(no subject)

[vicarz]

I have a drinking problem. Someone asked "why do you drink," and of course I have no answer. It releases endorphins or some such - drinking makes me feel good. Drinking is associated with happy times with people. I like to drink in clubs, and often want to do so until I get fuzzy. I like ambiguous social engagements in coffee shops, drinking coffees, and even will sit there drinking by myself. It snowed yesterday, and talking to a friend with a snow-covered pup I was suddenly dying for hot cocoa. I'm thinking of getting some people together, going to murky coffee, getting those $5 hot cocoas, and spiking them with peppermint schnapps en masse (that would have been awesome in the snow). When I play with the computer, I often have diet soda or iced tea by my side. I am almost addicted to getting up with iced tea, and can now drink coffee. So I drink, a lot. Oh, and then there is water...you should see how much I drink when I work out. I'm sure I don't need it all, but it's just an association based habit now - I run, I hit pads, I pick up pieces of metal - in all cases I want to drink. Right now I'm ticked I forgot to bring iced tea to work (made 6 quarts at a time, 10 bags organic black tea, 2 bags peppermint) and just finished off my dark-chocolate covered espresso beans. Soon I'll be drinking diet soda to fill the gap.

They're talking about bailing out people who can't pay their mortgages - I disagree. I don't want irresponsible companies or people being saved by my tax dollars. Sure fools lose their house - but they are the ones who mortgaged themselves to the gills. For instance: if the foreclosee owns a plasma screen tv, xbox, or has been to the islands in the past 12 months - no relief! If the companies gave too much money to morons, well then let them and their investors bite the dust - not me, a responsible taxpayer. Don't punish me for someone else's irresponsible behavior. Often when I check my email, a dancing alien or poorly animated gorilla is trying to pull my attention to the side of the screen to tell me how I can lower my monthly payment, get cash now, or refinance at lower rates. Everyone who clicks on the gorilla or dancing alien should be barred from any form of foreclosure relief.


Good morning - per the (AGENCY NEWSLETTER) article pages 1-2, I am voicing my concern to the (AGENCY) service desk via the link provided.

I am concerned about the increasing number and complexity of passwords (AGENCY) employees are required to maintain. A strong password is often over 8 characters long, includes: Caps, small, numbers, and special characters. In addition, they often don't allow words or easy to remember combinations of letters and numbers, repeated letters/numbers, and require frequent resets.

Has anyone ever counted how many difficult passwords with frequent resets are required of (AGENCY) employees? It seems that this increase of the number of "strong" passwords actually results in weaknesses - the inability of several employees to pass the prior security training because no one knew their password for eauth was one example. I am honestly not sure how many passwords I am required to maintain at work, but I am unable to remember them without writing them down. In fact, it seems virtually everyone either writes them down (which is not a secure practice) or forgets them and needs to spend time having the IT staff look up or reset their password.

I think the emphasis on security is a good idea, but it appears so many different departments are requiring different difficult passwords that we are harming worker productivity, IT resource use, and even morale. Perhaps there is a central office that could monitor how many passwords employees are required to maintain, remember, and change on a frequently rotating basis to ensure that the workforce is not overburdened in the name of security - leading to more compliance and a higher actual security status.

Last night I found out I'm "That guy." The other night in the club, and later out, a friend told me I dress like shit. She's not the first person to observe that my dress style is poor, and my good body is hidden behind baggy clothes. So I was thinking about this, and last night at the gym we were talking about clubbing. I noted that when I went out, I wasn't dressed very different than I was in the gym. Eyebrows raised. This odd to me, as I find my gym-mates more attractive in their gym gear than "out" clothes. A bunch of us joked that we don't know how to "pick up" strangers...which somehow led to making fun of people who wear tank tops in clubs, "that guy" (for reference, see "that girl"). I was like wow, I'm that guy, and noted that I often go out in a tank top (I did not note that for me, a tank is dressed up and putting effort into my appearance more than if I just wear a t-shirt, even one of my fav t-shirts). More "huh" looks. I suppose they weren't talking about goth EBM indus clubs, but still. Not sure I'll do anything about it - I know I look good (meaning my body shape is good), and when I see someone who looks good their clothes don't help or hinder what I see - your body is always obvious, as is mine. I think. Meh, I know with long hair and boots I'd garner more attention, but boots aren't as comfortable as the sneakers and long hair just sucks to have. I'm open to suggestions, but have a bias towards the easy and cheap ones. I'd like to look good, sure, but my self-esteem might be too high to inspire me to put much effort into my appearance.