Ed's Blog

Disability.gov Now On Twitter

2010-08-31T17:17:06Z

Job seekers aren't the only ones using Twitter. The Disability.gov website, which I discussed here back in March, is now tweeting on Twitter. Yep, the site is now able to, in their own words, "engage and interact with the disability community on a deeper level." via Twitter. Disability.gov's Twitter account will allow their followers to find "resources about each of Disability.gov's 10 main subject areas on topic-specific days" including benefits, civil rights, education, employment, health, housing and emergency preparedness. To find out more about Disability.gov's Twitter account, click here. And if you decide you want to follow them on Twitter, click here.

How To Find A Job On Twitter

2010-08-30T20:25:38Z

The article's title says it all: How to find a job on Twitter (click here), as outlined by Sarah Evans, involves such steps as the following:

* Put your job pitch in your Twitter bio

* Include a link to an online resume in your bio

* Establish yourself as an expert in your field on Twitter

To read about these and other ways to use Twitter, check out Ms. Evans' article here.

The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein

2010-08-27T14:38:01Z

One of science fiction legend Robert A. Heinlein's earliest novels, 1951's The Puppet Masters is a great, goofy "alien invasion" tale that keeps you hooked from beginning to end. Set in the early 21st century (when space travel is commonplace by the year 2007!), the book is a first-person account by "Sam" (not his real name), an intelligence agent for a CIA-like organization, who, with his boss "The Old Man", and fellow operative Mary, discovers that parasitic "slugs" from another world have taken over the bodies of various political, business and military leaders to mount a complete takeover of Earth!

]]> The slugs are disgusting creatures from outer space who absorb their human hosts' bodies and minds whose removal can result in death for the aformentioned hosts.

Sam and company manage to convince the President, the Senate and Congress (in some over-the-top sequences) that the threat the slugs pose is real, but by then most of the country (as well as other countries and goverments, including the still existant Soviet Union - remember, this was written in the 50s) have already been infested with the slugs. Our heroes must find a way to defeat these creatures or the planet will be lost!

Heinlein's trademark writing tropes pop up here. There's the useless politicans, the no-nonsense military leaders and the intelligent government operatives who just know what to do in a time of crisis. Plus, there's those goofy touches of Heinleinian humor (citizens must strip naked to prove they're not infected, which, in the Senate and Congress scenes, is played slightly for laughs as various politicans have to disrobe in front of their colleagues at gunpoint) and satire (US government propaganda warn people with gems like "a man wearing a coat is an enemy-shoot!"). The protagonists and the slugs are basically stick figures with no gray areas, though Sam nevertheless gains the reader's sympathy through his unflagging loyality to the Old Man and Mary (and vice versa), as well as the horrible and painful experiences he undergoes when the slugs take control of him. (The interrogation scene, with the slug reattached to Sam, is chilling.)

An influential and still exciting novel whose basic plot has been "borrowed" by various authors and filmmakers over the last five decades (think Invasion of The Body Snatchers, The X-Files and this classic 60s TV series episode, among other examples), as well as a so-so official 1994 movie adaptation (which lost the book's humor), The Puppet Masters is available online from us here as part of the Three By Heinlein collection.

(Note: Two years after Heinlein's death in 1988, the author's original, much longer manuscript of The Puppet Masters was finally published. No promises but I'll look into getting that version, which is more fleshed out in terms of characterzation and political allegory -apparently, Heinlein's original editor didn't care for this version- for the library.)

State Programs For People With Disabilities

2010-08-24T18:51:13Z

The Connecticut Department of Social Services has a list of state programs set up to assist people with disabilities. (Click here.) The list is organized by catagories such as Food and Cash Assistance, Employment, Medical, Housing, Winter Heating, Affirmative Action and Social Services. If you have a disability or know someone who does, please check out this site to see what options are available to you.

