Black Cat Blog

Thoughts, Stories, and Ideas

  • A Book That Inspired Me To Travel.

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s a movie or book that inspired you to travel?
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    Jame’s Clavell’s Shogun series inspired me to travel. After reading about his take on ancient and modern Japan, I had to go. It just so happened a late friend of mine, Brian Jarrett, and I had some vacation time to burn so we spent New Year’s in Tokyo. Ah the perks of working in Information Technology for a global airline! So both of us went on a little journey together.

    After a New Year’s celebration which I shall bring up later, we did a brief tour by train of the country side. Japan’s rural areas and the Kanto Plain looked nothing like I had imagined – it looked so much better and larger than life. The beautiful and ornate homes outside of the city were stunning. We visited art galleries, tea shops, and ate some of the finest of hand-rolled sushi I had ever eaten. I also had some delicious tempura.

    Now back to New Year’s in Tokyo. For starters, Tokyo has nothing on Las Vegas for sensory overload. It is truly a city that never sleeps. Yet for the hustle and bustle, there is a beautiful kind of order out of the seeming chaos. Also, the politeness of the older generation is exquisite. I remember the stunning fireworks, the bright neon and LCD screens everywhere. I remember staying in one of Tokyo’s capsule hotels because it was the only thing we could afford and even that was luxurious.

    Oh and I should mention, the vacation really began when we boarded our ANA flight to Tokyo from Los Angeles. Since we wore our airline IT polos, the most awesome flight attendant said, “We’ve got a space for you in first class.” OMG! That was an experience. I had steak and shrimp, fine expensive red wines, cordials for dessert … the seat was in a mini-suit with a curtain and decked out entertainment system. Our seats turned into full on beds that included pajamas and robes.

    By the time we arrived in Tokyo in the morning after what was a very long flight, we were rested and ready to go whereas most of our fellow travelers were more bleary eyed and exhausted. On our return home, we got upgraded again. Totally lucked out!

  • My Biggest Dream

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    Daily writing prompt
    What’s your biggest dream?
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    My biggest dream is to become my own entrepreneur and escape the life of working for major corporations. I am tired of having my labor exploited for only scraps in the way of salary returned. I am also tired of the dictatorial nature of working for a corporation. I want more freedom and self-determination. Some of that comes with running your own business. Of course I know that I am trading the security of a regular paycheck for said freedom. This is a tough move in a good economy, a poor one notwithstanding.

    I would like to eventually open my own IT training academy but with a twist: making the program longer to include training above and beyond simple vendor certifications. The idea is to train students to be very strong in the reference implementation of internetworking technologies so that when it comes time to become certified in a vendor technology, they are more skilled and capable than someone who simply went the route of CCNA or simpler.

    Since it is impractical for an IT academy to be done virtually right now and a brick and mortar facility is too expensive, I will begin building my brand through content creation in the form of 15-20 minute videos on introductory computer networking and systems administration. I believe this is a good start on the journey and I am encouraged by it. I have a domain name that is only active on email. I want to get a basic, simple website up with YouTube video embeds. I have a web cam and video recording and editing software. I just need a good desktop microphone or I can use my high-quality wired gaming headset; don’t know which just yet.

    But alas, like all ideas that I have had, I’ve never really gotten them started. In fact, I’ve always been long on ideas and short on follow through. Part of that is the corporate life is so exhausting that when I get home, I am tired beyond all recognition. Is this what corporations want from us? Do they want us so tired that we have no energy left to pursue other avenues? Sometimes I think they truly want us, for the lack of a more perfect word, married to them.

    The thing about this dream though is that it really appeals to me in a way that no other dream I have ever had did. I love computers when I can get hands on and experiment with them. Ironically, this idea came to me while I was lying in a hospital bed suffering from a pulmonary embolism, bradycardia, and low blood pressure.

