Irieman.com | Last One Out…

Thank Buddha It’s Thursday!!*

*(I wish I made that up, but I didn’t)

Filed under “got out just in time!”…

Although I am no longer a student at California State University, San Bernardino, As an Alum I still get email from there.  Just in time to get un-noticed by the Google controversy of the week, comes the word that Student Email from my Alma Mater is moving to “Coyote Mail Powered by Google”.   Nice branding!  I could go on an on for days about how this is such a not good idea, but since most people are already seeing ads giving away their data using Gmail anyway, I’d be talking to the wall.

Not evil. No, seriously.

My favorite line of the free ad Press Release,

“We are anticipating this effort to go as smoothly as it has at other CSU campuses…”  Muuwaaaahahaha

Here’s the full text, since nothing says it’s a secret:

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: August 5, 2010 3:57:08 PM PDT
To: campus
Subject: CSUSB Student Email Moving to Google

California State University, San Bernardino Is Moving Student Email to Coyote Mail Powered by Google

An email account and access is free and easy for anyone to create in today’s world. Most students coming to campus already have personal email accounts and are frequent users. Over the years email has become increasingly more important to the institution and remains the mechanism for campus academic and administrative student communications.

After more than a year of looking into its offering, California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is moving forward with a plan to phase out the antiquated and costly SUN/Oracle Solaris student email system in favor of a new relationship agreement with Google. The agreement will provide not only Gmail accounts for communications between the university and students but also additional applications that students can use to interact with each other. The initial Gmail offering, which is already operational at several other CSU campuses, comes to the university at no additional cost.

The decision to transition to Google has been brought to the attention of constituencies such as the Academic Affairs Council, Administrative Council, ASI, Faculty Senate, etc. All are in agreement that the current environment does not make the grade and that Google is a viable alternative with unique benefits. For example, Gmail offers more storage and a more contemporary Web interface.

By using the CSUSB Gmail account, students will have access to Google Apps, a hosted integrated communications and collaboration suite which includes:

Google Gmail:
Each user account has over 7GB of mail storage and an attachment size of 25 MB. Search tools that facilitate finding information fast and performing instant messaging from right inside their accounts using “Google Talk.”

Google Talk:
Send instant messages to your contacts for free anytime, anywhere in the world.

Google Calendar:
Organize your schedules and share events and calendars with others.

Google Docs:
Share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Collaborate in real time with your team or anyone you invite to join.

One of the consequences of this transition is that it will be necessary to separate the email domains for students and faculty and staff. That is, the student’s email will migrate from @csusb.edu to @coyote.csusb.edu. In other words, students email in Gmail will be of the form account@coyote.csusb.edu.

Transition to Gmail system

The process for migrating existing student accounts in their entirety to Gmail will start sometime during the first three weeks of September 2010. The final dates still need to be determined. All of the existing messages, folders, configurations, etc, will move from the current account to the new account. Students WILL NOT lose access to their account, except during the transition period for each individual account. While an individual account is being transferred, the student may not be able to access his/her account for several hours. The main difference is that the Web interface will change from a SUN Web mail navigation to a Gmail navigation.

Access to the new “Coyote Mail” will be provided in several different ways, namely:
i) through a campus website – mail.coyote.csusb.edu, requiring the student’s Coyote-ID and password

ii) directly through gmail.com – requiring full email address (account@coyote.csusb.edu) and password, and

iii) through email clients (Thunderbird, Outlook, etc) using secure IMAP and POP protocols – requiring full email address (account@coyote.csusb.edu) and password.

In all cases, the password will be the same as the password set to access the MyCoyote portal.

The campus mail.csusb.edu site will be updated to reflect the changes and direct students to the new student email Web site

Impact to Campus Business Processes

All business processes that rely on student email-addresses will need to be reviewed and updated to reflect the change in the new domain.

In order to facilitate the transition and minimize the impact to all entities across the campus, email directed to students at their current @csusb.edu address will be delivered to their new “Coyote Mail” (@coyote.csusb.edu) for a period of one-year.

All of this is expected to take place this fall. We are anticipating this effort to go as smoothly as it has at other CSU campuses. An initial message will be sent out to the student community three weeks prior to the change and again one week before to prepare them for the Google transition. Should they need further information, a link to a website containing information, including a list of frequently asked questions, will be located at mail.csusb.edu. As another option, students can contact the help desk at (xxx) xxx-xxxx or xxxxx from on campus.

