Dispatcher job

Got a nice letter today saying they'd taken the top applicants for interview but sadly I wasn't one of them. Thanks but no thanks.

Damn damn damn.

So much for starting off the new year with good news, at least for me. Hope everybody else's goes well.

Teaching Myself

With a little help, I've just learned how to embed a video. That's why you got these two. Enjoy.

Happy holidays etc

Re test

I hadn't ever embedded a video before, so I was trying it out. I had tried to do one in a forum I frequent and it didn't work, so I had to get some help and try it again and, of course, it worked fine.

Hope y'all liked the test video. Paco de Lucia is the best!

test

Job Test

Today I went to the Buncombe Co. Communications Center to test for the position of Dispatcher. This is to winnow out those they want to interview later. After a short tour of the comm. center itself, which also includes the Asheville PD and the Fire/ER as well as Bunc. Co., we went into the testing room. First we had a typing test which included typing the same thing three times. The first time, I went so fast I ran out of text so they reset the time to 2 minutes instead of 3 minutes. My wpm was pretty good (65), considering I haven't typed anything sustained in some while.

Then we put on headphones and listened to two fake phone calls, one for a missing child and one armed robbery. We were to type as we listened and try to get all the necessary info. I think I did okay.

They have another test session on Monday and then will decide who they want to interview. They'll call later in the week to set appointments but they won't start until after New Year's. There is one part-time position open, which I told them I'd be interested in (nobody else was). The money's good (about $12/hr) and the center is about 5mi from here, out near Erwin H.S. Wish me luck.

Sad news: Etta James is near death from leukemia. A great lady and a great blues/jazz singer. She'll be missed.

Hope everyone has as nice a holiday/new year as possible.

RIP

Christopher Hitchens

ferociously intelligent, ferociously atheist, ferociously sane.

RIP

Harry Morgan

Probably best known for "Dragnet" and "M.A.S.H." I found a long obit for him (died today at age 96) but it didn't mention my favorite movie role for him in "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?"

A great guy.

And off-topic: You heard about the Mythbusters testing a cannon on a military firing range? A ball went over the barriers and through two houses etc. before coming to rest a few miles away. Surprise!

ULC

And what is that? you say. I forgot to mention that I got ordained by the Universal Life Church.

Heh.

WM Romney

Ever since I found out that Mitt Romney's full name is

Willard Mittens Romney

I can't resist calling him

Rat Cat Romney

Not that I was going to vote for him or anything silly like that.

Tale of Two Kitteh

There's Sprout, tabby, owner of Amy.
There's Yoshi, calico, owner of Nicole.
Amy and Nicole are friends, so Jesse Ray, dog, and Yoshi came to stay with Amy for a while (about six months). Jesse Ray has gone home but Yoshi's still here.

Sprout and Yoshi are frenemies. Often, there's superb ignoring going on. Sometimes, there's hiss hiss snarl snarl.

Right now, Yoshi's inside getting some food and a nap.
Sprout is sitting outside staring at me, wanting to go in.

If I let him in, there'll be hissing and snarling in the house, so he'll have to wait.

Cats. Gotta love 'em.

No dinner out this eve. Mary-Anne's got a sinus infection so Blair and I decided to wait till next week.
Also, there was no CSI last night because of the idiot Grammy awards. Boo.