It’s been a rainy day here in rural Douglas County, but that didn’t put too much of a damper on the days festivities.

We got up early and ran people around to their appropriate locations, and settled in early for the KU Engineering School graduation ceremonies at Allen Fieldhouse. We attended the reception at the LEAP 2 center by the engineering complex, and then we got four of us (Dane was under the weather) over to J. Wilson’s for brunch, which ultimately led to the ladies going through several flights of mimosas and many laughs that were produced, some of which may have been champagne-bubble productions.

After that, a pretty mundane day with the “becoming more common than I would like” internet outage that looks like it’s going to need a service call to remedy. Might just be the weather, but the weather has been more than a little aggravating. I think there’s some pretty water-logged parts of the property, and the microwave receiver on the top of the house might be part of the problem. I looked at it, but I didn’t see all of the lights on that I normally see, just two of the standard three.

Maybe it will fix itself, but I have my concerns, obviously. I do use my access on a pretty regular basis.

Tomorrow, another graduation event following church. Time for one of my kids to walk down the hill. Tuesday it will be Dane’s turn.

Peace y’all.

Hey. It’s Friday night. Tonight we went through the first of three recognition ceremonies for our eldest, Bonnie Marie, as she graduates with honors from the University of Kansas with her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. This fall you will continue her education at the Ohio State University as she pursues a Ph.D. in Material Science. She’s my wife’s daughter, that’s for sure.

I’m tired. I’m sitting here trying to crank out two hundred words of something meaningful. And I have to admit that I’m experiencing a number of emotions. I’m experiencing pride in my daughters’ accomplishments. I’m proud that my son is graduating high school with no real blemishes on his record. I’m concerned about some aspects of my kids’ lives as well. One of my kids is getting my blood pressure going a little more than the others right now, but what can I do. The kid is an adult. Old enough to make their own decisions about priorities, relationships, and how they treat the other living things around them.

Yeah, I’m a mess and I’m worked up. I’m a little pissed, but that’s overwhelmed by my concern that someone very close to me is making the kind of mistakes that stick. And if I speak up and say something about it, it’ll just get worse.

Enough for now.

Peace y’all.

It’s a beautiful Thursday night in rural Douglas County. Tomorrow night at this time, I’ll be attending a reception in honor of the kids graduating from the University of Kansas’ Engineering School with honors. I’m very proud of my eldest daughter. She’s worked very hard to get herself into this position, and I know she’s looking forward to pursuing her Ph.D. at the Ohio State University starting this fall.

Tomorrow I’ve got a few meetings, but I’ll split off some time to get some things done around here. We’ve decided to put off Dane’s graduation get together until after the pool liner gets in … whenever that will be.

I’m gonna just get to the end of this one tonight. I’m not feeling it. I have some sentiments that I’ve expressed on social media, and I’ve rubbed a few folks the wrong way when I bring up some of my beliefs. Hey, give me a few points to consider, and I’ll adjust my flight accordingly.

I am an idealist. I admit that. I recognze that a lot of the things I would love to see happen in our society will likely never come to fruition because in our society, we have to have competition. We have to have winners… and you can’t have winners unless you also have losers. I wonder about that. Do we have to have people freezing to death, starving to death, dying of thirst, so we can point them out to the next generation and say, “Hey! Don’t be like those losers! Also, don’t form labor unions or ask for reasonable health insurance!”.

It’s kind of crazy. But, it’s food for thought.

Peace y’all.

Yeah, I know. I’ve been slacking off a little this week. Between traveling on Mothers Day, and teaching a class in Atlanta, and then flying and driving back home, it’s been a busy time. Now we’re trying to get the house and the yard ready for the coming celebrations with Bonnie and Dane graduating from KU and Lawrence High, respectively, and then I immediately get ready for another trip after those graduation celebrations are done.

