dmotion

Been unbusy in the social networks arena for a couple weeks--or is it months now?

Been searching for a place of employment ever since being furloughed April 1st from being a Flight Attendant for United.

Now here's the thing about being a Flight Attendant...you get used to it. ...A whole lot.

It's a complete lifestyle change and not to mention a commitment.

I spent what didn't seem like 2 months but what seemed like more in Ground School.

Hours ranging anywhere from 8AM to 7PM, 3PM to 1AM, 5PM to 6AM learning about aircraft, being on an aircraft, learning terms, learning all the airport codes, taking a test every 4 days on things read, presented, and done in 4 days. It varies with each airline. Plus the added fact that you must get at least 80% on test to be considered passing. You can only retake test 3 times. Once again it varies with each airline.

For the time you're there you breath, dream, think, emergency protocols, location of emergency items, and numbered sections of your 3 inch (if not bigger) General Operations Manual plus FAA specific Flight Attendant regulations.

It's intense and it's mind boggling to sit through 4 hour (sometimes more) FAA mandated lectures and video presentations. Then having to take an hour long test thereafter. Going home studying given materials, and doing it all over again the next day.

Most people don't realize the amount of hard work, dedication, and hours that go into being a Flight Attendant (FA).

It's a sweet job once you pass ground school but it's certainly not about serving drinks and food on a plane.

Each Flight Attendant is responsible for at least 50 People on a Plane and their number one job is to protect the integrity of the Flight Deck (Cockpit).

Pouring Drinks and Serving Food is just something that we doing while doing that.

Most FAs start their day at around 5AM but most likely 3:30AM if not the day before if they're commuting on a plane.

From then what may follow is 14 hours of work with 9 to 10hrs of rest followed by 14 hours of work and so on possibly for the next 6 days. That right there is heavy work. Although it is not always the case most likely what will happen is 3 days or 4 days of work followed by 2 to 3 days off. Most FAs get at least 10 days off in a month some more (dependent on seniority).

Most of the time I would start at 5AM calling Crew Scheduling at 4:59AM right before going through security.

Crew Scheduling is your boss. If your phone rings as an FA you answer it. Else your bound for some disciplinary.

There are two types of FAs. Those whom have a line (a set schedule) or those who are on reserve (no set schedule). I was an FA on reserve. At the literal mercy and beckoning of Crew Scheduling.

I came to work (sometimes because they call me at 7PM asking me, which is really telling me to show up for Airport Reserve at 5AM) which was Airport Reserve meaning I sit at the airport for ten hours went home and worked for another 5 hours at home.

That's called home reserve. It's pretty sweet if they don't call you but most of the time they do. When at home if they call you, you have 1hr and 30 minutes to get to the airport. That means on the plane and ready to board. In Washington, D.C. that means you have to drive like a mad man through traffic praying that you make it in 45 minutes or less, find a parking spot, taking a shuttle to the airport, getting through security in less than 4 minutes and getting to your gate with whatever time you have left after that. Home Reserve is stressful if you don't have high seniority.

Airport Reserve is a whole lot better. You literally wait for their call. Just sit there. You can sleep, walk around the airport, watch movies, etc. if you want but you have to be ready to run and I mean run to whichever gate they tell you to at a moments notice.

One time I had them call me and asking me:
"Can you make it to Gate A6?"

"All right what time does the plane leave?"

"In 10 minutes..."

"You know the Office is in the D Gates right--there's no way I'm getting there in 10 minutes and Pre-Flighting the plane."

"(sighs) I know...but can you try?"

Freakin' Madonn.

I'll write more about it later...uh, it makes me cringe when I think about it. Yuck, Crew Scheduling rofl :-P

What I narrated is just the part that happens before getting on a plane...

...madonn!

It seems everyday that passes the less and less I can use my PowerBook G4.

I really believe that Apple left PowerPC users in the dark when they made the crossover to Intel.

Even when they went from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X 10.0 (which required a bit more RAM and some processor speed) they smoothed the transition at least to some extent.

In all actuality Apple was like, "Screw you PPC Users!"

