[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View] [Friends]
Below are the 40 most recent journal entries recorded in
Zack's LiveJournal:
| Thursday, February 10th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:17 pm | Oh, by the way... While my personal life might be a train wreck, my professional life has been looking up. I mentioned in a recent post something about a promotion. After five years and my recent application to a Masters of Public Health program, the Powers That Be have decided in their infinite wisdom to promote me to the Epidemiology track. I am now no longer a Health Program Assistant. I'm an Epidemiologist! There won't be much change for awhile. I'm still largely working with invasive disease, and for the moment my duties won't change much. But I start getting some new training, and in around 6 months or so (give or take two months or so... the state moves slowly) I'll have my own HPA to take over much of the fieldwork as well as some of the data maintenance and such I'm responsible for. But soon I'll running my own outbreak investigations, and actually fielding questions from the general public. Only problem with this is that Epi's are a pay grade less than my current HPA 2... which means I'm not going to be getting a raise out of the deal. In fact, under most circumstances I would be getting a pay cut, but the PTB's also decided to leave me "officially" as a HPA2. (This will also keep me safer in case of more layoffs and position-bumping, something that may be on the horizon again). It has been made clear to me, however, that my duties and responsibilities will be that of an Epidemiologist. In about 2-3 years, I'll promote directly to an EPI 2, and all will be right with the professional world again. My parents (mostly my stepmother, at any rate) spent a lot of time constantly reminding me I would never amount to anything. Except maybe a fry cook. Well, it may not be particle physics, but it's a damn sight more than either of my so-called parents (or, my stepmother's oh-so-perfect son) accomplished. At any rate, I'm happy with it. And I'm really looking forward to the new duties. Current Mood:  accomplished | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, February 9th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:13 am | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:11 am | The Good... One of the nice things about my job, and the thing that I am going to regret loosing the most with my promotion, is driving about Connecticut. For the past few days, I've been in the very beautiful north and northwest sections of the state. Lots of (mostly) snow covered hills and valleys, and lots of winding roads through snow-covered woods. It's been warm lately, and the northwest hills got less snow than elsewhere, so some mottled fields break up the whiteness. There are also lots of small and medium sized streams which until recently have been frozen over. One of the prettier winter sights is these streams, lined with thick, broken ice, with a ribbon of glistening black water rushing happily underneath. I took some time by one of the small rivers that criss cross this area. There is a little rest area with a few benches, and I took a short break to watch the water go by. Here, the ice broken by the side of the river was perhaps a foot and a half thick, and had the consistency of broken Styrofoam. In one place, the ice had frozen around a small tree, and the weight of the collapsed ice had broken off the tree right above the roots. In other spots, rocks still wore their tall caps of ice, giving them kind of a short, mushroom like appearance. I find nothing in the outdoors prettier than a happily running stream or small river. Each season brings out a different aspect, and a different beauty, that is nature's art at its best. I'll miss it. Current Mood:  contemplative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, February 2nd, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:54 pm | I'm not sure... Is this close to how others see me? (and, no, I don't mean the picture, although I should look so good...)
