Monday, December 31, 2007

Random Thoughts: One day left

I can't help but think about the fact that there is only one day left of my days off. This day has only just begun, but I already feel like its over. How weird is it that we spend our lives living from one experience that has just passed to one experience that is soon to come. I feel like I should make more days worthwhile, but I just don't know how. In fact, that is one of the biggest problems I have with work. I wake up, go to work and come home. I do it again the next day, and the next. When all is said and done, I am only truly alive on the weekends. That is why I always find it strange and inexplicable when people say that they would keep working if they won a huge lottery. Actually, for that matter, I find it just as strange when people work, by choice, in retirement just for something to do during the day. I could probably spend every day for the rest of my life feeling fulfilled and enriched and alive if I didn't have to work to pay for life's ever increasing expenses. Not once would I think, "Hey, I really want to go to work for 8-12 hours a day so that I have something to do."

Friday, December 28, 2007

Random Thoughts: A day off

It seems so strange to take a day off and not do anything at all of significance. Yesterday was the first time in a while where that occurred. The even more strange thing is that I am going to do the same thing today as well. I getting ready to go out for a run and then, later, I will probably watch a little TV while Laura takes a nap. All in all, it looks like it will be a great day. I can't imagine what all those suckers at work (Jeremy) are doing right now. Of course, all good things must come to an end. Tonight, family friends are coming in to town and Sunday brings another annual family gathering. I suppose there is the possibility of doing little to nothing on Monday and Tuesday, but I don't have high hopes. I don't think it is possible to have that much down time. Well, I suppose I should get down to business doing nothing before I have to do something.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Movie Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

A few years ago my wife and I went to New York to see the stage production of Sweeney Todd. I have to say, I was highly impressed. The acting, sets, and overall production were excellent in pretty much every way.

That said, we went to see the big screen (aka, movie) version of it this past Sunday. In my opinion, it was a spectacular movie. It had excellent acting from the entire cast. It managed to present the story in pretty much the same way the stage production did. It used a level of in-your-face violent death that hasn't been seen since the classic slasher films of the 80's. Personally, I can't wait until it comes out on DVD. I can't say enough good things about it.

Usually I present my reviews in a more structured form with a basic plot synopsis and leading cast, but I found myself unable to contain my excitement over this movie in order to do so. Anyway, if you have a strong stomach and don't mind a little blood, go see this movie.

Random Thoughts: Fighting a cold

After thinking that I had the same cold that my wife and baby had, but much milder, I finally got a rude surprise. I got a mild sort throat in the afternoon on Saturday and then yesterday my sinuses opened their flood gates. Pseudophedrine had almost no effect. Actually, strangely enough, going for a short walk helped the most. I am going to attempt to go for a run, followed by a shower. Hopefully, the double dose of exercise and steam will make me in near-tip-top shape for the rest of the day. Well, that plus the over-the-counter drugs and caffeine.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas

Or Happy Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever you feel makes you warm and cozy and filled with the spirit of love and sharing on this fine winter's day. Now, I have to get back to putting things in stockings that I should have done last night.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Random Thoughts: Mental Challenges

Getting past them is a pain in the butt. Today I am tired, concerned, annoyed and frustrated. Working those things out takes time and putting them aside so I can go about my day is quite a challenge. The only comfort is that I have a wife and baby who love me. Of course, that is a huge comfort which can soothe the most troubled of minds.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Random Thoughts: What will my next destination be?

I just posted my world travels map and realized that I haven't been anywhere in a while. I think I need to start planning my next destination. From a national perspective, I'm thinking Alaska would be fun and the southwest would be interesting. Internationally, I'm thinking Ireland, Italy, or Spain would be the likely European destinations. Japan would probably be the Asian trip of choice. Australia would be a place I want to go when I have 3-4 weeks of time. Kenya and South Africa would round out the exotic destinations. Of course, closer to home, the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada are also possibilities. With the baby, I would probably pick a "safe" trip, which would limit me to North America or Europe. What do you think?

Recreation: World Travels







Neat!

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Random Thoughts: Eleven days for the price of three

Today is the first day of my eleven day vacation. All it cost me was three days of leave because I get Dec. 24th, 25th and 31st off, plus Jan. 1st in the new year. Too bad I don't have any plans to do anything special or go anywhere. I just plan to stay at home and enjoy Christmas with my wife and baby and catch up on some running that I haven't been able to do lately. Other than that, I think we are going to see Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. That should be fun. I may or may not post once or twice between now and the new year. Other than that, my calendar is open. Got any suggestions?

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Random Thoughts: My mind is blank

I find that my mind is truly blank this morning. I really can't think of anything much at all. Of course, you're probably wondering what thoughts someone would put to digital paper when their mind is blank. I'm kinda wondering that too.