Ask The Headhunter Blog

2010-08-23T12:57:41Z

Noted headhunter Nick Corcodilos, who runs the Ask The Headhunter online weekly newsletter, also posts a blog to offer advice to job seekers. His latest post offers suggestions on how to choose a new career. Check out that and other entries in Mr. Corcodilos' blog here.

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

2010-08-19T17:05:36Z

In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), a failed businessman who had been working in a series of various dead-end clerical jobs and was desperate to feed his family, submitted a story to the then-popular pulp magazine All-Story under the pen name of "Normal Bean" (changed by somebody in editorial to "Norman Bean"). The story, originally titled Under The Moons of Mars, was picked up and serialized by All-Story in 1912 and became a popular hit with readers, resulting in a successful literary career for Burroughs (whose third novel was Tarzan of the Apes in 1914, having also been serialized in All-Story two years before). Under the more familiar title A Princess of Mars, Burroughs' first story also inaugurated the popular "Martian" series of adventures when first published in book form in 1917.

]]> Even without all that background, A Princess of Mars is still an exciting (if scientifically inaccurate and somewhat politically incorrect) action-adventure/fantasy tale.

Beginning in 1866, Civil War veteran and prospector John Carter, while escaping from Indians, is inexplicably transported, apparently serveral hundred centures in the past, to the planet Mars. Falling in with the green-skinned, four armed warriors the Tharks, Carter (who discovers that the natives' name for their planet is "Barsoom"), finds he's developed amazing strength and abillities due to the planet's atmosphere and quickly proves his worth as a fighter and eventually, with help by Tharkian Tars Tarkas, rises in the group's hierarchy.

However, the Tharks' capture of a beautiful red-skinned, human princess named Dejah Thoris gets Carter all inflamed by passion. Carter frees Dejah while making their escape from her captors and then becomes imbroiled in palace intrigue between the Red Martians of Helium and the Tharks as well as battling the forces of neighboring Zodanga. Eventually Carter settles down with Dejah and becomes Prince of Helium. But then, just as things look good...

A good old-fashioned swashbuckler (Carter and the various Barsoomians use swords because...well, read for yourselves) romance, A Princess of Mars (click here to reserve a copy) was and still is an influencial work of the science fiction/fantasy genre. It also has a terrific "sweep" style of storytelling, with Burroughs constantly moving Carter and the other characters from one situation to the next with barely a chance to breathe. Burroughs also masterfully succeeds in creating fantasically detailed backstories and customs for the Barsoomians. And the nail-biting cliffhanger ending is Burroughs at his best.

Aside from the first two sequels The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars, Burroughs's other Martian novels are currently out-of-print. Here's hoping the upcoming Disney film adaptation (due in 2012) changes that situation!

The Amputee Coalition of America

2010-08-17T17:30:00Z

The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) is an organization that seeks to help amputees "achieve their highest potential". The ACA believes that "people with limb loss must play the central role in decisions affecting their lives" and that only "then can they fully embrace life and its limitless opportunities for self-fulfillment". For more about this remarkable organization, click here to access their web site.

Facebook Now Offers BranchOut App

2010-08-16T13:08:34Z

Starting last month, BranchOut, a new app that allows job hunters to network with friends and companies, became available for download on Facebook. BranchOut "organizes your contacts by where they work, revealing the people you already know that are at the companies you're targeting to send out a resumé". Currently BranchOut is free, but will begin charging users in September. Before fees are put in effect, take a look at this NY Post article on BranchOut, then decide (if you're already on Facebook) whether or not you'd like to use it. (And if you are on Facebook already, simply go to the Applications Directory to access BranchOut.)

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: War of the Worlds

2010-08-12T12:47:33Z

Another fun Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: War of the Worlds, originally published in 1975, has just been reissued by Titan Books and will be of interest not just to fans of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective but to ones of H.G. Wells ' works also.

