Alright. Haven't written in several days. Here comes the rundown.

Been reading David Brin's Glory Season. Over the past few days, it has become an addiction. Yanthor highly recommended it to me, and I purchased a used copy shortly after. (I think I even made brief mention of purchasing it in at least one rambling, but there was so much going on at that time, that it pretty much got buried in a zillion other things.) The book mostly sat on the shelf for several months.

Recently, however, I got an idea or two. At my job, employees get a 15 minute break every 2 hours. Many people use this time to feed an addiction, during which they sit outside with a cigarette in hand. Since I have not acquired this particular addiction (which I consider a definite feature), I have generally found myself bored and wondering what to do. Of course, resting one's feet always feels good, but it seems like there should be something better than just sitting there staring blankly.

Enter the book. Granted, 15 minutes isn't enough time to read much (especially at my pace), but it sure beats being bored. Of course, once one gets into the story, the book somehow finds its way into other areas of free time. This is especially true when one of the two residences where I "live" does not feature net access.

So anyway... David Brin. Glory Season. Great reading. I may post a more complete review later, when I've read the rest of it (currently about halfway through, at page 400).

...

From the 102.1X (also known as salvation for Denver radio) department... Tonight, I ran across a nice little web spot. Since they never announce song titles or artists on the air, I've often wondered what they are playing, or who did such-and-such song. Obviously, based on messages in the above link, I'm not the only one. The questions are asked, and answered (sometimes many times). Also, the playlist (put together by a fellow listener) is quite handy. Thought I'd share, in case anyone else is also curious.

...

King Soopers Deli -- refuge for dot bomb human debris.

Today, I found out that I'm not the only ex-programmer who happens to be employed by the deli at my King Soopers. Well, not the only former computer industry employee, at any rate. I found out that another guy I've been working with for over a month (who happens to share my first name, causing infinite confusion when we're both on duty) was laid off by IBM. Crazy. Though our areas of skill have little overlap, it was still still quite amusing to discover this, and talk a little bit about tech stuff for a while.

He said he tried, and couldn't find shit for programming work in the area. Hence, the deli. (Well, he's got other complicating factors as well, but I won't go into that here.) What a surprise. It a way, it's refresing to know that I'm not the only one. But it's also depressing. Aren't things going well for anybody these days? Damn.

Sometimes, I think maybe it would be a really good idea for tech workers to form some sort of labor union. Two years ago, the concept would have been unthinkable. But lately... Given the number of people who have been shafted by the whole thing...

Maybe if $company_boss knew that if he were to layoff or cut the wages of the hard working drones, the entire staff would revolt, he might think twice before wreaking havoc on the lives of members of the so-called valued workforce.

But then again, it was that kind of talk that got me fired back it August. *sigh*

...

Hmmm... What else was I going to write here?

Oh yes. For those who enjoy philosophy. For those who loved The Matrix. (I watched it again earlier this week. It had been long enough since my last viewing that I thoroughly enjoyed it again. A true classic.) They've recently put this section full of essays up at the website. Some interesting stuff there.

Alright, that's it. I gotta work tomorrow, so I will eventually need to get to bed. (After reading another chapter from the book mentioned at the beginning of this rambling. Just one chapter. No more. Wouldn't want a repeat of last night's 3am binge, would we? ;)

Over and out.