Her Smile

Perhaps this drawing of the girl who sometimes makes me coffee will soften the blow of needing to get your gadget and technology related news from one of the other approximately 9,000 news outlets that cover these topics:

Teal and pink energy lines and pupils not quite as bright in IRL 

Formatting File Names

I Should Have Known This Before!

Over the years, I have developed a system for naming files that I find very useful.  Here is that system:

XXX_SubjectMatter_yyyy_mm_dd_0n

xxx = the abbreviation of the category, which is never more than three letters long, i.e. AR = Accounts Receivable, AP = Accounts Payable, J = Journal (because I'm secretly a 14 year old girl), N = Notes (which I edit and published on Clean Sheets and Dirty Girls), etc.

_ = the underscore character

SubjectMatter = a name for the file that I will remember later, i.e. MyNamingSystemExplained or something similar would be the title of the entry devoted to a piece of writing I might do on this topic.  If I was saving a copy of an a news article from the internet this is the place where the title of the article would be placed.

yyyy_mm_dd = the date in this format because that way it can be sorted by name on the computer and come up in chronological order. I always (try) to save dates in the computer in this way.

0n = zero and a number that increases by one every time I save a file so that I or anyone I am working with can quickly identify the current version of the file, which is the one with the highest number at the end.  This is important when making revisions to a single file or when sharing the file with another person.  Even in a small office environment it is possible for two people tasked with making edits to a presentation or sales document to work on an older copy of the file if there is no system in place to identify which copy of the file is the most recent. If I know that the type of document will include a lot of files, I will make this more than two digits long.

For years, I was had been using mm_dd_yy in my file names.  Only about one year ago did I finally switch to yyyy_mm_dd, which makes so much more sense because it can be sorted by a computer and have the results appear in chronological order.  If I had only been reading the latest from the International Organization for Standardization (I.S.O.) I would have been on to the more useful way of expressing dates years earlier!

Here is the link to the xkcd comic on the subject of correctly formatting dates for all your chronophiles.

Middle Class Economic Might

Amazon Prime

One of the best things about having a job is that all of those little things that I have been putting off purchasing are now things I can more easily justify buying.

This year I bought in to the Amazon Prime thing in order to get free two day shipping on virtually everything that is available on amazon.com, which is virtually everything that is available for purchase on the planet.  Plus, I get access to the Prime media library, which has been nice since I have cut ties with my cable company as I posted about here (it's funny, you should read it).

A lot of writers have worn the letters off their keyboards describing how awful it is that online retailers are using tracking tools to better understand their consumers.  I say that this process isn't going far enough and that I would like to have more of a say in what goods and services are shown to me when I log in to my account with amazon.com.  Recently, my employer asked me to look up some information on

Artist Stephen Cheetham

Stephen Cheetham is an artist.  His website is here.  Below are my favorite of his creations:

69th Anniversary of D-Day

On the 69th Anniversary of D-Day it is time to take a moment to remember the brave members of the armed forces who have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Here is a website where you can read their stories.

Just one of these heroes was given the opportunity to fire a flamethrower on Sons of Guns.  His official Medal of Honor citation is as follows:

WILLIAMS, HERSHEL WOODROW

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Entered service at: West Virginia. Born: 2 October 1923, Quiet Dell, W. Va. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as demolition sergeant serving with the 21st Marines, 3d Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 23 February 1945. Quick to volunteer his services when our tanks were maneuvering vainly to open a lane for the infantry through the network of reinforced concrete pillboxes, buried mines, and black volcanic sands, Cpl. Williams daringly went forward alone to attempt the reduction of devastating machinegun fire from the unyielding positions. Covered only by 4 riflemen, he fought desperately for 4 hours under terrific enemy small-arms fire and repeatedly returned to his own lines to prepare demolition charges and obtain serviced flamethrowers, struggling back, frequently to the rear of hostile emplacements, to wipe out 1 position after another. On 1 occasion, he daringly mounted a pillbox to insert the nozzle of his flamethrower through the air vent, killing the occupants and silencing the gun; on another he grimly charged enemy riflemen who attempted to stop him with bayonets and destroyed them with a burst of flame from his weapon. His unyielding determination and extraordinary heroism in the face of ruthless enemy resistance were directly instrumental in neutralizing one of the most fanatically defended Japanese strong points encountered by his regiment and aided vitally in enabling his company to reach its objective. Cpl. Williams' aggressive fighting spirit and valiant devotion to duty throughout this fiercely contested action sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Season 2 of Clean Sheets and Dirty Girls

