Job hunting this time of year is not fun. Companies seem to shut down, even though the lights are on. Mainly folks are going thorugh the motions of the job, just gearing up for the next holiday celebration or recovering from the last one. Hiring decisions are always put off until "after the first of the year." No urgency. LIke they expect you to enjoy the holidays on pins and needles while they "relax" and make their decisions. No use being angry about it, it's just the way people are, but it doesn't make it any easier.

The new picture above is of my daughter Demarée, also known as Bumbum, when she was about 6 years old. It's one of my favorite pictures of her, although I've done some color alteration on it for this site. Today Bumbum is almost grown up -- a sophomore at BSU.

After wasting most of yesterday with TV and the occasional nap, I'm trying to actually get some stuff done. We just got our cable lineup expanded, and I'm beginning to realize just how MUCH of a time-waster TV has become. Too much to watch that is banal, stupid, destructive and in truly horrible taste.

I watched "The Man Show" last night. Here is a show that is, by definition, aimed at guys and basically sexist. I can live with that, because I don't really think, as a TV show, it really hurts anybody. But it keeps going over the edge in terms of taste (my taste, of course). I'm not talking about the dancing girls or the babes on trampolines, either. That seems like innocent look-at-the-pretty-girl fun to me, and there's nothing wrong with that kind of sexuality (remember, this is FOR guys). It's when they drag out vibrators and tampons and discuss female anatomy in detail that turns me off. Here' s a show that is actually rather clever in concept and has a lot of guy-oriented fun built-in. But couldn't it be just good, CLEAN fun?

I've noticed that, like the sudden incursion of the word "ASS" on network TV a few years ago, that on-screen talent can now say "nuts," referring to male anatomy. Like the word "wuss," these terms are used as a replacement, excuse, and even sometimes an apology for actual humor. (The only guy that uses the word "ASS" in any really clever way is David Letterman -- probably the funniest man on TV.) Ok, I have to admit that one of my favorite funny lines on cable is when the kids on South Park are attending a dreadfully dull school play and one of them says "Jesus Tap-dancin' Christ, when is this gonna be over?" But I've never been real religious so that kind of stuff doesn't bother me as much as explicit references to crotches and feces. Adult language is to be expected on some shows, such as the excellent "The Sopranos" as well as other HBO offerings. But there, it's really part of the story and the characters. On commercial TV, I feel kind of blindsided by it, plus, I have to be embarrassed when my kids hear it and look at me like I'm some kind of dirty guy for having it on.

I digress: back to my original point: TV has been taking over my life lately, and I'm not sure I like the effect. I've even written more than I wanted to on the subject. Maybe it's time to sign off for a while.

Will work for food

For anyone who doesn't know it yet, I'm in a state of unemployment (more or less). TransLogix Corporation, has been experiencing the slowness of the economy, and so therefore, am I. A couple promising interviews so far, but no concrete offers. Am willing to free-lance:

• Web application development.


• Web design


• Access/SQL Server 2000 application development


• Marketing/marketing communication of all types


• Advertising copywriting and project management


• Video/radio scriptwriting

Full-time permutations of any of the above are also welcome. Resume is available on request.

It's the day after Christmas. Got this really spiffy cordless keyboard from my kids, and it works really well. I'm actually surprised!
We finally got our cable upgraded in the last couple weeks. One of the first things I'm going to do when I get a chance is to go out and see if I can get cable internet. Supposed to be available now, if AT&T locally has its act together.
Happy Holidays to all and a great new year.
My blessings:

1. Family -- a great wife (Michele) and three great kids, Demarée, Paige and Dylan.


2. My health -- as witnessed by the fact that I helped unload 50 sheets of drywall and carry it into someone's basement this morning (one of my occasional while-job-hunting jobs.)


3. A few very close friends -- my brother, Jim, Leslie, John and the gang at ECT, among others..

As my wonderful wife Michele keeps telling me, "count your blessings." You have a lot more of them than you think.

Peggy Noonan in today's Wall Street Journal Online. Check it out. She says it better than I can about the politically-correct war on smoking. It applies to the politically-correct war on boys, the politically-correct war on normal human sexuality, and the politically-correct war on business. Here's the short version: a whole lot of people need to grow up and stop bullying people with laws, lawyers and lies.

Air travel has become an exercise in silliness, it seems to me. The problem is, the newly-federalized security-checkers at airports are looking for weapons, when we should really be looking for terrorists. What a concept! I sat at gate A10 in Midway Airport last night and watched as passengers were pulled aside as they boarded the last ATA flight to Moline. Basically NONE of the people they pulled aside (ok, maybe one) looked like any sort of security threat. I mean, I'm not a highly trained federal security guard, but I have a pretty good "tough customer" meter. We are so afraid of "profiling" in this country that we are putting thousands of people a day through a truly idiotic ritual. After going through one security check already, random passengers are fully searched, scanned, asked to take off their shoes, etc. On a 30-passenger flight to Moline, Illinois, no less.

Here's an idea: what if, on the some well-sold 727 flight, the whole passenger list just says "Hell no" to the random checks? What if they insist that the highly trained federal employees at the gate SELECT PEOPLE WHO FIT A LIKELY PROFILE? Of course, we have become such a nation of sheep that you can't get that many people up on their hind legs in one place anymore. If it DID happen, the highly trained federal employees might have no choice but to admit they really don't know how to catch terrorists effectively. Then they'd be "forced" to arrest everyone on the passenger list.