Current Mood:  cranky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:47 pm | Much to late, but thanks just the same To EVERYONE who offered suggestions for my grad school Statement of Purpose, THANK YOU! Every suggestion that was made proved valuable either directly or indirectly, and the final product was thought to be very good (especially directed as it was to this particular program, a program that values work in the field far more than previous academic performance). Now, the waiting (which some of you know all too well...) Current Mood:  grateful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, January 27th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8:38 am | Surprised? Doubtful... Hmmm... sound like anybody you know?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, January 24th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:04 pm | Second Draft. This doesn't suck as much. Thanks to the suggestions that were made. However, again I invite comment. ( I present Part deux... ) Current Mood:  cold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, January 23rd, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:53 pm | Grad school Statement of Purpose OK... frankly, I think this sucks. But, it's a first draft, as it were, and so I put it out for comments. Please be gentle. And, if you would rather have an actual word document to hack apart, let me know and I'll be happy to send one along. ( Here it is... ) Current Mood:  lonely | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saturday, January 22nd, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1:51 am |  Not what I would have come up with... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1:47 am | Crime & Punishment In general, I don't support the death penalty. I think it's applied unfairly, and if the wrong person is convicted - and it has happened - the sentence cannot be corrected. Besides, you can not be redeemed (or redeem yourself) if you're dead. And, after all, I figure that a lifetime of imprisonment is a better punishment than a quick, painless death (even with years of appeals). However, there are some crimes where I think the death penalty is appropriate and justified if guilt can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. I'm thinking here of crimes involving kidnapping, rape and murder. Lately, the first execution in Connecticut has become big news with various groups attempting to get the execution blocked. Oddly enough, the convicted inmate, one Michael Ross, is not one of those trying to obtain a stay of execution - he is opposed to any efforts to put off the execution. Ross has been convicted of raping 3 and murdering 4 women in Connecticut between 1982 and 1984. He has also admitted to killing 4 others, although he has not been tried for these crimes. The age of his victims was between 14 and 26. He has never denied committing these crimes, and at trial, Ross's defense attorneys did not contest his guilt; instead, Ross pleaded insanity. He may, in fact, be insane (I don't think a sane person could do what he did) but the courts and the juries of two separate trials did not feel that this was enough to mitigate a death sentence. I disagree with all the attempts to spare his life. He took 8 lives in a particularly cruel and heinous manner, and he is getting off lucky to be being killed by lethal injection. I also think the man who recently kidnapped and murdered (and possibly raped) a 19 year old Wal*Mart employee should get far worse. Crimes that visit fear, pain, violation, and death on the innocent, whether they be children, young women (or men), the elderly, and in general those attacked and taken advantage of what they are can not and should not be tolerated by society. Perpetrators of such crimes, in my opinion, should be removed form society permanently. And not in the (relatively) gentle manner of lethal injection. This punishment should well be as cruel as the cruelty and insensitivity they showed their victims. Current Mood: contemplative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, January 21st, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:22 am | First class... You would think they would post the required textbook on their wonderful website before we had to have the reading assignment completed... 8 Students. Most everyone is older than I am, and none of them are public health people. We have a doctoral chemistry student, the Chief Financial Officer (or some such) for the Department of Public Health and one of her assistants, a nursing student, and three others that I don't quite remember what they do. I'm the only one currently working in public health. Teacher seems to be competent, though. And the class looks to be interesting. Two exams, both take home, three papers and homework due every week. Plus two short presentations on "late-breakers", or new things in the health field which we have to have prepared just in case for every class. It feels weird, though, to be back in class after all this time (10 years). I've had several seminars and a two week Intro to Epidemiology thing in Atlanta, but none of these things required classwork, homework, papers, and the like. Heck, we could sleep through the classes if we wanted to. Time will tell. First order of business is to somehow get the textbook. My initial search seems to indicate that the UCONN bookstores don't have any copies, and there is a new edition coming out in May and none of the previous editions are available. Must check further tomorrow. Current Mood:  anxious | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, January 17th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:12 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, January 16th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1:37 am | A few thoughts on my birthday... Had an interesting dream last night. Very detailed, in full color, with an unusual degree of continuity not normally found in dreams. Zack vrs. the Giant Spider! I hate spiders. So, naturally every so often I wind up dreaming about him. This time , I "knew" in my dream I was in trouble when I encountered spider webs about twice as strong as sewing thread. (I was wrapped up in them). Soon I (and a bunch of random people mostly, but a few of my LARP acquaintances), tracked down the large (size of a school bus large) spider, and I got to do battle with