Evie Day 379

Good morning, and a happy Good Friday to you all. It is 29 March 2024.

I’ve been involved in deep negotiations with my senior dog, eventually coming to terms that provide her unfettered access to my legrest, and in return, she stops pawing at my leg until it bleeds.

It’s my last day of class after a four-week excursion through cloud solutions architecture. We start off with over 100 attendees, and today I fully expect to have fewer than 100 attendees. It’s a work holiday for many of our international learners, and my training partner from Canada has a national holiday as well.

My talk this morning will be a bit of review, then a slide over into closing out the course. I doubt we’ll use the entire two-hour time slot. After four weeks, folks are probably a little tired.

Lisa and I talked a little bit about our weekend plans. We’re going over to some friends’ house for a bit tomorrow. They have set up a “stations of the cross” experience on their property. It will be nice to see them.

The kids and our granddaughter will be over on Sunday for Easter dinner. That will be nice.

I’m back in the saddle on Monday, ready to deliver an admin course to a private customer. I’ll have a prep week after that, then back at it for a few weeks to follow. I like the variety – some of it anyway. We’re being asked to tackle some new delivery styles, and I’ll adapt to the needs of the environment.

In the meantime…

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

Peace y’all.

Evie 378 

Good morning! Today is Thursday, 28 March 2024.

I’m back in my virtual classroom in a couple of hours, with discussions on Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery/ MIgration with my attendees. I’m looking forward to nailing it down for my last couple of talks, BCDR/Migration in the morning, followed by a case study this afternoon. Tomorrow, I’ll be giving my training partner a break – she lives in Canada, and Good Friday is a national holiday there, and another trainer offered to jump in to cover any overflow of the chat that I can’t handle.

No gaming last night. A couple of the guys had scheduling challenges. One of my buddies is a high school drama teacher and he had a technical rehearsal for his new show. Another had family visiting, and another one of the guys has been under the weather. We’ll pick it back up where we left off soon enough. I love getting together on Wednesday night and Sunday afternoon, but we all have other responsibilities, whether it’s work, family, or health.

I am thankful my wife showed me how to run the new coffee pot.

Next week I will be teaching an admin course, and that will be on Eastern time, so an hour earlier to start, but I’ll get things wrapped up a little earlier as well. The following week is a non-delivery week, with at least one day off to watch the eclipse.

The dogs have all gathered on my wife’s lap… and just as I type it, Rosy gets up and slides off to my left side, waiting for me to pay attention to her. I do love our furry friends.

OK, I’m boring.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 377

Good morning, and a happy Wednesday to you all. I’ll be using camels in my AI-generated Teams background later today. The date is 27 March 2024.

We had our little feast from Cascada la Golondrina last night. Dane enjoyed his beef burrito, and I had tacos… as one might expect. We had another order, the “special dinner” off of the “specialties” portion of the menu, so Lisa would have a little choice about what she wanted for dinner when she arrived home a little later last night.

I’m always better when she gets home. She was in DC, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the destruction of the Key Bridge would affect her trip to the airport. I wasn’t sure, in that moment, if she was flying out of Reagan National, Dulles, or Baltimore. I was just happy to have her home… but maybe not quite as happy as our four canine family members.

I had an extra session yesterday, demonstrating a tool created by a friend and co-worker. It was enjoyable, and the attendees seemed to be enthusiastic.

There are other things on my mind as well. Work stuff, personal stuff, matters of mortality. A friend reached out to me yesterday about the passing of a mutual friend’s younger brother. Greg was in my brother’s class, and they were friends. He was part of a group of us that rode the bus together back in the mid-70s. We all played basketball together on a Salvation Army team back in the winter of my freshman year of high school. I knew he had some heart issues, significantly more life-threatening than my own, and he had a heart attack in his forties. He was a good guy, and my thoughts go out to his surviving family.

I can’t help but ponder my own mortality at times like this. Some days, I feel like the luckiest man on earth. I’m a 40 year cancer survivor, had my own heart issues. For all I know, I’ve got a weak blood-vessel in my head that could pop at any time.

I can’t worry about it. I can try to live a healthier life, but no one lives forever.

Sorry… getting a little maudlin.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 376

Good morning, and a happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 26 March 2024.

Sad news on the TV… a container ship has collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and that bridge is in the water. Multiple vehicles are in the water, and the crews on the scene have video footage of the current state, and now, just now, they are showing footage of the collision and bridge collapse from a camera that appears to monitor the bridge itself. This is kind of crazy.

All positive intentions to the families affected by this incident. At least 7 people are missing at this moment. Video can be found here: Moment bridge collapses in Baltimore after cargo ship collision – YouTube.

Lisa gets home late tonight from DC. I hope this bridge collapse doesn’t affect her travel plans.

