Every day is a good day! This good day is a Wednesday, and the last day of November… which has the additional benefit of being payday, too. I’ll take it.

Yesterday was a good day. I generally write my blog posts in the morning, right after I drag my tired old butt out of bed. I get my shower, drink two large glasses of water, then plant my butt in the recliner to watch some news (or soccer, of late). I then reflect…

Yesterday morning, I checked on the delivery of a guitar I bought myself, an Ovation acoustic with non-traditional sound holes. I realized the thing had been delivered the previous evening and had sat on the front porch the entire night. I got it in the house and let it sit awhile to warm up back in the sunroom where I have the rest of my guitars. I got it unpacked a little later and brought it into tune… oh, man. I fell in love with Ovation acoustic guitars thirty years ago. I was asked to accompany a singer at a wedding, and I didn’t have an acoustic guitar. I borrowed an acoustic from the bride-to-be, and my fingers did the rest. I remember offering to buy that axe as well.

I did something I never do. I played in front of a camera yesterday and posted a short video. I can talk in front of thousands, but I’ve never been comfortable playing guitar in front of people… I think I described it as “abject terror”. I played a few bars from “Blackbird” by the Beatles and posted the video, and people were very kind with their comments.

I might have to do that again sometime. I’m no pro, and my friends understand that. Maybe I should work up an arrangement of another acoustic song to record. I always liked “Dance With Me” by Orleans… maybe I should look into finding the sheet music.

OK… time for me to get myself fed and ready for my cloud solutions architecture class.

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

Peace y’all.

It is the 29th day of November 2022. Almost feels like the “dog days” of fall, as the sky gets a little more gray and theirs a more pronounced chill in the air.

Lisa and I went to the basketball game last night, Kansas hosting Texas Southern. It was fun for the home team, and the 31 point loss for the visiting squad. The tickets gifted us by the school had us sitting a mere four rows behind the scorer’s table, right at the half-court mark. Fantastic!

Today I embark on my cloud solutions architecture with a training delivery partner that I have not worked with before, but she and I have spoken on multiple occasions leading up to this delivery, so I have no concerns.

Right now they are talking about the US-Iran World Cup match that takes place this afternoon. This is one that I will be recording, as I will be in session for most of the match. If the US wins, they move on to the round of 16. If they lose, they’ll be heading home. A draw sends them home as well.

The world is a mess. More covid spikes in some parts of the world – meanwhile in the US, you have idiots out there protesting and actively promoting an anti-vaccine position that has already killed people in my circle. Ugh.

OK, time for me to get focused on the day ahead. Also, a reminder to call about refilling the propane tank, and another call to get another kitchen appliance repaired.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Monday morning, 28 November 2022, and I have meetings starting in another hour and a half.

Mondays after some time off are always a bit challenging. It always takes a little more effort to get the engine started, metaphorically.

I’m back delivering a Blended Learning course this month and next month, with four weeks of cloud solutions architecture, a solid week off with Christmas and the New Year, then right back into the Blended Learning role with four weeks of cloud administration.

Today, I’ll stay focused on the week and class ahead of me, getting my presentation stuff organized. Class notes, PowerPoint slide decks, and access to the Teams site for this course.

Later on, I’ve got some other calls I need to make as well. The dishwasher needs a repair, so I need to get that little problem addressed.

Tonight, Lisa and I get to have a little fun. Lisa scored some nice tickets to the Kansas-Texas Southern basketball game tonight, just a few rows behind the bench. I’ll have to check the replay on ESPN+ later to see if Lisa and I show up at any time during the broadcast. Shouldn’t be a problem spotting my big, bald head.

OK, time to grab a cup of coffee and get focused.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Sunday morning, 27 November 2022. I don’t normally post on Sunday but today is the last day of my vacation time, and tomorrow I return to my virtual classroom to prepare for another 4-week cloud solutions architecture course.

