Evie Day 118

Good morning everybody! Today is 12 July 2023. It’s Wednesday.

I started my new four-week course yesterday, and all-in-all I think things went well. There are still some folks dealing with the challenges of local policies and VPN connections that prevent them from gaining access to some of the tools we use in the class. Some companies really lock things down so far that people can’t even join a meeting being hosted outside their corporate confines. Then, of course, the learners expect us to hack their security so they can join the meeting… but, no, hacking someone’s corporate security policies isn’t a good practice for a trainer to get into.

Record heat waves passing across Arizona, Texas, all the way across the south into Florida. We’re going to get close to triple-digits today, but not the 110 degrees F that some places are going to deal with. In Texas, the Governor eliminated water breaks for state workers… and I think that will lead to road workers dying.

I was debating with some clown in the comments section again about climate change, and he decided to rattle off a few names of climatologists that believe that human beings are not responsible for changes in the climate, the rise in CO2 and methane, etc. I randomly picked one of the names to read about how that particular scientist had been discredited, and that he had some pretty poor positions on certain topics – like the relationship between second-hand smoke and lung cancer.

Hint: If you are going to tell someone that NASA Climate Change and the US Navy aren’t reputable sources for climate information, don’t use discredited scientists to prove your point… because you won’t.

Time to get the coffee brewing.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 117

Good morning, folks! It is 11 July 2023, and it is Tuesday… which means tonight, there will be tacos.

I like a little structure in my life.

Today I get back into one of my favorite “structures”, for my time anyway, as I dive back into a four-week course on cloud administration. I’ll take the reins on the morning session, then pass it all over to my training partner for the afternoon sessions. While I’m talking, he’ll handle questions that pop up in chat, and when he is presenting, I’ll return the favor.

Had a meeting with my work team last evening. Management made a decision on one aspect of our training program, and some folks are being replaced by video and other content. It’s always sad when these things happen, bt they are a reality of working in the tech industry. When we expand, we have a tendency to hire extra folks, and then when we have to contract, some folks get let go. Fortunately, I work for a company that is helping folks transition to another job, either within the company or elsewhere.

The weather is getting a little warmer this week, heading into the 90s today and triple digits tomorrow. We got a break from the heat last week, but July is going to go back to being July. Our weather is manageable – there are a lot of folks out there having to deal with more significant weather and climate issues with flooding (New York state) and heat waves (Arizona, Nevada, Texas).

That’s really all I have today. There’s interesting stuff going on in the world – Sweden joining Finland in becoming members of NATO (that’s going to piss off Putin). There’s still a question about Ukraine eventually joining, but one of the rules about joining is that there can be no disputes over borders, and Ukraine has a lot of that right now. Article 5 of NATO would be immediately enabled causing World War III. We can’t do that.

Anyway…

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 116

Good morning! It is Monday, 10 July 2023.

This feels more like the beginning of the new fiscal year than July 1st did, but there’s a reason for that. July 1 fell on a Saturday, and I took that week off anyway, so this really is the first working Monday of my new fiscal year following a week of vacation.

Might be better to call that a staycation – I don’t get out of the house much.

I did take a day to go see my mom and brother, and I did get a few things done. It was surprisingly mild from a weather point of view, with some gentle overnight rains and temperatures that didn’t crack 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 C) most of the week.

I think it’s funny that in the US, hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit is a big deal. In Celsius, that’s about 38 degrees… what is interesting about 38? Now 40 degrees C is nice round number, though… and even warmer (hello Texas!).

I’ve got a day to attend meetings and get my ducks in a row for my new 4-week class that starts tomorrow, so that will be my primary focus for the day. I’ll be the primary presenter in the mornings, then I’ll hand off to my training partner for the PM sessions.

It will be a good class. 4 weeks of cloud administration, then a one-week class with a little more traditional delivery schedule.

It’s about time for me to get focused.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 113

Good morning! Today is 7 July 2023, and the last “work day” of my vacation. I’ve still got a weekend to look forward to, but Monday is looming… and that’s just fine.

I’ve got a cup of coffee, and I’m watching the news. Apparently, the special counsel investigating the alternative electors that some tried to implement during the 2020 election in seven states that went to Biden. The Secretary of State for Arizona has been interviewed by the FBI related to that effort by the Trump campaign to commit fraud and overturn a legal election.

