1) Pamela got back from her scrapbooking retreat tired but happy. And she passed out around 8pm. ZZZzzzzzz.
2) Bella spend a lot of the day out on the front porch with Isaac, Zinsser, and her friend Carly: They had their Littlest Pet Shop animals, a bag of fabric, and a sewing kit, and Bella was making outfits for them. She was sewing capes and coveralls for them. For one, she made a cape and a headband - they called it "The Sweaty Kitty", and had a glass of water they kept dunking her into, to make sure that the headband was properly perspiration drenched.
In the end, there were 7 different animals that were turned into super heroes, including a small skunk with a cape that was 4x the length of her ("Trippy Skunk" was the name given - she uses her long cape to trip bad guys).
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Bella, Harry, and Buffy
So ends another great weekend. This time, Pamela was out of town again at a scrapbooking retreat, and it was 3 solid days with the kiddos. We had a wonderful time together. We ate well, we played well, we slept well. We had our block party last night, which was interrupted by two storms and a tornado warning, plus the fire truck was a no-show, but we all had a great time anyway... and the kids were in the moonwalk for a good percentage of the day, and again this morning - they usually come pick it up around 11 the day after, so Sunday AM is a traditional jump fest. And just like last year, the kids got their jumping done and DONE, so that by the time the jumper had to go, everyone was good and ready to see it go, even the kids.
Isaac and I also tossed a football, kicked a soccer ball, and hit some wiffleballs off of a t-ball stand that Grampette gave us. I was doing my best to encourage his sportiness. We also had an epic 45 minute wrassling match which left his energized and me completely exhausted.
Bella and I are reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: I'm reading, she's listening, and we're going through it slowly, recapping frequently to make sure she's getting all of the nuances. She's to the point now where she's starting to come up with her own "guesses" about what might have been in the package Hagrid took from Gringott's. Her current theory: Since Hagrid was kicked out of Hogwarts and doesn't have his own wand anymore, he actually got a Nimbus 2000 WAND and is hoping to train to become a wizard again, and Dumbledore is helping him in secret, which is why it's a secret.
It is fun to go through it slowly - I'm picking up so many details I must have blown past before: Rowling really did lay out so much of this story right in the first few chapters - things she mentions in passing right in the beginning are major plot points later on. Also, I like slowing down at some of the magic moments: At Christmas, one of the wizards decorated a tree by waving his wand and gold bubbles came out and turned into balls on the tree. Bella marveled at that, waving her hand in the air as if conjuring the bubbles herself.
Bella did tell me that there is "some scary stuff" in there, but it's not worrying her or keeping her awake. She wanted me to know that. And also, can I please read just ONE more chapter?
Speaking of chapters: You know I'm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I just finished Season 5 last night, and I'm quite impressed. 100 episodes, and you really get to know these characters. The stories just keep getting better. And I have to say that there has never been a show that I had so severely misjudged as this one. I really thought it was brainless fluff back when it was on, no matter what Entertainment Weekly was telling me. But dang it, Joss Whedon knew what the heck he was doing. Of course there are off episodes (and some seasons have held together better than others), but as a whole, this story is truly incredible.
There are standalone episodes that I can't get out of my mind - one is "Hush" where sinister visitors to the town steal everyone's voices - 2/3 of the episode is completely without dialogue - just sound effects and music. Then there's "The Body" where the sudden death of a key character is reacted to - and it's not played for shock or learning, just a study of all of the ways the death hits us - how time dilates, how tiny details get focused on... There's "The Zeppo" - in which Xander (a character without any powers at all) has a mini-adventure around the periphery of what may have been the greatest crisis ever to hit the series - a hilarious "outside looking in" episode. Plus just fun stuff like Doppelgangerland where an evil twin is on the loose....
But better has been the continual evolution of the characters - By season 5 nobody is even remotely who they were when the show started, but they all got there in a logical progression.
So here's my take:
Season 1: It's short, it's mostly "thing of the week", and low production values, but it has heart. Buffy fights The Master, who plans apocalypse.
Season 2: Character development kicks into overdrive - you really start caring for everyone... plus a really good mid-season twist to shock you out of your seats.
Season 3: Often referred to as the best of the series - A season long arc about The Mayor and another Slayer, leading to a great climax about the end of high school. Everyone leaves the season totally changed.
Season 4: A tough transitional season - Trying to cover College, plus the Military, it was sort of muddled, but we did get to see Willow start on her epic Arc.
Season 5: Much maligned in fan-dom because it basically added a completely random element into the mix - Buffy starts the season with a little sister nobody had EVER mentioned before, and it's all treated as normal. And yet, it was a 22 episode story that was completely linear with everyone deepening their journeys.
One thing I absolutely loved about Season 5: Everybody's been watching Buffy this whole time, tracking her growth. And yet all through the seasons, Willow has been growing in strength, and by the end of Season 5, it's clear that not only is she stronger than anyone had any idea, she's also got a lot stronger opinions about what should be going on than anyone suspected. This sets up the season 6 story with her as the focus. And it's so cool because Joss and company had been putting these pieces into place for 3 years - little things she's done in the periphery of every story.
I'm probably writing this for nobody but myself, because hey, it's a show that went off the air 8 years ago and most everybody I know treated it the way I did. But if there's someone out there looking for something fun to Netflix, I gotta say it's an absolute blast.
And now I'm going to watch the start of Season 6 before heading to bed. Back to Cleveland tomorrow!
Isaac and I also tossed a football, kicked a soccer ball, and hit some wiffleballs off of a t-ball stand that Grampette gave us. I was doing my best to encourage his sportiness. We also had an epic 45 minute wrassling match which left his energized and me completely exhausted.
Bella and I are reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: I'm reading, she's listening, and we're going through it slowly, recapping frequently to make sure she's getting all of the nuances. She's to the point now where she's starting to come up with her own "guesses" about what might have been in the package Hagrid took from Gringott's. Her current theory: Since Hagrid was kicked out of Hogwarts and doesn't have his own wand anymore, he actually got a Nimbus 2000 WAND and is hoping to train to become a wizard again, and Dumbledore is helping him in secret, which is why it's a secret.
It is fun to go through it slowly - I'm picking up so many details I must have blown past before: Rowling really did lay out so much of this story right in the first few chapters - things she mentions in passing right in the beginning are major plot points later on. Also, I like slowing down at some of the magic moments: At Christmas, one of the wizards decorated a tree by waving his wand and gold bubbles came out and turned into balls on the tree. Bella marveled at that, waving her hand in the air as if conjuring the bubbles herself.
Bella did tell me that there is "some scary stuff" in there, but it's not worrying her or keeping her awake. She wanted me to know that. And also, can I please read just ONE more chapter?
Speaking of chapters: You know I'm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I just finished Season 5 last night, and I'm quite impressed. 100 episodes, and you really get to know these characters. The stories just keep getting better. And I have to say that there has never been a show that I had so severely misjudged as this one. I really thought it was brainless fluff back when it was on, no matter what Entertainment Weekly was telling me. But dang it, Joss Whedon knew what the heck he was doing. Of course there are off episodes (and some seasons have held together better than others), but as a whole, this story is truly incredible.
There are standalone episodes that I can't get out of my mind - one is "Hush" where sinister visitors to the town steal everyone's voices - 2/3 of the episode is completely without dialogue - just sound effects and music. Then there's "The Body" where the sudden death of a key character is reacted to - and it's not played for shock or learning, just a study of all of the ways the death hits us - how time dilates, how tiny details get focused on... There's "The Zeppo" - in which Xander (a character without any powers at all) has a mini-adventure around the periphery of what may have been the greatest crisis ever to hit the series - a hilarious "outside looking in" episode. Plus just fun stuff like Doppelgangerland where an evil twin is on the loose....
But better has been the continual evolution of the characters - By season 5 nobody is even remotely who they were when the show started, but they all got there in a logical progression.
So here's my take:
Season 1: It's short, it's mostly "thing of the week", and low production values, but it has heart. Buffy fights The Master, who plans apocalypse.
Season 2: Character development kicks into overdrive - you really start caring for everyone... plus a really good mid-season twist to shock you out of your seats.
Season 3: Often referred to as the best of the series - A season long arc about The Mayor and another Slayer, leading to a great climax about the end of high school. Everyone leaves the season totally changed.
Season 4: A tough transitional season - Trying to cover College, plus the Military, it was sort of muddled, but we did get to see Willow start on her epic Arc.
Season 5: Much maligned in fan-dom because it basically added a completely random element into the mix - Buffy starts the season with a little sister nobody had EVER mentioned before, and it's all treated as normal. And yet, it was a 22 episode story that was completely linear with everyone deepening their journeys.
One thing I absolutely loved about Season 5: Everybody's been watching Buffy this whole time, tracking her growth. And yet all through the seasons, Willow has been growing in strength, and by the end of Season 5, it's clear that not only is she stronger than anyone had any idea, she's also got a lot stronger opinions about what should be going on than anyone suspected. This sets up the season 6 story with her as the focus. And it's so cool because Joss and company had been putting these pieces into place for 3 years - little things she's done in the periphery of every story.
I'm probably writing this for nobody but myself, because hey, it's a show that went off the air 8 years ago and most everybody I know treated it the way I did. But if there's someone out there looking for something fun to Netflix, I gotta say it's an absolute blast.
And now I'm going to watch the start of Season 6 before heading to bed. Back to Cleveland tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Another great weekend
This weekend it was the annual family reunion up near Madison WI. The family is actually old St Paul, and we do celebrate in the winter as a gang in St Paul, but in the summertime, we cluster around the arm of the family who had the good sense to move away and pursue lakefront property. Three wonderful days of cousins, laughter, swimming, tubing, and a pontoon boat.
