It’s life’s illusions I recall, I really don’t know life, at all. (Me either, Joni.) Image © Jain Lemos.

Someone sent me a note about an open photo editor position. It was all hush-hush and I was asked not to post it publicly but only make personal referrals if I know anyone. There was only a generic email to apply, so I can’t even tell you the name of the hiring company.

Check this out: Besides wanting you to have the obvious skills and attributes, such as being a quick learner and a team player (I guess they feel they still need to include that old saw), you must work efficiently and be extremely detail-oriented. All the pros I know can tick those off, whew.

Then the rest of the proficiencies: Adobe Photoshop (a must). Knowledge of Adobe InDesign and/or web-based asset management systems (those are pluses, but not required). No problem, we have those down!

Now for the job responsibilities: Resizing images for iPad applications.

Oh. I thought the person was going to edit pictures. I guess iPad iMage rEsesizer is not that interesting of a title.

All this to say that things aren’t always what they appear on the surface. Though much of my life is automated, I am often presented with situations that require me to use my intuition. It’s a tool that can get rusty but also tends to kick in by default. Case in point:

I came across a headline: US Government Orders 14 Million Doses of Potassium Iodide. That just can’t be good! Of course, the shelf life of the tabs is probably only six or seven years so they need to restock. But then again, there are signs of high radiation in the San Francisco area…

Wasn’t I just talking about heeding warnings the other day?