Author: Carl Page 31 of 152

Dear Evan Hansen

On August 10, 2019

Today I went to see Dear Evan Hansen at The Kennedy Center. I purposefully didn’t look into much of what the play was about because I like going into things without reviews filling me head with pre-conceived notions of what I am about to see.

I knew it was about a kid with a cast and that was about it. I had no idea what to expect. I saw the play in The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater. While it felt small, actually seats 1164 people. We were on the main level in the very last row.

Scene from our seats at the back of the main floor.

It was my first time in the last row and I really enjoyed being able to stretch an arm behind me to seat next to me. There is no saving the knees of a 6’5″ frame in a theater, so any little bit of extra room elsewhere helps. I didn’t have to worry about blocking the view of anyone behind me which was an extra stress removed from the production.

The stage production was very interesting. They used a series of translucent screens with various images and video clips projected on to it. It reminded me of seeing Nine Inch Nails years ago. The screens put me off at first. It’s a simple play in its sets and subject and I felt the screens were infringing on the storytelling I was watching. And my stepmother made a good point about it being a sign of the times we live in. Where everything is colored by a screen. Everything we do has a glow to it.

Rarely do we sit and watch something live. It all happens on screens of different sizes.

Whether it was commentary on society or simply a way to fill a big stage without much happening in many of the scenes, it become more useful as the play progressed.

The play is dark. With the entire story built on a single lie. A lie born of good intentions, but still the basis for everything that follows. As in life, there was good to come out of the lie as well as bad. I turned to my wife at intermission as we’re riding high with our character getting everything he wanted and said, “And now it all falls apart.”

And it did.

After intermission, our character got what he deserves. His fall comes hard. But he saved a family and built something truly remarkable.

Flying orchestra above an orchard.

This is the first theater I’ve been to where the orchestra was positioned in the air above the stage rather in a pit below it. For most of the play they were behind screens and overshadowed by the visuals.

Except for the final scene where the orchard is shown and the beautiful sky is seen above it, and I giggled to myself as the floating orchestra was revealed.

Ninjas need not apply.

By Carl

On June 27, 2019

In Introspection

Looking for a Job? America’s Listings Are Inscrutable – The Atlantic

The result is the obnoxious state of the modern job listing, which is often short on details and long on silly demands.

I’ve seen listings for more years of experience in a technology than years the technology has existed.

More than ever, it seems, hiring managers are looking for extremists: You can’t just be willing to do the job. You must evince an all-consuming horniness for menial corporate tasks. In an American labor market where wages are stagnant and many workers feel their jobs seeping into their personal time, such demands only create even more anxiety and dread for Americans looking for a new gig.

Extremists don’t make for good team players. Which raises the final point.

In other words, few people seem to want to do the duties of a rock star if they’re not going to get paid like one.

If you’re looking for amazing, dedicated people, you need to reward them. Giving them less than market wages isn’t going to attract or retain them.

I’ve been in the market for a new job. I’ve been in the same place for three years under 5 separate companies and the contract I work on has expired and we’re working on an extension until a new contract is awarded. This is always a natural time to look around and see what else is out there in the market. I’m happy where I am, but I can always be happier. When I came across this article today I had to stop and read it. It is everything I see in ads today.

Even when they’re not filled with flowery language, which many of the DC-area government contracting jobs are not, they’re written so vaguely it’s often hard to determine exactly what sort of job it is. Is it a help desk? Would I be answering phones all day? Is it face-to-face support? Is it infrastructure support where I’d see more server rooms than people? It’s hard to determine if I’d even be qualified enough to attempt an interview since it’s hard to know what I would be doing and what would be expected of me.

There’s another trend of mentioning the need for an upper level security clearance at the very end of the job listing. After reading 3 pages of requirements, qualifications, a vague notion of exactly where you’ll be working, as I am ready to press Apply I notice I’d need a Top Secret security clearance. Not be clear-able, but to already have clearance.

Why bury that at the end of the ad? Put it at the top where you’ve placed the need for the applicant to be a US Citizen.

Modern job hunting is a minefield of guesswork and mistrust. I’ve asked many recruiters what government agency the position is for. And many of them are cagey about providing that information. In addition with a lack of trust, location has a huge amount to do with the length of the commute.

Is it in DC, Maryland or Virginia? Is it metro-accessible? If not, is there any parking available? From where I live, will it be 45 minutes? 90 minutes? More than that? These are all real concerns and even more real driving figures. Even metro can be an easy 60+ minute commute and that’s not counting any transfers in between.

Companies want dedicated rock stars to work for them forever. And they’re willing to pay wages fresh out of high school.

Father’s Day

By Carl

On June 17, 2019

In Introspection

Father, at work

This is one of my favorite photos I’ve taken of my father. It was taken through the window of his office as he worked up a spreadsheet. Which is as close to his natural state as I can get without a hammock and a Sherlock Holmes novel.

We spent the day together at the farm sitting on the front porch talking and sipping lemonade with a light breeze coming in off the rock outcroppings. It was as near as perfect a day as I can recall.

We took a 2 mile walk in the park and saw a beautiful blue bird. We had Vicki’s casserole for dinner with a salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

It was a happy father’s day.

Chronolog – Taking pictures for nature

By Carl

On April 8, 2019

In Observations

Recently on a walk at a new local park, I came across a placard and place for my phone with instructions to take a picture of the area and email it. The system is from a startup called Chronolog. I had never seen anything like this on my walks through other local parks. Apparently, they’re using it to target specific areas for a variety of issues.

Chronolog sign post with bracket to take a picture that I took a picture of to remember where to email the photo later.

I like being able to do my part to help build the time lapse and give them more information about the park.

I couldn’t find anything about it on my county’s web site, but Greenbelt, MD had a news article about the system from September 2018.

When asked about what these stations are and how they should be used, Ky Wildermuth of Chronolog said “The idea was to create stationary reference points that would position cell phone cameras in a specific direction. Park conservationist would mount brackets in front of ecosystems they needed to monitor. People who ventured out into these areas could place their phone into the bracket, take a picture, and email it to be compiled for a time lapse. That time lapse could be analyzed to track plant life, a restoration project, or environmental change.”

The email I got back in confirmation and thanks said what they were looking to monitor with this particular site.

The North Branch Rock Creek flows directly into Rock Creek and ultimately into the Potomac River. This site is a popular creek crossing. We hope to monitor bank erosion and channeling of this creek.

Unfortunately, there is not a public-facing page for the site I contributed to but here’s an example from their site of the Vernal Pool that goes from dry to wet land as the seasons change.

My fingers know my password

By Carl

On March 18, 2019

In Briefs

What I realized is that — probably for many years — I didn’t actually know my password. I couldn’t have told you what it is. I just relied on my fingers to know it. And since it always worked, I never thought to question it.

— Brent Simmons

I’ve had this exact problem. I never knew what was my password once the last time I changed it for a computer. I knew the pattern my fingers typed. But I couldn’t have told you what it was. It’s a scary feeling and I’ve since taken steps to make sure it never happens again.