It is Tuesday morning, January 31st, the last day of the month, and, happily, payday.

Today is going to be an interesting day. I started a new course yesterday, Pacific Standard Time rather than Eastern or Central, working with an old friend. I am a little worried that some of the folks taking this course may not have cleared the prerequisites for the course. The questions that we received in class were pretty clear indicators that folks weren’t up to speed on some pretty basic security principles, and those questions take time away from the new stuff we need to cover in the class for the folks that are prepared.

It’s a challenge sometimes. About the eighth time we get a question that the learners should know going in, I start posting lessons to the chat from the class they should have taken beforehand.

I wonder how that sort of thing lands with the folks in the class.

I’m not a bad guy. I think I’m pretty level and steady, but that can be a test… and then there are the folks in attendance that have to be staring off into oblivion when they hear another elementary question that folks ought to know going in.

Oh, well. Let’s refocus on more pleasant topics.

Kansas Jayhawks host the Kansas State Wildcats tonight at Allen Fieldhouse. We owe them one… the Jayhawks lost by one point in Manhattan two weeks ago, so a little payback is in order.

That’s enough for now, time to get the coffee brewing.

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

Peace y’all.

Good morning, folks! It is Monday, 30 January 2023. I am back in my virtual classroom again this week, and my class is running on west coast time, so I’ve got a little more “morning” in my morning, with my class beginning at 11:00 AM, rather than the typical 8:00 (East Coast) or 9:00 (Central).

Yesterday would’ve been my dad’s 82nd birthday. Thanks for the lessons and the freedom to do my own thing, Dad.

It was a good weekend for sports fan Bob. Kansas broke their 3-game losing streak by knocking off Kentucky as part of the Big 12-SEC Challenge. There 10 total games between SEC and Big 12 schools. This series has gone on for several years, and this is the last in the series, with this weekend’s games going to the Big 12, 7-3. The other sports fan Bob win was yesterday, as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to advance to the Super Bowl and the right to face the Philadelphia Eagles – the team Andy Reid coached for years before coming to Kansas City. That game will take place on February 12.

Other than that, there isn’t a whole lot more to discuss. I am thankful for today. I am grateful for each breath. I am thankful for the nutrition I put in my body and the water that sates my thirst. I am filled with gratitude for the love that is in my life, human and otherwise.

I am thankful for my friends. I don’t say that enough. I’ve become significantly more isolated over the past few years with the pandemic and other changes. It is always heartwarming to know that folks outside the walls of my house care about me.

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

Peace y’all!

Good morning, and a Happy Friday to you all! It is 27 January 2023, the last Friday of this first month of 2023, the last day of my blended learning class, and the beginning of an exciting weekend.

I’ve shared with folks who read this that I’ve been practicing healthier, introspective habits this last month. I stopped drinking for “Drynuary”, and will toast my dad on what would have been his 82nd birthday – I miss you dad, and I promise, I’ll toast you with the good stuff. In my more reflective moments, I’ve done my investigation into neurodiversity and the likelihood of ADHD in my life. I’ve talked about it with my mom, and we spoke about my dad and his habits, and other family members tendencies as well. I know I am not alone in my family with neurodivergent tendencies. I have spent the last month focused on my memories, my behavior, my actions, the way I behave in loud situations, and the way I behave in crowds.

Note: I’m not always a big fan of self-diagnosis. Far too many folks come to a conclusion based on inadequate data. I started this journey at the behest of a family member that is neurodivergent and has been focused on their mental health for several years. This family member asked me to take a test, which led to another test, a survey, a questionnaire… and if I answered those questions honestly, and I believe I did, I am neurodivergent and I have ADHD. I will go to my medical doctor and discuss it the next time I get in.

There’s other stuff going on in the world, of course, the world doesn’t revolve around me and my squirrel brain. There was a killing of a young man in Memphis by police officers. Social media firms seem to be turning a blind eye to racists threatening people on some platforms. The economy isn’t doing as badly as some folks want you to believe.

And for sports fan Bob – The Kansas City Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals for the right to move on to the Super Bowl. (Wayne – we need all the positive energy we can send from Arrowhead Australia to Patrick Mahome’s ankle). The playoff game is late Sunday afternoon. Also on tap, the Kansas Jayhawks try to break a three-game losing streak against the Wildcats of Kentucky. KU has back-to-back games against the Kentucky Wildcats, then a match Tuesday night against the Kansas State Wildcats.