Last year somebody brought a water balloon slingshot, and there was a pretty major war. This year, it escalated as the older cousins had it in for one of the uncles (surprisingly not me). And there was a lot of collateral water balloon damage. A guy couldn't catch a nap on a hammock without incoming fire. It got so the napping needed to be indoors.
Isaac is old enough now that he was in full "play" mode from the moment he woke till he shut his eyes. I feel like I barely saw him except for some extended underdog sessions on the rope swing. Bella was also in with the cousins, but was also spending a lot of time on boats - Canoes with Grandma, Paddle Boats with Dad and her cousins, and a lot of time spotting on the speedboat, watching her more daring cousins bounce along on tubes.
I stayed offline for most of the weekend - and left the ipad and kindle behind too. I needed to zone out and veg, and I did. I felt perhaps a bit like a zombie, but sitting out in nature, staring at the sky, feeling my own heartbeat was really good medicine for me. I left the 3 days a very relaxed person.
We left Zinsser with a neighbor who has two other dogs: Zinsser was happy in his pack, but was even happier to see us back. After extended jumpycuddles, he promptly went upstairs and passed out on our bed, happy to be home. It was a nice time with Pamela too, though so much of our time was shared with others... plus the inflatable bed we brought was saggy baggy so we were compressed in it like taco fillings. But it was good, and I liked our wind down time on Sunday night as I readied to go.
So yes, I'm back in Cleveland, and it's a busy week. I'm staffing up for the next phase of the project and am making my way through 40 resumes for 11 positions. Plus I'm starting work on my transition plan... I really really really hope to be done soon, and am dragging my replacement forward. He WILL take over. I don't want to have to pull out the "start dropping the ball so they won't miss me" gambit, but at this point, I'm not above it either.
Of course sometimes I do have fun: In a big meeting today there was a lot of circular talk about a new workflow: Apparently even though they just spent $130m on new software, two departments didn't get the memo and are rapidly putting in two OTHER pieces of software in the hopes that their shiny new tool will be in place as precedent and we'll have to interface our stuff with theirs. So in a room with 50 people, we were all dancing around this little detail until I stood up and laid it out - Is this want you're expecting? Yes? Then let's write that down and get it in front of the sponsors. Ok. Thank you.
So does that sound bold? It really shouldn't. Yet I got several texts immediately afterward applauding my cheek... which is sort of sad because all I was doing was asking the basic questions we need to ask to get this project working... but the politics are just so crazy nobody wants to stir anything up.
Crazy people.
Last year somebody brought a water balloon slingshot, and there was a pretty major war. This year, it escalated as the older cousins had it in for one of the uncles (surprisingly not me). And there was a lot of collateral water balloon damage. A guy couldn't catch a nap on a hammock without incoming fire. It got so the napping needed to be indoors.
Isaac is old enough now that he was in full "play" mode from the moment he woke till he shut his eyes. I feel like I barely saw him except for some extended underdog sessions on the rope swing. Bella was also in with the cousins, but was also spending a lot of time on boats - Canoes with Grandma, Paddle Boats with Dad and her cousins, and a lot of time spotting on the speedboat, watching her more daring cousins bounce along on tubes.
I stayed offline for most of the weekend - and left the ipad and kindle behind too. I needed to zone out and veg, and I did. I felt perhaps a bit like a zombie, but sitting out in nature, staring at the sky, feeling my own heartbeat was really good medicine for me. I left the 3 days a very relaxed person.
We left Zinsser with a neighbor who has two other dogs: Zinsser was happy in his pack, but was even happier to see us back. After extended jumpycuddles, he promptly went upstairs and passed out on our bed, happy to be home. It was a nice time with Pamela too, though so much of our time was shared with others... plus the inflatable bed we brought was saggy baggy so we were compressed in it like taco fillings. But it was good, and I liked our wind down time on Sunday night as I readied to go.
So yes, I'm back in Cleveland, and it's a busy week. I'm staffing up for the next phase of the project and am making my way through 40 resumes for 11 positions. Plus I'm starting work on my transition plan... I really really really hope to be done soon, and am dragging my replacement forward. He WILL take over. I don't want to have to pull out the "start dropping the ball so they won't miss me" gambit, but at this point, I'm not above it either.
Of course sometimes I do have fun: In a big meeting today there was a lot of circular talk about a new workflow: Apparently even though they just spent $130m on new software, two departments didn't get the memo and are rapidly putting in two OTHER pieces of software in the hopes that their shiny new tool will be in place as precedent and we'll have to interface our stuff with theirs. So in a room with 50 people, we were all dancing around this little detail until I stood up and laid it out - Is this want you're expecting? Yes? Then let's write that down and get it in front of the sponsors. Ok. Thank you.
So does that sound bold? It really shouldn't. Yet I got several texts immediately afterward applauding my cheek... which is sort of sad because all I was doing was asking the basic questions we need to ask to get this project working... but the politics are just so crazy nobody wants to stir anything up.
Crazy people.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Karaoke Dream
I had a dream last night of the standard "not prepared for something" variety, but the details were pretty good.
I was at a rustic lodge (Ruttger's in name, but actually closer to a Y Camp I went to as a kid), and was led by a friend to a stage in the middle of the room: Could I run the Karaoke night for everybody? I'm techie, right? Sure, no problem I said.
The moment I step on stage, people are cheering, excited to get started with Karaoke night! I grab a mic and say "we'll get under way in just a minute". I survey the stage:
Speakers are set up. Mic is available. But the Karaoke unit is on a rolling cart next to the stage and isn't plugged in. I start looking at it and realize on my gosh, it's based on un labeled cassette tapes? And there's no master list? We're just supposed to put in a tape and go? I look around the back and find that the tape unit isn't even plugged into the master unit.
But around back, I find a shoebox filled with CDs - AH, this must be it. But these CDs aren't labeled either... and all of the songs are written on a roll of cash register tape in faded pencil. In cursive. I'm scrolling through this list, and the song names aren't legible, and the very act of reading it is smudging them further. I turn around, and the room is full of annoyed people who just want to Karaoke DAMN IT.
I was very happy to have the alarm go off and spare me further.
I was at a rustic lodge (Ruttger's in name, but actually closer to a Y Camp I went to as a kid), and was led by a friend to a stage in the middle of the room: Could I run the Karaoke night for everybody? I'm techie, right? Sure, no problem I said.
The moment I step on stage, people are cheering, excited to get started with Karaoke night! I grab a mic and say "we'll get under way in just a minute". I survey the stage:
Speakers are set up. Mic is available. But the Karaoke unit is on a rolling cart next to the stage and isn't plugged in. I start looking at it and realize on my gosh, it's based on un labeled cassette tapes? And there's no master list? We're just supposed to put in a tape and go? I look around the back and find that the tape unit isn't even plugged into the master unit.
But around back, I find a shoebox filled with CDs - AH, this must be it. But these CDs aren't labeled either... and all of the songs are written on a roll of cash register tape in faded pencil. In cursive. I'm scrolling through this list, and the song names aren't legible, and the very act of reading it is smudging them further. I turn around, and the room is full of annoyed people who just want to Karaoke DAMN IT.
I was very happy to have the alarm go off and spare me further.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Wistful
Yesterday we were cleaning up the house a bit and I went to the iMac to find some music. Scrolling down the list, I found "Missing" by Everything but the Girl - this was their breakout house hit that transformed them from a moody acoustic guitar outfit to a drum and bass experimental duo - Listening to their work from the mid 1980s, and this electronic rebirth in the mid 1990s was something incredible back then.
So I queued up Missing, along with their Walking Wounded album and got cleaning. And a few songs into it, I slowed down and just stopped moving. I started listening to the words, and they are all very sad and about longing - breakup songs, being hurt by someone songs... and yes, I always knew that they were that way - the album is called Walking Wounded for crying out loud. But then it hit me.
This was an album that I listened to a whole lot with Mark Loesch. We both discovered it around the same time in 1996/97, and it was playing in the car when we would drive, and it would be in the cd changer whenever we had an evening together. Listening to this music made me remember evenings at Mark's new house, having wine or martinis, just the four of us (Pamela and Samantha too) with his kids asleep in upstairs, and Isaac and Bella not even ideas yet (come to think of it - Isaac's birthmom must have been as old as Bella is now when we were sitting in that living room in 1997... strange to think of).
The combination of those lyrics of loss with the memory of sharing that music with a man who I still miss every day was a bit too much for me, and I had to turn it off. But the songs still play through my head - "I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain".
So I queued up Missing, along with their Walking Wounded album and got cleaning. And a few songs into it, I slowed down and just stopped moving. I started listening to the words, and they are all very sad and about longing - breakup songs, being hurt by someone songs... and yes, I always knew that they were that way - the album is called Walking Wounded for crying out loud. But then it hit me.
This was an album that I listened to a whole lot with Mark Loesch. We both discovered it around the same time in 1996/97, and it was playing in the car when we would drive, and it would be in the cd changer whenever we had an evening together. Listening to this music made me remember evenings at Mark's new house, having wine or martinis, just the four of us (Pamela and Samantha too) with his kids asleep in upstairs, and Isaac and Bella not even ideas yet (come to think of it - Isaac's birthmom must have been as old as Bella is now when we were sitting in that living room in 1997... strange to think of).
The combination of those lyrics of loss with the memory of sharing that music with a man who I still miss every day was a bit too much for me, and I had to turn it off. But the songs still play through my head - "I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain".
Monday, July 05, 2010
It's MAGIC!
The other day, the kids did an amazing magic trick with the help of a very patient Zinsser the schnoodle.
The set up: Zinsser's kennel in the middle of the floor. Zinsser in the kennel sitting patiently. Bella and Isaac drape a blanket over the kennel, and then tell me to go into the other room "for a minute".
