It's Fubtol Fever!

So the stanley cup finals and the NBA finals are done, whew!  Now, the world can let the 2010 FIFA world cup take center stage, have you been following?  Yes, No?

I'm a futbol fan, it's probably in my genes.  I'm constantly refreshing the FIFA website for the scores when the games are being played and I'm at work.  I even tried watching the games on ESPN when at home but I had to find the local spanish or portuguese tv stations. 

I just can't follow the announcers on ESPN, they're so boring and dry.  I can't deal with 90 minutes of gut-wrenching action and when someone scores a goal, all you get is "goalll' and then cut to commercials.  Really, is that all the futbol passions USA fans can muster?

Is it too much to ask that when a goal is scored, the announcer screams "GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL" at the top of his lungs for 5 minutes?  Show some emotion, show the replays and the players celebrating their accomplishment while the players from the opposing team wish they could get a redo?  No, not possible in the USA?

Tell me, why are USA fans so nonchalant towards futbol?  Outside the USA, futbol is one of the most famous sports.  C'mon USA fans, I encourage you to do better and display your pride.

When Your Input Isn't Meant to be Valued

A couple of months ago during a meeting in which we were discussing ideas, the entire group laughed at my idea.  Never mind the fact I'm still new to the company and no one told me ideas were not meant to be taken seriously, they were just meant to fullfill a goal on the yearly development plan.

I was embarrassed and hurt by my co-workers reaction at the time but just like big girls do, I decided such views were not worth entertaining.  After all, there are narrow-minded people all over the world and this company/group was no exception.

The other day while reading about some start-ups, I came across a Japanese company that is getting ready to prototype something very similar to my idea.  It made me happy. 

A few things I learned from this experience:  My ideas are not completely idiotic.  My current company does not value creativity, it values old recycled ways of thinking.

So what would you do in this case?  How do you start searching for a company that can foster your growth as an employee and not just a number in the payroll system?

Too Pretty to Work, Really?

This past weekend, a video in which the duchess of York was seen selling access to her ex-husband for a substantial amount of cash (to us mere mortals, that is) was all over the world news.

After such an embarrassing exposure, the duchess released a statement regretting her actions and also stated she was experiencing financial problems.  In the past she's stated her divorce settlement was meager as she only receives $21,500 per year.

In contrast, princess Diana received millions of dollars in her divorce settlement.

While I suppose it's hard to leave the royal lifestyle behind after a divorce, I'm also wondering if it's against British law to get a resume together and work at a job just like many of us do on a daily basis if one is pressed for cash.

I know plenty of single-divorced parents that receive a lot less than $21,500 per year as part of their divorce settlement/child support and manage to live within their means, of course most of those parents still have to go out and earn a living to support their families.

For any divorcees/single parents out there, do you think the duchess should stop playing celebrity and get a job like the rest of the mere mortal population or is she entitled to a lavish lifestyle because she was once married to royalty?

Hello Baby Online stuff!

After spending endless hours at Babiesrus both at the stores and online browsing through endless products and getting frustrated with the registry process, I decided I should use my IT skills and find a better way to figure out this baby stuff.  Don't get me wrong, Babiesrus is great if you have the time and patience to spend browsing through their gizillion products but it's just not practical for those of us who have a short window to fulfill our shopping/registry needs.

First website I decided to try is the baby registry at target.com and I'm glad to report the registry process was extremely smooth and adding/deleting items was a breeze.  I absolutely luvs the fact people can search through the registry by prices, one can see if the item is available online, at the store or both.

The other website I used is diapers.com.  The registry was a breeze.  Now, what I absolutely luvs is the essentials for baby section.  It gives you all the quick and yet essential information on each item within each category.  For example, if you're looking for baby-proofing, you click on the category and then you can click on items such as baby gates, cabinet and drawer locks, etc.  There are no lengthy and confusing product dissertations, just the essential information any busy person is looking for.  Their free shipping over an order of $49.99 is a plus and now that I know they're located in my town, I'll be using their services a lot more!

Does anyone have baby online store suggestions?

Technology Gone Backwards

Much like the majority of the population,  I've become increasingly dependent on technology.  I absolutely enjoy the connection to the world at the reach of my fingertips.  Unfortunately as of late, I've grown to dislike my personal phone.  If you're wondering what type of phone I'm referring to, it's the blackberry storm.  I was weary of the fact this was the first generation model of its kind so I waited for as long as my old phone lasted.  I'd explored other options and decided I wanted to stay with my provider and give the storm a try.  Huge mistake!

Within a year, the phone has already been replaced twice.  The operating system constantly crashes on its own.  Just a couple of weeks ago, some of my friends informed me they were running into issues with their blackberries and I thought, "uhm, it's only a matter of time before mine acts a fool."  Well, I was right.  One morning last week I looked at the phone and I saw an error message that read "JVM Error 529", arg!  I googled said error and apparently it's due to a corrupt system.  Somehow after I threatened the phone to toss it out onto the river, it re-started itself.  Too bad in the midst of having a corrupt system, I lost all my pictures which isn't the worst that could happen considering all the issues I've had with this model.  I'm counting down the days I'm able to upgrade to something better or switch carriers. 

I can't even watch those droid and iphone commercials that highlight all the cool things those phones are able to do with their apps.  I'm afraid to download apps to the storm as I already know it could trigger an OS crash.  Forget the fact my phone is unable to do cool things on a daily basis, when its OS crashes, I can't even make/receive calls (which is the main purpose of any phone).

Tell me, is it too much to want a phone that works as a phone and also has the ability to do a few cool things?  Isn't this the reason as to why we pay to upgrade our technology, so we have the ability to do better things than what we did with the older phones?

Who Proofread This?

Apparently at least one proofreader at penguin must have slept at work that day and as a result, a pretty big oops made it onto the bookstores. The publisher has acknowledged the mistake and agreed to reprint 7,000 cookbooks over a recipe for pasta with "salt and freshly ground black people." In case you're curious, "salt and freshly ground black people" should read "salt and fresh ground black pepper."

I must admit I have terrible grammar and I can't spell to save my life. I blame this on the engineer's mindset which let me to assume engineer's don't have to write, they just have to apply the concepts of math and physics correctly. After all, who wants to read 10 pages on the second law of thermodynamics? Well, I was wrong. I learned rather quickly if I wanted to communicate I needed to improve my writing as it's the medium often used in today's society - and - the spelling feature does have its limitations.

Did Spring Float Down the River?

Hello Spring!!!

After such a crazy winter, I wish spring would actually arrive at once. This whole rainy spring season is not only driving me nuts, apparently the rivers and streams have lost it as well. I never knew there was something as "urban flooding" but I saw that warning pop up on the 1010wins website and I did this "O_O".

On my way home, I glanced over the hooters parking lot that has been flooded for the past couple of weeks, just to see the ducks swimming around in the flooded area. We have had enough!

Back to you spring, please stay sunny and warm for at least a couple of weeks to allow some of that overly saturated ground and overflowed rivers get somewhat back to normal.