The Wit Farm

On Fatherhood, a few days early...

2011-06-16T17:27:00.002+01:00

Too often, Father's Day is a pleasant Sunday in June, whenthe kids let dad sleep late, mom makes a special breakfast, and another tiegets added to the wardrobe. But Susieasked me to think about what fatherhood means, to me as a dad, to me as a kid, andto my children, and so I've been remembering what it was like when I became afather, and my relationship with my own dad, and trying to put those thoughtsinto a coherent form. It's hard, becauseso much of fatherhood is emotional - fear, pride, love, frustration, joy - andtalking about emotions is something most men aren't particularly good at.

I had a friend in my neighborhood growing up, Lance, and Iremember that we knew his mom, but we never heard about his dad. One day, another friend asked where his dadwas, and he answered, very matter-of-factly, "I don't have afather." Now, I don't know ifthat's because his father had died, had left, was never in the picture, orwhat, but I do remember, even at age 8 or so, thinking how sad and strange thatwas. So when my own parents divorcedwhen I was around 10, and my mom broke the news to us, I can vividly remember beingdistraught, and asking her, "Does this mean I won't have afather?" Of course, she reassuredme otherwise, and she was right.

My relationship with my dad changed, as you'd expect.Instead of seeing him at dinner every night, he'd come and take the four of usto his new home twice a week. He wasn't around to be the role model, or to playball, or fix my bike. I never thought it was the fault of us kids that he left,but in the back of my mind, I always wondered how he could leave us, the kids,"if he really loved us." He did love us, to be sure, but it took along time for me to be confident in that again.

I remember the moment I really felt like a dad for the first time. We were in the hospital after David had been born, and the nurse hadjust wheeled him into the room from the nursery for the first time. He was ... well, I was going to say "sosmall," but he was a big baby... so fragile and helpless. The nurse fussed with his blankets, andstarted to leave. I stopped her, andasked, "Is it ok if I pick him up?" She just smiled, and said,"He's your son." My son. My responsibility. Wow.

As a father, I want my children to succeed. As a formerchild, I remember that it's not possible to succeed at everything. At least,not the first time. I want my childrento be willing to try. I want them to know that my pride in them is absolute,success or failure, but that they will never know what they can do, or evenwhat the like to do, until they first make the attempt. That's not to say I'm going to force them totry sumo wrestling, or sword swallowing. It just means that if they express any interest in a thing, and it'swithin my means, I'll see that they get the chance to have a go. But - andthere's always a but - I also want them to know the value of persistence."If at first you don't succeed," and all that.

I want my children to be happy. That's the easy one. But what does that mean?I believe it means that they have the means and opportunity to be their own people- the people they want to be.

I want them, eventually, to know that while they may notalways be dependent on me, they can always depend on me.

Most of what I know about being a dad I learned by learningto be an adult. I've always tried to treat my children as people, and not just"the kids," as if they were some sort of tadpole, unable to learn tohop until they became full grown frogs. These little people - and children are little people in their own right -don't know anything that we don't teach them. Why would you not treat them asyou want to be treated? Why would you want to take this empty vessel and fillit with stupidity? Screaming at a child for doing childish things makes nosense. Of course a child wants toswallow that golf ball - he's never seen one, and it just might be tasty! Of course a child is going to pull onthe dog's tail - it's fuzzy, and it moves, and she's never seen one before. Yes,by all means, stop them from doing dangerous things, but if you don't use theopportunity to teach them something, you've missed the point of parenthood. Ifyou model poor behavior, they learn poor behavior. If you model self-reliance and pride, theylearn that. And if you teach them nothing, they learn - nothing. This is not agreat insight, but it's one of those things that's so simple, it's easy tooverlook when raising children. The old management saw of "set the standardhigh, and your people will meet it" seems to work with children as well.I'm not talking about "tiger mom" standard-setting, I'm talking about"I expect you to do the right thing because it's right." It's notjust behavior, either. I learned, from my mother-in-law and how she dealt withmy nieces, that if you don't talk down to a child, the child doesn't come torely on that simple mode of dealing with the world, but grows into hisintellect naturally and quickly. This makes sense, in hindsight. They say the early years are the best timefor children to learn a foreign language, because their minds are stillgrowing. So of course it's going to bethe best time to learn manners, counting, reading, or whatever. And if youtreat your children like people, they'll learn that that's just how peoplerelate to each other. It’s called empathy, and I'm unimaginably proud of mychildren, because they have learned this, and learned it early. For example,when Lily was about 5, she came home from school and asked, "Can Teddycome around soon?" When Susieasked, "Do you want Teddy to come around, then?", Lily said,"Well, Teddy wants himself to come around, and I just want Teddy to behappy." That, to me, is parenting success.

I've been a very lucky father. This may be the haze ofmemory, but I believe I can count on the fingers of one hand the number oftimes I have had to discipline eitherof my children. I think this comes from treating them as responsible, andexpecting responsibility. Sure, we havethe typical "I don't wanna go to bed!" dramatics, but so far therehave been very few "punishments." This fills me with no small amountof pride: in them, I have the beginnings of two very nice people. People I liketo be around, and people others liketo be around. That's all that any father- any parent - could hope for.

Done!

2010-11-30T22:48:00.003Z

And it's over! Yay!

Susie's sick, but the doctor gave her some 'cillin or other, and I got another day off, at least.

So that's another NaBloPoMo!

Oops, I did it again...

2010-11-29T23:52:00.002Z

This is my annual "forgot to write anything until the last minute, so I'm writing that I forgot to write anything" post.

Hey, it counts, right, Eden?

Home, for real

2010-11-28T22:05:00.002Z

Back home. It's a nice feeling, no matter how much you enjoyed your time away. And especially since I had been home for less than 24 hours before we headed out to Dublin.

We did bring back a couple of unwanted souvenirs, it turns out: Susie and Lily both came back with colds. Lily's got this sort of nagging "eh, eh" cough, and the occasional spike of fever. Susie's got this wracking full-body cough that's both productive and painful.

And we're expecting snow this week. Actually, we're sort of hoping for it, because if it snows tonight, no one has to go out to school in the morning.

On the bright side, Susie and I just put our Beef and Guinness Stew into the crock pot to cook overnight. It's our first attempt, but after having a really good one in Dublin (who'd have figured, eh?) we just had to try. It should be ready for lunch tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Still two days off to go. Yay!

Dublin

2010-11-27T20:27:00.005Z

Woke up this morning a little early, and as we were sort of coming around, there was a great flash outside. A few seconds later, as expected, thunder. Susie went to the window, and said, "Hey, it snowed!" There was about an inch on the ground, which was nice for the kids. Then the thunder and lightning picked up again, and it began to hail. Pea-sized hailstones covered the already-fallen snow. Fortunately by the time we got up and out it had stopped, and turned to a more manageable flurry.

Now we're packing up, and getting ready for the early flight tomorrow. We were thinking we had booked a later flight, but when we checked, it turns out we're on the 8:45 AM flight. So, up at 4:30, but all in all it's been a good trip.

We've had three days on the ground in Dublin, and we've had a really good time. We took a bus tour around the city that showed us lots of sights (and led us to the new Dublin drinking game, "failed revolution"). We saw the National Leprechaun Museum, which was pretty cute. We toured the Guinness Storehouse, and learned how my favorite beer is brewed (and got a couple of samples, and had a great lunch). We saw the latest Harry Potter movie in a decent theatre. We visited the Dublinia exhibition, and the National Wax Museum Plus, which I have to say, while a bit disappointing, I preferred to Madame Tussauds. We got some souvenirs (mostly sweaters from Trinity Sweaters and rugby shirts, and a cool travel mug).

I think we all had a pretty good time. And I still have a couple of days off before I have to go back to work.

But there's snow in the forecast...

Up for a challenge?

2010-11-26T21:30:00.003Z

I guess the textbook used at this Dublin school is Ulysses; I know I sure wouldn't fancy my chances of a passing grade...

Happy O'Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T18:19:00.002Z

Here we are in Dublin, well known for its Thanksgiving ambience. heh.

We wanted to do something different this year, spend the time together, and not worry so much about a massive feast. So this morning, when I reminded the kids that it was Thanksgiving, but we weren't going to have a big turkey dinner, Lily said, "Well, I'll have to do the "Roast Dinner Dance." Which she did.

I demanded an encore so I could film it for posterity, and she obliged. And now, for you all to enjoy, the "Roast Dinner Dance."

(she says she and a friend made this up at school, so she doesn't claim full credit. Give the co-writer credit to Lily's friend Anna.)

Failte...

2010-11-24T23:31:00.001Z

...or something like that. We're in Dublin. And now, after a minor fiasco with a folding bed for Lily, we're done for the night.

More tomorrow. Maybe. :)

Talk about your close calls

2010-11-23T20:32:00.002Z

We showed up this morning for our flight home, and I was almost immediately told, "Um, so I think you're gonna need to get a ticket home."

Grr...

They got us home after all, on a different airplane (well, I was on the one I thought I would be on, but everyone else came along too...) and after the usual "hi, thanks for going away, here are all the services you can take advantage of" (I asked the lady if she was going to start giving us loyalty cards, so we could maybe skip every 5th briefing, or get a free coffee, or something) I headed home.

And that's where I am now. Home.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Packing and clearing

2010-11-22T19:00:00.004Z

Yippee!! I am headed home in the morning. I should have been asleep a while ago, but I just finished packing up. Fortunately I'll get to sleep on the flight home, so that's nice.

Did the big "Chapel Run" today. 5.09 miles, 1 hour and 3 minutes. It wasn't that bad, either. The steep winding bit I mentioned was just as steep and winding as I had feared, but a judicious bit of walking on the uphill (maybe a total of 1.5 minutes) left me ready to go for the rest. So that was the only walking I did... go me!

So it turns out I don't mind distances so much, so long as there's no pressure for me to "hurry up, keep up with me!" from anyone. So maybe I'll do some more distances.

Yeah. We'll see.

Oh, if you want to see the run, go to Endomondo, which is the website for the software app I have on my HTC Hero phone (Android) to track my runs via GPS. If you know which island I'm on, go there and look for "Chapel Run". Meh, it's probably not that easy to find if you don't know how, but if you want, there it is. Or you could email me and I'll be more specific. Maybe. :) (You can also see the 4-mile "Geep Loop", which I also have done a bunch of times, but didn't log with Endomondo.)

Next time from the UK!

In which more progress is made

2010-11-21T16:59:00.002Z

Ran 1.5 miles for time today, and I have improved my time by 30 seconds in three weeks. If I keep this up, I will be quite happy with my time when I redo this stoopid test.

Tomorrow Carrie has "The Big Goodbye" run planned... it's a 5-miler, with a steep hill down then back up at the halfway mark. I'm told it's a beautiful run, and we don't do it for time, we do it for "let's do a long run today."

Which is good, because my back, it is achy.

And on the even BRIGHTER side, in 48 hours I should be home. Can I get an "amen"?

The name's Jones. Forgetful Jones.

2010-11-20T15:08:00.002Z

Don't you hate it when you have something to say, something to tell someone, but the time isn't right, or the person isn't there, and by the time you get into the right place or the person shows up, you've forgotten it?

Yeah, so that's what happened with this post. I was thinking about it during my 4-mile run today. I thought, "Oh, that'd be a good blog entry!"

I even remember that I had an opening sentence and a title. But I don't remember what they were.

So, since I don't have anything important to say, I'll just call it a night. Because I have to get up in about 10 hours, even though it's barely dinner time.

Man, I can't wait to get home and back on a regular schedule...

Still here

2010-11-19T18:31:00.002Z

Day off today, which is normally a good thing, except that I had anticipated spending it en route home. So it was a mixed bag today.

