Evie Day 714

Good morning, and a happy Thursday! Today is 27 February 2025.

I had some positive interactions yesterday on the job search side, but no real movement. One oddball thing I need to check on is my login for unemployment. It’s not letting me log in at the moment and I need to look into that.

To be frank, there’s not much else going on. I should get my additional arm for my teleprompter mount today and another package that is a couple of days overdue.

The weather has been nice the last few days, as winter starts drifting into memory. Temperatures in the 60s so far this week, and it could get as warm as 70 tomorrow. I think today might be a good day to thaw out some protein in the freezer and think about grilling for dinner later.

This warmer weather might be affecting the air quality as well… allergens are about.

That’s all I really have for today. I’m kind of boring at the moment.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 713

Good morning, and a happy Wednesday to you all. Today is 26 February 2025. (Edited… had the date wrong the first time around)

Yes, I had tacos.

I have some follow-up I need to attend to today. I have a contract I need to sign regarding terms for freelance work – there’s a training broker based in the UK that wants to use me when the opportunity presents, so I’ll get a signature on that doc and get it returned. I put out a quote for some other services for a training provider, going through their lab environment and making some suggestions about implementation and content.

I also had another company reach out to me yesterday (thanks Christine!) about doing some writing. I do have an inclination in that direction.

I have some more studio components coming in. One funny thing stood out – I have mounted my teleprompter and camera on a stand, but I didn’t realize until yesterday that the mount was incomplete – there’s a second articulated arm that I forgot to order with the original desk mount. That is coming in, and then I’ll get that mount situation addressed. I need to thank a buddy of mine over in Germany for that one – Ulf, thanks for the tip.

Two guys that have given me great tips on my production space – Ulf and Dieter. Thanks guys… or more accurately, Danke schoen!

Nothing else going on right at the moment. Time to make some coffee and get started with my work day.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 712

Good morning, and a very happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 25 February 2025.

I’m not in a great mood right now. Sure, Kansas won a road game last night, a rarity these days, but other events just make my blood boil.

Yesterday, on the anniversary of the 3rd year of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a resolution was presented for a vote to the UN, the resolution admonishing Russia for its invasion and war crimes. Some “nay” votes were no surprise – Russian, Belarus, Hungary… but why did the US vote with that block? It’s almost like Putin is calling the shots.

I’m reminded of a Warren Zevon song… “send lawyers, guns, and money – the shit just hit the fan”.

I have a couple of projects today that will keep me busy. I’ll be taking a little time to shoot a video for a learning provider to demonstrate how I look and sound in front of the camera. Sound is usually no problem, but I admit I have a face for radio. At this point in my career, I probably have about as much on-camera charisma as a junkyard boot… but if I can make a point and demonstrate how to do something, that’s the important part.

Yesterday, we had a very surprising warm day. The temp almost hit 70 degrees F/21C. Today we should see a little more warmth. I might even have to break out of the house and go downtown just to look around.

That’s about all I have.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 711

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

Lots of twos and fours in that date, eh?

Friday and Saturday were somewhat quiet, with a pervasive “old folks at home theme”. Saturday Lisa and I were able to spend a little time with Gracie and Evelyn… time with my granddaughter is precious. After breakfast, it was time to work on my workspace a bit – getting the teleprompter working, and looking over a few other components I need to learn about before I start shooting training videos soon.

Kansas did something unique on the basketball court – they suffered a 30-point loss last Tuesday, then rebounded to a 30-point win. Apparently that is the first time the Jayhawks have done that ever. I still think the KU fans will be in for a little bit of disappointing news – the polls will be out later today, and I expect Kansas to drop out of the top 25.

We had a nice weekend, with some social interaction where we could find it. I spent a little time on Sunday talking with a couple of the guys, but we knew it wasn’t going to be optimal for any sort of gaming.

I’ve got to get a quote out to a vendor this morning… time to review some content and see if there are suggestions to improve it. I’ll start off with some classes I am familiar with, then move into more unfamiliar territory.

Time to get a little breakfast and get going on the day.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 708

Good morning, and a very happy end to the Western work week to you all. Today is Friday, 21 February 2025.

OK… a recap.

Dismissed from the job on January 31, and after a brief bout of depression, got to work. Right now I have some pretty good prospects, with another meeting today to discuss some short-term gig work for a training company. I have a video to shoot for another learning products team and three other training firms that are interested in my experience and services. Things are looking up.

Today I’m expecting a delivery of some new hardware that I’ll implement as part of the presentation/video production setup I’m putting together. I will be curious to see what we can do to integrate my video recording software (too many packages!) and my chromakey backdrop. After that, we’ll get the teleprompter configured as well. This can be fun. It can be a pain in the back, too, but let’s focus on the positives for now. Shall we?

I may have a visitor later today… I always look forward to seeing my granddaughter.

Gaming with the guys on Sunday… one of our buddies won’t be available as he is heading off to Hawaii. I hope he doesn’t have any problems with air travel. That seems to be a bit of a contentious industry these days.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 707

Good morning, and a very happy Thursday to you all. Today is 20 February 2025.

