Entries from December 2003 ↓

At work we have an in-house IRC server to ask questions and stuff and overnight someone implemented an IRC bot that acts as a Q&A. I got to work later than usual so I apparently missed the discussion about what it was so I finally broke down and demonstrated my ignorance to a co-worker:

<deguia> Dude. What is that “sonic” thing? it’s freaking me out

<msilver> it’s an IRC bot

<deguia> like a Q&A thing?

<msilver> yeah

<deguia> oh ok

I noticed that people were asking it questions like “Sonic, where are the logs kept?” and it would answer. So I decided to test this bot’s brain power and ask it a serious question:

< deguia> Sonic, what is sonic?

<sonic> i heard i was a handy tool or ‘The Man’

D`oh! Foiled again!!

I was spurred on by the same co-worker to ask it some other questions:

<deguia> Sonic, what is VW?

<sonic> VW is, like, a nazi-built automobile

<deguia> Sonic, who is msilver?

<sonic> hmmm… msilver is The Mac Guy

Then I wanted to see what would happen if I asked it who I was:

< deguia> Sonic, who is Deguia?

< sonic> you are a support tech of high regards.

After that I wanted to see what it said if I asking it who the owner is:

<deguia> Sonic, who is Dane?

<sonic> Dane is, like, the boss. GET BACK TO WORK

Play time is over…

Friday night Keli and I went to see The Last Samurai because Bailey was at her “Bop-Bop and Mom-um’s ” house for a sleepover. I’m not a huge Tom Cruise fan and there are many movies I have yet to see because he was in them. This movie was good though. They did really good on focusing on Japanese culture of the time. The fight scenes used authentic Jujitsu moves which was fun to watch.

There were several times that the relationship between Nathan and Katsumoto reminded me of the relationship between Henry and the Dali Lama in “Seven Years in Tibet”. There were only a few things that annoyed me about this movie - too much focus on Tom Cruise, the ending and the dude that played the Emperor.

You cannot tell me honestly that Shichinosuke Nakamura was the ONLY Japanese male who was good enough to say the few lines he had for the part of Emperor Meiji. Both Keli and I agree that he was both annoying to watch and to listen to. There is a scene where a former Samurai commits Sepaku and later on in the film it is briefly explained what that is but I ended up having to explain to Keli the purpose/process of Sepaku so I felt that that could have been elaborated on just a tab bit more.

Overall it was good. I would buy it when it comes out on DVD. and I recommend seeing it on the big screen but I felt there were little things that could have been better.

Check THIS out!!

Big Holiday Bonuses for Shoe Plant Workers

Monday, December 15, 2003

PITTSFIELD, Maine — Workers at a shoe plant were feeling more than a little tickled when they got their Christmas bonuses that, for some, totaled nearly $20,000.

Instead of receiving typical end-of-year frozen turkeys, the 200 employees of the SAS Shoemakers plant here were handed envelopes when they were called together Friday afternoon.

When Lawrence Wyman opened his, he found a check for $19,000. His wife, Charlene, got a check for the same amount.

The company this year awarded its employees with bonuses of $1,000 for every year worked at the company. Even those who had worked less than a year got $500 each.

The bonuses were particularly uplifting given that most news in the U.S. manufacturing sector this year has been about plants closing and employees being laid off.

“They called us all together and said we would each get $1,000,” Lawrence Wyman said. “Everyone started clapping and then they said it would be $1,000 for each year worked.”

And that’s when the tears flowed. Some estimated that the bonuses totaled $200,000 or more.

SAS Pittsfield is a division of SAS Shoemakers in San Antonio. The corporate offices were closed Friday afternoon and company officials could not be reached for comment.

Source: FoxNews.com

Here’s an article that I found particularly interesting: $20,000 per Household: The Highest Level of Federal Spending Since World War II