through the experience just fine. i haven't met r, but i'm sure she's a lovely person -- a perfect complement to a wonderful young man. it just wasn't their time yet.
and the universe marches on.
she lost about 5 liters of blood (it had collected in her abdominal area), but they got the situation under control and she came home the next day. her mom went over to stay and help out.
the grandaughter's first birthday party is sunday (the birthday is really monday) and dau-in-law still wanted to have it, so we're heading down tomorrow. it will be fun and if dau-in-law needs to rest that won't be a problem.
the grandaughter is getting big and is into everything. she's a smart little puppy and i expect that won't change. they're going to need to be on their toes to keep up with her.
since they hadn't realized about the pregnancy, it wasn't traumatic to lose the baby. a friend told me that the same time dau-in-law was having her experience, my friend's son and girlfriend (who was 5 months along) lost their baby. s and r were very upset about it and since the baby was beyond 20 weeks old, a funeral service needed to be involved. they handled the whole thing in a very spiritual way which i loved hearing about. s is a very sensitive young man and i figure he will work through the experience just fine. i haven't met r, but i'm sure she's a lovely person -- a perfect complement to a wonderful young man. it just wasn't their time yet.
and the universe marches on.
once-a-year
for our annual trip this year, mary and i went to port townsend. i had this thing about wanting to ride the train, so i took amtrak from bellingham to edmonds, got off, met mary, got in her car, drove around the block to get in line for ferry tickets, and 10 minutes later we were on the ferry which, nicely, is right-next-door to the amtrak station. thirty minutes later we got off the ferry and took a lovely 30 minute drive to port townsend. life doesn't get any better than that.
we stayed at fort worden which is a big, beautiful campus with old buildings, some of which are for admin purposes, and some of which are rentable -- duplexes, little houses, rv and tent sites, and a hostel.
we stayed in a little house which had a kitchen, living room, bathroom with shower and towels, and three bedrooms. the kitchen was fully equipped, all we needed to bring was the food.
the weather was perfect -- sunny and around 70*. we checked out the whole fort worden area including the castle (a three-story stone house which can be rented but has only 1 bedroom), the lighthouse, and the observation balloon building. the balloon building was a real stumper -- it is about 3-stories tall with huge doors on one end and several balconies on one side. we finally found the info which explained it was used to house observation balloons for three years back around 1918 and that it is now a pavilion. no further explanation, however, as to whether it's used or rentable or what. very curious building.
we shopped in port townsend (the fort is on the outskirts of town) which has lots of wonderful shops and eateries. there was a health food store for provisions and a goodwill for books.
our favorite eating places were Victorian Square Deli (underground) and the Landfall Restaurant with a gorgonzola and carmelized onion burger which is absolutely to die for!!!
i decided i really liked the town and when i came home i told the husband i thought we should move there. he readily agreed. so as soon as this housing market shows some energy, we will revisit the issue and get serious about maybe making a change. i expect it to be no sooner than 2-3 years, though.
an excellent vacation and one which recharged our batteries. yay for girlfriend get-aways!
overheardinnewyork
Man: Hey, is that postcard in 3D?
Woman: Nope. It's just normal d.
Student #1: Yeah, but for Christmas break I'm gonna be in South Carolina.
Student #2: Really? I'm gonna be in North Carolina! Maybe we'll run into each other!
Thug #1: Nigga, you all old-like 'n shit. You be like, sixteen goin' on sixty.
Thug #2: Me?! Nigga, you got that shit all backwards. Look at Jerome. He be sixteen goin' on dead.
Father, to five-year-old son: I had no idea you liked AC/DC!
Mother, to son in stroller watching two shady characters: Oh, a drug deal! Sam, your first drug deal encounter.
Girl #1: Oh my god, he is *so* hot!
Girl #2: That's a woman!
Girl #1: Oh my god! Does that make me gay? Am I gay?
Woman: Nope. It's just normal d.
Student #1: Yeah, but for Christmas break I'm gonna be in South Carolina.
Student #2: Really? I'm gonna be in North Carolina! Maybe we'll run into each other!
Thug #1: Nigga, you all old-like 'n shit. You be like, sixteen goin' on sixty.
Thug #2: Me?! Nigga, you got that shit all backwards. Look at Jerome. He be sixteen goin' on dead.
Father, to five-year-old son: I had no idea you liked AC/DC!
Mother, to son in stroller watching two shady characters: Oh, a drug deal! Sam, your first drug deal encounter.
Girl #1: Oh my god, he is *so* hot!
Girl #2: That's a woman!
Girl #1: Oh my god! Does that make me gay? Am I gay?
Thursday, October 09, 2008
poor yorick
hello again!
i don't know how it ends up that i have no time, but it's true. i need to tell you about my trip with my girlfriend, but it's time for me to get ready for work so ... alas.
i have another vignette i need to put in, but no time ... alas.
and i have other details i need to impart, but ... alas.
and it doesn't look like it's going to get a lot better. but i will try. for now -- the trip was great, the vignette is two-parts, my daughter-in-law had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy and they hadn't even know she was pregnant but she's fine now, i'm getting a new computer, my grandaughter's first birthday is next monday, and i know there are more things which, of course, i can't think of now.
later.
alas.
i don't know how it ends up that i have no time, but it's true. i need to tell you about my trip with my girlfriend, but it's time for me to get ready for work so ... alas.
i have another vignette i need to put in, but no time ... alas.
and i have other details i need to impart, but ... alas.
and it doesn't look like it's going to get a lot better. but i will try. for now -- the trip was great, the vignette is two-parts, my daughter-in-law had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy and they hadn't even know she was pregnant but she's fine now, i'm getting a new computer, my grandaughter's first birthday is next monday, and i know there are more things which, of course, i can't think of now.
later.
alas.
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