Yesterday was a good day! I had some really positive interaction with a prospective employer/project lead for an education products company. We’re talking about making some training videos, and things are continuing to move in the right direction. I have to record a training demo for them, and with some new hardware arriving tomorrow and Saturday, I should be in a pretty good place to record with or without a chromakey backdrop – a “green screen”.

Last night I was able to get together with a couple of the guys to talk about our game landscape. We were small on numbers, and all things considered, that was probably a good thing – our virtual tabletop software was not very cooperative, running exceptionally slow.

Today I have some running around to do. I need to drop by the unemployment office to make sure everything is set up right there, and I need to run into Shawnee (a Kansas City suburb) to pick up an order from Lowes.

Other than that, not a whole lot going on. Time to make some coffee and a little breakfast.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 706

Good morning, and a very happy hump day to you all. Today is Wednesday, 19 February 2025.

Tacos were good last night. The Jayhawk ladies were good, too. The Jayhawk men… well, I think that dumpster fire they started last night is still burning in Provo. One of the worst losses I have ever witnessed as a Kansas fan.

Today I have some work to follow up on. I have a meeting later this morning with a company that creates training videos, and with some of the new studio hardware I have in place, this could be a pretty productive meeting. I also received a contract from a company to perform training… but the daily rate was not what we discussed, so I need to alter that before I sign it and send it back.

Tonight, there will be some slaying with the guys… I hope. I love getting together with the guys, but there have been some challenges lately, between work, family, and health issues. We’re not kids anymore, we’re getting older, and we have more responsibilities now than when we started gaming in our teens and twenties.

Other than that, I’ve got plenty to keep me focused today.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 705

Good morning, and a very happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 18 February 2025.

Well, yesterday was a nice day. I got a few things done around here, including a small panic attack which compelled me to move my certification exam out a week. I don’t know why I do it sometimes, but I do it.

I was able to organize a couple of things yesterday. I looked at my workspace, and the computers sitting there that I have t ship back to the mothership… although they aren’t my employer anymore, I still call them that. There’s going to be a little vacancy there until I get a new system for presenting and recording in place. I’m looking at a couple of systems, and the financing shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll try to get the most bang for my buck as I shop.

I picked up some roses for Lisa, as well as a card. One of the nice things about having a wedding anniversary three days after Valentine’s Day is that candy and flowers tend to be on-sale. Life is a series of minor victories.

Gracie and Evelyn came over for dinner last evening, and Dane was already here at the house. We grilled some nice steaks and Lisa whipped up (literally!) a wonderful dessert. I also picked up a couple of token gifts… reminders of where we started back in February of ’96, and where we are today. Evelyn was feeling better, not much cough, and she was an absolute delight, but she started getting tired shortly after dinner, so it the visit had to reach a ceremonious ending, with a cute little girl blowing kisses and saying, “I love you, Grampa!” and “I love you, Gramma!”.
That’s the best part of this job.

The snow came down a bit last night, and we’re expected to see some more today.

Tonight, Kansas plays at BYU late. The way the road games have gone for Kansas, I’m not optimistic.

But at least I’ll have tacos…

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

peace y’all.

Evie Day 704

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you all. Today is… a special day.

In 1962, my mom and dad were married during a heavy snowstorm in Larchwood, Iowa. They were snowed in, but everyone was safe, and memories of the day are still talked about at family gatherings.

In 1996, Lisa and I were married at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Hall in Wichita, Kansas. There was barbecue.

Today Lisa and I are celebrating 29 years of marriage. I have a couple of things I’ll gift to her a little later today.

We’re expecting more snow later… yay!

Let’s see, a weekend recap. Kansas can’t get their act together on the road and lose to Utah Saturday night. They have another road game tomorrow night at BYU, and I would not be surprised if KU finds a way to lose that game, too. Great players, but sometimes they just don’t play well as a team.

Evie was under the weather this last weekend. She has some chest congestion and is not on some meds to help out with that.

I was able to join the guys around the virtual tabletop yesterday… it wasn’t the game we thought we were going to play, but we were able to pickup the Wednesday night game and finish a chapter in that campaign.

Today, I need to study and take care of a few things around here.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 701

Good morning, and happy Valentine’s Day to you all. Today is 14 February 2025.

I had a dickens of a time looking up my days this morning. I was a little hung up on the date and I kept putting in February instead of September, the 14th instead of the 16th. I got it right, but I did a little turn on the dance floor with my brain.

Today will be a busier day for me, with three phone calls about work-related opportunities. The first is with some gentleman in the UK – I love working in Europe when the opportunity presents itself. I think I’ve delivered in Europe 9 or 10 times in my career, mostly in Germany, but there have been jaunts to London, Manchester, Dublin, and Galway. You never know.

The second call is a bit nebulous – I think it’s somebody selling franchises.

The third call is the one I am most excited about – a larger training company that creates their own video content. This one could be a more interesting transition. I was an internal referral, so that can’t hurt.

Sometime this morning, I will be on the receiving end of a visit by my daughter and the cutest granddaughter in the world, with a little Valentine’s Day kiss for grampa.

Lisa made cinnamon rolls first thing this morning. I am a blessed man.

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

Peace y’all.