< hyper-jump >

I should have known better...

2008-08-07T12:31:00.006-04:00

As a one of my astute readers (lets face it, there are only three readers total, all astute, or you wouldn't be my readers) pointed out, "Where'd the blog go YO!?"...

Ten years... the amount of time I have worked collectively in information technology....

Nine years, 364 days... the amount of time I have known that backups are not good unless proven so by process.

One millisecond... the amount of time required to validate the above statement... see also, the amount of time before a storage array looses it's mind with the last 2 years of picures and blogs at your hosting provider.

10 years to life... the amount of time I would have served if presented with the above information while in the same room as the presenter of said information. I think they call it manslaughter.

In summary, there are gonna be some proken links in here for a while while I reconstruct from a convoluted personal archive... Where is that "Under Construction" animated GIF when I need it...

A little Mother's Day reflection...

2008-05-09T20:15:00.006-04:00

Another "Hallmark Holiday" is upon us, but instead of my typically cynical view, a few articles that have crossed my path in the last few days have softened my views a bit. In my opinion, the best of which, here, reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for with respect to all of the mothers in my life...

To start off, my own mother who sacrificed much for my brother and I when we were young. She provided a completely stable and idyllic life for us growing up sheltering us from most of the hardships we faced while providing a rich, lasting set of memories. These memories form the template for which I strive to raise my own children. I was recently shocked when she asked, in all seriousness, if I had a happy childhood -- I am one of the few people I know who would go back to my youth and do it all again exactly as it was.

In early adulthood, another mother came into my life, my mother-in-law. She welcomed me into her family readily and has never once made me feel like I am anything but blood. Her perpetual smile, caring and humor make our visits to her home always memorable.

Lastly and most important to me at this stage in my life, is the mother of my children. I could not ask for a more caring and understanding partner to weather the storm of raising children in this world. My responsibilities as breadwinner have kept me away from home for much of the last two years. Without so much as a single complaint about my absence, she has provided a loving home and active life for our boys who can be quite a bit to handle for extended periods of time. Beyond my love and gratitude, she deserves far more than I may ever be able to provide.

These mothers have shaped the person I am today and help continue to shape the person I want to be. I am blessed to be a part of their lives. Thanks, moms.

More observations from the field�

2008-04-13T21:12:00.006-04:00

Switzerland is full of great skiing and skiers�. And a few bad ones. Skiing is the cause of the only broken bone I have ever had -- I say this to make sure I am clear in stating that I am not making fun of the Swiss, but I have never seen so many people all gimped up -- crutches and limps everywhere. Apparently, the wages of skiing European snow (called ice elsewhere) and versus skiing Colorado powder are broken legs and destroyed knees. With my lack of skill on the slopes, it is prolly for the best that I did not attempt it on this trip.

Today I set a personal speed record -- never before have I been so fast in a vehicle completely under my control. How fast? Me and the boys (BBM and BBM2) got up to 220km/h on the Autobahn today on our way to Frankfurt. For those of you metrically challenged, that�s 137mph. Yeah, the old C-Class had a set of grapes under the hood as I still had more to give it, but I was already over the max speed I was to get this rental :) Sadly for me, there was an BMW M3 that left me in the dust when I was at top speed.

I have had another Navin Johnson moment�. One of my pictures from London a few weeks back was picked up by NowPublic.com for an article they are writing on the paint job the Tower Bridge to get started soon. Check it out.

I also have a few other random pics from my travels or the last few days posted to the flickr account. Enjoy!

Stay gold, pony boy.

Sal� from Z�rich

2008-04-06T08:17:00.008-04:00

I sit here in my hotel in Zuerich, reflecting on my most recent two trips to the homeland of my ancestors (that would be Europe, folks) and have some up with the a few observations:

England from the air looks like the American eastern seaboard - no gridded roads - that's what you get for being inhabited for the better part of 2000 years.
Some Europen countries (most specifically, France) have a reputation for a lack of personal hygene. I believe I have discovered the root of this reputation, though it is not limited to the French. I have stayed in 4 hotels in Europe this far in three countries, and not one provided wash cloths as part of their standard bath linens. I had to ask for one in London and was told that the class of my room does not allow for one!?!?!? With some trepidation, she gave me one anyway. How can one exfoliate? From now on, I pack my own.
International Terminals are not really for Customs or Security, they are an opportunity to seel you goods without tax that, in most cases, can be found elsewhere more cheaply. Basically it is a big shopping mall with an airplane ride at the end.
While we're on travel, in Europe, for those of you not geographically adept, a land closer to the "evil terrorists", you do not have to take you shoes and belts off, or electronics out of your bags in airport security. Intelligently, they have chosen to work against the next threat instead of the last.
A $7 bottle of water can be worth it.

