Roger O Green

If they tell you it’s an “upgrade,” be wary

If a REAL fire were to have broken out at that point, we probably all would have perished.

At work on Thursday night, the building folks took down the phones. They were only offline for a half hour and it was at the end of the day. Under the old system, if I got a phone call when I was away from my desk, the icon for my line would be altered. Moreover, this bright red light would show up on my phone. Now, the only way to tell is that I get an e-mail sent to me. Moreover, I used to be able to retrieve the main phones if no one was there; I can still do that, but, again, no visual cue. As usual, “upgrade” is a meaningless term.

Frankly, ever since we moved to Corporate (frickin’) Woods seven years ago this month, I have been suspicious of anything we get building-wise as an “improvement.” When we moved from downtown, we were told our old phone system was archaic, and that the new system would be modern and “1000 times better.” What we ACTUALLY got was SO bad that the phone system had to be scrapped altogether six weeks later; our phones and Internet connectivity were THAT awful.

On Thursday and Friday, they were testing the fire alarm system. The one thing I will say about it is that it is sufficiently LOUD and ANNOYING. For Thursday’s test, we were informed of only AFTER the noise from the alarm had started; I was ready to bolt. Friday, we were told it was a test and ignored that noise. But then, 10 minutes later, the alarm went off AGAIN. The folks in my section asked me, the fire marshal for our department if they should go. Heck, I don’t know, but I said to stay, which turned out to be the right decision. Others in the building DID leave but were sent right back to their offices. Of course, if a REAL fire were to have broken out at that point, we probably all would have perished.

Rumors have been floating around that we will move when our lease runs out in a year or so. The state of New York has been shrinking its workforce, and moving us from leased office space to a state-owned building makes a certain amount of sense. People who drive to work may be disappointed, but I, who need to take TWO buses each to and from work when I can’t ride my bicycle, would be thrilled.

S is for Sunburn and Skin Cancer

While my face has darkened somewhat from its vitiligo lightest, my hands and other parts of my body will still burn as though I were a red-haired Irish schoolgirl.

One of the things I have NEVER understood is the appeal of lying in the sun for the sole purpose of lying in the sun; seemed like a waste of time. Going swimming or playing a sport or working on a sunny day, that was OK.

As it turns out, while there is some benefits from the sun in terms of absorption of Vitamin D, the downside of too much sun is quite great.

* “Exposure to sun causes most of the wrinkles and age spots on our faces.” Years ago, visiting my sister in Southern California, I vividly remember seeing this woman at her church. Deep tan, presumably attractive, but her skin looked like shoe leather.

* “Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of all cancers in the U.S. and the number of cases continues to rise. It is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells. This rapid growth results in tumors, which are either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).”

Think those tanning beds are safer? Not according to the US Federal Trade Commission, which notes that claims such as “Get a beautiful tan indoors without increasing your risk of skin cancer” or “Indoor tanning is safer than the sun because the environment is controlled” are myths. In fact, “compared with nonusers, the risk for basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma increased by 15 percent for every four visits made to a tanning booth per year; the risk for melanoma increased by 11 percent.” High school and college-aged folks are more vulnerable than those 25-34.

Personally, I always wear hats, even on overcast days. The trick with this winter that wasn’t in the continental US – March was more than 8 degrees F, about 3 degrees C, warmer than normal, more like April – so while it cut down on our heating bills, it also had me needing to get out the sunscreen much earlier. While my face has darkened somewhat from its vitiligo lightest, my hands and other parts of my body will still burn as though I were a red-haired Irish schoolgirl.

So what song should I finish with? Beatles? Sheryl Crow? Bill Withers? Nah, someone I actually saw perform at my college, Jonathan Edwards singing Sunshine.

ABC Wednesday – Round 10

Blogging meme about blogging is a Cardinal Sin

Any number of TMI moments.

The late Cardinal Jaime Sin of the Philippines.

From Sunday Stealing back in November.