2 minutes later and a whole lot of scuffling noise... I'm invited back into the room. The kennel is still there with blanket over it, and bella pulls off the blanket with a flourish - TA DA!!! NO DOG INSIDE! She puts the blanket back on, and tells me to go back into the other room for another minute.
Again with the scuffling noises... And TA DA!!! She removes the blanket and Zinsser is sitting there, just like before.
What's amazing about this is that Zinsser really didn't make any fuss during this - I never heard HIM in the process. He's a good magician's assistant.
The set up: Zinsser's kennel in the middle of the floor. Zinsser in the kennel sitting patiently. Bella and Isaac drape a blanket over the kennel, and then tell me to go into the other room "for a minute".
2 minutes later and a whole lot of scuffling noise... I'm invited back into the room. The kennel is still there with blanket over it, and bella pulls off the blanket with a flourish - TA DA!!! NO DOG INSIDE! She puts the blanket back on, and tells me to go back into the other room for another minute.
Again with the scuffling noises... And TA DA!!! She removes the blanket and Zinsser is sitting there, just like before.
What's amazing about this is that Zinsser really didn't make any fuss during this - I never heard HIM in the process. He's a good magician's assistant.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Some Kid Quotes, plus nightmares.
1) Driving up the block, there's a bright blue Late 1970s-era Pontiac Trans-Am parked. Bella says:
"That car is AWESOME. The Color is AWESOME, and the LOOK of the car is AWESOME".
In case you were wondering, yes, she fell through a time portal. She was supposed to have been born in 1967. She's the hippie kid I never was.
2) Isaac woke us up early Friday morning demanding I crack open the container of powdered sugar donut holes. I gave him one and went back to sleep... an hour later I was up and making breakfast for real and asked Isaac if he wanted another donut hole. He said "No thanks, but they sure are tasty!"
3) Night of horror: Friday afternoon, Isaac was looking a little pale and said his stomach hurt a little. He still had dinner, but by 6pm, he had crawled into Pamela's arms for a cuddle and passed out cold. We put him up into bed. Around 11, when we went to bed ourselves, we changed his pull-up (still refusing the potty, that goat). At 1, he climbed into our bed, and by 1:15 I had been pushed out, so I went to his bed, and lay down.... in puke. IT WAS HORRIBLE. So I cleaned everything up and checked him out - it was cold and dry in some places, so I suspect it happened around midnight. Anyway, I cleaned it up. And will never forget the horror.
4) After my week away, it was hard to be back in Cleveland, though the new offices are very nice. I have a large office with a door and a window that looks out into trees. It's in a nice neighborhood with walking distance to a Starbucks and a great Mediterranean place too. Plus, our team had been split between two sites, and were all together finally... it felt like things were finally going to get done.
Could this be a turning point for my attitude there? Would I feel better about things?
Alas, no. Being out of our depressing place in the bad part of town, I could no longer distract myself with that misery... and the full focus of just how messed up the environment and project are came into sharper focus. I gotta get out of Cleveland.
As I was telling Pamela about all of this, she threw up her hands - "Why are you being so nice to them about your transition plan? They're messing everything up! You shouldn't feel ANY guilt about wanting out". That is so true. My wife is wise. Also, she's rightfully weary of me not being happy. I'm a much happier person than this.
That's the update for right now.... more later!
4)
"That car is AWESOME. The Color is AWESOME, and the LOOK of the car is AWESOME".
In case you were wondering, yes, she fell through a time portal. She was supposed to have been born in 1967. She's the hippie kid I never was.
2) Isaac woke us up early Friday morning demanding I crack open the container of powdered sugar donut holes. I gave him one and went back to sleep... an hour later I was up and making breakfast for real and asked Isaac if he wanted another donut hole. He said "No thanks, but they sure are tasty!"
3) Night of horror: Friday afternoon, Isaac was looking a little pale and said his stomach hurt a little. He still had dinner, but by 6pm, he had crawled into Pamela's arms for a cuddle and passed out cold. We put him up into bed. Around 11, when we went to bed ourselves, we changed his pull-up (still refusing the potty, that goat). At 1, he climbed into our bed, and by 1:15 I had been pushed out, so I went to his bed, and lay down.... in puke. IT WAS HORRIBLE. So I cleaned everything up and checked him out - it was cold and dry in some places, so I suspect it happened around midnight. Anyway, I cleaned it up. And will never forget the horror.
4) After my week away, it was hard to be back in Cleveland, though the new offices are very nice. I have a large office with a door and a window that looks out into trees. It's in a nice neighborhood with walking distance to a Starbucks and a great Mediterranean place too. Plus, our team had been split between two sites, and were all together finally... it felt like things were finally going to get done.
Could this be a turning point for my attitude there? Would I feel better about things?
Alas, no. Being out of our depressing place in the bad part of town, I could no longer distract myself with that misery... and the full focus of just how messed up the environment and project are came into sharper focus. I gotta get out of Cleveland.
As I was telling Pamela about all of this, she threw up her hands - "Why are you being so nice to them about your transition plan? They're messing everything up! You shouldn't feel ANY guilt about wanting out". That is so true. My wife is wise. Also, she's rightfully weary of me not being happy. I'm a much happier person than this.
That's the update for right now.... more later!
4)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
A good week at home
It was a work-from-home week, and it was wonderful... but no less busy than any other week, alas. I have over 20 hours of regularly scheduled conference calls every week, so I spent a lot of time up on the 3rd floor with the handsfree earpiece in. My cellphone bill will be atrocious: I've already hit 2300 minutes for the month and have a week left in the billing cycle.
Lots of good work done, however... Did have a bit of a blow to discover that one of the two remaining candidates for my permanent replacement out in Cleveland has taken a permanent position in New York. So we're down to either one outsider, or... I don't know. I'm still holding to my August date, however. If they can't move on their own behalf, I can't help them.
Had the boys over for scotch on Wednesday: We went light - only a 4 bottle lineup, including a very old Caol Ila, an amazing Longrow 18, and my Longmorn 30.... and to end we couldn't resist adding in my Port Ellen 27, which was cashed in the process. As to the movie, it was the horrible horrible movie 2012. We went into it with our expectations well planted in the basement, and somehow it STILL managed to disappoint us. There was just too much that didn't work, and it was just too too too terrible. It's tough when a movie has such amazing set pieces (They dropped an aircraft carrier RIGHT ON THE PRESIDENT'S FACE), and yet is so completely unsatisfying. We made due with non-stop commentary... and that only barely got us to the end. When Captain Squintyface says "there's a reason they call it the Cape of Good Hope", all three of us just groaned and threw up our hands.
I'm sure you're wondering: No I didn't get an iPhone4 yet: I'm more than happy to let the craze die down for a while and pick one up in more measured circumstances in a couple of weeks. I wouldn't mind getting the white one, which doesn't come out until late July anyway.
It's a quiet morning here in Edina: We had some storms blow through last night, and the tornado sirens went off, which had Bella in tears. But 30 min later, it was all clear. I'm Solo Dad for a couple of days: Pamela and her "free range chickens" got a line on a free cabin (with boat) for the weekend, so they piled into a minivan with margarita fixings, diet coke, and prosecco and chocolate and headed up north. So the kids and I have some fun planned, starting with Isaac's swim lesson in a few minutes.
Lots of good work done, however... Did have a bit of a blow to discover that one of the two remaining candidates for my permanent replacement out in Cleveland has taken a permanent position in New York. So we're down to either one outsider, or... I don't know. I'm still holding to my August date, however. If they can't move on their own behalf, I can't help them.
Had the boys over for scotch on Wednesday: We went light - only a 4 bottle lineup, including a very old Caol Ila, an amazing Longrow 18, and my Longmorn 30.... and to end we couldn't resist adding in my Port Ellen 27, which was cashed in the process. As to the movie, it was the horrible horrible movie 2012. We went into it with our expectations well planted in the basement, and somehow it STILL managed to disappoint us. There was just too much that didn't work, and it was just too too too terrible. It's tough when a movie has such amazing set pieces (They dropped an aircraft carrier RIGHT ON THE PRESIDENT'S FACE), and yet is so completely unsatisfying. We made due with non-stop commentary... and that only barely got us to the end. When Captain Squintyface says "there's a reason they call it the Cape of Good Hope", all three of us just groaned and threw up our hands.
I'm sure you're wondering: No I didn't get an iPhone4 yet: I'm more than happy to let the craze die down for a while and pick one up in more measured circumstances in a couple of weeks. I wouldn't mind getting the white one, which doesn't come out until late July anyway.
It's a quiet morning here in Edina: We had some storms blow through last night, and the tornado sirens went off, which had Bella in tears. But 30 min later, it was all clear. I'm Solo Dad for a couple of days: Pamela and her "free range chickens" got a line on a free cabin (with boat) for the weekend, so they piled into a minivan with margarita fixings, diet coke, and prosecco and chocolate and headed up north. So the kids and I have some fun planned, starting with Isaac's swim lesson in a few minutes.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Comments...
I'll be moderating comments, such as they are. I've had some problems with religious comment spams recently - having to do more deleting than I'm happy doing.
So if you want to comment - please go ahead and do so, but be aware it'll take an hour to show up.
Thanks!
So if you want to comment - please go ahead and do so, but be aware it'll take an hour to show up.
Thanks!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
A Father's Day Weekend
Oh Strep. On Thursday we discovered Bella is suffering from Strep, not just sunstroke from 3 full days at the pool. By Saturday, we suspected that Pamela might have it, as she passed out for a few hours then crawled off to sleep early. So today, Father's Day, we got to see a Minute Clinic... The quick test was negative, the long test will come back in a few days, and Pamela was back on the couch.
No matter - while Mother's Day is often about "making things easy for Mom", Father's Day is always all about Dad and Kid Action. And action we had: A visit to the Apple Store AND Guitar Center! Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. And what is Father's Day without a Pixar Movie?