It has not been a great weekend for Bob the Sports Fan. Kansas fell to Tennessee in the final of the Battle for Atlantis basketball tournament – and the Jayhawks looked as bad as I’ve seen in some time. It seems that every season there’s one of those games, one where too many things don’t go right. Follow that up with last night’s football game between Kansas State and Kansas, and I have indeed experienced a moment of humility. K-State has beaten Kansas in every football game since 2008, and we might be getting closer to appearing competitive, but I think we’re three years away from beating the Wildcats.

I’m watching a little FIFA World Cup futbol right now, and the Moroccan team has a 1-0 lead over Belgium. Almost to the 90-minute mark, then extra time. Belgium is gripping.

My Kansas City Chiefs play the Los Angeles Rams in the second set of NFL games today, starting at 3:30. I’ll watch the game on my tablet while my gaming group convenes. I’m hoping some of this weekend gets salvaged for Bob the Sports Fan.

Oh… and my wife scored some tickets for tomorrow night’s Kansas-Texas Southern basketball game. Look for Lisa and me – we’ll be four grown behind the KU bench.

That’s enough for now.

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

Peace y’all.

It is 24 November 2022… and in the United States, we are celebrating Thanksgiving.

I have much to be thankful for.

I have a happy, healthy family. My wife is well. my oldest daughter is living on her own, but not too far away. My youngest daughter is happy, and healthy, with pending nuptials with her fiance, Austin, and our first grandchild on the way. My son is in a much better place than he was a year-and-a-half ago, and is back on track with his college studies – damn pandemic screwed with a lot of folk’s lives. All five dogs here seem to be doing OK as well.

My career is going well. I am doing what I love, and that is the most important thing. I’m a technical trainer. I learn stuff, then I tell people what I have learned. It’s kind of simple when you look at it that way. But, with the ever-changing technical landscape, there is always something new to learn, some tweak of the interface, or some added functionality.

Today we’ll travel to see my mom, my sister, and her family, as well as my two brothers and my nieces and nephews on my side of the family.

For my friends in the US and abroad, I hope the little things are falling the right way in front of you. Sometimes life is kind of like a virtual Tetris game, and the road before is this odd mix of mismatched pieces that just need to fit together to create the next mile in the road.

I know some of you are dealing with difficulties and losses. Some have family that they no longer speak to, some have children that have separated themselves from family. Some of us have an empty chair at the table for one reason or another. My thoughts are with you during this holiday season as well.

As always… I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

And day turns to night. It is the evening of 23 November 2022, and I have procrastinated. I started the day with an annual to my cardiologist and then spent the rest of the day engaged in a number of distractions.

(Don’t worry about the cardiologist trip. I was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in my 20s and I talk to my friends and family about it and how I manage it. I’m good, no worries. )

Watched some sports, college basketball and the FIFA World Cup. Kansas beat a very good NC State squad, and the soccer matches were a mix of boring and thrilling.

I spent some time playing a classic computer game that I never touched when I was younger. Mass Effect is alright… I know it’s a bit dated, but I never played it years ago, and over time it has garnered a pretty good reputation.

I was looking for a little distraction… Found it!

Tomorrow we’ll jump into the Max and head out to see the relatives. Thanksgiving, right? Not sure if we’ll have cranberry sauce from the deli or from the can… I think I prefer the can, believe it or not.

Ok, that’s enough for now.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Tuesday morning, the 22nd day of November in the year 2022. The second business day of my vacation, and now two days away from Thanksgiving and required travel.

I accept that we travel for Thanksgiving. My mom lives in Clay Center, along with my sister and her family, and now both of my brothers. It’s just the way it is. There have been years when travel wasn’t really practical, with either illness or other responsibilities getting in the way. At times, we have hosted Thanksgiving dinner for friends, and we might be adding another guest or two when we sit down to do our thing.

Two World Cup games are done for the day, including an absolute stunner by Saudi Arabia over Argentina. The number 53 seeded team versus the number 3 seeded team, and it was not Lionel Messi’s day. The Danes and the Tunisians played to a draw, and next up Poland takes on Mexico.