]]> Originally expanded from two short stories by authors Manly Wade Wellman and Wade Wellman, the novel has Holmes and Professor Challenger (Doyle's The Lost World) teaming up to investigate a strange alien artifact (an "egg") that becomes a harbringer of the alien attack so vividly detailed in Wells' original War of the Worlds. (Among other things, Holmes and Challenger deduce that the aliens aren't actually from Mars as previously believed!) The aliens' repeated assaults on Victorian London (using gas, light beams, etc.) are well detailed and exciting. You'll get a clear sense of the uncomprehending panic late 19th century citizens (except for our heroes) would've felt in the face of such an advanced and deadly invasion from another world.

Dr. Watson pops up late in the game (and has a blisteringly funny rebuke to Wells' original account) as does Challenger's "Boswell', Edward Dunn Malone, who gives the reader a more journalistic take on our heroes' plight. Holmes and Challenger as depicted here stay true to Doyle's characterzation; Holmes is warmer but cooly analytical when need be while Challenger is robust, loud, egocentric yet just as intelligent and resourceful as Holmes. Fans may not like how the Wellmans depict Holmes' relationship with longtime landlady Mrs. Hudson, however.

Lots of fun for any reader, The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: War of the Worlds can be reserved online here.

Assistive Technology Walk-In Lab On Wednesday, August 11th

2010-08-03T15:22:43Z

Today and all through the week leading up to next Wednesday (August 11), I'll be promoting (here and on Twitter), in conjunction with the Ask The Expert series, a special program which will assist patrons of our library. On August 11th, I'll conduct the library's first (hopefully not the last) Asssistive Technology Walk-In Lab for patrons with disabilities.

]]> That afternoon, I will be demonstrating the various devices and software that the library has available to assist patrons with visual and other disabilities, such as the JAWS Reader and MAGic software products, the SARA scanner, the Focus 40 Braille Display, the Optelec Traveller and other equipment designed to assist persons who are visually and/or physically impaired. The lab will be held at the library's Meeting Room on the second floor on the 11th beginning at 2:00 pm. The session is free and will be open to all members in and outside the community. For further information, click here or call me directly at (203) 622-7918.

(Previous related posts: The JAWS Reader, SARA's Arrival.)

What To Include In Your Web Design Portfolio

2010-08-02T18:43:18Z

Courtesy of About.com, here's a web page that offers advice to job hunting Web designers and Web developers on putting together their print and/or online portfolios. Completed websites, screen shots and use of high-def images are among the topics discussed. For more, click here.

Invasion of Astro-Monster

2010-07-29T15:42:06Z

My extended second childhood continues with the Classic Media DVD release of the 1965 Japanese/US co-production/Godzilla-and-friends monsterfest Invasion of Astro-Monster. (It was released in America under the less awkward and more accurate title Monster Zero as part of a double bill with 1966's War of the Gargantuas in 1970; I caught both on TV in the early 70s.)

]]> Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (reviewed here), the film opens with a journey to the recently discovered Planet X by "World Space Authority" astronauts Glenn (American expatriate Nick Adams) and Fuji (Akira Takarada). They meet with the planet's inhabitants, the Xians, whose civilization has been all but whiped out by the creature they call "Monster Zero" - our old three-headed dragon-like pal Ghidorah (now called "King Ghidorah") -, which has forced them to move underground. The Xians appeal to our two protagonists and Earth's goverments to send them "Monster Zero 1 and Monster Zero 2"- Godzilla and Rodan (Mothra must've been on vacation) in exchange for a miracle drug that'll cure cancer. Earth agrees, and Glenn and Fuji, in-between some goofy events at home, oversee sending our two monsters to Planet X.

But, as the saying goes, things aren't what they seem to be. After discovering that the Xians had already traveled and gone undercover (as businessmen!) on Earth, the world goverments discovers that the cancer cure is a bust. The Xians, fearing the loss of their water supply, as well as just being plain, shifty two-timing "rats" (as Glenn calls them at one point), decide that, by controlling all three monsters, they can take over Earth and either subjugate or destroy our population, as well as get our water. However, Tetsuo (Akira Kubo), the inventor boyfriend of Fuji's sister (Fuji can't stand the guy), may just have the solution to defeating the Xians...

