Resume Skill-Levels?

A friend of mine suggested that I include skill & skill-level pairs on my resume (as opposed to just the skills themselves). Something like this, I suppose:

XHTML/HTML, Expert
CSS, Expert
JavaScript, Advanced
Python, Novice
[…]

It seems like a sensible idea on the outset, but are there any disadvantages to this approach? And, if not, what type of separators and layout would you recommend? For instance, I used commas in the example above, but I suppose colons or hyphens could also be used.

And, the skills-section of my resume is currently in three columns, but would that be too crowded with the skill/skill-level pairs? (So, maybe two columns or just one column?)

Dallas Bans Smoking in Restaurants

Dallas city council members have voted 10-3 to ban smoking in restaurants, effective March 1:

City leaders snuffed out smoking in restaurants today, passing an ordinance that exempts stand-alone bars, pool halls and tobacco shops that have separate areas for smoking.

The ban approved 10-3 by city council members also bans smoking in various public places, including hotel bars and lobbies, country clubs, bingo halls, hospitals, libraries, schools and transit system vehicles. Many of those places already ban smoking or had areas restricted by the city. […]

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. I think it’s pleasant that I might be able to better enjoy restaurants without smoke, but I don’t think it was the right decision for the government to dictate that.

SS American Star – Ghost Ship

The SS American Star was grounded off the west coast of Fuerteventura in 1994, and has been rotting there since. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the site, but it’s a surreal view of a deteriorating corpse of a ship.

The pictures fascinate me, but I just don’t know why. Perhaps it’s the nature of destruction that wouldn’t normally be seen with a ship that size (somewhat like the curiosity in seeing the Enterprise crash-landed into a planet, I suppose).

(Link from MetaFilter)

Rapper’s Delight

I was listening to the Classic Rap channel on Sirius Radio (live audio feed here) yesterday. Somewhat with the same idea as “classic rock”, the classic rap channel plays tracks from rap of years past.

They play artists such as Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, and old-skool Beastie Boys. So, I was listening on my way downtown, and on comes the Sugerhill Gang’sRapper’s Delight”. I was rather amused by the innocence and yet genuine humor of the lyrics:

Have you ever went over a friends house to eat
and the food just ain’t no good?
I mean, the macaroni’s soggy the peas are mushed
and the chicken tastes like wood.
So you try to play it off like you think you can
by sayin that you’re full.
And then your friend says “Momma, he’s just being polite
He ain’t finished. Uh uh, that’s bull”.
So your heart starts pumpin and you think of a lie
and you say that you already ate
and your friend says “Man, there’s plenty of food
so you pile some more on your plate”.
While the stinky food’s steamin’, your mind starts to dreamin’
of the moment that it’s time to leave.
And then you look at your plate and your chickens slowly rottin’
into something that looks like cheese.
Oh, so you say “That’s it, I got to leave this place.
I don’t care what these people think.
I’m just sittin here makin myself nauseous
with this ugly food that stinks.”
So you bust out the door while it’s still closed
still sick from the food you ate
and then you run to the store for quick relief
from a bottle of Kaopectate […]

I had heard parts of the song before from movies, but never before in full (what a treat). And, I’m even more amused just trying to imagine someone like Puff Daddy signing lyrics like those today ;).