A Letter to Microsoft

Estimated reading time for this post: 1 minute 3 seconds. Read it Later?


Dear Microsoft®,

I just saw your latest commercial for your search engine Bing™. Your tag line was “the decision engine” which I find particularly fitting since you have been making decisions for millions of us every day. Not even giving us a choice. Sometime I don’t even know you have made a decision FOR ME until it’s too late. Like when I need to update my software, or what programs are considered malicious and what needs to be blocked “automatically.” I like making my own decisions thank you.

Now you’ve gone and done it again, Microsoft. Politely telling me I am not smart enough to make my own decisions without your guidance or worse, your total control. Actually, it doesn’t feel polite at all. It feels manipulative and I don’t like it. Microsoft, you have become “the man” or rather, you have been “the man” for quite some time and I want you to know, I choose Firefox. I choose Google. I choose Adobe. And when I can, I choose freeware because it’s a free country.

And you thought your biggest competitor was Apple… Microsoft, I am breaking up with you. 

Respectfully, (despite your utter lack of respect for me.)

Natalie

I LOVE October!

Estimated reading time for this post: 2 minute 30 seconds. Read it Later?

I love October. I am not entirely sure why but my suspicion is that I have visions of beautiful fall colors, orange pumpkins, apple cider and warm fuzzy scarves. In western Washington though, you are lucky if you get a few fleeting days before the leaves are blown and rained into oblivion, only to clog gutters and get stuck to your shoes. I refuse to admit that it's entirely possible that my affinity for October lies in the fact that it is also my birth month. I'd sooner admit to enjoying dressing up for Halloween. No, I am certain my longing for the autumn is based on the promise of those temporary jewels that disappear as quickly as they arrive.


This year has been totally different. We had a rough start, with a weak showing this summer, but just as I had been dreaming and hoping (for a couple years actually), the month of October has been simply wonderful. Just yesterday, I was staring out the window while forcing myself to jog on the treadmill, (not a happy point in my day), when I noticed something. Outside it was the beginning of sunset but across the parking lot of the gym was a street lined with maples that had turned yellow. At this time of night, they looked almost luminescent. It was a total trick of the eye but it was like the trees were glowing and I was captivated. It’s moments like that where a picture could hardly do it justice but the memory will stick with me.

There is nothing I love more than crisp, sunny mornings where the leaves are starting to turn yellow and you can see your breath!  Defrosting the ice on your windows only takes a few moments because the air really isn’t as cold as it first seems. And I don’t even mind because I know that bright blue cloudless sky will be worth the extra few minutes of warming the car.

There is another reason I love this time of year and it helps me get over the very short window of color October provides me. I must confess, I am a bit of a scarf wh*re, (my family reads this) and I have probably 20-25 different colored scarves, although I haven’t counted in a year or so. And yes, I try to wear them all at least once. Blues, oranges, pinks and greens, you name it. And all these colors cheer me. They give me joy on the grayer days of winter and I’m pretty sure I’m a little addicted to buying them.

So for this October, I’d like to thank Mother Nature, Steve Poole, and my mom, because without her, I might have been born at some other time of the year. I hear the rains are about to start at the end of this week so enjoy these short days.

Now let’s all get ready for one heck of a La Nina this winter. Get ‘cher umbrellas and boats ready!
Thanks!

Semi-Homemade Spicy Orange Chicken Recipe

Estimated reading time for this post: 2 minute 49 seconds. Read it Later?

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Sauce: (this recipe has been halved since I only serve two people)
1 ½ cups water
4 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
½ teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Chicken:

Tyson Buffalo Style Popcorn Chicken Bites® (try regular if you don't like it spicy)

Added Fun-ness:
Frozen Peppers (I chop mine a little, but that is entirely preference)
Baby Carrots (julienned & boiled with the rice. Julienne cut carrots cook faster.)

Oh yeah, you'll want RICE with this dish since the sauce is awesome. I use the Uncle Dan’s® Boil-in-a-Bag® brand but I have used regular Minute Rice and boiling the carrots with it, didn't seem to affect how the rice turned out.  Of course, I likely over cook my rice anyhow. Gourmet, I ain’t!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the popcorn chicken on a cookie sheet and follow the cooking directions on the bag. So, in my case, I would put half a bag of the popcorn chicken on the sheet and cook them for 10 - 12 minutes. That should be enough for three people.

2. Grab a pot and boil your rice and julienned carrots, this works for me because the Uncle Ben's Boil-in-a-Bag takes like 10-12 minutes. Depending on the rice you choose, you may have to cook your carrots some other way or leave them out. (You can steam them in the Micro.)

3. NOW, while you have a second, start making the sauce. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water separately then stir water/cornstarch mixture into the sauce.

