One of the RSS feeds I subscribe to is for the Ubuntu Geek site. They publish some great tutorials and news, and I keep learning new things from them. (They’ve been in our sidebar links for some time.) Friday they had an article about a great way to watch YouTube videos that I flagged to look at more when I had the time. Yesterday I got time to check it out and found what could be one of my new MustHave apps.

Minitube is a killer app for enjoying YouTube vids that not only doesn’t have anything to do with your web browser, but it also doesn’t require Adobe Flash. Instead you simply enter a keyword and Minitube creates a video stream for you. Of course you don’t have to watch the whole stream, you can cherry pick the video or videos that you want to watch and just sit back and enjoy the videos. There isn’t a way to save any of the vids you find to enjoy on your Digital media player (like my beloved E100), but you can open a video in your web browser.

One of the best features of Minitube is that it isn’t a GNU/Linux-only app. You can also run it on the MacOS, but there hasn’t been success building it for Windows yet.

The Minitube website has great installation instructions, complete with links to a PPA, and you can even get a Debian-style package from GetDeb. Just remember that a package on GetDeb may not be completely compatible with other Debian-based distributions. But you can also snag the source code, as well as a universal for OSX.

Thanks to the good folks over at Ubuntu Geek for turning me on to this amazing app. If you end up loving Minitube as much as I do please feel free to use his donate buttons. It’s definitely worth contributing some of your disposable income to.

Over fifty million users entrust their professional identities and relationships with LinkedIn, helping build LinkedIn into the largest global professional network today. However, professionals around the world use a wide variety of applications and Web sites to get their work done, and they have spoken loud and clear that they want the ability to leverage their professional networks wherever they work.

Starting today, developers worldwide can integrate LinkedIn into their business applications and Web sites. Developer.linkedin.com is now live and open for business.

The evolution of the LinkedIn Platform

Over the past months, LinkedIn has supported integrations with some of the most prominent and critical software applications in the enterprise. Partnerships with companies like IBM, Blackberry (Research in Motion), and most recently Microsoft, have given us time to invest in both functionality and scalability of the platform.

S

oftware is moving to the cloud, and business applications need context for who people are and how they are related. LinkedIn now is the obvious choice as a provider for those services. It is hard to imagine a business application that would not benefit from LinkedIn integration.”

– Roger Neal, SVP/GM at BusinessWeek Digital, McGraw-Hill

At LinkedIn, we have always believed that business applications are better when they are built over a platform of professional reputation and relationships. In real life, our most valuable professional assets are the skills and experience we acquire and the trusted relationships we build. It’s not surprising that business software becomes more productive and valuable when it is built over these services.

How can I start developing for the LinkedIn Platform today?

Registering as a LinkedIn developer is as simple as filling out a form on developer.linkedin.com. The LinkedIn platform leverages the open OAuth standard to make integrations from almost any language and development environment as simple as possible.

W

hat a breath of fresh air. We were able to go to http://developer.linkedin.com, request a key, and actually write functioning code in less than 15 minutes. It’s amazing to have access to such a powerful platform on tap at any time.”

– Iain Dodsworth, Founder and CEO of TweetDeck

A number of developers who have helped provide us with feedback and guidance in our development will be announcing integrations in the coming weeks. For example, TweetDeck is announcing full support for the LinkedIn platform in its next version. Now you can easily view or take action on your LinkedIn network updates from within TweetDeck, with the full integration of the LinkedIn profile information of the person who posted the update.

This is the beginning of a new set of opportunities for the LinkedIn platform, and we look forward to seeing the integrations that developers will launch in the coming weeks and months.

Stay tuned for additional enhancements over during the coming months as we learn and grow this platform together.

Y’ulz, I am an entrepreneur. Did y’ulz know that? Sometimes I can’t ‘touch you’ via blogging because I am ‘running this town tonight’.

N E wayz…

I hav a dream. And that dream is to cre8 my vry own facebook appy. It will be called FUCKVILLE, and its appeal is quite logical y’all. Basically, various small, lonely animals will wonder in and out of your fbook profile, and you will be offered the chance 2 ‘fuck them’.

A screenshot of how the average user will interface with Fuckville.

