Two years ago I intended to learn Python. Then I never did. And there’s a story to that. What brings this up is an article I saw online a few days ago, “VBA vs. Python: Which is the best tool for Excel automation.” It began, as many such things do, with a work problem. WeContinue reading “When I Thought About Learning Python”
Tag Archives: Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond’s Bankruptcy and My Future
Tuesday, Diamond Comic Distributors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections. For almost eighteen years–212 issues, counting the unpublished (though finished) May 2020 COVID issue–I’ve been the copywriter on Diamond’s monthly PREVIEWS catalog, though that only scratches the surface of what I do. I wear many, many hats at Diamond, and I have joked my businessContinue reading “Diamond’s Bankruptcy and My Future”
An Unexpected (Partial) Work-from-Home Day
Four and a half years after going work from home, yesterday, for the first time, I executed one of my key job duties remotely. Each month I run a process called the “Page & MCBA Number Update.” To describe it briefly, I load all the items in the month’s PREVIEWS catalog (typically about 3,000, plusContinue reading “An Unexpected (Partial) Work-from-Home Day”
Coding Myself a VPN Toggle
At fifty, I am becoming the Linux nerd I feel I should have been at twenty-five. I had a problem. I wanted an easy way to connect and disconnect from Diamond’s VPN. Yes, I could use the Network Connections interface in Linux Mint, but sometimes it expands while I was navigating to the VPN toggleContinue reading “Coding Myself a VPN Toggle”
So Smart I’m Dumb
Let’s begin with this: Windows XP, running in a virtual machine on Linux Mint. Hell, I even configured the Quick Launch toolbar, and the single screenshot I have of my XP days shows I never used the Quick Launch toolbar. So, why do I have a Windows XP virtual machine running under Linux? Yesterday morning,Continue reading “So Smart I’m Dumb”
Office Space, Three Years On
Last week, Diamond entered the fourth year of work-from-home. I work out of the offices two or three days a week — it depends on the kind of work I’m doing and the projects I’m working on — and have, honestly, since the end of March 2020, but full time in the office, for mostContinue reading “Office Space, Three Years On”
Victory at Last!
It has been my dream since Diamond went WFH two and a half years ago — March 18, 2020 — to connect my Linux Mint install to the work VPN. I have tilted at this windmill for two and a half years, and for two and a half years its arms have thrown me andContinue reading “Victory at Last!”
Decorating the Bedroom
Late last year, acclaimed comic book creator George Pérez announced that he has terminal prostate cancer. Since then, the outpouring of love for the artist of Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Infinity Gauntlet, New Teen Titans, Future Imperfect, JLA/Avengers, and too many other projects to name from the comics world has been both massive andContinue reading “Decorating the Bedroom”
Signs of Spring
I saw a bird’s nest in a tree outside the office early this afternoon when I was outside on my lunch break. Maybe not a sign of spring — it’s too early for a bird to have built a nest — but it’s still a lovely thought, that spring will soon be here and lifeContinue reading “Signs of Spring”
Anniversaries and Old Photographs
Diamond Comic Distributors celebrated its 40th-anniversary today. And, even though the office doesn’t have many people working out of it right now due to COVID, the office was decorated for the day with signs. There was even a banner at the main entrance. I hadn’t been out the doors into the main lobby since MarchContinue reading “Anniversaries and Old Photographs”