General

So...this is our weekend lately.

From 9-2 on Saturday, it's "our" time.  This is the time we have on weekend to do our normal weekend stuff...like bike rides, house cleaning, laundry, yard work, etc.  It's been this way for six weeks.  From 3-dinner, we rehearse.  For example, we rehearsed four scenes yesterday, which included all of us at one point or another.  Rehearsals are getting more serious now (Christmas is closer than you think), and we are trying to do the scenes without scripts and with proper lighting and props.  Today (even as I type), we are doing the complete Act 2, with stops.  That means the director (God bless her soul) interrupts as she sees fit and provides...direction.  Also, we have worship in the morning and some kind of thing in the evening (class, home study, etc).  The Sunday rehearsals last from 2-4 or 5.

For the record, I am not complaining.  I really enjoy this...it's just a pretty big time commitment, and some things slip (like the yard work).

Last Sunday, Emma signed her first song in worship for the deaf members.  Very precious.  Just thought I'd throw that in there.

It's hard to write a blog entry when I keep interrupting myself to talk to people and look at stuff and glare at the noisy adults while the kids are trying to work their scene (i have a world class glare).  But, I persist.

Not much of an entry, I know.  But there it is.  I promised more about Chad and Brandon last time.  I'll do that later this week.  Those guys were (and probably still are) the coolest, and took the edge off of a very weird time in my life.

Because Anne brought home an original NES system, and I played Mario 2 and the fist Zelda.  And ExciteBike.  Woah.  But the system is really finicky (it's old...give it a break) so she is going to take it back to the kid at school who wanted to sell it to her.  No amount of isopropyl alcohol and blowing would bring it back to life.  Although, it certainly brought back Sunday afternoon's spent at the Shaw family household.

My two best friends in high school (Brandon and Chad) and I would go to Mr. and Mrs. Shaws' house to play Nintendo and ping pong every Sunday afternoon.  The Shaws were both math teachers at our high school.  Mrs. Shaw taught my geometry class and Mr. Shaw taught my algebra and computer math class (where I learned to write programs in BASIC on TRS-80's).  Every Sunday Brandon and Chad would pick me up (I didn't have a car) and then we would drive to their house and proceed to play.  I would play Mike Tyson Super Punch-Out until my thumbs hurt.  My addiction to video games began there.  I would try SO hard to beat Mr. Shaw in ping pong, and never could.  We would shoot basketball in their driveway with their two sons.  I always felt out-classed...Brandon and Chad were (and, I assume, are) smarter than me, and Brandon was way cooler cause he played football and was a huge guy in great shape.  I can remember playing with the kids' Transformers and being a bit jealous that they had them and I didn't (even in high school.  i was kind of a nerd, in case you didn't know).  I loved that time, and I still go back there in my head sometimes.  They lived between Buffalo and Hodgenville, and had an awesome house with a finished basement.  The basement in my house was a root cellar, and we stored canned beans and potatoes there, and went there during tornadoes.  Not exactly a fun place (lots of spiders.  LOTS). They had two televisions.  TWO.  It was remarkable.  I drove by their house last time I was there, but couldn't identify it.  I even dropped by the school and no one there could tell me where the Shaws went.  I would really like to know...Mr and Mrs. Shaw had great positive influence on me, and their kindness and willingness to have three huge dorks at their house all the time kept me (mostly) out of trouble.

Next time, I'll talk about Brandon and Chad.  Two great guys...

Okay...some stuff.

Dear Gum companies:  the following are NOT considered flavors.  Winterblue.  That's a color, not a flavor.  Vanilla Chill, Arctic Chill, and Winter Chill.  While one has a flavor name in the title, as a whole...NOT A FLAVOR.  The names suggest temperatures.  Makes me feel...chilly.  Elixir, Cobalt, Flare, Rain, and Lush.  That's four nouns and an adjective.  Not a flavor in sight.  Cool Rush.  Again, not a flavor.  Here are some appropriate flavor names:  Cinnamon.  Spearmint.  Peppermint.  Any fruit or fruit combo.  I may like your gums, but your flavor names frighten me.

