Evie Day 481

Good morning, and a happy Taco Tuesday. Today is 9 July 2024.

I will be back in my virtual classroom in a couple of hours, the first meeting of my four-week class. It’s all basic administration stuff that I teach with some regularity, but those days of teaching cloud administration may be drawing to a close as the total number of admin course offerings have started to dwindle in favor of more expert-level courses on security and AI.

Yesterday was a busy day. I had a prep day, and I attended a couple of meetings. I worked on presentations, and after one meeting, I got pinged that one of my prescriptions was ready to pick up. I recently broke my glasses, as well as another pair of safety glasses that I wear when mowing, so I thought I might have time to run by the optical dispensary to see if I could get at least one pair, if not both, fixed. I got lucky with my daily drivers, a pair of clear frames from Ray-Ban, but they told me that they would have to send in the safety glasses for a lens swap due to OSHA concerns, which made perfect sense to me. After that, I ran by the grocery store to grab my prescription.

Later that afternoon, after I arrived back home, I received a phone call informing me they could swap the lenses in my safety glasses, so I could come by and pick them up anytime. After looking at the clock, I realized I could kill a couple of birds with one stone – pick up the safety glasses, and run by the chiropractor’s office to see if he could do anything about my right shoulder that has been bugging me for a few weeks after I fell in the dark (yeah, not my finest moment).

Anyway, I now have two pairs of fully functioning glasses, a better shoulder, a prescription, and Melita #4 coffee filters that I am so glad I remembered because COFFEE!.

I’ve got some things I need to look over for work, so I better make a pot of coffee, grab a slice of the breakfast pastry my wife made the other day, and get to it.

Tonight… there will be tacos.

In the meantime…

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 480

Good morning, and welcome to the new work week. Today is Monday, 8 July 2024.

I’m starting a new class tomorrow.

I’ll begin a new 4-week blended learning delivery tomorrow with a trainer I have not worked with before. I look forward to it, and it’s particularly interesting this time around, as this trainer and I will spend four weeks in a delivery, then take a couple of weeks away on other classes and a little PTO, then we’ll jump right back in working together on another blended learning class.

It was an interesting four-day weekend. I did get together with the guys last Wednesday night for a bit, as I am wont to do. We did our thing, making some fantasy world safer for the humanoid races and the powers of good, and then we did a little more of the same yesterday afternoon as well. These days I don’t have a lot of social interaction outside the home – I am the epitome of a homebody. The exciting interaction today with people will be running by Target Optical to see if I can get my glasses fixed or if I’ll have to order a new pair.

Lisa has been pretty busy over the four-day weekend as well. I left her to focus on her work Friday while I took off to Clay Center to see my mom, and I also was able to see my brothers. I dropped off some brisket and pork loin for them, and I was pleased to hear from my youngest brother regarding his opinion of my barbeque – he was pleased. Let’s hear it for minor victories.

I’ve got a couple of other projects to focus on today, and I should organize my time blocks for the week. There are presentations to work on, and coaching notes to review.

Until next time…

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 476

Good morning! It’s Thursday… but in the US, it’s the 4th of July, a day we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I pause and think about what my 7th great-grandfather thought when he signed that document. His name was Benjamin Harrison, and he was the governor of Virginia at that point in history.

I don’t think I would’ve liked him much. He didn’t treat folks well.

I will get a brisket trimmed up and seasoned to put on the Woodfire Grill. I’ve got some meat to prep for later today and tomorrow – I’m heading to Clay Center to see my mom on my day off.

Last night there was enough rain to put a damper on some fireworks celebrations. We still had our share around here with the thunder and the lightning. The dogs certainly noticed.

I got together with some of the guys last night for a bit of gaming. We had just completed a battle with some bad guys, and I was kind of dinged up, down 2/3 of my hit points, but it was all good – the bad guys were vanquished. We didn’t have the full party there with family and other responsibilities, so it was mostly a night of healing and looting… after all, those bad guys won’t be needing that cachet of gems now, right?