I would also like to thank my �ber-mench, Shazbot, for his linguistic rescue yesterday while washing my clothes at a Swiss laundromat. Most of this country, items are labled in four languages - German, French, Italian, and English. Unfortunately, yesterday I found the limit of this rule - the closest laundromat to this hotel. Not knowing the language, I managed to wash my clothes, with fabric softener and rinse them with soap -- good times. Once I realized my error, the soapy clothes after the rinse cycle were my first clue, I gave Shazbot a call. He set me straight and my clothes have never been so clean, having been washed twice. In homage, on the Flickr postings, I give you a Swiss botancial example of Shazbot's finest horticultural work.

And last but not least, I have for you on Flickr, a picture of BBM. But this is not just any picture, this is a picture of BBM and his brother and "stunt monkey", Baby Baby Maury - the other brother, Baby Baby Maurice, is holding down the fort at home. BBM2 joined us on this trip as, due to his celebrity, BBM is too valuable to do his own stunts anymore.

I have tried for the better part of the last hour trying to get images published to this site from here, without success. I will defer photo postings to Flickr , which has much better tools than Blogger for uploading images over slow connections. Sorry for all the text....

Lazy in London

2008-04-01T23:41:00.003-04:00

So you are probably thinking, "What gives? The last time he went out of country he was chatty-chuck?!?! Blog posts every day..." Well I will tell you, trade show travel is different than Sales/PS travel. I have been working with the US based teams all evenings, both evenings I have been here -- this pup is whupped. Oh for the salad days of Cannes :)

I know, quit my bitching.

Tomorrow morning I am off to Zurich for the rest of the week. I could be back in London on Friday night or Saturday or I might be staying in Zurich. Who knows. Always an adventure.

I have uploaded and annotated a few more pics taken around the area I am staying, Tower Hamlets, and one of the places I am working, Canary Wharf. I have also placed them in the reverse order they were taken so if you saw the photos from earlier in the week you don't have to see them again --newest first. Also included, Easter Eggs for Schiele and Harp. Cheers!

London Calling...

2008-03-30T23:59:00.002-04:00

BBM and I have made yet another hop across the pond and this time we will stay in London for a while. Also planned but not yet scheduled on this trip as a stop in Zurich, Switzerland and possibly Ramstein AFB in Germany.

We finally arrived in London this afternoon after a quick hop (9 hours) from O'Hare. I have never seen a plane so empty - less that half of the Business Class seats were take (allowing BBM to have his own) and there were less than 100 in coach. I will take it. In speaking with a fellow traveller and airline worker prior to the flight, I was told there was another O'Hare Heathrow flight a few weeks back that had only 7 people -- ON THE WHOLE PLANE! More aircrew than passengers. Everyone had their own restroom :)

I have a lucky horseshoe snugly lodged in my arse (see what I did there - used the proper English version of the swear word -- how "continental" of me) when it comes to European lodging... Some of you may have seen the pics from my hotel in Cannes, not bad at all. Well, the Brits have seen to it that I do not only look to France for fine lodging. At the suggestion of one of my co-workers (he found it and got good rate I was able to glom onto) I am staying at the Tower Hotel. This hotel is right next to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. In fact, my room looks out at the Bridge directly (see at right photos taken from my room). Another co-worker, TH, said that this room, as described, is probably one of the better views in London... not bad, not bad at all. I hope to actually carve out some time to visit them on this trip as well :).

Last but not least, the ubiquitous tourist shot and a few other photos for the teeming masses to enjoy...

Wanna see me squirm?

2008-03-06T09:44:00.004-05:00

While at VMworld Europe, I was "interviewed" or provided an opportunity to demo some of my companies technology for the folks at Virtualization.com. What you see below is Take #2 of that interview, in it's entirety -- Take #1 was rudely interrupted by a software lockup, adding to my nervousness.

