Non sequitur

"Steve Jobs Hated The New Apple TV UI, But Apple Changed It Anyway" (from the Cult of Mac website)

The writing on the wall is more like broad brush strokes

I found out that one of my former supervisors—real salt of the earth—started his own publishing consulting business. I emailed him to see if he had any freelance editing work. He responded, in part:

"I have a domain, an email based on my domain, an LLC, an EIN, and business cards. I have absolutely everything except clients. And ambition. I'm short on ambition and I don't have any clients. But I'm happy."

Happy about what I wonder.

I've milked everything I can think of out of the NoVA area, to no avail. I have an unshakable feeling that my editing days are numbered. That in itself would not be a terrible thing. The problem is I can't figure out another way to earn a decent buck.

I see what you're doing here

The American Institutes for Research has an ad on Craigslist for a test development assistant.

At the bottom of the ad, AIR writes, "Email applications will not be considered." But then the ad instructs the reader to visit its website, search on the job title, and apply through the website (read: via email).

Obviously, "Email applications will not be considered" means via the "Reply to" link at the top of the ad—the common practice for most CL posts.

Maybe the apparent dead end is a way to separate the potential wheat from the (clueless) chaff.

Passive voice

I'm not obsessive-compulsive about PV, but I think this New York Times headline really sucks: "U.S. Sergeant Is Said to Kill 16 Civilians in Afghanistan"

There's no question he did it: "Stalking from home to home, a United States Army sergeant methodically killed at least 16 civilians, 9 of them children."

Aborted job application

I started to apply for a job online, and then faced the crap below (click image to enlarge it), which had sections for several jobs. I just can't. WTF is a resume for! Plus, is there any area where we BS more than "Reason for Leaving." Maybe pay.

Mr. Redundant

An editor looking for work via his Craigslist post claims to have "experience in shortening papers for specificity and brevity."

Big deal. Now shortening for lengthiness would really be something special.

"Early" is perhaps the new "never"

I had a second interview last week for a PT editing position. The following is part of an email I received in response to my "thank-you" email:

"Teresa and I will be de-briefing early next week and will be back in touch as we make our decisions."

Well, early and mid week have passed, and it's now late in the week. And nary a peep from them.

Nut jobs need not apply

One of the requirements listed under an editor ad on Craigslist:

"Looking for stable, responsible, drama-free person."

Many people think that editors are nuts. I guess the company in question recently had one such wacko.