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Stock your iPhone with knowledge

Earlier this week, I ran across an interesting article by Sean Aune titled “40 Essential iPhone Applications For Web Designers.” It’s a very impressive list, but I didn’t realize until I started looking for the apps in iTunes that the majority of them were not free. Granted, I certainly don’t mind buying an app or two now and then, but I couldn’t very well justify buying 20 or 30 in one sitting. (plus I like keeping my screens few and meticulously organized!)

I may come back later and snag a database app or two, but I didn’t want to fill my iPhone with reference apps which looked to be not much more than common cheat sheets that you can find anywhere on the net. I discovered some handy references posted to MakeUseof’s website a while back and an idea struck me — it would be a lot easier (and cheaper) to use a file manager and simply store copies of these references, cheat sheets, and other essential files on my iPhone.

I mean, hey, wouldn’t it be cool to be sitting there working on one of my themes and look to my iPhone as a reference tool?

I had tried a couple of different file managers a few weeks ago, but never really found anything that I loved. Most apps that I’d looked into required signing up for an account on a website — and most of them were not free services. I needed something that didn’t require an internet connection for those times when I can’t get to a PC. I took a peek at Pandora Box yesterday and happily discovered that DigiDNA’s FileAid (normally $4.99 if memory serves me) was FREE due to a promotion!

As of this post, FileAid is still free, but who knows for how long?

Per DigiDNA’s website, “FileAid is a file manager and viewer for the iPhone and iPod Touch.” Basically, you can copy files over to your iPhone or iPod Touch wirelessly (by FTP) or via USB using DiskAid, which is their PC/MAC tool which can also copy files onto your device. Personally, I found that FileAid does exactly what I need, and can’t see myself using DiskAid. I love that I can use FileAid to connect to my iPhone via FTP and copy over my favorite tech references and cheat sheets, work-related documents, personal files, and other things that I would want to carry out with me without the need to use a 3rd party website. It’s now one of the most essential apps on my iPhone.

According to DigiDNA’s website, FileAid supports a pretty decent list of file types:

• Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF and others)
• PDF
• MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
• iWork (Pages, Numbers and Keynotes, iWork 09 not yet supported)
• OpenDocument (OpenOffice) (Text, Spreadsheet, Presentation)
• Plain Text and RTF (Rich Text Format)
• Audio (MP3, VBR, AAC, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, CAF)
• Video (standard iPhone formats : H.264, MPEG-4)
• Web Archives
• HTML files
• ZIP Archives

So far I’ve loaded various images, PDFs, TXTs, HTML and DOC files onto mine. Had no problems with any of those and will try out more later this weekend.

FileAid FTW!

So if you’ve been thinking of downloading a few reference or cheat sheet apps, you may want to consider going a cheaper route using FileAid or another file manager of your choosing.

Turn your iPhone into your own personal library.

Recovering, and thank God for drugs!

Welp, I made it through the surgery OK. My stint in the recovery room took a little longer than expected because the anesthesia made me sick, so they wouldn’t let me leave until I felt that I could keep the coke and crackers they kept shoving under my nose down. (and I almost made it home … incidentally, their collapsible barf bags are neat!) They gave me Percocet, so as long as I keep taking a couple every few hours, I don’t really feel too much pain. Though for some unGodly reason, I thought I could work from home today and tomorrow — what was I thinking? LOL! It hurts to sit up, so I’m taking today off too, and maybe tomorrow, we’ll have to see. Jim was nice enough to set my laptop up by our bed, so I can lay here and surf and type during my “awake times”, hehehe.

So, yeah, I’m doing OK. Moving around hurts like hell, so I’m pretty much just staying in bed (though getting up to go to the bathroom is an adventure, LOL!). The Percocet makes me a little dizzy, so Jim won’t let me walk anywhere or do anything by myself … which suits me just fine, for now.

Thank you all for the warm wishes. With any luck I’ll be up and about in a few days.

Love!

Nicki

She left me love

As I mentioned in my update, Jessie came to work with me Tuesday. I hadn’t realized she had left me this on my pin board until I got back in the office this morning:

She’s so sweet.

Pain is bad, mmkay?

Looking back, I guess it should have struck me as strange that I wasn’t at all hungry Tuesday evening. I’d taken Jessie to work with me Tuesday and we had Stix for lunch. I just assumed because I’d had a huge greasy meal that I was a little out of sorts from that and didn’t think much about the lack of appetite. Around 2am Wednesday morning I awoke from a sound sleep with an excruciating pain. It hurt from just below my sternum, to underneath just the bottom of both sides of my ribs, all the way down the middle of my belly. It was like there was a huge burning knot in my abdomen and someone was trying to pull it tighter and tighter.