I was going to write some, but I just wasn't "feeling it." So I did some laundry, and watched a whole bunch of "The Big Bang Theory."

Now THAT's a funny show, and I swear those guys are modeled on some of my friends...

I'm told that they're arranging me to go home in the first wave of folks headed back on Tuesday, which should get me in reasonably early, in time to complete the usual "welcome back, now do this" nonsense, and so I won't need to come in on Wednesday.

Boy, I wish I could take a whole BUNCH of time off right now... not feeling particularly charitable toward work.

Disappointment reigns

2010-11-18T17:00:00.003Z

Well, I finished doing all the training I needed to do, and was all set to go home tomorrow. I had tickets in hand and everything. Then the back home boss said, "Hey, why is this the first I'm hearing this? And isn't this going to be expensive?"

After much backing-and-forthing with the back-home folks, the decision was made: I'll stay here with everyone else. If, for some reason, the departure of everyone else doesn't happen on time, then I will be allowed to run across to the airport and fly home commercial.

See, apparently it's not the money, it's principle. Apparently the guy back home (a mid-level boss, above me) who knew this was the plan didn't share this plan with anyone. Don't know why, doesn't matter right this minute. But then he decided to take some time off. So, when Doug, the leader of the group that I came here with, and who knew of the plan, told the boss here I needed my travel arranged, he said, "What? Who said he could leave?" Because although we've been talking about this since I arrived, no one "officially" told them here that I might leave early. So they called back to the home folks, and, as I said, they didn't know about it either. Of course. So, they will pay for me to get home in time to go on my pre-paid non-refundable trip, but they've decided that they will only do so *IF* at the last minute the other plans fall through. Rather than avoid the possibility.

Why? Well, mostly because they feel caught by surprise, and so they had to "make a decision"...

Whatever. I *will* get home soon, and we *will* go on our trip.

Grr.

Shamed into it

2010-11-17T19:13:00.002Z

Today was cardio day. That meant the 4-mile run thing like last week (half mile warmup, stretch, 3.5 miles). Today, however, we managed in at least 5 minutes faster than last week! Woohoo! That translates, sort of, into at least a minute off my 1.5 mile time, especially as today we weren't trying for speed, just a consistent pace. I'm quite happy about it.

Susie commented on my post yesterday, and I suspect she's got the gist of it: my abdominal pain has all the hallmarks of a "sports hernia." Sigh.

Oh, and the title today? Well, as we were cooling off and stretching after the 20 minute elliptical machine workout following the 4 mile run, the boss wanders into the gym. There's been a bench press competition going on at the gym all day, and he gets points for every one of his people who competes. He's been pushing for people to go and even just lift the bar, it counts. He came over to me and said, "Hey, I just emailed (boss back home), and told him that not only are you doing well on your workout plan, but you even took part in the bench press competition!"

Great. So I did. First time in my life I ever benched a press, or whatever. So for me, 135 pounds is impressive. Too bad the guy right before me did 365, and the guy two before him attempted (but failed) at 405.

Whatever, I did it. And now I can brag on it. "Yesssirrebob, when I was in the bench press contest..."

Heh.

Ouch. Crud.

2010-11-16T16:42:00.002Z

OK, so we let my rogue muscle or whatever heal for a good week and a half. And during today's workout, the plan was to get back to some sit-ups and push-ups. I gave it a gentle test yesterday, and first thing this afternoon, and all seemed good.

When the time came, I sat down, and knocked out 20 situps. Easy-peasy. So I turned around to try for some pushups.

By the time I hit 10, it felt like someone was sticking a knife in my gut. I struggled to get 15, and couldn't do more.

10 minutes later (it was another circuit like yesterday, only with leg exercises instead of arms) and I couldn't even do 3 sit-ups without pain. And no pushups. BUT... I could do crunches. And I could do push-ups on my knees, no problem at ALL. And I could do one "oblique" exercise, but not another.

As I said before, "Not good."

I have an appointment with the doc for Thursday morning. I hope he's got a magic pill, because I'm really really starting to fear that this might be more serious than just a pulled muscle.

Sigh.

Tired.

2010-11-15T13:07:00.002Z

I'm pooped. Not just body, but brain as well. This place, for all its good bits (no sand, no ... well, no lots of things) is a soul-sucker. Yep, we just had two days off, and they were GREAT. But back to work today... and I'm just done. Nothing specific, no terrible thing happened, I just realized that I'm really REALLY ready to be home.

I had a little lunch a bit ago, and came down to my room to write this entry, and of course, the net was feeling wonky and wouldn't connect. So I sat on my bed to read a bit, and nearly fell asleep. Now, that wouldn't be so bad, since I have to get up at around 1:00 AM, but then I wouldn't have blogged, and we can't have THAT.

Fortunately, nature called, and when I returned, the net was back. So I'd better post this before it goes away again.

Oh, and the workout today? Circuit, sort of: 5min treadmill, then 15 each Chest Press, Shoulder Press, Lat Pull Down, Biceps Curl, and Skull Crushers. Then 25 crunches on a big ball (like a hippity hop or space hopper?) then 25 reverse crunches, then 1 minute bridge (head and shoulders on ball, lie out flat with knees bent 90 degrees to support your weight, keep the body straight). Then a quick break, grab a sip of water... and do it again. 3 sets. Then 15 min cardio.

So, yeah, body pooped too, now that I think on it...

Type type type...

2010-11-14T17:09:00.003Z

That was me, a typin' fool. I actually got my 1700 words in today, and a few extra to boot. I'm at 3600 words or so now. I reached a good stopping point, and while it's not a "complete story," it's at least a "complete introduction," I think.

I also went back and re-read it. I didn't like the way it read, so I changed from third person to first person. I think it reads better now.

Back to the workout tomorrow. Not exactly sure what Carrie has in mind for me, but it's sure to be just gangs and gangs of fun.

Susie says the wedding reception went off very nicely at our house yesterday, for which I am very glad. I'm sorry I couldn't have been there to lend a hand, but that's done, and some of Susie's other obligations have been completed as well, so things should be a bit calmer around the old Wit Farm/Knit Farm.

Things are looking good for me to be able to get home in time for our family trip to Dublin, but I still can't say for sure. That's disappointing, but I should know soon. I'd hate to miss out on that.

This is a pretty chatty post, isn't it? Well, and why not? It's just us friends, right?

I've got a secret

2010-11-13T17:54:00.000Z

Well, not so secret, I guess. I mean, anyone who writes a blog probably has the same secret: I have literary ambitions.

I was reminded that, in addition to being NaBloPoMo, it's also NaNoWriMo. And if I'm going to participate in THAT, well, I'm WAAAAAY behind.

I think I write fairly well. I like to read, and I know what kind of stories I like. And I think I can, given time and opportunity, write one that's a good enough story, written well enough, that it might actually amount to something.

Yes, I'm about to commit "Attempted Novel." It's an idea I had some time ago for a science fiction novel that contains the ever-so-slightest bit of ripped-from-my-life truth. And by "slightest" I really mean that. This isn't one of those thinly disguised autobiographies that turns me into a great hero or something. Just one or two things that happened to me, that I thought would be interesting to explore on a grander scale.

The NaNoWriMo challenge is 50,000 words in 30 days, which is just about 1666 words a day. There's no way I'm going to get 21,000 words written by the end of tomorrow, but I had a day off today, so I sat down and got 1700 written. And I have another day off tomorrow. If I can sit down and get another 1700 words in, who knows? Maybe I'll actually finish it...someday.

One for Susie

2010-11-12T19:13:00.003Z

Ever wonder what Klingons do when they're not fighting for honor and glory?

This:

I know, it's not knitting, exactly, but hey, it's a "yarncraft," right?

Love you, sweetie!

We dedicate today's post to those who gave all

2010-11-11T17:07:00.001Z

Remember

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

I consider myself lucky right now

2010-11-10T15:29:00.003Z

Why? Because today, as Carrie so gently put it, "we destroyed (my) arms." Supersets, biceps and triceps. And I'm such a wuss that on one of the exercises I could barely manage a 10-lb dumbbell. Sure, some of the others I was up as high as 40 pounds, but that one damn exercise (isolated bicep curl) just plain got the better of me. Of course, that's good, I suppose, as now that we've found a weakness, we can get rid of it.

But back to why I consider myself lucky. It's because the stiffness from today hasn't set in, and so, for right now anyway, I still have the capacity to type. Tomorrow I may not be able to reach into my own pockets.

Oh, and after the weight training? Sprints. At which I did surprisingly well. Now if only I could run my fitness test in a set of 27 100-yard sprints, with a nice breather between each...

Tomorrow, I think, I'll get on the scale and see what the last 11 days have done.

Extra post for today -- DON'T PANIC!

2010-11-09T12:04:00.001Z

See below for my real post, but this one is just to confirm that yes, I changed the look of the blog today. Maybe I'll change it back, but I felt like mixing things up a little. Crazy.

I guess Paolo was right

2010-11-09T11:41:00.002Z

Paolo Nutini, that is.

I got some new running shoes the other day, and I got to break them in today. They're the first running shoes I've had that are actually wide enough that they don't pinch even a little, and I was very excited to find them.

It was a good thing, too, because my old ones should have been replaced 6 months ago, but I never got around to it. And today I really needed them. We started with a light jog to warm up... a half mile. Then a quick stretch, and off for the run, about 3.5 miles. On a hilly road we call "the geep* trail."

That was pretty hard on my feet, but fortunately, even when they were a little swollen from the pounding, no pinches! Yay!

Oh, then I followed up the run with 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. Then 20 minutes of some gentle non-oblique-stressing core work. Then (bliss!) 10 minutes in the sauna. Yeah, that's gonna become a regular thing, I think.

Oh, no. This is becoming a workout blog. I'll have to think of something else to write about soon, but it's just that this working out thing has sort of taken over my life. Sigh.

*(I've explained geep before, right? They're all around here. No one knows if they're goats or sheep, so... geep.)

Well THAT can't be good...

2010-11-08T16:45:00.001Z

My workouts proceed, coached by a genial demon (sorry, Carrie) who really seems to care that I get this right. We've been doing a program that balances strength training and cardio, using a lot of running (both out on the road, and indoors on treadmill/bike/elliptical machine) with weight machines/free weights added on several days each week. Oh, and core stuff (the pushup/situp type thing).

Here's the problem. I think I pulled something during my fitness test. And it's either an abdominal muscle, or an "oblique". It was quite painful after the test, as in it hurt whenever I needed to, say, get out of bed, but the pain dwindled.

Unfortunately, it's not gone. It's now limited to one very specific spot, and I only feel it when I do push-ups, sit-ups, or crunches, or similar exercises. But when I feel it, WOW, do I feel it. Almost a stabby feeling.

My first fear: hernia. Fortunately, I have none of the other symptoms. From everything Carrie and I discussed and researched, it's almost certainly a pull or strain or something of one of my obliques.

This isn't great, because, as you may recall, the test involves... push-ups and sit-ups. And so my training needs to strengthen those, but I can't do any of either right now. We're working around it, for now, doing all sorts of other core stuff, but this needs to get better.

We've decided to go very easy on the obliques for the rest of the week, don't do anything that even twinges, and then, on Monday, if there's still pain, I'll have no choice but to go to the doc.

And the doc here? That's ANOTHER story, I've been told...

Say kids, what time is it?

2010-11-07T10:09:00.003Z

I have no idea what time it is right now... not because my watch is broken or anything like that, but because I'm on this crazy shifting schedule. I had to leave for work this morning at 2:30 AM. And tomorrow I have to leave at 1:00 AM. Yesterday I had a day off, but the day before that I went in at 5:00 AM.

It feels like it should be dinnertime, but really it's just past lunchtime. And I have to go to bed in the next couple of hours if I want to get my sleep.