It’s a little but nuts, but when Trump is involved, nuts seems to be the status quo.

In a bit, I’m going to head to Clay Center to see my mom. She has a doctor’s appointment this morning but should be home by the time I arrive shortly after noon. I’m grabbing a rental car for the trip – I love Ruby, my old reliable Ford Flex, but every now and then, I’ll grab a rental for a couple of reasons. Ruby is 15 years old and has close to 200k miles. She’s good for tooling about town, but the farthest I’m comfortable driving her these days is the airport. The other reason is to drive cars I haven’t driven. I’m thinking about new wheels maybe September of next year – we’ll shed another car payment by then – and then I might start shopping for my last set of wheels. I’ll be 61, and if I get 15 years out of a vehicle, that gets me to 76, and after that I may not be driving too much. If you stop and think about it, by then there will likely be a number of autonomous driving vehicles, and I just might take a service to drag my butt wherever it needs to go.

(As of today, I’m leaning towards a small pickup – maybe a Ford Ranger)

Dane is downstairs laughing at something. I love that sound.

OK, time for me to get going with the tasks of the day.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 112

Good morning! It is Thursday, 6 July 2023. Today is the 4th workday of my vacation.

I got some things done yesterday. I went to NFM (Nebraska Furniture Mart, for the unindoctrinated) and picked up a dumbell rack that I had ordered, then worked in a side trip to Costco to get my membership card. I didn’t do much shopping, just picking up a pack of protein shakes that I sometimes have for lunch instead of a sandwich.

Today I’ll get some guitars moved downstairs and make some room for the new rack. I also have some real work to do today as well – I need to work on my schedule with my training partner for our 4-week class that begins next month. Nothing really serious, just have to hammer out a couple of details for the first week at least.

Coffee is percolating, and my mind turns to breakfast. A couple of eggs and a little bacon would hit the spot, as would throwing a couple of eggs in with a little frozen chili brick and whip up a little chili and eggs.

Breathe, Bob… just breathe.

The stretch for me from July 1 through December 31st is typically a “notch down” on the intensity schedule. I have been in a habit of front-loading my schedule for the calendar year with very few, if any, days off, and then I’ll have all of my down-time scheduled for the second half of the year, this week representing four vacation days and one holiday on my reporting. That still leaves me adequate time away from work for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year.

OK, time to grab a bite, and another couple glasses of water.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 111

Hi folks, it is Wednesday, 5 July 2023.

I slept in a little bit this morning, my second vacation workday this week – yesterday was a holiday, not a vacation day – it’s important to recognize the difference.

Later today, I am going to get out of the house. I saw Nebraska Furniture Mart had a nice sale on a dumbell set and rack, and it’s too good to pass up, to be honest. 100 lbs or Weider dumbells and a rack for under a hundred bucks, new. While I’m out, I’ll grab a little lunch at one of the restaurants in the Legends. I could take a look at the movies that are playing over there as well… today is a good day to goof off.

It’s a gray day outside. Normally, I would be thinking about ways to be productive here, but I think I’ll focus on the indoor stuff rather than the outdoor stuff. It rained a bit last night, so mowing today may not be a practical choice, I have diesel for the tractor, but I need to get some regular gas for the riding mower.

I think I’m going to make a few changes back in the sunroom. I’ve got too many guitars out (What? Impossible!), and I’m going to loosen the strings on a few and get them in cases. I figure there is a downstairs bedroom I can use to store stuff, and that will make a little more room for the dumbell rack in the sunroom.

That’s about it, really. I like slow-moving days when I have time to catch my breath. Add in a little rain for ambiance, and it’s the kind of calm day I kind of need, and following a weekend of fireworks and loud noises, the dogs could use a quiet day as well.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 110

Hi folks! It is a national holiday in the United States, as today is the 4th of July.

A long, long time ago, my seventh great-grandfather, Benjamin Harrison V, signed the Declaration of Independence. I’d like to shake his hand for that, then kick him in the nuts because he thought it was normal to enslave human beings.

Yesterday was a good day. We spent family time in the pool together, let Bonnie’s dog destroy an inflated ball, and generally had a good time. We did our tabletop gaming thing for a while, then went outside to watch what we thought would be fireworks. The fireworks at the county fairground started at 9:45, but we didn’t get outside until a half-hour later, and by the time we figure the show was over… that show, anyway. We sat around the pool, and after our eyes adjusted, we got a different show – all of the fireflies were out and they were quite active. It was modest entertainment, but entertaining nonetheless.

