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| My work, my ideas, my faith, my life |
Torn Between Two LoversMy Programming Autobiography, Part 4By
June 4th, 2011
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Me at 35
My layoff from Volt Energy Systems when the Portland office was closed down left me unemployed in an economy that was floundering. I tried my hand at consulting, but I’m just not good at marketing. If I wanted to be a salesman, I would have been a salesman. I’m much happier being a nerd. (more…)
Adult ProgrammingMy Programming Autobiography, Part 3By
June 1st, 2011
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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
My first paying job was teaching programming classes at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) to children and adults. This was back when it was located next to the zoo in Washington Park.
I made only minimum wage, but really enjoyed it. There was such a marked difference between teaching adults and children. Teaching programming to adults is like trying to drag a boulder through the mud. Teaching children is like trying to sweep back the tide with a straw broom. (more…)
A Nerd Is Born!My Programming Autobiography, Part 2By
June 1st, 2011
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Me at 21
When I graduated high school, I ended up in various jobs: flipping burgers, folding linen at a hotel, warehousing, and working in a plasma donor facility spinning blood in a centrifuge. It was at the Fred Meyer warehouse in Clackamas, Oregon, that I had a back injury that set my life in a different direction, but in some ways, back to the BASIC–language, that is.
For a couple of years, I fought my way through the Workers Compensation system. Things weren’t good then. I spent weeks on end in bed or doctor’s offices. I could sit up a little for small amounts of time and the future looked pretty grim for our family. About that time, Radio Shack came out with the Color Computer (CoCo). (more…)
Back to the BASICMy Programming Autobiography, Part 1By
June 1st, 2011
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Me at 12
When I was 12, I lived in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was a college town. We lived first on the west side and I went to Marshall Elementary. That would have been around 1968.
One of my classmates was a particularly cerebral young man whose father worked at Lowell Observatory on the hills above the town. I was thrilled to be invited by this friend to visit his father’s work and see the computer. My friend carried a cardboard box, which I later found out was a computer program he was writing, stored on a stack of punched cards. (more…)
Grandpa’s ListMy Kids-Can-Do List in the Columbia River GorgeBy
May 13th, 2011
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Bluff Over Oneonta Gorge
As my son’s wedding approaches and it brings our family from various places. We are going to also have a big family picnic in the Columbia River Gorge. Here is my list of things that families with small children can do. Feel free to add any ideas in the comments below.
Going SteadyTrue SupportBy
April 12th, 2011
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As a social worker, I specialize in high-anxiety customers who have learned in their lives to try to get what they want by maladaptive behaviors. I say “to try” because it doesn’t actually work for them. It seems like it works because many people will give in or cater to the behavior, thinking that it is somehow the best way to deal with it.
However, it is only an illusion. It may get a person off of your back momentarily, but you haven’t done anything to help him deal with his anxiety. Sadly, if this person is someone you cannot easily escape, as in a professional or family relationship, you are only creating more anxiety that you will end up dealing with later. (more…)
There Are the Gauchos!They’re Back!By
January 12th, 2011
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Peanut Butter Gauchos Are Back!
On May 19, 2009, I posted one of the saddest blog posts of my life, “Where Are the Gauchos?” Due to the bankruptcy of Mother’s Cookies and Kellogg buying them up without making Peanut Butter Gauchos, I was looking at a bleak future without my favorite packaged cookies.
I’ve loved them since I was a kid. To me, they beat out Oreos and especially Nutter Butters. Don’t get me wrong. Both of these cookies are really good. I still delight to dunking an Oreo in milk and letting it get all smushy. I love to dunk a Nutter Butter too, but nothing is quite so wonderful squished between my tongue and my palate as a soggy Gaucho. (more…)
Defending Commercial ChristmasGo Ahead and ShopBy
December 12th, 2010
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Honored Traditions
One of the most maligned social institutions these days is a commercialized Christmas, and I believe, unfairly so. For me, Christmas, even as it is commercialized, is the highlight of the year. People are speaking out a lot lately about the evils of a commercialized Christmas. I want to defend it. (more…)
A Day in the LifeMy WorkBy
December 2nd, 2010
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As anyone who knows me well will attest, I like spicy food. I write about it in “Some Like It Hot“. I guess that if variety is the spice of life, then my days and work are also very spicy.
A common misconception about me that is perpetuated by people who hear me talking social work or psychology, is that I’m some kind of therapist or counselor. I’ve been introduced that way and always have to correct it.
I am a social worker in the trenches. What I mean by that is that I don’t sit in an office, unless I’m doing administrative stuff. My work is out in the community with clients, teaching life skills and making sure that people who don’t normal have access to community activities because of disability get a chance to get out of their homes. (more…)
The Longest Nights of Human ExperienceBy
October 3rd, 2010
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Punch Bowl Falls, Eagle Creek Trail
As a Latter-day Saint, the first full weekend of October is the General Conference of the Church of of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of it is broadcast on cable/satellite television. I watch it on the BYU channel. It always holds lots of meaning for me, and every once in awhile, has something that seems directly at or for me. Yesterday’s morning session held just such a moment. (more…)
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