The default browser is Google Chrome. I know that I should’ve tried this out a year ago, but I just wasn’t thinking. Chrome auto-populates as you type, and when you hit enter, you’re there baby (just like Safari, actually)! It took me a while to figure out how to get my bookmarks in there, but I’m on a roll now.


The first problem I've encountered is this; I've been spoiled by the Fetch FTP Client! The GUI is simple intuitive and easy to use, period.  On day one of getting my Vaio, I downloaded Filezilla and got the shock of my life. Where the hell are the "Get" and "Put" buttons, dammit! I ended up having to use my MacBook to plop a new site onto my ftp just so I can work directly from the server.  
From now on, I'll have to do the one thing that I always advise others to do when working with unfamiliar software, RTFM.

Today’s my 2nd day telecommuting on the Vaio, wish me luck.

• Buy a new Mac desktop  
• Replace the new desktop that arrived at my house cracked 
• Cancel the replacement 
• Get my money back (after over a month with no computer) 

The customer service experience was terrible. Based on weeks of being treated like garbage while attempting to spend thousands of dollars, I chose to move away from Apple. I opted for a Sony machine. 

In undergrad, I was surprised to learn that while we graphic design students swore by Apple Macbooks and Imacs, the game design students all programmed on Vaios. The high-end professional machines are sleek, light and fast as shit! Picking the Sony brand was a no brainer for me. 

When my F-series laptop showed up I had no idea how to work the damn thing. All I knew was that I’d need a bigger briefcase to accommodate the larger screen. In older Windows machines, font management was not intuitive; I had to suppress my initial freak out when I went looking for fonts in the "Control Panel". I probably shouldn’t have freaked out. Font management is much simpler, and there are previews like with Fontbook. 

Granted I haven’t opened MS Office on it yet--but the commercials on Hulu all claim it's awesome, functional and intuitive--we'll see.  I will make another update when it’s been a month.

This is my new favorite breakfast cereal. It's a knock off of a more expensive brand, and it's healthy as hell!! I started eating fiber select 3 weeks ago after picking up two boxes of the stuff on my bi-weekly grocery run.  

Bad job interviews happen. Sometimes it's the interviewee's fault, sometimes there just isn't a good fit, and sometimes the forces of nature conspire against a positive outcome. Whatever the reason, bad interviews happen. Look, here comes one now.

This past summer--also known as the hottest summer on record--my buddy Lisa* went on her first job  interview in over three years. The night before her appointment, she picked up a new pair of shoes to complete her interview ensemble. Little did she know that this purchase was to be her undoing.

The appointment took place on the Johns Hopkins campus. Her first stop was the Human Resources department, where she met the director and learned more about the position. The second stop was to be held across campus, with the department head and her potential, future boss.

The day began with a mad dash for public transport, followed by a painful walk to HR--the new shoes were binding, pinching, and burning. During the first Q &Q session, Lisa's feet howled in pain. When the meeting was over she felt down by the heel that burned the most and drew back fingers coated in blood. The too-small shoes had rubbed her feet raw and--before her actual  interview was even under way--she was already wounded. Before her 2nd trek across campus, Lisa stopped at an on-site pharmacy and bought a box of plastic bandages to cushion the friction and staunch the flow of blood. This was pointless because the humid atmosphere made it impossible for the cushioning to stick to her feet and the high heat made her feet swell; further exacerbating the problem.

By the time she got to the main  interview, she was consumed with worry and physical pain. She half answered questions and was uncahacteristically laconic. When it was over, Lisa walked out, removed her shoes and headed for the bus. Needless to say, there was no second interview and no job offer was made.




*Names have been changed to protect the innocent

It's time to update yours!

Here are a couple other job search resources that I know of.  I've gotten feedback from former jobseekers that these are valuable resources:

Friday, July 23rd was a particularly hot night; not just because of the 100+ degree temperatures. The Baltimore Symphony Opera brought the heat when conductor, Maryn Alsop, featured a local musician alongside her world-class orchestra.

The Musician: Shodekeh Dominic Talifero
The Instrument: His voice

I first met the beat boxer about ten years ago when he performed on one of the West-facing stages at the SoWeBohemian Arts and Music Festival. Of course, a decade ago he had an unfulfilling day job to pay the bills while he hustled to get face time on the stages across the region.

Today, Shodekeh works for himself. In the years between our first meeting and this most recent performance at the Meyerhoff , Shodekeh toiled tirelessly to push his music into ever growing arenas. His regular gig—of the last four years—is as the accompanying percussionist to a renowned ballet studio. He’s been on stage with KRS-1, numerous hip-hop elite, classical and world beat musicians, and emerging performance artists. He’s been interviewed on NPR and lends his voice—speaking and percussion—to promote the arts wherever he goes.

Check out part of the performance, https://vimeo.com/18653408

 At the Friday night concert, my jaw dropped when I heard the newest addition to his repertoire. Shodekeh does an uncanny rendition of a didgeridoo. The technique put me in mind of the throat singers of the Caucasus Mountains, but my ear was convinced that it was a five-foot long wooden pipe being blown into by an aboriginal Australian. I was literally gape-mouthed throughout the concert. Shodekeh has something that all would-be entrepreneurs need, confidence. This unwavering confidence in himself and his talents led him to get free of the nine-to-five shackles.

Another tool in his bag-of-tricks is his inexhaustible energy. Anyone who chooses to work for themselves knows that it means trading in the eight-hour daily routine for a 24/7, perpetual process of self promotion. It’s exhausting and rewarding. We recently had drinks at Tapas Teatro in Mt. Vernon. Shodekeh, not content to take a break, told me of his plan to take his classical-meets-contemporary performance to audiences nationwide. It’s an enormous undertaking. He knows that he can do it.

Frankly, so do I.