STOP THE PRESSES!!!!

Those smart TV execs came up with a new term! They've officially coined the term "Fall Finale"
So now what? Does this mean that more series get a Fall Finale? This was always known to me as a "break" from production for a month or so, until January.
The execs though thought that we should actually have a term for it. Add one to the jargon pile...

Why can't american TV series be more like British series? You produce something from end to end, you run it, and you are done!
I really hate cliffhangers!

As a tribute to the T-Mobile project that Glenn and I are working on
PoSeR MoBilE - yo!

T-Mobile Strategy Paper:
Pick Topic: 100% done
Research: 99.9% done
Writing: 30% done
Proof reading: 0% done
Presentation 2% done
Due: December 7, 2006

IT Strategy Paper:
Pick Topic: 100% done
Research: 99.9% done
Writing: 70% done
Proof reading: 50% done
Presentation 5% done
Due: December 5, 2006

International Financial Management Paper
Pick Topic: 0%
Research: 0% done
Writing: 0% done
Proof reading: 0% done
Presentation 0% done
Due: November 29, 2006

I GUESS IT'S CRUNCH TIME!!!!

Alright....
I got up this morning, a.k.a black Friday, and I saw in the news that all outlets, all malls, all shopping centers are full, no parking.
All I have to say is... What in the name of pete !?!?!?!?!
I saw a lot of people interviewed and everyone was raving about the great deals they got and how cheap it was and so on.
Personally, I do not believe that the aggravation of going to the stores at 10PM on Thanksgiving in order to be there when they open at 12:01, then waiting in lines to get into stores before you even know what they have to offer just to come up with a few bucks in savings in insanely retarded!
So what do we give thanks for? Having family around and healthy? Or giving thanks for being insanely blessed and commercialized to the extent that we give up good "family time" for $10 off a sweater, or $5 off your next PSP game? Go on Amazon or eBay for crying out loud!

At least traffic into work wasn't bad today - those mindless lemmings went to the shopping center - teehee hee

Yesterday I get a "ticket" (what people send in when there is a problem that they need me to fix).
I headed straight to department X, looked at the printer - the object of concern - and I saw "toner low".
Hmmm....I think to myself, didn't I just change this toner?!
Go into the diagnostic mode, print out a status report...and lo and behold, I had just replaced the toner! Well, it was a month ago, but still!
In one month, over 8100 pages were printed! (approximately 260 pages per day for those who are wondering)
This is one printer in one department! No wonder we are bleeding money! (and killing trees in the process)

To the credit of the printer, the toner was rated for 6000 pages, so the fact that it printed 8100 pages and still had 1% left...it's pretty good!
I just wish people were more frugal, working for the state means tightening the belt as funds are scarce, but if we can save money on printing we can use it elsewhere!

The day before Turkey Day!
I am not a big Turkey fan, but what the hey!
Eat, Drink and be Merry!
Took the day off work today (although I do have to work on Friday - which is fine, I am more productive when other people are not around)
Working on Projects today - taking a small break from my T-Mobile project, but is starting to be written today, and I am also continuing with the writing of my IT strategy project.
It will be a busy day...along with trying to help out around the house (if I can manage to actually help instead of creating more work )

Alright - back to work....

About 20 days left for this semester to end (and for me to have my MBA).
I am a bit tired, but I think that caffeine is sustaining me as I chug along...

So tomorrow - group meeting (IT strategy), putting the final touches on revisions the primary part of our final paper and working on the secondary part.
Then further work on the T-Mobile project (strategic management) ...and finally some research for the final paper for international financial management.
I cannot wait until "vacation" season

On related news, my university has started offering a Masters of Science in Information Technology. I looked at the classes offered (I am already familiar with the faculty that teach in the program), and they look pretty interesting! I already submitted my paperwork for entry into the program, so if all goes as planned, I will be starting school again -- what can I say? I like learning

Kannst du Englisch? (Do you know English?)

Maybe you should learn

I can see it!
I can see it! The end is near! repent! repent!

Just kidding, no need to repent, almost time to rejoyce!

It will be a busy 32 days.
This coming week I have an exam for International Financial Management, so this weekend is study your finance weekend.
I also have to continue working on my final paper/presentation for all my classes
(1) T-Mobile for Strategic Management
(2) The school library for IT Strategy
(3) something international-financey for international finance (no ideas yet)

Before the pain in the neck, I had an opportunity to put up a new article with some thoughts about the PSP versus the fabled video iPod

Enjoy

Neck is getting better, although I still feel like someone's stabbed me with an ice pick... (at least I am walking less like Mr. Roboto today compared to yesterday and Sunday).

Car is in the shop, good thing is that the part is under warranty, so it will be relatively cheap to fix. The bad thing is that I have to use public transportation today and tomorrow - this will be an experience!

...literally!

For the last couple of days I feel like such an old man!
My neck hurts, I cannot turn my head without experiencing pain.
Generally when I get this I have slept in a weird way (like sleeping on my arm) but it goes away in a day.
It's been two days already!!! ...maybe I am just impatient...

Recently I've noticed many companies asking me to go paperless, stop my paper bill, and signup for automatic payments!
While this is quite convenient, if it works properly! If you go paperless you get email notifications with a URL to go to a secure site to view your bill.
If you've got an over-agressive spam filter those notifications go to the trash. Ah! This is where the automatic payments come in! You can link your account to a bank account or credit card to have your bill automatically paid! Again this is a nice feature, but your bill paying is automatic so if you are one of those "out of sight, out of mind" people, you might just forget that you're hemorrhaging money. Let's not get into disputes over billing errors and automatic payments.

One thing that really annoys me, is that as a consumer I don't get a price break when I stop my paper bill and/or go automatic.
You are cutting back on the costs of paper, printing, mailing and processing when you do this. Why should I not get 1%, 2%, 5% off (or whatever is fair) my bill when I do this?
What is the incentive? I like my paper bill because it is a reminder to pay up, and it gives me an opportunity to review my expenditures.
If things are online, or in a non-tangible form, then I have less of a reminder that something needs to be taken care of. So if there is no incentive to switch, why do it?