Oh yeah ...this is a good idea....

Just what America needs....

Religious propaganda posing as SCIENCE!!!

Oh she's a a genius!!!!

I picked this little gem off of Jack Cluth's page...

Seems Ms. Williamson of Roanoke, Virginia is terribly concerned about the effect of jack-hammer noise on her as yet UNBORN redneck I mean child...

(Take a look!)

I have no words other than: Oh the IRONY!!!

R

2006 is history......

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?

Had Surgery - The big "V"

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

More or less..... and YES I will and know I am not telling

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My brother got 2 cats...does that count?

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My lovely wife lost her beloved Memere.

5. What countries did you visit?

Do to religious beliefs I am not allowed to visit other heathen nations!

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?

More peace of mind

7. What date(s) from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

October 24th....the accursed lay-off

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Achieving gainful employment at Analog Devices, Inc.

9. What was your biggest failure?

no comment

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Slipped in shower and tore open my side....YEEEEEEEEOUCH!!!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

HP49 Calculator.........geek to the core!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

DEREK JETER!!!!!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

A-Rod, "W", Cheney, Rumsfeld.....

14. Where did most of your money go?

Everywhere but in my savings

15. What did you get really excited about?

Returning to college in 2007

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2006?

"Vertigo" - U2

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? Neither
ii. thinner or fatter? Neither
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

improving myself

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stressing

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

Spent it with family.

22. Did you fall in love in 2006? :)

23. How many one-night stands?

DOZENS!!!! being a man-whore is time-consuming

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Nothing is really standing out.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

OH I really REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y HATE Mitt Romney now!

26. What was the best book you read?

"One Percent Doctrine" Ron Suskind

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Loving 'Massive Attack' more everyday

28. What did you want and eventually get?

the skill to copy DVD's

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

'V for Vendetta'

31. What did you do on your birthday?

worked......got chocolate covered strawberries from my honey!

32. What's one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

being debt-free

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?

timeless

34. What kept you sane?

timely advice and counsel from the lovely bride

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Hell if I know....

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Republican denial and ineptitude

37. Who did you miss?

No one in particular

38. Who was the best new person you met?

My new boss at Analog

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:

Karma is very real.....the universe will provide....have faith....

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"You can't always get what you want....but try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need!"

Norman Rockwell understood....

A new year a new job....

So I really haven't had the time to expound upon the goings-on in my professional life to every one of late.

In an effort to catch you all up, I'll use this little bully pulpit of mine here to regale everyone of the saga that was the last 2+ months of 2006.

Back in late October I was laid off from what probably was the best job I've had since working at Prosensing in Hadley, MA. It was devastating to me personally, as I thought things were going very well.

I had a small cushion to absorb the financial effects of the event, but it was clear to me I had to find gainful employment very quickly. After two weeks I secured a contract position at Billerica company "A".

Now, I'm going to try to paint a picture for you here. Try to imagine the job that you would least like to do. Something so mind-numbingly boring and against everything that you consider good and wholesome. Now imagine doing that job 8 hours a day. I liken this contract job to making 'tofu'. Those of you who know me are quite aware of my feelings about soybean curd, so you can imagine my pain. Luckily for me during this spell interview requests kept rolling in.

I was offered and accepted a position with much better work and prospects at an Andover start-up company "B". This company is making a system that will keep donated organs alive and viable for long periods of time outside the donors body. Pretty cool concept actually. I got to see one of these systems with a beating heart in it! Unfortunately, however this company was not interested in hiring me as a permanent employee for months if ever. As I am a family man medical, dental and insurance are very important. So I continued to go on interviews as they presented themselves to me.

Side note here:

I have been functioning for the last 10 years or so as a sort of hybrid electronics technician/engineer. Basically this means i do the work of an Engineer and I get paid as a Technician. This was the exchange at a recent interview:

Interviewer: "Well i would say you have vast and very impressive skill-set Robert!"

Me: "Thank you. I have done my best to learn new skills and processes in every position I have held."

Interviewer: "I have to be honest with you. I have no doubt that I could hand you any design task and you would do as well most likely better than any junior Engineer I employ. Unfortunately I cannot hire you as Engineer until you have an expensive piece of sheepskin that says you too spent $50K on an Engineering degree. Until then you will max out at $X an hour.... while someone just out of engineering school with ZERO experience will make (2 times X) an hour. It's heinous, it's ludicrous but it's how things are here."

This is when I decided that I had to finish the damned degree! Even if it kills me!

End side note.

Now during my last week at company "A", just before I took the position at company "B", company "C" now calls me! They say that they got my resume and want to schedule an interview the following week! At the time I was growing tired & disillusioned with the whole interviewing process.

My wife, ever the voice of my conscience says: "Go and hear what they have to say."

So off I went to a 6 HOUR interview!

I have never been grilled so much in one interview in my life! It was tough but as it turns out I aced the interview on all counts.

So by this time I was working for company "B" for less than a week and had prospect of an offer from company "C"! Sure enough 3 days before Xmas...the offer comes and it's a doozy!!!

- more $ per hour
- med. and dental benefits immediately
- semi-annual bonus structure
- college tuition reimbursement!!!!
- a HUGE sign-on bonus

How can refuse this!?

I can't!!!

So I'm writing my Letter of Resignation to be left on my supervisors desk today at 5pm.

Question is does company "B" allow me to give them the 2 week notice or do they show me the door toot-sweet?

Either way I will be starting a new job at company "C" January 15th or sooner if things don't go as planned here at company "B".

Best yet, I will be returning to university this fall, to continue my studies in pursuit of that holy grail: "The Bachelor of Science in Engineering Degree".

When that's done...they'll probably tell me I need a Master of Science in Engineering Degree.........DOH!!!!

R

How was my Christmas....?

That's always a loaded question when your home is host to FOUR children...

Clearly this is NOT a holiday for wifey and I.

I think this Garfield comic sums up what Xmas morning is like!


R

My new favorite book....

"Papa, why are people from the south such narrow minded Neanderthals?"

Because son that's what happens when friends let friends vote Republican!

R