One Day My Mind Opened Up

  How I'm Living
Pretty well actually.

My Java and CGI-BIN are coming along well. In fact I will be doing the first of a few "case studies", a larger and more complex CGI-BIN program. I'll be taking the file-processing skills I have and add my soon to be acquired knowledge of how to process form data to do a kind of "Dynamic Content".

Alas, the job in Ithaca, NY was a wash. I figure that either I lack the skills or they were looking for a local person.

No matter, I just have to keep on pushing!  ¶ 10:47 PM

  My Car
I wanted to test Blogger's new image capabilities and show you folks what my New(er) Saturn Ion-2 looks like.




  ¶ 8:21 AM

  Making a Pit Stop
Yesterday, the FedEx Ground facility I worked at had a unique thing come through the hub.

The Nextel Cup car that the FedEx system sponsors pulled in to do some P.R. We did a cookout and had an opportunity to take pictures with the car (I have a Polaroid but need access to a scanner to scan it in).

I guess the one thing that stood out is how small those cars are. They're scarcely bigger that my car and a driver is basically packed into thier custom-sized cockpit like a sardine.

I also kind of wish they'd have "pulled the pins" on the hood and showed the engine.

But it was interesting to see one of those cars "up close".

I hope it comes back, hopefully one day as part of a "victory lap".  ¶ 8:12 AM 0 comments

  The Toolbox
As a child of the 80s, Professional "Wrestling" was a staple of our weekend morning TV. My brother and our friends cheered on as The Killer Bs, The Dragon, and Hulk Hogan battled The Hart Foundation, Jake The Snake and the Iron Shiek.

One of the commericals we'd see during the programming was for a trade school that had a unique approach to it's Auto Mechanic's program. You began with an empty toolbox, you then learned one tool. When you got done with that tool, you added another one, and so on. By the time you were done, you had your diploma and a tool box, and were ready to get under the hood.

Well I managed to complete my first CGI-BIN program. All it does is read files in a print them out as a web page, but it is a start!

The problem is that I added some tools to my "programmers toolbox". I can now read files in using C++, which is useful for working on and off the web. I have a way to develop programs for the web off-line by writing drivers for them, and I have the confidence in my skills.

Well I realize that I also have a few other toolboxes. The few techniques of Aikido I know make up a kind of "Samauri's Toolbox". I have my religious beliefs and personal standards that make up my "Ethical Toolbox". I have a "sports bag", a "FedEx Bag" and definitely a "junk box" (I could give Kevin Jennings a run for his money likely).

Most of these boxes are always expanding, and I will continue to expand them, at least as long as I'm NOT in a box.  ¶ 10:32 PM 0 comments

  Inspiration and Perspiration
Thomas Edison I believe said that "Genius is %1 inspiration and %99 perspiration".

I'm seeing this first-hand as I attempt to implement a large Java applet to bring the reality of poverty home. The applet is complex enough that I'm gonna need to build it in stages and roll out the stages.

But all I was able to do in an hour was layout a panel. I can only imagine how long the handler code will take.

But I will get this thing done!  ¶ 10:44 PM 0 comments

  Again!
I'm at an inventory at a bookstore.

And one of the books I picked up has the following quote from Proverbs:


As a man thinks--so shall a man be.


This is getting stranger and stranger. . .  ¶ 10:25 PM 0 comments

  Brain Dump

I do this ever so often. Just want to get a bunch of odds and ends out into the open.


This Is Beginning To Freak Me Out

We went out to a Chinese buffet today and my fortune cookie read--"Get your mind set--confidence will lead you on".

Something's brewing for me here--it has to be

A Tough Slog

My latest literary challenge is the Koran. It's not an easy read, but I see a lot of similarities between militant Muslims and American Fundys.

They Can Seem Almost Human

I sent a sympathy card to my Aunt's friend--for her cat.

My family has cats too and I'm amazed at how we make our animals almost seem human. Inventory a pet store and you'll understand!

Human Touch

Is it any wonder many gestures of friendship or triumph involve hand-to-hand contact?  ¶ 11:31 PM

  Possibilities?
Amazing how doors can seem to open up when one's mind opens up.

To begin with, I've put out four resumes. Each job would have merits.

The two local jobs would give me a chance to remain in Harrisburg, PA. Like it or not, I have some tendrils here; my work with Food Not Bombs and other activism, my aikido studies, and even my church attendance (I'm kind of an unoffical member of a church). Now the salaries may be an issue, but let's cross one bridge at a time.

One of other jobs would be in Ithaca, NY. I'd be doing web development, much of it with environmental sustainability. I've been in Ithaca as well, and with publications like Utne Reader and Vegetarian Times giving the city high marks, this seems like a place I may be comfortable in, there may even be a "Radical Chick" for me;) I'd also be near a college buddy and could even still get my NASCAR fix. Salary may be an issue and I'd have to delay the start as I'd need to tie up "loose ends" here.

The fourth job is interesting. It would be with FedEx Custom Critical, another arm of FedEx. Programming, so I'd be using my skills. And it would be close to my family. I could even see my alma mater play.

I also see jobs that I can't do just yet, but have skills I'm planning on acquiring.

I can see a world of possibilities. I just need to be careful that I don't get stars in my eyes.  ¶ 10:48 PM 0 comments

  The Power Within

In everyone
is a power
without any name.

It can rise to meet
a moment.

It can burn like a flame.

And you can be
stronger
than you'll ever know.

Don't let it go,
don't let it go.