sword, bow, and a cool drum fed mechanical crossbow. Zack 1, spider (and evil people behind it) zero. I woke up strangely rested and satisfied, for some reason. ________________________________________ Went to a small gathering at ![[info]](http://library.vu.edu.pk/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000100A/http/web.archive.org/web/20050212184648im_/http:/=2fstat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} davidsmom1 and tkstargazer's house. Had a nice, quiet time (although I missed those who couldn't be there) and a very delicious birthday cake. Since I'm (hopefully) going to be admitted to the UCONN School of Medicine, someone (who shall remain nameless, for their own protection) thought I needed a doctors medical kit. A junior medical kit. Very junior, in fact. A top-of-the-line Fischer-Price medical kit. With friends like these... ________________________________________ Oh, and BTW, it's JANUARY. Where's the fraking SNOW! Too much fraking rain, and too many fraking clouds. No fraking friendly looking blanket of white snow to soften the gray earth. And, the new Battlestar Galactica looks better than the original. Lots of good character development. I hate it that Boomer's a Cylon, though. If she's a Cylon, the Galactica should be space junk by now... Anyway, happy birthday to me. Current Mood:  calm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, January 14th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3:58 pm | OH MY GOD! STOP THE PRESSES! Call the National Guard! Raise the Terrorism color-code! Duct-tape the windows! Protect the women and children! Zack has some musical talent! At least the pictures nice...
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, January 13th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:41 am | Shamelessly stolen from kenjariReply to this post and... 1. I will tell you what song reminds me of you. 2. I will tell you what celebrity/public/fictional person you remind me of, either personality-wise or looks-wise. 3. I will give you one word that I associate with you when I think of you. 4. I will tell you what color(s) I associate with you. Now, steal this for your journal and make someone else's day as well if you so choose. One caveat, my answers to #1 may not be restricted to songs (I may also use instrumental pieces, entire operas, even musical styles, etc.). Also, I may not restrict myself to one item, either. And be patient. It may take some time to reply... Current Mood: tired | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:33 am | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, January 12th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:22 pm | And so it begins... Feel free to send hugs. I figure I deserve them. ( Two items of news today, both related. ) Current Mood:  surprised | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, January 6th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6:56 pm | To those who have done the grad school application thingie... I need to write a letter as part of the admission process stating why I'm applying, what I intend to be doing with the degree, why I'm a good choice to be accepted to one of a few spots, etc. To those who have done this before (and had to write a similar letter) what did you write? Any thoughts an suggestions would be helpful, and if anyone wants to send me specific examples, I'd appreciate it! Current Mood:  blah | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, January 5th, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:28 pm | Various and sundry, and a large rock can't hide me any longer... First of all, the news on the grant has come in. Connecticut's EIP grant has been fully funded for the next 5 years. So, unless something changes, we're employed for another 5 years. (Something IS changing, but see below.) Don't forget to donate to the East Asia relief fund, if you can. A co-workers sister was lost in the tsunami, and their two nieces are among the missing. Also, although I'm not a supporter of the death penalty in general, I would happily apply it to anyone found trafficking in children who have been made orphans by this tragedy. Slow impalement is about right. And, you've gotta love Amazon.com. Their "targeted marketing" brought to my attention a very funny piece of musical humor by Alan Sherman called "Peter and the Commissar" that had just been released. This was a album released in the early 60's, and I figured I would never hear it again. But, soon it, along with two other Sherman "compositions" (al la PDQ Bach) called "Variations on 'How Dry I am'" and "The End of a Symphony " will be gently playing in my ears. I'll be happy to play it for anyone who wants to visit... And, it's snowing. Would I love for work to be delayed tomorrow (I'm not looking forward to driving on ice...) Tell me... am I wrong for getting PO'd at a housemate who leaves the kitchen with a half-eaten meal on the table, the TV blaring, the lights all on and disappears to his room for the night? (Anybody have a job for a mechanical / environmental engineer, especially out of the state of Connecticut?) And now, the news: ( I really hate change, especially sudden ones... ) Current Mood: lonely | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, December 31st, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7:54 pm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, December 29th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6:08 pm | A useful death, at least. Before I die it, however, does anyone want a G-mail account? I do have some invites I can give out.  You're the tough guy who gets the most zombie kills. You make it most of the way, but die heroically by sacrificing yourself and taking out hundreds of zombies at the climax. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, December 24th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:58 pm | Merry Christmas, all I wish everyone (regardless of faith or belief) that the spirit that is Christmas (peace, brotherly love, joy, happiness, and the feeling we are all in this together, so we might as well get along) be with all this season. Merry Christmas! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, November 29th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:51 pm | Ummmmm Well, no, not really. But, considering what I do, I was so surprised by the result I had to post it...
