So I've been one busy little bee since scoring my new job. 60 hour weeks of patching windows boxen and removing viruses from the loads of machines that hadn't seen a real technical touch in about 6 months. I can begin to see why the guy I replaced bailed after only 2 weeks on the job. Seeing this huge pile of work that had never been addressed just steaming was almost enough to make me pine for my old position too. Almost being the operative term. Though my manager could at times use a clue things are great here. I even occasionally have time to peruse the slashdot headlines in between trouble tickets.
So now that I finally have a chance to really get into my internet addled weekends on 'my time' I've begun to get a better perspective on the changes in slashdot's readership over time. There are still the wonderful trolls, and the almost too smart old guys who only chime in when really really really needed. The average joe slashdot is getting younger, more reactionary, and less informed over time though and that scares me.
Is there no end to how low the bar will fall for entry into the club of people worth discussing articles with on this board? I used to blindly wander through the comments at 1 or even -1 when feeling intrepid looking to do good with my all too few mod points. But now I can barely stand reading at 2. I'm almost constantly tempted to set my preferences to a 3! This isn't the slashdot of old that I remember with a sparkle in my eye.
Can we perhaps get the article quality back up to a point where only the people worth speaking will open their mouths? I know that more often than not I close a comment window rather than hitting submit, but why isn't that tendency contagious to the youngsters who feel that every little thought that runs through their head is worth the world's attention? I've begun rambling so I'll go back to my life sans slashdot for a couple days and hope this feeling of dread and apathy will wear off.
Please people, don't let slashdot turn into the steaming pile of flames that USENET has become.

So I had fallen to the absolute end of my rope. Distraught and penniless I was boxing my apartment up and arranging to move it all and myself back to my parents house to stay until I got back on my feet. My parent's house! That thought still sends chills up my spine. I need my few remaining freedoms in the 'post-911' 'homeland-security forever' usa. The morning I was planning on moving all of my stuff, I received a call from a recruiter that I had worked with a month earlier. The guy who beat me for the position had job-hopped back to his previous gig for more money! That idea concerned me a little, but I gladly grabbed the opportunity to try again at an interview that I knew I had nailed the first time. So the next morning I went downtown and had another exceptional interview with my prospective employer. I then quickly arranged to store my stuff at various friends' apartments until I had my own place, if they made me an offer..... otherwise it was back to the parents' and all that that implies. Not two days later I was being promised an offer. Two more days and I was almost ready to start sweating bullets when I got the offer. The next morning I was in the office to pick up right where my predecessor had blown off. He didn't give 2 weeks notice. He just disappeared. And now here I am at work writing in this journal before going to save the day again... I am incredibly happy and full of hope. The doors of opportunity continue to open before me, and I am gladly stepping up to continue my journey through this nerdy life that I love. Occasionally at night when hanging out with my other geek friends smoking a few right and left cigarettes the sillyness of synchronicity hits and someone will comment about just how crazy these last few weeks have been. I have again walked out of a hole that I dug seemingly aided only by luck and circumstance. And maybe its the lefties, but it makes me wonder if someone/thing out there can influence things so gently we don't see their mark. If so... Thanks from the depth of my soul. If not... Wheeeeeee! I just can't wait to get paid. :) So this journal will get updated occasionally rather than turning fallow. If you bother to read my ramblings let me know what you think. I know I'm no english major, but I like to be critiqued. Now back to reading perl expressions uses in scripts... everyone have a wonderful year... we can only go up from here! :)

So this job search is starting to get scary. I have what should be marketable skills and an almost intuitive understanding of logical computer systems. Yet I can't be qualified to even wait tables or work at mcdonalds whether from lack of experience at the former to lack of spanish as a second language for the latter. I'm pissed. I am so friggin desperate for work that I have applied to be a telemarketer of all things. And I even get turned down from that. Do I look incapable of reading a script repeatedly? I feel so frickin lame its overwhelming. I am now gonna eat my ramen dinner/breakfast and hope that a positive reply has landed in my email... though doubt is starting to be stronger than hope. I wish I had the power to turn my life around right now. If only someone would take a chance and hire me.... If only..... If only.....

So today marks a new milestone in my slashdot experience as johny_qst... I got Karma:Excellent and now can post comments to articles at +2 not +1 or AC... I'm confused why so much power for such a small price? I even felt kinda dirty using it... like I was picking on others... Damn gonna have to get used to knowing when to use the stick and when not to I guess :)

So today was the first day I've noticed moderation points on my account. So after wandering through a couple articles comment's at a frighteningly low filter level I have a new appreciation for how quickly slashdot's userbase ballooned to massive proportions. I couldn't help feeling a little uneasy affecting other people's perceptions of a 4th party's comments. I saw a couple things that would have gotten a -1 moderation if they hadn't all been tagged before... thanks to the other mods ;) I think a lot of the moderation is handled exceptionally well, but I wonder if more users should get points to moderate more frequently. There seems to be a surprising disparity for how long really good comments can sit at 2. Just pulling the filter menu drop-down startles me sometimes when 200+ posts yields 10-20 comments above 2! Maybe it's just my time-dilation wanting everything to be happening faster than it already is. I guess I need to slow down have a beer and a bowl and watch the comments filter over time.... but damn I hate that feeling of watching grass grow. It's almost as bad as accidentally turning the tv on before the ps2 is on and cable news is blaring its programming at an unsuspecting public. :P Oh well... about that bowl....

another journal that won't get much use :) Oh well at least everyone can see my apathy towards sharing my thoughts in this crazy IP world.