Be kind -- 2 minutes before this was recorded, I had no idea I was to interviewed for posterity.

I learned a few things from watching this...
1) I now have solid, documented evidence on why I should be prepared (or kept locked in a back room).
2) I talk a lot with my hands -- I look like I am signing this interview, if you turn the sound off, which I was compelled to do when faced with the sound of my own voice.
3) I also play Quake more poorly on camera -- I was schooling the 'bots earlier in the day, prior to this interview.
4) The camera may add 10 pounds, but youtube is not that kind.

RIP - Gary Gygax

2008-03-04T14:49:00.002-05:00

I would imagine of the few people who read this, even fewer know who Gary Gygax was... but for those of us who knew of him and the effect he surely had on our young lives, it is a sad day. Gary Gygax was the founder of TSR Games, one of the inventors of the original D&D and AD&D games and widely regarded as the father of role playing games. He was also an author of one of the first novels I ever read recreationally - City of Hawks. Many a night of my youth spent with Schiele, Harp, Bailey, Manning, Burkett and others playing in the worlds this man invented. Thanks for the memories...

US Airport Security is a JOKE

2008-03-03T22:26:00.006-05:00

I wrote the following post during a flight delay Friday evening (2/29) in where else but Chicago O'Hare. Enjoy the rage....

Let me begin this rant with the fact that I do recognize the people in the front line, the TSA Security Agents, are not to blame for the unmitigated fuster-cluck that is US Airport Security and US Border/Customs control. I will also follow with the idea that you do not need to be a 4 star chef to know when food tastes like shit. Meaning, I don't have all that answers to fix it, but I do have a few ideas on where it is definitely broken.

Case in point, I write this to you 30 minutes after coming probably as close as I have ever come to being arrested in my life, over a bottle of perfume. Irrational? Yes, but only in response to a system that is sooooo amazingly inflexible, rigid and irrational.

I purchased some new perfume, Duty Free, in Heathrow for my wife for 55 British Pounds or approximately $100. With the exchange rate as poor as it is currently, it probably was not a wise move anyway, but I digress. Duty free sealed it in a plastic bag, and I put it in a shopping bag with other gifts bag for the trip home.

When I arrive in O'Hare, where all good memories, happiness and puppies go to die, I am stopped in security for having contraband. My fault, I made a mistake, I should have put it in my checked baggage when I collected it at Customs, but did not have the time or mental clarity to perform said task, having to wait in completely redundant lines thru the Passport Control / US Customs process.

The TSA Supervisor insisted that this perfume be in a 1 quart Ziploc bag, before I could pass. I tried to explain to her that it was in a sealed Duty Free bag before her minion removed it. For five minutes I tried to establish another route to certifying the security of the perfume -- for instance, spraying it? Smells good? Probably perfume. Smells bad? Time for questioning. Nope, too rational. I was to place it in the safe confines of a Ziploc or throw it away. After searching around the Secure area of the airport for a magic 1 quart bag, I recalled that I had stored travel sized hand sanitizer, lotion and eye drops in a Ziploc deep in my carry on bag -- in case I was stopped. I removed these items from the Ziploc and gave it to the TSA agent.

Their next move solidified my suspicion that this sytem is completely broken beyond repair and is one of the most frustrating things I have ever witnessed.... they removed the offending perfume bottle from my shopping bag, the Duty Free Bag, the box shrink-wrap, and the box to put it in a 1 quart Ziploc bag. They run it thru X-Ray again and gave it back to me to be on my way-- that's it! No mass-spectrometer, nothing. All of that grief just to run it thru X-Ray in a baggie? The Ziploc lobby must be thrilled.

So sum up this government mandated assault on efficiency: the only reason they found the bottle when it was sealed in 2 bags, a box and shrink-wrap was via X-ray, but that is "un-secure" . The act of placing it in a baggie, makes it inherently secure -- apparently, all items are more secure if they can be carried in a 1 quart plastic bag. Basically our defense against the terrorist Mongol hoards are X-rays and Ziploc baggies. Relax, feel safe America, they have this under control.

Keep an eye out for my rendition..

BBM Europe Trip: Day 6

2008-02-29T22:09:00.005-05:00

The last day of the show was without major incident. JK and I attended a VDI Best Practices presentation, in which there were a few new nuisances, but most of the detail work CCT has been promoting for quite some time.

