Got myself a new enemy. Dang..... I try to limit them....... why must people be so irrational? I guess some personalities just do not click with each other. Strange to think about.

This Is How I Feel

 

 

But on a good note, I have finished my first Gamma-ray pulsar search. My computer has searched a collection of data studied by a group from our very home town of Milwaukee over at UWM.

 

 This group is searching for Einsteins pulsars in outer space to get a greater understanding of the laws of gravity. They utilize cloud computing to calculate collected data. My machine is connected through this cloud which allots part of my processor, memory, and hd space to the calculations. It hasn't found a pulsar yet, but this was its first completed search. So its only a matter of time before my computer discovers one. I leave it running 24/7 in the name of science!

Over My Head

This was the first WordPress meetup I was able to attend.... and it was.... good? I was pretty much lost the entire time I was there. They kept tossing jokes around about PHP, other languages and technical jargon. Everyone laughed, I was watching some people and it looked like they were laughing just because everyone else was so I don't feel i was the only one who was not getting these nerd jokes. I was pretty upset because nerd jokes are the best kind of jokes. 

But otherwise there was free pizza and beer. Mmmmm pizza and beer, this place wasn't messing around let me tell you. The company was good and the information was even better. I learned about certain security measures to protect your clients, as well as your website in case of attack. Scanner services, proactive protection, and detection. It was all good info. I look forward to the next one. And I found out there is a WordPress Camp that will be held this summer that is sponsored by WP Engine. Sweet. Tickets are $20, your damn right I'm showing up.

I'm Messing This Up

Well this experiment is failing miserably. Every time I plan to go to these meetups my schedule either changes or I decide something else is better to do. Darn my busy life. It wasn't always like this. I actually used to be pretty lazy, well.. I'm still lazy, I just figure I better do something or I'll be an old 40 year old stoner with no job, haven't seen a part of the world larger than..... well alot smaller than Earth. At least I'm not living in my parents basement anymore!

 Getting yelled at for not doing the dishes and still eating her homemade cookies long into the night playing video games. Yea that doesn't sound very appealing to me so that is why I now choose not to stay stagnant.

Got called into work at Uhaul today so I couldnt make it to the meetup. Dang, thats two in a row now that I've missed. This blog is really boring for you now hey? And I just noticed it's due tomorrow. Which really sucks. I must have started a week late.

Well I actually did not show up for the Socrates Cafe meetup, for the reason that I COULD NOT FIND IT. 

The group says it meets up in the UWM Union building..... great, so I emailed the organizer and asked where in the building this meeting took place. No answer....

I went to the Union at the right time, and walked around looking for these philosophers I was supposed to meet with. I saw no signs or directions so I just got a soft shell taco and crunch wrap supreme from Taco Bell. 

As I ate my taco I began to think, maybe this is a test. If you can find the group, then you are allowed in. Finding the group takes seeking out those who "look" like philosophers. The ability to spot like minded people is the test, or initiation into the group. Or maybe it is like the Matrix where they watch you enter, already knowing who you are, and based upon your persona, the way you walk, the way you carry yourself, is what they base their decisions off of.

So in order to find this group I must become Neo and take the red pill. Although none of this makes sense, and it was a completely ridiculous thought, it was entertaining to say the least.

I finished my tacos and exited the Union wondering where these people met. Oh well, its a weekly thing so I may be back next week. But lets move forward.......

My next meetup is on Tuesday. I have to work today and Monday so there is no chance of a meetup that I can find that concurs with my schedule. But on Tuesday, I will be meeting with the PHP Group. 

The PHP Users are a group who discuss PHP language..... actually here just read their group description.

The Milwaukee PHP Users group has two goals.

1) cultivate personal relationships between our great city's web developers

2) share best practices amongst programmers

Whether just getting into PHP, or hard core dreaming of PHP and sheep, this is the place to start.

Meetings occur every 2nd Tuesday of the month.

So that's where I'll be on Tuesday. I'll let you know how it goes.
Milwaukee PHP

First meetup was a success. I met with 5 other people of very different backgrounds at a ski lodge in Franklin WI. Chuck Choate was holding the meetup. It was a bit unorganized but we spoke of strategies for social media and basic launching points for web based ideas.

Chuck showed us multiple online tools for marketing and finding our target audiences. It was more of a conversation than a presentation. Which I liked and disliked at the same time. I liked it because it gave us a chance to get more one on one with a leader in the profession, but then again it gave far too much time to the people who crave attention. The talkers who like to talk about themselves and waste the groups time would continue to talk, and talk..... and talk....... and talk. Nothing annoys me more than someone who lacks awareness in groups. It shows they are not considering anyone in the nearby area besides themselves. But anyway, it was a success and I look forward to the next meetup I have scheduled.

The next one is called the Socrates Cafe group.It's a philosophical group that discusses topics brought up by the members themselves. I don't really have a strong background in philosophy but hey, lets give it a try. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Socrates Cafe

Recently, I have been shown a social media website called meetup.com.  I am going to join multiple  groups and go to meetings of my interest, uninteresting interests, and a couple randoms. I am hoping to learn something new about the world, myself, or just find another way to waste time. 

 I watch my so many of my peers play video games or television for extended periods of the day and waste their lives. I refuse to live that way. Hopefully this quest for something other than the 'norm' is actually worth seeking. Maybe I will learn that watching T.V. and playing video games is everything life can offer or it might be the other way around.

Tomorrow is the first scheduled meetup for me and I will let you know how it goes. It is being held by an author of a web publishing book. He is giving a seminar on planning, developing, and launching a web based business in under 24 hours. He will also be giving a free copy of his book which has very high ratings on Amazon.com.

I will approach these meetups with an open mind and try to enter without expectations. Which should lower my chances of disappointment. See you tomorrow.

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