So it’s nearly the end of my second week on my new job, which is writing a pretty technical manual for a complex program written in Java, which is causing me to bring back my memories of Chubb from six years ago (where I learned C++) and then my quickie NJIT course in Java, and I have to say: Really liking the job, even if I feel like I’m back at Chubb again, hitting the steepest part of the learning curve before breaking through the wall to comprehension.

The atmosphere is wonderful. The buildings were built to make your office look more homey, so there’s lots of woods and very little corporate-ugly decor. It’s near a zillion shops and restaurants, and easier for Sarah to get to (we had lunch today; Twinsday has officially returned). The people are really nice, and the company itself is pretty good to work for. Free soft drinks. Free fruits. Klondike bars in the freezer. A giant box of Twizzlers showed up this week. People, people, people, you are ruining my diet!

Really liking the new job. I have a long way to go on the manual, but I think when I said, “I think I can do this,” I wasn’t wrong. My manager told me two days ago that of all the candidates he interviewed, I was the only one who said I thought I could do it.

Whoa.

Well, Small Software Company hired the right person. A twelve-minute commute, nice people, my own office for the first time, well, ever.

Really liking the new job.

Because I love to share: Have you ever used the formatting paintbrush? I use it as a shortcut all the time, particularly after I cut and paste between Word and other documents.

I just discovered you can toggle it. Double-click on the paintbrush, and it keeps the last format you clicked in.

Wish I’d discovered this years ago.

Toggle it off by clicking on the paintbrush again, or hitting the escape key. (The Escape key is your friend. First one I go to any time I want some kind of annoying MS feature stopped.)

This guy is certifiably insane.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the United States and Israel on Thursday for the destruction of a Shiite shrine’s golden dome in Iraq, saying it was the work of “defeated Zionists and occupiers.”

Speaking to a crowd of thousands on a tour of southwestern Iran, the president referred to the destruction of the Askariya mosque dome in Samarra on Wednesday, which the Iraqi government has blamed on insurgents.

“They invade the shrine and bomb there because they oppose God and justice,” Ahmadinejad said, alluding to the U.S.-led multinational forces in Iraq.

“These passive activities are the acts of a group of defeated Zionists and occupiers who intended to hit our emotions,” he said in a speech that was broadcast on state television. Addressing the United States, he added: “You have to know that such an act will not save you from the anger of Muslim nations.”

By the way, I read on a blog somewhere a question as to why there aren’t Muslim protests worldwide over the bombing of the mosque. It’s because Shi’ites are the minority of the Muslim world. And as a result of that famous Muslim tolerance, most other Muslims think Shi’ites aren’t proper Muslims.

The only Muslims who care about Shi’ite shrines being destroyed are Shi’ites. Unless, of course, the shrines are destroyed by infidels, particularly Americans or Jews.

We should probably revise that famous H.L. Mencken quote for the Muslim world: Nobody ever went broke blaming the Jews for anything bad that happens.

Tired of all the bad news? Yeah, me too. So let’s talk about the eight meatpacking factory workers (two of whom are immigrants) who are now millionaires.

I saw bits of the press conference on the news yesterday. Happy, happy people, and some with a little wit as well. I particularly like the guy who said he’s been retired for four days now.

Three of the workers quit their jobs when they hit the jackpot.

“I’ve been retired for about four days now,” said Eric Zornes, 40.

Mike Terpstra, a 47-year-old plant supervisor who is single and has no children, was unsure what to do with the money.

“Everybody has dreams,” he said. “Buy an island. Buy an airplane. In reality, I’m not a fan of flying and don’t really like water.”

Yeah, the odds are a zillion to one. But Sarah and I do our own mini-pool when the Megamillions goes over $100 million. Two bucks each. We’re big spenders.

Hey, ya never know.