User:Aristotle Sabouni
From iGeek
This section is all about me (Ari Sabouni). The initial founder/creator of the site.
~ Aristotle Sabouni |
▶ Experiencesℹ️
Experiences • [27 items]- 1987 Skydiving - Yes, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. Twice. To me, it was no big deal.
- 2001.09.11 The Towers Fell - On 9/11/2001, I worked at a Newspaper, when a friend came in and said, "A plane has hit the Twin Towers"....
- 9-11 - 9/11 brought us together for a moment, then the left saw an opportunity to politicize and divide us, and took it.
- Air Rifles - Some "Air Rifles" are serious hunting weapons that exceed black powder rifles, and used in Revolutionary and Civil War.
- Airline Attendant - My wife became an airline attendant. These are some stories from her 18 year career.
- Genius is Insanity - Sanity is behaving normal. Genius is abnormal. Geniuses don't behave normal... they are insane.
- Getting my CCW - I got my CCW, and later got another one in Texas (even though Texas is a Constitutional Carry State).
- Grand Theft Auto (1994) - 3 kids were stealing car stereos (or cars). They had knives: I had drew a gun. They decided to leave at high speed.
- Housing and Urban Development - HUD (Housing and urban development) has various programs that are meant to help low income and first time buyers into their own homes.
- How I spent Christmas Vacation (1997) - Family, Fun, and driving circa 1997. What an atypically typical Christmas vacation looks like for us.
- Jury Duty 1998 - A jury is made up of 12 people too dumb to lie? I had not been called for Jury Duty, ever before… then my luck ran out; I received "the summons".
- Jury Duty 2013 - After 4 days of picking Jurors, they asked me questions and decided I wasn't the droid they were looking for.
- Just a burger - I invited a friend to go for a burger, then added, "just a burger". He was OK with it... but perplexed by the clarification.
- Loading a gun with a broken arm - I decided that my first hand gun should be a hand-cannon: the Desert Eagle .357 magnum Semi-Automatic.
- My experiences with cops - I've had some bad experiences with cops. But not as many as the good ones.
- Political Events - Events, Speakers, Toasts, etc., that I've attended will go here..
- Pulling a gun - These are the stories of my experiences pulling a gun to stop crimes, and how it differs from the stereotypes.
- Rape is not OK (1980) - While hunting a guy was struggling with woman towards rape, when me and my gun changed his mind.
- Snakes - As a kid, I used to catch snakes and sell them to pet stores.
- Speed Traps 2002 - Sadly, I became a victim of a government "protection" racket, the speed trap. Protecting me from a non-problem.
- Story of us - This is the "Story of us"... the pictures/tales of some highlighted trips, events or milestones in our life.
- Story of us/2 - This is the "Story of us"... the pictures/tales of some highlighted trips, events or milestones in our life.
- Suicide is Painless - Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes... at least according to the song. Obviously, I didn't commit suicide, or that would make this article a lot more interesting.
- Thinking outside the box - People will tell you to "think outside the Box". I learned early on, they don't mean it.
- Those Hollywood Hills (1978) - I use my suppressed (silenced) pistol to hunt rabbit/quail/squirrel in Griffith Park / Hollywood Hills.
- Tired of suppressing my whiteness - Salon ran a stupid race-baiting article by Priscilla Ward, so I retaliate in kind as a parody.
- What’s shooting like? - This is a story of what shooting is like for me, and how it differs from the stereotypes.
▼ Experiencesℹ️
- 1987 Skydiving - Yes, I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. Twice. To me, it was no big deal. I just wanted to experience freefall, and enjoyed flying. I didn't think of it as very dare-devilish, though some others do. I had statistics on my side, but gravity and physics was working for the opposition. Then I met a Hustler Honey, and wanted to jump again.
- 2001.09.11 The Towers Fell - On 9/11/2001, I worked at a Newspaper improving their Internet presence. My office was in the Press building, when a friend came in and said, "A plane has hit the Twin Towers". And I thought, "another silly pilot flew into it while in fog or something, like happened to the Empire State Building in 1945."... but I went to the newsroom to see what's up.
- 9-11 - On 9/11/2001, I went to work at a Newspaper when, "A plane has hit the Twin Towers". I thought, "another silly pilot flew into it while in fog, like happened to the Empire State Building in 1945?"... but it wasn't that. This is about my experiences, how the FakeNews has distorted history and used a tragedy to divide and polarize us.
- Air Rifles - There's this common myth that Air Rifles ("BB Guns" or "Pellet Guns") are toys, however, while they don't have quite the velocity of our top of the line modern rifles, they easily exceed black powder rifles that brought down buffalo and won the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. People hunt Buffalo and Elk with them, and they have no problem going through humans.
