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.

Evie Day 365

Good morning, friends. Today is Friday, 15 March 2024.

Tomorrow is my granddaughter’s first birthday, so this is for her.

Dear Evelyn,

If you are reading this, or having this read to you, let me start off with one simple truth. You are loved. Just as your momma loves you, we loved your momma when she was a tiny little human as well.

A child’s first year is all about discovery – and it doesn’t stop at year one. You’ve discovered your fingers and toes, and those fingers and toes have made discoveries of their own, and some of those discoveries lead to the bathtub… we know you love spaghetti.

In the coming years, you are going to see and hear amazing things. Your life will guide you from one experience to the next, and I wish I could be there with you every step of the way. I know your momma would love to fill your little mind and heart with a lifetime of wisdom and experience to guide you, but that’s not how things work.

I hope you can observe and learn from what you see. Watch the way people laugh and find happiness. Embrace that. Everyone around you wants you to be happy. I would also ask you to notice the things that cause pain in others, so you know not to do that to others and can ask others to stop if they are trying to hurt you.

Your life and world are going to get bigger in this next year. You are going to be walking and talking soon, and we all look forward to bearing witness to those moments.

I hope I get to spend time with you for the next twenty years, maybe even longer. Part of the beautiful reality of family is that recognition that there is a bit of me in you – when you tell a joke or make others laugh, that might be a Grampa Bob moment. If you look at flowers and see colors and patterns, that’s your momma. When you look at problems and see solutions, that’s maybe a bit of your Grandma Lisa coming through.

I’ll share more later, but that’s just a simple note. You’re only turning one year old, and I pray you have a long and very happy life filled with joy, friends, family, and experiences.

You are loved.

Grampa Bob

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It’s not my best post ever, but it’s real and it comes from the heart. I am a blessed man, and I know I am surrounded by people who care about me, and I, in turn, care about them.

Time to get ready for my day.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 364

Good morning, and happy Thursday to you . Today is 14 March 2024.

Had to fix a couple of things on my “minute” bits I do a few times a month. I mistakenly loaded old videos with new thumbnails. Youtube Studio doesn’t change default locations when you load a file from one location, it still loads different files from, the last previous load location, and that led me to make a couple of mistakes.

Last night was not a good night for Kansas basketball. Two leading scorers and all-conference players on the bench with injuries, one with a deep bone bruise on his knee, the other sidelined with a dislocated shoulder. Kansas loses by twenty to Cincinnati in the Big 12 post-season tournament.

I’ve got two sessions today, one a chalk talk about data integration, and then I’ll lead a case study in the afternoon. I would’ve had another presentation on courseware blueprints, but that has been deferred to next Tuesday night. I’ll have another extra presentation a week from tomorrow as well with a security update. I’m glad they are spread out a little bit.

There’s not much else going on. I picked up a little brace to isolate my right thumb a little bit. It’s been giving me a little tendon trouble around the base of my thumb… probably due to repetitive movement with my mouse.

Lucy got my attention and wanted to sit between my legs on the legrest. Odin and the Floofs are barking at some dog on TV. Lisa suspects that advertisers are incorporating more dogs and cats into TV ads because the owners will notice their pets barking.

OK, that’s an abbreviated note, but a note nonetheless.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 363

Good morning, and a happy Wednesday to you all. Today is 13 March 2024.

Hard to believe that my granddaughter turns one in just three more days. I know the counter says 363, but remember, this is a leap year. Arrangements are being made, and families are planning travel.

I was going to have a presentation tomorrow afternoon, but it looks like that is being rescheduled. The friend and teammate making the arrangements for it is making an effort to get a few more registrations for the event, so a better time will hopefully present that accommodation.

My training partner had a challenge yesterday with her car, and that led to me jumping into a session to help out. Basically, she had a space at the car dealership to work while her car was being serviced, and some executive kicked her out right in the middle of the session. I jumped in to cover the session – it was a review session, and I was fine to do that – I was familiar with the subject as it was effectively a more serious review of the same stuff I reviewed the previous Friday. She let the executive know who was in the class and that she passed along info about the make and model of her car as a subtle message to the dealership exec. He made some assumptions that he shouldn’t have made.

That means I’ll get a little more time to plan out my chalk talk for tomorrow morning, and that is fine by me. I’m ok with data integration services, but there is always something more to learn.

Other than that, there’s not a lot going on. I’m looking at more practical uses of AI in my virtual classrooms, and I use it regularly for quick-hitter questions that I can’t answer. I had a learner ask me about comparing a service I was familiar with another service I had never heard of… I popped that question into CoPilot and then shared the response. The learner was not only satisfied, he was pretty impressed with the depth of the question and the referral links.

