Rather than posting racy pics of Danish elves, I guess I'm supposed to be remarking upon the passing of my 40th birthday today. Yay Rah. There, I celebrated it.
The first 40 years have been great! I was "setup" incredibly well for life by my parents, and I've fallen into a wonderful life with my wife and kids and friends. But I'm not getting exactly what the usual "dread" is about this passage point in life.
You makes your choices and you move ahead. I've had plenty of challenges, but in all I won't complain about the past. Sure, I think a lot more about the end of my life than I used to, but frankly that's just because it's time to do so. I don't sense any lamentations, perhaps because there's still so much out there to do and try and see and enjoy. I won't get it all done, and the rest of my life won't be perfect, and there isn't as much time as there used to be, but history shows that what's ahead will almost certainly NOT be whatever I think it'll be, and so long as I don't worry about it, it'll probably be fun. (And apparently, run-on sentences will be written...)
We don't look backward (too much) -forward is the next 40 years...
Friday, July 29, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Concrete "Magic", or Bulldog Redux
Magic
This is the hallowed name bestowed upon the Concrete Bulldog by its damsel in distress. (See Tueday July 19.)
The mind (ok, MY mind...) flutters through myriad a possible rationale for why the Bulldog's named Magic. It will magically come to life one day? It appeared magically. All these ideas flowing in the space of 800 ms.
"So, why Magic honey?" I ask in that typically lame Dad voice.
Shrug. "Idunno."
Sigh. Women.
What a difference $25 can make
My son has been begging to have a yard sale to sell some of his stuff. Of course, this is the last thing Dad wants to organize.
But then, there's eBay.
Joshua was a little reluctant, but he placed 350 prized, but redundant, Pokemon cards on the auction block. We did some research, and put them out there for bid, or Buy It Now! for $25. Nothing for 3 days.
Then Joshua calls me at work. "Daddy? Did someone buy my cards? I can't find them on eBay." Et viola! A no doubt discerning youngster from WV has plucked them up. We pay the charges from the proceeds, and our S&H calcs appear to have been accurate - he clears a little over $25.
So why do I write about this? Because I'm ever so stunned at how HAPPY he is, and what he seems to have learned. We researched to find an appropriate price. We talked about what costs he would have. He had to work WITH me to pack and pay for the shipping label. And from it all, it appears that he feels he earned the money. That's cool, and is also what I'd like to see him get out of the experience.
Next I think he wants to sell his sister. Hmm....
But then, there's eBay.
Joshua was a little reluctant, but he placed 350 prized, but redundant, Pokemon cards on the auction block. We did some research, and put them out there for bid, or Buy It Now! for $25. Nothing for 3 days.
Then Joshua calls me at work. "Daddy? Did someone buy my cards? I can't find them on eBay." Et viola! A no doubt discerning youngster from WV has plucked them up. We pay the charges from the proceeds, and our S&H calcs appear to have been accurate - he clears a little over $25.
So why do I write about this? Because I'm ever so stunned at how HAPPY he is, and what he seems to have learned. We researched to find an appropriate price. We talked about what costs he would have. He had to work WITH me to pack and pay for the shipping label. And from it all, it appears that he feels he earned the money. That's cool, and is also what I'd like to see him get out of the experience.
Next I think he wants to sell his sister. Hmm....
Saturday, July 23, 2005
What price, Pokemon?
A milestone was passed in my household today. Pokemon are, dare I say it, passe.
My son approached in all seriousness this afternoon to announce that, after some 3-4 years of elevated importance rivaling only his Lego's, he wanted to sell a majority stake in his Pokemon collection in that bastion of personal flea markets, eBay.
I never believed this day would come.
You see, I'd come to believe that Pokemon cards were an intrinsic pattern of the rug in my children's play room. You know - neutral khaki with a Pokemon weave. "Gotta have 'em all!" and all that. (These of course, were the cast off "bad" ones, or the ones that belong to my daughter, who seems to really only be interested because her brother is)
I'd burned them into my oh-so-male "visual ignore" database. What's the point ... they'll just be strewn about tomorrow in some card game that even this ex-DnD player can't grasp.
No, my son looked me straight in the eye and said "I want to sell them all!". I almost got downright giddy at the thought of how clean his room would be without them!
'Til he told me he wants to buy Star Wars stuff with the proceeds...
My son approached in all seriousness this afternoon to announce that, after some 3-4 years of elevated importance rivaling only his Lego's, he wanted to sell a majority stake in his Pokemon collection in that bastion of personal flea markets, eBay.