Time for me to get the trash out to the corner. Garbage gets collected in a couple of hours, so time to get the two other bags out of my office, as well as some cardboard boxes that seem to accumulate when you do most of your shopping from the couch.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Thursday morning, 26 January 2023.

I have today and tomorrow remaining in my month-long blended learning course. Yesterday my training partner was ill – not entirely unexpected as I knew she was under the weather the previous afternoon – and an old friend jumped in to fill the gap and provide some cover. I am grateful, and I hope my training partner is feeling better today.

The news is depressing. I should have never turned it on. I’ve got my second glass of water, a low-carb bagel and cream cheese ready for breakfast when the moment comes.

I’m trying to wrap my head around my day, and get focused, but I have to admit, I am having some challenges right now coming up with things I want to write about. Yeah, there’s some stuff floating around my noggin, but some of it needs a bit more fleshing out, some research, a little more reading.

Next week is going to be a little different. I’ve been teaching on east coast time for the last couple of months, and next week we shift that over a couple of hours to a pacific time zone delivery.

I guess that means I don’t have to get up at 5:30 AM next week.

I still will.

I need my structure. I need a routine.

Part of my routing is making a fresh pot of coffee… that’s what I’ll focus on next.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Wednesday! 25 January 2023… and I just realized that I forgot to post something last night for work. Guess what I’m going to do just as soon as I’m done with this little blurb?

Yesterday was a good day. I’m glad I wrote yesterday’s post about validation. I’m 59, and it’s about time I validate myself. I have great people around me, a supportive family, and wise friends that remind me that I have value and I am accepted. They all know I blurt out stuff at the most inappropriate times, and others overlook my flaws and recognize that I do more good than bad.

I’m complicated.

As I have shared, I’m taking January off from consuming alcohol. This has led me to more introspection, and some realization about the way this mass of gray matter lodged in my skull reacts. I dive into articles about neurodiversity and ADHD, and I recognize the people and the symptoms… it’s me. I’ve flipped subjects so many times in my head during the course of a regular conversation – you all might be familiar with that idea – somebody says something about a topic, that topic leads to something else, and that, something else as well. By the time a person gets something in their head that they blurt out, that person is fourteen interrelated topics down the road, and no one has any clue how they traveled from point A to an obscure landmark in the Lepton Ovula galaxy in an unknown parallel universe.

I have done that more times than I can count.

Today I get back into my virtual classroom for lab support for a couple of hours, then prep. This afternoon I have office hours to talk with our learners about their progress, fielding questions that span three weeks of content.

I love my career.

It’s kind of amazing how we fall into certain careers. I’ve always enjoyed working with computers and showing people what they can do. I’ve joked around for years that my job is to learn stuff, then tell people what I’ve learned. Hopefully, I can present that info in a fashion that folks can understand, and if I can make them smile in the process, that’s another win.

Thanks for reading my stuff. This has all been therapeutic, and it’s a record for my granddaughter and other grandkids that might add to whatever legacy I leave behind.

My first grandchild arrives in about 6 weeks. Her name will by Evelyn.

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

Peace y’all.

Good morning… well, “good” might be subjective, but in my time zone, at least the concept of “morning” isn’t subject to debate.

It is 5:53 AM in the midwest, this 24th day of January 2023, one week remaining in the first month of the year.

For a few days now, a word has been at the top of mind – the word “validation”. “Validation” has to do with something or someone being perceived as valid, legal, or acceptable. For me, the word definitely applies to “acceptable”. This is one of those things that I think about when I’m not drinking.

Taking a month off from drinking sends my brain to weird places.

I moved as a kid. When I was four, we moved from Sioux City, Iowa to Topeka, Kansas. Three years later, Omaha, Nebraska. Six months after that, Kansas City, Missouri. One year after that, Salina, Kansas. Three years after that, a move from one part of Salina to another, changing schools, and once again starting over trying to make friends. That move was impactful, as I had transitioned from elementary school to junior high, then between 7th and 8th grade I not only changed residence from living in town to living rural, I went from one junior high to the cross-town rival. One year at that junior high, and I transitioned to high school. 7 different schools in 9 years.

Every time I made a move, I tried to fit it. I said silly kid stuff and did silly kid things to try and make friends. I was seeking validation. In retrospect, I think I did a lot of things to try and get along, whether it was playing sports (modest results) or get involved in theater (great experience, but still very much a “look at me” validation experience).