Sure it's childish and not exactly deep, but Invasion of Astro-Monster is still charming after all these years. Between the now-heroic, non-threatening portrait of Godzilla (who dances a jig after scoring a hit on Ghidorah; earlier, he and Rodan looked sad when they were plopped on Planet X) and the goofy Xians (who use their fingers a lot when talking), you've got the usual city-stomping and smashing with all those great model buildings, cars & tanks, which the five-year-old in me still loves watching. Add onetime Oscar nominee Adams' sincere performance (despite a lot of goofy dialogue), Ishiro Honda's expert direction and the usual Toho Studios' production sheen to the mix and this is one heck of an entertainment for kids of all ages!

The Classic Media DVD includes both the Japanese and English versions of the film (the Japanese version, with English subtiles, has much better picture quality), plus an audio commentary by Japanese film expert (and Godzilla fan) Stuart Galbraith IV and a brief featurette on original Godzilla producer Tomoyuki Tanaka. You can reserve it online here.

Happy 20th Anniversary ADA!

2010-07-26T17:11:48Z

Twenty years ago today the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. The ADA, among other things, prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in such areas as employment and public accommodations. The ADA National Network has a list of events around the country and ways to celebrate this important day here. Meanwhile, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is posting a series of video interviews with people in the disability community. And the White House's special adviser on disability policy, Kareem Dale, discusses the impact of the ADA here. For more information about the ADA, go to the ADA home page here.

SnagAJob.com

2010-07-26T13:17:21Z

Job hunters looking for the right kind of employment still have to make ends meet (and keep from going crazy) while going from interview to interview. The SnagAJob site provides an online directory of "hourly employment" minimum wage jobs. The site lists various retail, customer service, restaurant (fast food) and part-time job openings throughout the country. For more information click here.

The World of Null-A

2010-07-23T18:22:24Z

A.E. van Vogt's classic 1945 serial, The World of Null-A, subsequently collected and published as the first post-WWII hardcover science fiction novel in 1948, may be a little creaky storywise, but it's still an exciting, fact-paced adventure that'll hold your attention to the very end. ]]> Set in a seemingly utopian 27th century, Earth society is run by a collection of "electronic brains" (artificial intelligence) called the Great Machine. An early plot point establishes that citizens are to take part in a series of games to attain high-ranking postions and employment. It's while trying to participate in these games that we're introduced to the book's protagonist, Gilbert Gosseyn, who gets accused of pulling a fast one on everybody and gets expelled from the games.

That's when the story starts to take off, as Gosseyn discovers that his memories have been tampered with (shades of Philip K. Dick!), and mysterious characters are either trying to kill him and/or find out why his brain is so..different from other humans'. All these attempts on Gosseyn appear to be connected to some kind of plot involving a takeover of the planet Venus by forces from Earth. Throughout the constant back-and-forth intrigue (Gosseyn encounters more people who aren't what they appear to be than you'd find in a John le Carre novel), what keeps our hero going is his unflinching belief in the "non-Aristotelianist" philosophy of Null-A, which stresses reason and free choice. (It's like Ayn Rand's Objectivism, but without the selfishness.) Eventually, Gosseyn finds out who's behind the whole thing, leading to a stunning (and somewhat overcomplicated) final scene!

Yes, the book betrays it's pulp origins. The writing's not polished, some of the scientific concepts are out of thin air, there's some clumsy segues to scenes and loose ends left hanging, and the less said about the unintentional humor (among the devices Gosseyn uses on his quest is a "vibrator", which isn't what you'd think), the better. Van Vogt's otherwise exciting storytelling skills manage to overcome any stylistic and narrative flaws that the reader comes across, making The World of Null-A (reserve a copy here) a spellbinding and rewarding thriller for any science fiction fan.