The WAKA Kansas City (KC) kickball division began last night. My team, Team Fingerbang, opened the season with a 6-4 (called 6-5 for whatever reason) victory over Shenanigans.
This division is nothing like Studio or even Junction, for that matter. The difference isn't a bad thing, it's just new to someone like myself who has played in more than one division and has participated in multiple national WAKA tournaments. First of all, KC doesn't concern itself with "rules." Those are merely suggestions by which you can play if you choose. My old division Studio (and to some extent, Junction) were very much the opposite of this; we knew the rules and followed them the best we could and disputes were resolved through yelling and fighting (I'm only halfway kidding here). My addition to the division board as the newly founded Rules Chair was marginally effective best. I ran the rules clinics both last week and yesterday, but I am quickly realizing that everyone's eyes glaze over and no one pays attention when they have to learn the rules. I didn't expect the Rules Chair to go over well at first, but already I'm getting the feeling I'm not going to be able to change anything.
I think the biggest problem everyone has is that they think I'm going to make it more serious and competitive, which really isn't my intention. I just want everyone to understand the rules so that no one is screwed when the umpires make a bad call. Of course, if everyone knows the rules the umpires are going to make less bad calls, so it really is a win-win situation for the division. I had some good questions last week and yesterday regarding situations that don't normally come up which shows that at least some people are thinking about this stuff. Hopefully the majority of those who don't care will eventually realize that knowing the rules is important and won't make it any more serious than it already is(n't)
The other huge difference is that everyone does their drinking at the field rather than at the bar. We were legally obligated to not drink in Studio and with cops roaming the fields all the time, we really didn't want to risk losing the division's permit. I've heard that it's against city law in KC as well, but apparently the cops don't care since no one causes any trouble, so everyone parties at the field. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with this at all. I couldn't care less if everyone wants to get smashed, it's just different for me since we couldn't do it in Studio. What's disappointing is that no one goes to the bar at the end of the night because they did all of their drinking at the field. One of the biggest draws about Studio is that everyone goes to the bar, win or lose. Hanging out with other teams is the best way to meet people and form relationships with everyone in the division. I think it created a sense of comradery in Studio which really helped to break down rivalries between teams. Hopefully last night wasn't normal and more people really do go to the bar.
Again, I don't want anyone to think that I'm criticizing KC. I've met some really great people and I did have fun last night. These are just some things that I have noticed are really different from Studio, for better or for worse. I would love for everyone to know the rules and actually follow them correctly rather than making shit up on the fly but I'll settle for "acknowledgement that they exist" for now.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Blue Team finally won its first game. Of course, it was the last game of the season and the team we played didn't have its ringers present, but we still won, none the less. I contributed 2 goals to the 9-6 victory. We were really starting to pull together at the end of the season. I think that if we had gelled like this earlier, we would have won more games. The next season starts in October, which honestly, isn't soon enough.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
I saw a computer catch on fire for the first time in my life last Thursday. Well, not literally catch on fire, but there was a lot of smoke and that was scary, so it may as well have been on fire. I was typing an email on my Macbook Pro when all of a sudden, I hear this loud "pop" come from under the keyboard and the computer shuts completely off. As soon as it turned off, smoke started pouring out of the air vent right underneath the screen. Again, there were no flames, but a computer that produces smoke is what I call "bad." Trying to think quickly, I pulled out the battery and unplugged the power and let the laptop sit for a few minutes. After the smoke went away, I attempted to turn it back on. I got the familiar Apple chime and could hear the hard drive spinning but the screen was black. I messed around with it and figured out that the backlight or the power inverter for the backlight must have exploded because I could still connect an external monitor to the laptop and get video out.
Much to my chagrin, I wound up taking it to the Apple store on the Plaza on Saturday. I guess they changed their pricing for parts because it's only going to cost me $310 (plus tax) for them to fix *whatever* is wrong with the computer. That basically means that if the logic board is fried, it won't cost me $Texas to have it fixed. I think this is a little weird because AppleCare for a Macbook Pro is $350... meaning that if nothing else goes wrong with my computer in the next 7 months, I will have saved a small amount of cash. Unfortunately, I will be without my primary machine for 7-10 days, so I guess that's the bad news.