More and more now updates and applications no longer support PPC and/or Mac OS X 10.4

Leaving those with highend Power Mac G5s highly screwed.

So not having the PowerBook G4's Supplemental Disk with Mac OS 9 files (it wouldn't be much use to me anyways for the following) and my CD/DVD Drive inoperative...

I can't use Classic applications, I can't load any applications, games, etc.

Plus the fact that my trackpad doesn't work, on it's 3rd (and last) charger and second battery.

I am left with a computer that can't really do much of anything--that I want...

Which is the chief reason for buying a laptop: to do what you want with it.

Although that is hardly true (at least with me) with computers running Windows Operating System it is or rather was true with Apple and it's computers.

Although recently, as I've written in my livejournal:

Apple's Product: 12' PowerBook G4 1.5GHz w/ 1.25GB DDR SDRAM and 80GB HDD has been leaving a bitter sometimes sour taste in my mouth.

Not just due to the recent occurences but also past occurrences when it went out of comission back two years ago in May.

I was forced to use my old iMac Bondi G3 running Mac OS 9.2.2 w/ 64MBs of RAM and an 8GB HDD(!)

Currently that particular machine is still running in excellent condition however with Mac OS X 10.3 and 384MBs of RAM.

Yet that computer, despites it's age hasn't given me the amount of problems my PowerBook has and it's eleven years old.

Here I have a computer half it's age that I can't do what I want with it...

Zac Efron is Jimmy Neutron?





It certainly looks like he was going for that...

Possible live action film now? rofl

Freakin' Madonn!

I Watched Law and Order: Criminal Intent for only one reason--Jeff Goldblum.

Here I am intently watching the episode waiting for Goldblum to appear and...

Nothing...no dice.

No Jeff Goldblum.

What the freak USA Network?!

Don't say Jeff Goldblum is going to be in Criminal Intent if he isn't.

I'm not Watching Law and Order Criminal Intent because I like Watching Law and Order Criminal: Intent but because I want to see Jeff Goldblum act in Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

I don't turn the TV on for just any show or anything.

The whole fact that I am flipping to USA Network when there is no House and no Burn Notice to Watch is highly rare.

I might never attempt to Watch Law and Order: Criminal Intent again...because of failure to alert that, "Oh, the chief reason for which you are watching this show is not going to be on the show."

Anyways some Law and Order now...yeah, so this is the problem with normal TV. Because really who watches much TV this day? Usually people watch things online, through DVDs but sparingly on TV, if at all.

I was highly disappointed with the fact that the reason for which I was watching the show never really happened and I am left with the possibility of Jeff Goldblum being in the next episode.

But why should I believe USA Network when I see:



that description on their website when they've already lied to me?

Seriously it's not that big a deal but what if I never ever watched it again? ...Due to this small incident?

Blame USA Network...

Yeah...for a split second there I forgot that the CD/DVD Drive doesn't work in this blasted PowerBook G4...

So here I am waiting for it to boot from the DVD and...

*sound of drive spinning--DVD is ejected*

Freakin Madonn!

So now I am stuck with being unable to do what I want with this blasted Powerbook which is to re-upgrade it to Leopard--madonn!

I can attempt to try to downgrade to Panther but my initial intent wasn't to do that--it was merely afterthought.

Really detesting my PowerBook G4 right now.

I don't have Classic and I don't have Leopard.

If I at least had Classic I'd be slightly pleased but since I don't and I don't have Leopard, I am angered.

Re-upgrading to Leopard= Fail

(Really really hate my Powerbook right now--I am that much closer to breaking and literally burning it for a little bit and thereafter breaking it again. Madonn!)

I've been contemplating for the last few days--possibly about three of re-upgrading back to Leopard.

I've been getting highly annonyed by the small number of apps here and there that I've either updated and/or newly obtained that no longer support Tiger (10.4).

Sure it's a small number however small enough to bother me into re-upgrading back to Leopard.

Problem is that due to some moving I did about 6 months ago I have no idea at the time being where the disk is. I can't even find the 2nd disk to Tiger to install Mac OS 9 (Classic) since I lost all my stuff back in October...so yeah...