4. Reduce heat to medium low, fish out your carrots and add them and the peppers and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I go until the peppers look done.) The sauce thickens as it cools but you can add more cornstarch... not that I would recommend this, especially if you want to eat leftovers that don't look like jell-o.

5. Now while you were making the sauce, the Chicken and the Rice should have finished cooking. Perhaps the Chicken may have even cooled. You can add the piping hot sauce to the chicken and everything should warm back up.

I tweak my recipes nearly every time I make them. This recipe is a foundation to build on and make changes to so feel free to make them and leave them below as comments. I would love to hear how you have improved upon this.

Thanks!

2 Minute Book Review: For One More Day

Estimated reading time for this post: 2 minute 17 seconds. Read it Later?

Book: For One More Day
Author: Mitch Albom
Audio book read by: Mitch Albom

I usually try to steer clear from those melodramatic, tear-jerker best sellers because they are usually so predictable. You know the ones, they are written by authors with names like Sparks, Picoult, Hosseini, and Niffenegger. Somehow these books always end up on my checkout list from the local library. The public has a love affair with sad stories that may or may not even be realistic. These authors have the magic equation of 1 parts believable or relatable characters, 2 parts absorbing story, and 3 parts sentimentality.

That said, I just finished one of these stories, having been sucked in by a Mitch Albom book. He is just about the king of sentimentality, and I am not certain he has written a story yet that wasn’t a about the sad yet life affirming event of death, or at least one that was popular.

(I do get tired of seeing all of his books say, on the cover no less, “Author of Tuesdays with Morrie.” If he hasn’t made buckets and buckets full of money on his other books yet, they he’ll never be considered a Best Selling Author.)

Anyway, this book was called ‘For One More Day,” and I would have to say that the title says it all. You know things are going to get sad when you only have one more day. Needless to say, I knew what I was getting into with this one.

I was surprised only once in the entire story and it was at the very end. I won’t give it away, but it’s safe to say the story was about a man, spending one more day with his mother. Sort of a “do-over” the main character gets to be with his deceased mother for a single day, learning valuable truths and lessons about life and his mother’s biggest secrets.

The story held my attention, but I am a sucker for stories about families that have been split by divorce, coming from one myself. It was a short listen (Audiobook) and I was only left with one question when the book was complete. I’d say that is pretty good, all things considered. The story turned a little preachy, like most of his books usually do, and there were the standard quotable inspirational lines.I can't say that I gained any insight into my own mother but there were a few moments where I could relate, but I have a sneaking suspicion this is all part of his formula.

My final analysis of this book is that was not terrible, and I appreciated a little change-up in the ending. Would I recommend it? Probably. Would I go out of my way to tell people to read it? Probably not. For me, it was just OK. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for a mushy, meandering inspirational. My only defense is that I have a long commute and books on tape are better than the advertisements on the radio.

Feel free to leave me a comment. Maybe you actually LOVED this book and can't stand hearing anyone say something negative. Let me know.

Calculating Estimated READING Time for your Blog

Estimated reading time for this post: 2 minute 17 seconds. Read it Later?

It is nearly impossible to find a direct calculation method for determining reading time for a piece of writing. This made me mad, and made my head hurt trying to figure it out myself. So I am going to post this on the web, where I can find it again the next time I need it. (I know I had it on a Post-it® somewhere around here….) So here is how I estimate the reading time for my blog posts. This is specifically for my web articles but technically this could be used for any piece of writing.

Accepted average for words per minute that an average person reads:     200-250 wpm

Armed with this knowledge I give readers the benefit of distraction and possibly their sleepiness level. I use 200 wpm to do my calculations. If you read faster, then that is great. If not, then this is sufficiently low, as any lower and I would recommend Tim Ferriss’ PX Project for training to read faster.

So here are the numbers you will have to come up with:

• Choose an appropriate average wpm count for your reading audience. (On my work blog I use 250 because our audience is normally Graduate Engineers with Masters degrees or higher. For this example however, I will be using 200 WPM.)
• Total Word Count for the document/article/piece of writing

This blog entry has 455 words. Trust me, it does. So let’s use that as a word count. Here is your first equation.

455 tw / 200 wpm = 2.275 minutes

tw = total words
wpm = words per minute (average)

Now that’s all fine and dandy but what is .275 minutes? It’s not 28 seconds! So here is the last step to get the number into a for that makes a little more sense. Take that decimal part, .275 minutes, and multiply that by 60 because that is how many seconds are in 1 minute.

So:

0.275 minutes x 60 = 16.5 seconds

Since this is a decimal I would just round up and say 17 seconds. If you were incredible anal and thought milliseconds on the ESTIMATED reading time really mattered, you could do more. I, however, will go no further.