I have been studying off and on for the CompTIA Network+ exam for 2 years and I just never got around to actually taking the test. I decided about a month ago that I would try to get my MCSA since the CCNA route clearly wasn't working for me. Microsoft allows the A+ and Network+ certifications to count as elective credits towards the MCSA, so since I already had the A+ cert, it kind of made sense to go ahead and sit the Network+ exam since it is much easier than taking another Microsoft test. I studied semi-diligently for a couple of weeks, got a great price on a test voucher, and took the test yesterday. I passed with a 750/900 (passing is 554), which is a good score considering I didn't study for that long. I'm honestly kind of disappointed with how easy the test was... I was relieved to have passed my other certification tests; I just looked up and asked myself "what's next" after finishing this one.
Perhaps it's because I was so frustrated with VUE because they have horrible customer service. I was actually supposed to take the test on August 8, but the exam proctor at the test site accidentally gave my test to the wrong person. She told me this when I got there and said that usually VUE lets her start the test over. Well, they didn't and they said I couldn't take the test that day and that I would have to call them on Monday to get everything straightened out. Per their instructions, I called on Monday and was told that I'd get a call from a manager on Tuesday. I called on Tuesday afternoon (after not hearing from anyone) and was told I would get a call on Wednesday. I called on Wednesday (after not hearing from anyone) and was told I would get a call on Thursday or Friday. I called on Friday (after not hearing from anyone... again) and the representative decided that I had been run around enough and rescheduled my test. Talk about a crappy way to run things.
Having gone through all of that, I killed the test but didn't feel great about it. I spent some time last night thinking about what certification I wanted to get next and I decided to finish out the MCSA since that was the whole reason for taking the Network+ exam. I'm really tired of Microsoft tests and the last one (70-291) is some of the driest material out there, but it will be worth it to finish it so I can move on to other stuff. After the MCSA is complete, I think I'll start studying for the Security+ to see if I like computer security concepts as a future path for my career.
Much to my chagrin, I wound up taking it to the Apple store on the Plaza on Saturday. I guess they changed their pricing for parts because it's only going to cost me $310 (plus tax) for them to fix *whatever* is wrong with the computer. That basically means that if the logic board is fried, it won't cost me $Texas to have it fixed. I think this is a little weird because AppleCare for a Macbook Pro is $350... meaning that if nothing else goes wrong with my computer in the next 7 months, I will have saved a small amount of cash. Unfortunately, I will be without my primary machine for 7-10 days, so I guess that's the bad news.
I have been studying off and on for the CompTIA Network+ exam for 2 years and I just never got around to actually taking the test. I decided about a month ago that I would try to get my MCSA since the CCNA route clearly wasn't working for me. Microsoft allows the A+ and Network+ certifications to count as elective credits towards the MCSA, so since I already had the A+ cert, it kind of made sense to go ahead and sit the Network+ exam since it is much easier than taking another Microsoft test. I studied semi-diligently for a couple of weeks, got a great price on a test voucher, and took the test yesterday. I passed with a 750/900 (passing is 554), which is a good score considering I didn't study for that long. I'm honestly kind of disappointed with how easy the test was... I was relieved to have passed my other certification tests; I just looked up and asked myself "what's next" after finishing this one.
Perhaps it's because I was so frustrated with VUE because they have horrible customer service. I was actually supposed to take the test on August 8, but the exam proctor at the test site accidentally gave my test to the wrong person. She told me this when I got there and said that usually VUE lets her start the test over. Well, they didn't and they said I couldn't take the test that day and that I would have to call them on Monday to get everything straightened out. Per their instructions, I called on Monday and was told that I'd get a call from a manager on Tuesday. I called on Tuesday afternoon (after not hearing from anyone) and was told I would get a call on Wednesday. I called on Wednesday (after not hearing from anyone) and was told I would get a call on Thursday or Friday. I called on Friday (after not hearing from anyone... again) and the representative decided that I had been run around enough and rescheduled my test. Talk about a crappy way to run things.