- Airline Attendant - My wife became an airline attendant. These are some stories from her 18 year career with Continental (now United). Then COVID hit, they forced her to retire, then screwed her out of the her flight benefits.
- Genius is Insanity - Sanity is behaving normal. Genius is abnormal IQ (usually ≈1.5 times "smarter" or more logical than others. Geniuses insight means they might not act/behave normal (or as a normal person might)... thus to the normal, they are insane. Or at least that's how it worked in my childhood. I had to explain many actions and thought processes, so the muggles wouldn't lock me up.
- Getting my CCW - The other day, I went and got my CCW (License To Carry a Concealed Weapon). Well, technically, I took the class to get my CCW, and have filled out my forms (it'll be a couple months before I get them back). It was an experience that I figured I'd share.
- Grand Theft Auto (1994) - In my late 20s, from my condo, I saw 3 kids were were peeking in car windows, I investigated. They were stealing car stereos (or cars), as one was inside, the others were lookouts. They had knives: I had drew a gun, and encouraged them to leave at a high rate of speed. They complied.
- Housing and Urban Development - HUD (Housing and urban development) has various programs that are meant to help low income and first time buyers into their own homes. Sounds great, right? Too many people can’t afford a house, so a little wealth redistribution ought to help them out? Yet, in many cases the opposite has happened. Here's my story about some of the negative and unintended consequences of HUD.
- How I spent Christmas Vacation (1997) - Family, Fun, and driving circa 1997. What an atypically typical Christmas vacation looks like for us. We visit my family on Christmas Eve, and visit my wife's family on Christmas Day. There can be no two more different families on the face of the planet.
- Jury Duty 1998 - A jury is made up of 12 people too dumb to lie? I had not been called for Jury Duty, ever before… then my luck ran out; I received "the summons". I must admit my curiosity at doing my civic duty, was tempered with the thrill of driving to downtown San Diego (in rush hour), dealing with my fellow man (which I don't always think too highly of).
- Jury Duty 2013 - After 4 days of picking Jurors, they finally asked me questions and decided I wasn't one of the droid they were looking for, and they let me go. Primarily, it got to questions about why I taught Martial Arts, and saying, "because I really don't like bullies" was all it took for the preemptory challenges to let me go free, with a fist bump from another juror.
- Just a burger - I invited a friend to go for a burger, then had to clarify it meant "just a burger". He was OK with it... but a little perplexed at the added clarification. What else would it mean? This is my story, of why I act like a teenage boy and titter to myself whenever someone says they want a burger.
- Loading a gun with a broken arm - Besides a Ruger .22 that I had (and a rifle or two), I decided that my first gun should be a hand-cannon: the Desert Eagle .357 magnum Semi-Automatic. (They didn't yet make the .44 or .50). When I broke my arm, I needed it chambered, and I couldn't use my arm. Pinching it between your legs and pulling turned out to be a very strong life lesson on "what not to do".
- My experiences with cops - Cops aren't good or bad, they are both. They are people, doing a shitty job, and following the policies (more or less) that they have to, in order to get ahead. There are some areas with worse policies. And there are areas that have some worse cops. Still, I've seen much more cops trying to do the right thing, than bad cops. Even if that perspective gets lost.
- Political Events - I like to make notes of things I noticed, observed, saw while attending a dinner, event, rally, or other outings. These are where the commentary on the political ones goes.
- Pulling a gun - These are the stories of my experiences pulling a gun to stop crimes, and how it differs from the stereotypes. In my life, I have personally used a gun to end an altercation three times. A rape, an armed car robbery, and a drug dealer or pederast trying to pedal something on a not so helpless young lad. Overstated examples that guns doing more good than harm.
- Rape is not OK (1980) - While hunting in the woods where I grew up (rural Orange County). I heard some screaming altercation, and when I investigated, a guy had torn the top off a struggling woman and was progressing towards rape, when I said in my outdoor voice, "is there a problem here?!" He saw the rifle, and decided that it was time for him to leave the scene.
- Snakes - As a kid, I used to catch snakes and sell them to pet stores. I read about 20+ books on snakes, and had lots of first hand experience. I've been bit many dozens of times: but never by venomous ones -- despite catching a few of them, and keeping one as a "pet" for a while.
- Speed Traps 2002 - I became a victim the other day of the oldest racket in the book. The mafia calls it the "protection" racket: extorted to pay them for protection... from themselves. Of course the mafia racket is more humane since it doesn't have the full force of local, state and federal government behind it, or the facade of lawfulness to hide behind.
- Story of us - This is the "Story of us"... highlighted trips, events or milestones in our life (my wife and my life's journey), or at least the ones that we got pictures of. Most pictures of trips are boring to me, because I don't have the context: so in this digital scrapbook, I try to offer just a little bit about each picture and why it matters.
