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entries for 2002/10/09
conference presentation judo
Mark-Jason Dominus
(a really smart guy who likes to talk about perl) gave a talk a
while back about giving technial talks.
Someone taped it. (Watch it. It's good stuff.)the homeless guy
I'm reading through the archives of the homeless guy's blog. The guy is intelligent, well spoken, and obviously
has at least some computer skills. It opened my eyes a bit.
I'm still reading so I won't say more. Some excerpts:
On being "just a paycheck or two away from homelessness":
Lets take your average American - we'll call him James, and lets put him in a predicament. Our friend James is not living large, but decently, he's a nice enough guy, just trying to get by in this oppressive world. He has a very modest apartment, with few luxuries, perhaps a tv, a stereo, some books. He works full time, but by the time the bills are paid, and he returns from the grocery store there's not much money left. He looks forward to visits from his friend Kevin, cause Kevin always springs for the beer.
On beggars and panhandlers:
You can love him, you can hate him, he really doesn't care. All he knows is that if he is persistent enough, he will get what he wants. And that goes for the beggar as well as the panhandler. The only right answer to beggars and panhandlers is NO. You may have to say it more than once before they understand. No - you can say you're sorry for their situation, but still say NO.
girls
Oh. There were a ton of cute girls at the Hands on Atlanta thing.
I've kinda shut off my social life until January (after the cornerhost yearly renewals kick in, I wrap up my automation
efforts, and I'm back in shape) but it's something to keep
in mind. :)
Hands on Atlanta
I went to a Hands on Atlanta orientation tonight. There were
40 other recruits there, packed into the little coffee house. I'd expected maybe five or six people, but the presenter said they do these orientations twice a week and 40's an average sized crowd.
Some of their projects are designed to be fairly interactive,
so it's a great way to meet other volunteers. They recommend
starting with something like that if you're new to town or just
want to make some new friends. I'll probably sign up for something
like that in January.
Until then, I'll stick to the ESL program once a week. (I'll probably write more about it tomorrow, after my second visit).