Having gone through all of that, I killed the test but didn't feel great about it. I spent some time last night thinking about what certification I wanted to get next and I decided to finish out the MCSA since that was the whole reason for taking the Network+ exam. I'm really tired of Microsoft tests and the last one (70-291) is some of the driest material out there, but it will be worth it to finish it so I can move on to other stuff. After the MCSA is complete, I think I'll start studying for the Security+ to see if I like computer security concepts as a future path for my career.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
If you haven't been living under a rock, you should be well aware of the Olympic games taking place in Beijing, China this month. I know that I have caught "Olympic Fever" and my television hasn't left NBC, MSNBC, or USA since last Friday night. I have a hard time explaining why I am so interested in the Olympics; I'm not overly patriotic, in fact, I'd say I'm rather cynical of the United States' position in the world. Perhaps it's the idea of thousands of the world's best athletes coming together to compete on an international stage. Or maybe it's Morgan Freeman's inspiring words in his VISA commercials. Of course I'm going to cheer for the United States, but I think I'm more interested in the idea of the Olympics rather than seeing the US win gold medals.
Everyone is watching Michael Phelps on his quest to win gold in all 8 of his events. He "only" won 6 gold medals in 2004, so the big story this year is of course "will he beat Mark Spitz' record of 7 medals?" Now that Phelps has won gold in his two toughest events, it seems highly likely that he will reach the coveted 8 gold medal mark. The guy is truly amazing at what he does. NBC has been running human interest stories about the Olympic athletes and by his own words, Phelps admits that all he does is eat, sleep, and swim. That's some dedication, people.
Another story that is of particular interest to me is the US men's basketball team. After a disappointing showing in 2004, the team desperately wants to make a comeback on the international level, even going so far as to call themselves the "Redeem Team," a play on the 1992 "Dream Team" moniker. They played well against China in their first game on Sunday, defeating the host country 101 to 70. Consensus is that the US played well in the opening game, but has areas in which it needs improvement.
After a day off, the men picked up Angola Tuesday night. Despite a win to the tune of 97 to 76, the victory was decidedly not solid. The United States should have been able to run the score up on the Angolans through the course of the game, but instead dropped a 30 point lead down to 21 through sloppy play. I will admit that I am not a basketball expert nor am I an analyst, but I believe there are three key areas in which the US men's team needs work:
1. Making the shots - The US shot 55.1% (38-69) from the field but could only manage 23.8% (5-21) attempts from beyond the 3 point arc. Kobe put up 4-13 from the field but couldn't drop a single 3 point shot out of 8 attempts. The rest of the squad didn't do much better, although Anthony and Wade managed to put together a combined 10-15 from the field and 3-5 from the outside. What makes these stats even worse is that the US managed to miss the easy layups and jumpshots from 6-8 feet out. No one expects the team to make every shot they take, but they can't keep missing the easy shots.
2. Covering open shots - Angola had so many open shots that I lost count of them by the end of the first half. They moved the ball around quickly and found their open man for the quick jump shot, most of which were for three points. Yes, Angola had more 3 point attempts, but they had a higher percentage of shots made, mostly because they were unguarded on the perimeter. This is bad, bad, bad and teams like Greece and Spain are going to drop tons of points if left open anywhere near the basket.
3. Getting complacent in the second half - Anyone would get lazy when playing teams like China and Angola. No one wants to completely blow out another team, especially in the Olympics where sportsmanship is held in high regard. You don't, however, want to blow a 30 point lead in the second half. These games aren't going to be won in the first quarter; rather, by wearing down the opposition, the US men will rack up the points over the duration of the game. Winning by 20 is still a large margin of victory, but it could have easily been 40 points if they hadn't let up. I am not condoning murdering teams for the hell of it, but I am suggesting that the US men should treat every game as if it is their last. They should use the comfort of a 30 point lead to practice the fundamentals of their game rather than needlessly turn the ball over on broken plays. I know they want to show off a little, but showing off isn't making them better. The US men need to stay focused going in to their next game against Greece and messing around on the court isn't going to do anything to maintain their intensity.
