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Hey! I have a little project for you...That's a link to my alternate site (I'm really going to have to explain about that some day<g>) where I tell another story of a young lady I've mentioned before. She's spending the holiday season in the hospital. ...and she's figured out a way around the medico's restriction on a Christmas tree. ...that's my kind of person: first, find out the rules; then, figure out how to bypass them<g>. Please, take a minute. Thanks.
In other news, I am once again so far behind in my projects that it's time to throw out the old game plan and start anew. I spent exactly zero minutes working on the network re-work this last week; I'm not even going to count the time I took looking for the manual for the router (I know; I know: what manual and why...) . ...and I need to get either the router up or one of the Linux box revamps finished (now, where was I? ...and why is there tape over the power jack??? ...a warning? Why?). We're finding more and more that Shelley and I both want to be logged in to the net at the same time. ...and I do not want to tempt the acolytes of the AT&T servers with simultaneous logins. Bad ju-ju.
So it's time to make a game plan. ...only I'll be working late today since I'm taking Bradley to school while Shelley hauls Daniel off to an appointment. ...and tomorrow I have a treadmill scheduled (the joys of aging) and the company Christmas party. ...and it's a six day week this week, which means I have some serious prep to do before the last day of class Saturday. Sheesh. Time for the transporters to come back on line; I could recoup the travel time...
...at least I still have twenty days until I have to start my Christmas shopping.
1600 +/- A late start to the day. ...and then a full abort. I had a treadmill stress test scheduled for mid-morning, so I blew off the morning as far as going to work and just figured I go in at noon or so. Good plan, -eh?
Not. But, I didn't know that last night and stayed up way late working on one of the church sites. I handle the on-line email directory. ...the office just changed their servers over to a new domain. That translates to everyone now having work-based email; and I needed to make wholesale changes to addresses. ...and add a page for staffers. ...and update the missionaries. ...and maybe even put the Christmas colors on the backgrounds. Oh, and review the main website as it looks as though I'll be assisting the webmaster in maintaining the weekly updates (way cool, 'cause it will free him up to do the graphics stuff he excels at).
NP. I'm home in the morning; I'll update then. ...even though the concepts of 'me' and 'morning' really shouldn't be tied too closely together.
Um, I was up a little too late, it seems. I got up in time to shower, fill out my paperwork, and blast to the Doc's office. ...to work myself into a lather. ...and hear him say, "Well now; that is interesting..."
Trust me; there are several professions whose practitioners you do not want to hear use that phrase. I can think of plumbers, computer types, and cardiologists right off the top of my head.
Finish treadmill; go shower; return for echo-cardiogram; schedule nuclear treadmill (I swear that's what he called it) for Monday; get Shelley some sort of tranquilzer before I mention he wants more tests; call the office and blow off the rest of the day; gas the car for the extra running around; and what partridge in which pear tree?
Okay, one company Christmas party finished. ...at least for Shelley and me. ...and Joe (our courier/shipping clerk/guy Friday/fix it man/george) and his wife, who we hauled around in exchange for using their grand-daughter for child herding services. We like the grand-daughter; she's a candidate for Annapolis next year. ...with some significant Navy training for a high-school senior. ...just right for the Search, Maim, and Destroy Duo we have residing with me and my nice peaceful wife (who only wanted two little girls and an Easy-Bake Oven).
Oh! Joe won the award for the Office Staff Person of the Year. ...a very good man. Did I mention he's raising his grand kids? Quite a guy...
...and an interesting party: nearly two-hundred people in attendance with metro crews swinging by as often as the system would allow. That's quite a change. The firm was a start-up in 1975; I came on board from the public sector in 1978. ...as the twelfth employee. The Christmas party that year consisted of the boss's wife cooking tempura in the crew's residence. I served while she cooked. Everyone complimented her on the fine vegetable tempura. She was puzzled why they didn't comment on the abalone tempura.