The original plan was flawless:
Step 1 - watch Toy Story 1 and 2 with the kids on Saturday. Watch Isaac's reactions. Can he handle it? YES HE COULD.
Step 2 - Get reserved seats for the 3:55 show at the Icon theater. That way we can walk in at the last minute after the loud scary previews and just watch the movie.
Step 3 - Pamela is on Isaac duty in case things get too scary.
What with the strep, step 3 sort of fell apart, so I left her on the couch and proceeded with the plan, bringing both kids: There were two points in the movie that were just too much for Isaac: One was the sad clown's story, the other was the incinerator scene. I spoil nothing - but these were definite dramatic peaks of the movie, and I had Isaac yelling "I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!". So I took him down to the hallway, and told him what was happening in the movie and that everything was going to be ok. REALLY. And I got him back in the theater and back on my lap. By the end he was laughing and cheering, loving how it all turned out.
I will not spoil the movie for people here: Everyone who liked 1 and 2 needs to see this. It is brilliant closure to the story, and a powerful story about growing up. Of course tears were streaming down my cheeks as the credits rolled... absolutely incredible. I do plan to see it again - but I'll leave Isaac at home. Bella was a champ by the way.
After a dinner of grilled cheeses on the back porch, it was off to bed. I got Isaac ready for bed and cuddled him until he was asleep. Then into Bella's room, where we read 1/2 of a Magic Treehouse (Earthquake!) and she was so tired she nodded off shortly thereafter. Holding both my kids as they fell into slumber was a magical way to end father's day.
And even better was knowing I'll be in town all week - no sneaking off on Monday morning with them asleep. This will be a good week.
Images:
1) Last night before bed, Isaac and Bella both had me pushing them on the swingset. Bella challenged me to push Isaac's swing ONE HUNDRED TIMES. I accepted the challenge, and she counted every swing, but by the end, she had adopted a crazy opera singer voice and was singing each number with a little vibrato trill at the end. I almost didn't make it to 100 I was laughing so hard. Isaac was just in the swing zone. Silent, serious, happy.
2) An image I love: When I do one of my absurd jokes with Bella, she does a fabulous "straight man" reaction: Her face gets stony, her mouth turns down in a slight frown, and she fixes me with a look and narrows her eyes.
3) Isaac has picked up an interesting vocal tweak recently. He's extending vowels into extra syllables: The word "eat" has become "ee-yut", "Please" become "Plee-yus", "good" is "guh-wood"... I'm not sure where it's coming from, but it's cute as all get out. He's also experimenting with big words: "suppose", "eventually", and "probably" are inserted into just about any sentence.
4) Bella with her iPod: She's got to the point now of asking me to add songs to it: Last week she asked for the Spice Girls "Wannabe" - she's been singing it around the house. This weekend, it was "Owl City" who makes very earnest synthpop with kid-friendly lyrics. She goes to a happy place when she's listening to music.
I just want to have in the internet record: My kids are very cute.
No matter - while Mother's Day is often about "making things easy for Mom", Father's Day is always all about Dad and Kid Action. And action we had: A visit to the Apple Store AND Guitar Center! Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. And what is Father's Day without a Pixar Movie?
The original plan was flawless:
Step 1 - watch Toy Story 1 and 2 with the kids on Saturday. Watch Isaac's reactions. Can he handle it? YES HE COULD.
Step 2 - Get reserved seats for the 3:55 show at the Icon theater. That way we can walk in at the last minute after the loud scary previews and just watch the movie.
Step 3 - Pamela is on Isaac duty in case things get too scary.
What with the strep, step 3 sort of fell apart, so I left her on the couch and proceeded with the plan, bringing both kids: There were two points in the movie that were just too much for Isaac: One was the sad clown's story, the other was the incinerator scene. I spoil nothing - but these were definite dramatic peaks of the movie, and I had Isaac yelling "I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!". So I took him down to the hallway, and told him what was happening in the movie and that everything was going to be ok. REALLY. And I got him back in the theater and back on my lap. By the end he was laughing and cheering, loving how it all turned out.
I will not spoil the movie for people here: Everyone who liked 1 and 2 needs to see this. It is brilliant closure to the story, and a powerful story about growing up. Of course tears were streaming down my cheeks as the credits rolled... absolutely incredible. I do plan to see it again - but I'll leave Isaac at home. Bella was a champ by the way.
After a dinner of grilled cheeses on the back porch, it was off to bed. I got Isaac ready for bed and cuddled him until he was asleep. Then into Bella's room, where we read 1/2 of a Magic Treehouse (Earthquake!) and she was so tired she nodded off shortly thereafter. Holding both my kids as they fell into slumber was a magical way to end father's day.
And even better was knowing I'll be in town all week - no sneaking off on Monday morning with them asleep. This will be a good week.
Images:
1) Last night before bed, Isaac and Bella both had me pushing them on the swingset. Bella challenged me to push Isaac's swing ONE HUNDRED TIMES. I accepted the challenge, and she counted every swing, but by the end, she had adopted a crazy opera singer voice and was singing each number with a little vibrato trill at the end. I almost didn't make it to 100 I was laughing so hard. Isaac was just in the swing zone. Silent, serious, happy.
2) An image I love: When I do one of my absurd jokes with Bella, she does a fabulous "straight man" reaction: Her face gets stony, her mouth turns down in a slight frown, and she fixes me with a look and narrows her eyes.
3) Isaac has picked up an interesting vocal tweak recently. He's extending vowels into extra syllables: The word "eat" has become "ee-yut", "Please" become "Plee-yus", "good" is "guh-wood"... I'm not sure where it's coming from, but it's cute as all get out. He's also experimenting with big words: "suppose", "eventually", and "probably" are inserted into just about any sentence.
4) Bella with her iPod: She's got to the point now of asking me to add songs to it: Last week she asked for the Spice Girls "Wannabe" - she's been singing it around the house. This weekend, it was "Owl City" who makes very earnest synthpop with kid-friendly lyrics. She goes to a happy place when she's listening to music.
I just want to have in the internet record: My kids are very cute.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
It's an ok week...
Those big meetings with lots of people in the room... I haven't spent that much time in them. I've been interviewing people to join the team, and doing planning work, but when you get right down to it, the subjects they're discussing are really low-level "once you're done doing X, do you want to do Y or Z?" sort of design questions. And my job is to make sure there's a team in place who can deliver on those decisions, but not to participate in the making of those decisions.
So in a strange way, the week has been a good one for just getting REAL work done - all of the people I need to be managing have things to be doing.
I started "the conversation" with my boss today, too. I let him know that while I'm happy to be helping out, this isn't the work I prefer, and that I'm looking to transition. It was pretty bold. And we're working on our plan. He had always planned to replace me, but he admitted he was getting complacent because I was actually doing a good job... so we're back on track with the replace-me project.
And just in time - the other, more fun opportunities are popping up all over the place - Data Warehouse, PACS, Cardiovascular.... I'm looking forward to a work-at-home week next week: I'm getting all bold with my demands now that I know that a) I'll be outta there soon-ish, and b) there are other opportunities.
On the home front... Bella has been going to swim camp in the mornings, and Pamela and Isaac have been bringing lunch to the pool for afternoons of splashy fun. We have memberships at the Edina Pool which has both a regular pool (with diving boards AND a ZipLine), and a kiddy splashy area. Isaac and Bella love both areas. I'll be going with them this weekend I hope, should the weather hold. Maybe I'll sneak out there with them during the week next week too... Shhhhhh don't tell anyone.
Got a report from Pamela that Isaac was "adopted" by 4 5th grade boys at the playground today, and the 5 of them played for over an hour. Apparently, they treated Isaac well and there was no teasing - and at the end, they all gave Isaac a hug. The Mayor in full effect.
Media Update:
"Check it Out with Dr Steve Brule" is an a strange fake cable-access show starring John C Reilly as a frizzy haired idiot. These 11 minute shows are simply ridiculous, and I love them. Watch them HERE
Buffy: I'm 3/4 of the way through Season 3, and am in complete awe. Just watched two classic episodes - The Zeppo and Doppelgangerland. This is high art. If you're curious about Buffy, you can pretty much start with Season 2... just get some background details from someone in the know. Season 1 was uneven and while sometimes fun, it wasn't great. But hoo boy, by Season 3, it is just SMOKING. Also, I may need to re-evaluate my calling Isaac "The Mayor" based on what is happening on the show...
So You Think You Can Dance: Not sure about the big re-structuring of the show format, but the past two seasons there were so many issues with "dud partners" - the whole "Mollee and Nathan" thing - how she really blossomed once she got a new partner, and the whole "Evan" thing... So I think the superstars concept is great, especially since Kathryn and Mark are back...
Time to rest. I will NOT Watch one more Buffy before bed. REALLY.
So in a strange way, the week has been a good one for just getting REAL work done - all of the people I need to be managing have things to be doing.
I started "the conversation" with my boss today, too. I let him know that while I'm happy to be helping out, this isn't the work I prefer, and that I'm looking to transition. It was pretty bold. And we're working on our plan. He had always planned to replace me, but he admitted he was getting complacent because I was actually doing a good job... so we're back on track with the replace-me project.
And just in time - the other, more fun opportunities are popping up all over the place - Data Warehouse, PACS, Cardiovascular.... I'm looking forward to a work-at-home week next week: I'm getting all bold with my demands now that I know that a) I'll be outta there soon-ish, and b) there are other opportunities.
On the home front... Bella has been going to swim camp in the mornings, and Pamela and Isaac have been bringing lunch to the pool for afternoons of splashy fun. We have memberships at the Edina Pool which has both a regular pool (with diving boards AND a ZipLine), and a kiddy splashy area. Isaac and Bella love both areas. I'll be going with them this weekend I hope, should the weather hold. Maybe I'll sneak out there with them during the week next week too... Shhhhhh don't tell anyone.