The US men's national team is more than capable of taking this all the way, but it's going to take some more work for them to regain their stature on the international level. I would imagine that most of their opponents view them as the bronze medal winning team from four years ago rather than the determined squad they are now. This slight underdog status can work well for them, but they need to make it clear that they are in China to win and they can do that by completely dominating their competition.
Everyone is watching Michael Phelps on his quest to win gold in all 8 of his events. He "only" won 6 gold medals in 2004, so the big story this year is of course "will he beat Mark Spitz' record of 7 medals?" Now that Phelps has won gold in his two toughest events, it seems highly likely that he will reach the coveted 8 gold medal mark. The guy is truly amazing at what he does. NBC has been running human interest stories about the Olympic athletes and by his own words, Phelps admits that all he does is eat, sleep, and swim. That's some dedication, people.
Another story that is of particular interest to me is the US men's basketball team. After a disappointing showing in 2004, the team desperately wants to make a comeback on the international level, even going so far as to call themselves the "Redeem Team," a play on the 1992 "Dream Team" moniker. They played well against China in their first game on Sunday, defeating the host country 101 to 70. Consensus is that the US played well in the opening game, but has areas in which it needs improvement.
After a day off, the men picked up Angola Tuesday night. Despite a win to the tune of 97 to 76, the victory was decidedly not solid. The United States should have been able to run the score up on the Angolans through the course of the game, but instead dropped a 30 point lead down to 21 through sloppy play. I will admit that I am not a basketball expert nor am I an analyst, but I believe there are three key areas in which the US men's team needs work:
1. Making the shots - The US shot 55.1% (38-69) from the field but could only manage 23.8% (5-21) attempts from beyond the 3 point arc. Kobe put up 4-13 from the field but couldn't drop a single 3 point shot out of 8 attempts. The rest of the squad didn't do much better, although Anthony and Wade managed to put together a combined 10-15 from the field and 3-5 from the outside. What makes these stats even worse is that the US managed to miss the easy layups and jumpshots from 6-8 feet out. No one expects the team to make every shot they take, but they can't keep missing the easy shots.
2. Covering open shots - Angola had so many open shots that I lost count of them by the end of the first half. They moved the ball around quickly and found their open man for the quick jump shot, most of which were for three points. Yes, Angola had more 3 point attempts, but they had a higher percentage of shots made, mostly because they were unguarded on the perimeter. This is bad, bad, bad and teams like Greece and Spain are going to drop tons of points if left open anywhere near the basket.
3. Getting complacent in the second half - Anyone would get lazy when playing teams like China and Angola. No one wants to completely blow out another team, especially in the Olympics where sportsmanship is held in high regard. You don't, however, want to blow a 30 point lead in the second half. These games aren't going to be won in the first quarter; rather, by wearing down the opposition, the US men will rack up the points over the duration of the game. Winning by 20 is still a large margin of victory, but it could have easily been 40 points if they hadn't let up. I am not condoning murdering teams for the hell of it, but I am suggesting that the US men should treat every game as if it is their last. They should use the comfort of a 30 point lead to practice the fundamentals of their game rather than needlessly turn the ball over on broken plays. I know they want to show off a little, but showing off isn't making them better. The US men need to stay focused going in to their next game against Greece and messing around on the court isn't going to do anything to maintain their intensity.
The US men's national team is more than capable of taking this all the way, but it's going to take some more work for them to regain their stature on the international level. I would imagine that most of their opponents view them as the bronze medal winning team from four years ago rather than the determined squad they are now. This slight underdog status can work well for them, but they need to make it clear that they are in China to win and they can do that by completely dominating their competition.
Friday, August 08, 2008
It's true folks, I am tentatively employed as of 8:30 this morning. After 3 rounds of negotiation, I accepted a position at the University of Missouri - Kansas City as the new System Support Administrator. The job doesn't start until 25 August, though, so I will have been unemployed for exactly 3 months. And what a 3 months it has been... The boredom was excruciating; sitting at home with nothing to do but clean and do laundry isn't exactly my idea of "fun." I'm glad I held out, though. This is the job I wanted and it came through in the end.