    While in soft tears about my mental and physical health and bemoaning the loss of my information technology career, I asked myself what it was I loved about IT. The answer was and is when I get to tinker and experiment. Corporate IT abhors risk so there is no experimentation. It dawned on me that experimentation is actually encouraged in an academic setting. Wouldn’t it be great to have some impassioned students where everything we do is hands on and we incorporate the theory while being hands on?

    This is the way to go. The students of today tend to be more interested in tactile learning. They don’t want to read and memorize textbooks. Today’s students rebel against traditional education because they kind of know intuitively that the model does not really work. Learning is done best when one eats, sleeps, and breathes it so to speak. An advanced beginner to intermediate that is entirely hands on would really build the future generations of IT professionals.

    I need to come up with a firm start date for the content creation phase. It just occurred to me that by making these videos, it will help me build a cohesive curriculum to teach instead of being so scattered. I am an autodidact which means I taught myself IT. And I taught myself IT by doing, not by reading.

  • Dinner With a Fictional Character

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    Daily writing prompt
    If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?
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    If I could have dinner with a fictional character, I would want to have a it with the infamous psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, from Silence Of The Lambs. Dr. Lecter has an intelligence that’s off the charts. He makes mensa look ordinary. I would want to learn more about his past, trauma, and political leanings. I’d like to have some very wide ranging discussions with him simply for his intelligence. Please pardon my digression here but the actor who played Dr. Lecter, Anthony Hopkins, is quite intelligent and educated in real life.

    I would like to understand his compulsion to kill and then cannibalize but not to publish a book or to further my own ends and means. It is genuine curiosity about what drives a man to do such things. I know one movie attempted to explain Dr. Lecter’s history but I want to sit down with him and ask him more questions about his family life. If World War II had not happened, would he have turned out differently? I also would be curious about his take on me. He’s far more intelligent and educated than any psychiatrist I have ever seen so I would really be interested in his insight, as twisted as that may seem.

    So this leads to the questions of what we would order at a restaurant for drinks and main course. I think we would most likely order steak. I do mine well done and I am certain Dr. Lecter would want his bloody rare. The one commonality we might share would be Chiante. Chiante, Sangiovese, and Pinot Noir, coincidentally, are my favorite wines. Desert might be a fine cheesecake with a top shelf brandy or something to that effect. Ah what fun this would be.

  • Best Purchase

    Daily writing prompt
    What is the best purchase you have ever made?
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    I have made many good purchases and quite a few bad ones. I think I am tied for the two best purchases that I have ever made. The tie is between a Dell OptiPlex 7060 (used) for $350.00 and a brand new Logitech C920 for $10.00. The C920 has started my journey towards content creation and the OptiPlex 7060 began my home lab journey. Both were really excellent purchases because they are stepping stones towards getting out of the rut I am in.

    About 8 months ago, I had a bit of an idea that came to me while I was lying in a hospital bed after suffering from a serious pulmonary embolism in both lungs. I was on high flow oxygen and wondering what my next step in life would be when I nothing seemed appealing. I know that my passion is really computers and networks but doing this in a corporate (or even as an independent contractor) made it hell on wheels. So the idea was maybe to teach this.

    I thought about opening my own IT academy and teaching computers and networks to students. But even this would become more focused on workforce preparation. This means preparing students for vendor certifications. I have no interest in doing that because most of these certification preparation courses do not teach the broader knowledge. They’re more narrow in scope and specific to the vendor hardware. Often vendor hardware uses proprietary terminology and techniques. We all know how that goes.

    So my friend Davoy suggested that I try content creation in short form, 15 minute or less videos, that teach this stuff to people and monetize through YouTube. Eventually, I could do this through an inexpensive subscription model with the videos. On my next time off, I think I am going to dive in. The trend seems to be away from reading as a form of learning and more towards multi-sensory and tactile approaches. I do love reading and writing but I am finding writing educational content to be tedious. I believe I would enjoy video content creation a lot more.

    So yes, my home computer lab is up and going and I have the Logitech C920 Webcam running as well. It’s just a matter of doing a pilot and seeing what traction happens. I have always been long on ideas and short on follow through. Now is the time.