I never believed this day would come.
You see, I'd come to believe that Pokemon cards were an intrinsic pattern of the rug in my children's play room. You know - neutral khaki with a Pokemon weave. "Gotta have 'em all!" and all that. (These of course, were the cast off "bad" ones, or the ones that belong to my daughter, who seems to really only be interested because her brother is)
I'd burned them into my oh-so-male "visual ignore" database. What's the point ... they'll just be strewn about tomorrow in some card game that even this ex-DnD player can't grasp.
No, my son looked me straight in the eye and said "I want to sell them all!". I almost got downright giddy at the thought of how clean his room would be without them!
'Til he told me he wants to buy Star Wars stuff with the proceeds...
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Steve ... Don't eat it!
Buckle up and log on to the Steve Don't Eat It! website. Be sure you're in a space where R-rated websites are "appropriate" (I wouldn't have the kids around), you can guffaw loudly, and it's acceptable to fall out of your chair. Props to the the DurnMoose for this one (the Moose lives!).
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Concrete Bulldog
Why would anyone make and sell a concrete bulldog?
My dearest daughter loves dogs. She is, nonetheless, deathly afraid of them. Even the yip of the neighbor's chihuahua sends her running for the house. She wants a dog ... just not if it's going to, you know, "mess" with her. Ahh, the joys of youthful innocence.
So, when the CEO of my company mentioned that the concrete bulldog hanging out in the mailroom could be had for simply the price of carrying it out the door, I jumped. This is a "dog" that won't "mess" with my daughter.
She's happy! It guards the door to her room! I'm sure it'll have a name of its own soon.
But I got to wondering ... just WHO comes up with the idea to actually build and sell a concrete bulldog in Middle Tennessee? Perhaps in Georgia for the UGA fans, but in TN? "Dude ... we just gotta get a bulldog mold!" But with their natural good looks and slim physique :-> ... well, I guess I just don't get it.
And who BUYS concrete bulldogs? Let's observe the fact that his bulldog was the "invitation" to come to an event put on by a company with "Bulldog" in their name. I guess that makes (a little?) sense. It's certainly provokes thought - yeah, that's it. But, and again let's ignore the random UGA fan, who BUYS such a thing that it would command need to create a mold? I'm simply at a loss.
For now, though, my daughter's a happy camper. Her room is guarded by a concrete bulldog and a 3-ft tall Nutcracker the like of which was all the rage this last Christmas.
Just who thought up the Nutcracker idea...??
My dearest daughter loves dogs. She is, nonetheless, deathly afraid of them. Even the yip of the neighbor's chihuahua sends her running for the house. She wants a dog ... just not if it's going to, you know, "mess" with her. Ahh, the joys of youthful innocence.
So, when the CEO of my company mentioned that the concrete bulldog hanging out in the mailroom could be had for simply the price of carrying it out the door, I jumped. This is a "dog" that won't "mess" with my daughter.
She's happy! It guards the door to her room! I'm sure it'll have a name of its own soon.
But I got to wondering ... just WHO comes up with the idea to actually build and sell a concrete bulldog in Middle Tennessee? Perhaps in Georgia for the UGA fans, but in TN? "Dude ... we just gotta get a bulldog mold!
And who BUYS concrete bulldogs? Let's observe the fact that his bulldog was the "invitation" to come to an event put on by a company with "Bulldog" in their name. I guess that makes (a little?) sense. It's certainly provokes thought - yeah, that's it. But, and again let's ignore the random UGA fan, who BUYS such a thing that it would command need to create a mold? I'm simply at a loss.
For now, though, my daughter's a happy camper. Her room is guarded by a concrete bulldog and a 3-ft tall Nutcracker the like of which was all the rage this last Christmas.
Just who thought up the Nutcracker idea...??
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Harry Bosch at it again
Just finished reading The Closers, Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch book. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't call it one of the best I've read, but not disappointing either. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed to take a little too long to get to the "point" of the plot. Perhaps I'm just too impatient. Nice plot twists though. I'd recommend it.
What was REALLY cool was at the end, when ... ok, guess I shouldn't give it all away :-)
What was REALLY cool was at the end, when ... ok, guess I shouldn't give it all away :-)
Friday, July 15, 2005
Baseball, hot dogs and apple pie...
Ok, maybe not the apple pie, but the rest apply.