Got a report from Pamela that Isaac was "adopted" by 4 5th grade boys at the playground today, and the 5 of them played for over an hour. Apparently, they treated Isaac well and there was no teasing - and at the end, they all gave Isaac a hug. The Mayor in full effect.
Media Update:
"Check it Out with Dr Steve Brule" is an a strange fake cable-access show starring John C Reilly as a frizzy haired idiot. These 11 minute shows are simply ridiculous, and I love them. Watch them HERE
Buffy: I'm 3/4 of the way through Season 3, and am in complete awe. Just watched two classic episodes - The Zeppo and Doppelgangerland. This is high art. If you're curious about Buffy, you can pretty much start with Season 2... just get some background details from someone in the know. Season 1 was uneven and while sometimes fun, it wasn't great. But hoo boy, by Season 3, it is just SMOKING. Also, I may need to re-evaluate my calling Isaac "The Mayor" based on what is happening on the show...
So You Think You Can Dance: Not sure about the big re-structuring of the show format, but the past two seasons there were so many issues with "dud partners" - the whole "Mollee and Nathan" thing - how she really blossomed once she got a new partner, and the whole "Evan" thing... So I think the superstars concept is great, especially since Kathryn and Mark are back...
Time to rest. I will NOT Watch one more Buffy before bed. REALLY.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Strategery
It was a short weekend: Thursday I took off from Cleveland to Philly, where I caught the Phillies get beat by the Marlins while we schmoozed clients in a skybox. Friday was an all day strategy session followed by a marathon dinner at Alma de Cuba.
The hotel in Philly was a cute boutique place in center city, with some of the most punishingly hard beds I've ever been on. I think there have been floors that have been more comfortable. All day at our Friday session, people took turns stretching and groaning. It was good bonding, however.
By the time the alarm went off to head home on Saturday, I was well ready to get back to my life... I was able to walk into the house by 11 on Saturday, and spent a whirlwind weekend with the family. Bella had two parties to go to: A dog-themed birthday party on Saturday, and a going away party for her 1st grade friend Minori whose family is moving back to Japan. I asked if Bella would like to be Minori's pen pal.. Bella was concerned that once in Japan, she would only speak Japanese.
I think it would be fun to teach Bella Japanese.
Somewhere in there, Pamela and I got caught up on So You Think You Can Dance (staying up WAY too late to do so), and Isaac and I spent some time at Edinborough Park as well. Also, lots of cuddles, and I even mowed the lawn.
This morning, Isaac was up and at'em at 4:15... even before I was supposed to be up to get to Cleveland. So we had breakfast together and played with some cars. We picked out a couple of cars for me to take to work. A kiss and I was off to the airport. Pamela later reported that Isaac did NOT go back to sleep - but he did get a little nap in the afternoon.
A mechanical issue had us switching planes and getting into Cleveland 90 minutes late. I hopped into a Hyundai at National Car Rental and was thrilled with the radio selection.
I'm a guy who reprograms every rental car I get into: I set the NPR station first on the FM band, and if it has Sirius Radio, I have my favorites: First Wave (80s alternative), Area (trance), BPM (house), Chill (ambient). So imagine my joy at getting into a rental to find all of the above ALREADY PROGRAMMED (and no, I had not been in this car before). So there was one more program button.... what had my mystery benefactor left for me? Sirius Q Gay Talk.
Somehow I felt... categorized. Not that there's anything wrong with it.
Anyway, I have a usual busy week ahead here - more of those long meetings in rooms with dozens of people. But I have a sense of peacefulness: One of the things that came out of the strategy sessions in Philly was full backup from my whole team that we're getting me out of Cleveland. So I don't feel quite as trapped, and it's making me feel ok.
Making me feel even better: Got a call from one of the partners this afternoon asking if I had experience with a specific area of geekitude: And yes, I have that experience in spades. Looks like a gig in New Orleans of the type I like: 2-3 days of interviews down there, then 2-3 weeks of work at home to deliver a design. Just knowing that they're finding the sort of thing that would allow me to flex my geek muscles AND be at home more has already made me feel less panicky.
The hotel in Philly was a cute boutique place in center city, with some of the most punishingly hard beds I've ever been on. I think there have been floors that have been more comfortable. All day at our Friday session, people took turns stretching and groaning. It was good bonding, however.
By the time the alarm went off to head home on Saturday, I was well ready to get back to my life... I was able to walk into the house by 11 on Saturday, and spent a whirlwind weekend with the family. Bella had two parties to go to: A dog-themed birthday party on Saturday, and a going away party for her 1st grade friend Minori whose family is moving back to Japan. I asked if Bella would like to be Minori's pen pal.. Bella was concerned that once in Japan, she would only speak Japanese.
I think it would be fun to teach Bella Japanese.
Somewhere in there, Pamela and I got caught up on So You Think You Can Dance (staying up WAY too late to do so), and Isaac and I spent some time at Edinborough Park as well. Also, lots of cuddles, and I even mowed the lawn.
This morning, Isaac was up and at'em at 4:15... even before I was supposed to be up to get to Cleveland. So we had breakfast together and played with some cars. We picked out a couple of cars for me to take to work. A kiss and I was off to the airport. Pamela later reported that Isaac did NOT go back to sleep - but he did get a little nap in the afternoon.
A mechanical issue had us switching planes and getting into Cleveland 90 minutes late. I hopped into a Hyundai at National Car Rental and was thrilled with the radio selection.
I'm a guy who reprograms every rental car I get into: I set the NPR station first on the FM band, and if it has Sirius Radio, I have my favorites: First Wave (80s alternative), Area (trance), BPM (house), Chill (ambient). So imagine my joy at getting into a rental to find all of the above ALREADY PROGRAMMED (and no, I had not been in this car before). So there was one more program button.... what had my mystery benefactor left for me? Sirius Q Gay Talk.
Somehow I felt... categorized. Not that there's anything wrong with it.
Anyway, I have a usual busy week ahead here - more of those long meetings in rooms with dozens of people. But I have a sense of peacefulness: One of the things that came out of the strategy sessions in Philly was full backup from my whole team that we're getting me out of Cleveland. So I don't feel quite as trapped, and it's making me feel ok.
Making me feel even better: Got a call from one of the partners this afternoon asking if I had experience with a specific area of geekitude: And yes, I have that experience in spades. Looks like a gig in New Orleans of the type I like: 2-3 days of interviews down there, then 2-3 weeks of work at home to deliver a design. Just knowing that they're finding the sort of thing that would allow me to flex my geek muscles AND be at home more has already made me feel less panicky.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Three Images
1) Bella on Sunday night: She thinks that when you die you stand on God's shoulders and try to reach the stars. All of the dead people are up there and the pile is REALLY high. And Grant is up on the top reaching.
2) Isaac in the car on Monday: I was flipping past radio stations and stopped on one that was playing some classic 1950s rock and roll. Isaac said "I love this music! Do you know this music? What is it called?" I said "It's Rock and Roll".
He said "Oh yes. I used to LOVE this music, back when I was a different big kid. And you were a different Daddy, and Mom was a different Mommy. And I was black."
Obviously, he was channeling SOMETHING... I'm not sure what to make of that one. The barriers between realities are pretty soft for the young, and I think there's a window in there where they have language but the door starts closing. I think we should listen more to 3 year olds... bearing in mind that a lot of it will also have to do with Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks. You need to listen for the gems. This was the age at which Bella was mystically referring to "Tree is coming" as well...
3) Today Pamela was in the back yard with Bella and Zinsser and Isaac went back into the house. After a while Pamela asked Bella to check on Isaac, and ran back out sputtering.
Yes, Isaac had pulled a chair up to the kitchen sink, taken out the sprayer, and had turned our counter into a waterfall, with a big grin. There was a sloshable amount of water on the floor, and at least one phone was soaked... Good to know that in addition to being a potentially wise old soul, Isaac is also still a rambunctious kid.
2) Isaac in the car on Monday: I was flipping past radio stations and stopped on one that was playing some classic 1950s rock and roll. Isaac said "I love this music! Do you know this music? What is it called?" I said "It's Rock and Roll".
He said "Oh yes. I used to LOVE this music, back when I was a different big kid. And you were a different Daddy, and Mom was a different Mommy. And I was black."
Obviously, he was channeling SOMETHING... I'm not sure what to make of that one. The barriers between realities are pretty soft for the young, and I think there's a window in there where they have language but the door starts closing. I think we should listen more to 3 year olds... bearing in mind that a lot of it will also have to do with Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks. You need to listen for the gems. This was the age at which Bella was mystically referring to "Tree is coming" as well...
3) Today Pamela was in the back yard with Bella and Zinsser and Isaac went back into the house. After a while Pamela asked Bella to check on Isaac, and ran back out sputtering.
Yes, Isaac had pulled a chair up to the kitchen sink, taken out the sprayer, and had turned our counter into a waterfall, with a big grin. There was a sloshable amount of water on the floor, and at least one phone was soaked... Good to know that in addition to being a potentially wise old soul, Isaac is also still a rambunctious kid.
I promised cute...
Last weekend was quite the adventure: I flew home on Thursday afternoon and was greeted at the airport by Mister Marshmallow with the whole family and Zinsser inside. I jumped in and it was road trip time - Chicagoland, here we come! The kids were in a good mood, mollified by the DVD player, and Zinsser proved himself to be a stupendous road trip dog, sitting quietly in our laps the whole trip.