Here's proof that we are about this far (my thumb and forefinger are about 1 inch apart) from actually worshipping Elvis as a god. I predict a church with worshippers within 20 years, if it hasn't happened already. And John Lennon got in trouble for saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Face it folks, Elvis is as dead as barbeque beef jerky and he ain't coming back, in body OR spirit.

It seems to me that if you were to take your average Friends script, but have the actors play it with southern accents and a couple of blacked out teeth, you'd have a totally different point of view about the show. I mean, the way these people swap around with each oher and have babies that are conveniently forgotten, you have the makings of some really disturbing low-life comedy. The fact that the Friends people are young, pretty, and hang around in a coffee shop doesn't mean that, deep down, they're not prime candidates for the next hillbilly sister-swap episode of Jerry Springer.

For anyone still trying to use my Watizit Creative Idea Generation Tool, it has not been operational since our parent site, TransLogix.com was moved to a different server. I have now made the appropriate changes that should have it working smoothly.

Spring is here and a young man's heart turns to ... baseball. Yesterday my son Dylan and I spent a wonderful, albeit cold, day at Wrigley Field with our beloved Cubbies. Our boys lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I wouldn't be a Cub fan if I didn't say "it's early in the season, they've got a long way to go, there's a lot of talent in the team this year (there IS, actually), etc." There is nothing more marvelous than sitting close to the dugout at Wrigley watching the pitchers warm up, and oh yes, seeing Sammy Sosa do his trademark breakneck run out to right when the players take the field.

A new feature of game openers since September 11 is the singing of God Bless America as a prelude to the national anthem. Yesterday, standing in the bright sunshine with my son Dylan, listening to a male quartet sing the first of these songs, I found myself getting a little choked up. Think of it: there are a lot of people in other parts of the globe who hate us and consider us to be a great danger. But how bad can we be when this many people get this much fun and enjoyment and camaraderie out of a game played on grass? Hell, it's only baseball, but it personifies everything that's good and clean and right about this country. Competition, youth, excellence, enterprise, and hundreds of great personalities. In a world of troubles, baseball shines.

After being informed that WATIZIT, my creative idea generation tool, was not working correctly (a little confusion between me and the hosting company), it is now operational. Oh, and please send me feedback if you like it, hate it or (especially) have some thoughts on making it better.

A couple of weeks ago I was in South Bend Regional Airport (an airport that's changed its name more often than BancOne), embarking on a business trip to Tampa Florida. Anyone who has flown recently is keenly aware of the difference in the general airport atmosphere since September 11, and every trip I take brings a new twist. This was my first trip since Richard Reid attempted a suicide hotfoot over Boston, so, as I was about to learn, things had changed again.

Going through security, I was asked to do the usual: take the laptop out of the case, remove any and all metal, take off my coat, and oh yes, take a swig of that coffee to prove it wasn't some kind of poison, explosive or other contraband. I made it through the metal detector, but then I was specially selected to sit down at the end of the conveyor and take off my shoes. A security woman wiped around the inside of my spanking new Reeboks with a white paper disk which she placed in a nearby analyzing device. Instantly, an alarm went off, indicating a problem. The security woman announced she'd just gotten an "alarm on shoes." and wondered if she should x-ray them. In the meantime, a couple armed guards in full camoflage moved in, presumably to deal with any bigger trouble from me. (NOTE: I'm a chubby 48 year-old guy, and although I can be something of a curmudgeon, my middle name is not "Big Trouble.") In another few moments, yet another security person, a nice lady from Delta Airlines, came out, examined my ticket, and said "Mr. Dufour, we've found evidence of TNT in your shoes. Do you have any explanation for this?"

After picking my jaw off the floor, I said "NO, I do NOT have an explanation for this." The nice Delta lady continued to ask me questions about where I live, what I do for a living, where I was traveling, and why, etc. Finally, a man with a key to reset the analyzer came over and suggested they retest my shoes individually. This time, the machine detected nothing. The Delta lady smiled and said I was all clear. Still puzzled about why my shoes would have set off the bomb detector, I looked inside one of them, frowning. This made the Delta lady a little nervous until I explained I was just checking them out. "Please, David," she said. "Don't frown at your shoes."

I bring this up not to complain about how I was treated. In fact, everyone at the airport was extremely courteous -- even helpful. It was apparent they didn't see me as a threat, but they had to go through procedures.

But that's really the point. How much time (and money) are airport security personnel required to spend investigating people who are not a threat? Every day, airports are pulling aside little old ladies, pregnant women, and middle-aged porkers like me who don't fit any kind of terrorist profile. I'm not saying it's impossible Grandma Moses could be carrying a bomb in her digitalis. ANYthing's possible. But really; what's the likelihood? We have to deal with a certain amount of risk every day. If granny gets through security without a bomb check, I think I can live with that.

As near as I can tell, the reason airport security spends so much time on us non-threats is because it's not politically correct to follow a profile that would exclude little old ladies. But this doesn't seem to be good law enforcement, particularly since it may allow people like Richard Reid to slip through. In other words, when you CAN narrow down the possibilities, why spend time not doing so?