Actually, one thing of note, I think I am getting a cold. What's worse, I think my wife and baby are both getting the same cold all at the same time. Usually, either I or my wife will get a cold. This works out well because the baby gets sick second so the healthy one can pay more attention to the baby. Of course, the reason the baby gets sick is because she doesn't know enough not to put her hands in her own nose or mouth or a sick person's nose or mouth. So, I'm not too sure how this is going to work out. I don't have that physically depressed feeling that I usually get at the start of a cold, so maybe it won't be too bad. I guess we will see.

On another note, how do you go from bitch-slapped to bitch-slapper? I just had my performance evaluation at work. A little background... The performance evaluations, or PRSs (that's what 'they' call them) are a complete and total joke. You have to write up goals that are so generic that anyone can meet them because you have no control over your own tasking. Then, you have to say how you met those goals, which is more of an exercise in creative writing that task accounting. Finally, a couple coworkers without time or desire have to 'multi-rate' you where they are forced to point out some strengths and deficiencies, but all anyone cares about are the deficiencies. All that gets compiled into a nice package of paper which you never get to see, then it is boiled down to three sentences of what was said by all parties. Finally, all that is disregarded and your bosses and their boss sit down and discuss which check-box (1-5) you deserve. Three months from now, based on what I currently get paid and that check-box I will get a raise which will likely be 1-2 percent lower than the going industry rate.

That is all well and good. Now, my problem, other than this huge waste of time, has to do with those deficiencies. Last year, I got, "Needs to be more available off-hours." At the time, I was working on a project that required interaction with people who worked in Minnesota and people who were working three shifts and the only one who complained about my off-hours work was the guy who never gave me the slightest consideration in planning test support even though he sits on the other side of the cube wall. This year, I got, "Needs to multi-task better." Right now, I am working on a project that has everyone tasked around 150-200 percent of their normal work week with four different major focus areas plus a bunch of minor areas.

How do you respond to something like that? Working long hours isn't good enough? Juggling ten different things at once isn't good enough? Maybe I should take the hit and deliberately work to what 'they' think of me. In my younger days, I probably would, but now, with a wife and family, I think I only have three options to get out of this cycle. I can ignore it, I can suck up to everyone, or I can find another job. For now, I think I will go with option 1. Whatever.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Random Thoughts: Irony

OK, I just made that last post about my problems with Antiques Roadshow. Almost as soon as I hit Publish, the show had a little "aside." They proceeded to explain that their assessors all state one of three different types of valuation. They talked about auction value, retail value and insurance value. They actually admitted that insurance value (what they usually give) is the highest. You don't think PBS bugged my office and/or my web site, do you?

Random Thoughts: A great day?

It feels like it's going to be a great day today. I think I may go to breakfast with my family. After that, I think I will insist that we go for a walk in the snow. Then, I think I will make a fire in the fireplace and have some eggnog while my baby plays in front of the Christmas Tree. Does it get any better than that?

On another note, flipping the channels just now, I encountered Antiques Roadshow. I used to watch this show all the time and found it interesting and entertaining. One other thing I found was that the dollar amounts were reasonable. I didn't watch it for a while because we got satellite TV and there were just too many other things to watch. Now, having gotten rid of that, I am back watching it. Apparently, at some point when I wasn't watching, the show changed slightly. The change is quite subtle, but it's there just the same. It seems like they got rid of all the reasonable value assessments. All they have now is $10K tables and $100K blankets and $2K knick-knacks. I can't help but feel that they got caught up in the hype of the high-dollar assessments. They almost always give insurance estimates which are always higher than an expected sale price. Is it just me that has a problem with this? Maybe I'm just bitter that I don't have any $2k weird brass picture frames with an Egyptian theme that I bought at a church rummage sale for $3.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Random Thoughts: Snow again

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WATCH...FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM
LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT.
THE ONLY REGION OMITTED FROM THE WATCH IS THE IMMEDIATE BOSTON TO
PROVIDENCE TO WESTERLY CORRIDOR AND SOUTHEASTWARD TO THE CAPE AND
ISLANDS. ALTHOUGH THIS AREA WILL UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE A NASTY DAY OF
SNOW AND SLEET CHANGING TO A PELTING WIND DRIVEN RAIN IN THE
AFTERNOON...SNOW AMOUNTS ARE NOT LIKELY TO EXCEED 6 INCHES.

Well, that last part is comforting... I suppose... In some way.

Random Thoughts: Snow... Snow... Snow... Snow...