The summer here in San Diego is far too beautiful to spend all day in front of a computer screen.  Also, I prefer to spend my computing time sipping coffee in a dimly lit room and when there are beautiful women showing off their skin outdoors it is difficult for me to stay inside. All of this is to say that I will be adopting a seasonal approach to publishing CSaDG.  Much like television shows take a creative break during the summer, I have been taking it easy on my blogging activities during the summer as well.

What does all of this mean for you dear reader?  Lucky for you it means that I have been gathering material, tweaking the content I have planned, screaming at my intern*, am willing to assume the role of Entertainment Director, who much like the people who hold this position aboard cruise ships is willing and able to arrange hours of entertainment just for you, and in general am going to step up my blogging activities with new vigor in the fall.

I promise:

• More explosions!
• More danger!
• Twice the danger!!
• Intrigue
• Clean sheets and
• Dirty Girls

He never waits for the other shoe to drop; he throws it down!


*While I was called "sir", which is rare for me, the good people at Starbucks did follow up that comment by informing me that "I would need to leave immediately".**
**I hope the creators of The Simpsons will forgive me for paraphrasing their joke for your amusement.

Memorial Day Weekend Notes

I found the following TED video on learning to read Chinese to be really interesting.  I should really find more materials on China and get myself to understand more of the largest holders of our nation's debt.

Weekend Games, Clothing and a New Painter to Ponder

Game to Play for Android

Hills of Glory: 3D is a game for android phones and tablets that has been highly reviewed.  I plan to give it a try since I am interested in World War II and can afford to waste a little time.

Below is the trailer for the game:

New Clothing
Part of the deal I made with myself a little more than a year ago is that I will purchase a new article of team apparel each time a sports team I follow begins a season.  Now that the Padres have started their 2013 season, I pulled the trigger and purchased a black on black Padres cap.

New Artist
The Brooks Art Museum in Memphis, TN will be hosting an exhibit of Carol Coar's paintings starting at the beginning of June, 2013.  Click here to see for yourself.  I plan to brush up on my knowledge of this painter this weekend.  Below are some of the images she created, which captured my attention:

Here you can view more of the paintings of Carol Coar.

Updated on December 4, 2013: It has come to my attention that a black hat is a term used to connote an individual who is involved in illegal computer activities. I thought I was just posting a photo of a hat.  Opps.

Entertainment Roundup

Ender's Game is an excellent book about a boy who is chosen to be trained as the greatest military commander in the history of the world.  The instructors who monitor Ender's progress refuse to help him.  In fact, they prevent anyone from coming to Ender's rescue when a larger, older boy decides to fight Ender.  Being the total badass that he is, Ender kills the larger boy with his bare hands and comes to the following realization:

Trailers for Current Movies I'm Still Looking Forward to Seeing

• 42

• Pain and Gain

• Mud

• The Place Beyond the Pines

• Ender's Game - the trailer is now available and there is an official site up for the movie!!!

• Spring Breakers

Webcomics

Tom Gauld - His tumblr account is fantastic and his site contains even more good material.

xkcd.com - of course

This weekend I really should

• Get ahead on a few things for work by putting in about four hours at a desk getting things in line
• Do all the laundry and find a place to put everything that is clean
• Box up another set of things in anticipation of moving
• Clean out the car
• Enter receipts
• Troll craigslist for free things

Happy Birthday Sig

Today we celebrate the birthday of Sigmund Freud, one of the forefathers of modern psychiatry and a true legend in the field of dirty old men.  This Mac Daddy, cocaine user managed to turn laying women down on couches into a profession.  For this we... I... at Clean Sheets and Dirty Girls salute you, Sigmund.