I also like it for looking up key points on unfamiliar terms. Some news story threw around the name “Project 2025”, and I had never heard of it, so I popped it into CoPIlot and asked for a summary and key points. That was helpful. I’ll continue to use AI for just that purpose – filling in the gaps.

I’m going to get this in the can and get on with my day.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 362

Good morning, and a happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 12 March 2024.

March is International Women’s Month. Add in Neurodiversity Celebration Week from March 18 to March 24. Looks like March is a busy month… add in my granddaughter’s birthday on Saturday, my nephew’s birthday on Sunday, March 17, and the international celebration of the Kansas City Chief’s quarterback on March 17 as well, and it just gets busier and busier with more and more stuff to celebrate.

Of course, we’re going to recognize all… well, maybe I made up the part about celebrating the Chief’s QB on St. Patrick’s Day, but let’s not write that idea off completely. I have some incredible women in my life – my wife, my mom, my daughters, my sister, my nieces, my granddaughter (who will be awesome someday, but there’s no need to put pressure on her now, she isn’t even one yet). I’ve had great women teammates and great women managers.

For me it’s pretty simple – anyone who treats women like second-class citizens has no place in my circle. That’s a pretty simple idea. I want people around me that make good decisions and offer good counsel. Mistreating women and treating them as “less” will not be tolerated.

OK, I’ll step off my soapbox.

Here comes the high-dive moment… Lisa has her breakfast, Rosy just ran up the steps and jumped off my legrest. Lily just followed suit. That’s two… I expect I’ll have a couple more high dive moments… just as Rosy comes back up for her second turn off the leg rest… and there goes Lily, too.

I’m back in my virtual classroom in a couple of hours. I’m hearing the siren song of the coffee maker, and starting to feel the need for a little legal stimulant.

Tonight… there will be tacos!

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 361

Good morning, and a happy first-day-of-the-new-work-week to you. Today is Monday, 11 March 2024.

Kind of funny. I sat down at my laptop this morning and opened my email, and the first all-caps word that I see is DEMENTIA. That’s a great way to start the day, right?

Last night the Academy Awards, popularly referred to as “The Oscars” was on. So was the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup Championship match between the US Women’s National Team and Brazil. I watched soccer. It was a lot of fun, not the drenched, soggy field from the semi-finals, and the US pulled out the win, 1-0.

The rest of the sports weekend wasn’t as much fun. The KU men last on the road and our starting center dislocated his shoulder. The KU women lost against Texas in the Big 12 Women’s basketball tournament.

The other highlight of the weekend was probably watching the cold opening of Saturday Night Live. A little background – on Thursday night, President Biden delivered his State of the Union Address. Then there was the GOP response, delivered by the junior senator from Alabama, Katie Britt. Her over-the-top delivery became the foundation for the SNL cold opening and was delivered by Scarlett Johansson. That might’ve been the best opening bit in the history of SNL. Lisa and I watched it three times, and we’re wondering if she can get an Emmy for that. If she doesn’t, the writers sure should.

I’m up early. Daylight Savings Time, spring forward… and there really is no savings of anything. It’s time to lock the clock.

Rosy is back using my leg rest as a high dive. Go over to Lisa, run back, climb up the little dog stairs, then jump down. She’ll do that half-a-dozen times while Lisa eats breakfast.

Congrats Sweden on officially joining NATO.

I’m going to grab some breakfast and get going with my day.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 358

Hello! I wish you all a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend. Today is 8 March 2024.

Next weekend, we’re celebrating a birthday around these parts as our granddaughter celebrates her first birthday. We’ll be sure to take many pictures to embarrass her with them when she’s older.

Lisa and I made a choice last night to try and keep our respective blood pressures low, so we watched some TV series with multiple murders rather than watch the State of the Union. I’m catching highlights on the news, and I’ll probably be hearing about this and that throughout the day. I know there are folks out there who were hanging on every word and dissecting phrases, expressions, and facial tick. I had better things to do, like put together a Jeopardy-style game. I also missed the opposition’s response. I caught a bit of it this morning. It struck me as very forgettable.

I have a busy day. I think now is as good a time to get this done. As I watch the news, I just get sick of it.

My class is going well. As I mentioned, I prepared a little game for my learners to play. We’ll start with a review, then I’ll introduce the first game, and then follow that up with a second one.

I hope I have something a little more fun to post on Monday. I hope my weekend is productive, and I hope I get to spend a little quality time with my guitars… and a cute little short-scale 6-string bass.

OK… that’s all I’ve got for now.

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

Peace y’all.