- Story of us/2 - This is the "Story of us"... the list of some highlighted trips, events or milestones in our life (my wife and my life's journey), or at least the ones that we got pictures of. Most pictures of trips are boring to me, because I don't have the context: so in this digital scrapbook, I try to offer just a little bit about each picture and why it matters. And you can tunnel in and see more in each section. I have plenty of gaps to fill, but when I'm done, I think I'm going to print a wall sized poster. out of it.
- Suicide is Painless - Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes... at least according to the song. Obviously, I didn't commit suicide, or that would make this article a lot more interesting. These are just a few stories I tell are about me finding bodies, or seeing it happen. I don't know if I'm just "lucky", but things happen around me.
- Thinking outside the box - People will tell you to "think outside the Box". I learned early on, they don't mean it. Or more often they mean "not too much outside the box". This came up when I was in grade school. The teacher asked us all to do this, and I did it wrong -- which was ironic considering the goal of the test given was to think outside the box.
- Those Hollywood Hills (1978) - Like any other 14 year old kid, I sewed a holster-pocket into my L.A. Dodgers wind-breaker to carry my suppressed (silenced) pistol, and a game bag, so I could hunt rabbit/quail/squirrel in Griffith Park / Hollywood Hills. A large predator guy was following me, until I scared him away with pulled the pistol and dropped a bunny. The rabbit was delicious.
- Tired of suppressing my whiteness - Salon ran a stupid race-baiting article by Priscilla Ward, so I retaliate in kind, re-living a few true tales of woe and racism in my past, in a parody of her article. Not to cry "poor me" or act like my victimhood is the only one that matters, but to point out there's a whole lot of backstory in others lives that we may not know.
- What’s shooting like? - This is a story of what shooting is like for me, and how it differs from the stereotypes. The plural of anecdote is not data... but lies of omission, are lies. The media bombards us with selective anecdotes about how guns ruined lives, but almost never about the many, many more times a year they are just used for protection, hobby or sport. This is just some of those.
▶ Work Experiencesℹ️
Work Experiences • [16 items]- 1976 Ridgeline Country Club - Ridgeline Country Club - I was a caddy, sous-chef, dish-washer, bus boy, gopher for the local posh country club.
- 1977 Watts - Watts - I was a rural/burb kid that lived summers in Hollywood or Burbank, and worked in places like Watts.
- 1978 Cinedome Theaters - I did a summer job I did was at the local movie theaters; the Orange Cinedome.
- 1979-1982 Compusound - As a teen, I hung out in a computer store, and parlayed that into computer sales and consulting gigs.
- 1980 Brunswick Defense - My first aerospace contract was Brunswick Defense. The people that make bowling balls had a weapons division in So Cal.
- 1981 Ford Aerospace - The defense industry was hysterical, and there are many stories to tell about these places/weapons systems.
- 1982 Ideal Computers - While going to School in Kankakee, I walked a couple miles away to the local computer store to sell computers.
- 1983 Pertec Computer Corporation (MITS) - At 18, I went to work for Pertec (who had bought MITS/Altair) and was a QA that programmed myself out of a job.
- 1983-1986, 1994 Rockwell • North American Aviation (NAAO) - Coming of age at Rockwell North American Aviation (NAAO). Or starting to.
- 1986-1988 Rockwell • Collins - After I left Rockwell, I went to work for Rockwell. I learned a lot, and accomplished more.
- 1988-1991 Baxter - I left aerospace for biomed (Baxter), where I made medical instruments, inluding one used to save my wife's life.
- 1991 Relsys, Oracle (Alcon, Spectramed) - Dave Bajaj and I worked at Baxter, but the company had a cost cutting measure that eliminated the consultants.
- 1992 Workstation Technologies • UMAX • SuperMAC (Nortel) - I moved to Mac Application Development creating QT-VCR, one of the first video recording/playback apps.
- 1992-1994 American Zettler - I was able to turn around a product in crisis into a cash cow, by combining my Mac and Medical Device experience.
- 2006-Present Adobe - After I left 3M, I decided to do a gig in Silicon Valley, and I joined Adobe on a few year gig.
- Photoshop - Collection of stories about Photoshop
▼ Work Experiencesℹ️
- 1976 Ridgeline Country Club - Ridgeline Country Club - I was a caddy, gopher, dish-washer, bus boy, and sous-chef for the local posh country club (and the Presidential Chef, Skippy). It wasn't THAT posh, but I got good at golf and tennis -- and cutting/cleaning vegetables. While my parents were into status symbols and brand names, it didn't stick as well for me.
