Monthly Archives: October 2007

Nerds!

Missy said it was a sign when she first walked into my apartment and saw my Jean-Luc Picard magnet on the fridge. Because she had a Jean-Luc postcard with the exact same picture on her fridge.

One of her Cut the Fluff Challenge items was the Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual. And that’s only because it’s so old it won’t work on our computers.

Day 24

Fortunately, I have the book version of the Technical Manual. So we can still get our structural integrity field physics fix when we need it.

My First Speaking Gig

Tomorrow I’m speaking on a panel entitled “The Future of News.” It’s sponsored by the Department of Cinema and Media Studies at Carleton College and moderated by visiting professor Michael Griffin.

(Funny how it’s about journalism, and I had to re-write that first blurb a few times.)

And before I go on, let me just say…

SQUEEEEEEEE!!! *fall down go boom*

Okay, here’s the blurb:

Where is journalism heading in the current media environment? As traditional newspapers downsize, TV news further devolves into infotainment, and weblogs proliferate, what does the future hold for reporting that serves the public interest?

Hear what five Twin Cities journalists, all working to change the face of journalism in Minnesota, have to say about commercial news cutbacks, accelerating developments online, and shifting definitions of news in our rapidly changing media world.

And then there’s this:

The forum will feature a mix of veteran journalists and those on the cutting edge of new media.

So on this panel there’s me, and then there’s four guys that have all worked in traditional journalism — Eric Black, Jeremy Iggers, Brian Lambert, and Matt Thompson. I know Matt and I’d say he definitely falls more towards the latter end of that continuum. Eric Black and Jeremy Iggers have definitely been around for a long time. But we all have blogs that we publish to and different reasons for and methods of doing so, and we all have our fingers in some sort of new media-ish venture.

Should be pretty cool.

Link

IRS Guidance on 401k Mistakes (pdf)

Retirement Plan Blog describes it thusly:

It’s a 43 page PDF document that includes hypertext links that take the reader from a particular item in a chart to a detailed discussion within the document about that item. In addition, the discussions include hypertext links that jump to other IRS documents on the web (if connected to the Internet), such as checklists and revenue rulings. The chart lists 11 common, potential mistakes in 401(k) plan operation and documentation.

(via)

Link

“A Nation of Christians Is Not a Christian Nation”

The only acknowledgment of God in the original Constitution is a utilitarian one: the document is dated “in the year of our Lord 1787.” Even the religion clause of the First Amendment is framed dryly and without reference to any particular faith.

The correction also states: “Article VI forbids the use of “a religious test” for officeholders.

My Company’s Definition of Domestic Partner

I was going through my insurance stuff today as I make doctor and dentist appointments and I happened across the following:

A Domestic Partner is defined as a person of the same or opposite sex who:

  • shares your permanent residence;
  • has resided with you for no less than one year;
  • is no less than 18 years of age;
  • is financially interdependent with you and has proven such interdependence by providing documentation of at least two of the following arrangements: common ownership of real property or a common leasehold interest in such property; common ownership of a motor vehicle; a joint bank account or a joint credit account; designation as a benificiary for life insurance or retirement benefits or under yours or your partner’s will; assignment of durable power of attorney; or such other proof as is considered by [my company] to be sufficient to establish financial interdependency under the circumstances of your particular case;
  • is not a blood relative any closer than would prohibit legal marriage;
  • has signed jointly with you, a notarized affidavit which has been made available to [my company].

Both of our employers insure us pretty dang well, so I’m not concerned about going through any of these exercises for insurance purposes. Good to know, though.