Sustainability

source citation: http://dictionary.reference.com/cite.html?qh=sustainable&ia=luna

to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.

2.	to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).

3.	to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.

4.	to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.

5.	to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.

6.	to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.

7.	to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.

8.	to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.

9.	to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it: The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.

10.	to confirm or corroborate, as a statement: Further investigation sustained my suspicions.

We talk a lot these days about something being sustainable but I think we are confusing it with the term renewable. Although sustainable fish farming supplies us with fish, it is not necessarily renewable, as we see with the current salmon situation. By sustaining, in the case we mean that it can keep going. Unfortunately for the fish, this is not the case, nor is it the case for energy sources such as oil and water, which don't mix but you knew that already, smartypants. We cannot sustain organic substances at their current level, we simply do not have the wherewithal, the resources and we are far too much of a consumptive society. That is not to say that there are not several organic substances that will last a very long time from now. But in order to sustain current levels the infrastructure of the environment needs to exercise some serious conservation. We need to watch for the signs or depletion and construct and manage accordingly. We have to check in on the bees and the worms and make sure that they are still doing their job. We have to give to those organizations that are trying to sustain. Sustain, keep at the current levels. We have to do our part to ensure the continuation of that which we need: energy, whole food, shelter, clothing which is why conservation (not rationing silly) is important. Have thought in the everyday things you do, don't be wasteful, be mindful. Be considerate.

Now renewable energies, entirely different, yet not unrelated subject.

But I have to come back to this in the next post.

Awkardness

I had to quit a consulting gig today. I have worked with this particular company for the seven months and it has become increasingly uncomfortable and quite honestly, irritating. They are poor communicators and even poor planners which makes my job, as their IT consultant, near impossible. The worst part is the lack of information conveyance leads me to do a half-assed job and then, then, they are pissed off at me. The hardest about IT consulting is the lack of ESP that I have. It renders me "incompetent" in the eye of the beholder. But worse still, is what this does to my self esteem. I like to do a good job and I like to make the end user happy. Not this time.
I am quite sure I need a glass of wine and day to digest this.

A year ago I left another consulting gig, actually I was a regular employee. I helped start the company and was there for four years. By far, that was a worse situation than my recently departed although they were similar in the involved personalities. Although neither of the "difficult ones" would ever see that.

I made up my mind quite some time ago that there was only so much abuse I could take. I can't live like the kicked dog in the corner. I am here to help and help I will to the best of my ability.

Good luck with the Geek Squad kids, I have gone to find someone that knows what they need.

Wednesday

Some days the stapler gives me trouble.

I am taking a MySQL class, had the first one last week. Seems like it will be good, the instructor says he is a "nuts and bolts kind of guy". This means not a lot of time in front of the computer, but a lot of time in lecture. He goes fast. I use Access regularly and have taken C++ (that made me certifiably insane for four months). I thought today that I would crack open that Northwind DB in Access. Work is a little slow today. Access is denying the existence of SQL server, fucker. Wait:
run/services.msc/SQL Server Browser, change to Automatic, Start. That better now?

I had two of those french panini sammies today. One for breakfast, one for lunch. Simply ham and cheese and some token butter because the ham and cheese don't have enough fat in them right? Those sammies rule, exception, not norm nor habit.

We are making fish, brown rice and some greens for dinner, gotta be good for at least part of the day.