In other news, I am taking the Network+ certification exam later this afternoon. I feel prepared for it, I mean, I've had the study book for 2 years and I've read it several times plus I've studied for other exams that are much harder, but I still have this doubt in the back of my mind about whether or not I can pass. I found a good deal on a voucher that took $75 off of the total cost, but part of the deal is that I have to take the test before Sunday. I guess I'm doubting myself because I usually plan out when I'm going to take a test at least a month in advance and I only gave myself 2 days warning on this one.
Megan and I are going to an Opening Ceremony party for the Olympics tonight. I need to find my communist Russia flag before we go so that it really is a theme party.
In other news, I am taking the Network+ certification exam later this afternoon. I feel prepared for it, I mean, I've had the study book for 2 years and I've read it several times plus I've studied for other exams that are much harder, but I still have this doubt in the back of my mind about whether or not I can pass. I found a good deal on a voucher that took $75 off of the total cost, but part of the deal is that I have to take the test before Sunday. I guess I'm doubting myself because I usually plan out when I'm going to take a test at least a month in advance and I only gave myself 2 days warning on this one.
Megan and I are going to an Opening Ceremony party for the Olympics tonight. I need to find my communist Russia flag before we go so that it really is a theme party.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The good news is that I had a job interview this last Friday. I won't say what company it was with or what the job is, but I am excited about it and I really hope that this one comes through. I think the interview went well; I tried to relax and have a good time with the interviewers (it was a group interview). I threw in some jokes here and there and I think I was able to show them that I am serious about what I do but I also like to have fun with it as well. I have read that you should always send a thank you note after an interview, so I thought I would give that a try on this one. I'm not sure my letter actually made it to the post, though, because I dropped it in what I assumed was the outgoing mailbox, but the ladies in the apartment complex had no idea what I was talking about. That would really suck if I didn't get the job because my thank you note didn't ever reach who I sent it to.
We went to the Royals game on Friday night after Megan got off of work. The Royals lost 5-2 to the Devil Rays. What is really unfortunate with the game is that the Royals only had 2 hits... both of which were one shot home runs. There were a couple of SportsCenter highlights, but overall it was kind of a crappy game. We sat in the All You Can Eat seats, which was fun, but also disappointing because it was "buck night" which means that hotdogs and small sodas were only a dollar, so we actually paid extra to get what everyone else was getting by default. I put down 5 dogs, nachos, peanuts, 2 sodas, and a beer... and I paid for it on Saturday.
The Blue Team dropped to 0-5 yesterday in a 6-7 shootout thriller. I netted one goal in the second half. Our goalie didn't show up, which isn't surprising since last week he said he wasn't going to come because he was frustrated with losing. Our replacement goalie for yesterday was awesome, though; he made some fantastic saves that no one should have been able to make AND he didn't bitch about losing. I really hope we can win a game this season; I'm having fun and everything, but winning at least one game would be nice.
We went to the Royals game on Friday night after Megan got off of work. The Royals lost 5-2 to the Devil Rays. What is really unfortunate with the game is that the Royals only had 2 hits... both of which were one shot home runs. There were a couple of SportsCenter highlights, but overall it was kind of a crappy game. We sat in the All You Can Eat seats, which was fun, but also disappointing because it was "buck night" which means that hotdogs and small sodas were only a dollar, so we actually paid extra to get what everyone else was getting by default. I put down 5 dogs, nachos, peanuts, 2 sodas, and a beer... and I paid for it on Saturday.
The Blue Team dropped to 0-5 yesterday in a 6-7 shootout thriller. I netted one goal in the second half. Our goalie didn't show up, which isn't surprising since last week he said he wasn't going to come because he was frustrated with losing. Our replacement goalie for yesterday was awesome, though; he made some fantastic saves that no one should have been able to make AND he didn't bitch about losing. I really hope we can win a game this season; I'm having fun and everything, but winning at least one game would be nice.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The job crisis continues.