What do y’als think? Am basically pitching it to my VC bros as ‘the ultimate facebook app, a rollercoaster ride of sex, sheep and fuckery’. Think it’ll be a hit y’ulle? Am going to do a spot market research poll (for my FLYSWAT analysis later, pls leave your answer as a comment):

Will FUCKVILLE be a hit appy?

a) You’re a fucking genius Alex. Fucking fuck.

b) Of course it will. You can make an app out of anything and the laggards on the facebook adoption cycle will lap it up because they’re lower middle-class worker ants who drive third-hand hatchbacks and aspire to being head supervisor at the forklift company and playing Fuckville will allow them to ‘take back their time’ (via looking like they’re working)

c) No ways. Fucking sheep is sooooo 2000-and-late

d) If you release this app into the armies of spammy app-lapping tards on facebook I will kill myself and leave this blog post open on my laptop so ppl know why I did it.

e) There is already an app like this, except they call ‘fucking’ “farming”. Perhaps the similarity is intentional?

Appreciate your help on my individual journey to entrepreneurial greatness. If you would like the once-in-a-lifetime chance 2 be a part of this ’sure thing’ y’als can drop me a comment telling me the top 5 ‘animals people like 2 fuck’ & I will get back 2 you based on the acumen displayed in your insights. Thanks 4 helping me ‘work night and day’ 2 make the internet ‘a more fun place’ for y’ulz.

I’ve spent  the last two days,when I supposed to be writing my essays to meet the R2 deadline for INSEAD,reading other INSEADers blogs.They range from I love INSEAD but hate the cliques to I love INSEAD and the founder’s grandmother and her little poodle.Why have I been reading those blogs? Because I am broke,and cannot take a trip to france or singapore to visit the campus,meet these (i’m sure) delightful folks and hear what’s there on the website,straight from their mouths! Yes,the live audio version would be really good I bet.So I decided to stalk them through their blogs,and read what they really think –some still hoping they are as anonymous when they started -hoping their rants are not traceable..other’s not giving a flying fuck about what you know about them,and yet others who again,reproduce the INSEAD website on their blogs.Oh yes I am very,very judgemental.

Whatever those blogs said,I think INSEAD would be the place I want to go-yes the foul mouthed,illegal substances loving ,rude but thinking she is real witty  me. I cannot for a moment think why they wouldn’t want me–oh right,they are full of people like me already..hmm.Diversity my cute little ass.

von offiziellen Applications und applikatorischem Eigengebräu.

Als bekennender Geocacher stellte sich mir natürlich schon am zweiten Tag mit der Palme die Frage:
Gibt es fürs Cachen eine Application?
Ich hatte zwar noch keine Ahnung, wie ich die Synchronisation zwischen Palme und PC machen sollte, wohin und wie ich Daten speicher, schicken, löschen konnte; aber eine App für Cachen musste sofort her!

Also im Netz ein bißchen recherchiert und siehe da, es gibt etwas.

Allerdings gab es da auf meinem Palm den “offizielen” AppKatalog und im Internet wurde immer wieder von “homebrew” Apps geschrieben, die nicht im offiziellen AppKatalog seien.
Zudem wies der AppKatalog von Palm noch nicht viele Apps für uns Europäer aus, die homebrew-Eigengebräu-Apps waren da doch schn viel zahlreicher vertreten.
Und das war/ist wohl auch der Grund für diese beiden Arten von Apps. Weil es eben noch so wenige Apps im offiziellen Katalog gibt, bzw. überhaupt wenige von Palm releaste Apps, haben sich die findigen WebOs-Programmierer daran gemacht, selbst auf privater Basis Apps zu programmieren und dafür dann eben diese Parallel-Apps-Welt ins Leben gerufen. Für die Installation dieser homebrew-Apps muss zuvor noch eine kleine Modifikation an der Palme vorgenommen werden, aber mit einer guten Anleitung war das selbst für mich Newbie kein Problem.

Doch zuerst mal zum offiziellen App-Catalog
Dieser ist auf der 2. Seite zu finden und schmückt sich mit diesem hübschen Icon.

Die Apps kann manch sich nach den verschiedensten Kritierien angeordnet zeigen lassen.

“Datenblatt” einer App

Datenblatt einer App

Es gibt teilweise schon Rezensionen anderer Nutzer, die man durchlesen kann vor der Installation der App

Für standortbasierte Apps muss extra zugestimmt werden, da während des Betriebs der App der Standort des Nutzers angegeben/abgerufen wird.