We pulled in to the Residence Inn Schaumburg just after 10, and Bam was there to meet us. I cashed in a few Marriott points (well, 90,000 of them to be fair) to pay for two rooms for three nights. Zinsser is a welcome guest at this hotel, and promptly marked his territory in the park behind the inn. Isaac was overtired, and needed some extra comfort, so Dad was with Bella on the hide-a-bed, while Mom and Isaac got the "real bed". This was to be the case for the rest of the trip, by the way.
Friday was mostly for fun - a lazy morning, a Portillos lunch, a visit to Grandma, and 3 hours at a Toyota dealership. Ok, maybe that last part wasn't fun. Last year, we had some "dead battery" issues with Mister Marshmallow, and you know, you don't want a dead battery in an electric car. At the time, they recharged it and tested it, and it was good to go. So when we popped into the car at the Senior Home, I was a bit surprised to find electrical problems.
The funny thing is that in this car, a dying battery looks a lot like a hollywood movie where "the hacker" is bringing down the network: Dashboard lights pulsing on and off, the displays (mileage and navigation) powering on and off, with lines of static, and rebooting rapidly... I was waiting for Isaac to morph into Agent Smith, really. Then it all went dead. So I had to call for help, while the rest of the family grabbed a ride back to the hotel with other relatives and swam the afternoon away.
Long story short - I got a new battery, and had to wait quite a while for it, because they needed to reprogram a bunch of stuff as a result. Do not mess with the hybrid. NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. I got it.
Lilli and Rich and Bridget came by for pizza and chatting: Bridget was talking about her job as an Apple Store Turnaround Specialist. She gets moved to underperforming Apple stores and gets them back in shape. What a cool job... and of course she has an iPad that she loves.
Oh - sidebar - that "problem" you read about with the iPad and the security: It's not the iPad - it's ATT. And because I use my iPad with a Sprint hotspot, I'm not at risk. Not that there was much at risk really - just an email address and the knowledge that this person with this email address owns an iPad. So the next person who tries to say "the iPad got hacked" goes to Jimmy Jail. At&T got hacked, not Apple. THE END.
I was exhausted from the day and asked nicely for a little nap at 5. Sometime around 6, Isaac came in to say hi... and I didn't hear from him again. At 6:15 I got up and discovered him flat on the ground with a didda - he literally just fell down and went to sleep in the middle of the hotel floor. OF COURSE we picked him up and put him into our bed.
Saturday was the big day (and yes, the hide-a-bed WAS comfortable, thanks for asking). In the AM, Bella got to go with Lilli to the stable and watch her ride AND she got to ride a pony too. Isaac and I swam for an hour, then went to Five Guys: He is now a huge fan of peanuts - I crack the shells, and he opens them up to remove "The Babies" which he lines up and then eats.
In the afternoon: The big event: Bailey and Ty, my friends I've known since they were 3 months old, graduated from High School and are off to college. So we crashed their Graduation Party.
They were completely shocked to see us, in a good way. We had sent decoy cards and gifts, and Ty's first words on seeing us were "but you sent a card! We thought you weren't coming!!!" Of course, we were dressed as pirates (Palatine Pirates!), with eyepatches, hats (I had a combo hat/wig), and red-black pirate clothes. Bella had a parrot, and we all had big inflatable swords. And in a move that could best be described as "awesome" - there was a moonwalk at the party.
I repeat: There was a moonwalk at Ty and Bailey's graduation party.
Isaac spent the next three hours in that jumper, emerging only to take in fluids. 3 solid hours of nonstop jumping. He was the happiest guy in the world. Bella was jumping too, but she was also off with some kids her age talking about things first graders talk about... I have no idea. When we got home, Isaac still took a little time to get to sleep. IN OUR BED, did I mention? But we were able to transfer him to the hideabed, at least until he woke up at 3 and kicked me back to the hide-a-bed. But those were some nice hours I had.
Bella went to bed a little later because at 9pm who should show up finally but Papa! He was on a business trip to Indiana, and got back Saturday night. When he came in, Bella walked up to him without saying a word and held him for a solid minute with her eyes shut. She loves her Papa, and Papa loves her.
Sunday had the kids up early to play with Papa, some more swimming in the AM, then packing up. I went to get Burritos from Chipotle and Burgers from Portillos to fuel us up. We hit the road just after 1, and got home around 8-ish. Again, the car DVD player was a good good thing. We got word about Grant on the drive home... but waited until bedtime to have the talk.
In all it was a wonderful weekend capped with a sad coda... but a wonderful weekend nonetheless.
We pulled in to the Residence Inn Schaumburg just after 10, and Bam was there to meet us. I cashed in a few Marriott points (well, 90,000 of them to be fair) to pay for two rooms for three nights. Zinsser is a welcome guest at this hotel, and promptly marked his territory in the park behind the inn. Isaac was overtired, and needed some extra comfort, so Dad was with Bella on the hide-a-bed, while Mom and Isaac got the "real bed". This was to be the case for the rest of the trip, by the way.
Friday was mostly for fun - a lazy morning, a Portillos lunch, a visit to Grandma, and 3 hours at a Toyota dealership. Ok, maybe that last part wasn't fun. Last year, we had some "dead battery" issues with Mister Marshmallow, and you know, you don't want a dead battery in an electric car. At the time, they recharged it and tested it, and it was good to go. So when we popped into the car at the Senior Home, I was a bit surprised to find electrical problems.
The funny thing is that in this car, a dying battery looks a lot like a hollywood movie where "the hacker" is bringing down the network: Dashboard lights pulsing on and off, the displays (mileage and navigation) powering on and off, with lines of static, and rebooting rapidly... I was waiting for Isaac to morph into Agent Smith, really. Then it all went dead. So I had to call for help, while the rest of the family grabbed a ride back to the hotel with other relatives and swam the afternoon away.
Long story short - I got a new battery, and had to wait quite a while for it, because they needed to reprogram a bunch of stuff as a result. Do not mess with the hybrid. NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. I got it.
Lilli and Rich and Bridget came by for pizza and chatting: Bridget was talking about her job as an Apple Store Turnaround Specialist. She gets moved to underperforming Apple stores and gets them back in shape. What a cool job... and of course she has an iPad that she loves.
Oh - sidebar - that "problem" you read about with the iPad and the security: It's not the iPad - it's ATT. And because I use my iPad with a Sprint hotspot, I'm not at risk. Not that there was much at risk really - just an email address and the knowledge that this person with this email address owns an iPad. So the next person who tries to say "the iPad got hacked" goes to Jimmy Jail. At&T got hacked, not Apple. THE END.
I was exhausted from the day and asked nicely for a little nap at 5. Sometime around 6, Isaac came in to say hi... and I didn't hear from him again. At 6:15 I got up and discovered him flat on the ground with a didda - he literally just fell down and went to sleep in the middle of the hotel floor. OF COURSE we picked him up and put him into our bed.
Saturday was the big day (and yes, the hide-a-bed WAS comfortable, thanks for asking). In the AM, Bella got to go with Lilli to the stable and watch her ride AND she got to ride a pony too. Isaac and I swam for an hour, then went to Five Guys: He is now a huge fan of peanuts - I crack the shells, and he opens them up to remove "The Babies" which he lines up and then eats.
In the afternoon: The big event: Bailey and Ty, my friends I've known since they were 3 months old, graduated from High School and are off to college. So we crashed their Graduation Party.
They were completely shocked to see us, in a good way. We had sent decoy cards and gifts, and Ty's first words on seeing us were "but you sent a card! We thought you weren't coming!!!" Of course, we were dressed as pirates (Palatine Pirates!), with eyepatches, hats (I had a combo hat/wig), and red-black pirate clothes. Bella had a parrot, and we all had big inflatable swords. And in a move that could best be described as "awesome" - there was a moonwalk at the party.
I repeat: There was a moonwalk at Ty and Bailey's graduation party.
Isaac spent the next three hours in that jumper, emerging only to take in fluids. 3 solid hours of nonstop jumping. He was the happiest guy in the world. Bella was jumping too, but she was also off with some kids her age talking about things first graders talk about... I have no idea. When we got home, Isaac still took a little time to get to sleep. IN OUR BED, did I mention? But we were able to transfer him to the hideabed, at least until he woke up at 3 and kicked me back to the hide-a-bed. But those were some nice hours I had.
Bella went to bed a little later because at 9pm who should show up finally but Papa! He was on a business trip to Indiana, and got back Saturday night. When he came in, Bella walked up to him without saying a word and held him for a solid minute with her eyes shut. She loves her Papa, and Papa loves her.
Sunday had the kids up early to play with Papa, some more swimming in the AM, then packing up. I went to get Burritos from Chipotle and Burgers from Portillos to fuel us up. We hit the road just after 1, and got home around 8-ish. Again, the car DVD player was a good good thing. We got word about Grant on the drive home... but waited until bedtime to have the talk.
In all it was a wonderful weekend capped with a sad coda... but a wonderful weekend nonetheless.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
This Post...
This was going to be about the amazing weekend we just came away from, and about cute things Isaac and Bella have said recently, and maybe a little kvetching about Cleveland... but instead it's an update to this post from last year.
I haven't written much about Grant in the intervening months - he had been going to school for much of the year, in Bella's class. His family did their best to make it an incredible year for him: He went to the Olympics, to Disneyworld, and he got to meet a lot of his sports heroes as well. And then he had a whole lot of medical treatments.
As typically happens, the first round of chemo shrank the tumor and gave Grant some of his life back. The drugs weakened his body so he was put on massive steroids... He bulked up to twice his weight, but it gave him the ability to be with his friends and family. But a couple of months ago, the tumor started growing again: A month ago, Grant decided not to go back to school. And on Sunday at 3pm, he died.