It’s a little crazy.

I’ll be back in my virtual classroom later today, and I look forward to it. Got socked with a headache yesterday morning, and that just kept me in a pretty bad space most of the day. I’m better today. I don’t know if it was the Tylenol, the ibuprofen, or just time that get me turned around, but whatever it was, I am thankful.

I’m in the passenger seat for class today, and then I move over to the driver’s seat for a presentation at 6:00 tonight on a friend’s project, sharing what he has put together for trainers to use.

After that little project is completed, it’s taco time.

I wish I had a little more to talk about, but this event in Baltimore is really capturing my attention.

I’m going to make a pot of coffee and ponder breakfast.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day375

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you all. Today is 25 March 2024.

March Madness has not been kind to my teams for the most part. The Kansas men lost to Gonzaga on Saturday, an outcome I rather expected it, to be honest. The Kansas women won their game against Michigan, but when the 8 seed beats the 9 seed, that just means that the 8 seed plays the 1 seed in the second round… so Kansas will face the University of Southern California later today, and I’ll manage my expectations.

Lisa is traveling for work. It’s always a little harder to sleep when she’s not here.

Got together with some of the guys yesterday afternoon for a little online gaming. We seemed to have survived… well, the party survived better than my power, anyway. Lost my connection just as we were wrapping up yesterday, but I think my character survived another encounter.

I’ve got a busy day today. More than a couple of irons in the fire.

I’ve got a little bit of a headache, to be frank. Might be time to take a couple of pain relievers.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 372

Hi folks! Welcome to the last day of the traditional workweek! It is Friday 22 March 2024.

I went to bed early last night – early meaning 11:15 PM. I am not used to staying up late any longer. Long gone are the days of staying up late and watching Friday night “double creature features” with classic movies from the Japanese monster movie shops or some re-imagined horror classic from Hammer Studios. Kansas played in the first round of the NCAA tournament late, and I called it a night when Kansas was up by 20 in the second half. I had the game recorded, so I’m catching up on it now, but I’m aware that Samford fought back to make the game a little more competitive, but Kansas still found a way to pull out the 4-point win in the end. Kansas will take on Gonzaga in the Sunday match-up… I should check out what time the game starts.

I have two presentations today. The first is a rather fun yet mundane review of the week’s content with our learners. We’ll go over the Knowledge Check questions from the modules before we slide over to a Jeopardy-style game I threw together. The second is another Security Call… similar to the one I did around the middle of December. I was really anxious for that one.. only to have three people show up live, and others simply watched the recording when they had a chance. Same thing today… the presentation is ready to go for the most part, but I’ve got about 8 hours before the show, so I’ll have a chance to polish it up a little bit.

This weekend, Lisa and I are going to get to work on some of the yard stuff. It might be a little early for planting the new stuff, as the weather forecast has a couple of hard freezes yet next week, but after that, we’ll get our veggies and flowers in the ground.

That’s all I have today. I’m kind of boring. I need to get some coffee and toast for breakfast and ponder the great riddle of “what comes next”.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 371

Good morning, and a very happy Thursday to you all. Today is 21 March 2024.

Flipping on the news, and hearing about white supremacists escaping from custody in Idaho. Armed and dangerous. I have a feeling this is one of those news stories that won’t have a happy ending.

Today is the first day of the NCAA tournament for me. There have been a few play-in games, and some noteworthy surprises like Colorado State defeating Virginia on Tuesday night. Last night I got to see some teams with Kansas ties, Tad Boyle’s Colorado team (KU ’85) played Boise State, which became the final collegiate destination for Cam Martin, a young man who transferred into KU and transferred out with another year remaining. Colorado moves on, 60-53.

Tonight, in Salt Lake City, Kansas (#4 seed) will take on the long-distance sharpshooters from Samford (#13). Kansas will be without the leading scorer in the Big 12 Conference for the duration, but at least our starting center will be back on the floor following a dislocated shoulder in the last regular season game.

I’m usually pretty enthusiastic about Kansas and the NCAA tournament, but this year I have my doubts we will get past the opening weekend. If we win, and the seedings hold up, we would play Gonzaga in the second round. I know Gonzaga has had a down year, but still… Kansas has found a way to disappoint on more than a few occasions this year, so I’m not going to get too attached. It’s just not going to be our year. Yes, when I look at the seedings, I do recognize that Kansas beat two of the #1 seeds, but those wins were with a full squad at Allen Fieldhouse.

I’ve got a couple of presentations to prep today. My training partner has the mic for the majority of the day today, so I should have a few moments to work on stuff today and tonight. Even tonight, Kansas doesn’t play until 8:30 PM.

