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.

Evie Day 466

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you all. Today is 24 June 2024.

Today is the last week of the fiscal year at work. We’re closing out strong. I have a solutions architecture class starting in a bit – East Coast time zone. These classes don’t bug me at all… I get in a little earlier, I get out a little earlier. I do need to check on my recording schedule – I might have a segment due tomorrow, but I don’t think I’ll have any problem finding time to get a segment in the can.

We had a good weekend around here. On Saturday, it was all about me and quality time on the mower… although I think I was actually on the tractor with the brush mower behind. I also broke out the little electric mower and did as much of the sideyard as I could with the batteries. I have not been impressed with the battery life of that little electric mower.

Saturday also became a nice family day. Later in the afternoon, Bonnie came over with her dog, and later Gracie and Evelyn came over as well. The pool was warm, and a good time was to be had by all.

Yesterday, was a work and play day. I looked over my content for today, downloaded the latest slide decks, and read a few relevant articles online. Lisa and I had a quiet dinner and then went to the pool for a bit last evening.

Four-day class this week, a three-day class next week, and then I’m taking off the 4th and 5th. On Friday the fifth, I plan on going to see my mom in Clay Center. I don’t mind the driving but I’ll admit I’m not as comfortable driving home in the evening as I used to be. This time of year shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s still something I think about.

I’m going to get this in the can and get going.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 463

Good morning, and a happy Friday to you all! Today is 21 June 2024.

I believe it is officially the first day of summer on this day of the equinox.

Here’s a weird thing. This week, my class was a three-day class, and it’s the only three-day class in my course catalog. I’m seeing a number of one-day classes showing up (particularly in August) and my regular class is a four-day class. When you are used to four-day classes and then teach a three-day class, it sure makes Thursday feel like Friday.

Yesterday was a good day. My son celebrated his 23rd birthday in his low-key style. He’ll get together with some of his friends this weekend for a little more personal celebration – two of the friends in his circle have birthdays around this time as well, so it will be a group event.

I’ve got plenty to focus on today, with my solo class next week, a certification exam pending, and a co-hack to coach in the coming weeks. I’ve got a presentation to put together as well.

This weekend, there will be more mowing.

I’m not the most exciting guy in the room these days. I think Odin the Goliath Morkie gets to wear that hat.

Oh, and a couple of friends of mine are home from the hospital after a rough patch. Matt, I’m glad you are home, congrats on the weight loss, and Ron, I look forward to talking with you on Sunday, glad everything is on the mend.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 462

Good morning! Today is my son’s 23rd birthday! Welcome to 20 June 2024.

Thursday…

I wrapped up my class with my training partner yesterday, and I think it went pretty well. We reached our post-class survey threshold early in the day, and that set a positive tone for the balance of the class, right up to the close of labs at 5:00 PM.

After we wrapped that up, my wife and I went into town to a nearby restaurant. One of my oldest friends (Joel and I go back to 5th/6th grade) passed through Lawrence on his “farewell” tour. He, his wife, and their two daughters are heading to the Philippines to live closer to her family. It was fun and I wish them all the best. We haven’t seen each other face-to-face for years, but ours is a friendship of convenience. I have my doubts that I’ll ever be in the same room with him ever again, unless of course Lisa and I decide to visit.

After dinner, we came back home and settled in. Lisa had to be tired – she had a long day of travel returning from Washington, DC. I dropped some cans on my head to join the guys online for our Wednesday night session.

Today will be a good day as well. I have plenty to keep me busy, including prep for my class next week.

Time for me to get this in the can and get focused on what comes next.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 461

Good morning, and a happy Juneteenth to you all. Today is 19 June 2024.

For those of you unfamiliar with the significance of this day, it commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the freedom of the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln1.

The day is also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, or Jubilee Day and has been celebrated by African American communities for decades. In recent years, it has gained broader recognition and was officially designated as a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth celebrations typically include community gatherings, educational events, and reflections on the history and culture of African Americans. Juneteenth is not only a day to celebrate freedom and achievements but also a day to encourage continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. It serves as a reminder of the struggles for equality and the ongoing efforts toward achieving racial justice.

Yes, I looked it up. I will be the first to admit that other sources are more than capable of describing the situation than I can in the moment.

Last night there were tacos. Dane and I made a run to the taco store, had a cocktail, then brought our dinner home. I picked up the fish tacos, and he ordered this chimichanga that may have been capable of stomping Tokyo… it was a monster. After we ate, we flipped on “Fallout” and got caught up on that series. Walton Goggins is a really great performer. I might have to go back and watch the old episodes of “Justified” to catch his bad guy take on Timothy Olyphant.

Tonight I will be seeing an old friend and his family. Joel and I go back to 5th/6th grade. I remember when his folks asked if I would go over and feed their small black dog when they went on vacation in the summer of ’75, if memory serves. Anyway, Joel has retired, and now gets to spend all of his time raising his two daughters… I think they are moving to the Philippines, where Joel’s wife has family.

After that, it’s time to roll the dice and punk the bad guys.

I’m back in my virtual classroom in another couple of hours. I’m mostly in a support role today – we have three modules to cover, and my responsibility is the opening review and the first module. After that, it’s my training partner’s show, and I’ll take care of answering the questions that pop up in chat.

Until next time…

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 460

Good morning, and a very happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 18 June 2024.

The news is on, and a political candidate is arguing that trust has been lost and needs to be rebuilt, and it’s apparent that this guy may have drank all of the Kool-Aid. Full-on election denial and riding that train.

Last night was a quiet evening, just a bowl of chili and the NBA Championship. Congrats to the Boston Celtics. They came out against the Dallas Mavericks and made it clear from the opening tip that there would not be a game 6.

Yesterday my training partner and I had a good first day. We deferred one of the modules to today in order to give the attendees more time to work on labs. Today we will pick up where we left off, punch out three modules, and get back into labs once again.

It looks like a gray morning here, no light blue breaking through the clouds quite yet.

That’s about it. Not much to really talk about. My life is pretty mundane.

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

Peace y’all.