It might be a good day for me to get out of the house for a bit… after all, if Mexico is playing in the World Cup on Taco Tuesday, that might be a sign.

I’m not always really good about keeping my writing up to date when I’m taking a little downtime. Weekends are great for me for writing, and this vacation stretch affects my focus as well.

Time to get back to regularly scheduled daydreaming.

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

Peace y’all.

Monday, 21 November 2022, and Bubba is on vacay.

This morning I still found myself getting up a little early to watch soccer, with England playing Iran in about another hour. Yesterday was the first match of the FIFA World Cup, with the host country, Qatar, losing to Ecuador by the score of 2-0. It was the first time ever that the host country ever lost an opening match – part of me wonder if the Qataris thought they were buying a World Cup win when they bought the tournament a few years ago (people can say that they were “awarded” the tournament, but nobody is that naive).

The second match will be Senegal versus the Netherlands at 10:00 AM my time. I would be inclined to think the Netherlands should be able to handle Senegal, and then the match I’m waiting for at 1:00 PM, USA versus Wales.

I think the USA is going to have a short tournament… being in the same group as England is a bit of a killer, as I fully expect the masters of the English game are going to run over the American squad. I have friends that are a little more optimistic than I am, but I’m pretty realistic. One friend of mine that is more knowledgeable about the state of the sport figures the US will fall to Wales 2-0, then 4-1 to England, and maybe eeking out a win against Iran next Tuesday before heading home humbled in Group play.

There’s a little leftover Eggs Benedict from yesterday… hope that reheats well.

Coffee… need coffee.

Alright, it’s time for me to get off the computer and get on with my day.

Go USA.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Friday! Happy Friday, folks! It is the 18th day of November, and my last day on the job for a week. I have meetings starting in another hour and a half, and I’ll take off a couple of hours early to take a family member to the doctor today.

Early start, early finish.

Dog food commercial… dogs go nuts.

We’ve got a basketball game to watch tonight. Kansas plays somebody… the game hasn’t been hyped to the level of last Tuesday’s game against Duke, but there’s a game nonetheless. Tomorrow will be filled with college football and appliance deliveries. Sunday means the FIFA World Cup starts, along with some professional American football rolling up into the Sunday night game with my Kansas City Chiefs.

Monday morning it gets busy for the rest of the soccer fans, with matches starting at 4 AM local time… the US Men’s National Team will play Wales at 1:00 PM local time.

I’m rather looking forward to it.

Not much else going on in my little corner of the world. I need to get the garbage out to the corner, I guess.

Time to get on with my day. Hey, Elon, have you figured it out yet? Being the richest guy in the room doesn’t make you the smartest guy in the room… just the guy best at exploiting the people smarter than you.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Thursday, 17 November 2022.

This morning I woke up, did my usual routine, then checked my email to notice that my cell phone was no longer authorized on the company site. Working for a technology company can often make you go, “Oh, this is cool”. I never thought I would feel that way about the simplicity of a phone registration system. Worked right the first time, smooth operation. Kudos to the team behind that little marvel.

Today is the last day for me in the virtual classroom until November 29. One module to cover, help out with the labs, a few meetings tomorrow, and then vacation for a week.

Might be time for me to start thinking about Christmas.

But next week… World Cup!

Yes, in the United States, next week’s big event is Thanksgiving, but in the rest of the world, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar is going to be the event of the year. USA starts their World Cup experience on Monday versus Wales, and that match could set the tone for the rest of the tournament. Friday afternoon will cap this first week with USA versus England, and then USA versus Iran the following Tuesday.

Let’s see how long the US Men’s National Team can hang on.

I don’t expect the USMNT to perform up to the standard set by the US Women’s National Team, which is one of the most successful soccer teams in World Cup history.

OK, time for me to think about what comes next, and today, what comes next is breakfast.

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

Peace y’all.