Max stepped into his private boat

... and waved good-bye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot.

Once again my blogging has caused un-necessary stress and stuff in the real world. It seems I'm unable to escape this phenomenon, and so until further notice this blog is now closed.

Factors of a good job

I realized today that there are multiple factors that determine whether or not a particular job is "good." They differ from person to person, and not all of them are obvious. From my two post under-grad jobs, I have gleaned information about my "good job" factors. From my time at Xilinx, I learned that I prefer a work environment that is low stress. I realize that all jobs will have deadlines, etc, but not everything needs to be reacted to in such a way that creates more stress for co-workers. Rational reactions will not result in unnecessary stress. I also realized I do not want to work in the IT/support environment.
From my current job, I have learned I require varying intellectual stimulation. Repetitive or monotonous jobs quickly lose my interest. I also need a mature work environment, where people are serious about their job, and the company they work for.
I left Xilinx because I did not like the unnecessary stress I detected from the employees we supported. I knew that the position at Peet's would be a much more relaxed work environment.
And now, in perfect 20/20 hindsight, as well as taking into account new knowledge about my preferred work environment, I realize that leaving Xilinx was a bad decision. Weighing the factors from both jobs, Xilinx fills more of them than Peet's retail does. Peet's corporate may very well be different, but I don't think commuting to Emeryville every day is a really practical thing to do.
So now, here I am, monotonously doing the same thing 5 days a week, working with young kids who don't really have much vested in the company. I on the otherhand, try to work by the rules I'm given by my superiors; but that seems to be an optional part of the job, given the behaviors of my co-workers. So back onto the job market I go, with new knowledge that will hopefully help me land a more satisfying position.
Update: Another factor that Peet's taught me is that I hate smelling like coffee all the time.

A call to the GIMP developer community

I "grew up" (spent my formative computer learning years) with Linux. I've been active in GNOME's theme community, and consequently, learned my image designing on The GIMP. I am a satisfied owner of "Grokking the GIMP", and consider that book to be an excellent resource guide into the world of The GIMP, even though it covers the (now out-dated GIMP 1.2). The last few years, I have become one of the many Linux-to-MacOS X converts, and am very satisfied with the transition. I have less time to spend toodling around on different Linux distributions, and feel that MacOS X is a great median; the power of UNIX underneath, with an excellent, usable GUI on top. I still tend to be very graphic oriented still, and don't think that will ever change. I enjoy casual photography, as does my girlfriend, so I still have rather hefty image requirements. And this is where my problem arises.
The only decent, OS X native image manipulation software I know of is Adobe Photoshop, and as we all know, the average person doesn't have $699.99 to drop on a software application they'll used occasionally to hack up some wallpapers. To me, GIMP is more lightweight, and better designed, usability-wise. Photoshop only gets away with being so horribly designed because it has a user-base that's used to it. As a GIMP-first, Photoshop-second user, I constantly find myself working in GIMP rather than Photoshop because GIMP's features are easier to find, and more intuitive to use.
I feel there's a huge, untapped user-base that GIMP can take under their wing. The OS X open-source converts, like myself, are loathe to drop $700 on an application, when we know there's a perfectly good (arguably better) image manipulation application out there. The question then is, why is there not a native Aqua port of GIMP? I know GIMP is developed on a volunteer basis, but if GIMP is serious about becoming a viable competitor of Photoshop, a native port on OS X is absolutely vital. As we all know, OS X is the de-facto OS for graphic design, and GIMP is losing major competition points by missing a port on this OS.
I know its not easy, and I know I'm just spouting off fumes by not porting it myself, but the truth is, I'm not a developer, I'm a user, and I don't have time to become a developer. I just hope the GIMP community understands the importance of Mac OS's role in the future of GIMP as the best image manipulation application in the world. Because lets face it, GIMP rocks. And with a native Cocoa port, GIMP can rule the world.

Some decent Podcasts

So I've downloaded and checked out a few more Podcasts. They are: The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd (External website), Inside Mac Radio, and iTunes New Music Tuesday.
I tried The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd first, and was hooked. Its excellent. Its educational fiction with a wonderful Rocky & Bullwinkle feel (sound?) to it. I definitely recommend it.
Then I gave a listen to the iTunes New Music Tuesday podcast. It didn't really keep my attention, though I suppose if you're into new music, and are an iTunes junkie, it'd work well for you. There's more information about new artists in the podcast than just reading Apple's New Music Tuesday email (I think).
And last, I gave Inside Mac Radio a try, and boy is it nice. Daily releases of Mac news, very well digested into a short five to ten minute news segment. Excellent source of information for the Mac/Apple realm.
Overall, I like the Doctor Floyd radio show best. Its the serialized fiction I was hoping for.