I spoke at length with a member of VMware's Field Staff from Germany about their brokering technology, experiences providing Professional Services for European vs. US markets and where they are seeing good adoption in his region. Good conversation with a nice guy --fortunately it was in English, or we might be at war with Germany again, given my skills in their native tongue.
Now on to the last story of the trip --stick with me, it is a long story but I think worth it.. After booth teardown, the team all went out for drinks before TH had to leave for London. We go out to a pub then head back to the hotel after TH's departure and agree to meet up later for our last meal together in France -- and my first truly French meal.

We finally rally at about 10:30PM for dinner and find an absolutely charming little restaurant in the west end of Cannes and sit down to a good meal. After three quality courses filled with great conversation, SK and SJ head back to the hotel as they have an early flight the next morning. Now JK and I are left to our own devices.
A little background on JK: He is American born, living in London, married to a French woman who's family lives roughly 30 minutes from Cannes. He is fluent in French, and somewhat familiar with the town and absolutely the life of a party with strangers -- fearless and a very nice guy. Needless to say, this made him an excellent "Sherpa" for me in the south of France.

We decide to stay at the restaurant for a nightcap. When asked what I might want, I drew a blank -- big mistake. It was suggested that I try the regional liqueur (French name escapes me). Apparently, each region of western Europe have a distinct liqueur (for instance, grappa in Italy). Think regional European moonshine and you have the idea. At this restaurant, It is recommended with a Cappuccino -- so think, drink a coffee, do a shot of moonshine. Gasoline without the good aftertaste. I only did one, but it was enough. P-L-E-N-T-Y.

After an nice conversation with the chef and his friends, we were off to the next bar -- Morrison's, an Irish pub in town and had a pint. After last call, one of the doormen recommended another "after hours bar" and gave JK directions.

We arrive, and it looks to be a gentlemen's establishment. On the walk over, I receive a phone call from one of my co-workers and upon arrival at the bar, I loiter outside to complete the conversation. Whilst loitering, I see signage on the outside of the establishment with numerous pictures of only one voluptuous woman. I think to myself, "Wow, she must be something special, to have her own club?!?!?". Looking at the photos further I sense there something unusual about her pictures, but cannot place it. I complete my phone call and with some coaxing, I agree to go in� not to portray myself as some sort of angel, but I tend not to frequent gentleman's clubs for many reasons. Not the least of which, I have promised my wife I would keep these visits to a minimum, which is no great hardship , considering I am freaking cheap and they are where spending money goes to die. So, as mentioned, with coaxing, I am convinced to go in for one beer and a bathroom run. John heads to the restroom and I buy the first round -- 19 Euros for 2 Heinekens or roughly $28 for two metric beers smaller the a standard 12oz you might find in the states... May the sodomy begin. We start talking and take notice that there are very few women walking the floor, which is atypical in gentleman's clubs, but there is a stage.

We sit in the club, discussing various items and taking stock of the room. -- 15 or so young men, probably 3 women, but each of the women dressed as one might dress having just completed a shift at said establishment. As I look around, I notice a few men are sitting closer than one might find in an establishment of this kind in the states. I make note of this, but dismiss it as a "European thing". I also notice at the bar, a young man with a ridiculous amount of face makeup talking to the bartender.

****Crrreeeeeeaaaaakkkkkk ****

The wheels of my brain start to break loose from their French grappa induced stupor and think, "Could this be��..?" I ask JK, and we both take a deeper assessment of the room. During this time, Mr. Makeup apparently made his way backstage and the stage curtain was drawn closed again. We notice the activity behind the curtain and our nervousness begins to rise. What in the hell are we about to witness? Queue the music, the curtains draw open and out marches (literally marches) Mr. Makeup resplendent in Marcel Marceau's mime sailor suit and ensign's cap and he begins to sing at which time, every guy in the place jumps up as though a touchdown had been scored.

I turn and look at JK and the fight or flight look on his face, which I am sure mirrored mine, is something I will take with me to my grave -- absolutely hilarious!

We immediately bolt off to the coat check to leave. We enter the 3 foot by 6 foot space of the entrance/coat check where the doorman/coat-checker/bouncer is arguing in some Eastern Bloc language with another man who smelled of pastrami and ass. I think to myself, "If these two come to blows, knives or guns, and I am offed collaterally, what will be the story my family receives upon my demise? Killed in the coat check of a gentleman's gentleman's club. Nice.