That’s all I have on my mind this morning. Time to get a pot of coffee brewing and throw a couple of pieces of toast in the toaster oven.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 370

Good morning, friends! It is humpday! Today is 20 March 2024.

Spring is about to get sprung around here.

I have a feeling that this coming weekend will be spent trying to get tractors and lawnmowers running in order to prepare for the coming need for lawn maintenance. Last year, I was lucky, as both of the primary utility vehicles started on the first try, and the gator needed a little help. I hope there’s a repeat of last year’s success.

Last night there were tacos and a pleasant surprise. I thought I had a presentation at 6:00 last night for the trainer community. I took a look at a post on LinkedIn by a teammate, and I had to reach out as the scheduled time on his post was 2:00 PM, which I knew I couldn’t do. I pinged him on Teams and asked, “Hey, I thought we scheduled that for 6:00 tonight” and he let me know that it was supposed to be 6:00, but it wasn’t for another week. I’ll take that as a minor victory. I’ve got enough going on this week, so deferring that obligation for another week was welcome.

Lisa and I watched a little “Chopped” last night, some old reruns from a couple of years back. We then dialed in to casually watch a little of the NIT basketball tournament, K-State Wildcats traveling to Iowa City to take on my wife’s alma mater, Iowa. Iowa pulled out the victory, sending the Manhattan, Kansas faithful home for the post-season. I have some friends that align themselves with KSU, and I’m sure it wasn’t the result they had hoped for… actually, it wasn’t even the tournament they had hoped for. The NIT is a notch down from the NCAA tournament, and there’s usually a good argument that the team that wins the NIT should have been in the NCAA tournament.

Today I have a case study to go over with my learners at 9:00, then I get to steer my attention towards my security call on Friday, and the office hours session on Friday morning… a little fun and games with something I’ll toss together on JeopardyLabs.

Alrighty, it’s time for me to get this in the can and drag my backside into the kitchen to get some coffee brewing.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 369

Good morning, and a very happy Taco Tuesday to you all. It is 19 March 2024.

My senior pooch is outside barking at a star or planet that is too bright in the morning twilight. Lucy hates Venue, I suppose.

I have two presentations today for work. The first is my regularly scheduled class presentation on application architecture, which will kick in around 3:00 this afternoon. Later, at 6:00 tonight, I’ll have an online presentation of a teammate/friend’s concept for organizing our regular class content for an international audience of trainers. No nerves, no nerves at all. (Eye roll)

Recently, my right thumb has been giving me some trouble. I think it’s the tendon/connective tissue at the base of my thumb. I’m trying a couple of things in an attempt to remedy the problem – I switched to a vertical mouse, a Logitech MX Vertical, and I also snagged a brace to try and immobilize my thumb a little bit when I’m working on my presentations. I think it’s working, and the ache in that thumb joint is fading. I’ll keep using the new mouse and brace for now, and keep them handy in the future for occasional flareups.

The only problem with a 6:00 presentation is the inevitable conflict with the taco run. I’ll either have to make a late run or convince my wife or son that the preservation of world peace is dependent upon their availability to grab today’s tacos. The future of Western civilization may depend on it.

Lisa just finished her breakfast. Odin complained the entire time, claiming starvation, while his bowl of food sits just around the corner. He’s a spoiled boy. Now my bride sits on the couch with her coffee, a Chiefs sleeved blanket draped around her, and the sisters Von Floof have assumed their position on her lap.

Lucy went back outside. There must be another bright light alarming her. Bark, bark, bark.

OK, time for me to grind some coffee beans and get started on the more productive part of my day.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 368

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you all. Today is 18 March 2024.

I’ve got a pretty full day ahead of me, a “prep” day, as I get ready for chalk talk and case study discussions this week. I also have a few other meetings that I need to prepare for as I am leading the meetings, one meeting on a new training tool and another security call, similar to the one I did last December.

We celebrated Evelyn’s first birthday on Saturday, and it was a lot of fun. Evelyn had a pretty good time, as she tugged on tissue wrapping and double-fisted birthday treats, a cupcake in one hand and a cookie in the other. Lisa took Evie on a trip to the Hundred Acre Wood with gifts of Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore plushies.

Sports fans are getting dialed in for March Madness now, with the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Kansas landed spots in both tournaments, the men drawing a #4 seed to face Samford on Thursday, and the Kansas women drawing an #8 seed, and they will square off against the Michigan team on Sunday. Time to fill out brackets!

Other than that, not a whole lot else to report. As the week progresses, I’ll have a little more to talk about. I could voice an opinion on the political sphere, but it would just seem like complaining.

A horse appears in a TV commercial, and the dogs go nuts. Lily is over here yapping it up, and Odin is having some sort of conniption fit.

I’ll get into my day now. Plenty to keep me occupied.

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

Peace y’all.