Dear Deodorant companies:  the following are NOT considered scents.  Game Time.  Okay, maybe it is a scent...but certainly not a pleasant one.  Cool Fusion.  Momentum.  Fresh Rush.  Cool Rush.  Power.  Extreme Blast (excuse me?  I don't want to put that under my arms).  Sport.

Here's what I'm getting at.  Your names confuse me.  I would like to be able to look at a product and be able to generally tell what it is I am buying.  I shouldn't have to play color association games (blue=cool, red=hot, etc) or pop lids on things to see if it something that smells generally acceptable and not like yesterday's gym sock.  Please stop.  I know you won't listen, but I'm asking anyway.

I'm tired, cold and hungry.  Okay...maybe just tired.

Peace.

This one's for you, Tom.

I know, I know.  Don't worry... I patronize myself quite enough.

This past summer has been quite the event-filled extravaganza.  If you keep up with my facebook, you'll know some stuff.  Here's the highlights:

1.  Moved my mom to California.  At much expense, and with all the associated ongoing drama.  Gee, this is fun.  I realize fully that she carried me under her heart for nine months, and I am eternally grateful for life.  However, this situation isn't going that great for my lil bro and her, and there's alot of conflict there.  Pretty sure i predicted that.  Layer on top of that the financial crisis that they are enduring, and I can only imagine how thin the nerves are wearing.  I had a brief talk with Mom last night, and plan on talking with her more this weekend.  We are taking her to our church's harvest festival, so maybe that will help to create a little space for Ben and her.  I think they are beginning to realize that this transition will take longer than they expected.  Maybe *crossing fingers* some maturity will come out of this, and I won't be the broker of their ongoing conversation.  I know...I'm an optimist.

2.  Still digging my job.  We got some new hardware on the horizon that I am completely stoked to get my hands on.  It's a 10G firewall, with line speed content inspection and 3G IPSec.  *Drool, drool.*  the economy has hit us, just like everyone else, but I think we'll do fine.  Especially when I can go into a shop that is running equipment from the evil empire and replace it at less than the cost of a maintenance renewal.  In situations like that, the slower economy helps us.  I enjoy the travel bits, too.  Teresa doesn't, but she is willing to put up with it because she knows I love my work so much.  Not as much as I love her, but you get the picture.

3.  Two family vacations, one to Disneyland and our yearly trek to Tahoe.  Disneyland was great fun, and there are pics of it on my facebook.  Go there, why dontcha?  I haven't posted any Tahoe pics.  I should really do that.  Or pics of my cross country U-Haul drive.  Thank God for Audible.com and reliable GPS.

4.  I stopped blogging.

5.  I started blogging again.

6.  We (the ENTIRE family) have been rehearsing for a Christmas musical for a couple of months now, at least.  It's been way fun so far, and I'm really enjoying it.  Anne is one of Mary's friends, Emma is a friend and a shepherd girl (two separate parts), Teresa is Joseph's mother ( I KNOW.  I am as shocked as you are.  I would have NEVER pictured Teresa on the stage).  I'm trying to get her to act more like a Jewish mother..."Oy vey!  You never call, you never write, I worry sick about you!  And look at you...you look like you haven't eaten in weeks.  You're poor mother."  I play Gabriel.  which means I walk around and look angelic.  And talk real loud.  I'm good at talking loud, so it's a natural fit.  And, since it's a musical, we all sing.  There's even a Rodger's and Hammerstein bit that, frankly, annoys me to no end.  But I'm in the minority.  And, I don't have to do that bit, so I should just keep my mouth shut.

So, that's all for the moment.  I am in the OC with all of the plastic people, and I need to go to my first meeting. 

How's that, Tom?

In two words: BRU-TAL.

I spent all of last week at the RSA conference. Now, I've gone to tradeshows before, but this is the first time that i've been on the other side of the booth. Talk about hard work. I spent most of each day standing, and I was tasked with setup and teardown (along with my sales guy). By Friday, my feet, calves, and lower back were in open rebellion and were making plans to secede from the union. It was a good show, though. I talked to alot of customers and spent a good amount of time hanging with our product management guys. It's surprising how many boxes we have installed in the field...more people know about us than I originally thought. But not enough people know about us so...BUY A FIREWALL! Please...my daughters need new shoes.