Finally we collect our jackets and roll out of there laughing our fool heads off. I go back to the sign and notice this time, Mr. Makeup is actually dancing in one of the pictures with said voluptuous women. It is also then I realize what it was in her pictures I found odd� her subtle adam's apple.
JK attempts, nobly, to get me to attend another club (this time known for women) with him to "cleanse the palette," as it were. I respectfully decline and let him know that is was my wife's way of telling me I shouldn�t' have gone in the first place. He agrees and we head off to our respective hotels to sleep off the booze for our morning flight to Heathrow together.

I have uploaded the remainder of unposted pics from the trip. I also consolidated them into a single group on Flickr, and they are sorted by Date Taken so you should be able to jump ahead to any you have missed. Enjoy!

BBM and mgr Signing off from the La Cage a Foilles (yes he was there, sorry, no pics.)

BBM Europe Trip: Day 6 - VMworld Europe 2008: Day 3 - Final Post Delayed

2008-02-29T09:42:00.008-05:00

Sorry folks, I just wanted to throw up a quick post to let you know I will have updates from the last day of the show (and our last night out)... BBM and I were out toooo late last night with JK from London (3:00AM) and had to leave for the airport at 8AM today.... we am hurting at the moment. We will be boarding the plane shortly so no time for details but I do have a very funny story to share which I will write up offline during the hop over the pond and post this weekend.

Check back soon. BBM and mgr signing off from Europe. Peese.

BBM Europe Trip: Day 5 - VMworld Europe 2008: Day 2 -- Late Edition

2008-02-28T22:08:00.006-05:00

We went out to the large VMware Sponsored party Wednesday evening. One of the major messages in this show was the ever increasing focus on "Green IT" for in which, VMware products can be a valuable part. Therefore the theme of their after hours party was Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Kind of interesting -- French performance artists floating around the show dressed as trees and shrubs, at times blending in to the environment and then freaking out a passer-by with movement (present company included). One of the highlights of the evening was a French/English cover band had a room full of mostly male, conference attendees dancing like school girls to 80's covers. Good fun.

While watching, I turn around and find that Mendel Rosenblum (Co-Founder and CTO at VMware and keynote presenter for Day 2) was right behind me with his daughter on his shoulders, dancing away like the rest of us. Hero worship? Yes. Jealous he got to share something like that in the south of France with his child? Yes.

BBM Europe Trip: Day 5 - VMworld Europe 2008: Day 2

2008-02-27T14:58:00.011-05:00

On the way into the show today, BBM and I are walking down the Boulevard de la Croisette to the Palaise de Festivals and pass the Han and Chewie sign you see gloriously displayed at the right. As I walk by, I think to myself "Man I wish someone was here to take a picture..." and then I realize there is someone.... inspiration comes in all forms and this may be my favorite picture of the entire trip.

A close runner-up in this picture on the right. To demo one of our 1 user to 1 blade products, we have a demo of Quake 3 Arena that we like to run.... performance is top-shelf and was definately an eye catcher for people walking by at the show. BMM both rocked against the built in Q3 "bots" all day long on the show floor -- that's right, I actually got to play video games on the show floor at VMworld Europe... la vie est bonne.

I write this between drinks with the team and meeting them out dinner at the regular European dinner time of 9PM. Between that and the fact that they put butter on litterally EVERYTHING, I do not understand how these people are not keeling over in the street with heart disease -- it must be the wine.

Only a few pics today -- a few in particular for my first commenter, when I saw someone had actually posted a comment, I felt like Navin Johnson upon receiving the new phonebooks... I am somebody now. A shout out to MG for the post and to let him know he is thought of highly by Nigel on his new team, whom I happened to meet today.

Off to dinner with the team. Peese.

BBM Europe Trip: Day 4 - VMworld Europe 2008: Day 1

2008-02-26T15:45:00.013-05:00

OK, this will be short and sweet as all of this blogging has gotten in the way of "sleepy time" as of late and I am on the verge of picking up a cold -- it is bedtime for this Bonzo. BBM and I got to the show flor at about 8:15 to complete the balance of the setup. I still have a few minor outstanding issues I will need to talk to some of our engineering staff on, but very few show attendees want more than a very cursory dive.