This is the number two challenge for me in keeping up with NaBloPoMo this time around... I feel like I just wrote yesterday's entry.

Challenge number one, of course, is thinking of something to write about.

Oh, and back to the workout tomorrow, after the weekend off. Wish me luck.

(Oh, and do any of you recognize the title of the post?)

In which progress is made

2010-11-06T16:11:00.003Z

I just got a call from my sweetie. I had spoken with her a few days ago, and at that time she was quite upset. You see, some friends of ours are getting married next weekend, and we volunteered to let them have the reception at our home. Susie was looking at the state of the house and despairing of ever being able to get it ready for 60 guests.

We talked for a while, and I talked her off the ledge when we realized that even though the whole project seemed huge, taken a room at a time it was actually quite doable.

So that's what she's done. In the past two days, with some help and moral support from the bride-to-be, and no help but moral support from me, she's ruthlessly decluttered most our house. She's nearly done, and on Tuesday she was afraid it was impossible.

Talking to her just now, it was easy to hear the relief and happiness. It's amazing how sometimes just jumping in and attempting the impossible helps make it possible, isn't it?

I can't wait to get home and see my new house :)

What EVER shall I do with all my time?

2010-11-05T16:13:00.003Z

I've got a day off tomorrow. Those are few and far between for those of us who come down here to our Greek paradise. We've been here since mid-October, and this will be our third day off... and the other two were at the very beginning, when we didn't need them so much, but some of our guys got sick and we couldn't do the work we needed to do.

It's also entirely likely that we won't get any more days off (although I can't see how they can justify it, since there are some days built into the schedule, but...)

So, I have to figure out what to do.

I could go downtown, wander around, see the sights. But I've done that a few times, and seen most of the stuff there, and I'd only be tempted to eat something. THAT, friends and neighbors, is something that I cannot afford to do right now.

Actually, that pretty much leaves me one option: Sleep late, sit around on the balcony and read, maybe borrow a DVD from someone.

Come to think of it, that's not such a bad choice after all.

Edited-changed-redacted-corrected-edited

2010-11-04T18:59:00.004Z

I hate writing performance reports. It's an exercise in frustration. I have X lines to summarize a person's performance over the last year, in a few specific areas. But I can't just come out and review the performance. No, I have to say it in specifically formatted, space-limited, bullet statements.

So I can't say,

"Joe is an outstanding mechanic who always comes to work on time and does his best. He's the most reliable person here, and knows everything about everything we do. He should be promoted immediately!."

No, the format I need is bullet points, specifically in the form of:

"Accomplishment;result--impact"

So instead I have to say:

Repaired 25 school bus engines; maintained the entire fleet at top readiness--pivotal to the success of section's mission

Which, due to space constraints, has to be whittled down to something like:

Fixed 25 bus motors; maintained rdyness of fleet--pivotal to msn success

Then my boss has to look at it, and after he edits it, it becomes:

Repaired 25 bus motors, kept flt at top rdyness--key to msn accomplishment

Then HIS boss looks at it, and she prefers this:

Maintained 25 bus engines; flt kept in top shape--guaranteed msn success

Then her boss will look at it, and he likes this better:

Fixed 25 bus engines; maintained fleet readiness--key to msn success

Then his boss will ask,

"How exactly was he key to mission success? Was the fleet 100% ready at all times, or do you mean we met tasks even if we had some broken buses? Did he fix them by himself or did he have a helper? Did he really fix all 25 engines, or did he just do maintenance on some?"

And it just goes on and on. Oh, and I have to adjust these because the bullet has to fit exactly on the line. No "white space" at the end allowed... ok, MAYBE one space.

And there are some 20+ lines on the form.

It's annual performance review, Twitter-style.

Day 3

2010-11-03T13:35:00.002Z

So, day three of NaBloPoMo is also day three of my new fitness regimen. So today, I ran nearly two and a half miles... and then did 30 minutes on a stationary bike. My legs are SORE.

On the other hand, after tomorrow, we might actually get a day off. Boy, will THAT be nice...

I'm so whipped right now my brain can't think of a thing to write about. But hey, even posting THAT much counts, right?

See you tomorrow!

A bump, as promised

2010-11-02T13:02:00.003Z

I have a job that requires physical fitness. That is to say, I must take (and pass) a test of my fitness twice a year. Push-ups, sit-ups, a timed run, that kind of thing. It's not that hard a test, frankly.

I keep failing it. Oh, I've always passed on the re-try, but as I get older, it sure gets harder. And they've just made the standards a bit tougher, too.

I'm back in the Greek island where I've spent so much time in the past two years, and finding time to work out is difficult with our schedule. And I'll be honest, I really hate working out anyway. But two years ago, Susie and I were rocking a great new diet plan, we'd lost bunches of weight, I was in decent shape (still struggling to pass the test, but doing much better generally), and things were looking good.

Then things happened. I got selected for some specialized training, and I was away for 4 months. I was still doing OK, and even though my test came due during the training, and I failed it, I not only made it on the re-test, I voluntarily retested at the earliest date, rather than the latest as I would usually have done.

Then, when I got back, it was Thanksgiving. And then I got sent away for three months over Christmas. The usual holiday pounds started to creep on.

Then when I came back, I was due to test. I motivated myself to do some extra work at home while I was off work for a while, and I surprised the heck out of myself by passing the first time. A squeaker, to be sure, but a pass is a pass. Then I got sent away again, back to this little brown Mediterranean island. I let myself slide. The weight crept back up. The run times got slower. The waist measurement got bigger. I began to dread the test. I got back home, and they assured me that there was NO WAY I was going anywhere until next spring. Good, I thought, I can use the next two months to get back in shape. One guy at work is running a Crossfit class, so I planned to get into that. Things looked promising.

Then our son got sick. He's such a stoic that he didn't complain of more than "I have a tummy ache" and then the next day he was throwing up. Stomach bug, right? Next day, more throwing up, and diarrhea (TMI?). If he's not better the next day, we'll go to the doctor. So, the next day, he gets up, looking skeletal, and throws up. So we take him to the doctor, and after 6 hours in the ER, they diagose a burst appendix, let's go take it out. (Actually, it wasn't that simple, but...)

So a week in the hospital with him (it was pretty serious, it turns out), then a week at home recovering from that stress, and toward the end of that I get the call. "We need you to go to Greece in three weeks."

Crap. My plans shot, I zombie my way through the next three weeks, and get to Greece, all the time knowing that I haven't got a chance in hell of passing this test.

I was right. Last Friday, I failed my fitness test. I'm disappointed in myself; not because I failed, I sort of expected that, but because I let myself get into that state. Again. Which means now I am required to work out, with a sort of personal fitness demon, 5 days a week. Actually, like ripping off a band-aid, I'm glad it's done. I hate to work out, but I'm doing it cheerfully (no snickering!) and I will pass this test.

However...

I've gained back all of the weight I lost, I've spent more time away from home than at home in the past 2 years, I miss my wife, I miss my kids, my wife has got worries of her own at home and there's nothing I can do from here to help, and it's all dragging me just a little bit... down. The worst part is, the ONLY one of those things I have ANY control over is the weight/fitness, and it's about my least favorite thing in the world.

So yeah, I'm not in a great place right now. I'm just grateful that I know that my wife and children love me as much as I love them, and will continue to do so, no matter what.

(Don't worry, this isn't about to become a "woe is me" blog. More cheerfuller stuff coming soon.)

Oh, okay.... I'll do it

2010-11-01T19:00:00.002Z

I should be sleeping. In fact, I was just lying in bed about to fall asleep (couldn't sleep earlier, and a VERY early wakeup coming. Sigh). Then I remembered NaBloPoMo. Wasn't going to do it this year. Mostly because I seldom keep it up very long afterward. But I always want to. And I enjoy it.

So, fine. You got me. I'm gonna do it again. Stay tuned, because this time the ride might be a bit bumpier...

A surreal meal

2010-03-25T21:35:00.002Z

I was going to share this back in December, just after it happened, but I didn't get to it and I lost track of the file where I had written it down. I just came across it again, and I realized that it still strikes me as surreal. Imagine this: you're traveling. The plane makes a fuel stop, everyone gets off for the hour it takes. But they discover a mechanical problem, and the one hour stretches... into 9, and you're trapped in the aiport terminal behind the security gate, with no food. Finally the decision gets made to put you up for the night; first, however, they have to feed you. So they take you to what amounts to a cafeteria... steam tables, trays, point and they slap the food on the plate. It's 11:30 PM, you're tired, you're cranky, they're not expecting you, and you walk up to get served, and...:

Me: So, what meat do you have?

Food Drone: [points at pasta] This.

Me: Oh... is there meat in it?

Drone: No, it's pasta.

Me: Oh, so if I want meat...?

Drone: [points] There's bacon.

Me: As an entree?

Drone: [shrugs]

Me [spotting egg-muffins in warming case behind him]: What about those?

Drone: Those are for breakfast.

Me: But, she's cooking eggs...

Drone: Yep.

Me: So is it breakfast now, or dinner?

Drone: Oh, it's both.

Me: So, then, can I have one of those?

Drone: No, they're for breakfast.

Me: *blink*

Drone: [shrug]

Me: [sigh] I'll take some pasta, and some bacon.

Drone: Sorry, only one meat.

Me: *blink*

Drone: OK, I'll give you bacon too (puts nearly uncooked soggy bacon on plate.)

Me: [walks to other line, sees nice crispy bacon] Oh, can I have some of that bacon?

Drone2: No, you already have bacon.

Me: But it's hardly cooked and [realizing as I touch it] it's ice cold.

Drone2: Sorry, I can't give you more.

Me [irritated, waving handful of greasy cold undercooked bacon]: Then I'll give you this back!

Drone2: [runs away]

Drone3: Can I help you?

Me: Yes, please, I'd really like some cooked bacon.

Drone3: No problem.

Me: Can I get you to throw this soggy mess of undercooked stuff away?

Drone 3: Sure.

Me: Seriously, would you eat that?

Drone3: Nope.

Me: So why serve it to me??

Drone3: [shrug]

Maybe you had to be there...

When it comes to morale tours, this is the stuff...

2010-03-08T19:51:00.010Z

Every once in a while, while we're down here in the hot sandy place-- Oh, didn't I mention that I've been in the hot sandy place since just before Christmas? No? Ah. Well, I have been. But I'm going home soon, so no matter. Where was I?

Ah, yes. Every once in a while, we get a morale tour through here. Think USO, Bob Hope, like that, only not as cool. The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders. A band called "Saving Abel." Four NFL guys whose names I frankly couldn't be bothered to learn (although I am grateful that they took the time to come visit, really, because there are some real football nuts here, it's just that I'm not one of them, and... oh, tangent again. Sorry.) They're OK, these tours, and as I just said, they do show that folks care, and they do boost morale, if you're into whatever they're famous for.

Which leads me to today. Take a look at these guys.

Do any of them look familiar? Maybe not, but I know you know at least three of the names. They're arranged onstage from left to right in approximate order of coolness, in my opinion. Ready to find out who they are? OK, here goes.

Robert Gilliland. Former chief test pilot at Lockheed's Skunk Works. The first guy EVER to fly an SR-71, and the guy who flew the first flight of every production SR-71 made. He has spent more time travelling at Mach 2 and Mach 3 than any other human being. (And he's arguably the least cool of these guys. Whoa. And why doesn't he have a wikipedia page?)

Steve Ritchie. Retired USAF Brigadier General, and America's last fighter ace. Shot down 5 MiG-21s in Vietnam, including two in one day (within 2 minutes). In 2007, at the age of 65, he requalified on the F-104 Starfighter, which he still flies for fun and profit.

