Cole Parker

I wrote that for you, Trab! I knew one mistake would discombobulate you, and two would put you over the top and force you into action.<g> It worked! Yes, Merry Christmas for all, and make sure your escape claus is in good working order. C

My chapter count has changed and is pretty much going to be final. Unless it isn't. -------------------- -- Tanuki Raccoon Let's see. When he said that, it was 24. So I guess the Unless-it-isn't claus applies. Sounds to me he knew he was lying when he said that, and provided himself with an escape claus. We shouldn't be surprised. We know raccoons are rascally varmints and never to be believed. C

Been there. Done that. When someone wrote to tell me he'd found a mistake, we wrote back and forth, and he ended up re-editing the entire thing, and found numerous small typos. I asked him how he could find these things, like when I wrote heath club instead of health club. No one else had spotted them. He said it was becasue he was blind and had the story read to him by his computer instead of reading it like everyone else did. Heath and health sound much different. He told me I should tease all my other editors that they were being outdone by a blind man. I told him he had an unfair advantage. But, it's already been post-edited. So that avenue has already been trod. He did insist on getting several chapters a day. Pleaded, really. That seems to be a constant with all you people. And it makes me very happy. C

It also violates every particle, every trace of human decency. It shows utter comtempt for civilized thought and reason. It turns the majority of the citizens of the world against their totalitarian philosophies. In the end, it will destroy them. It cannot happen too quickly. C

Guys, I could send you all a chapter a day, but then Dude would get mad at me, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that. Now you understand why I had so many editors. They all wanted one chapter after the next, and that was the only way they could get them! Well, that's my story at least, and I'm sticking with it. C

Des, do you see how you inspire people? You have a gift, indeed. You bring something out in people. Okay, okay, the thing yoiu bring out best is their insults and slaps at you, but still. You have a gift, man.Heh heh heh.C

Excellent point, Blue. There are certainly people here that have been through the hiring process enough times that they could offer wonderful advice.And Rad, if you speak anywhere near as well as you write, you should be an excellent interview.I conducted quite a few interviews over the years, talking to people looking for hourly jobs and salaried ones. I'd make it a point to ask the applicant what he would do for us. Why should I hire him? What does he have that will benefit the company? To answer this kind of question, it helps if you know something about the company you are interviewing with, and even better if you know what specific job is open. Then you can prepare for this type question in advance. If he asks that, and you don't know exactly what the job is, then ask him what it is so you'll have some idea how to answer. Bullshitting on an interview isn't very wise. I was friendly when inverviewing people becasue I always felt they were inteviewing me as well as I was interviewing them. I needed to sell them on the job and company as well as they needed to sell me on their attributes. But I also liked to put a little pressure on them, ask them things they'd have trouble answering, just to get a feel for how they behaved under pressure. Did they retain their poise, or get rattled?Any interview should be a period of give and take with neither party doing all the talking. If I hog the conversation, I don't learn enough about the applicant. If the applicant hogs the conversation, I get the impression he might not be willing to listen and learn, and any new job requires the newcomer to be open to instruction. It's not good if, when you answer a question, you then keep talking, running off on a tangent. Answer the question fully, then stop.Be prepared with your own questions. Almost any interviewer will ask if you have any questions. If you say no, you don't appear interested or very bright. You should have some questions. How you ask them shows how well you've been listening to what he's been telling you, and whether you can frame you thoughts well.Applicants that do best are ones who come in feeling self-confident but not cocky, prepared to both talk and listen, to be polite and well-spoken (that means using proper English [or Tagalog in some peole's case]), to look the interviewer in the eyes when you talk to him and he talks to you, to dress appropriate to what the job needs are or in business attire if you don't know what the job will be. You should bring a resume even if you sent one in prior to the interview. You should also be relaxed if you can. A nervous applicant doesn't sell himself quite as well.Hope this helps.C

I humbly bow my head and meader off into the sunset.Crushed my more Des repartee.Crushed. And blushing like this color!C

Des:I hate to see you peter out like that.C

Yeah, but you're old. Falling asleep is to be expected.C

I think you're confusing me with Ryan Miller - he's the one who said he liked Connecticut Yankee. I haven't read it. Though I do dislike Great Expectations. I read it in middle school and swore off Dickens. Only a year ago did I read Oliver Twist and decided that Dickens wasn't so bad after all. Exactly! He wrote a lot of great books. The one that isn't is the one that gets assigned. Go figure!The Twain book is excellent, too. You ought to read it. I don't think he wrote much of anything that wasn't worth reading, and this is one of his better ones.C

I found EC's remarks terribly cogent, because I too love ACYITCOKA and also dislike Great Expectations.Liking the former isn't strange at all as I don't think I've ever read any Twain I didn't like, and not just like a little bit. He was a truly wonderful writer. I read Huckleberry Finn about once every ten years and swear I find something I hadn't noticed before each time. And as a side note, if anyone here hasn't read Tom Sawyer, Detective, you're in for a real treat. It's hilarious.It's the latter that's unusual, because Dickens is also one of my favorites--all his books except that one. For some reason, they like to assign that one in middle or high school in English classes, and in my opinion, it turns kids off to Dickens, which isn't right. Of all his books, that 's the one I like least. Yet that's the one that gets assigned. Bummer. I don't mind it till Pip leaves home. At that point, I always lose interest. I didn't realize EleC and I were so much on the same page. Gives me a tingly feeling all over.C

] Ah, maybe there IS a reason for 'Don't ask, don't tell.' <G> C

I love it, Des. Now, do you know a good headstone engraver? C

Somehow, I never figured Colinian to be a member of the 'Don't ask, don't tell' school of thought. I thought he attended one of those weak-ass UC schools! C

My choice of "maybe" wasn't included, so I didn't vote. C

I like it! Especially the line: For computers are not nature or nurture Anyone with a little length in the tooth knows exactly the feelings it evinces. C

Then is it fair to say you had great propinquity with 100%? C

Blue/Rad:My understanding was, he had to cut his hair for the INTERVIEW for the job. That's sort of cruel and unusual punishment. You're giving up something valuable to you on a whim and a prayer. That's asking a lot.I wonder, Rad, if you can interview with your hair neatly tied off and then mention during the interview that should a job offer be forthcoming, and work rules specify short hair, you'd of course comply?I'd feel terrible if I cut my hair, then they didn't offer me the job. I'd feel used.C

And it's also almost a haiku. You didn't mention that! C

Barely.<g> C

It only rhymes if you speak with an Australian accent. C

Watch it, you two. You do know that trans-oceanic romances never work, don't you?C

Yes. Exactly. It can be read both ways. And one way is hilarious. Who else but Des could do that? I stand in awe, man. Well, I sit in awe. Standing makes my back sore. C

Perhaps it wasn't the intended purpose of the poem, but I ended up roaring with laughter. Why am I? Hilarious! And pure Des. C