Nach dem Downloaden kann entweder weiter im Katalog geblättert werden oder man kann die App direkt starten.

installierte App

I just love this application for my iTouch! I was able to have this run on my music device earlier and I can’t help but get excited to master its features. I was excited to learn that posting feeds for both my Twitter and Facebook can be such a cinch using this application, no more logging in to two different applications! A must-have application for every iTouch and iPhone users!

Anyways,so here it is.another MBA applicant ’s blog .hopefully some of these posts will translate into yippee I got an admit to INSEAD,LBS,Oxford,the Sheikh’s private bar,the keys to his gold covered customised lambourgini.

And since I am so into the glen family of single malts,they will often come up in posts,in many more ways that one,if the past is any testimony.

The renowned research agency Gartner, famous for being quite advanced with new media, recently published a study identifying the top 10 mobile applications for 2012. Well, interesting though not really surprising.

1. Money Transfers
2. Location-Based Services
3. Mobile Search
4. Mobile Browsing
5. Mobile Health Monitoring
6. Mobile Payment
7. Near Field Communication Services
8. Mobile Advertising
9. Mobile Instant Messaging
10. Mobile Music
    

Check out the press release with further information on the applications: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1230413

Prost,
Florian

3207912    การใช้วัสดุทางทันตกรรมประดิษฐ์ประยุกต์    Dental Material Utilization In Prosthodontic Applications

วัสดุที่ใช้ในงานทันตกรรมประดิษฐ์ คุณสมบัติทางกายภาพ เคมี เชิงกล และชีวภาพของวัสดุเหล่านั้น ข้อบ่งชี้ ข้อดี ข้อเสีย และการวางมาตรฐานของทันตวัสดุ รวมถึงการวิเคราะห์ปัญหาทางคลินิกที่เกี่ยวข้องกับทันตวัสดุเพื่อให้เข้าใจความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างทันตวัสดุกับเทคนิคการใช้งาน

(The materials used in prosthodontics; physical, chemical, mechanical and biological properties; indication, advantages, disadvantages and standardization of dental materials including clinical problem analysis related to dental materials in order to understanding the relationship between dental materials and clinical usage; the dental materials consisted of restorative materials, impression matterials, waxes, cements, investments, polymers, ceramic, metal and alloys as well as composite materials.)

(3207912 จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย)

Open a Terminal and type:
sudo apt-get install python-opengl python-gtkglext1

Then open/restart glChess.

iBlast Moki

A physics puzzle game where you strategically place bombs to blast the creatures to the destination. 50+ different levels, starts getting challenging after 25 or so levels.

Robocalypse

A fully featured real time strategy game that is a port of the well received Nintendo DS title. The 1.5 update added a crucial feature (saving during missions) that makes it much more playable since it takes a more than a couple of minutes to finish a level.

Sentinel 2

A tower defence games that differentiates itself with the inclusion of gates, other non tower weapons (missile attacks, robot drone attacks) and a wide range of towers. You also gain interest on the money you have not spent.

Meteor Blitz

A fun twin stick shooter on the iPhone that is reminiscent of PSN game Super Stardust HD on the PS3. You can upgrade various features of you ship which include speed, boost, cannon/fire/ice weapon and a gravity gun.

Ragdoll Blast

Another physics puzzler, this one involves shooting a rag doll out of a cannon to hit a target. 104 levels, the objects in the world have a great sense of weight and physics.

Ground Effect

A simple but fundamentally well done racer that is like Wipeout or F-zero, runs smoothly and utililises the tilt controls to steer the ship.

Beneath a Steel Sky

A point and click adventure that is not only long (some say 10 hours) but includes voice acting. It is a remastering of the PC version. Amazing value at AUD$1.19.

That wraps up the last 7 games I have purchased for my iPod touch. It should be noted that all where purchased during AUD$1.19/USD$1 sales. I would recommend all of them but it depends on your taste in games.