Jim Lovell. Yes, that Jim Lovell. No, he doesn't look much like Tom Hanks, but this is the guy who made the most famous understatement of all time, "OK, Houston, we've had a problem here."

Gene Cernan. Commander of Apollo 17, and the last man to walk on the moon. Who could possibly be cooler than that?

This guy. Neil Armstrong. You don't know how tempted I was NOT to hyperlink his name, because if you don't know who he is, shame on you.

Cheerleaders? Football players? Pfft. These guys are literally names from your kids' history books.

It was a real treat, part of a "Legends of Aerospace" tour. The moderator for the panel was David Hartman, former host of Good Morning America (and, incidentally, former USAF officer...) They started with a very cool intro to a darkened room: "Only 12 people have ever walked on the moon. Two of them are here with us this evening. Only three people have ever piloted a crippled spacecraft safely to earth. One of them... is here with us this evening." And so on... Then a multimedia presentation about the careers of each of them, followed by a panel discussion led by Hartman.

At one point Neil Armstrong was telling about fears that the lunar surface might not be solid enough to support the lunar module. He described how careful they were to be prepared to take off on a moment's notice, if need be, but as it turned out, the surface was firm and rocky.

"A lot like this place, actually!" said Cernan, causing the audience (and Armstrong) to break into laughter.

I got a bunch of pictures, but they're lots of "Lovell looks amused" or "Cernan seems interested" types of things. Cool, in their own way, but I'm not gonna post them all. I'm just really happy that I was able to go. This type of tour really is the stuff... the RIGHT stuff.

Gee, good thing no one's keeping track this month...

2009-11-24T22:21:00.004Z

Slacker. Ah, well.

I just wanted to point out a couple of weird things about life here in England.

First: What's up with this? The first time I encountered it was back when I was starting the Tae Kwon Do thing with David (which we don't do anymore). A little girl in the class was spelling her name: "My name is spelled Luh Ih Luh Luh Yeh." Yep, her name was Lilly. I thought, how weird. But now our Lily is in what they call Year 2 of school, equivalent to 1st grade, and doing spelling tests, and I'll be darned if she doesn't spell things that same way: House - "Huh oh uh suh eh" Train - "Tuh ruh ah [rhymes with at] ih nuh" and so on. Now, maybe I'm not remembering my school days as clearly as I used to, but didn't the letters used to have names? And wasn't learning those names part of kindergarten and first grade? What gives?

Second: Ok, I know I'm not the only one, because I saw a few other similar comments when I was looking for a picture to borrow for this. There's a cartoon on TV here, don't know if they have it in the states, called "Peppa Pig." The drawing style is rather simplistic. Which makes the Pig family look a lot like, um... well, here:

... especially Daddy Pig, with his stubble. If you don't see what I'm talking about, well, good for you, I guess, but is it just me, or is someone having a little naughty chuckle?

Ouch. Oh, and... ouch.

2009-11-18T19:01:00.002Z

Back to work this week after 3 weeks of leave... which means back to working out. It's funny how quickly you fall back to the "workouts make me sore" level.

And today, since I'm getting ready to go off to the sandy place again for a while, I had to get a blood test... and four immunizations. I am a human pincusion.

Oh, and yes, I know I forgot to blog yesterday. Ah, well.

< >

2009-11-16T20:23:00.003Z

(That title is pronounced "drawing a blank")

First day back at work after 3 weeks leave, and first day back to work here in England in 4 months, and first day back in this building, with this group of people, in over a year.

My mantra for the day was, "Don't ask me, I'm new here."

I'm tired. Can I have some more vacation, please?

Casting cost: 3 "awesome" mana

2009-11-15T10:23:00.005Z

I just got to play a game of Magic: The Gathering on XBox Live with Wil Wheaton! What a blast! Wil was... great. It was very casual, and fun. They had 6 Magic-playing celebrities, including Wil, playing "just folks" who had signed up earlier. The others included Richard Garfield, the inventor of the game, and Darwin Kastle, who's apparently enough of a Magic god that they put his face on one of the cards (Avalanche Riders). [edit: apparently they also put his face on it because, well, he designed the card.] However, of all the pros who were there, Wil was the one I wanted most to play with--and not only because he's the only one I had a chance of beating! I really enjoyed playing with him, and chatting with him. We talked about the game he had just played, I fanboy-gushed a little (not too much, really!), and we talked about our families, which was nice, and one of the things that makes reading his blog such a pleasure. (Oh, and Wil, if you're reading this, my copy of "Happiest Days" was where I thought it was after all... and I'm number 54.)

I said this to Wil, but I don't know if he believed me: Just before he invited me to play, I had gotten an invite from Richard Garfield... which I was too stupid to remember how to accept. He pinged me twice, while I pushed buttons,trying to remember how to accept the invite. By the time I had figured it out, he had moved on. I was disappointed, because... Richard Garfield! But then, just 5 minutes later, I got the invite from Wil, and I have to say, I was actually glad I had flubbed Richard -- because if I had been playing him, I probably wouldn't have gotten to play Wil. Sorry, Richard.

Rock me...

2009-11-14T21:08:00.002Z

The other day, Susie and I were flipping through the on-demand movies we could get from our BT Vision box (it's kind of like a TiVo, only not quite), and we saw a title that just sort of leapt out at us: "Hamlet 2".

Our thoughts mirrored those of one of the characters in the movie: "Doesn't everyone like, die, at the end of the first one?"

Well, yes. But the movie isn't the sequel, it's about the sequel. Rather, it's about a failed actor turned failing drama teacher who, in a bid to save his school's drama program, writes "Hamlet 2." You see, he thinks that if Hamlet had just had a second chance, everyone could have survived. So, somehow, Hamlet gets a time machine...

I know, sounds like a winner, right? But wait, there's more: In his travels, he manages to pick up Jesus, and they go on their trek through time together...

Really, that's all we know about the play, but the movie, it turns out, is pretty darn funny. It stars Steve Coogan, a British comedian most famous in the U.K. for his character "Alan Partridge" who is, I believe, the inspiration for "Ali G."

It's definitely not for kids, but if you want a stupid funny movie, you could certainly do worse...

That wagon sure has a bumpy ride...

2009-11-13T20:06:00.002Z

This is gonna be a short post. Mostly because I don't want to admit that, after all the work we did over the spring and summer to lose weight, the past 4 weeks has undone about half of it for me. Yes, I'm still down about 15 pounds, which is good, but I was down nearly 30.

I know why I/we fell off the wagon, and even though it wasn't a "good" reason, I can (sort of) forgive it. But Susie and I are officially back on the wagon as of today.

There are people at work I haven't seen in 5 months or more, and some of them are likely to say "Hey, you've lost a little weight." But I had been hoping to hear them say, "Wow, you lost a TON of weight!"... which I had.

I'm disappointed in myself. But, I'm getting back on the horse... or wagon... or bike... or whatever other metaphor you like.

Vroom!

2009-11-12T22:39:00.004Z

If you know me, you know I'm really not a motorhead. I'll probably never buy a "Car and Driver" magazine, but I'll read one at the barber shop. And yet I find myself enthralled by Top Gear, a BBC show dedicated to all things "car." It's not about how to build a carburetor, or turning your Mazda into a rally car. It's about the cars you wish you could drive. These three blokes (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May), along with their "tame racing driver" The Stig, manage to get their hands on some amazing vehicles and play around with them on their own track. And I mean amazing... Such as:

A Bugatti Veyron
A Ferrari FXX
A Pagani Zonda
A Gumpert Apollo (huh?)

But that's not all they do. They drive rally cars, they drive minivans, they drive econoboxes. Not willingly, those last two, and always with an eye toward, "yeah, it'll cart your shopping home, but is it fun? Is it well made? Is it really any better than the others?" All of which in a very amusing, tongue-in-cheek, "can you believe we get paid for this" sort of way.

And then there are the challenges: 1) Leaving from Basel, Switzerland, three cars race to Blackpool, England - on one tank of fuel. 2) From a standing start, can a Bugatti Veyron drive one mile, turn around, and reach the starting point faster than a Eurofighter can take off, climb a mile, turn around, and return to that same starting point? 3) Can you make a convertible minivan?

I'm told it can be seen in the US on BBC America. If you have ever seen a Lamborghini Murcielago drive by the other way on the highway and thought, "Ooh, cool!" tune in. You'll thank me.

The great dinner experiment, day 2

2009-11-11T20:56:00.003Z

We decided to start off the "everyone eats what's for dinner" experiment yesterday with an easy one: grilled cheese sandwiches. There was an "and tomato soup" option available, but we knew going in that that was mostly just for Susie and me. So it was a success, as expected.

Today, a little more challenge: Kalua pork, rice, and corn. David likes all of those, but Lily... we knew she like the corn, and the rice, but the pork was going to be the difficulty. And of course, as soon as she walked in the door she said, "I recognize that smell, and I don't like it." If you've never had kalua pork, it's really simple. Take a cheap pork shoulder, put it in a crock pot with 1/4 cup of liquid smoke, couple tablespoons of salt, and let it go for a few hours. Make sure the lid seals really well (use some foil if you need to. Oh, this wasn't supposed to be a recipe thing... anyway...)

David, not feeling well, sort of picked at his dinner, but we expected that. Still, "no dinner, no snack" is the rule, so no snack for him. Not that he wanted one.

Lily put up surprisingly little resistance to having the pork on her plate. Normally she will push the plate away if something she doesn't like is on it, but today, she just sort of glared at the pork, and started with the corn. I told her she needed to at least try the pork. She picked up the tiniest shred of pork, and looked a question at me. "No," I said, "a TINY one" and grabbed the largest chunk, laughing. She giggled (what?!?) and grabbed a slightly larger piece. I nodded, she ate it. She didn't gag. She didn't even say, "I don't like it." She didn't say she DID like it; it was just clear that she felt she had lived up to her end of the bargain.

Now, I started this thing a while ago, when we were trying to get the kids to try new foods, where I would sing a little fanfare and wave my arms around like crazy in celebration whenever they tried something new. So a few minutes later, Lily looked at me and said, "Um, new food dance?" So I said, "Well, that piece didn't really qualify, try a bigger one. If you do, I'll do an extra special crazy dance."

She didn't even blink. Grabbed a forkful, ate it, looked at me.

So I got up, stood behind her, and danced and waved like an idiot. When I sat down, I told her if she finished all of it, I'd go even crazier. And she started eating. She got about halfway through when she remembered that she "didn't like it," and she stopped eating. But... I'm gonna call this one a victory. And next time, we'll put a little less of the kalua pork on her plate, and let her have the victory of finishing it.

Oh, but, as if to compensate, now she doesn't like rice. Sigh.

This little piggie went to the doctor's office...

2009-11-10T17:06:00.002Z

OK, not THIS one, but young David did. He woke up this morning with headache and fever. Coughing last night and a little this morning. Given his asthma history, they gave us an appointment today. Hooray!

At the appointment, Susie says they advised that yep, it's probably swine flu. Best to do, given his asthma, is treat him as though he's having a constant very mild asthma incident. That means regular use of the "rescue" inhaler every 4-6 hours, and a steriod inhaler for the duration of the flu. And, of course, fluids and rest and tylenol.

Fingers crossed...

"And WE helped!"

2009-11-09T19:13:00.002Z

We've come to a momentous decision this evening. We've tried it before, but the path of least resistance has always won out in the past. But we need to do it again, and it's time.

From now on, everyone eats the same dinner.

No more "I don't like this, can I have a sandwich?" No more "We know you won't eat this, so we're having it, but you've got macaroni and cheese."

Dinner is dinner. No one ever starved because they refused to eat one meal. Because that's the rule: Dinner is dinner, eat it or eat nothing. You can last through until breakfast if you won't eat it. It was good enough for my family, it was good enough for Susie's family, and by gum, it's gonna be good enough for our kids.

