for April 3, 2025
It’s been a busy week! I imagine everyone can say the same. Work and school have been the top winners of my focus. I’ll break that down in a moment, but first let me ask, Did you see the first edition of Page & Screen? I hope you enjoyed it.
If you missed it, read it here:
ZOOM Phone Design Phase Closing
Did you know ZOOM has cloud-based telephony systems? My college is transitioning from its outdated phone system to ZOOM, and we are nearing the completion of the design phase. ZOOM professional services will construct the system based on the design we finalized after collaborative meetings with various college departments. After that we will get to start testing with a pilot group before we deploy it to all the campuses and centers.
telephony
noun
te·le·pho·ny
: the use or operation of an apparatus (such as a telephone) for transmission of sounds as electrical signals between widely removed points
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telephony
I really love project work like this. I took this job knowing that I would go back to mainly doing day-to-day support, but I also knew that it would not be 60-70 hours a week. Diving back into design and implementation is really gratifying. After a few months it will be back to the monotony of daily support.
First Herbalism Class Complete…Sort Of
Last night was our first Holistic Herbalism class. After a week of pre-reading for the class, we discussed Traditional Chinese Medicine—until the instructor had to cut class short to run a friend to the emergency room. The smart ass in me wants to know why he didn’t just “herbal” his friend all better.
The discussion we had up to that point was very interesting, and made TCM seem less esoteric. The assigned readings jumped into the middle of the book and used terms I didn’t quite grasp. They seemed very unscientific, but as the instructor started to walk us through it, I began to understand that these traditional terms carried on through time but are often analogous to modern understanding. They are not necessarily a one-to-one translation of how to describe conditions or body systems, but it is not mystical woo woo.
Luckily, the instructor teaches two sessions a day. He posted the recording from his earlier class so that we could watch the last hour of class that we missed last night. That will be something for tonight after work. I believe the TCM topic lasts for a few weeks, and will be followed by lectures on the immune system, and then skin and topical therapies.
Happy First Contact Day!
I have it listed on my calendar as Zefram Cochrane Day. I think that was what they called it in one of the TV series or movies. Now it is generally known as First Contact Day. Yes, I’m talking about Star Trek.
On April 5, 2063, Zefram Cochrane made the first warp-1 flight for humans, drawing the attention of Vulcans in the area. This led to humans’ first open contact with an alien species. Once we realized there was so much more out there than just us humans, the people of Earth began to set their differences aside and create a better society. Hey, let’s do that for real!
I think I will celebrate by watching the movie Star Trek: First Contact (1996). There is also an episode that features Z. Cochrane in the original series called, “Metamophsis.” I may watch both. I don’t have a Starfleet uniform to wear.
The Philomath 
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