OK, let’s get this sorted…

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 475

Good morning, and a happy Humpday to you all. Today is Wednesday, 3 July 2024.

It is Wednesday, but there are aspects of Friday mixed in , as we move into a 4-day weekend with the 4th of July holiday. I decided to let my feet start their vacation early, slipping into sandals rather than my casual loafers.

Last night there we tacos… I know frequent readers of my blog are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for that confirmation. Crispy beef tacos, soft chicken tacos, and the Alambre from my local restaurant.

I’ll be back in my virtual classroom today. I’ll cover the first twenty minutes with review, then we’ll move into network security, and private access, and wrap things up with monitoring and log analytics. I hope we can wrap up in the middle of the afternoon to give folks a little more lab time. My training partner thinks we should forego the lab time in favor of doing more demos. I’m of the opinion that we may have spent enough time on demos, and it’s the lab time that our learners need. I have a feeling I won’t have much say in the final outcome.

I’ve got a brisket and pork shoulder to cook today and tomorrow. I’m thinking I can get the shoulder taken care of over the course of a few hours today, maybe getting on the smoker around lunchtime, and pulling it off after my class wraps up.

Last night it rained a bit, and the neighbors had to call off their nightly round of fireworks. For some folks, the Fourth of July starts on June 25 and runs through New Year. It was a bit quieter for a while, then the thunderstorm started and the dogs were scared of the thunder and lightning instead of fireworks.

I’ve got a few things to attend to, but I think I’ve done enough of a recap of my day. It was a decent day.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 474

Good morning folks, and a very happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 2 July 2024.

Tonight, there will be tacos.

But the USMNT will have to eat theirs with no salsa… man, oh, mah. The United States Men’s National Team has been playing in the CONCACAF Nations tournament, hosted in the United States, and the host country does not advance out of group play. They lost last night to Uruguay. If they had not messed the bed against Panama, they might’ve moved on, but not this year.

I’ll be back in my virtual classroom in a bit. Yesterday was a rough start, as a thunderstorm passed through, dropped three-and-a-half inches of rain, shut down my internet service providers, and left me hanging. My training partner stepped in, and we swapped modules. My access came back online later in the day, and I got through the second module and the labs with no problem, but that was the worst networking situation I have had to deal with as a remote trainer.

I don’t have much else to share this morning. Coffee is starting to call my name.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 473

Good morning, happy Monday, happy July. Today is the first day of July, 2024.

It will be a short work week, with the 4th of July landing on Thursday. I’ve got a three-day class, an I’ve blocked out Friday to go see my mom in Clay Center.

Thunderstorms came through overnight, and it’s still sprinkling outside. We had a two-dog night last night… it would’ve been a four-do night if we didn’t keep the Floofs crated at night. They’ve been in there since they were born, and it has helped them with better habits when it comes to bodily functions.

I have a three-day networking class starting today. I divided up the content with my training partner, but we might want to review the way the load is being divided. I think I should take more of the class, to be frank.

Lisa and I watched a mix of UEFA Euro, CONCACAF Nations, and WNBA matches this weekend, and there might’ve been a little NWSL (women’s pro soccer) in there as well. Tonight, the US Men’s National Team takes on Uruguay in a must-win match to move into the single-elimination round.

I’ve got some other things to focus on as well, including a couple of presentations. It’s time to get that stuff all looked in.

Oh, and the Ninja Woodfire Grill will get a workout this week. I’ve got to prep meat for a four-day weekend.

In the meantime…

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 470

Good morning, happy Friday… it will be for some, not so happy for others, I’m sure. Today is Friday, 28 June 2024.

I’m glad I didn’t watch the debate last night. Trump lied, Biden looked old. Doesn’t really change my perspective. I can’t vote for a guy with 34 felony convictions, 2 impeachments, and 54 more charges pending.

I’ve got a test later. I’m going to study.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 469

Good morning, and a happy Thursday to you all. Today is 27 June 2024.

