When plans come together....

Anyone who has ever laid out a plan for themselves knows that it isn't easy to say that "I love it when a plan comes together". Unless you are Hannibal Smith of the A-Team.

Despite a very frustrating past 7 months, it appears as though mine is actually working.

The first component was the job. Both me...and TLB (The Lovely Bride) were very unsure as to whether I should be working full...or part-time. Really, up to the point that I got offered my job on the Assignment Desk at WCPO, I wasn't sure which it would be. We had discussions of it being a full-time opportunity and it not. They offered the not, but it was 3 days at a good rate with the opportunity to pick up extra hours.

((Computer Illustration//Courtesy: tonkay.wikispaces.com))

What that allows me to do is something that I've talked about for a long time. I'm going to learn how to design websites. As much as I enjoy the blogspot and posting stories on it is very easy, I want to be able to do a full-fledged site on my own and make it look like I want it to look.

So today, I took the plunge and signed up for some web programming courses at a computer school. I will be learning a bunch of programs; Flash, Dreamweaver and Photoshop. HTML Programming and code so I can put together my own video players and layout for sites.

The reason for this is rather simple. Diversification. If I can do this, which I believe that I will; then I will be able to hopefully branch off and do web design for others. It will also allow me to take on more technical jobs. Jobs that would allow me to create and take videos that I edit and spin them to the internet, things of that nature.

I've preached...over and over about diversifying and knowing as many things as possible and I think this will allow me to do just that. It will allow me the chance to do more and offer more. Even if I do web design as a side-job as a freelancer, it is a couple of hundred extra bucks and I can do it from home.

I feel, strongly, that this is the future. That this is the way to stay relevant and the way to be marketable. Staying strictly within the boundaries of what you utilize and are taught in a Television newsroom isn't enough these days. Those jobs are no longer forever. I know that. Heck, I've known that.

The difference now is perspective. I know what it is like to be on the other side. To be on the other side and realize that your skills don't translate very well because you never had a chance to keep them up-to date. I won't make that mistake...ever again. Hopefully someone else can learn from what I did. Have a plan. Know what will keep you current. Know what it takes to get ahead and have the advantage over someone else. If you don't, they'll do the same thing to you.

Enjoy the original A-Team open...which undoubtedly will be better than the crappy remake: Thanks You Tube

The Cult of Apple

This is a little off topic for the blog, but I'm just kind of annoyed with everyone's friends at Apple, so consequently, I'm going to rant about it.

Everyone loves Apple these days. And in some respects, they should. They are one of the if not the most innovative company out there. Anyone who has used one of the computers is an instant convert. And geez, everyone has an I-Pod by now, don't they? Or an I-Phone? Or I guess the newest addition to the fleet, the I-Pad.

((Apple I-Mac aluminum//Courtesy: ephoto.wordpress.com))

We've (ok, me) been fans for awhile. I'm on my 3rd I-Pod and was an early convert to I-Tunes. I had the earliest I-Mac as well. I went away from the I-Mac when I bought my Gateway laptop back in 2003.

The Gateway was a custom order and worked for what I needed it to. Along with being my primary computer at home for a couple of years. It also went on the road with me, everywhere. All my work road trips around the country. My scuba diving trips to Nassau. Literally, it went everywhere, was durable and held up to a airplanes, airports and being jammed in a corner in my truck.

My wonderful Gateway died on me about two weeks ago. It didn't die in the literal sense, the hard drive was fine and it had no problem booting up. No, the problem was the monitor, which lit up enough for me to barely see that it booted up.

So, though we are the proud owners of a top-of the line 2009, 27 inch I-Mac, I can't say that I am incredibly happy with the fine folks in Cupertino, California at the moment.

The reason. I-Tunes. Yes, the all-purpose, multi-featured music program used by what seems like almost everyone.

What ticked me off you ask? I had I-Tunes on the old Gateway. Getting your music from an old computer to a new one (we bought a nice HP laptop/couldn't afford a macbook), is roughly akin to pulling a tooth.

Why I ask, does Apple make I-Tunes so easy to use yet virtually impossible to move? Yes...quite possibly the most annoying, difficult thing that you will ever have to do is try and move I-Tunes from one computer to another.

The program inherently balks at the thought. It doesn't want to Synch with your I-Pod. It flashes warning messages that you can't have I-Tunes registered on more than one computer. Okay, great.

Do they think that we want to start our libraries from scratch every time we buy a new computer? I say yes.

The reason: Money. They hope you'll start from scratch and start buying again from their library. Morally wrong, corporately greedy.

Okay....I feel better now. Really I do like their products. Love my little Nano. The I-Mac may be the greatest computer of all time. If we could have afforded it, we would have bought a MacBook Pro, but we couldn't justify it. That's fine. All I ask is for Steve Jobs to be respectful for us common folks, those of us who have drank the kool-aid. We really like your products...really we do...we just don't want to have to re-start from scratch every time we get a new one.

The video that started it all: Thanks You Tube