- 1977 Watts - Watts (Construction) - While I was a rural/burb kid, I lived summers with my Uncle in Hollywood, or Grandparents in Burbank. Hustling on Sunset, being "white bread" working in Watts. I learned a lot working in South Central. Most of it was not good stuff; racism, corruption, contempt/distaste for the inner-city subculture.
- 1978 Cinedome Theaters - I did a summer job I did was at the local movie theaters; the Orange Cinedome, which has since been torn down. It was one of the last 70mm theaters in the area. I was young, biking the 5 miles down wasn't bad; riding back after my shift, with an uphill grade, was a lot tougher. Getting there without being disheveled in the heat wasn't always easy.
- 1979-1982 Compusound - I hung out in a computer store, and I sold Computers by asking people, "What would you like to use it for?" By listening to their answers, I could solve their problem, and sell them a computer AND my programming services. After I got my drivers license, I was consulting to places like Brunswick Defense and Glendale Unified School District.
- 1980 Brunswick Defense - My first aerospace contract was Brunswick Defensee. The bowling ball folks had a weapons division in Costa Mesa, and I worked on two wespons systems there (anti-runway missile and anti-bunker rocket) writing Quality Control Software. I wrote the controls/analysis software for the Lab/Test Equipment that did pressure or temperature tests to make sure the toys made Boom-booms only when expected.
- 1981 Ford Aerospace - The defense industry was hysterical, and there are so many stories to tell about these weapons systems. There were thousands of people, but it was a small industry with characters, and insanely funny programming mistakes in the way that non-life-or-death software can never be. Ford had a few of the best "gaffes".
- 1982 Ideal Computers - I walked into the local Computer Store in Kankakee (while going to school in area), and just pretended I worked there. I was helping people with sales and support until I found the manager, and since I'd already sold one computer and supported another, I got him to hire me. Later, I made their largest sale until I was sabotaged by a professor.
- 1983 Pertec Computer Corporation (MITS) - Back from Illinois (first semester of College), I had to work to pay for school. So at 18 I went to work for Pertec part time (they had bought MITS of Altair fame: the first Microcomputer). I started "at the bottom" QA (Quality Assurance), as I didn't have a degree (and they had snobs). But I kept writing utilities, games and tools in my spare time that was showing up their programmers, so they let me go.
- 1983-1986, 1994 Rockwell • North American Aviation (NAAO) - I started coming of age at NAAO, working on the B-1B Bomber (Lancer). I got my security clearance, learned to deal with eccentric co-workers, learned about nepotism, Corporate Politics is about more than just hard work, and how not to mix substance abuse and work, got "hit on" in front of my parents, and learned how NOT to exit a company.
- 1986-1988 Rockwell • Collins - After I left Rockwell, I went to work for Rockwell. I moved from Airplanes (NAAO) to Collins Radio and was working on the MILSTAR Satellite Communication Terminal: a system that was used for most of the secure military battlefield communications. Never have I worked with such a ragtag bunch of humans... and had the time of my life. It was a lifetime of experiences in 3 1/2 years.
- 1988-1991 Baxter - After I left Rockwell the second time, I went to work for Baxter (Edwards Critical Care division), where I made medical instruments (including one used to save my wife's life). While saving lives wasn't as "interesting" as weapons systems to take them; it provided life lessons about dating on the job, the costs of defensive medicine, and just the problems in the provider side of healthcare.
- 1991 Relsys, Oracle (Alcon, Spectramed) - Dave Bajaj and I worked at Baxter, but the company had a cost cutting measure that eliminated the consultants. Dave started his own biomed consulting company: Relsys, and I was his first employee, working out of the spare room in his house, and helped with the demo that got him his first contracts (Alcon and Spectramed) beating out much larger companies.
- 1992 Workstation Technologies • UMAX • SuperMAC (Nortel) - I moved to Mac Application Development creating QT-VCR. The job was creating a QuickTime VDIG and a dithering algorithm for teleconferencing (for Nortel), and QT-VCR a commercial application used for recording and playback of streams, at a small startup WTi (Workstation Technologies, Inc), later acquired by UMAX/SuperMAC.
- 1992-1994 American Zettler - I combined Medical Device Interfaces and Mac Development, with Zettler's Nurse Call system (Sentinal). It managed Hospital administration and nursing staff to allow patients to call for nurses and track their responses. They were losing contracts and going into litigation, but I went on site to many Hospitals, hired Engineers and Quality Assurance teams, and turned the product from legal disaster to cash cow.
- 2006-Present Adobe - After I left 3M, I decided to do some time in the Valley (Silicon Valley), and work for Adobe. This was going to be a few year gig to fluff up my Résumé and move on. But the company stuck and I worked there longer than any other company. I managed their relationship with the largest companies in the world for 12 years, until I got a bad manager. Then I moved on to Program Manager for Adobe Sign.
- Photoshop - Collection of stories about Photoshop
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