"The facts are the facts," said the Fox News announcer, reporting the death of the Pope, yesterday at 1:30 PM.

The death of public figures in the era of round-the-clock cable news channels is still new to us. Unfortunately, after a while, the coverage begins to look a bit like the coverage of O.J.'s slow-speed chase.

We last experienced the death of a pope in 1978, with the passing of Paul VI. At the time, I was driving a three-cylinder Saab with a pump that automatically mixed oil with the gas. The pump failed without my knowing it. The engine seized as I was driving down Route 2. It wasn't worth it to replace the engine, so I found a Plymouth Valiant of recent vintage. A few weeks later, John Paul I died suddenly. So did the reportedly indestructible slant-6 engine in my Valiant. The other day, Sandra and I were riding together and she remarked, "Is your transmission slipping? Your car is running rough."

We use conference calls in work constantly. There are times when several family members or friends need to be able to work through something on the phone and where a conference call would be very handy. I've not used this service, but it seems like a very good idea.

My work doesn't rouse these kinds of passions.

Our computers automatically adjust for Daylight Savings Time. The other clocks in the house and car and on our wrists need to be adjusted manually this evening. In 1974 Richard Nixon issued an order that we set our clocks ahead an hour in January because of the shortage of fuel. When I worked the graveyard shift on the nights that we set our clocks ahead, I insisted on being paid for the full eight hours, even though we worked just the seven. Today's Boston Globe carries a a review of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time by Michael Downing, what looks to be an interesting history of how we arrived at this odd ritual.

Rabbit, Rabbit.

April 1 is Finnish Moose-Carving Day and Intolerance Day (not to be confused with Food Intolerance Day in January), but I cannot find any more information on these celebrations.

Yeah, I know that it's also April Fool's Day. Goodness knows that we need a laugh. But, who needs to manufacture foolishness when foolishness is growing on trees? Last night, during a local TV discussion of Terri Schiavo's last days, the moderator asked, "Did any politician behave honorably during this time?" The panelists could think of no one.

Automated technical documentation job search finding of the day: Food and Beverage Director in Cody, Wyoming: Provides food and beverage services by overseeing all culinary, restaurant, beverage, bar, room service, and banquet operations.

A report out on the wire services shows a genetic link to a condition called Familial Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome.

My mother was a champion of peace, but her love of sending and receiving mail would have taken her peaceable nature to the limit by this.

Today's the final day of class. I've learned quite a bit and will be able to apply more of it than I'd thought. In addition to topics such as Active Directory and access control lists, I learned about a Windows Registry setting that lets me recover deleted messages from an Exchange server using Outlook.

We had hoped to get to the camp this weekend, but the forecast calls for flooding rains. We'd be in no danger from the heavy rain, but we'd also be able to do little outside. I have overdue tasks at home, including the collection of information to present to our financial planner so that she can tell us to save more.

For the first time in a long time, the words snow, cold, freeze, or ice don't appear in the weather service's seven-day forecast. Yesterday the temperature nudged 60°F (4.5 cubits). The yard continues to give up items that have been covered by snow for these many months - a dog toy, a shovel, a cluster of snow drops.

Not only is my work not hard, but I don't have an international crowd watching me. And people aren't stealing my hat.

Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal reviewed a couple job-search websites in this morning's edition. The Journal also provides free access to many resources on its Career Journal site.

Those Aussies are a tough breed. The promise of death isn't sufficient; you have to hit 'em where it really hurts.

There are pictures, mercifully not online, of me 15 years ago looking pretty much like this guy, who, in turn, looks kind of like this guy. (I regret that we're going have to miss this year's World Beard and Moustache Championships in Berlin.)

Day 1 of the course was interesting enough. As with many people, most of my technical education has been on-the-fly. I've learned enough to solve a problem or learned a bit from looking over the shoulder of the person who's fixing the problem I'd created. It's good to have a chance to learn some fundamentals, to fill in the gaps. (The most dangerous kind of ignorance is when you don't know that you don't know.) The course doesn't have direct applicability to my job, but the indirect applications are useful enough.

The automated job searches continue to delight and amaze. Searches for technical documentation positions brought a lead for a position as a chef at Nordstrom and an International Demonstrator Training Specialist opportunity at a company "that manufactures and distributes beautifully designed, high quality rubber stamps and accessories...."

This court ruling, if it holds up, could have big implications for people working from home and maybe even working in remote offices.

Our local grocery store had a sale on blueberries, which we enjoy on our breakfast cereal. The brand is South Pacific. Now, South Pacific usually brings images of the Broadway show, movie, or various cast recordings or of Marlon Brando, not Augusto Pinochet.

If I want to learn about programming tools and setup, you can bet that my first stop will be http://floccinaucinihilipilification.net/.