We hope.

2009-11-08T16:39:00.002Z

Today is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK.

"In Flanders Fields" is probably the most commonly cited poem on this day, so here's a link to the "In Flanders Fields" Museum in Belgium.

Happy Sagan Day

2009-11-07T20:57:00.001Z

Today would have been Carl Sagan's 75th birthday. In his honor, I present this, the "Symphony of Science." Enjoy!

Remember, remember...

2009-11-06T21:53:00.002Z

...the, um, day after the 5th of November? No, that doesn't scan.

But we celebrated Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Night with some friends this evening. A HUGE bonfire was set up, but it had been raining all day long. Still, it got going pretty well, eventually. They only had to make one extra trip to the petrol station for more, um, accelerant.

Then there were the fireworks. Now, you hear these stories about the British "nanny state," and how they forbid damn near everything in the name of the all-encompassing "Health and Safety." But in this nation that forbids parents from playing with their own kids at the park, it's possible to buy huge loads of fireworks at the corner grocery. As an American, I find this ironic. I mean, every year we celebrate our independence from the "oppressive British government" by allowing our own government to tell us we can't pop a firecracker. And every year, the Brits celebrate the failure of a plot against that same government with days and days of fireworks.

I'm just sayin'...

A matter of perspective

2009-11-05T18:50:00.004Z

My friend Will shared this cool size comparison widgety thing a while ago. I didn't really look at it until just now, and I thought it was cool enough to share here. Plus, it's a good way to fill up today's blog post. :) Slide the slider under the picture to zoom in.

Oh, and right next to the carbon atom, there should be a tiny dot marked "importance of blogging every day," right?

Oops.

2009-11-04T09:11:00.003Z

Well, here we are, day 4, and already I've blown it. I think this year I'm just not as invested in the NaBloPoMo thing. I enjoyed it in the past, but this year... I dunno. Maybe it's because I was gone so long, I'm just enjoying spending time with Susie and the kids, and writing isn't a priority.

Still, I'll carry on, do that whole "if you fall off the horse" thing. Not that THIS post is anything special, but I'll find something good to write about soon. Probably.

This is it

2009-11-02T23:08:00.003Z

No, that's not a Michael Jackson reference. It means "I went away for the day, and forgot to post, and here is the obligatory post before midnight so I make the deadline."

Oh, and about the "Happy Easter" title? It was a reference to once-a-year things. For me, it's NaBloPoMo; for others, it's church on Easter.

Heh.

Happy Easter! :)

2009-11-01T00:17:00.002Z

Yep, it must be NaBloPoMo again. I'm going to try it again, but for some reason I don't know if it's gonna work this year. I'm two for two, but... we'll have to see, I guess. I'm also keen to try the NaNoWriMo this year, and I've even got one started, but since the month sort of crept up on me, I'm not really prepared to do however much I'm supposed to do, today. Again, we'll have to see.

For any other NaBloPoMo-ers, good luck!

Bad blogger, no cookie.

2009-05-28T20:43:00.002+01:00

But that's a GOOD thing (the "no cookie" part) because Susie and I just clicked the "purchase" button on our first month of Medifast-y goodness.

Thanks, Will.

Quick and sandy

2009-02-15T15:10:00.003Z

Well, I'm here, in the sandy place. Things have changed here, as I heard, but not all for the better. Can't go into that, but suffice to say there is plenty of bovine excrement left to go around...

We do have wi-fi now, provided by someone who doesn't limit net access to "work related only," so we have THAT going for us. We also got a new food court... which is a mixed blessing. Used to be, most people came here and spent the time eating right and getting fit (because those were pretty much the only options). Well, now we have Popeye's Chicken, Charley's Cheesesteaks, and Asia Wok (which, if you choose the "make your own stirfry" option, isn't TOOO bad). So people will now be sitting in an air-conditioned mall food court, playing World of Warcraft and eating fried chicken. Good thing it's not really close to where I'm staying...

That's all I've got for now, but I guess I'll be posting now and again from here.

And away I go...

2009-02-06T15:15:00.002Z

Yep, I'm headed out again. Remember when I posted the photos of "one day I was here in the sand, the next in the snow"? Well, reverse that. Today, I'm in the snow, and by midweek I"ll be in the sand.

I hear things down there have gotten a lot nicer; more opportunities for net connectivity, better supply/shopping facilities, and stuff like that. We'll see.

The cool thing for us is, we have this new cell phone service ("mobile phones," they call them here), and the phone that comes with is this one (link is full of phone geekiness, but there's a picture too). It has GPRS data, which I think will work down there (and we have the "unlimited" option, but there may be international roaming charges). It has a QWERTY keyboard. Best of all, It has wi-fi capability, which makes the next feature best of all: we have a VOIP number in addition to our regular mobile number. Like SKYPE. And the number is a UK number. Which means, wherever I am in the world, if I can connect to the net by wi-fi, I can make and receive calls as if I were still at home. Same price, same everything. So I'm off in wherever, I pick up my phone, dial my home number (no area codes or international dialing, no sir!) and Susie and I chat. How cool is THAT?

The "even more" return of customer service

2009-01-26T21:35:00.004Z

One of the oddities of my job is, because we move around a lot, we tend to collect bank accounts. OK, not so much now, with internet banking and megabanks and all, but back in the day if you moved to a different state, you pretty much had to get a new bank account. One of the accounts I had was with a credit union. I opened it in 1985, and wherever I've moved, I've kept that account open. Mostly because I think there's a certain cachet to being able to be a member of this credit union. Wherever you are in the world, if you see someone with a credit or debit card from this credit union, you can give a little "hey" nod, and you'll know that they know, and they'll know that you know.

Nope, not gonna tell you what it is, but its name wouldn't mean anything to you anyway (unless, of course, it does, in which case, you already know).

Aaaaaanyway... This account is sort of our "fire and forget" account. I have a small bit of my pay sent there every month, and we never look at the account until we need some extra. Well, the other day, I had reason to try to log on to my home banking account trying to find the interest for Uncle Sam's annual extortion, and it had been so long I forgot my password, and locked myself out. So I call the member service office, and after answering many many questions to identify myself (including "what was your qualification for membership?") the rep reset my password, and said, "When you log in, you'll need to update your address, because we have a bad one on file." I gave her my address, and she said that was the one they had. I told her I had been here for 3 years, likely to be here several years more. She said, "OK, I'll take that flag off the account. Sorry about that." She hung up, I let the mandatory 10 minutes pass (why does everything take "10 minutes to update in the system"?) and I log in. Well, imagine my dismay when I see, every month for the last 6 months, a $10 "invalid address fee." $60... gone... for an invalid address that wasn't even invalid!

I picked up the phone, and called member services again. A different rep answers. "I'm looking at my online account, and I see all these invalid address fees. I just spoke to another rep and advised her that the address you have is correct; can I have my money back please?"

Type type type, I hear.

"That money's already been refunded to your account, sir."

"What?" Refresh the browser. "Oh, there it is... wait a sec. Already? You mean you didn't just do it?"

"No, sir. The rep you just spoke to did it."

"Oh. Wow. That's great! Thanks!"

Yep. Imagine. A bank (OK, credit union, but still..) refunding a fee without being asked. Who would have believed it?

The return of customer service??

2009-01-08T19:55:00.002Z

Yesterday I went to set up the new TV that I had purchased, and discovered that it was broken. Well, not broken, but certainly defective. When you turn it on, it whistles... a high-pitched tone. It's not from the speakers, it's something... electronic. But it renders the TV unusable. What to do? Well, the box that the TV came in had a big label printed on it, with a phone number. "Tech Support," it said. It offered to help set up the TV if we couldn't, or to help us with problems. "Don't go back to the store, give us a call!" it said. So I called, but they were closed for the day.

This evening I called, and after one ring and a recorded "we record your call for training" message, got straight through to a human. I explained that I had purchased the TV two days ago, and when I turned it on it made a beep/whistle. She said, "Is it all channels and modes?" I said, "It's not the speakers, it's electronic, listen." And I held the phone to the TV.

"My, it shouldn't do that, should it?" she said. "Let me get your address and we'll have a replacement couriered over to you. Is Monday good for delivery?"

>blink<

That's it? No "send it in and we'll fix it, maybe, and get it back to you someday"?? No "bring it back to the store and deal with them"?? No "try all these diagnostic tricks that won't work before we'll have a tech call you back"?? Just "Is Monday good?" And a total of less than 10 minutes on the phone?

And this was the MANUFACTURER. Wow.

I'd post a link to their page, but it's one of those "small" brands, that does house-brand stuff, I guess. Like Medion, or that sort. The brand of TV is Neon, but I saw web references that say the same model is also sold under the Cello brand, but the phone was answered with another name altogether. Don't care, actually. It was a good price to begin with, but with customer service like this... wow.

The first thing to go

2009-01-06T17:50:00.003Z

Earlier this year, when I was off on a Greek Isle, our kids' TV broke. Not a great tragedy, as tragedies go, and we've been in no real hurry to replace it.

Today, Susie sent me a note, that she had seen a decent looking replacement for a very reasonable price at, of all places, the supermarket while she was out shopping. I poked around the net, didn't find anything to dissuade me, and decided to pick it up after work.

I go into the market, head for the meat section, because I have to pick up steaks for the special dinner we're having tonight. (What's the occasion? Read on...) I buy the steaks, and a little bottle of wine to make a reduction sauce, and head over to the TV section. A brief chat with the counter dude, and he sends a flunky off to the warehouse to get the TV.

This being the UK, there is a license for televisions. It funds the BBC. When you buy a TV, you have to fill out a form, and they report the sale so the government can verify that you have paid the license fee. So I'm filling out the form, and I get to the bottom, where it says, "Date of sale."

I blank. I look at my watch for the date, but it's not displayed. I look at the counter dude, and say, "Um, what's today's date?" He thinks a sec, and then, just before he answers, I remember.

It's January 6th.

My birthday. And the reason I went to the store in the first place was to get the steaks for my birthday dinner.

Sigh.

The Year in Review!

2009-01-02T21:54:00.003Z

Courtesy of YouTube, by way of my sister, here's a quick recap of the stories we were all talking about this past year:

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Not much to say

2008-12-31T05:31:00.003Z

We've been busy... and sick. So not much has been going on around here the past two weeks. I'll post more later, but I wanted to post something today... or I might completely forget how!

Ciao, and Happy New Year!!!!!!

Greengrocer's apostrophe's

2008-12-20T15:29:00.003Z

I admit it, I'm a grammar... purist. One of my favorite cartoons of all time is this "Bob the Angry Flower." I think the rules are the rules, and everyone should follow them, unless deliberately breaking the rule for effect. Like I did, up there. I also know I'm not perfect, and I make grammar, format, syntax, and every other error, just like everyone else. But at least I try. Some people don't even make the effort, and it annoys me. What annoys me even more than that are people who are proud of not knowing the rules. You know the type; they're the ones who pick on the smart kids for being smart.

I found a blog a while back written by someone who clearly feels as I do. The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks is, well, just what it says on the tin. I can understand why the things at Engrish.com are the way they are. It's not their native language; it's funny, but it's not their fault. The "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks thing, though... I don't get it.

Which brings me to my point. Susie pointed me to this blog today, which is... well, a bit more saccharine than I care for, but that's my taste. You may love it. But it does suffer from "unnecessary" quotation "marks." Which is bad enough, except... well... I'm sorry, Sandy Toes, if you're reading this, but you were a teacher. You really should know better.

It's good ta be da king!

2008-12-16T18:33:00.002Z

This new job is great. The atmosphere is worlds apart from the one I just left. Yeah, it doesn't hurt that I'm in charge, so I get to set the tone. But that other job? Tense much? Morale in the crapper much?