Minutes are now available of the July 26, 2009 meeting of LIPA, the Legal Information Preservation Alliance, held in Washington, DC, at the 2009 AALL Annual Meeting. LIPA coordinates legal information preservation efforts in the United States. Here are some highlights of the July 2009 meeting:

• The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) has appointed a Drafting Committee on Authentication and Preservation of State Electronic Legal Materials, to write a uniform state law setting standards for the preservation and authentication of U.S. state legal resources in digital format. The Committee Reporter is Professor Barbara A. Bintliff of the University of Colorado School of Law.
• The Chespeake Project Legal Information Archive completed its pilot project, during which it captured and preserved 4306 digital law-related information resources, in a system that runs on the CONTENTdm platform. LIPA Executive Director Margaret Maes reported that the Chesapeake Project “is now part of LIPA under the umbrella of the Legal Information Archive,” and LIPA members were to be invited to participate in the Legal Information Archive in the fall of this year;
• Professor Kent McKeever of Columbia University Law School reported on LIPA’s Print Retention Program, which monitors and coordinates the retention of print legal resources among U.S. law libraries. Here is the most recent report on this program. This project currently involves Columbia University’s Diamond Law Library and the Harvard Law School Library. There are plans to expand the project to enable other libraries to commit to preserving particular print legal resources. “There is a parallel project being done by the old RLG group whereby preservation status will be in 583 field of the bibliographic record. This model will allow smaller libraries to be able to participate in the print retention project.”
• LIPA has named a Digital Preservation Priorities and Inventory Committee, which is “developing priorities for selecting materials for a repository of digital and born-digital information and maintaining that information on the LIPA Website”;
• LIPA has a new strategic plan, whose goals include:
• promoting preservation of born-digital and print legal information resources;
• creating a database of LIPA’s preservation inventory; and
• developing best practices for legal information preservation.

For more information, please see the minutes, or visit the LIPA Website.

How am I doing this?  I just reached 30K last night (behind by at least 7K to complete my goal) and I haven’t written a solid personal statement for my applications.  And on top of that, I haven’t received two of my recommenders letters.  I should have just had them send their recommendations directly to the schools.  I’m freaking out a little bit but those recommendations aren’t a Huge deal anyway.  If worse comes to worse, they’ll receive all my materials with one recommendation (or two) and then I’ll fedex the last one to them.  Well, some of them only want two anyway.

The greatest thing about the writing month is that I feel solidarity with my fellow writers cranking out that word count every day.  I know I could sit down and write 10K if I wanted, but I do other things.  I like spacing things out.  Unfortunately, tonight I did not write but I’ll make it up to myself tomorrow.  It’s all about completion.

It’s getting down to the wire.  My last week.  I have personal statements, another looksee at my manuscript and then I’m done!  Not to mention I have an interview for a publishing company (super exciting!) early in the week.

Good things happening all around.  I’ll be glad when this process is all over and I’m relaxing in San Francisco!

I’m off like a dirty shirt!

Seriously, college is all I think about now. College and life and death and dying and Goddamn I’m sick of it. I’m ready to be done with college and I haven’t even started it yet. I’m hoping that’s a good omen in the long run, though, because that’s the way I felt about prom exactly and I ended up having a blast.

But there’s just so much stress involved. If KT tells me one more time “you need to relax” I’m going to punch Colton in the face, because if it weren’t for him she’d be the same as before.

But life is life and it changes and so do people so I’d better suck it up and move on. God.

At least I’m talking to boys, though. That might help me relax (Jesus Christ).

Relaxing isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing, though. I’m supposed to be working, supposed to be doing everything I can to beat my way into a great school.

My mom told me today that I’m going to end up pumping gas. She told me to go to JCC for free. And meant it.

I’m just not even going to think about that. There’s no way. Just no fucking way I could go there. After all of my dreaming, all of my hard work, to throw it away, for that place?! I know I probably don’t know what I’m saying when I say this, but I’d rather be in debt for the rest of my life and do what I love than go somewhere to learn how to do a nine to five job and get plastered every weekend for free.

God. And there’s just no way I could throw away everything I’ve hoped for and thought of and wished for with all of my heart. Just because of money.

I know money’s important, and my mom would say I’m stupid and have no concept of it because I’ve never had to get a job, never had to make the money to support myself.

Well I guess I’ll figure that all out next year, won’t I? I haven’t gotten any experience with it so far, huh?

The way I figure it, I’ll either sink or float next year. I’ll either succeed or suck and come back home to pump gas.

But I’ll be damned if I don’t try to be all that I can. It’ll be like the dream where I died and watched everyone standing around, shaking their heads and mourning, “What a waste of potential.”