A slight back-track: I’d had this pain before, about 3 weeks ago, but it had only lasted a couple hours so I shrugged it off. This time was MUCH more intense and the pain lasted over 8 hours!

I know, I know … I should’ve had Jim take me to the emergency room, but I’m a proud stubborn (stupid!) woman and convinced myself that I could last the few hours until my doctor’s office opened. I phoned them as soon as they opened and was worked in that morning. I described to my doctor where I hurt and what I’d eaten the day before. She poked and prodded various places around my belly and sides — and even though the tightness and burning was gone, my stomach still HURT LIKE HELL when being pressed upon! She said it’s most likely my gall bladder and scheduled me for an ultrasound.

I had the ultrasound yesterday morning along with a few other tests, and am still waiting to hear the results. I know I’m driving the office staff crazy over there because I’ve been calling about every other hour asking if they had any news for me yet.

The not-knowing is killing me.

Everyone keeps telling me that gall bladder surgery is nothing to worry about nowadays and is “no big deal” … but you know me, I worry about the things I can’t control. Plus, I’m not crazy about being out of work the past couple days and I know that if/when I need surgery, I’ll need to be out more.

It serves me right for not having it checked out sooner I guess.

So, when I know more, I’ll post updates for everyone. Right now, it’s still pretty much a waiting game. If you’re the praying kind, I could really use it — and please include my family, they’re the ones putting up with me.

Businesses lending a hand to job hunters

I’m sure y’all don’t need me to tell you that finding a job is hard work. I know that I am extremely lucky to have found another job within a month of being laid off. Jim was laid off last week, so having me working again so soon was a real blessing. But I know plenty of other people who are still looking.

Looking and applying for a job is hard work, and I’m happy to see that some businesses are looking to lend a hand to those still trying to find work: in particular, Staples and Office Depot. I ran across a couple entries on Mommy’s Wish List that I thought some of y’all might find useful in your search (or you could relay to someone you know who’s searching):

• Office Depot is offering free printing and faxing services to customers until May 30th. (more details here)
• Staples is offering free and business cards to customers until June 13th. (more details here)

Hopefully that’s helpful to someone out there! Please feel free to share related hints or treats in the comment box below.

Humpday Hilarities

Today’s funnies start off with these from my Cotillion sister, Janette:

The Atheist

An atheist was taking a walk through the woods. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” he said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7 foot grizzly charge towards him.

He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant the Atheist cried out: “Oh my God!…” Time stopped.

The bear froze. The forest was silent.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky: “You deny My existence for all of these years, teach others I don’t exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect Me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”

The atheist looked directly into the light, “It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask You to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps could you make the BEAR a Christian?”

“Very well,” said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And then the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together and bowed his head and spoke:

“Lord, bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord Amen.”

BEAR HUNTING

Frank was excited about his new rifle and decided to try bear hunting. He spotted a small brown bear and shot it. Right after, there was a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see a big black bear. The black bear said, “That was my cousin and you’ve got two choices … Either I maul you to death or we have sex.”
After considering briefly, Frank decided to accede to the latter alternative. Even though he felt sore for two weeks, Frank soon recovered and vowed revenge.

He headed out on another trip where he found the black bear and shot it. Right after, there was another tap on his shoulder. This time a huge grizzly bear stood right next to him. The grizzly said, “That was a big mistake, Frank. That was my cousin and you’ve got two choices. Either I maul you to death or we have rough sex.” Again, Frank thought it was better to cooperate.

Although he survived, it took several months before Frank finally recovered. Outraged, he headed back to the woods, managed to track down the grizzly and shot it. He felt sweet revenge, but then there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find a giant polar bear standing there. The polar bear looked at him very sadly and said, “Admit it, Frank, you don’t come here for the hunting, do you?”

The Mother-In-Law

A big-game hunter went on safari with his wife and mother-in-law. One evening, while still deep in the jungle, the Mrs awoke to find her mother gone. Rushing to her husband, she insisted on them both trying to find her mother.

The hunter picked up his rifle, took a swig of whiskey, and started to look for her. In a clearing not far from the camp, they came upon a chilling sight: the mother-in-law was backed up against a thick, impenetrable bush, and a large male lion stood facing her.

The wife cried, “What are we going to do?”
“Nothing,” said the hunter husband. “The lion got himself into this mess, let him get himself out of it.”

And this one is from my pal, Rose:

This is even funnier when you realize it’s real! Next time you have a bad day at work think of this guy.

Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs.

Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2 on FM dial in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won.

~~Hi Sharon,

Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you’ve been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it’s not so bad after all . Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It’s a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite cool.

So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I’ve used it several times with no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It’s like working in a Hot-Tub.

Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my ass started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don’t have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn’t stick to it, however, the crack of my ass was not as fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my ass.

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet.

As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out, but I couldn’t shit for two days because my ass was swollen shut.

So, next time you’re having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your ass. Now repeat to yourself, ‘I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.’ Whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish bad day?, or do I love my job.

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day!!!!!

It’s not personal

Wow, it’s been a week already. I think last week was the longest week I could remember in a long time. *shrug*

I had a chance to have lunch with some of my (now former) co-workers Friday and someone remarked, “Wow, you’re handling this so WELL!”

Well, not really …

I’ve put on a semi-happy face when people are around, but sitting at home by myself, I’ll admit it’s hard not to feel down. I’ve lost all interest in my sites and have for the most part been ignoring my feeds and pretty much all social networks.

I was talking to a friend earlier today and noted that Friday there were some who I’d worked with or for who couldn’t seem to bring themselves to speak to me. I’m sure my getting laid off then being back in the office so soon after made things “weird” for some people. I kept telling myself, “It’s not personal. It was a financially driven decision that had nothing to do with my performance.” (Hell, I even have that in writing!)

But that’s just it … it IS personal. I loved that job. I loved the people I worked with. I even loved some of my customers. I took my job very seriously and always, every day, did my absolute best with pride. How could I not take it personally when I’m told that my position has been “eliminated” and to, “Get your crap and get out.”

Ok, they didn’t really say the last part, but it’s the same if you ask me.

And so I’m taking it personally. I’ve snapped at my family. I’ve cried every time I’d hear from one of my co-workers. I’ve cried every time I’d hear from one of my customers (one of whom gave me an absolute glowing recommendation this weekend). I’ve felt even worse when I check all my job feeds and see no new postings.

And at this point, part of me wishes I had gone into the medical field … there’s never a shortage of jobs over there!

So yeah, I’m not out of “the funk” just yet …

Here I go again … I’ve just been laid off

I’ve always said that you know the situation is bad if you’re called into a meeting and both your supervisor and the head of HR are attending.

That was exactly the case today. I was just about to grab my things and head out to lunch and my boss came by to ask me if I could meet with him for a moment. My first thought was “Am I in trouble?” but couldn’t think of anything I’d done recently to piss anyone off. (actually I’ve been on my best behavior for the most part lately, trying to be a better role model employee and all that … pity)

I sat down at the table and could read the upside-down print on the paper being held by one of the HR people sitting across from me. I read the word “severance” and knew instantly that this wasn’t a good thing. Sure enough, the division has started another round of cutbacks and I’m one of them. I don’t remember much about what all was said to me, but I think I understood most of it.

I remember what irritated me the most: my name was misspelled on the documents. I commented that I knew I was low on the totem pole because half the division could never learn (or make the effort) to spell my name properly. I was assured that wasn’t the case, this was not a reflection of my work, et cetera, et cetera, …

It still stings though. And to be honest, when the state started cutting back last year and then the hiring freeze came, and then they said no raises or bonuses, et. al., I knew that a “low level” position like mine (as compared to the rest of my department) could possibly be cut.

So now here I am … again. Jobless. Feeling a little down, yes, but trying not to be.

I’m sitting here looking over my resume, but honestly I keep thinking about all the designs I did for them that will probably never be used — I really wish I had had the chance to back them up on disk first!

Oh well, at least ONE of my designs are on a public site, and I can put that on my resume.

So … anyone who had my work email address, please email my gmail or nickifaulk.com address from now on.

Oh … and I need a job.

Humpday Hilarities

This funny bit is courtesy of my mother:

A little boy wanted $100.00 very badly and prayed for weeks, but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100.00. When the postal authorities received the letter to God, USA, they decided to send it to the President.

The president was so amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill. The president thought this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 bill and sat down to write a thank-you note to God, which read:

Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington D.C. and those assholes took $95.00 in taxes.

This one is courtesy of one of my co-workers:

Two Irishmen, Patrick Murphy and Shawn O’Brian grew up together and were lifelong friends. But alas, Patrick developed cancer, and was dying. While on his deathbed, Patrick called to his buddy, Shawn, “O’Brian, come ‘ere. I ‘ave a request for ye.” Shawn walked to his friend’s bedside and kneels.

“Shawny ole boy, we’ve been friends all our lives, and now I’m leaving ‘ere. I ‘ave one last request fir ye to do.”

O’Brian burst into tears, “Anything Patrick, anything ye wish. It’s done.”

“Well, under me bed is a box containing a bottle of the finest whiskey in all of Ireland. Bottled the year I was born it was. After I die, and they plant me in the ground, I want you to pour that fine whiskey over me grave so it might soak into me bones and I’ll be able to enjoy it for all eternity.”