Where, oh, where could Leopard be...?

I've been reading newspapers avidly for the last thirteen years...and by 'read' I mean read the whole entire newspaper. Every article and every section.

I remember being able to buy five newspapers for $1.50. Now you can only buy one or sometimes two newspapers at that price.

I recall when the Washington Post was $0.25 and the most expensive and hard to find newspaper was The Wall Street Journal.

Nowadays it's $2.00 and the Washington Post is $0.75...

Anyways Today, April 18th, the newspapers are rather thin...literally.

The Washington Post had a four page Metro section--what the freak is that? The New York Times was thiner than it usually is on Saturday as was The Wall Street Journal.

Did I buy it--The Washington Post yes but not The New York Times--at $1.50 or The Wall Street Journal at $2.00 although it was a slight bit thicker...

I could have gone and bought The Mail for $3.00 and it would have been worth the money completely.

I understand that the newspapers are having a hard time but if I am going to be paying in dollar bills and not coins and not under a dollar...

...I really don't care if they are.

If I am buying their paper and if I can read it in 4 minutes flat with an abundance of full page color ads that are more prevalent than actual news articles...

I'd rather subject myself to pop up ads--or better yet I'll go buy Vanity Fair. At least those ads are better and there are more substantial articles.

Then the articles. Sometimes I read them and I am like wow...this happened like 3 days ago--why wasn't in the newspaper 2 days ago?

Again I am paying top dollar for these newspapers. So why if I am buying their product and they don't deliever what I expect which is news why should they have my business?

So today I went and got The Washington Times and although at one point a couple years ago it advertised it's $0.25 price point, which is now $0.50.

I gladly bought it today and have for the last 13 years without hesistation.

Then onto magazines...I have no susbcription to any magazine now.

My WIRED subscription I've let expire...it just became a reviewer of tech products with some interesting articles and at times pure propoganda. I'll do without the propoganda especially if I am paying for the magazine.

So newspapers and magazines are actually doing themselves in because they're trying to market brand without any actual substantial content.

I'll gladly pay for content if there is actual content and I won't mind paying for brand when there's content included with it as it backs up the brand.

Some of these newspapers and magazines have forgotten that when content is lacking in a brand and they're selling the brand, the brand begins to deteriorate--or in plain terms: suck really bad.

Hence their downfall. So people go to where the content is. At least most of the people.

Madonn!

My PowerBook G4 is at again w/ it's Optical Drive problem.

This time it won't read or write a CD/DVD whether burned/unburned, etc.

The last time this happened I upgraded to Leopard and then fixed it by downgrading to Tiger...

Must I now downgrade to Panther?

At this point I am considering it.

Among other things wrong with my PowerBook G4 is the trackpad that has given up the ghost thus leaving me with strict usage of a wireless mouse.

Unlike some whom have a laptop and use it on a desk or a flat surface I use it on my lap. Believe me that usage of a mouse on one's leg or atop the laptop is as much a hassle as it is a balancing act once some minor fatigue sets in and you want to stretch.

Also I am on my third charger...if I have to buy another one I'll stop using the Powerbook because it won't be able to be used anyways.

Oh and it's a thrid party charger because I wasn't about to step into an Apple store to buy a third charger for a computer almost half the age of my iMac Bondi G3. (Even that computer has proved to be more formidable than my PowerBook G4). For if I did step into an Apple store or go to their website it would be to buy a new mac.

At one point I was so dissatisfied with my Mac that I thought of just buying a Windows Computer--no, not even running a bootcamp on Mac or installing Mac OS X on a Windows machine...

Just buying a Windows Enabled Computer (Ha! As if it was enabled to do things without first giving you headaches...lol).

One reason being is that after having lost all of my games I am reluctant to re-install all my games on my Mac for two reasons:

One, because I can't--or not easily as I have no optical drive. (Sure I can hook up my External CD Drive but what then of those on DVDs...huh?) Two games I'd like to play I'd have to get another computer and/or find a port of for Mac.