  • A Bright Spark

    Things have taken a turn for the better this week. Yesterday, despite feeling physically sick and quite tired, I was very happy to have received notification that I would be attending New Employee Orientation at Allied Universal Security on Thursday, July 16th at 10:00AM. While I know that AUS has its warts, a devil I know is better than a devil I do not. I think I have to make peace with security being my bread and butter for the foreseeable future. That’s fine because it forces me to define myself by who I really am, not simply by what I do for a living. At least AUS is a big company, and as long as I do the basic job without infractions, I’ll have work as long as I want it.

    I am also relieved that I will be able to give notice to my existing employer. Yes, I have been indoctrinated. I just don’t know whether I should because my existing employer, OPS Security Group, is (in)famous for showing people the door when they give notice. My new role won’t begin until July 30th and I need the money so maybe I don’t give notice until about 2 days beforehand. So I will probably make the 27th my last day at OPS to give me some rest time. I want to be rested and ready for the new role at $22.00 per hour!

    I really don’t know whether or not to give the courtesy of 2 week’s notice. OPS hasn’t treated me well or with that much respect, and given their proclivity for paying less than the average, I don’t think I would come back here. Management is mostly terrible and mismanaging what could be a good company to work for. At least AUS is a known quantity and free sharp-looking uniforms. Maybe I’ll pick up some vacation time after one year. I think after two years, you get something like 2 weeks but I don’t know.

    Still some good things are in the works and I’ve reason to be excited and reason to look forward to the immediate future

  • Zen Quotations

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    Normally I am very much a fan of Zen and its quotations but I really and truly hate this one:

    Pain doesn’t last. And when it’s gone, we have something to show for it. Growth.

    — Kamal Ravikant

    Pain does not necessarily equal growth. As we are learning in more present times, pain can actually lead to psychological trauma and mental illness. I am more of a fan of having one move outside of their comfort zone. That is what actually makes someone grow. Taking risks equals growth. Pain often causes setbacks that take years to recover from. That is, if the person can ever recover from.

    Ravikant missed the mark here. Pain can lead to psychological trauma which not only impedes growth but can actually prevent growth or cause major regressions in a person. This is why I do not generally like organized religions of any sort. In the end, organized religions are a facility of human beings. Human beings are very much error prone and religions reflect this tendency. I do generally like Zen because it is far less egregious than most other religions and it is not saddled by dogma. And this is one man’s belief.

    Kamal Ravikant could be mistaking pain for discomfort here but I do not think so. Generally, I believe he thinks pain is growth, much in the way our millionaire and billionaire classes preach that pressure turns coal into diamonds. By the way, I hate the sayings that come from the wealthy as well because they are more propaganda than practical.

    Growth comes from learning from one’s mistakes, engaging in lifelong learning, and seeking new opportunities to safely expand horizons. While some pain does teach us important life’s lessons, repeated pain equals trauma.

  • The App Eating My Screen Time

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    Daily writing prompt
    What app eats up most of your screen time — and do you even feel bad about it?
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    The app eating my screen time the most has to be Mastodon. Mastodon is a micro-blogging platform similar to Twitter except that it is completely open source and decentralized. Mastodon is an app that participates in something called The Fediverse. The Fediverse is, as the name suggests, a federated platform that no one person or corporation controls. Anybody is free to stand up their own Mastodon server and participate or to join one offering memberships. By memberships, I mean free ones of course.

    I don’t feel bad about it because I learn so much. Mastodon attracts the politically very left, high technology, and very capable computer user. Therefore all kinds of interesting things happen from art and music to writing, photography, and everything in between. It’s the polar opposite of the anti-educational and anti-intellectual platform that X.com has devolved into. It is possible to learn so much and connect with a highly diverse population with stratifying interests.

    I do have to remind myself not to get too lost in it though because my wife matters me to very much. I don’t want to lose her of course or grow to resent me so I have to be careful.