Current Mood:  sickCurrent Music: Monday Night Football | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, November 25th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3:33 pm | Thankful for... ...all my friends who put up with me, and think my good points are worth lots more than my bad points. Thanks, guys. Hugs to all. Current Mood: thankful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, November 23rd, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9:21 pm | OK, I lied... It was two Hostess cupcakes. Would have tasted better if I didn't have a cold, albeit slight. And, btw, if none of you have ever had the pleasure of ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, I highly urge you to try it. Even with a cold, it's quite delectable. Current Mood: sickCurrent Music: Mindless TV (House) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, November 22nd, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:30 pm | More FWIW Today is my 5th anniversary at my job. I'm now officially entitled to a pension and such, and now get more than 3 weeks of vacation a year. It's also the longest I've worked at one job (by a couple of months). Hopefully, the grant gets renewed and I get to stay there for another 5 years. I'm surprised they've kept me around for so long. Time for a celebratory Hostess Cupcake. Current Mood: grateful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, November 18th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9:29 pm | I suppose this should matter... Six years smoke free today. Not as simple as it sounds while living with a smoker and having an increasingly stressful life. Current Mood: accomplishedCurrent Music: Tangerine Dream - Song of the Whale, Pt. 1: From Dawn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, November 15th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9:19 pm | Current Mood: cold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, November 12th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3:09 pm | Climbing on the bandwidthwagon Ask me something you think you should know (or want to know) about me. Something that might be obvious, but you have no idea about, or have been afraid to ask. Ask away. Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you. Current Mood: okay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, November 10th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:01 pm | Geek-ness I am not a geek... I am not a gaming geek... I am a Warrior-Geek. Current Mood:  nerdy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3:54 pm | It only takes a few hours to show he doesn't get it... President Bush: I strongly take issues with your mistaken impression that you won “a broad national victory”. Although it has been clear to me since last night that you won both the popular and the electoral vote, you have NOT won “the trust and confidence” of ALL your fellow citizens. Obliviously, you somehow have chosen to ignore the record number of loyal, trustworthy, hard working American citizens who wanted you out of office. In fact, you do not have “the trust and confidence” of over fifty five million of these Americans. You do not have a mandate from the people. Once again, you show that you have no clue regarding the makeup of the nation that you will guide for the next four years. I urge you to realize the level of unpopularity you have among at least 48% of the population of these United States and work to keep their opinions, hopes, and dreams in mind as you enter your second term. I also pray that you realize that in today’s global economy, angering the entire world will under no circumstances produce beneficial results for the nation. I wish you luck. Not actually for you, but for the safety and well being of the entire nation. Yours in disgust, The not-loyal-but-not-yet-hostile opposition. PS... tell your friends in the Moral Majority that if they continue to try to shove their morals package at me, I’m going to turn around and shove it back up their rear ends so far their head explodes, and stand before God with unbowed head and a clear conscious. Current Mood: discontent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, November 2nd, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:39 pm | Well, it's over The pundits will continue to pun, and the spinners spin; the news outlets will desperately continue to try to convince you that there is still a race out there, but why bother. Florida and Ohio went red. Kerry's buried. The quest has failed. ( It's my journal, my post, my sour grapes, and my opinions. Bush voters have been warned. ) I did my part to