One more day in class, two more days in the fiscal year.

Tonight there is stuff on TV. There’s some soccer, there’s some basketball, and there’s a debate.

I think I’ll watch sports tonight.

I don’t need to watch a debate. I’ve already made up my mind. I believe Joe Biden is a better human being. I have read any number of unfounded accusations about this “Biden Crime Family”, but as I have mentioned before, accusations are easy and proof that stands up to court scrutiny. Yes, there are problems within the Biden family – there’s a family member with a history of alcohol and drug abuse. A lot of families have that same problem. A focal point of my belief that Joe is a better human being lies in the verifiable fact that Joe understands something about loss that his opponent does not. Joe was a single father of two boys after he lost his wife and daughter in a car accident. His two boys both suffered injuries, Beau broke his leg, and Hunter fractured his skill. His wife, Nealia, and daughter, Amy, were killed. I can’t imagine how that would feel, but that loss could break a man.

It’s on matters of empathy that I turn a heel. If there isn’t an effort to understand how others feel, I will go in a different direction fast.

I gamed with the guys last night. We had a new returning player (thankful for him!) and we had a couple of absences due to other obligations, including one of the guys celebrating his 36th wedding anniversary.

I’ll wrap up my solutions architecture class today. I’ve had a pretty good bunch this week. I look forward to getting things squared a way, then resuming my preparations for tomorrow’s certification exam.

More rain is expected today… thunderstorms rolling through later. Time to make sure I’ve got covers on things that need covers.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 468

Good morning, and a happy humpday to you all! Today is Wednesday, 26 June 2024.

Wednesday is named after Woden, or Odin, from the Scandinavian pantheon, and my little “Goliath morkie” is named Odin as well. Odin was a good boy last night when the nasty thunderstorms rolled through. Of course, I slept through them, my wife got up with the pooches at three, and there were a couple of power outages. Odin does not like storms, and he did nuzzle up next to me in bed during some of the storm. I vaguely remember the “thump, thump, thump” of his leg scratching himself percussively.

Today is day three of my class. We’re focusing on apps, authentication, and authorization today. It’s not as much fun as networking and storage, but I don’t anticipate any problems. Case study and review, three modules, three breaks, another case study and then close out the day.

Wednesday night is one of my game times, hanging with the guys as we span four time zones and make some fantasy world safe from the bad guys… well, those other bad guys anyway. One thing I like about our group is that we all generally play good characters, with nary a murder hobo to be found. I prefer to help solve problems rather than becoming one.

Last night there were tacos.

I’m going to get this in the can and take a look outside to see if there is any damage. Lisa is worried that some of her tomato plants might’ve taken the worst of it.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 467

Good morning, and a very happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 25 June 2024.

I generally start off the day with two glasses of water. I get up, brush my teeth, shower, dress, and immediately think about hydration. I don’t think I’m drinking enough water. I have discovered that if I flavor my water, I’m more consistent about my consumption. It’s time to order some more Gatorade Zero flavor packets.

My class went pretty well yesterday. I gave everybody some time to work on our case study and get some reading time in. The attendees from across the Atlantic were able to defer until the morning. I do try to accommodate folks that are working well into the evening, and in the case of my attendees on India Standard Time, I hope they get a decent night’s sleep.

I’m focusing my after-hours efforts on a certification exam I have scheduled for this Friday. I hope I can finally punch this one out. It’s a challenging exam, and I’m working to prepare as much as possible.

It’s hard to believe that June has slipped by so fast. It’s the 25th, and the end of the fiscal year comes up in just a few days. We’ve got an end-of-year celebration early this evening online. I’ll probably wait and watch the recorded festivities after my exam on Friday.

I don’t have much else to report. One of my gaming buddies is celebrating his anniversary tomorrow night, and I’m not sure how that will affect our game night plans. All things considered, if we decide to take a night off, it won’t bum me out. I could use the extra couple of hours on Wednesday night to study.

That’s about all I’ve got today. Time to get this in the can.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.