  • Feel Like I’m In A Hole

    I feel like I’m in this hole that I just cannot get out of. It feels like life is simply kicking me around and laughing at me. I knew I should not have gotten excited about the Allied Universal job offer because it was still putting the cart before the horse. My background check completed and I was supposed to find out when I would be scheduled for New Employee Orientation. That hasn’t quite happened yet and I am concerned. I need the significant increase in money that the position would bring.

    I was so concerned that I threw my hat in the ring for another security position elsewhere. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be welcome at my present one. On February 18th of next year, I will be with them 2 years. I’d really like not to feel as if I am trapped at OPS Security Group. I would like there to be options. Perhaps tomorrow, I will receive the notification with the New Employee Orientation date and time. I am trying not to overthink everything.

    I am very tired and feeling just down in the dumps. I need a break from this situation. I just have to remain hopeful.

  • A Book I Have Read The Most

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    Daily writing prompt
    Which book have you read more than any other?
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    This is a fun one because the book I read the most is The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl. Before I launch into my reasons and an analysis of the text, a little about Roald Dahl. Dahl could nominally be considered one of the “OG” subversives. And the cool thing is that he was able to bump right up against the line, cross it, and come back without anyone in power being the wiser. Dahl was smarter than they are/were. May you rest in peace and in power, sir!

    As a child I loved this The Fantastic Mr. Fox it’s an exciting page turner full of adventure and almost heart-stopping moments. The read was genuinely exciting to me. Reading it as an adult, I see a totally different perspective which makes the book equally as exciting. Roald Dahl was truly before his time.

    When the Foxs’ home was destroyed, Bryce, Bunson, and Bean, the wealthy farmers, they were forced underground. In return for being forced underground, they built secret tunnels to the farms so they could steal the farmers’ produce. Mr. Fox completely justified this by hollowing out a community – think communism and socialism here – dining room. A crew would then steal from the evil wealthy farmer an amount of food to live on. Mr. Fox saw no qualms about stealing nee reclaiming resources necessary for life.

    Roald Dahl placed his extremely left political views into Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox ensured that vegetables would be made for the rabbits and animals that are not carnivores. In effect, the subtext suggests that everyone should be taken care of without artificial means testing. When I read this book, I am in awe of the message he’s sending and that he was able to do it in a highly conservative time where anyone needing assistance was seen as “less than human.”

    To this day I still read the book about once a year and pick up on something I missed. That is the depth of Dahl’s writing. The same can be said for his other books like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and The Great Glass Elevator. In the latter, Roald Dahl rather openly criticized the United States’ Government which was tantamount to heresy at the time it was published. Yet the criticism was so implicit, few picked up on it. They assumed it to be just like a comic strip. But in reality, it was a very harsh criticism of the US Military Industrial Complex.

  • High Anxiety Morning

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    I’m having a bit of a high anxiety morning and I do not really know why because typically a dose of THC does much to alleviate this. So this must be situational anxiety rather than chemical. I received an offer letter from Allied Universal for a security officer and I completed the background check and drug test agreements. I was supposed to get an email after the background check completed so that I could schedule a new employee orientation. This has not come and I need this job so my anxiety is high.

    Not even being in my home lab has done much to alleviate the anxiety. I managed to fix a problem with zero down time and zero data loss. That in of itself was an achievement. At least I am still good at one thing: computers and networks. And I am just good … not an expert by any means. Working on a home lab has taught me just how much more I need to teach myself. 😆

    So I have to figure out how to bring my anxiety down somewhat. I figure that if I tell myself that this is something I cannot control that I can relax a bit. On Monday, I will call the local branch office of Allied Universal and figure out what the next steps are. Sometimes a little bit of proactivity goes a long way. The office local to where I live is Claymont, Delaware. It’s a quick and easy bus ride to the New Employee Orientation.

    I really need this new job! I need to get out from under the present disaster I am in. Ugh! It’s putting me on edge every time I walk in to work on the weekdays. I rather like the weekends because I rarely deal with anyone. I simply work.