It's only Thursday. Sheesh... As Time Sinks go, this one is pretty good. It's a link to an Earth/Moon viewer by one of the original gang from AutoDesk. If you get bored with viewing the planet from the perspective of many, many satellites, then hit his home page and hang out there for the rest of the day.
No, I didn't miss the other anniversary yesterday... I just didn't want to play it against Pearl Harbor. One day that will live in infamy is enough. ...although I admit to being darned close.
One down; one to go... It's that time of year that parents just love. No, not Christmas... It's the end of soccer season! That noise you'll hear about 1205 on Saturday, the one that will sound like an absolutely huge <sigh!>^2, will be Shelley and the other soccer moms. All done... Season over... Nada mas. Finito. No more...
No more incessant phone calls; no more snacks; no more coordination; no more shouting coaches; no more shouting parents; no more cold mornings in the fog; no more cold evenings in the fog...
You see, my darling wife is the Team Mom for both the boy's teams. Yep; that is abso-freaking-lutely correct: twice the aggravation at no extra charge. ...and you wonder why she misses a post now and again.
...and last night was the pizza party for Daniel's team. ...and tonight is the pizza party for Bradley's team. ...and my darling wife had things set up where I would stay home and "get things done." ...forgetting that, while they wouldn't pay much attention to me while I was there, both the boys would be disappointed if I didn't come along.
"Honey, you'll be bored." Uh, dearest... This is a pizza place. ...the same series as the one down by the college. I went to college (that means something different to several of the readers and me than it does to my wife). I just do not see a problem with going to a place that serves up pizza and beer and being left alone for an hour or two... Oh, my, yesssssss. I'll just shoulder that heavy burden of being a father and trudge off to the Kid's Pizza Party. ...where I'll carefully lay that burden on the seat next to me (along with some excess baggage from the job site this week) and hoist something a little different. Ahhhh!
One more day. Eight more hours. Twelve (or maybe thirteen) students. ...and I can officially put aside the second job for a few weeks and start my Christmas season. No, the light thing didn't count; that was just a blip on the radar. What I have to do is lose the second job so I can remember what the relaxing thing is like. I get to do that during the summer. ...and I am way more than ready for it now.
I'm ready to want to get off my tail and maybe put up the Christmas scene on top of Shelley's China cabinet. I'm ready to want to do crazy things like make a Christmas card for all of you out there. I'm ready to come up with some unique, creative gift for Shelley. I'm ready to eat Christmas cookies for the enjoyment of biting the legs off the Christmas starfish. Oh. Never mind that one; it's for that Grinch fellow...
So today will bring some sort of closure to the semester. There are few retests to start the day off, then we'll move on to scenario testing. No matter. It will soon be over. ...even if one of them runs screaming into the parking lot (the first time that happened to him, Lee asked if he was supposed to go after her).
It cannot be over soon enough for two of them; they weaseled their way into the testing process down at work and essentially have jobs waiting for them. Now, that's initiative...
Have a good day; I'll let you know how they did tomorrow. In the meantime, I give you, under (reindeer facts),
The isn't the freshest news, but some of us follow Jakob Nielsen and his columns. Here's a site with a take on his take. Not bad; I'll let you know how it progresses.
I got to do something yesterday I haven't done for nearly thirty years: tail-ride on a fire engine! The tree farm where we acquired our ornament holder had an 1949 engine there on loan from a gentleman I knew from my days on the streets. There wasn't quite enough room with the load of kids (and adults) to fit everyone in on the hose beds, so I asked for and received permission to hang on to the back end. Chuck over-rode the rules (only employees, for safety reasons) and off we went. For all the time it's been, the reflexes came back quickly enough.
My first job as a fire fighter was on the local state university campus; our lead engine in 1969 was of 1954 vintage or so. ...open cab design. ...everyone else on the back. ...and don't fall. Those days are gone forever, what with OSHA and perhaps even common sense, but it was fun to watch the boys watching me.
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