Some things we rely on without even thinking about them, such as the firmament beneath us.

Here, the earth is steady and a cold rain falls. There have been warning about floods in some low-lying areas because of the heavy rain. The low temperature, just a few degrees above freezing, has slowed the snow melt.

This week brings the first change in my work routine since I started this job. I'll travel to another town for my training. The classes are scheduled for 9-5. With breaks, that yields about six hours of instruction. My head certainly feels empty enough to receive new material.

For your next candlelight supper, here's a special after-dinner coffee with this for dessert. Oh, and don't worry about these snacks; they're baked, not fried.

If your phone isn't ringing enough, put up an ad that offers computer repair service.

I'm glad that I don't have to look for a job right now. Job-hunting, including, but not limited to the interviewing process, requires a level of marketing energy that I just don't have right now. I keep alert to possibilities, such as following up with a former co-worker who occasionally needs documentation support for his consulting business. And, I read articles about online job searches, such as this (NYT, free registration required). That's about it for now, though.

This should be a quiet day, a quiet week, in fact. I plan to spend the day taking care of various tasks, some several weeks old, that I'd been ignoring while we worked on the release. Tomorrow through Thursday, I'll be in training. One of the rules-of-thumb that we use regarding training is that knowledge should be applied within about three weeks or it's pretty much lost. I don't have any requests for Microsoft Exchange Server administrative services in my queue, so there's a risk that my new knowledge might leak onto the floor.

We had a great time at Mike and Lynn's yesterday afternoon. Good food, good fellowship, plenty of chances to visit with Miss Cassandra. Before Easter dinner, we visited with my father, who was having an off day. I spent most of the visit working with him to remove the Spanish subtitles that were showing up on channel 5. He has three remote controls, each of which only works partially, so you need at least two to get anything done.

"People were not tuning into other people because they're tuned into themselves," observes a principal in Australia as she explains why she's banned iPods from her school. Of course, workers face perils from too much outside stimulation, too.

You can use recycled toothbrushes to keep your green teeth healthy.

If you see Goliath, tell him to stay from this Vermont town.

A friend wrote to ask why Ad-Aware was finding problems on his system that Spybot wasn't. Unfortunately, adware, spyware, and the broad category of stuff called malware requires more than one program to keep your system clean and functioning safely. Here's a summary of the (free) programs that are good to have and use. The bad guys seem intent on making computing a miserable experience. Add in viruses, worms, and spam, and you start to wonder, "Is it worth it?" Well, in my opinion, yes, it's worth it, but there is work involved. This is a place where the big service provides, such as AOL, Earthlink, and the cable Internet providers can make a big difference by providing comprehensive protection services. I'll also put in a plug for my favorite web browser, Firefox. Although not immune to the bad stuff, it offers protections that you don't get with Internet Explorer.

We have a cold rain this morning. It started as freezing rain, but has warmed since sunrise. Tonight we should get some fog, hastening the snow melt.

Hyvää Pääsiäistä or Onnellista Pääsiäistä. If you can pronounce either of them, help yourself to an egg. (Most of the eastern church won't celebrate Easter until May 1. The Finnish church has used the Gregorian calendar since 1920 to determine the date of Easter.)

Sandra and I went grocery shopping last evening, picking up a few things for today's Easter dinner at Mike and Lynn's and to pick up our own groceries for the week. The place was three-alarm bonkers. At one point, the store manager announced that there would be a clearance sale on cookies. Folks headed for the tables like it was Filene's Basement. To their credit, eople were polite as they bumped into each other. I'm told that this frenzy has something to do with the resurrection of Christ Jesus.

Today's installment of "I work hard, but what I do isn't hard work." comes from our own back yard. Sandra and I stacked wood yesterday morning. Somehow, the guy who cuts, splits, and delivers our wood makes a living at it. He can produce enough wood at a low enough price that he can sell it and still make a decent wage.

Along those lines, you can now live a simulated version of someone else's live with Real Lives. The latest version includes, and I'm not making this up, "Fixed bug in configuration file that caused diseases not to appear in some cases"

I work with technology a lot and so see its limitations. Sometimes you just can't trust the clicker to do the right thing. Sometimes the V-Chip doesn't give you the control you need. Rest assured. Here's a gadget that will keep Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter from all 525 lines on your TV screen.

For the first time in a very long time, the week's forecast doesn't include the word snow. Yesterday we had our morning coffee break on the front porch and lunch on the back porch, each time enjoying the strong March sunshine.

The snow is still a foot or more deep in much of the back yard. We'll work on the wood pile this morning, visit my father at noon, and then go to M&L's. (We invited my father to dinner, but he doesn't attend large gatherings anymore.) It will be a full day and a good day. We have more than our share of blessings.