XXXXX XXXXXX
Information Security Officer

# # #

Personally, I hate Gmail and everything else Google makes you log in just to use *cough*Android*cough, and I always told my friend if CSUSB sold out their email to Google, that’s when I would stop using it.  Which is right… about… now…

Today I was reminded of the time I got a call from my brother, distraught at the fact that the lead singer for his band “up and quit” to join another band, talking smack on his way out the door.  Anyone who has been in more that two rock bands knows this is standard fare and should expect it from time to time.  He and the remaining members of the band had just ran out of steam after a 2-hour rant about what an “egomaniac asshole he was”,  and my brother- for reasons I won’t get into- called me for advice.

He was pretty surprised when I told him not to sweat it and move on:

me: “…it’s not the end of the world…”
bro: “yeah I guess you’re right”
me: “…singer’s are a dime a dozen. Just get another one…”
bro: “true”
me: “besides- you *want* a frontman who’s an egomanic asshole”.
bro: “what? that doesn’t make sense”

Axl Rose: Biggest Asshole Frontman in the World

I broke it down to him like this:

What’s the frontman’s job in the band? To get everyone all riled up and excited and thinking your band is the coolest thing since bread pudding.  (mmmm… pudding….)  You WANT a guy who will strut back and forth across the stage like he owns the place.  You WANT a guy who thinks he’s the shit and can project that to the crowd (the attitude, not the shit!). You WANT a guy who, through his sheer “that guy acts like he’s so damn cool, he must be cool”-ness, is able to convince teeming masses of teens, wannabees, and losers to hang on his every word.  Especially when those words are “buy our stuff fuckers!”

When you’re talking about a certain kind of rock and roll, you need an egomanic who “knows” people want to hear what he has to say.  And since egomaniacs are usually assholes too, you deal with it.  Seriously. Think about the greatest rock and roll frontmen in the world and what do you find?  Egomaniacs and assholes.  Here are a few off the top of my head:

David Lee Roth – total egomaniac
James Hetfield – asshole
Robert Plant – egomaniac
Jim Morrison – egomaniac (cool when sober, asshole the other 90% of the time)
Axl Rose – egomaniac *and* a Total Asshole!
Mick Jagger – ego friggin maniac, ugly as sin, and still gets laid!
Vince Neil – sort of an egomanic, not really an asshole, but not really that good of  frontman either
Steven Tyler – total egomanic, later becomes an asshole too.  (and tied with Mick in the ugly race).
Bono – total egomaniac and still not a very good frontman
Ozzy Osbourne – Actually Ozzy is the exception to every rule in the book. He’s the Chuck Norris of rock!!
Dave Matthews…  um, exactly.

This concept probably extends to other genres as well, but I don’t consider myself well-versed in them enough to speak with authority. Although I’m pretty sure every successful rapper in the world was born an egomaniac.  You’ll also notice I didn’t mention John Lennon or Geddy Lee or even that guy from Dream Theatre, because while great frontmen, and certainly rock stars, aren’t the kind of rock I’m talking about right now.

So, the next time you’re thinking, “man- what a dick”, you might also want to think, “I wonder if he can sing?”

Here’s “Diamond” David Lee Roth, talking about how he’s not an egomaniac.

Me? Ego?

[Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46fXf5dT2nc]

I finally bought/registered my new domain name. now i just need a good hosting company that
a) supports wordpress (3.0+)
b) has good metrics
c) reasonable bandwidth rates
and
d) isn’t godaddy

Last week I went in for a free health screening provided by my employer.  Yeah I know- it doesn’t mean as much when you get one every 3 months…. but it was FREE! I don’t know why I like to go to these things when I already know what they’re going to say.

Is it that I like tripping out folks who are probably totally used to dealing with out of shape people all day, or is it the regular and (fairly) consistent feedback that I’m doing things right.  Summary evaluation? “Keep doing what you’re doing.” (that’s a quote!)

Despite the parking debacle, following by technical errors, once the ball got rolling it was pretty much what I expected:

* There are not consistent recommendations for body fat percentage, as there are for the other health screening variables. The “Healthy Range” and “Interpretation of Results” displayed on this screen are based on recommendations from American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Other sources may have slightly different recommendations.

Next step- “Step Three: Create a new Wellness Plan”

Speaking of “things I totally don’t need but really want”… My lust item(s) of the week!