It's nice to have a job, to know what that job is, and to be able to do it, without interference from above, below, or laterally. Yes, indeedy.

Just needed to put that out there.

Little irritants

2008-12-10T20:09:00.003Z

I have a long commute. It's 37 miles, more or less. It takes me almost exactly an hour, door to door. Each way. Why do I drive so far? Because we have a great house in a great village with absolutely the best school ever for the kids. And I don't usually mind the drive so much. It's a nice bookend to my workday, allowing me to ramp into the day, get my schedule for the day figured out, and then, coming home, time to decompress and forget about the little annoyances.

But sometimes the drive has irritants, too. Like driving itself. As you probably noticed, my average speed on my commute is... um... carry the one... about 37 miles per hour. That's partly because the last 10 minutes of it are speed-limited at 15 MPH. But it's also due to the driving laws around here, and the fact that a one-lane-in-each-direction road, with a hard shoulder, is considered a major thoroughfare. The roads here are winding. There are limited opportunities to pass (or "overtake," as they say here). And the speed limit laws don't help.

Know what this sign means?

It means "The national speed limit applies here." Yep, it's a speed limit sign. What's the "national speed limit"? Well, if you lived in the US, until recently, you'd be safe in saying "55 MPH." But in the UK? You have to know the rules. Ready?

All roads with streetlights are 30 MPH unless otherwise posted. Otherwise the national speed limit of 60 MPH applies. Unless you are on a "dual carriageway," which is basically any road with a median (or "central reservation." Then it's 70 MPH.

Oh, wait. That speed limit is for CARS. If you're a truck or a bus, or if you're towing something, it's 10MPH lower (50 on regular roads, 60 on dual carriageways).

What does this mean to me? It means that even though the speed limit is 60 for most of my commute, the traffic pattern goes like this: Truck (doing 50), followed closely someone driving a "sensible" car (Volvo) who, trying to maintain a safe distance, is doing 47. Followed by long gap, then another truck, doing 45. Followed by 3 more cars, doing 43, followed by me, doing 40. The first car behind the second truck can't pass. The next car can't pass both of them, and of course, I'm farthest back. Then a bakery truck comes roaring up behind, passes everyone on a blind curve. The second truck slows to let him in, so of course we all slow. The road straightens. Passing opportunity! Oh, wait. The Volvo won't pass. The bakery truck does, which leaves a gap for the guy behind the second truck, but the guy behind him leaps out first. He whips around the second truck; the formerly first car pulls in behind, and I finally get close enough to the truck to THINK about passing him. Of course, the road starts to wind again, and no straightaways for another 5 miles or so.

Oh, and now there's no empty gap for me to pass into.

Good thing I'm on my way to work. If it were somewhere I really wanted to go to, I might get really upset.

New beginnings

2008-12-09T05:31:00.002Z

Yesterday was my first day back at work after my mini-vacation. As terrible as it is to have to go to work after a long break (and we all know how that is!) it was actually pretty nice. I had put in for a new job before we left, and while we were away I found out that I had gotten it, so yesterday was my first day in my new workcenter. It's especially nice for me because I'm actually there to be the new boss. My new boss is very different from my old one, and it certainly changes the atmosphere in the office. It's a good feeling to know that he's going to be supportive as I get the feel of the place and the way I think it should run. The other thing is that there's an almost total personnel change in the office, so we really are going to get to set our own tone, as opposed to "more of the same."

Now I just have to work out who is going to sit where...

"So I got that goin' for me. Which is nice."

2008-12-05T09:50:00.002Z

You know how Buddhism teaches that we're stuck in this world, doomed to repeat ourselves over and over until we "get it right"? And that until perfection ("nirvana") is achieved, we're reborn into various forms, depending on our score the last time around, but once we hit that cosmic "high score" we're taken out of the game? (Note to any Buddhist readers: I know, that's grossly oversimplified.)

Apparently my ficlet stories were so good, Ficlets.com has reached perfection. Because they're shutting down.

(By the way: when I typed my two stories into ficlets, the character counter informed me, in both cases, that I had achieved ficlet nirvana, because both stories are exactly 1024 characters long, which is the ficlet limit. So I guess I should have seen it coming.)

Another nice day out

2008-12-03T22:50:00.002Z

Susie and I had a very nice day out today. We managed to arrange for a sitter (our friend Ruth) to pick the kids up from school and stay with them until bedtime-ish, and we took the train into Cambridge. The main purpose of the trip was for me to get a replacement battery for my laptop, do a little shopping, and perhaps see a movie.

We had a great lunch Wagamama, a nice noodle place, and managed to walk right into the theater in the middle of the trailers. We saw Quantum of Solace, which I give 4 stars out of 5. Daniel Craig as Bond carries the movie; I found the plot a bit thin. Yes, thin, and yes, I know it's a Bond movie.

In other news, the "near disaster" with the Christmas present I mentioned the other day... I have Susie's permission to tell: Lily's biggest consistent desire for Christmas has been for a goldfish. So yesterday we went out and got "My first fishtank." And 40 minutes after paying for it, as Susie was trying to juggle packages and get the door to the house open... she dropped it. And smashed it. She was pretty upset at herself.

So I drove back to the pet shop, and told the manager what had happened. He grinned and made a joke which, due to his regional accent and the speed of his speech, I didn't understand. I laughed sheepishly, though, and agreed with him. And he handed me another fishtank, saying, "Don't drop this one, now." I thanked him profusely and went back home to a much relieved Susie. Thanks to Pets At Home in King's Lynn. They had no reason to help me out, but the goodwill they generated (and the word of mouth I'll spread around) was obviously worth more to them than the loss of an inexpensive starter fishtank. Rock on.

One last thing; a favor. If you're reading this, would you mind leaving a comment, and letting me know who you are? Especially if you know me? You can see that hit counter thingy over there; it tells me where people are from, and I know people in some of those places. It would be nice to know who's reading me. Please?

Thanks!

Because I don't have to

2008-12-01T20:31:00.003Z

That's right. NaBloPoMo is over. I've got the spiffy badge over there and everything. That means I don't have to post every day anymore. But I can if I want to. So I am.

Not that I have anything particularly exciting to write about. We just about finished our Christmas shopping today. There was a near disaster involving one gift, but we'll discuss that at a later time. David came home from school complaining of a headache, so we had him lie down a while on the sofa, gave him chicken noodle soup for dinner, and sent him to bed early.

Lily's fine, except, of course, her waffles were "too crispy." Sigh. Did you know that waffles have "crusts," like bread? Yep, apparently so, because Lily left the edges of her waffles. Yes, we had an eclectic dinner today, mostly because of David's not feeling well. He had soup, Lily had waffles, and Susie and I had leftover pizza from our lunch out. We'll save the tomato soup and grilled cheese (one of my favorites!) for tomorrow.

Yep, like i said, nothing exciting to talk about.

Oh, and for those of you who didn't get what was funny about that video I posted on Friday (Hi, Mom!), you can ask a friend or relative (Hi, Mike!) about "Rickrolling" (or click that link.)

Later!

Two for two!

2008-11-30T19:32:00.003Z

That's right, fans, I've completed NaBloPoMo again! Or at least, I have with this post. Two years running. As soon as the "I did it!" badges are ready I'll be adding it to my page, right over there next to the other one.

Nice to finish it on a Sunday, too. Tomorrow is a new day, a new week, and a new month. There's a symmetry there.

I'm not going to make any promises to keep going. I did that last year and it didn't work out. So no promises. But, durnit, I like this blogging thing. I'm going to try. (yeah, yeah, I know...)

Later!

Staggering to the finish

2008-11-29T17:49:00.003Z

That's right... day 29. A nice Saturday at home, doing nothing of importance. Susie had her car repaired earlier in the week, and when she went to use it this morning, it didn't start. Rather, it started, but wouldn't hold at idle, stalling out. We knew that the idle air control valve was going, but the mechanic had cleaned it and pronounced it serviceable for a while... at least, until we wanted to pay the 97 pounds plus 17% tax for the part.

So I called him. Left a message with his wife (his shop phone forwarded to his home). Half an hour later, I was surprised to see him pull in to the driveway. He disconnected the electrical contacts to the valve, locked in into an open-enough position to let us use the car. Meanwhile, I had found the part on eBay for 23 pounds, plus 6 shipping, delivery in 3 days or so. I confirmed with
Martin that I had found the correct part, and ordered it. I'll be replacing that myself when it shows up (it's a matter of unscrewing two screws, replacing the part, replacing the screws, and plugging the connector in).

Especially nice is that Martin wasn't in the least bit put out that I was going to do it myself. In fact, he offered to pop round and put it in for nothing.

We like Martin, and Red Pumps. I'd link his website, but he hasn't got one.

Thanks, given

2008-11-28T09:23:00.002Z

We had a great Thanksgiving day yesterday. Here in England, we don't get the Macy's parade, but someone was kind enough to post this moment on YouTube, which I think expresses the spirit of the day better than most any other.

Enjoy!

Over the river and...

2008-11-27T19:34:00.002Z

Is that a Thanksgiving carol? Does anyone remember all the words to that?

Anyway, it's Thanksgiving in America (any Canadian readers, Happy belated Canadian Thanksgiving), and I'm thankful for so many things. The best, most supportive wife a man ever had. The two best kids any dad could ask for (sorry, nieces and nephews, but that's the way it is!). A wonderful home to come back to after my trips. A job that pays well enough to keep me and my family not only in the things we need, but most of the things we want as well. Health. Happiness.

Yep, I've got it pretty good. Thanks.

Tales from a parallel universe

2008-11-26T18:49:00.006Z

Susie and spent today finishing up getting caught up with Life, which I mentioned earlier. It really is a great show, with superb characters.

Then we started in on the US version of Life on Mars. Wow. I gotta say, not so much. If you are in the states, and you've been watching this show and wondering what the big deal is, I gotta tell ya, the US version doesn't hold a candle to the UK version. In fact, it almost makes me think of Turkish Star Trek.

Go ahead, click that link. But be warned: it's EXACTLY what it says it is. In fact, this episode is their version of "The Man Trap," which was the first episode of Star Trek ever aired on television.

But if you get the chance to see the original BBC version of Life on Mars, please do. It's so much better.

Ahhhh.....

2008-11-25T18:00:00.003Z

I had a very nice day today. After Susie got the kids off to school, and we had had a nice relaxing sit-around with our morning hot beverages, we decided to head into town for lunch. There's this terrific Thai restaurant, The Thai Orchid, in King's Lynn, that we really enjoy. It's the kind of place where the second time you go there, you're a regular. They remember you. And the food is wonderful. Spicy enough to give an enjoyable kick, but not enough to overpower the flavors. If you enjoy spicy food, you know how hard this balance is to achieve, but they do it effortlessly.

We wandered through a few shops before lunch, and picked up a few odds and ends, and then after lunch we headed for the market. Tuesday is Market Day in King's Lynn, so we wanted to check out what was going on. Of course, it was just after lunch and most of the vendors were packing up, but this worked out in our favor. One of the fruit and veg stalls was setting out bowl after bowl (think mixing bowl) of fruits and vegetables. "One pound, any bowl!" said the lady. Well, we picked up a bowl of avocados. 9 of them, for one pound (about $1.50).

Flash ahead to dinner time. Open up the bag of avocados, and find that they are absolutely perfectly ripe. They practically peeled themselves. And tasty? Oh, yes. So we cut two of them up to have with tomatoes next to our leftover bean-and-barley soup dinner, and I just now finished making a huge bowl of guacamole. Susie and I will be enjoying that this evening while we catch up on a few episodes of "Life." Seen this one? You must.