Okay, if you are a tech person, then you probably know about Twitter. I have toyed with this idea, but in the end, it really seems like a technorati kind of thing. Honestly, it smacks of elitism. Even the language leads in that direction. For example, if you choose to read what I twitter, then I get to call you a "follower." Yeesh. I listen to TWiT and watch Cranky Geeks, and people on those shows talk about it all the time. But, here's the thing. It is so much a tempest in a teapot. I think, largely, that real people don't use this thing. In all honesty, I don't think people are so enthralled with what I have to say that they have to know what's going on THIS VERY MINUTE, which is exactly what Twitter is all about. Besides...it will be owned by a large company soon, and then it will succumb to the advertising engine that is on the internet, and then all of the twits on Twitter will whine and moan, and dream about the good old days.

that's all I have time for. Tune in next time, when we find out what happens to Bobby, who fell down that well.

Okay, America. I am putting you on notice. If you don't stop the following annoying things, I may have to take away your after-dinner cookie privileges.

Ringtones

We've talked about this before, but it bears mentioning again. I really don't care to hear your favorite song, or mine, for that matter, as your ringtone. It is most annoying. Your cell phone is a PHONE. It should ring...quietly. Vibrate is even better. Anything else is just noise pollution.

Turn Signal

There is a lever located on the left side of your steering wheel inside of your car (I know...shocking, isn't it?). When you push this lever up, towards the sky, it turns on a blinking light located externally on the right side of your car, both front and rear, that notifies other drivers that your are turning right. When you push it down, towards the ground, it notifies other drivers that you are turning left by enabling a blinking light similar to the one mentioned above, but located on the left side of the car. when you push it back to its center position, it turns off all blinking lights and other drivers will assume that you are continuing forward without turning. Not only is it good manners to use this fun and informative feature, it is required by law in all fifty states. PLEASE USE IT. Thank you.

Your Car Stereo

This one's easy...TURN IT DOWN. I don't want to hear your garbled music and all of your sheet metal vibrating in your 1983 Corolla. Better yet, save the money you would have spent on the subwoofer and amp at Best Buy and, instead, take a college course, or put it towards music lessons, or feed the hungry. You'll feel better, and so will I.

Common Courtesy

Please, if you are sitting in front of someone tall on an airplane, don't put your seat back. It makes an already uncomfortable position even worse. And, if you do, don't be shocked when you feel our knees in your lower spine. It's not because we want to push against your seat, its because you have given us tall folks no other option. We are all stuck on this plane together...let's be nice to each other, m'kay?

Blue Tooth Headsets

Unless you are actively engaged in a conversation, take it off. You look ridiculous. And, you don't have to yell. I really don't want to know about your battle with foot fungus, or your love life, or what you need to bring home for dinner.

Speaking of cell phones...

It is just plain RUDE to call someone and talk to them while you should be engaged in doing something else, like paying for your groceries. Talk to the REAL people that exist in your physical space that you are interacting with. It will not kill you to call that person back after you get finished with your current task. You aren't that important...trust me, I know. The only reason to take the call is if you are a doctor and lives are at stake.

Smile

This is really simple, and will go a long way towards making your day better. When you encounter other people, smile. It is pleasant, and in times of need, people are more likely to help you if you are kind and friendly. It isn't hard to do this. At least, it's no harder to do this than it is to scowl at the rest of the world. This helps even if you are having a bad day. If you smile at people, they will smile back. Try it...it really does work. Unless you're initials are TL and you live in Wisconsin...you scare people when you smile (just kidding, T. You know I love you, man).

Buy Clothes That Fit

Guys...I really don't care if you are wearing boxers or briefs, so you don't need to show them to me. The waist size on the tag should closely match the circumference of your actual waist. They should fit comfortably, and if they are slightly too large, then use a belt. Girls, shirts and pants that are two sizes too small are NOT attractive. I know you have it tough, what with society telling you that 'abnormally thin=pretty'. Believe it or not, most people don't agree with that. If you wear clothes that fit, it is more flattering, which actually increases your attractiveness. Also, the shirt should cover the waist completely, even if you have to bend over to pick up a dropped object. I will not elaborate further, since I am striving to be gentlemanly.

Okay...follow these simple guidelines and your life will be enriched. And, more importantly, so will mine.

Enough snarkiness...back to work. Oh, and feel free to add your own grievances in the comments.