Mind Wanderer ... Where Have I Been?

Time has passed, and I have been away but not wandering. I have criss-crossed the Country, laterally and vertically, and am back home. Today is another grey day, but it is good to be back.

My laptop traveled with me, and we are back online again. With a little sleuthing, you can glean anything from the Internet, or so it seems.

That is how I am spending my free time today, trying to fire-up my synapses.

This all started innocently, while reading email and trying to ignore the pesky "Windows Update" restart box. Now really, what could be so important that my mind-wandering has to be interrupted every thirty seconds or so by some nerdy reminder?

Okay, so I was feeling distractible today. The subject line from an email message grabbed me: BLOG FOR US AND FIND YOUR BREAKTHROUGH.

Wow, an email that caters to my vanity! I have been looking for a breakthrough all my life.

There are lots of opportunities listed in this message, some of them requiring a small investment. Even so, I carefully cut-and-paste the Top Story link into my browser.

Hmmm, says here I am on my way to fame and fortune, ten dollars for each top blog that gets published. Bloggers need to submit a bill to get paid on the 1st and 15th. And it looks like prospective authors need to sign up for a "business blog" site to receive a logon "token" ... which could cost money ... says here in the Acceptance Agreement.

A bell rings.

On to the next opportunity, which has to do with something called a "Waggle." This one involves joining (uh-oh, a J-word) some type of movement, then organizing a "job club." Again, a small investment is required.

I am getting the picture with these opportunities. A while back, I signed up for this email newsletter, but now I am thinking of unsubscribing.

I dig a little deeper: there must be a pot of gold somewhere for my time and effort. Yes! There it is, a contest for the best user-submitted video entitled, "Why You Should Hire Me."

Abandoning the computer, I race off to capture my best-dressed image on video, pleading for a job.

NOT.

Oh My God. I will never win this contest.

Too bad. I will never win a contest that requires me to act like a monkey. I would rather sit on the curb with a tin cup. Definitely need to unsubscribe from that newsletter.

Wait. The contest prize is something I had not seen before, a "FlipVideo" camcorder (next time, Tory, use Spell Check: the name is "Flip Video.")

Turns out, this is my prize for the day, a free preview of a new hardware gadget. Too bad the sound card on my computer went south, this looks like the next new thing from (yes! I still have stock!) Cisco.

I am momentarily captivated, but I have trained my finger to wait before clicking. Same principle as buying stock: don't jump when the monkey rings the bell, and NEVER invest in something that looks good to Paul Allen (sorry, Paul, but you are much better at music and real estate.)

So, Cisco acquired this company from a start-up. While the gadget is sexy, I fail to see how this is going to capture market share from other recording devices, such as cell phones. Furthermore, some of the Cisco links are broken on their web site ... not a good sign, especially the "Jobs" link.

Say, speaking of another "J-word", how are you all doing out there? Are you like me, cruising the Internet, running from the job-cops? Or are you still hanging on by your nails?

Hold your head up like I am, and say "no, thanks" to fake jobs. You know the kind: you have to pay something out to get something back. Say NO to even slicker job coaches.

Times are not good, but I prefer the system approach to solutions. No three-month "working interviews", desparate video clips, or begging. If I am going to beg, I will let you know up-front and will preface it with a "please."

It is time to stand up and say ENOUGH BS.

So what does this all have to do with Cisco, hardware gadgets, and Jobs? The other words I have not mentioned are Las Vegas, Hindu, IBM and Bangalore. Read my blog tomorrow, and find out. Among other things, I will tell you what ENOUGH BS stands for.