Went to the Nashville Sounds baseball game tonight with the whole family, courtesy of my employer HealthStream. Dinner was provided alone with drinks, ice cream, a goody bag with peanuts, Big League chew, a spinning-light-toy-thingy, cracker jacks, and a glow stick to go around the kids necks once the sun went down.
I haven't been to a baseball game in a long time, and even though I didn't know any of the players, it really was a lot of fun. Joshua wasn't very excited before going, but I believe he had a good time too. Kelly Anne of course liked it ... we even saw a pitcher get ejected from the game for intentionally hitting a batter, and then the manager got the boot for arguing and he made a huge, oh-so-typical mess-up-home-plate-with-dirt show of his anger. Kelly Anne, ever the elegant observer, labelled this activity "wicked cool"!
So it was very much fun, and perhaps we'll do it again. I guess it goes to show that, even though we don't follow baseball at all, sometimes you just have to get out and just do it :-)
Oh, and I lied earlier ... no one had hot dogs, we all had burgers, which once again were labelled "wicked", but "good" this time.
Went to the Nashville Sounds baseball game tonight with the whole family, courtesy of my employer HealthStream. Dinner was provided alone with drinks, ice cream, a goody bag with peanuts, Big League chew, a spinning-light-toy-thingy, cracker jacks, and a glow stick to go around the kids necks once the sun went down.
I haven't been to a baseball game in a long time, and even though I didn't know any of the players, it really was a lot of fun. Joshua wasn't very excited before going, but I believe he had a good time too. Kelly Anne of course liked it ... we even saw a pitcher get ejected from the game for intentionally hitting a batter, and then the manager got the boot for arguing and he made a huge, oh-so-typical mess-up-home-plate-with-dirt show of his anger. Kelly Anne, ever the elegant observer, labelled this activity "wicked cool"!
So it was very much fun, and perhaps we'll do it again. I guess it goes to show that, even though we don't follow baseball at all, sometimes you just have to get out and just do it :-)
Oh, and I lied earlier ... no one had hot dogs, we all had burgers, which once again were labelled "wicked", but "good" this time.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Embarrassed
In a previous life I worked for the Space Shuttle program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Most everyone whose ever worked for the Shuttle program, especially if they were directly involved in flight support as I was, will tell you that it's the most personally satisfying job that you can have. Working for the government sucks, but the work itself is really great.
So it's with great embarrassment that I read today that, one day before the return to flight of the shuttle after the Columbia disaster from foam that broke loose from the ET, a window cover weighing about 2 pounds breaks loose on the launch pad, falls 60 ft., and damages 2 tiles. Sheesh.
NASA states that they change out tiles almost every day and it was a routine and simple fix, and this I can attest to as true. But gee whiz guys - this is almost precisely the problem that you had originally! I'm sure it was a simple and unfortunate oversight, and it would not otherwise have had any bearing upon the launch since those covers are removed before launch, but from a public confidence perspective ... ugh.
Quoth the DurnMoose ... Le Sigh.
So it's with great embarrassment that I read today that, one day before the return to flight of the shuttle after the Columbia disaster from foam that broke loose from the ET, a window cover weighing about 2 pounds breaks loose on the launch pad, falls 60 ft., and damages 2 tiles. Sheesh.
NASA states that they change out tiles almost every day and it was a routine and simple fix, and this I can attest to as true. But gee whiz guys - this is almost precisely the problem that you had originally! I'm sure it was a simple and unfortunate oversight, and it would not otherwise have had any bearing upon the launch since those covers are removed before launch, but from a public confidence perspective ... ugh.
Quoth the DurnMoose ... Le Sigh.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Idiocy: Customer "inspiration"...
It occurs that I haven't captured the inspiration for that recent "Internal customers" post, so here it is for reference sake...
Have you heard the "I believe..." series on NPR? Where people get 3minutes to talk about what they believe to be true about life? Well it's 9:30 AM, and I'm ready to write my speech for NPR:
I believe in idiocy. I'm not sure where the founding fathers placed it in the Declaration, but I now believe that it is a truth to be held self-evident. We Americans, frequently in the form of "customers", believe in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of idiocy. The lessons of yesterday are lost on the stresses of today, and if money is paid for a service, it is self-evident that this service shall include the right to conveniently forget those lessons. Idiocy will keep us safe ("job security"). Idiocy is a blessing bestowed upon the diligent who suffer the tyrrany of reason...
Or something like that...