I’ve got a brisket and a pork butt on the smoker right now. Later, I’ll get some beans and corn going, but I’m not sure I’m going to have room for the trays on the smoker rack… I might have to go for a shorter cook on the grill instead but at a higher temperature.

I need to go out and check my temperature on the smoker. Might be a good time for me to get my wifi meat thermometer set up so I can keep a close eye on my temps.

In the meant time…

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 109

Good morning! It is Monday, 3 July 2023. It is the first (work) day of my vacation. Technically, I guess my vacation started on Friday, right after I closed out my work week, but that first weekend always feels more like a weekend than a vacation anyway.

I’ll get some meat trimmed up and dressed to go on the smoker a little later today. I’ve picked up a brisket and a pork shoulder to throw on the smoker tomorrow. I might take a chance on a couple of sides in the smoker as well – barbecue beans with bacon, and something weird with corn and cheese – I have some frozen sweet corn and a brick of spicy Velveeta that I’ll throw into a small foil pan. I figure get some smoke rolling by 9:00 AM and 6:00 pull for the proteins. The veggies don’t need as long in the heat. The only thing I need to do is get a little more chuck hardwood for the smoker – pecan is my favorite, and hickory is the alternative.

Later today we’re going to have a little role-playing one-shot with the kids, and I think my son and eldest daughter have manipulated my wife into joining the fray. I’ll have ’em run a couple of errands for a neurotic gnome that requires very special components for a scroll he is creating for a customer, but, my oh my, there is a deadline and he is quite worried, quite worried indeed.

One thing that I have learned to enjoy a bit and have repeatedly used for inspiration – artificial intelligence. I have been going out to ChatGPT and have used their engines to generate lists of random stuff, just the sort of stuff I want to pull from when I need a description of some random item sitting on a table or a book on a shelf. Yeah, it’s not the most creative approach, but it’s quick, and I don’t have to devote a lot of time to the creation of minutiae.

I hope those of you in the US are getting a break, and I hope my Canadian friends had a good Canada Day this past Saturday. For my American friends, pause and read the Flag Code – our flag is to be revered, and not meant to be worn as a jingoistic tank top.

For the rest of y’all…

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 106

Good morning and happy Friday! It is 30 June 2023, and the last day of my fiscal year at work.

I’m mad today, and I started writing, and I just started going down a hole. Today may not be the best day for me to ponder the issues of the day.

I’ve got a couple of meetings later today, but I should have a pretty low-key day to recuperate. My class this week wasn’t a strain, just the opposite. One of my learners this week was a student that I had worked with while I was at my former employer in Kansas City.

Lisa is making breakfast pastries to take into work, and I’ve got a glass of water and three dogs on my lap. Freya is nestled under my lap desk. She was a delight this morning when I work up, giving me that look while she did her “pet me” dance on the bed. 9 years old and she still can be our little puppy.

I’m going to get this in the can. Sorry, just not focused on getting words on the page today. When I first started writing this, my focus was on writing 200 words per day. I normally do ok with my word count, but the little extension I use to count my words isn’t as convenient as it used to be, so I no longer count my words – I just keep writing.

There’s more to get down on the page, but maybe just not now. I’ll put some more thought into the events of the last day and maybe write a little more later.

In the meantime…

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 105

Good morning! It is 29 June 2023.

This morning I flipped on the news to see some stuff happening in the world. The 24th perfect baseball game in MLB history happened last night, thrown by NY Yankee pitcher Domingo German. Congrats! Recovery teams have recovered human remains and wreckage from the Titan submersible craft, which is kind of amazing. Air traffic is miserable, as weather and other issues have led to numerous cancellations – United Airlines is at the center of the problem. A Delta airline was forced to land without its front landing gear.

I head back into my virtual classroom later today. I’ll handle a little review, hand off to my training partner for business continuity, then back to me for monitoring and log analytics and the close of class. We’ll have labs until about 4 o’clock in the afternoon my time (class is scheduled for east coast time zone).

The US Men’s National Team had a match in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, taking care of business against an overmatched squad from St. Kitts and Nevis, 6-0.

Tonight, a new episode of Star Trek.

Other than that, I’ll get the day squared away, take care of business tomorrow… then a week of vacation.

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

Peace y’all.