O’Brian was overcome by the beauty and in the true Irish spirit of his friend’s request, he asked, “Aye, tis a fine thing you ask of me, and I will pour the whiskey. But, might I strain it through me kidneys first?”

And last but certainly not least, this one is courtesy of my Cotillion sister, Fausta:

The old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years he had faithfully served the people of the nation’s capital. He motioned for his nurse to come near.

“Yes, Father?” said the nurse.

“I would really like to see Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi before I die”, whispered the priest.

“I’ll see what I can do, Father” replied the nurse.

The nurse sent the request to them and waited for a response. Soon the word arrived. Harry and Nancy would be delighted to visit the priest.

As they went to the hospital, Harry commented to Nancy, “I don’t know why the old priest wants to see us, but it will certainly help our images.” Nancy couldn’t help but agree.

When they arrived at the priest’s room, the priest took Nancy’s hand in his right hand and Harry’s hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest’s face.

Finally Nancy spoke. “Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?”

The old priest slowly replied, “I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The old priest continued…”He died between two lying thieves. I would like to do the same.”

Do you see what I am saying?

“And my shoes began to squeak…”

5 points to whomever gets that reference!

I’ve had a lot going on lately, but honestly hadn’t had the energy or desire to sit down and write — or type, as it were. For anyone who hasn’t been reading/following me for a while, the more crap I have going on the more I unplug.

Not fun, but some of the crap has been kind of funny. I think the best way to sum this up would be in a meme-like format, so here goes:

In the last 30 days …

1. I’ve been called a baby killer.

This one is actually pretty funny now, but at the time it was a bit unnerving. Long story short: a website one of the studies that my department maintains experienced some down time. Because of this, a certain doctor involved in the study completely flips his shit and tells me and everyone else that because the website wasn’t up, a certain drug (which had a 50% chance of being a placebo) they are studying couldn’t be administered to a dying baby. The next day, the baby died (from a cause unrelated to the drug OR the study!), and the doctor implies that because of our “inaction” that we’re at fault. There was much panic about lawsuits, audits, and whether or not some of us would have a job …

Anyways, our boss, his boss, his boss’ boss, and that boss’ boss are all furious and said doctor has had his hide handed to him. One of my coworkers joked, “I haven’t been called a ‘baby killer’ since ‘Nam!”

2. I realized that I had erroneously packed up all available liquor in the house.

Funny enough, while the above-mentioned debacle was going on, I came home one day and realized that I needed a drink in a bad way — and couldn’t find a single drop anywhere! For whatever reason, I must have thought it would be a good idea to pack up all the alcohol and keep it in storage.

Good Lord, what was I thinking?

3. I’ve been turned down for a house loan.

Yeah, we were turned down. We’re not completely out of options, but part of me really wishes we had started trying a year sooner. I’d seen places that were practically giving away loans to anyone and everyone who applied.

*sigh*

Oh well, we’ll keep on plugging and I’ve no doubt that it will all turn out in the end — but the keeping the faith part is always hard.

4. I have been asked by a friend to match him up with a mistress.

Uh … do what?

Definitely one for the “sharing too much” category. I was catching up via email with an old friend. He went into great detail about how unhappy he is in his marriage, about how he wished he had married someone else, and so on. I feel bad for the guy, I really do … but when he suggested that I try to set him up with one of my girlfriends so he could “be happy with an affair”, I (as politely and courteously as I could) declined.

And I haven’t heard from him since.

Yikes … so, um, yeah.

5. I have had a new term suggested for Jim’s ex.

A friend of mine was listening to me rant about the latest drama stirred up by Jim’s ex over Jessie (which of course quickly became over me), she exclaimed, “Of course, she’s your stepwife!”

According to Word Spy, a stepwife is (in my case) the ex-wife of my husband.

Funny, I have plenty of other names to call her … but this is probably the most kid-safe!

She has seemed to have been in an uproar about anything and everything lately though. I was talking to Jim about a rather nasty remark she made to me one night and he replied, “You will always be ‘the other woman’ in her eyes.”

Oh give me a break.

Never mind that they ultimately split because Jim caught her cheating on him — REPEATEDLY! That said, there is some truth in what he said. For whatever reason, she has always seen me as her competition. Even now, despite the fact that I have been in Jessie’s life since she was 4, and the woman has even admitted TO ME that she thinks I’m a good influence on Jessie, she still goes off on this “I’m her mother and I will never let you forget it!” bullshit trip every time she has one of these manic (maniac) moments.

But I digress …

So those are most of the reasons why I’ve been burying my nose in a few fave books, catching up on some DVD’d tv shows, and pretty much avoiding the ‘net in general.

How’re y’all?

Seriously. How’s your day/week/month been?

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