His classmates made him a video a couple of weeks ago: In it, Bella read a poem with her friend Miles. On Monday morning, the whole school found out about Grant's passing, and social workers were all over the place. Bella's class watched their video to him to remember... and in typical 7 year old style, they were giggling at and with their friends... The gravity of this can't really sink in for most of them: Bella was more of an acquaintance than close friend (Grant was a very Boy-boy, and loved sports - I suspect he and Isaac would have been a better match), and by the end of Monday, she was tired of all of the fuss and just wanted to play.
(Update: I should clarify - Bella was and is very sad about this - but I just wanted to show that for a first grader, life moves on pretty quickly... I suspect we'll have echoes of sadness for quite a while to come. While Bella declared herself "tired" of talking about it by last night, she also was on a hair trigger with Isaac, and stayed up until 10 talking... so we all process in our own ways)
It's hard as a dad to even imagine what Grant's parents and family went through: On Sunday night, I spent a long time just staring at Isaac and Bella as they slept. I looked at pictures of Grant's progression, and read his parents brave updates on Caringbridge, and was just overwhelmed with sadness. I don't know how someone could ever get over something that sad... but I know people do.
Anyway, I just wanted to have this post out there... and I'll get around to telling you about the amazing weekend we had before we found out, and about the funny things the kids said, and yes, I'll even tell you about Cleveland some more. But not right this minute.
I haven't written much about Grant in the intervening months - he had been going to school for much of the year, in Bella's class. His family did their best to make it an incredible year for him: He went to the Olympics, to Disneyworld, and he got to meet a lot of his sports heroes as well. And then he had a whole lot of medical treatments.
As typically happens, the first round of chemo shrank the tumor and gave Grant some of his life back. The drugs weakened his body so he was put on massive steroids... He bulked up to twice his weight, but it gave him the ability to be with his friends and family. But a couple of months ago, the tumor started growing again: A month ago, Grant decided not to go back to school. And on Sunday at 3pm, he died.
His classmates made him a video a couple of weeks ago: In it, Bella read a poem with her friend Miles. On Monday morning, the whole school found out about Grant's passing, and social workers were all over the place. Bella's class watched their video to him to remember... and in typical 7 year old style, they were giggling at and with their friends... The gravity of this can't really sink in for most of them: Bella was more of an acquaintance than close friend (Grant was a very Boy-boy, and loved sports - I suspect he and Isaac would have been a better match), and by the end of Monday, she was tired of all of the fuss and just wanted to play.
(Update: I should clarify - Bella was and is very sad about this - but I just wanted to show that for a first grader, life moves on pretty quickly... I suspect we'll have echoes of sadness for quite a while to come. While Bella declared herself "tired" of talking about it by last night, she also was on a hair trigger with Isaac, and stayed up until 10 talking... so we all process in our own ways)
It's hard as a dad to even imagine what Grant's parents and family went through: On Sunday night, I spent a long time just staring at Isaac and Bella as they slept. I looked at pictures of Grant's progression, and read his parents brave updates on Caringbridge, and was just overwhelmed with sadness. I don't know how someone could ever get over something that sad... but I know people do.
Anyway, I just wanted to have this post out there... and I'll get around to telling you about the amazing weekend we had before we found out, and about the funny things the kids said, and yes, I'll even tell you about Cleveland some more. But not right this minute.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
How they live
While in Cleveland I like to experience the full range of delights at the rental agencies have to offer. I have recently enjoyed the 'driving a cube' life with both the Kia Soul and the Nissan Cube. I have done the USA MUSCLE CAR route with a Mustang and a Dodge Charger. I've done the small car thing with the Escort, the Mazda 3, and the Toyota Echo. but aside from one stinky car in Philly i have not HATED a car until today.
Today i decided to try a Jeep Wrangler. The moment i hit the highway I knew this would be a challenge. Crosswinds buffeted me like a semitrailer. The engine roared but accelerated weakly. The seat was both too low to see properly and too high in that my knees bumped the wheel. The stereo was tinny and harsh. And i think i blew a quarter tank before i made it to the job site. I exaggerate of course for semi comic effect but nonetheless, i was put out: why does this car exist? Why do people BUY these? I want to stand outside of a Jeep dealership and pass out pamphlets. Offer hugs to those lost souls looking to buy one of these monsters.
I think a Hummer actually makes more sense as a vehicle. How sad is that? ANYWAY.
The weekend is over and it was a wonderful long break from work. I didn't touch work for 3 days, and i realized today that I didn't get behind as a result either. Interesting.
I spent a half hour on my outdoor couch yesterday, enjoying the breeze and sunshine while my dog raced about happliy. There was yet another neighborhood BBQ and the kids played and played. Isaac fought bedtime tooth and nail until his head actually hit the pillow, at which point he zonked peacefully. Bella and I had great reading time and cuddles, and she too was out pretty quickly.
I snuck out this morning at the unreasonable hour of 5:20. I told the cab company 5:30, but i guess they were just all up and early. Allowed me to chill at the airport a bit i suppose,
I'm staying at a 'real' marriott this week - not the traveler budget ones (courtyard, residence inn) but the real capital M Marriott. And it is very nice. VERY NICE, A guy could get used to this.
Today i decided to try a Jeep Wrangler. The moment i hit the highway I knew this would be a challenge. Crosswinds buffeted me like a semitrailer. The engine roared but accelerated weakly. The seat was both too low to see properly and too high in that my knees bumped the wheel. The stereo was tinny and harsh. And i think i blew a quarter tank before i made it to the job site. I exaggerate of course for semi comic effect but nonetheless, i was put out: why does this car exist? Why do people BUY these? I want to stand outside of a Jeep dealership and pass out pamphlets. Offer hugs to those lost souls looking to buy one of these monsters.
I think a Hummer actually makes more sense as a vehicle. How sad is that? ANYWAY.
The weekend is over and it was a wonderful long break from work. I didn't touch work for 3 days, and i realized today that I didn't get behind as a result either. Interesting.
I spent a half hour on my outdoor couch yesterday, enjoying the breeze and sunshine while my dog raced about happliy. There was yet another neighborhood BBQ and the kids played and played. Isaac fought bedtime tooth and nail until his head actually hit the pillow, at which point he zonked peacefully. Bella and I had great reading time and cuddles, and she too was out pretty quickly.
I snuck out this morning at the unreasonable hour of 5:20. I told the cab company 5:30, but i guess they were just all up and early. Allowed me to chill at the airport a bit i suppose,
I'm staying at a 'real' marriott this week - not the traveler budget ones (courtyard, residence inn) but the real capital M Marriott. And it is very nice. VERY NICE, A guy could get used to this.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Fencing
First: The other night I was cuddling Bella after her Magic Treehouse book, and said "you know what? This is what home feels like". She rolled away, out of my arms, and said "and THIS is what the hotel feels like, right?" Sassafrass.
Today was a working day: Zinsser has been a "kept animal" in our house - only out on leashes, always pegged down in the yard. There are/were leash-free dog people on our block, but I could never deal with the heartache of a dog hit by traffic or lost in the wild... So Zinsser has always seen the world at a length of 8-10 feet from us. But there are some neighbors with fenced in yards and Zinsser has loved visiting there, running free.
So we decided to complete the fencing in of our yard. We had Midwest Fence come out and sink some posts, run some fence, and it's gorgeous. But they were only doing fill-in around the existing fences... and prior to letting Zinsser out, we needed to do some patching work on the existing fences: The arty wood fence on the south side needed a mesh backing since the slats were wide enough for a dog to slip through. The two chain link fences on the west and north sides of the yard had enormous holes for the rabbit and raccoon superhighways.
So today we patched it all. We got 50" of 2 foot high coated chickenwire, and 80 feet of one foot high "garden border"... plus we had about 10 feet of left over chain link. With a staple gun and a bunch of zip ties, we have sealed the yard, and we "released the hound" at about 4pm this afternoon.
Zinsser was at first tentative, then walking more confidently, and then spent a full hour tearing through the yard at full speed. The kids had a slip and slide going which he ran through a few times too - by the end, we had a wet, happy, tired dog. Just watching that happy animal made me so content. To be able to open that back door and let him run for a while will just be great.
I confess I did get a toy while we were doing all this shopping for fencing. Yeah, I got a gas powered weed whacker. 4 stroke engine for low pollution and high power, and it's not THAT loud. I whipped all sorts of weeds into submission with a cackle. And when I say "weed" I also mean "small trees". We also got a rototiller attachment which looks formidable. With the fence done, our job tomorrow is to whip the victory garden into shape. Hopefully it's not too late to get some herbs and tomatoes started.
We spent most of the day outdoors, and that wipes people out. Isaac was down by 7:45. Pamela by 8:30. Bella took a little longer to conk out at 9:30, and here I am with my content dog at my side still finding some energy. I might watch a Buffy before bed.
It was a good day.
Today was a working day: Zinsser has been a "kept animal" in our house - only out on leashes, always pegged down in the yard. There are/were leash-free dog people on our block, but I could never deal with the heartache of a dog hit by traffic or lost in the wild... So Zinsser has always seen the world at a length of 8-10 feet from us. But there are some neighbors with fenced in yards and Zinsser has loved visiting there, running free.
So we decided to complete the fencing in of our yard. We had Midwest Fence come out and sink some posts, run some fence, and it's gorgeous. But they were only doing fill-in around the existing fences... and prior to letting Zinsser out, we needed to do some patching work on the existing fences: The arty wood fence on the south side needed a mesh backing since the slats were wide enough for a dog to slip through. The two chain link fences on the west and north sides of the yard had enormous holes for the rabbit and raccoon superhighways.
So today we patched it all. We got 50" of 2 foot high coated chickenwire, and 80 feet of one foot high "garden border"... plus we had about 10 feet of left over chain link. With a staple gun and a bunch of zip ties, we have sealed the yard, and we "released the hound" at about 4pm this afternoon.