Today was the first day of the Solutions Exchange. Most attendees (and there are many fewer that the 10,000 in SFO in September) seem to be partners or intgerators -- fewer prospects than we saw in the states. The only reason I can come up with is perhaps the expense of the area precluded many prospects from attending.

Nevertheless, clients liked the limited demo I prepped for them and we did get some positive feedback on on of our newest hardware devices -- not a virtualization play, but a very key differentiator for us at the show.

We finally left the show floor at 8:15PM, a short walk back to the hotel (picking up yet another Pizza on the way), post this entry and rack it out.

I have gotten some feedback from people who have taken a look at the site... it appears I have managed to pull off the the following:
- get people in trouble with their wives
- offend the entire state of Wisconsin (sorry CM, no offense intended :)
- wrought people with laughter crying and frustration.

To asuage your frustration, I offer you the ability to comment now on the VMworld Europe 2008 postings. Be freaking nice...

No pics on Flickr today, sorry -- no time to take any but the crappy picture above... BBM abides.
G' Nite.

BBM Europe Trip: Day 3

2008-02-25T17:27:00.010-05:00

BBM and I had a very busy day. Up and out by 8AM for show setup. When we arrived, I found that our equipment was not shipped to the show floor as I thought, but rather to the hotel of the rest of the team. Fortunately, one of my team members was in transit from their hotel with the gear, which gave BBM and I time to stroll and grab a coffee.

Unfortunately, not all of the kit arrived as our friends at FedEx promised and as such, I did not have client devices to configure. FedEx when it absolutely, positively has to be there "around" the time you need. By 9:30AM, we were unpacking and getting the items we had received arranged and things were moving smoothly.... and then Mr. Murphy made another call on us. I had a firmware issue with some of the kit from HQ that took me about an hour and a half to work thru. Combined with some power and sawdust issues in the booth, I finally got to completing the software config at about 1PM.

By 6PM, a member of the team had made the round trip back to their hotel with the balance of the missing gear courtesy of FedEx's late afternoon delivery and we finalized plans for the gear to be shown at the show. I still have some cleanup and config work to do tomorow before the Solutions Exchange (VMware Parlance for Trade Show Exibit) at 10AM, but we should be ready.

All of that work and I did not stop to eat all day. By the time they ran us out of the building at 8:30PM, I was operating on one cup of said coffee, one Coke, and two bottles of water -- pretty famished. Not to blog too much about food, but much ribbing I have taken about how I might find nourishment in the land of pate, fois gras and veal kidneys (I swear to god I saw that one on a menu here). Well I have the answer to that -- I have been in France for 36 hours and have had 3 meals -- all Italian :) At left, the French take on the classic cheeze and onion pizza. BBM and I enjoyed it thuroughly, but after today, it could have been veal kidneys and I might have eaten it -- not really.

A shout out to my oldest little one who is laid up at home with the worst fever of his young life and my wife who is taking care of business - solo.

One last thing, I have a few pics you all might enjoy from today. Check them out.

BBM Europe Trip: Day 2

2008-02-24T08:38:00.011-05:00

We were up early this morning for our flight to Nice, France --4:30AM GMT to be exact. After some delays and adventures on the ground, our flight finally took off at 9AM, which got us into Nice at about 12PM local time. Most of the flight we were flying above clouds that prevented us from looking down on most of central France, including a direct fly-over of Paris.

BBM and I did however get to see the French Alps as the clouds broke as we drew closer to the Mediteranean.

Once in Nice, the VMware team swept us up into a bus ride over to Cannes and then to our hotels -- first class service out of these folks. After settling in at the hotel, BBM and I went out to see the waterfront and work our way down to VMware Registration.

All I can say is, Cannes has definately outdone my expectations. It is not really a place to come and sight-see, per se, but definately a place to come and relax.

In all, I took nearly a hundred shots today, the camera in my Moto Q does suitably for those of us who are camera deficient. I have uploaded the good ones (according to me) into my Flickr account and annotated ever last one of them. Be sure to check them out and to read the annotations, my wife says it's worth it.