So yeah...having problems with the drive...

I've changed the livejournal style but I'll probably change it again now that I've changed it like five or six times now...

*sighs*

Now on to more important things--like sleep...ha!

Hmm, I haven't played around with the Livejournal style in literal years I believe.

Much has changed and so have the options.

I think this is the first time in a year or two that I've logged in to just do something else other than to edit a post, as I just usually post from my Apple Dashboard Widget for Livejournal...

Already I have spent way too much time on this thing here.

However what's taking me so long is the fact that changing my theme means I lose my two RSS Badges, Sitemeter, etc.

So I'm trying to find something that I like yet at the same time I'll be able to have at least the sitemeter...and the one RSS Badge, if it doesn't already have one that is.

Here I am asking myself what I am I doing because the last time I tried to doing this I ended up with the same one I've had now for years...

Great Googly Moogly it seems she is.

Shall I have a Sophia Coppola and a Spike Jonze film (Where The Wild Things Are) in the same year...?

Probably not but one can still hope.

Hopefully I shall be able see Spike Jonze's intial intent of the film and not the studios.

Anyways going back to Sophia Coppola--she's making a movie! How exciting. I pray there be a remarkable soundtrack as there has been for "Lost In Translation" and "Marie Antoinette".

Oh and plenty more Kevin Shields, My Bloody Valentine (or is that just a synonym...lol), Death In Vegas, Air, Squarepusher, etc.

They just don't code them like they used to.

Madonn to that.

Gracious--I am fed up with every browser I currently have...

Ever since my Hard Drive was wiped cleaned I've been using Safari, Firefox, Minefield (a test version of Firefox), and Camino.

Every single one of them crashes at least twice in a span of an hour and/or stalls to the point where I have to force quit the thing (that's CTRL-ALT-Delete for those working on Windows Whatever) insomuch that I go through the three browsers at least twice...

I am completely fed up with it--to the brim.

Camino being chief among them giving me the most problems, Firefox second and Safari coming in at third.

Firefox has become bloat...and that's coming from someone who has been there when Firefox was Firebird--oh, what I would give to have something like Firebird...

Fond memories have I of Bon Echo, a remotely recent test version of Firefox which I lost to the wiping of my Hard Drive. It reminded me so of Firebird--more stable for me than the current version of Firefox or even Minefield.

Firefox/Camino have now come extremely close to giving me as much problems as Internet Explorer gives me when I actually use a Windows Whatever...

Freakin' Madonn--I hate having to deal with browser issues. I deal with it so much.

Can someone please code a dmotion browser that won't give me any problems--or at least only a few?

I used Netscape and Opera as back ups before--I guess I should bring them back into action here.

I just hate having to switch browsers so many times during the course of an hour--sometimes even less than 20 minutes go by and here I am force quitting or closing a browser because it just doesn't work.

Oh and gracious--I have to sometimes change browsers when I enter flash sites or attempt to watch a flash video due to rendering issues.

It's simply insane sometimes what I have to do just to surf the web nowadays...

About 3 years ago I wrote an article entitled: "One Month’s Piracy–$11,440,939,650,000? wherein according to the RIAA their losses were more than the GDP of France.

According to the figures the US has now also pulled an RIAA bringing the deficit to 65.5 trillion dollars--that's 10.8 trillion dollars more than the GDP of the whole entire world(!).

Or if you talk to the RIAA the amount of money they lose due to piracy in a year.

The US should have a sit down with the heads of the RIAA and see how they've managed to keep afloat despite their tremendous losses that since I've written my article 3 years ago is 3 times the world's GDP. Certainly 65.5 trillion dollars is but chunk change for them.

Seeing as that now the US deficit shall never be fixed lest someone contacts another dimension that has yet to wreak havoc upon themselves. President Obama has taken leave and postponed his signing of the stimlus bill that so had to be passed lest chaos insue.

Not to mention that there's a clause in there for the RIAA and the MPAA for network management and monitoring...madonn!

Here's to money that no one has seen:

Whose the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo?