Megan and I arrived in Overland Park on May 29 which means that next Tuesday will be our two month anniversary of being in Overland Park. Two days from now (the 24th) will be the two month anniversary of me not having a job. Needless to say, I'm a little stressed and frustrated with my current situation. I re-did my resume after speaking with some of the dudes at the Temple. They believed that I wasn't playing up my skills and abilities and that I needed to focus more on what I accomplished at each job rather than just saying what I did.
I took their advice and posted my new resume on Monster and Career Builder yesterday. I've had 3 recruiters call me since yesterday, which is more than I had in the first month and a half of having my resume on either of those websites. One recruiter actually has a job she wants me to look at, another just wanted to put me on file because they are establishing an office in Overland Park next week, and the last recruiter was an Indian (not Native American) dude that wanted me to do tech support for Sprint. An Indian dude was calling me about a call center job was off-putting enough, but seriously? I have my big-kid pants on now and I'm not ashamed to say that I am above call center jobs at this point in my life.
Looking for jobs is probably the one thing I hate most in the universe. My biggest gripe is that companies put ads in the paper/on websites/whatever to fill positions but they take their sweet time setting up interviews and actually filling the positions. It doesn't seem like the best way to run a company, you know? If you need people, why not actually hire qualified candidates rather than run them around through interviews and not calling anyone back for months on end? On top of that, this whole "show interest in the job by calling after you apply" nonsense is ridiculous. I SHOWED INTEREST IN THE JOB BY APPLYING FOR THE JOB. Now do your part and set up the interview.
After missing the 3rd game of the season, I made my grand return to the Skate City roller hockey league on Sunday... where we were annihilated 13-4. I got us on the board with 2 goals, but the rest of the guys just couldn't finish the puck. I would not call this the best example of good hockey (except maybe in regards to the other team). In fairness, though, the other team has been raping everyone, so no one should feel that bad about losing to them. Right now the Blue team stands at 0-4, so we can still pull out a .500 season if we win the next 4.
Megan and I arrived in Overland Park on May 29 which means that next Tuesday will be our two month anniversary of being in Overland Park. Two days from now (the 24th) will be the two month anniversary of me not having a job. Needless to say, I'm a little stressed and frustrated with my current situation. I re-did my resume after speaking with some of the dudes at the Temple. They believed that I wasn't playing up my skills and abilities and that I needed to focus more on what I accomplished at each job rather than just saying what I did.
I took their advice and posted my new resume on Monster and Career Builder yesterday. I've had 3 recruiters call me since yesterday, which is more than I had in the first month and a half of having my resume on either of those websites. One recruiter actually has a job she wants me to look at, another just wanted to put me on file because they are establishing an office in Overland Park next week, and the last recruiter was an Indian (not Native American) dude that wanted me to do tech support for Sprint. An Indian dude was calling me about a call center job was off-putting enough, but seriously? I have my big-kid pants on now and I'm not ashamed to say that I am above call center jobs at this point in my life.
Looking for jobs is probably the one thing I hate most in the universe. My biggest gripe is that companies put ads in the paper/on websites/whatever to fill positions but they take their sweet time setting up interviews and actually filling the positions. It doesn't seem like the best way to run a company, you know? If you need people, why not actually hire qualified candidates rather than run them around through interviews and not calling anyone back for months on end? On top of that, this whole "show interest in the job by calling after you apply" nonsense is ridiculous. I SHOWED INTEREST IN THE JOB BY APPLYING FOR THE JOB. Now do your part and set up the interview.
After missing the 3rd game of the season, I made my grand return to the Skate City roller hockey league on Sunday... where we were annihilated 13-4. I got us on the board with 2 goals, but the rest of the guys just couldn't finish the puck. I would not call this the best example of good hockey (except maybe in regards to the other team). In fairness, though, the other team has been raping everyone, so no one should feel that bad about losing to them. Right now the Blue team stands at 0-4, so we can still pull out a .500 season if we win the next 4.
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