1. Why did you sign up for writing your blog?

An existential crisis of powerlessness.

2. Why did you choose your blog’s name? What does it mean?

Ramblin’ with (John) Gambling, a radio show.

3. Did you ever had another blog?

Not before this blog; a few since.

4. What do you do online when you’re not on your blog?

Limited Facebook and Twitter.

5. How about when you’re not on the computer?

Mostly tend to the Daughter.

6. What do you wish people who read your blog knew about you?

I think people who read my blog know just what I want them to know about me.

7. What is your favorite community in the blogosphere?

ABC Wednesday.

8. What is your philosophy on your blog layout?

I have none – philosophy or a particular layout.

9. Tell me about the picture you use to represent you on your blog.

It’s a caricature of me that the late Raoul Vezina drew for a friend of mine.

10. Pick 3 random blogs from your blogroll and tell us about them.

Byzantium Shores – well-read, and an extremely handy guy from Buffalo named Jaquandor who knows music.

Shores of Orion – a blog by Chris Honeywell, who’s a Christian Scientist. No, that’s not right. She’s a scientist (mathematical biogeochemist) and a Christian, among other things.

Mike Sterling’s Progressive Ruin -a comic-book-related blog I’ve been reading since before I started blogging.

11. What features do you think your blog should have that it doesn’t currently?

Big explosions.

12. What do you consider the 10 most “telling” interests that we would infer from your blog persona?

Music, religion, politics, civil rights, family, English language, movies, books, libraries, data

13. Do you have any unique interests that you have never shared before? What are they?

Yes, and I will when I get good and ready to.

14. The best thing about blogging is all of the friends that you make. Besides those folks, do you think your blog has fans?

Apparently.

15. What’s your current obsession? What about it captures your imagination?

Everything. Politics, I suppose.

16. What are you glad you did but haven’t really had a chance to post about?

I will, eventually. Or not.

17. How many people that first became a blog friend, have you met face to face?

One – Gordon.

18. What don’t you talk about here, either because it’s too personal or because you don’t have the energy?

Any number of TMI moments.

19. What’s a question that you’d love to answer?

I’m going to make you guess at that.

20. Have you ever lost a blogging friendship and regretted it?

No. I think, like other friends, people come and go in your life.

21. Have you ever lost a blogging friendship and thought, “Was that overdue!”

No.
***
Most of the references to the death of the BeeGees’ Robin Gibb notes the brothers’ disco period, and especially the Saturday Night Fever, understandable given its sales and popularity. But the first song of theirs I heard was New York Mining Disaster 1941, and I for one was listening to them before Stayin’ Alive.

Our Viewing Tastes Are “Polls” Apart

“Interestingly, the majority of both parties conclude that movies have a liberal bias…”

I was, for a brief time, receiving, for free, this conservative magazine called Newsmax. The February 2012 issue has “How Grover [Norquist] Conquered Washington,” Norquist being the author of the “taxpayer Protection Pledge.” One of the features in that issue reported polls commissioned by the Hollywood Reporter about movies, and the other by Entertainment Weekly about television.

The reported premise is that Democrats like comedies, “at least today’s version of it,” while Republicans prefer reality TV which is, according to an Iowa professor, “the only genre that regularly includes Christian conservatives and treats them like they’re normal.” But Republicans do like the sitcom The Middle.

Conservatives like reality shows on History such as American Pickers (collectibles), Top Shot (shooting challenge), and Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy, while Democrats like the “raunchy” Jersey Shore. The Democrats also like the scripted HBO drama Treme, which shows “sympathy for the underdog.”

In the graphic box, the favorite TV shows of Republicans are Castle, The Biggest Loser, Hawaii Five-O, and The Mentalist, while Democrats prefer 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Glee, and Cougar Town.

As for movies, Republicans like Secretariat, Chariots of Fire, My Fair Lady, and The Sound of Music, while Democrats prefer Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Kramer vs. Kramer, American Beauty, and Crash (the 2005 version).