Not until recently have I actually contemplated the plethora of albums that I lost when my Hard Drive was erased due to a mishap whilst installing Linux.

I lost 441 albums.

Among them discographies that took a while to get and that will be difficult to re-compile once more as some CDs I have sold, given away, damaged, lost during a move, etc.

Those discographies which I actually still have physically spanning many discs (i.e. U2 with 12 studio and 9 live albums) will be rather time consuming to re-digitalize them. I recall when I began to first digitalize my entire album collection back in 2000 it took me something like 2 weeks to do so. However at that point my collection spanned a little less than 100 albums.

Now having lost 4 times as much as that with 35% of what I lost gotten from online sources some of it will be near impossible to regain in one day or even weeks.

Other things like digitalized cassette tapes I've most certainly lost.

Some of the discographies I lost just to name of few (in no particular order):

Earthsuit (mainly The Rise of Modern Simulation)

Mars ILL

Thievery Corporation

fienix

RJD2

Kaftwerk (Cannot believe I lost these...man!)


Björk ( :-( )

Frank Sinatra (This was a big one...I actually finished it in 2006 when I went to Croatia and found a 10 disc collection.)

Iona

Adam and the Ants

Bow Wow Wow

My Bloody Valentine

Beastie Boys

MF Doom

Delirious?

Whilst others await mainstream films, many a time with no substance; films of interest that I await to see are:

Many (sadly) will recognize it as the movie about the guy on shirts and other items not knowing, or ever caring to find out who and what the man represents/did, etc. As one of the promo posters beautifully puts:

It is the biographical film of Ernesto "Che" Guevara Played by one of my favorite actors: Benicio del Toro and Directed by Steven Soderbergh with the film shot in Puerto Rico.

Film based on the non-fiction book written by Roberto Saviano has gotten attention from Cannes, the Police and the Camorra, the group of whom the book is about. Already the author has planned to leave Italy due to a death threat and police have already arrested a cast member for extortion and ties to organized crime.

Film based on a novel by Jules Amedee Barbey d'Aurevilly whose dynamic in the mere trailer is just so very intriguing.

I've been saying it for the longest time...

The RIAA should be prosecuted under The RICO Act as it qualifies more blatantly than even most crime syndicates.

Behold someone other than me thinks so in Missouri.

Let's hope that the RIAA is convicted on all 8 counts brought up in the 42 page PDF.

No, not blood but just in general.

I can't believe I dished out $10.50 to see such a horrible, boring, badly no-written thing on screen.

2 whole hours wasted seeing literal crap.

Twilight has definitely made my lower than "Babel" list of worst movies ever:

0) Babel

-1) Golden Compass

-2) Twilight

Yeah! It's worst than "The Golden Compass"!

It's so long as well that by the time you're like, "Yeah, this really sucks--but it can't get any worst than this--oh, wait, it just did."

Twilight had horrendous and cheesy special effects coupled with slightly more dialouge than "Babel"--extensive instrumental scenes and horrible editing.

If I were a studio I would be ashamed to have my logo grace it's beginning.

Definitely don't watch "Twilight" as real twilight is more exciting and satisfying than the film.

It's been 12 days since my Hard Drive was wiped clean and I have 16.77GBs left on my Hard Drive:



and yet here I am on day twelve encountering some difficulties when emptying my trash...



and apparently it has happened to others...

So basically I went to Leopard not being able to burn DVDs, to Tiger to Dual Booting Linux to losing everything to being unable to delete trash...

Madonn...!

'tis very annoying.

Lately Camino has been failing me in more ways than one.

It's been unresponsive more times than I count...

It won't display Flash Video correctly...

It lags and stalls so much and will become unresponsive when any attempt is made to scroll...

Typing an address and downloading any type of file is lagged by 2 to 3 minutes.

It just has become unusable.

Camino had been the complete replacement to Firefox and Safari but recently Minefield (Firefox) and Safari have come back into play because Camino doesn't want to play ball...

I have wanted to watch this short film since the day I saw the trailer...

By Grzegorz Jonkajtys and Marcin Kobylecki