Tuesday, September 23, 2008

What I've Learned...

...while doing temp work for Zija International.

1) One of the zip codes for Flushing, New York is 11354.
2) Two of the zip codes for Jersey City, New Jersey are 07305 and 07304.
3) As much as I enjoy actually doing data entry, I don't particularly enjoy correcting data entry that hasn't been done right.

During this job I had to compare two different databases to make sure that all the information had transferred over correctly from the old to the new. It was very tedious. I had to go down a list of numbers corresponding to distributors, punch in those numbers and compare all the information. Each page had roughly 50 distributors on it. At the end, I was fast enough, and had developed a good enough system, that without any corrections needing to be made, I could go through the information and compare it in about 30 seconds per distributor. Of course, this depended on how fast the databases would load each page. Today, my last day, I had 6 pages left. I figured about 4 hours to finish it off, based on my performance the previous day.

Unfortunately, the newer system was down for two hours, right when I got into work at 8 AM. I'm not a morning person anyway, so not being able to do the job I am assigned and get out of there was especially annoying.

I finally got out at 1PM. So I upped the pace, basically, and kicked some serious ass!

Hooray for me!

Of course, this means I could have got out of there at 11AM, but, hey, that's an extra $20, right?

Oh yeah. I applied to work at the Discover Card customer service center, but they already sent me an email saying that they were considering other people. See? Now that's how a company should be on getting back to you, even to say, "No." I applied last yesterday. Now that's an efficient human resource department. I'm a little bummed that they didn't accept me, because they pay really well.

Oh well. There will be others, right?


Saturday, September 13, 2008

New Old Hobby...


I've recently become interested in HDR photography. It's pretty amazing, really, the difference that it makes in the pictures that one can take. What is HDR photography? Well, I don't really know how to explain it that well, but I do have a link. Click here. It's a little long, but explains what HDR is really well.

So, anyway, I decided to try it out, see what I could do with it.


Don't read too much into the subject matter. I just wanted a subject that had a lot of contrast.

What the picture normally looks like, touched up just a little on my computer, with the program I normally use for my photographs.



Now here is the same shot, but taken in HDR. Now, I've messed with the levels a little to make it come off a little more surreal that it might normally, but all the detail and color comes from the HDR aspect.



Pretty nifty, eh? I like it, and I want to do some more. Maybe, if you're lucky, I'll share.


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

It's Time...



This may be my last post for a while. My computer is apparently on its last legs, and I honestly don't know how much longer it will last. I'm hoping it's just a temporary thing, but who knows.

Anyway, I'm sure this post is going to ruffle some feathers, but I wanted to express my opinion on a current political issue.

Yeah, it is kind of weird. Me, paying attention to politics? Honestly, I don't know how current this is, it may be a little old, but oh well.

It concerns same-sex marriage, and the current push to legalize those unions. I don't see how we can tell someone that their long-standing relationship has no legal standing, simply because they share a gender.

Does this mean I embrace homosexuality as a concept? No. I wish that it didn't exist, but it does. I feel sorry for those who struggle with it in their lives. I can't imagine it's a comfortable feeling to try and be yourself when the majority of the nation feels you are a violation of natural law.

But for those who have found someone they want to spend the rest of their lives with, why shouldn't they be legally recognized as a couple?

I honestly feel that there is a difference between what it morally right and what is fair for everyone.

And that's how I feel. Take it how you will.