Well, here’s news. I’m not dead.

And I have all the potential in the world. I plan to put it to use.

Suck onnnnn that.

202321     การประยุกต์คอมพิวเตอร์สํ าหรับแบบจํ าลองและการจํ าลองกระบวนการ     Computer Applications for Process Modeling and Simulation

พื้นฐานการคํ านวณด้านวิศวกรรมเคมี ดุลมวล ดุลพลังงาน การใช้คอมพิวเตอร์เพื่อการคํ านวณพื้นฐานวิศวกรรมเคมี การพัฒนาแบบจํ าลองคณิตศาสตร์และการหาผลเฉลยโดยใช้คอมพิวเตอร์ การจํ าลองกระบวนการ และการวิเคราะห์กระบวนการด้วยซอฟต์แวร์สํ าเร็จ

(Fundamentals for chemical engineering calculation, mass balance, energy balance, computer application for chemical engineering calculation, development of mathematical model and computer solution, process simulation and process analysis using software package.)

(202321 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

Blagging is the most useful tool in the world of getting a job.  End of discussion.  Yes, to a certain extent, I think it’s inherited, c.f. my father using a random credit card to talk his way into VIP check-in and upgrade to a suite at a hotel which had no obligation whatsoever to do so…

Although blagging is something of an artform, the only way you get better is by practicing.  A year or so ago, I made a resolution to enter every competition I saw, apply for every brand manager position, submit something to every writing competition…you get the idea.

Since then, I’ve been given £500 and three months car rental to write a blog, been sent all over the country to take pictures, given a £300 phone for free, am still in the running for a European trip and am about to have a story published in a New York magazine’s yearly hardback book.  I know it sounds like I’m bragging (which to an extent, I am…look at all my awesome stuff! haha) but I’m just trying to show you how if you don’t try, you don’t get.  Yes, I’ll elaborate on some of the above stories in the future by the way…

Of course, the same goes for job applications as well…the more CVs, applications etc that you put out there, the more interviews and callbacks you’ll get.  Even if you then don’t succeed at that stage, it’s all good practice; a lot of companies will give you feedback on how you did.

So get out there and start trying…just don’t steal any of the things that I want!

p.s. Gave up on the moustache.

Memory Tester Touch is a game that well…tests your memory.

You’ve got a 3×3 grid of 9 squares. One square lights up at a time, and you have to remember the pattern as one new square is lit (provided you’ve got the previous pattern right – otherwise game over)

You get one point for each correctly lit square you remember. Get a square wrong and you’re back down to zero. Unless you hit a new high score, the previous high score will continue flashing.

Screenshots and demo video below.

Download it for Free at the Ovi Store

Download it for Free at the Ovi Store

For other free S60 5th edition games, check out the page link free-games-for-s60-5th-edition

Social media is a constant development in our modern world. 

Recently stumbling across an iphone app, I realized that there is hardly a limit to the information we are able to access behind a computer or on the go. Shazam, an iphone application that allows an individual to “tag” the music they are listening to at any point. With the simple access to internet through your iphone, shazam records a piece of a song that one is listening to, identifying not the name of the song, but the places where the album can be bought, detailed information about the artist, and any other link that you might imagine. As we see, social media has a tendency to reach us nowadays, opposed to the fact of having to go out and find the information yourself. 

The revolutionization of the media and information accessible at any moment at any given time has presented us, society as the public, a technologically easier life. Shazam, one of the twenty six thousand applications available on the iphone, provides the us with an image of the facility and easy access to fulfill almost any desire we please. As time ticks, we as society can rest assure that technology and comfort level accessible to the audience will develop.

http://blog.pricegrabber.com/techstyle/files/2009/04/shazamiphoneapplication.jpg

The icon is best used to visually describe shazam and its achievements. As the music plays, shazam so called “listens” to part of the song as showed on the image and later (with a connection to internet) identifies virtually everything there is to know about the song, album, and artist.

There was an interesting article in this weekend’s New York Times about the SAS Institute, a software company in North Carolina.

The company was started in 1976 by four former professors who worked in the agricultural statistics department at North Carolina State University.  The business software they design is made to analyze and interpret massive amounts of digitally generated data.

Their business model is also pretty interesting in that most employees typically work a 35-hour week and the company provides an on-site day care center and medical clinic.  60 Minutes profiled SAS in 2003, but I don’t see this video readily available on the web.