So here is the math equations in its entirety and the formatted solution.

(# of Total Words) / (Average WPM) = Reading time in Minutes

455 / 200 = 2.275

Take and remaining Decimal from the “Reading Time in Minutes” answer and multiply that by 60 to get your Seconds.

0.275 x 60 = 16.5

2 Minute 17 seconds to read this article. 

(Of course I include the disclaimer that this time is Estimated. ;)

2 Minute Book Review: Along for the Ride

Reading time for this post: 1 minute, 33 seconds. Read it Later

Book: Along for the Ride
Author: Sarah Dessen
Audio book read by: Rachel Botchan


This book is a summer read that takes place the summer after high school graduation for the main character Auden, an 18 year old girl. I found myself relating closely with the main character whose family is split and father remarried. Set in a small town on the coast is definitely familiar to me, but the small town was surprisingly not used as a supporting character, thank goodness.

In fact the author did a remarkable job with creating likeable and believable characters, avoided annoying pitfalls of cliché teen dialog. Maggie was particularly likeable, and many of the characters grew on me. For a story that was a little predictable, I was sincerely grateful that there were a few surprises left for the reader.  It was a relief to have a teen romance that wasn’t wrought with drama and too much sex, it was simply a sweet love story.

I was disappointed that we didn’t get to learn more about some of the supporting characters, or for that matter, the lead love interest. The author spent a great deal of time describing Auden’s father but fails to resolve the conflict she creates, and for that I am also frustrated. At least we get to see her mother grow as an individual, her father seems to remain much the same.

What you will find in this book is some fun characters that you might have even known in your own high school years, and a charming love story with a happy ending. The title, “Along for the Ride” is used as a device to explain how when life knocks you down, you need to get back up and try again. Sometimes there are second chances.  This book was light enough and as a summer read it’s perfect. If you are looking for solid resolutions for all of the back stories, then you may be left hanging.

2 Minute Book Review: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

Reading time for this post: 1 minute, 52 seconds. Read it Later

Book: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies
Author: Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
Audio book read by: Katherine Kellgren


This book was exceedingly more exciting than the original story, but I should admit I have been a Pride and Prejudice fan since first reading the book nearly ten years ago (and watching subsequent films). Adding to the humor in the story, the reader Katherine Kellgren made all the characters more relatable. Her rendition of the story made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. The humor is subtle in some sections and is worth a second look. Not to worry, the love story did not get in the way of the zombies.  Zombies did nothing to detract from this story, and gratuitous scenes were made all the more hilarious with the matter of fact nature of the lead character Elizabeth Bennett. She certainly has the confidence, humor and sass to pull that off. Oh yeah, did I mention the ninjas?


For me, the book had plenty of gratuitous zombie sleighing scenes, and a particularly touching scene with mother and her zombie son, the last of her remaining family. Readers looking for more gore, blood, and death might be disappointed, since the book does try to add a hint of humanity as the story proceeds. I was also bummed that the book lacks even a hinted explanation of how the zombie epidemic began. I was disappointed when, at one point, attempts at medical or scientific cure for the plague were hinted at but nothing more than a mention. This is particularly distressing since it is used as a device in the story to explain a character’s behavior.

If I had to make a choice, the audio book probably makes this story more enjoyable than reading, only because this story should be presented with as much personality as possible. If you are not able to slog through the writing style of authors such as Jane Austen, reading this version of the story provides little relief. However, listening to the audio book may be the answer.

In my opinion, NOT A SUGGESTION, this zombie-filled book could be substituted for the original for the particularly immature (or the average joe). What better way to get the unwilling to read an Austen novel? I would recommend this book even to Austen fans, but only those with a sense of humor and are not afraid of the ridiculous premise.

Why am I Nervous?

The funny thing about interviewing someone is that I shouldn’t be the one who is nervous. This is the second time I have gone through an interview process where I was the interviewer as opposed to the interviewee.

The first time was almost a year and a half ago now, and it went terribly. It wasn’t that I was ill prepared, because I rarely go into anything unprepared. It was more the fact that I did not have a clear objective. I knew I needed some assistance in my department, and I was allowed to find an intern.

Great! I’ll take two! …or maybe not.

I had no idea what I expected from the new intern. I didn’t even know where my authority lay, or if my boss was in charge of them. It was a total mess, and totally unfair for that person. Granted, it was a poorly chosen candidate to begin with, I still won’t take all of the blame for the failed first attempt at hiring.

Now it’s time for some redemption. This intern won’t go home crying.

This time around, I not only looked closely at updating my job description, I also identified more fully, the projects I will be expecting the candidate complete. I recommend having a full list of projects you are willing to part with if you are looking to hire an assistant or intern.