Now THIS is what I call "time off"...

2008-11-24T19:09:00.002Z

We checked back in at work today. Went to all the various offices and made sure everyone who needed to know we were back knew we were back. Not sure why we have to do that, it's not like we snuck back into town or anything. But these are the little trials we put up with in order to get to... the comp time.

In this case, 12 days. 12 glorious days where I don't have to do anything. That means, in effect, I get the next two weeks off. And I still get paid and everything!

Nice!

Is it wrong that I don't feel like finding some deep topic to blog about? I mean, really, there are, what 4 of you who read this, and one of you lives with me (Hi, sweetie!), so it's not like the world will end if I don't wax philosophical about something. And yet, this whole NaBloPoMo thing sort of lays a bit of a guilt trip on a guy. Sure, I could post a letter of the alphabet each day of the month, and still qualify for completion (well, I'd have to repeat myself, or add numbers, or something), but there's the letter of the law (and no, I didn't plan that pun-like construction) and there's the spirit of the law.

The spirit of this thing means I should be thoughtful, maybe even insightful, or even just loquacious. So an "I posted, ha ha" post leaves me feeling guilty. Sorry for those past few. And for this one, which is sort of a meta-post. Hope I haven't scared you off.

See you tomorrow!

Home!!

2008-11-23T18:47:00.001Z

I know, a bunch of short posts in a row, but I just got home and I'm going to spend my evening with my family. Better post tomorrow!

Inter-mittent-net

2008-11-22T12:51:00.003Z

Yeah, well... it's really windy here right now. The net keeps getting knocked offline. So I'm posting this, quickly, on the "eat the raw earthworm" principle.

Closer all the time

2008-11-21T13:15:00.002Z

Tomorrow's the last day here. The next day, homeward! Yippeee!

I wrote a "sequel" to the ficlet. It's here with the original.

No, this isn't a "hey, I posted somewhere else, go look there" blog. Well, it is, today, sort of, but not generally.

Some days...

2008-11-20T17:24:00.002Z

...are longer than others. This was one of them. It was a good day, don't worry, but long? Yes. Work was more interesting than usual (in a good way).

I got a couple of nice comments from ficlets people about my first attempt. Go ahead... take a look (at the story, I mean). I'm gonna have to add more...

(Oh, yeah... some blog posts are longer than others, too. And this isn't one of them. Heh.)

The "Post-It notes" of creativity

2008-11-19T11:30:00.003Z

My good friend, Wil Wheaton, the famous author/actor (who has, of course, never heard of me) has made several mentions in his blog of a website devoted to "ficlets," which are very very short stories, or parts of stories. I haven't given it much thought... OK, I lie, I've given it lots of thought. I like to write. I'd love to write a novel. But I can't seem to get past the opening paragraphs. The entire plot is in my head, but when it comes to writing, my methods betray me. You see, I've always written "in final." I don't do drafts. I don't do outlines. I write, and I edit on the fly, and I craft my writing as I go. And, as I go, I second-guess myself about what I've already written. So I go back and change. Then I put it back to how it was. Then I tweak. And before you know it I've spent 3 hours on 3 paragraphs. Grr.

So I've decided to take one of those beginnings and release it into the wild. Because one of the cool things about the Ficlets concept is this: once you write your bit and post it, anyone can add to it, in similar short bits. You're limited to 1,024 characters for any post, whether beginning, sequel, or prequel.

It's kind of like that campfire story game, where one person starts, and as they tell the story, they'll say, "And just as he was about to leave, " and the next person picks up the story...

Anyway, if you're curious, my first foray is here. It's not going to get my novel written, but it's a start.

Counting the days

2008-11-18T12:59:00.002Z

You want to know how you can tell when you really love and miss your wife and kids?

Imagine you're on a Greek island. Imagine it's nearly winter back home, rain and snow and wind. Imagine that it's sunny and pleasant on your island. Imagine you're making a crazy amount of money to be on that island, and all you have to pay for is your meals.

OK, can you see all that?

If, despite all that, you're counting the days until you can go home, well...

I'm counting. 5 more sleeps.

True wisdom

2008-11-17T16:08:00.006Z

I couldn't think of anything to post today. Then I was talking to Susie a few minutes ago, and she told me something David said earlier, and it's a pretty profound thing, especially for a 9-year-old. He just got a new toy, a wooden truck, which he is very enamored of. And he was lying on the floor vrooming it around and he said, "You know, when you get down on the floor with a toy, you just can't help but be happy."

I'm gonna go find a toy. :)

[edit: I'm trying to upload a picture of the truck, but Blogger is having none of it. I'll keep trying...]

[edit again: Yay! Blogger finally cooperated!]

Dizzy (my head is spinnin')

2008-11-16T11:29:00.003Z

How's this for unexpected: When my alarm went off this morning, I sat up to turn it off... and kept going. As in, I wasn't sure if I was upright, because I was feeling a bit dizzy. Strange... So I wobbled my way into the shower, and noticed that I felt some pressure in my ear. I wasn't congested, my ears were clear of blockages, but still... an odd pressure, almost like when you get water in there and it won't come out, you know?

So I pop in to see the doc. Yep, we have an actual doctor here, just for us - a good guy, too. He took a peek, and said, "Hmm, you've got some stuff in there, kinda waxy but white, not like regular wax." He grabbed this little lighty-up probe thingy (I think that's the actual technical name for it) and scraped a bunch out. Turns out I have some sort of infection, probably fungal (!), in there. So he gave me some drops and sent me on my way. I should be wobble-free in a day or two.

Aren't you glad you read today's post?

Battery update

2008-11-15T13:35:00.003Z

Well well well...

It seems that the battery might not be the only culprit. I've noticed that the computer has taken to just "going to sleep," without the "your battery is low" message. I thought it was just that the battery is so screwed up that the computer couldn't keep track of if it was low or not, or what the power level is, and so if it fluctuated down too low it would shut off, thinking that it had already given the warning.

Apparently not so. Googling around, I find that there's a fairly well known (to everyone but Apple, it seems) problem with the temperature sensor in the trackpad. It will register a spurious spike in temperature, and the computer will shut down instantly to save its own life. Tons of hits on this in Google, and most every one says "Why won't Apple admit this design flaw and fix the compuers?"

Even when people DO bring the computers in for service, they aren't finding the problem. It's one of those things like when you car goes "thunk thunk thunk" right up until the moment the mechanic takes a look...

Irritating.

Things, and stuff

2008-11-14T11:38:00.002Z

Rant: My bank will not allow Susie to make my car payment for me. Because despite the fact that we have a joint CHECKING account, the CAR loan is in my name only. So they won't confirm or deny the existence of the loan to anyone but me (or, I presume, any number of random corporations who might want to check my credit... in which case they'll tell them how much I owe, how much my payment is, if I've ever been late, etc.) So now *I* have to call them from Greece. Even though I have already given them specific permission to deal with Susie. Grr.
---
It looks like the battery thing might be working... I may have to do it again, though. Time will tell.
---
Oh, Susie? I found your Men's Synchro link... but you'll have to send people to me to get it... bwa ha ha!

Where's that darn bunny?

2008-11-13T13:38:00.002Z

I hate that laptop batteries have memories. I hate that it takes forever to recalibrate them. I hate that I did this to myself.

I kept the laptop on all the time. When I didn't need it, I'd just close it, put it to sleep. I kept it plugged in all the time, so as not to "waste" charging cycles. Dumb. Every morning, I'd unplug it long enough to read my email and news while I ate my breakfast, and plug it back in before I left for work. Half an hour or so.

And so I trained my computer to believe that the battery only holds half an hour of charge. And now it doesn't even hold that. I'm going to try to recalibrate again, but... yeesh.

Wish me luck.

The guy with the drywall will be here a week from next Thursday

2008-11-12T11:52:00.004Z

Well, we've had a few extra days off, due to some equipment malfunctions. It's been great, not having to go in to the office, but things are back to normal now. So back we went today, and back we go tomorrow.

A propos of nothing... The general style of house around here seems to be a basic square, made up of four cement walls on a cement base with a cement top. Very basic, with lots of open space, balconies, large windows, none of which would be unexpected in this Mediterranean climate. But the strange thing I noticed is how much the local area looks unfinished. It's like the buildings were intended to be taller, but they ran out of money.

I recently discovered the reason for this: Greeks don't pay taxes on buildings until they are complete. So, enterprising folks that they are, they build one or two floors, and "start" the next. They leave the rebar exposed, they don't paint the top floor. Then they move in. Now they can claim that it's a "work in progress" and enjoy their property-tax-free home. Or business, as the case may be, because it's not limited to residences. Even the big supermarkets around look like they're just about to have another floor added on top.

I know back home people have a hard time getting contractors to come and finish the work when they are building or remodeling. Seems like the Greeks have made a virtue of it.

Remember

2008-11-11T09:46:00.001Z

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

Fun with etymology!

2008-11-10T14:18:00.007Z

I've mentioned that I'm a bit of a geek. I'm fascinated by things that most non-geeks don't even think about. I'm convinced I have an extra lobe in my brain just for trivia. Not just the usual geek stuff like Star Trek episodes, either.

Like language stuff. I'm familiar enough with the Greek alphabet that I can "sound out" most signs, although I have no idea what I'm reading most of the time. And sometimes I'll see something about a word that will cause me to have a simultaneous "aha!" and "d'oh!" moment. I've had quite a few of those moments recently.

I learned a word a few years ago, iatrogenic. It means, in effect, "caused by doctors." The UK "Superbug" MRSA is an iatrogenic illness, in that you usually only get it while in the hospital for something else. OK, fine. I took that word at its face value, and never thought about its origins. Then I came here, and I saw a sign for a doctor's office. And I noticed that it said ιατρός (iatros)... Oh, yeah, I thought that must be where that comes from, duh. And then I realized exactly what kind of doctor it was. It was a παῖδιατρός (paediatros)... Pediatrician. Literally. D'oh. (I told you this was dumb...)

(edit: ok, having read further on that MRSA link above, apparently it isn't really "iatrogenic," as that implies the doctor caused the disease. It's actually "nosocomial," meaning "happens in the hospital", and which is also from the Greek nosocomion (νοσοκομείον) which means "hospital." But my linguistic epiphany isn't any less valid...)

I was walking down the street here and I saw a church supply store. They're all over, dozens of them, full of gilt icons and censers and metal-bound bibles and all sorts of stuff for your better-appointed house of worship. And I remembered that, in English, we call those "ecclesiastical supplies." (Well, sometimes we do.) Then I rounded the corner and came across a Catholic church. Or, in Greek, ἐκκλησίᾱ (ecclesia). Oh, right, of course... Then the "d'oh" moment... what's Spanish for church? "Iglesia." And French? "Eglise." Staring me in the face, it was.

But one of the strangest things is the Greek language itself. I'm not following their rules for using their own alphabet. In particular, they make some spelling choices that just make no sense to me.

For instance, most of us are familiar with a few Greek letters: alpha (Α α), beta (Β β), gamma (Γ γ), delta (Δ δ), and pi (Π π), and if we're familiar with fraternities, we'll know a few more, like kappa (Κ κ), tau (Τ τ), mu (Μ μ) and nu (Ν ν). Now, it seems to me that β is a perfectly servicable "B" sound, γ makes a fine "G" and δ does a good job for "D". So why do the Greeks sometimes use β for "B," but other times use μπ (equivalent to "mp")? When is δ good for a "D" and when is it just not up to the task and they have to use ντ (like using "nt")? And when do you have to use γκ ("gk") instead of just plain γ?

I'm sure Susie knows, since she studied Greek in school, but it sure seems like a lot of extra work to me...

I am such a geek...