“Interestingly, the majority of both parties conclude that movies have a liberal bias…The movie that [both parties] say reflects that left-wing bias most happens to be the biggest blockbuster in history: Avatar.”

I found Chariots of Fire boring, but The Sound of Music has wonderful music. I know some Castle fans who probably aren’t Republicans. And I find it fascinating that the NBC shows that apparently, Dems like (30 Rock, Parks & Rec) haven’t translated to higher ratings.

Ike, the plan, and how it applies to me

“Dwight D. Eisenhower…once opined that plans aren’t worth a damn, but planning is essential.”

Did you ever take those standardized career tests that ask, “What will you be doing in five years?” I have, several times. Looking back, there has never been a correlation between what the projection and the reality looked like.

Heck, lately, even planning ahead a few days hasn’t worked out.

When our library staff planned our presentation for staff training, the highlight was supposed to be the premiere of this video our intern Sam put together of the librarians. It was working fine in the dry run. But the day of the presentation, the disc simply would not work. After about five minutes of futile fussing, our director said, “Hey, we can’t get this to work. So we’ll start the rest of the presentation; Roger will start.” Bam! I’m on! That was disconcerting.

At the end of the month, I have a much more extensive presentation at a conference. I was going to work on it earlier this week. But then my wife injured her foot Monday morning; while it turned out not to be as serious as we feared, the initial amount of blood made the bathroom look like a crime scene. I took a half-day, going with her to urgent care.

Then Tuesday, the Daughter was having a moderate asthma attack and I took her to the emergency room, which took most of the morning. The funniest part of the day is, though I gave them her name, the system defaulted to Baby Girl Green, her name eight years earlier when she was born there; they had to fix the record before they could proceed with services, and this was after we’d been there over an hour. I stayed home with her in the afternoon. I was going to get check some e-mail while she rested, except that somehow, I touched the F2 button on my Dell laptop and disconnected the wireless function, and it took me a precious while to figure out the problem.

By the time I get to work on Wednesday, I’m buried with more immediate work to do. Oy.

I was struck, though, by this story about newspaper writer Julia Keller discussing her award-winning reporting about a tornado. Her essay, “Lessons Learned”, seems to apply to much of life:

Allow me to quote that well-known prose stylist Dwight D. Eisenhower, who once opined that plans aren’t worth a damn, but planning is essential.

Much of the information gathered for a long series won’t ever be used. Many of our most treasured insights will be revised, then revised again, and finally abandoned. The majority of our felicitous phrases — the kind that makes us pause just after we come up with them and smile secretly to ourselves — will be relegated to the writer’s version of the cutting-room floor: the “delete” key…

Then, when it came time to actually write the damn thing, I had frustration — because, despite the story’s length, a great deal of my reporting had to go.

Yet I could not have produced the series without having first produced the pile of material that wasn’t ultimately used. My plans may have been shot to hell, but the act of planning was crucial.

Eisenhower’s aphorism, then, is terribly apt — or at least it was for me — as I worked for seven months on this three-part series…

So, even though the plan doesn’t always work out, the process of making the plan still has value. I believe this has been applicable in my life, even when those five-year plans have no apparent validity.
***
Are lots of folks I know of dying this month or am I just getting old? (Rhetorical question: DO NOT ANSWER.)

Donald “Duck” Dunn died May 13. Though best known as the bassist for the group Booker T. & the MG’s, or probably, for a certain demographic, the Blues Brothers band, he played on lots of songs for Stax and Atlantic artists such as Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, the Staples Singers, and Sam & Dave, plus many more. Here is Booker T. & the MG’s-Time Is Tight.

An ex-girlfriend bought me Donna Summer’s Live and More for my 27th birthday. Didn’t think it was my thing, but I ended up playing it constantly, especially Side 4, that 18-minute MacArthur Park suite that, I just discovered, is missing from the CD re-release – here’s a live, 6-minute version of the song. Arthur and Jaquandor have interesting takes on her passing this week.