Useless Blogging

Please note the new item in the blogroll. I’m hoping that by pointing it out like this, it’ll make Mark actually update it more than once every two years.

Starting January 2nd (or another mutually-agreed upon date) I am to be an Academic Data and Reporting Specialist for Connections Academy, a “school without walls” teaching grades K-12 over the internet. For those keeping track:

• Day 0: Verizon serves notice of a reduction in force
• Day 4, morning: I send resume to Connections Academy
• Day 4, evening: I get a phone call to set interview
• Day 5: Interview set
• Day 7: Interview
• Day 15: Phone call offering job

The speed of this process has been insane, but I couldn’t be much happier with the result. I get to apply skills I have in spades to a position where I might be able to actually make a dent, and my family gets to keep eating into 2008.

As speedy as it was though, it was still plenty difficult, and I certainly would not have even sniffed the success I’m experiencing were it not for my family and friends. Too numerous to name, I offer a single heartfelt thank you to the lot of you: it is only through your strength that I was able to find my own.

Guess I need to buy some new shirts.

I wanted to put this up so I didn’t forget it. This is a trick to turn a field into a toggle, allowing for a default date range or a user-specified one. It’s made for Crystal, but would work for anything Oracle-based, I think, with some tweaking.

whateverdate between (decode(‘{?Timespan}’, ‘DEFAULT’, (Last_Day(Add_Months(SYSDATE, -2)) + 1), ‘{?StartDate}’)) and (decode(‘{?Timespan}’, ‘DEFAULT’, (Last_Day(Add_Months(SYSDATE, -1)) + 1)

Thank you for your time.

Felt like repeating what CC did.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Bags if I’m giving, paper if I’m receiving.
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial.
3. When do you put up the tree? Early December usually. Now that our tree can go up in a commercial break, I’m less reluctant to put it up, so the date moves up.
4. When do you take the tree down? Mid-January, maybe. As a kid, we had it up into March once. Good times.
5. Do you like eggnog? No.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My first Nintendo.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? We have a Little People one. It doesn’t see much daylight.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My wife, hands down.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Myself.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Pewter Christmas Tree Ornaments. Not only do I have enough ornaments, I’m not about to add more on the first day of the countdown to taking the tree down.
11.Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Christmas cards?
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Santa Clause.
13. Favorite Christmas Carol? “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” as performed by John Denver and The Muppets.
14. When do you start Christmas shopping? Aside from the occasional doodad earlier, Black Friday.
15. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don’t think so.
16. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chocolate.
17. Clear or colored lights on tree? Colored presently, but I have no real preference.
18. Favorite Christmas song new this year? None.
19. Travel or stay home? Home.
20. Can you name all Santa’s reindeer? Yes.
21. Angel or star on top? A star, handcrafted by Emma.
22. Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning, though my in-laws give pajamas on the Eve so everyone looks nice for photos the next day.
23. Most annoying thing this time of year? Hearing the same set of songs everywhere I go.
24. What I love most about Christmas? Malls. I LOVE malls between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I could go, not buy a thing, and be smiling the whole time.

Title says it all, I think. I’ve not committed yet, as I’m waiting for things in writing so I can see exactly where the chips fall, but barring insurmountable differences, yay.

Hat tip to Christine.

Vote now!