I have been ranting and raving about how application stores are the next big thing over and over. One thing that I haven’t really talked about (and frankly, not thought of deep enough) is the feasibility of implementing such a application model in India. I mean the handset model that really took off was a Nokia basic model (no Symbian, just a text-based menu) which also had a torch built in. Low-ARPU prepaid consumers constitute 95% of the subscriber base. That’s how it is here. So if you really try to build a model around synching your PC to a phone, it’s a FAIL! If you try building a model where you require a browser to download content, that’s a second FAIL (Again, I’m not talking about the pockets of cities and metros where people still flash their hacked iPhones around – this is about the remaining 98% of the people).
The only thing you could have on the handset is a single text based menu (like how we have for “Contacts”, “Messages”. All you CAN use is SMS like this service. That is pretty much built-in to any service provider’s connection. So with this kind of handicap, what service can you really provide? That is basically where design is going to play its most important role now.

Scenario1: I kinda get some kinda inspiration from the client-server model. I guess, at least in India, there is a market for developing a telecom platform (similar to the iPhone operating system) on the mobile cloud, which accepts text requests from subscribers, performs all the complicated processing, and returns the result in another SMS. Other slightly advanced,handsets which allow display of graphics could deliver slightly more complicated results such as wallpapers. This is the kind of model that is used for CRBT products where there is no configuration in the subscriber’s handset but on the vendor’s database. Hence, the called party can actually hear 16-tone songs even though ths called party just has a Nokia 1100. One advantage of this kind of architecture is it keeps the server independent of the model of handset (which is one chronic problem among open-source operating systems like the Android) wherein the same application developer has to develop different versions of his product for not just different OS but different versions of the same OS). Develop a base application for a handset that only lists services available (all text-based)

Scenario2: The major problem is with authentication since you can’t have SMS without clear text. The only option I see is using a secure IVR (the one that ICICIBank uses for authenticating PIN numbers) either for only authenticating or even choosing and starting the service. No wait! That will increase the costs for a start-up dramatically (but not for a platform service provider). It will also get complicated as more and more applications come on board. The IVR tree would end up acting like a retail store where the higher payers get shelf space at eye level while others get it at floor-level. So yeah, the design of “the store” on a text interface is going to be pretty interesting.

Scenario3: Maybe, the same can be done using the current distribution model of telecom operators where services can be browsed through “brochures” in retail outlets and “activated” through physical vouchers or e-recharged.

Scenario4: Maybe the service delivery platform can capture IMEI numbers. I know telecom service providers use IMEI numbers to identify the type of handsets being used by the subscriber. Now, that the Government has made it mandatory, this maybe a good launch pad.

Scenario5: Even better, if Android does overcome it’s version issues, would the incremental costs for a handset be adequate to substitute low-end phones with a slightly more expensive medium-level smartphone?

Scenario6: From Nikhil Pahwa:

Feature rich, lower priced handsets are key to an evolving telecom consumer base: as the prices go down and features improve, more and more people will buy handsets and discover new features. More cameras mean more content is created, the mobile Internet access allows many the access to new functionality. What we need now, is more India-specific better apps on the handsets, to enable access to more services. The device manufacturers are key for the app economy – lest you forget.

This provides so many opportunities and so many challenges, mostly design related! Man, may the best design win!

PS – I’m still reading up on how Africa has flourished on a mobile economy. That would be an interesting way forward.
PS2- Some interesting stats from Nokia’s Ovi Store. India is one of the top-10 countries for purchasing apps from the Nokia store. And, as expected, the slightly higher-end phones such as the 5800 XpressMusic and the N97 are the handsets leading the game. However, one statistic missed was the percentage of handsets Nokia sold in these countries from which purchases were actually made

I started looking for work in Gig Harbor & Tacoma in February of this year.  I got lucky again (or so I thought) when I found a position as a merchandiser.  Both the screener who initially called me and the manager I would be working under assured me that I could easily get 20 – 25 hours per week right here in Gig Harbor.  Unfortunately, the company promised a lot that they couldn’t deliver – if I wanted to work the 20 – 25 hours they promised me, I would actually have to drive to Seattle, Olympia, Puyallup and other far off regions – all for $10.50 per hour.  Since I was not willing to make these lengthy commutes I was getting as little as 6 hours per week – hard to pay the bills with that. 