BBM Europe Trip: Day 1

2008-02-23T19:38:00.017-05:00

Baby-Baby Murray (BBM), my illustrious Great-Great Grandmonkey (son of Baby Murray, son of Murray son of Ben, son of Matt) is keeping me from getting lonely on a long trip to Europe this week. He asked that I assist him in keeping a journal of his world travels. He as asked before, but who really cares when we goto Wisconsin anyway? Day 1 started with nasty snow in Indy and some concern over missing our flight across the pond. After all of that settled, we stopped in the O'Hare's Admiral's Club for a banana, a drink and to check our email.

We were both impressed with our accommodations for the long flight to London -- good food, free drinks and the best seats in the airline industry. I worked and BBM slept the whole trip but were very excited to see our plane and "ride one last time" once on the ground in London.

From Heathrow, we grabbed a quick taxi over to our hotel near the airport and settled in for a good rest. Tomorrow is a big day, we are off to France!

More to come....

Methuselah Cells and Other Ramblings

2007-12-15T16:30:00.001-05:00

True to form, it's been a while since my last post.... expect nothing less from me. I have actually been collecting items to blog on, just haven't taken the time to collect lucid thoughts on any of them. Here are a few to get you by....

The link in the title is about a woman who passed away 56 years ago, but to this day, makes daily, important contributions to the world of medical science. Now, being a bit of a nerd, and trivia-phile, I was totally shocked I have never heard of this woman or her ongoing contribution to science.... I love when I get surprised like that, honestly.

In more recent news, this article from CNN discusses some research into one of the most frightening states of conciousness I could imagine -- "Locked-In Syndrome". Think "Johnny Get Your Gun" with eyesight. I cannot help but be driven to internal fits of rage at religious conservatives stifling stem cell research in this country, when reading this article.

I am up at the in-laws this weekend to attend a family wedding. As those in the know would probably guess, I do like winter weddings and the opportunity to get dressed to the nines and party is something the wife and I have been looking forward to for a while.

For the 3rd time in 8 years there is the potential for me to spend this Christmas without a job. Actually, this will likely be a blessing in disguise, as all departures from previous companies have been.

Last but not least:

There is no greater joy in life than to be looked at like this....

OK, now we are getting somewhere...

2007-10-28T23:03:00.000-04:00

Many months and much hazing, but I am back. If you managed to keep checking on me in my absence, you may notice some changes to the site... more coming.

So the urine sale did not go as well as I had hoped. My plans were to have the follow up to that post written on my own private island, purchased with the proceeds of my urine sale. Alas, it was not to be.

I have resisted the urges and prodding to purchase the Orange Box. Why? Because I got my boy, P2daB, hooked on LotRO, and Arb does not leave a man stranded, like the Red Baron is known to do.

For Sale...

2007-02-04T23:36:00.000-05:00

... my urine.... bidding starts at $100 an ounce. Enjoy!

Congrats Colts!

Add to the list below:

2007 - Lived in Indianapolis for 4 and a half months and have brought yet another championship to our new home. If they win next year, I think I may be called in for "questioning".

Congrats Colts!

2007-01-21T23:49:00.000-05:00

Well, after 7 hours spent on the couch today watching the AFC and NFC Championships, I have two things to say....

1) My days of cheering strictly for specific teams -- as most fans do -- are over. The NFC game taught me this today. I found myself cheering not for the Bears, for whom I have been a fan since I started watching football in the 80s, but for the Saints. Why? Because the drama of this game for me lies in the people involved, not the teams. I wanted to see Drew Brees (a fellow Boilermaker) light up the scoreboard or Reggie Bush fake yet another player out of their pads. I also found myself no longer finding any joy in cheering against a team as I have done many times before in my life. This practice now seems distasteful to me... What if someone in my community spent their entire lives applauding my every professional failure or shortcoming in a public forum? Not a very appealing thought, is it? Why then would I do the same (even though I don't really have a public forum)? Do the fates care less? Will karma be more kind to me as I am but a piss-ant on this pale blue dot?

2) I will be placing my urine for sale on eBay. I have lived in 3 metro regions in the last 10 years and within one year of moving to each of them, I have brought the local teams national acclaim.

1997 - Moved to Longmont, CO, Denver Broncos win their first Superbowl after many attempts
1999 - Moved to Columbus, OH, Ohio State wins their first NCAA Football Title in many years in 2000
2006 - Moved to Indianapolis, IN, Indianapolis Colts win their first AFC Championship in my lifetime. Anecdotally, Ohio State also looses to Florida in glorious fashion with my departure.