Steve Winwood

---

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12-2

---

I think I'm still in the afterglow a bit from what happened with the poem my Sister asked for.

That and how I can actually see progress on my re-learning programming. I plan on adding UNIX and maybe even work on a game.

But I also still see some force powering me to do all of this. What it is, I have no clue. As a Christian, I'd call it "Holy Spirit". As a martial artist, I'd call it "ki". My aunt's friend would call it "spirit" or maybe "thought".

And I've seen it in others; when an athlete summons that "Little extra" (Sara Hughes at the '02 Olympics, Jeremy Rose at the Preakness this year, Dale Jr at Daytona in 2001), when a person creates something magical (Picasso, Da Vinci, Shakespeare) or when a person takes a stand (Martin Luther King Jr, "Deep Throat").

So why me? Why does it seem that this force has decided to come upon me? Has my determination and skill been rewarded, or have the forces that have been trying to stymie me finally decided to give it up and let me get on with my life.

And where will the force lead me? Am I maybe to find another calling? Or to somehow combine my skills into something the world has never seen before?

One of the sayings of AA, I believe, is "Trust the process". Maybe that's all I need to do.  ¶ 10:26 PM 0 comments

  Power of The Pen
I write poetry. I picked it up on an internship in Nashua, NH. I think I've done some good work and I even gave an anthology as a gift to one of my sisters and my Aunt's friend. But I never realized that my words could have the potential to heal.

Here's the story. My younger sister is in Dayton, Ohio on an academic internship at a local 'Y. She seems to be having a lot of fun, and working hard. But a tragedy has struck the "family". A young man who was a volunteer there was killed in a car accident. She wondered if I had a poem that could fit.

I was at a loss. Most of poems are angry, and many directed at the current administration. But I found two; It's Never Over, inspired by a football game and Firefiles In a Jar, inspired by a song and a memory that the song inspired.

And it looks like Fireflies. . . may have hit the mark. I'm just in awe that my works can have that kind of power. Makes me wonder what other power I have inside me.

The possibilities are endless, I just need to keep exploring.  ¶ 11:36 AM

  Welcome To The Planet
There's been a lot of bad news coming from home. A lot of people close to my family have died.

So you can imagine when I went to my Aikido class (hey--I gotta do something for fun besides this) and saw a card to sign, I assumed the worst.

I was wrong! A couple from Washington DC who come up on occasion to train with us are now parents!

I thought back to when my Nephew was born. I had inventories to do and was on and off my cell phone all day. My mom sounded like Stich from Lilo and Stich, and I was actually at an inventory when he was born.

If only the world these two people came into was a bit better. I fear that a new "Cold War" is brewing. I see a world where power is being more and more closely
consolidated in the hands of a few.

But much like I see possibility in my own life, I see possibility in the world. I see citizens all across the world taking a stand, and joining across borders. I'm a part of this through my other 'blog, and one-half of the couple from the dojo is the head of an interfaith peace and justice center in DC.

As a wise person said--"It's better to light a candle than to complain about the dark". Let's just hope we see a bit more lights.  ¶ 6:04 PM 0 comments

  The End Of A Era
Yesterday, June 2nd, an era at my high school alma mater came to an end. The last member of my family graduated, ending 22 years of having at least one member of my family at the school.

I'd like to think we made quite an impression on the place. We excelled in academics; four of us graduated with honors and the fifth maintained an honor roll GPA for her senior year. We proved ourselves in the arts; myself and my youngest sister were members of the band, and my youngest and younger sister were both in chorus (my younger brother could also carry a tune, but he had other things to do).

My family also tapped parts of my high schools athletic traditions. My brother played several sports, but I think small-town politics and other factors kept him from truly becoming the star he could've been. My family also helped keep the stats for the basketball and football teams, and my father acts as the basketball team's volunteer scout.

We also acted as ambassadors for the school. Traveling to places like; North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, New York City, Chicago and in the case of myself and one of my Sisters, Europe.

The tradition will continue for awhile though, one of my sisters is a Head Start instructor at the school. And I make an effort to go to sporting events when I can and try and keep up with the teams.  ¶ 7:35 AM

  Confessions of a Schrei-borg
There are thousands of local bands, pick up a local paper and you'll likely find a few playing at a local bar, coffeehouse, or even bookstore.

Most of these bands are decent, and the people have fun making music. But some ever so often, you see a band that just seems destined for something bigger. I think over the last few years I've seen just such a band.

Harrisburg, PA area resident Juile Schreibner is the front-woman for the Julie Schreibner Band, with husband Eric on guitar and the hyperkinetic Melvin Torres on the drums.

The band has evolved into a tight unit, combining excellent covers (among them a glorious rendition of the Jefferson Airplane classic White Rabbit), with music of their own. Their music also has a broad appeal, older people probably see folks like Janis Joplin and perhaps even Grace Slick; younger people may see her as in the mold of the new generation of female rockers.

Why do I like them. For one--they're good! They have a good sound and you can see that they enjoy making the music. Also Julie has roots in my hometown.

What follow are pics I took at a recent concert they put on.  ¶ 10:21 PM

 
The Band.
James D'Angelo  ¶ 10:18 PM

 
Eric and Melvin
James D'Angelo  ¶ 10:18 PM

 
Eric On The Axe
James D'Angelo  ¶ 10:13 PM

 
Tuning Up
James D'Angelo  ¶ 10:12 PM

 
Setting Up
James D'Angelo  ¶ 10:09 PM

 
Presenting--The JSB Dancers!
James D'Angelo  ¶ 10:08 PM