Have you heard the "I believe..." series on NPR? Where people get 3minutes to talk about what they believe to be true about life? Well it's 9:30 AM, and I'm ready to write my speech for NPR:
I believe in idiocy. I'm not sure where the founding fathers placed it in the Declaration, but I now believe that it is a truth to be held self-evident. We Americans, frequently in the form of "customers", believe in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of idiocy. The lessons of yesterday are lost on the stresses of today, and if money is paid for a service, it is self-evident that this service shall include the right to conveniently forget those lessons. Idiocy will keep us safe ("job security"). Idiocy is a blessing bestowed upon the diligent who suffer the tyrrany of reason...
Or something like that...
Internal customers
(Of course, the following is satire, or perhaps more accurately "exaggeration", but it makes me feel better...)
You know, the people you have to work with that get a check from the same people you do? Recent events have reminded me that this paycheck-thing is all some of them have in common with me and that they are really more "customers" than "internal". They definitely don't KNOW more than an external customer, even though I would nigh-on expect them to have some semblance of intelligence. At least within the realm of the business that we commonly conduct. And in particular when the topic is NOT technical!
I've also discovered that the written-communication word is (apparently) no substitute for telling them the same thing verbally 5 times in rapid succession over consecutive business days. While beating said internal customer with a Big Bertha golf club. Repeatedly. Apparently there's something in the physical abuse that commits concept to memory. While I'm confident that the internal customer can "read", I'm quickly coming to grips with the fact that "basic comprehension" was apparently a graduate-level course that many didn't take...
You know, the people you have to work with that get a check from the same people you do? Recent events have reminded me that this paycheck-thing is all some of them have in common with me and that they are really more "customers" than "internal". They definitely don't KNOW more than an external customer, even though I would nigh-on expect them to have some semblance of intelligence. At least within the realm of the business that we commonly conduct. And in particular when the topic is NOT technical!
I've also discovered that the written-communication word is (apparently) no substitute for telling them the same thing verbally 5 times in rapid succession over consecutive business days. While beating said internal customer with a Big Bertha golf club. Repeatedly. Apparently there's something in the physical abuse that commits concept to memory. While I'm confident that the internal customer can "read", I'm quickly coming to grips with the fact that "basic comprehension" was apparently a graduate-level course that many didn't take...
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Home from vacation
Spent the day travelling from Hope, AR back home. No problems, thankfully, except for a young one with a smallish bladder. Kids were well behaved today (except for the same one who thought she could steal my broccoli).
Cats are happy we are home ... deaf and blind Weeble can't stop meow-ing to make sure we haven't left again. Zeb is very happy ... he promptly threw up for me within 15 minutes of getting home.
It's good to be home.
Cats are happy we are home ... deaf and blind Weeble can't stop meow-ing to make sure we haven't left again. Zeb is very happy ... he promptly threw up for me within 15 minutes of getting home.
It's good to be home.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Travelling...
Heading home after being in Houston for roughly a week. Great people, great food, crappy weather. Too dang hot. Not enough time to see everyone either :-(
Woke up rather late, took our time, and travelled in the afternoon mostly. Stopped in Hope, AR for the evening. Will travel the rest of the way to Fairview tomorrow, after a stop at Graceland to see the jets and the cars that were missed on the trip down.
Rolling, rolling, rolling...
Woke up rather late, took our time, and travelled in the afternoon mostly. Stopped in Hope, AR for the evening. Will travel the rest of the way to Fairview tomorrow, after a stop at Graceland to see the jets and the cars that were missed on the trip down.
Rolling, rolling, rolling...
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Getting started - from Houston no less
I've always wondered whether a "public diary" would be something that's interesting and fun, and after coming across a friend who uses a Blog for a specific purpose, I thought I'd go ahead and start one. We'll see what, if anything, comes of it.
I write this as we, the family, are winding down on a week in Houston where we used to live a decade ago. It's been good to see friends and eat great food, but the weather in Houston is "not so good". Ugh - 103 degrees each day with the heat index making it 110.
So it's been a fun trip, but I'll be looking forward to heading home tomorrow too. I never though high-90s would be something to look forward to, but I guess that's just the way it is. :-)
I write this as we, the family, are winding down on a week in Houston where we used to live a decade ago. It's been good to see friends and eat great food, but the weather in Houston is "not so good". Ugh - 103 degrees each day with the heat index making it 110.
So it's been a fun trip, but I'll be looking forward to heading home tomorrow too. I never though high-90s would be something to look forward to, but I guess that's just the way it is. :-)
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