What's your South Park character?

In other news, when Peter (from work) stopped by on Sunday before we all headed out to the Duck Stein for Niall and Leesa's wedding celebration, he got curious about the contents of my sword bag. So I then started getting it all out to show him (hey, he asked!). As I started to take my sword out, both he and Jono moved to the other couch, away from me.

Why does everybody keep doing that??

Anything could change by the weekend, but Hurricane Wilma is currently rated at category 4, and heading straight for Naples, Florida.

Guess who's dad just bought a house there?

I know he can look after himself, but I still worry.

If you follow any of the gaming media (which could just be limited to reading the news sections of your favourite gamer comics), you'll have heard of Jack Thompson. Jack is a bonafide idiot. He is an attorney often cited in the media for his views on the effects of obscenity and violence in popular media. Taking the "anti-gaming" stance more than one step further, he compares people to Hitler or Saddam Hussein, threatens lawsuits for people replying to his emails, etc etc. The Wikipedia article has a good summary of his antics.

I've drafted some blog entries in the past over this, but haven't posted anything. All the logic and rhetoric that applies to normal human beings like me and you simply get thrown out the window when Jack Thompson enters the room. An examination of his methods and motives reveals a truly disturbed individual who perhaps has troubles dealing with reality and fiction himself. Perhaps that's why he's so insane on the topic. Hey, what do you know, he's the poster child for his campaign.

All that aside, if you haven't already done so, then you need to check out Penny Arcade. Specifically, you need to check out the news articles regarding Jack Thompson on this page, then this page. I've even provided a local copy for posterity.

I can't imagine that this is going to end as a happy story for anyone. However, I think (hope) that it will end up as a very unhappy story for Jack, as he writhes around losing any credability that he had left (see the National Institute on Media and the Family's open letter distancing itself from Jack, and see his reply). It looks like it could be fun to watch though.

A week and a half in and the new shiny job smell still hasn't worn off! I'd say it's a record, but I'd be lying.

I'm finally doing a programming job. I've been waiting for a while to do it (although I have no one else to blame for my tardiness except myself). Sure, I might be doing User Interface stuff, but its still programming. I still find it satisfying to be able to release something that solves a problem (bug fixes, new features, new systems entirely, whatever). While the work is challenging, it's still good fun.

It's funny that however much you try to separate your work life and own time, they still impact each other heavily. No matter how hard you try to leave your work stuff at work, the good and bad feelings bubble over into your personal time. Since the beginning of this new job I've been feeling happier than I have been for a long time. Although I'm sure it depends from person to person, it goes to show that job satisfaction does have a significant impact on your overall mental well-being. In my experience, it takes hindsight to realise how much of an effect it does have.

I think that job satisfaction is a measure of reaching your personal goals. Everyone is different, and everyone wants a different thing from their jobs. Personally it feels like a job has to allow me to be "productive", "creative", "challenged", "purposeful", and maybe just "busy" too. It doesn't have to be easy. It can be bloody hard. It can be frustrating. But if I can do something and feel like I've achieved something, then that seems good enough. I didn't have that at Curtin. I didn't even have that when I was working in Network Services. Previously, the only times I've felt that way was when I was programming. Funny that.

I don't think it's specifically programming that does it for me, but that I can achieve those goals through programming. I could very well feel the same way about another occupation entirely, such as teaching, or driving a bus. If you can find the things in the job that allow you to reach those goals of yours, then you should be able to be satisfied. Same goes for everything.