1/28/2004 11:10:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Yesterday I received a large envelope in the mail with a return address of the Selective Service System. I was a little taken aback. Had I been drafted?
Then I remembered that several weeks ago I had requested an application online to become a member of the local Selective Service Board. These are the people who would administer the lottery on a local level if conscripts were needed.
I have completed the application and going to mail it back tomorrow. I found the Oath of Office interesting and inspiring for such a little known position. (The emphases is theirs)
�I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that if appointed to any position under the Military Selective Service Act, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter; SO HELP ME GOD.�
I would be honored to be in a position that demands I �support and defend the Constitution.� And in this case helps choose which young men have to go shoot other people to defend it.
So watch out folks, you road to the Army might go though me.
|W|P|107535300269883219|W|P|Drafted|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/25/2004 08:03:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Charmed will be around for another season. Thier seventh!|W|P|107508258562617807|W|P|All Charmed Fans say a prayer of thanks!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/25/2004 01:48:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|During the bus ride home from church today, there were a couple people talking on their phones. I am very conscious of disturbing people with my conversations, so I try to limit talking on the CTA. When I do talk, I try to not sound like I think I am the only person on the bus. However, I have become used to others not following the same standards I do.
Last year a new announcement system was installed on the buses. It announces what stop is next and some other pre-recorded messages. The pre-recorded messages seem to be inserted randomly between the stops; and I thought that was the only way they are played.
As we are trudging up Clark Street, I noticed the bus driver pushing buttons on the console for the PA system. I am a CTA-Elitist and I notice random things like that. It turns out the drivers can choose which message to play. And she chose something to the effect of �Please be mindful of other riders and moderate you volume while talking on your cell phone.� I cracked up! Everyone one on the bus, well everyone but the two folks on the phone, had a big smile on their face and turned to look at the talkers. I wanted to tell the bus drive that that move was well played. However, I did not want to be Jack, so as always I exited in the back.
|W|P|107506011671106330|W|P|Great moments in CTA riding.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/24/2004 06:59:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|This story popped up on the VCo News Wire. It mentions that "a 14-year-old convicted in October of resisting arrest in Vermillion County" is the youngest person in the Indiana Department of Corrections' adult prision system. Does anyone know who this lucky kid is?|W|P|107499235725042252|W|P|Name that teen!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/24/2004 06:55:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Lady is trying to earn som cash for school in an interesting way.|W|P|107499215504371359|W|P|Interesting Story Out of Englan|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/23/2004 10:25:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|On The Best Week Ever, one of the commentators is Kennedy. You all remember Kennedy from MTV right? Will her official title is not Frm. VeeJay, actress, or comedian. No it is "TV Personality." Monday morning I am hiring a publicist to make me Flatiron: TV Personality.|W|P|107491832357452468|W|P|The job I should have held out for.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/23/2004 10:15:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|First there was I Love the '80s. That was followed up with I Love the '70s. And recently I Love the '80s Struck Back. Now, VH-1 cannot wait to make I Love the '00s (Naughts). So they have decided to make it one week at a time. The new show is The Best Week Ever. And it is pretty darn good.|W|P|107491772352620516|W|P|I love the '00s! Already?|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/23/2004 09:16:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I use the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary every day. Sence I started using it maybe 5 years ago, it has looked axactly the same. It looked that way earlier today. Just now I went to look up "Carolingian" and it has a nice new look. As a developer, I am just that they folks at M-W had some long hours putting this together.|W|P|107491417014842580|W|P|WOW! Makeover|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/22/2004 09:56:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|A woman in Romania had a 176 lb tumor removed!|W|P|107478696647025218|W|P|This tumor is about as big as the fish!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/20/2004 02:31:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Man catches 121 lb catfish in Texas!|W|P|107463066224551426|W|P|This is quite a tail!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/15/2004 09:52:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Luke McKinney, yes that Luke McKinney, has started his own Blog. Check it out.|W|P|107418197757410634|W|P|Luke's Super Blog!!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/11/2004 10:05:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I realized I did not have a link to the most important news site on the net. So I have added /. over on the right. Everyone should check it out once a day.|W|P|107388031790675533|W|P|News You Can Use|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/11/2004 03:54:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I am going through some old Vermillion county news stories that I have missed from the last few weeks. This one is interesting. The story is about some punks being cased away from an anhydrous plan by a VCo Sheriff�s Deputy. In overly Meth aware Illiana, this is not a big story. I was interested because I know the deputy, John Yoho, and his vehicle caught on fire during the chase. He "abandoned the vehicle when he noticed flames coming from under his dashboard." |W|P|107385808529393651|W|P|Vermillion County is on fire!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/10/2004 12:33:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Yesterday, I sent an email to most of my steady readers about this. Starting 19 January 2004, I will be working for Software Architects, Sark. They are the folks who gave me a conditional offer before I went to Germany.
It is a little weird being back in the work force. I have grown accustom to not having a set schedule. I have even grown a little fond of the anxiety that comes with seeing your bank account dip lower and lower. However, I will be much happier to see it go higher and higher from now on.
Sark does the same kind of stuff that the evil AMS did, but the environment is better. When I step into the Sark offices, I have the feeling of it is how AMS is supposed to be. The vacation time is not as great as AMS, but that is about the only thing they have to bribe folks to stay. My base pay is also less, but I am paid hourly-ish. I get my base pay for 40 hours of work, but then anyting over 40 (which there always will be) is paid overtime! So, I am sure I will end up making more than I used to. Another draw back is that although most of the work will be local to Chicago, I will have to be like a normal American and endure a daily drive to client sites.
I am in training for this new job, right now (yes on Saturday, 9-5 no less). It is a break, but class is about to start so I should stop now.|W|P|107375963516027412|W|P|I have a job.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/10/2004 10:25:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Legos has hit some hard times. It seems all that crap they have been producing lately has caught up with them. Maybe this means they will go back to making the basics, when was the last time you saw a basic Lego town set?|W|P|107375193248721168|W|P|At least they know how to build themselves back up!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/09/2004 03:03:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I receive email notices from the IU Alumni Club of Chicago. One of the events they are currently pushing is Step Up For Kids. In this event teams from different Big 10 schools will be competing to climb the stairs of the Aon Building.
I like kids. And, I love Indiana. But, I can not think of anything, short of the polar ice caps melting, that would make me climb the stairs of the second tallest building in Chicago.|W|P|107368219238353167|W|P|Any thing for the kids, but not this.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/08/2004 10:15:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Friend of TFL, Joe Tucker, pointed out that there is an arrow in the FedEx logo. Go to their website and check it out for yourself.|W|P|107362173794812229|W|P|Changing the way you look at FedEx|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com1/08/2004 10:12:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I really have not been anywhere, just unmotivated. I think a lot of stagnation came from the 5 min "Goodbye Girl" ad on TNT that runs several times during Charmed. I have been reawaked though by the idea of heading to Mars and back to the moon.|W|P|107362156208156695|W|P|I am back!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com