This may be because of the first failed attempt, but I definitely have a better idea what skills the ideal candidate should possess. I may not be able to identify the personality traits to avoid, but I certainly know how to look for each candidate’s strengths. If you prioritize those key projects and figure out what skills will be needed to complete them, it will be so much easier to know if someone will fit the position and save yourself a lot of heartache.

My game plan went like this:
1.    Figure out what projects I needed the most help with, or projects that I was neglecting or behind in completing.

2.    Put this list in order of priority.

3.    Present the list to my boss, and convince them that no human could complete these tasks in addition to the other items in my workload. (I’m a department of one.)

4.    Identify the skills needed to complete the tasks.

5.    Base a detailed job description on the tasks and skills that a student might reasonably have, or quickly learn.

6.    I wanted a test of ability to help weed out the weakest candidates, and I chose to have each applicant create a sample marketing email from one of our products.

(This helps me on a few levels. I get to see a sample of their writing, and also their creativity and research aptitude. Most interns do not bring previous work samples even if they happen to have any.)

7.    If the job is an internship like this one was, I needed to have an evaluative plan in place in order to set realistic goals.

(Project time lines and learning objectives that the hired intern will have should be determined at the start of employment, but it’s always good to have some objectives ready before you hire someone.)

8.    This one is KEY. Post the job in as many appropriate places as possible.

(Besides the obvious places like Monster.com, college career centers, the state’s job employment services and the people in your own office are often very good ways of getting the word out about the job opening. If people can’t find the job listing, then your pool of candidates are going to be very slim indeed. I even used Twitter and Facebook, but this might not always be appropriate.)

I have found that lately, the people referred to us by our current employees have been particularly strong candidates, and are often the ones who are eventually hired.

I also learned that no matter how much prep work I put into each interview (an I didn’t even do the scheduling!) I am still a tiny bit nervous before each new person walks in the door.  I can read and select the perfect questions, but experience is the only way to strengthen that interviewing muscle. Ironically, I was equally nervous on the other side of the interview.

I wonder if that is true for all new interviewers or just people who are more on the shy side? I would be interested to hear other points of view, and also other tips or personal experiences on hiring.

As before, feel free to leave me your comments or drop me a line, just be sure to keep it clean!

My Baby is SICK!!!

I would like to preface this entry with the fact that I am not a parent, I have no human baby, this is NOT a mommy blog. I don’t even have a pet.

What I do have is 2002 Ford Focus SE (Comfort Edition) that was my first grown-up purchase. The first, credit building purchase I made (and paid off I might add), and I call her “Little Silver” and sometimes the “Silver Bullet.” She has been with me through my move to college, my move back after graduation, and the many, many miles I have accumulated driving to work for the last three years since graduation.

We have had some really great adventures. I remember a specific spring break road trip down the 101 highway on the Oregon Coast with my best friend. We barely even looked at the map, but we took lots of lovely pictures, and ate terrible road trip foods. I also bought my first fillet mignon that trip, but only thanks to my best friend’s mother, who had pity on us and paid for an extra night in a hotel for us. We used our extra cash to treat ourselves to a gourmet dinner.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses. We’ve had our fender benders, but I am totally honest in saying that the two incidents I am referring to, were entirely not my fault. (It’s true, check my records!) I was rear-ended at a stop light one time, and in hindsight (pun intended) I think the guy may have been drunk. But I digress.

I have tried to be good to Little Silver, took her for her check-ups, oil changes, and filled her tank when she was thirsty. We’ve gone on leisurely drives, exciting unplanned adventures, and been through some wicked and wild weather. She even has her winter shoes! (Studded Tires)

But I can’t stop the inevitable, and I realize she is getting older. I mean, eight people years is like 80 in car years. She should be in retirement and relaxing in my driveway. But no, she is my service car, and I need her to get to my place of employment.

And now, she is sick.

She sputters like she is choking on phlegm, and I can only imagine she has some incurable car pneumonia. Cars don’t always survive car pneumonia. This breaks my heart.

I know some people would like to say, “Hey, it’s just a friggin’ Focus, it’s not even a very good year!” But to them I say, “Go to H, E double hockey sticks!" because she’s still my first new car I ever owned. There is some kind of connection we make to our first car, well, at least the first one we buy ourselves.


So tomorrow I am taking her in to the doctor, and getting a diagnosis. There will be talk of mileage I am sure, and even possibly replacement parts, but I am not ready to send her down the river. She is just a little sick. But if you let a little symptom go, it might turn into a cancer. An no car is worth saving if it comes to that. So I will say a little prayer tonight, and leave her in trusted hands. I can only hope the remedy is a cheap one… I promise I will wash you more if you make it through this!