Shortly after this I found my current position as a demonstrator with Custom Decorators, a company that has window fashions & carpeting kiosks in Costco.  For this position I stand next to a table stocked with brochures and other information.  I greet Costco members as they are leaving the warehouse.  This brings their attention to the fact that they can purchase these items from Costco.  When someone stops to talk to me I give more information with the goal of getting a request for an appointment.  I am an Independent Contractor and can work up to 30 hours per week, setting my own schedule, within their parameters.  For instance, I can’t work Monday or Tuesday, the shifts are generally 4 hours in length.  If for some reason I can’t go in one day, I just don’t.  It’s really a pretty good gig if you don’t need a full time income. 

I intended to work both positions, but despite enjoying the merchandising work – the lack of hours and late notice of schedules did not work for me.  I’ve been working about 20 hours per week in the demonstrator position since May, but still need about $100 more per week to really be comfortable.  The pay is a little erratic because in addition to a flat fee for each demo session we receive bonuses.  I really need to know how much money I will have each month.  Also, because I am an independent contractor there are no taxes taken out of my pay.  And standing in one place for 4 – 6 hours at a time is taking a toll on this old body!

I continued to look for other work, preferably part time so I could continue with my current position at least a few hours a week.   I was a bit sporadic with my search until around September when I got more serious.  Around this time I also started thinking that maybe I would be better off finding a full time position.  Some place where I can work for 10 – 15 years until I’m ready to retire and run off to an island somewhere. 

First I ruled out positions that I am not qualified for such as RN, Engineer, Bikini Barista, egg donor, or dancers that make daily cash.  Next I started sending my resume to suitable sounding ads for Administrative Assistants, Customer Service Representatives, Receptionists, etc.

I have sent out dozens of resumes with very little response (at least 48 so far since November 1^st alone).  I spend hours filling out online job applications for companies like Costco, Fred Meyer and Home Depot (to name a few) and uploading my resume to online job search sites.  I have reworked my resume and had it looked at by a recruiter at one of the agencies I have registered with.  I’ve made changes in my cover letters.  I’ve told everyone I know that I’m looking for work – I’ve sent a message to all the members of my chamber, I’ve tweeted on Twitter.  Looking for work is a full time job!

I am amazed and disappointed at how many companies advertise positions that I submit my resume to and hear nothing back from, but then see advertised again a week or a month later.  Hey, people, here is an extremely qualified applicant that you didn’t bother to call!!  BTW, here’s my resume again.  It gets very frustrating.

I started out wanting to find something in Gig Harbor or Tacoma, but have expanded to go as far as Federal Way and Bremerton.  I’ve changed my pay requirements.  I’ve started sending resumes for any position that I feel remotely qualified for.  And I’ve still had very little response.

203421     การประยุกต์ใช้คอมพิวเตอร์ในงานวิศวกรรมโครงสร้าง     Computer Applications in Structural Engineering

ระเบียบวิธีเชิงตัวเลขเบื้องต้น เทคนิคการเขียนโปรแกรมคอมพิวเตอร์ การประยุกต์คอมพิวเตอร์ในการวิเคราะห์และออกแบบโครงสร้าง การประยุกต์ใช้วิธีการวิเคราะห์ชิ้นประกอบอันตะในการวิเคราะห์โครงสร้าง

(Strain Introduction to numerical methods; computer programming techniques; computer applications in structural analysis and design, application of finite element method in structural analysis.)

(203421 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)

203454     การประยุกต์คอมพิวเตอร์ในงานวิศวกรรมปฐพี     Computer Applications in Geotechnical Engineering

การแก้ไขปัญหาในทางวิศวกรรมปฐพี ระเบียบวิธีเชิงตัวเลข การวิเคราะห์ชิ้นประกอบอันตะของการไหลของนํ้ าในดิน การยุบตัวคายนํ้ า หน่วยแรงและความเครียด การใช้โปรแกรมคอมพิวเตอร์ในการวิเคราะห์และออกแบบด้านวิศวกรรมปฐพี

(Geotechnical problem solving; numerical methods; finite element analysis of flow of water in soil, consolidation, stress and strain; the use of computer software in geotechnical analysis and design.)

(203454 มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์)