A couple of things on my mind. An old friend posted a meme warning people about Muslim Americans running for public office. He is under the impression that followers of Islam are going to take over the government of the United States and vote in Sharia law. I asked him how he feels about the separation of church and state, and whether the Supreme Court would allow such a thing to happen. I then told him that if a follower of Islam was running for high office and had five kids by three different women, had committed fraud through a fake institute of higher learning, had committed discrimination by refusing to rent properties to minorities, and had no experience with the role he was being elected to, I would stand right beside him to protest that candidate. He didn’t get where I was coming from.

In this country, we are equal. My personal opinion is that no law should be enacted that is specific to a race, a religion, sexual identity, or gender. Treat everyone the same. No laws that specifically apply to Muslims, Jews, Christians, Atheists, or Pastafarians for that matter. No laws that are specific to people that were born in this country, or people that have immigrated from anywhere else in the world. No laws specific to men, women, or members of the LGBTQ community. Equality. That’s where the argument should stop and end.

The posts went downhill from there. He’s supporting Trump and Trump’s policies. I pointed out that these policies are being supported by white supremacists and Neo-nazis… i.e. groups I would prefer to never affiliate myself with. He didn’t like the fact that I was pointing out that he is supporting the same policies as those two groups, and that people tend to be judged by the company they keep. I won’t associate with racists. The ignorance of bigots can be infectious, and knowledge is the only way to inoculate yourself from contamination.

But people that look a lot like me and have a heritage like me are drinking deep from that well of ignorance. They think that people of a particular religion are just waiting to kill us in our sleep.

I’ve had many international guests in my home over the years. I have never felt threatened.

In reality, I’m fairly certain that my fellow Kansans comprise a much greater threat to immigrants and religious minorities. All one has to do is take a look at the Garden City militia that was planning to bomb a place of worship frequented by Somali refugees. That mindset has to become a thing of the past.

The only way we are going to advance as a society is through inclusion. Everyone needs a little help, everyone needs a place, and everyone can make their own contribution to what tomorrow is going to look like.

We need to move forward with hope and acceptance. We cannot let fear and divisiveness be the foundation that we build tomorrow on. That foundation will never stand. You don’t build a future on shifting sands.

So, that’s my entry for today. That’s about three days worth of rant, so I’m going to consider myself caught up a bit, but I know I need to write like this more. I need to get it all out there. I want my future grandchildren to know where I stand, because, ultimately, we will be judged by the future. I want it to be known that I’m for inclusion. It’s the only way things are going to work.

Peace y’all.

Hello, one and all. This is one of those makeup posts that I have to get out from time to time, because last night I was too tired. That in itself is an irony, because I didn’t sleep that well last night in my hotel room.

(Normally, I don’t like to give it away that I’m on the road, but by the time anybody reads this, I’ll be home, so no worries.)

We’ve got one of our Azure Fundamental classes rolling right now. The primary is doing a pretty good job, and one of the additional trainers is helping out with the developer questions that I can’t answer. At least, I can’t answer them yet. The time may come.

Just a few more hours, and I’ll be headed out the door to the airport to catch my flight home. It will be good to sleep in my own bed tonight.

One of the additional bodies in the room is my old friend Stephen, and we’ve been talking about life on the road. One of the things he has decided to take with him on his travels is a little high-definition projector, just so he watch movies on the road… that might be a good plan for the future.

Message bus up on the docket next. Exciting stuff!

Peace y’all!

OK, here we go. It’s a Saturday night in rural Douglas County, and I’m here contemplating the truth about life, the universe, and everything.

Three big questions have been put before me. Is there a God? What happens when we die? Are we alone in the Universe?

Three questions that are pretty darned deep, ya know?

I’m not qualified to answer any of them. To be really honest, that whole question about what happens when you die is really fantastic… after all, who has died and come back? There are some that claim to have experienced death and come back, but there’s no way to prove, scientifically, that what someone has gone through during a near death experience is real. It’s completely subjective, and most likely affected by the things a person has experienced in their family life.

It gets a little out of hand after that, but all I’m really seeking is the truth.

And nobody really knows what that is.

Peace y’all.