Coincidence? Buy a sample and see...

We're still out here

2007-01-03T22:01:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness Indiana lifted their ban on Blog updates.... thanks for the motivation L8-10C :)

Doob (Russell Unit #2) was 3 months old yesterday and I figure it's time for a new post. He is starting to move into that toddler phase and RU#1 is becoming a full on little man. #1 LOVES #2 and speaks of him constantly. They also bear a stricking resemblance at the same age.

What can I say, the last few months have been hectic, to say the least. To give you an idea of how hectic, consider the following:
- This post is being written from Texarcana, TX (this being my 4th trip to TX in 6 weeks)
- The fam and I have spent over a month of the last 3 months in Chicago
- I was recently promoted to Systems Engineering Manager for my company's Western Region: Indiana to Hawaii, Canada to Mexico. As part of the promotion, I have to fill the position vacated by my old manager. In the meantime, I have to cover his territory. This brings the territory to 16 states (IN, IL, MI, WI, MO, MN, ND, SD, IA, NE, KS, OK, TX, AR, NM, CO). It's a great opportunity, and I love what I do, but it is cramping my blog posting ability.

I also recently celebrated my birthday. On the downward slope to 40 now. Good times.

I managed to pick up a PSP over the holidays and I must say, for me, it is the perfect mobile device. I have 8 full length movies, 150 MP3s and a number of games to keep me entertained on the plane (see above for frequency) or to keep RU#1 from wigging out if he is force to be away from the Cars movie for too long -- damn you Pixar and your 3 year old crack. TOOO handy. Anybody want to buy a 60GB Video IPod?

Welcome home, Doob

2006-10-02T23:44:00.000-04:00

It has been a long two weeks to get ready for him here in Indy -- STILL no internet connectivity at home, painting, cleaning and general nesting... All that said, I am happy to announce the arrival of Gabriel ??? (known as "Doob" by his brother), today at 4:27PM. He was 7lbs. 6oz. and 20.25 inches, and has his mother's prehensile toes and his grandfather Papa's nose. Mother and boy are fine and sleeping as I write this. The picture at the right is his first and the title of this post is a link to a photo album of all of the pics I have assembled thus far.

I will post more info on the move, the house and our newest family member when we get an internet connection (hopefully later this week).

Hello Fishers!

2006-09-20T01:39:00.000-04:00

Well, it took some doing, and a herculean effort from my mortgage broker, but we closed on our new house in Fishers today. We had to rework our loan and it will cost me about $800 dollars this year due to the new terms, but we were able to swing it -- the kicker is we now own two homes for the next few days, as our Summer House in Dublin won't close until Thursday or Friday.

Today was spent closing and cleaning in preparation for the movers arrival at 8:30AM Wednesday. Our previous owners had to leave in a bit of a hurry apparently and left a bit of a mess for us to clean.

I met some of our neighbors while at the house today and NMR has her first get together with the neighborhood ladies Thursday evening. There are kids all over the place around BMR's age -- mostly girls -- he has no idea how good he will have it.

Tomorrow night is our first in the new place. Stay tuned.

Camping at our house...

2006-09-17T22:22:00.000-04:00

Well on Friday the movers showed up and stripped us pretty much to the bone. It is amazing to see what Gregory, a fella who has been in the moving game for 20 years, can do with a house full of crap and a 52 foot semi trailer. To put in another way he got about 90% of all of the stuff we own in a 10' x 10' x 15' foot space at the front of the truck -- Gregory would rock at Tetris.

Since they took almost everything, we are pretty much camping at our house. Laura Ingalls Wilder had it better. No chairs, no food, boxes strewn about... very spartan.

In the middle of the movers filling this truck on Friday, we found out that the wife in the couple who will be buying our house suffered from a brain aneurysm on Thursday evening. Apparently, it was a mild one but any affliction that requires brain surgery is not minor in my book. She made it thru surgery and is recuperating now. Her husband had previously signed over Power of Attorney to her in order to make the move process simpler... Unfortunately their plan backfired and now we are not sure if she will be ok to close on Monday as scheduled. We have signed all of the closing documents and our realtors are making arrangements for them to close from the hospital in Cleveland on Monday. Wish her (and us) well.