2008-11-09T12:52:00.002Z

Seen any good movies lately? If you're like me, then that movie probably had a score by John Williams. His music really is the soundtrack to my geeky life... Star Wars, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the list goes on and on...

Thanks to Shamus Young for this little nugget. A guy sings a tribute to John Williams movie themes... in 4-part harmony, with himself, by split screen.

Click this you must.

I feel the need....

2008-11-08T12:44:00.002Z

Go-karts. Wow. Now THAT was a blast.

It was a smaller group than we thought, only 6, but that's OK because the track can only take 8 racers at a time. We had the track to ourselves, and the competition was fierce. We were driving around that little track (probably a bit longer than a half mile, but MASSIVELY curvy) like Formula One pros. Accelerate to the corner, brake just a touch, slam on the gas and driiiiiiift through the curve. And for you non-racer types, "drift" really means "controlled skid." Just like in the movies.... screeching tires and all. Do it right, and you can practically take a 90-degree turn at full speed. Do it wrong, and you spin through 360 degrees (or worse, 180 degrees) to a dead stop.

The steering is so hugely sensitive that the wheel only really moves from, well, if 12 is straight ahead, you could turn the wheel as far as 10 and 2, but it was enough to get you through the hairpin turns. The brakes were, well... the word "placebo" comes to mind, except that they did in fact work a bit. Enough to let you drift, anyway.

Your seat is all of 4 inches from the ground, the center of gravity not much higher than that. The engine is right behind your back and the vibrations are teeth-rattling. After our first 15-minute race we took a water break. No kidding, the vibrations and the stiff steering left us all holding our water bottles in shaky hands, unable to control the trembling.

We drank our water, looked at each other, and with big smiles, almost in unison, said, "Let's do that again!"

And we did.

Yes, this counts

2008-11-07T13:50:00.002Z

We're getting a day off tomorrow! Yay! Now I just have to decide what I'm going to do tonight. I mean, I don't have to get up early. So I could go downtown with the crowd. Might do, actually. (And THAT's a Britishism... they don't "might" or "could" anything, they "might do" or "could do." Weird. And fodder for another post...)

Still trying to download "Life on Mars." It's about 16 done, and only 4.5 hours estimated time to finish. So I have THAT to look forward to... maybe.

And there's the go-kart experience tomorrow, as well.

But at least I don't have to go to work!

Alternate universes

2008-11-06T12:39:00.003Z

Susie and I were huge fans of this BBC television show "Life on Mars" a couple of years ago. If you haven't heard of it, the short synopsis is: 2006, cop gets hit by car, wakes up in 1972. Everyone around accepts him as a part of the 1972 world. Is he crazy? Is he in a coma? Is he really back in time? How does a modern cop cope with "neanderthal" police techniques?

It was a great show. And now, much like "The Office" it's being remade for the US. There have been 4 episodes aired so far, I think. I'm really really interested to see how it translates to the US, and to see how much they had to change it for the American audience. I did see an article about a fairly major change, but without seeing how they did it I'll have to reserve judgment.

It's available from iTunes... maybe the intermittent internet gods here will let me connect long enough to see it.

Yes he did

2008-11-05T14:35:00.003Z

And quite convincingly, too. That's a good thing. After the 2000 debacle (no matter who you supported, it was a shameful episode in US elections history) it's nice to see a true contest decided with such a clear margin. In 2004, Kerry ran against an incumbent, not the easiest way to bid for the White House, and he was soundly defeated. But this year, each party put forth a new candidate, everyone started from the same starting line, they hit the trails, and the voters decided.

I admit that I'm of two minds regarding the result.

On the one hand, John McCain is a man I admire personally. He represents all that is good and honorable in an American public servant. I think if this country is going to maintain a two-war policy, McCain would be the man to make it work. I have no doubt, whatsoever, that if he had won, things would have changed for the better.

On the other hand, Barack Obama is a man I have come to respect. He speaks to something that many Americans have been longing for for the past eight years. I think if this country is going to take a step back from the two-war policy, Obama is the man to make it work. I have no doubt, whatsoever, that with his win, things will change for the better.

Of course, the election was about so much more than those few things. It's all in how important the issues are to you that make you decide to go vote or to stay home, to pick the candidate with the elephant or the one with the donkey. And on Tuesday, we each had our chance to have our say.

It's an old saw, but if you didn't vote, you don't get to complain. If you did vote, thank you. No matter who you voted for.

I voted! Did you?

2008-11-04T13:39:00.002Z

Ok, remember when I said the cool thing about not having to work tomorrow was that I get to follow the election returns? Well, the not-so-cool thing is that I really want to follow everything as it happens, but for me, as I write this, it's 3:45 pm. The polls in the west aren't even open yet. The polls in the east have only just opened. And I'm already at the end of my day. Sigh.

I'm gonna watch as much as I can, have a bit of a nap, and get up early... maybe.

Stupid time zones.

No fun for you...

2008-11-03T15:59:00.002Z

Yep, the day off is cancelled. Well, postponed, actually, until Saturday. This, of course, makes the younger folks happy, since now they'll get to go out on a Friday night instead of a Monday. As for me... meh. As long as I get a day sooner rather than later, I'll be happy.

Not a lot going on today; just getting ready for the big election-day festivities. Well, every NaBloPoMo has its share of "I'm posting because I promised" posts. This is one of them, I guess.

See you tomorrow... and (if you're American) VOTE!

Busy busy busy

2008-11-02T11:29:00.006Z

You know, just because I'm on a Greek island doesn't mean I spend my days sipping ouzo and my nights dancing to bouzouki music. We work here; we work to exhaustion, frankly. Every other day starts with breakfast at 2 am, and ends on the bus ride back to the hotel at about 3pm. The days in between start with breakfast at 5am, with a bus ride back to the hotel at around 1pm, BUT... because of what we're doing the next day we are required by regulations to enter a sort of "enforced rest period" for 12 hours before the 2am bus. That means we're expected to relax, try for at least 8 hours sleep, and refrain from drinking alcohol after 6pm.

This whirlwind work cycle means that I really don't know what day of the week it is unless I specifically make an effort to find out. It means that I get to look at the scenery from my hotel, but I don't get all that much time to go out into it. Oh, sure, I get a few hours to wander around now and again after the long 12-hour work days, and I could always go out drinkin' with everyone else, and that's fun every now and again, but I'm of a certain age, y'know? My drink-until-I-can't-stand-let-alone-walk days are WAAAAAAAY back thataway...

So, the precious few days off we get here are really appreciated. We had one last Friday, and we grilled lamb and drank beers and told war stories and had a nice bonding day. We're getting another one on Tuesday, during which some of the "management" types are going to drop a bundle of Euros at the local go-kart track and pay for us all to (probably drink and) drive little carts around a track for a few hours. That should be fun, actually.

But the cool thing is that the next day, which will be a breakfast-at-2am day, is a day when I have to "go to" work, but I don't have to "actually" work... Susie knows what I mean. It's my turn to stay behind and mind the store while everyone else goes off and does their thing. What's cool about that? Well, I'm in Greece. Which is 10 hours ahead of the West Coast. So while all of my coworkers are off, um, doing what we do, and out of touch, I'll be connected, watching TV, reading the web. Some people would call this "goofing off," and normally I'd agree... but this day will be different, because it'll be Wednesday here... and it'll be Tuesday evening in the states, and I'll be watching the election coverage to find out the direction my country will be taking for the next 4 years.

Yes, I have an opinion as to who I want to win. Actually, quite a strong one. No, I'm not going to tell you.

See you tomorrow!

Hey! One in a row!

2008-11-01T13:04:00.002Z

There are certainly worse places in the world to be posting your first NaBloPoMo entry from than the balcony of a hotel room overlooking the harbor on a Greek island. So I've got THAT going for me, which is nice.

I almost wasn't here today. We came down for a short trip, with an option to extend it. So when they decided to extend it, someone had the bright idea that, since I had come down here for the purpose of becoming "certified" in my duty position, and I had done so, maybe we should send me home and bring someone else down for a chance to certify.

This was both good and bad news for me. Good, because it would mean I could go home, and be with my wonderful family, all of whom I miss immensely. Bad, because, well, I've wanted to come on one of these trips for a while, and I'll be darned if I was going to let a single minute be taken away from me. But since I know that the smart thing to do would be, in fact, to send me home and give the other guy the chance, I was philosophical about it.

I spent three days on tenterhooks. (What, exactly, is a tenterhook, anyway?) Then they said that the guy who was going to come down, couldn't come down. So I get to stay. Again, good and bad news for me (see previous paragraph, in reverse).

Anyway, here I sit, with a cup of Greek coffee, no baklava, and an amazing view. Yup. It could be worse.

The big day approaches...

2008-10-31T12:16:00.002Z

Yep, tomorrow is the kickoff for NaBloPoMo. I did it last year, by gosh, and even though I'm "away" I'm going to do my best to do it again. I was gonna be chatty here, but I just realized that I should probably save it for tomorrow, hm? :)

See ya then!

Once more unto the Breach, deare friends...

2008-10-20T14:31:00.004+01:00

So, it's nearly November. Time for the 3rd Annual NaBloPoMo. I did it last year, and I actually enjoyed the challenge. I like to blog, but for some reason sometimes I just can't make myself sit down and do it. So I'm going to give it another go this year, and hope to keep up with it afterward.

What surprised me last year was that I discovered some really interesting blogs out there through the NaBloPoMo home page. Sadly, because I was unable to access blogs for a few months, I lost track of them. I hope to find them again this year, and even more besides. And of course, I hope to find a reader or two again. If you're one of those who were kind enough to start to follow my blog last year, I hope you come back. I will get the hang of this. Really, I will.

(Oh! I just found one of them again, and it looks like she fell out of the blogging habit as well... now I don't feel quite so bad.)

Take the good with the bad

2008-10-17T12:32:00.006+01:00

One of the cool things about this job is that you get to go to so many different places. One of the strange things is how varied those places are, and how quickly you can go from one extreme to the other. For instance, earlier this year I went from being at this place on a Thursday:

to being at this place on that following Sunday:

Now, if that's not a little culture shock, I don't know what is. Of course, some of the other places I get to go are cool, too... like where I am now. First, the view from my hotel balcony:

Not bad, hmm? OK, one more... I took this as I ate lunch yesterday:

Susie's a bit jealous, I know, because she's been to this area of the world before and loves it, and I really wish she could be here with me. There's so much to see here, and I just know I won't have time to do, well, any of it.

Coke Zero? More like Coke Hero...

2008-09-14T21:43:00.003+01:00

Isn't it weird how you can consider someone a great friend, even if you never see them anymore? We've been in England for three years now, and in California and Nebraska for the 4 years before that, and in that whole time we've seen our friends Will and Raye maybe 4 times. Yet I still consider Will a great friend; possibly my best non-spouse friend.

Some time ago, Susie and I jumped on the weight-loss wagon (Weight Watchers, to be specific) and we were points-counting fools. We got some of our friends into it, and we sort of became "The Points Mafia." Susie and I did really well on it, too. Will didn't play so much; he preferred to look on in bemusement.

Well... some years on, and I've fallen off the wagon. The weight is piling back on, and while I'm not back to where I was, I'm getting uncomfortably close. And now some new work requirements have highlighted this to me most distressingly. So it's back on the weight-loss wagon. I've mentioned it here before, and the follow-through was, um, lacking, but the wake-up call has sounded, and the motivation is both internal AND external this time.

So, what's with the title of this post? Will, for reasons relating to college (and doesn't THAT cover a multitude of sins?) is known to his friends as "Coke." And he's been on the weight-loss wagon now, too. And damn successfully, I might add. He's been blogging his progress, and I think it's pretty great how well he's doing. I really hope he keeps it up, and I hope I can be as successful... this time.