continue to fulfill an oath I took a long time ago which in part promised, "...to defend the country from all enemies, foreign AND DOMESTIC." I did what I could with donations, volunteering and my vote. It wasn't enough. All we can do now is hold on and hope wiser heads... both Republican and Democrat... can hold this tin-pot leader wannabe in check. Otherwise, we'll be lucky to have a country in four more years. Current Mood: crushed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, October 28th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9:20 am | So, as a favor... I'm looking for newspapers featuring the Red Sox victory. If you plan on seeing me in the next two weeks or so, please pick me up a local edition, and I'll pay you back. ( hca... are you still getting me two copies of the Globe?). And, don't worry, I'm buying duplicates. If I wind up with 6 copies of the Globe and 4 copies of the post, so be it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, October 27th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:42 pm | SWEET SOX SWEEP SERIES!!!! Not in my lifetime. Not in my mother's lifetime. Not in her father's lifetime. In fact, I only know one person who was alive the last time this happened (and she's a Sox fan!) It's been far too long in coming for the Fenway Faithful. WOW! BOSTON RED SOX, 2004 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!! No more typing. Must dance the happy big man dance. Oh, and Happy birthday, skullx. This what you wanted?(and my housemate doesn't care. He is an evil alien mutant who must die...) Current Mood: ecstatic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, October 26th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:44 pm | Just in case... Well, I won't be at fighter practice tomorrow. I'll be at home intently watching what could be another first in Red Sox history... a 4-game world series sweep! Anyone (any Red Sox supporter, that is) who wants to join me, feel free. BYOB&M.; Current Mood: excited | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:36 pm | Will Sox Sweep Stunned Cards? Oh, boy... Much as I feel for the St. Louis fans, I am hoping the Sox smell the blood in the water and go get the sweep tomorrow. Yes, St. Louis, I feel your pain... but I have been feeling it for a lot longer than you have. Wow, Pedro... thanks for waking up in the 3rd. Would have stuck with Timlan going into the 9th. Foulke make me too nervous. And good sportsmanship requires respecting your opponents, not rubbing it in when you win and saluting your opponents good play when you loose. Good sportsmanship says nothing about going for the jugular... GO SOX!!! SWEEP THE CARDS!!! Current Mood: excited | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, October 24th, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11:45 pm | Sox win 6th straight! I know that some of you don't understand WTF we see in this silly game. Suffice it to say that we do get psyched by baseball, and the fact the Sox are up 2-0 in the World Series is HUGE. Sorry... I meant HUGE!!!! And the injured Curt Schilling defines a hero, whether or not you like baseball. He puts it all on the line for his teammates and those fans who cram themselves into Fenway Park for sellout after sellout. I wish him a speedy recovery when this is all over. GO RED SOX! Current Mood: cheerful | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:27 am | One down, three to go Despite Manny Ramirez's best efforts, the Sox win game one 11-9. Another nailbiter, and another long game. GO SOX!!! ( And, what the F*&#... ) Current Mood: relieved | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, October 21st, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:52 am | Oh, by the way, did I mention the Red Sox won the pennant?
Name Acronym Generator From Go-Quiz.com Current Mood: working | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12:49 am | So I gotta wonder... The Red Sox have beaten the Yankees in the greatest comeback in baseball history (heck, up to now, only two NHL teams have ever come from down three to win a seven game series.) Not only that, they did it in "The House that Ruth Built", and on Micky Mantles birthday (mostly) for that matter. Does this mean the "curse" is broken? I mean, if the Babe (and his "trade" -read sale-) to the Yankees is the central focus of this curse, and we do what we did to the Yankees, I gotta figure that this breaks the curse. Not that I mind the "curse" being gone. But I think I might miss the folklore. Not to mention the convenient excuse... Current Mood:  bouncy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