You know, I can honestly say that I was a bit jealous of a former coworker the other day. He now owns/operates a Bed & Breakfast in central Vermont. Rhode Island winters usually don't get started until the last couple weeks of Jan. I was telling my wife how it must be nice to have a white Christmas every year. We just got dumped with 6-12, and if the storm headed this way this weekend stays all/mostly snow, we will likely have some around on the 25th. In the last third of a century I only remember one white Christmas and one sort-of muddy brown-white-mix Christmas. Here's hoping.

As one more side note, the title of this post, in my head, was musical like the scene in the movie White Christmas where Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen sing the song, "Snow". I guess my brain doesn't translate well to a text-based musical. Who would have guessed? If, by chance, you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. As old as it is, it is still fun, peppy and upbeat.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Happy Birthday To Me!

According to leading experts, "Bill is 33 years old and getting better every day. We expect is peak moment to be the moment right before his death. It is uncertain if he will surpass the 'Greatness Threshold' (GT). If he does, according to the theories related to the GT, the universe will implode upon his death."

Man, how great is that. I mean, does it get any more cool than to have 'leading experts' talking about you? Anyway, I am attempting to post this in advance, with a modified time stamp. I only tried this once before and it didn't work. I think I may have done something slightly wrong before, so I'm hoping this works. If not, I'll make it work anyway.

At this point, I have no particular plans, but my wife may have planned something. Actually, if I could just stay home with my family all day, that would work for me. I'm pretty easy to please. Actually, last year with Laura a couple weeks old, I asked my wife for boxed Mac 'n Cheese for dinner and nothing more. I was more than happy to eat and be with my wife and new baby, and that holds true today so I must be doing something right. Well, before I ramble too long, I should go.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Random Thoughts: What's up with this cold?

I know it's unofficial winter, but we usually have high temperatures in the 40s all throughout December. Personally, I love the cold. Actually, more accurately, I love each change of seasons in its own way. What I'm thinking is that people start complaining in mid-January about how they want winter to end. Usually, we have only had one good snowstorm and highs in the upper 20s or low 30s for about two weeks. What is going to happens if we start full-on winter one month early? Will people complain earlier and more often? Will they get violent, causing mass chaos in the streets? I guess only time will tell.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Random Thoughts: Stupid Xmas Lights!!!

OK, so I pulled the box of lights down from the attic last week. I put up the ground-level lights during the week, but waited until this weekend to put up the roof lights. I really want to change over to all LEDs, so we bought two 60-bulb strands on Friday night as a piecemeal approach.

Saturday morning, I pulled out the incandescents and plugged them in to test them. First strand of 200, half-out; Second strand of 200, all-out; Third strand of 200, all good; Forth (and final) strand of 200, half-out. I tried replacing the fuses to no avail. I briefly scanned the bulbs, but could not find the dead ones. It's not that big a deal, though, because I have 2 other brand-new boxes from last year that I got as spares. I plugged them in to test, only to find out that one of those is half out as well. Fortunately, one of them is still brand new, so with the LEDs and the one good strand, I should have enough.

I went out, and put up the ladder and climbed up on the roof. Of course, the wind is blowing 20-30 mph straight at my body doing its best to push my frozen body down to the black asphalt below. I somehow manage not to fall off while putting up the 2 LED strands.

At some point, the ladder blew over and came crashing down, sending my wife (and, consequently, my baby) into a terrified panicky state trying to find out where my body must have fallen. After she puts the ladder back up for me and I come in for some warmth, she tells me I am not allowed back on the roof until the wind dies down.

Now, Sunday I go out and put the only good strand of incandescent bulbs up. What? You were keeping count of the number strands of lights I had? Oh. Yeah. When the ladder fell, it severed the wire, rendering the strand useless without solder and electrical tape.

So, back to the roof, I am up installing the lights, and it's about 20 degrees outside. So, I manage to finish installing those. Also, I installed the rest of the clips for the LEDs, so they won't blow away. Later in the afternoon, I put up a couple last accessory things like the snowflake over the front door and some net lights over one of the gardens just to add some light to that side of the house. When all was said and done, I was quite proud of what I did.

We went out shopping just before dark, so we didn't see the lights when they first turned on. Driving home, we had our little beacon of a house guiding our way through the night... sort of. Turns out, the LEDs look purple from a distance and the last strand of incandescents (the brand-new one) managed to go half out between the indoor test and
the turn on at night and the net lights aren't visible until you are standing right next to them. Oh yeah, and my hands are dry and cracked and rough from the cold air and I'm going to have to go buy more lights and replace them before it's "done."

Oh well. It still looks pretty good. Maybe some magical electrical fairies will come by in the night and fix all my problems. OK, any electric fairies that may be listening... I'm going to bed now... Thump, thump, thump; Squeaaak Zzzzzzz....  Nope, still broken. Damn.