Zinsser was at first tentative, then walking more confidently, and then spent a full hour tearing through the yard at full speed. The kids had a slip and slide going which he ran through a few times too - by the end, we had a wet, happy, tired dog. Just watching that happy animal made me so content. To be able to open that back door and let him run for a while will just be great.
I confess I did get a toy while we were doing all this shopping for fencing. Yeah, I got a gas powered weed whacker. 4 stroke engine for low pollution and high power, and it's not THAT loud. I whipped all sorts of weeds into submission with a cackle. And when I say "weed" I also mean "small trees". We also got a rototiller attachment which looks formidable. With the fence done, our job tomorrow is to whip the victory garden into shape. Hopefully it's not too late to get some herbs and tomatoes started.
We spent most of the day outdoors, and that wipes people out. Isaac was down by 7:45. Pamela by 8:30. Bella took a little longer to conk out at 9:30, and here I am with my content dog at my side still finding some energy. I might watch a Buffy before bed.
It was a good day.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Earthling
Tonight as I was cuddling Bella:
"Dad, you know how [her friend] Remy had a bit of a fancy party [two weeks ago]? How we had our toenails painted and did our hair and everything? Well I want to have the OPPOSITE party.
I want to paint my toenails... with mud.
And I want to have sticks and leaves in my hair. And I want to go down a slip and slide.
And when my friends arrive, the slip and slide will be out front, and it'll be the FIRST thing we all do."
That's my girl. It's good to be home tonight. She has given up on all pajamas and only wears my old t-shirts to bed now. We were also discussing how I make use of the 4 pillows I get in the hotel rooms: I told her one for my head, one for my back (to feel cuddled), one in front to hug and a spare. She suggested I put it at my feet to emulate Zinsser.
I'm looking forward to a long weekend - our fence is up, and we just need to get some fill-in mesh for the existing neighbor fencing, and then our back yard will be Zinsser Paradise.
"Dad, you know how [her friend] Remy had a bit of a fancy party [two weeks ago]? How we had our toenails painted and did our hair and everything? Well I want to have the OPPOSITE party.
I want to paint my toenails... with mud.
And I want to have sticks and leaves in my hair. And I want to go down a slip and slide.
And when my friends arrive, the slip and slide will be out front, and it'll be the FIRST thing we all do."
That's my girl. It's good to be home tonight. She has given up on all pajamas and only wears my old t-shirts to bed now. We were also discussing how I make use of the 4 pillows I get in the hotel rooms: I told her one for my head, one for my back (to feel cuddled), one in front to hug and a spare. She suggested I put it at my feet to emulate Zinsser.
I'm looking forward to a long weekend - our fence is up, and we just need to get some fill-in mesh for the existing neighbor fencing, and then our back yard will be Zinsser Paradise.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A Strange Day
Today was the kickoff of the really big work sessions in Cleveland. We had 240 people at our first session - 130 in person, 110 on the phone with web meeting. Then we had between 2-3 simultaneous sessions all day, with between 40-80 people in each one. It was big craziness.
Since this sort of affair is larger than the client can house, we've taken space at a community center. And we're sharing the space with other community center activities. Which led to today's horror: In the middle of the center is a huge room that can be divided into 3 medium rooms. Let's call them A, B, and C. In room A, we had 50 people discussing hospital billing. In room C, we had 80 people discussing emergency room admitting procedures.
In room B, was Bingo for Seniors. With a microphone and a big speaker.
So for 2 hours, our sessions in A and C were punctuated by regular "B5", "I22" "N36", "G58", and "072". Clear as day. It was at first jarring, then distracting, and then I settled into it and realized that this is what going insane sounds like: People dryly discussing the exact point at which an account is due to be forwarded to a collection agency, with a monotone, bass heavy voice calling out random number and letters, with the occasional "WE HAVE BINGO CALLED - DON'T CLEAR YOUR CARDS - WE NEED TO VERIFY".
When the game was finally over, and silence settled from Room B, the people in A and C were still on their guard, looking around, flinching a bit. It was a terrible terrible experience.
But almost worse was settling in after the Bingo was over, and paying closer attention to the hospital billing workflows and realizing: Oh god, what a horrible horrible thing to be caring about. I was reminded of a talk I had with one of my compatriots on the project months ago: He said "I love doing this work, but if I had to actually use this software to do these workflows I have helped them design to do the job they need to do, I'd kill myself".
I must say, he had a point. Working on clinical things (Cardiac, Imaging, Pharmacy) is so much more fun because, well, it's about directly helping people as opposed to getting PAID for helping people. Oh well!
Since this sort of affair is larger than the client can house, we've taken space at a community center. And we're sharing the space with other community center activities. Which led to today's horror: In the middle of the center is a huge room that can be divided into 3 medium rooms. Let's call them A, B, and C. In room A, we had 50 people discussing hospital billing. In room C, we had 80 people discussing emergency room admitting procedures.
In room B, was Bingo for Seniors. With a microphone and a big speaker.
So for 2 hours, our sessions in A and C were punctuated by regular "B5", "I22" "N36", "G58", and "072". Clear as day. It was at first jarring, then distracting, and then I settled into it and realized that this is what going insane sounds like: People dryly discussing the exact point at which an account is due to be forwarded to a collection agency, with a monotone, bass heavy voice calling out random number and letters, with the occasional "WE HAVE BINGO CALLED - DON'T CLEAR YOUR CARDS - WE NEED TO VERIFY".
When the game was finally over, and silence settled from Room B, the people in A and C were still on their guard, looking around, flinching a bit. It was a terrible terrible experience.
But almost worse was settling in after the Bingo was over, and paying closer attention to the hospital billing workflows and realizing: Oh god, what a horrible horrible thing to be caring about. I was reminded of a talk I had with one of my compatriots on the project months ago: He said "I love doing this work, but if I had to actually use this software to do these workflows I have helped them design to do the job they need to do, I'd kill myself".
I must say, he had a point. Working on clinical things (Cardiac, Imaging, Pharmacy) is so much more fun because, well, it's about directly helping people as opposed to getting PAID for helping people. Oh well!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A dinner story
Driving home from a long day in Cleveland, I was musing about where to eat, when I found myself in front of "Cleveland's Best Pizza" again - Geraci's. I don't recall making the conscious decision to go here, and it is not exactly on the way home... but it seemed it was what the body required.
The place was packed and I was parked at a table that had around 3 inches from the tables on either side - this was a slightly expanded 6-top, accommodating 3 separate parties. I opened the iPad, and was launched into "demo mode" for everyone around me, including the owner of the restaurant, the waiter, and my four dinner companions.
On my right was a couple who were on their way back from visiting family in Wisconsin, on the way to Albany, and they're from Cleveland originally, so they always stop for food. This was their first visit to Geraci's and they were thrilled. The guy had been using Apples since the 1980s, so we compared pedigrees (you had that? I had this). The wife was the iMac user.
On my left was a pair of guys about my age were were clearly "on the spectrum" of autism: One was a hummer/mumbler who didn't engage with me directly, but chimed in "yeps" to agree with his friend, who was the talker. There the talk was about vintage TV shows, which started with how you get onto the web with the iPad, then his favorite website (TVshowsonDVD.com) then about the injustices of old shows in syndication on TVLand cutting out footage to allow for more ads, to the continuing and scandalous unavailability of the 1960s Batman shows in their entirety on DVD.
These guys were autograph hounds too, and had a story about meeting Frank Gorshin (the Riddler) as well as Mrs Kravitz from Bewitched (Must have been Sandra Gould from seasons 3-7, since Alice Pearce from seasons 1-2 died in the 1960s). In a 4 year period they went to LA and NYC 50 times for autograph conventions. They only like the old shows - the latest they liked was "One Day At a Time" - which they can't believe they've released only ONE season of on DVD???
Punctuated throughout, the restaurant owner kept siding up asking about how movies would work on the iPad... or can it do a spreadsheet.... how do you type on it.... etc. Every time, i did Steve Jobs proud with a full demo.
It didn't translate into a free meal, however. Just in case you were wondering. No, this was total public service geeking going on here.
And I loved it.
The place was packed and I was parked at a table that had around 3 inches from the tables on either side - this was a slightly expanded 6-top, accommodating 3 separate parties. I opened the iPad, and was launched into "demo mode" for everyone around me, including the owner of the restaurant, the waiter, and my four dinner companions.
On my right was a couple who were on their way back from visiting family in Wisconsin, on the way to Albany, and they're from Cleveland originally, so they always stop for food. This was their first visit to Geraci's and they were thrilled. The guy had been using Apples since the 1980s, so we compared pedigrees (you had that? I had this). The wife was the iMac user.
On my left was a pair of guys about my age were were clearly "on the spectrum" of autism: One was a hummer/mumbler who didn't engage with me directly, but chimed in "yeps" to agree with his friend, who was the talker. There the talk was about vintage TV shows, which started with how you get onto the web with the iPad, then his favorite website (TVshowsonDVD.com) then about the injustices of old shows in syndication on TVLand cutting out footage to allow for more ads, to the continuing and scandalous unavailability of the 1960s Batman shows in their entirety on DVD.
These guys were autograph hounds too, and had a story about meeting Frank Gorshin (the Riddler) as well as Mrs Kravitz from Bewitched (Must have been Sandra Gould from seasons 3-7, since Alice Pearce from seasons 1-2 died in the 1960s). In a 4 year period they went to LA and NYC 50 times for autograph conventions. They only like the old shows - the latest they liked was "One Day At a Time" - which they can't believe they've released only ONE season of on DVD???
Punctuated throughout, the restaurant owner kept siding up asking about how movies would work on the iPad... or can it do a spreadsheet.... how do you type on it.... etc. Every time, i did Steve Jobs proud with a full demo.
It didn't translate into a free meal, however. Just in case you were wondering. No, this was total public service geeking going on here.
And I loved it.
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