It’s Friday night out in the country, and the only noise is Lucy asking for attention. She doesn’t like competing for attention with Freya… Freya has a tendency to be a little more ‘forward’ in her manipulations. I think that hacks off Lucy from time to time.

It’s been a pretty busy day. Several meetings and calls and some time tending to other important matters. Practicing my demonstrations, going back through my Azure subscriptions, so I can manage my usage, making sure that I always have enough gas in the tank for a demonstration when the need presents itself.

Tomorrow will be a busy housekeeping/yardkeeping day. Lots to get done between now and graduation.

This will be the last of Man, oh, man. Where did the years go?

Seems like yesterday that Dane was getting up in the night and going to sleep in his sisters’ room. He was just a little more than a year old, and it was the cutest thing. He’d just get his sippy cup (the kid would go through four or five sippy cups of milk each night – I ain’t kiddin’. He’d drink a gallon of milk a day!) and go sleep on the floor in his sisters’ bedroom.

Now he graduates. Tank boy. 6’2″, and been lifting weights every morning during the school year for four years. He’ll be pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree in the fall at KU.

That’s goo enough for tonight.

Peace y’all.

It’s another overcast evening in rural Douglas County. The sun is setting behind me, and I can still make out the faint lines in the sky delineating the blue sky and the cloud bank passing over my head.

Work has been good today. I spent some time reaching out to a couple of people that I’ll be working within the coming weeks. I took care of a couple of other things relating to work as well, so I think I’m good on that front.

The crisis of the day has been centered around the local school district and their attendance.

Hang on… gotta find something for Lisa. She needs a bill with our address on it. More school stuff. Of course all of this is going down just as Dane is about to graduate high school, right?

Meh. I’m a little frustrated now. I’m trying to solve a problem and my approach to solving the problem won’t solve the problem. Sounds like a story from Greek mythology.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I’m think a little sushi for lunch might be in order. A heart attack appetizer and one of the rolls that doesn’t have any rice in it. Maybe I’ll just go over to Wa and get a couple of Triple XXX rolls and call it good.

That’s enough for tonight. Time to mellow out before I call it a night.

Peace y’all.

It’s Wednesday night in rural Douglas County, and a light rain is falling, but not without a little thunder and lightning to season up the night.

Dane had his last high school band concert tonight, and he’s going to go out for a snack or something afterwards with some of his band friends. Lisa and I are back at the house relaxing a little bit before we give in to the sleep song of the spring frogs.

It’s been a busy day for me, trying to get some i’s dotted and t’s crossed for an upcoming delivery. I also need to follow up with some dates for a second delivery for a local customer. I also got some good news that one of my trainer community friends has received an offer and is returning to Microsoft as part of the new training community.

Tomorrow will get here soon enough. Plenty of stuff out there to keep me busy for the next couple of days. There will be phone calls and meetings for sure.

I’ll get back on it when the time comes.

(This is the part where I write in fifteen to twenty words to get to my two hundred word pledge.)

Peace y’all.

Yogurt.

Just looking for a way to keep things interesting. Maybe that could be a thing, starting off a blog (*sidenote: I originally misspelled ‘starting’ as ‘tarting’, and realized the latter word should be used more often in casual conversation) with an odd word, like ‘yogurt’, ‘redivider’, or ‘magma’.

Half the fun would be the moments spent the nature of our vocabulary. What words make an impression that then gets associated with an emotion, an attraction, an inclination. There might be something to that whole neuro-linguistic programming that I’ve stumbled across from time to time.

I’ve gone through periods in my life when I’ve explored self-improvement tapes, books, and mentors (some bordering on ‘guru’ and ‘high epopt’). I do believe in the power of the mind, and the power of impression. All it takes is the right delivery of a particular phrase combined with the appropriate body language to convey a message just a little deeper.

It’s an interesting study, I’m sure.

I just ate a KIND bar, and I feel much better. I don’t eat too much sweet stuff these days, but that was good.

OK, that’s about enough for tonight. My life is average, right?

(Note to self: don’t get in the habit of ending sentences with ‘right?’)

Peace y’all.