Option A:

Option B:

“A” is a space-holder for “a new tv”, not necc. this make/model. My “newest” TV is a 27″ CRT circa 1999. I don’t have cable or a broadcast signal, my old-school DVD player is dying, and my PS2+games got ripped off a couple months ago; Hardly anything new will plug into it, plus, I deserve a new TV! A new TV would require a new Blu-ray player, Audio system, replacing 500 DVDs, etc.

As for “B”, My new commute and job description is scooter friendly, and I’ve always wanted one, and I have a line on a good deal… A scooter would require a helmet, DMV test, bigass chain lock, etc.

Thoughts? (Of course, there’s always “C – pay down a credit card”, but what’s the fun in that?!)

As we speak, I am sitting on a bench outside my work, writing this on my company issued iPhone.  It’s 71 degrees.  College-aged kids speed by on bikes and skateboards, in shorts and backpacks.  Many one handling a Starbucks in the process.

In the background I hear the laughs and screams of 40-50 small kids frolicking on the lawn, oblivious to the fact that they are attending summer camp at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

It is times like this that I think to myself, “I wonder if I grew up around here, if I would be jaded and unimpressed as the children appear to be?”

Sometimes- about 3-4% of the time, I wonder what the heck I’m doing here. More to the point, how the heck did I get here?! Meanwhile in my hometown it’s predicted to be around 103 degrees for the rest of the week.  I know exactly what I would be doing at my old job right now.  It wouldn’t be as hectic or hair wrenching as what is waiting for me when I return from my 1/2-a-lunch break (more on that later), but I wouldn’t be looking at girls in shorts, on bikes, in 70 degree weather, on the free corporate wifi. (minus the wifi. I’d have that.)

And this is just one of the reasons why I’ve forced myself- and my coworkers- into my very scheduled and predictable lunch break, where I leave my desk and take a brain-break from the never-ending madness.  But also, to revel in this opportunity that has been presented to me. (And girls in shorts.)

Of course, during the minutes it took to write this,  my boss has sent me three emails that I am not looking forward to replying to.  Ah, such is life!

Sent from a mobile device.

Today I updated the “About” page… http://irieman.com/blog/about/

I’m trying to get back to my once achieved state of “prime physical condition”.  Or at least to where I was at the end of three months ago. Back then, I was going to the gym 4 days a week, 2-3 hours a session. While I’m the first person to talk smack about someone who spends that much time at the gym, I was actually in such a routine that I wouldn’t realize it until someone else brought it up.

On Mondays and Wednesdays I would go to the glutes and abs class for an hour, hit the weights for about 40 minutes, and run for 30…

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I would go to a 40-minute core class and then run for 30-60 minutes…

Once or twice a week I would wake up at 5am and run w/ my roommate for 40 minutes before for work…

Not to shabby for the guy who has all the time in the world!  I would usually get home about 830-900pm and still have time for a shower, small meal, and socialize with my roommate or get caught up on the Internets.  Then there’s the weekend, which meant my Saturday “long run” or losing a 5k or 10k every couple weeks, and a requisite “day of rest”.

Then a life-changing event happened… THE NEW JOB!! While I love my new job, I hate the hours.  No, I’m not writing this on-the-clock. Technically I have 17 minutes of lunch left! (okay, now I *am* on-the clock!).  These days I leave for work around 8am, and if I’m lucky, get off work around 8 or 9pm. 730 on a good day.  My new gym is 2/3rds the size of my old gym and twice as crowded before 7pm and after 8pm. So unless I squeeze in the door at the right moment, I’m spending half my time waiting for a damn machine!

The last two weeks I have been able to hit the treadmill for 30 minutes followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical.  On the weekend (and weeknights when I get off work early enough), I’ll run al fresco (no- not *that* al fresco!) for 3-4 miles.  And no weights.  My old trainer once said that if all I do is run and don’t lift weights, I’ll just be a skinny with bad knees.  Skinny is better than… um, not skinny.    I’m definetly going to have to breach the testosterone cloud and start getting some free weights in soon. Or buy my own weight set.

None of this comforts the fact that in as little as three weeks, work will get all crazy again and I won’t have any time for the gym anymore.  Sadly, I predicted that long before I started my new job.

Yeah, you know how it is…  “as times change our needs change…” blah blah blah…  You probably noticed a lack of posts in the last few- okay- several months.   Due primarily to a lifestyle-change (yeah, that’s it!).   Not to fear however!  A change is in the works, which I like to call Project Reboot. 

“Coming Soon”, as they say…

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