Whether it was sports, theater, radio, stand-up comedy, or even my current career as a technical trainer, so much of my life has been spent simply trying to be accepted by groups of peers.

These days, I stick to my classes and my work peer groups for the most part. Whether it’s a case of growing up or simply not caring as much, I’ve put much of my need for validation in the rearview mirror. I think these days, at 59, I would rather be honest and say what is on my mind and how I really feel than try to fit in or get along.

But I still have lapses where I focus on trying to make a joke or say something in a particular way to draw attention to myself. Now I am trying to catch myself and check myself before I say something silly.

I know. I’m weird.

But at least I’m thinking about the things I can do to make myself a better person. That doesn’t mean I’ll succeed, but I hope my goals are aligned with something positive – acceptable… valid?

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

Peace y’all.

Monday! Monday! Monday! It is 23 January 2023, and as I have shared with you before, I usually write my blog during the week and take the weekend off.

My sports fan weekend had mixed results, with Kansas coming up way short against TCU on Saturday’s early game, but the NFL playoff results went just fine. Kansas City knocked off the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, 27-20. Yesterday the Cincinnati Bengals knocked off the Buffalo Bills… not that I’m a fan of either the Bengals or Bills, but here’s the thing… if the Bills win, the Chiefs-Bills game would’ve been played at a neutral site. The Bengals won, and they have to play at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Chiefs.

Now, granted… the Bengals have beaten the Chiefs the last three times they have played, and the Bengals were pretty vocal about it. There’s a lot of talk that the Mahomes’ led Kansas City Chiefs can’t beat Joe Burrow and his Bengals… and so far that has been true. I have a feeling that the Chiefs are going to be pretty tired of being reminded about that all week, and that will likely affect the tilt of their cap come Sunday.

I’m in the last week of my Blended Learning course for the month. Next week I’ll roll right into a security course, followed by another security course. The fact of the matter, I do my best work in the classroom, so staying busy delivering keeps me focused. The second security class is one I am attending in order to earn the certification. It’s a course that has grown in popularity, and at the same time, doesn’t have enough instructors to meet current demand. That’s kind of my modus – find the classes that have the most popularity and the lowest instructor count.

That’s all I have for right now. There’s plenty of other news in the world, and I have an idea by the time my granddaughter is old enough to read this stuff on her own, she’ll be able to ask the AI what happened in the world in January of 2023. I hope she also knows that there was growing excitement in multiple homes in anticipation of her arrival in March.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Friday! The last day of this work week, 20 January 2023.

There is a lot going on in the world this morning that is getting a little bit of my attention, everything from kids shooting teachers, Ukraine and the Russian conflict, the world economy, and various issues orbiting the topics of gender and equality.

Being conscious can be exhausting.

OK, I want to pause and be grateful for my friends who read my blog. I had several friends reach out to me to check on me as the announcement of layoffs at my employer reached the media. Laying off 10,000 employees is a big deal – that’s 5% of the workforce at my company – but the layoffs were spread out around the world. Some divisions were hit harder than others, as new initiatives that weren’t showing promise were shelved, and underproducing areas of the company were seeing steeper cuts. The division I work in, cloud technologies, is a growth sector for the company, so our cuts were not as severe as others. That said, four of my coworkers, two of them close friends, were laid off. It’s sad, but they were given 60 days’ notice, and are being offered career counseling for their next steps.

I still feel sad for them.

I’ve got a session today in another couple of hours, then I get to freeform part the balance of the day. One short meeting close to lunch, and then I get to focus on some presentations and other topics I’m trying to get a stronger grasp on. Learning for me is like swimming for a shark. I need to keep learning, there’s just so much stuff out there that interests me.

I need to grab a low-carb bagel and get my coffee going.

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

Peace y’all.

Thursday morning, 19 January 2023.

Yesterday was a scary day at work. My employer, a pretty good tech company, announced layoffs. That is never fun, and a lot of folks were on edge around the virtual workspace, and later in the day, I did discover a couple of my coworkers that I call friends were laid off. It sucks, but the landing won’t be as bad as you might think. Folks were given a 60-day notice, so responsibilities were shifted away from those that will be back out looking, and resources for finding “what’s next” were being allocated as well.

It still causes folks anxiety. It always does. I’ve been on the receiving end of news like that… and it wasn’t just me at the time, it was everybody in the company – a training company I worked for shut their doors forever – and there sure as heck wasn’t a 60-day notice – I don’t think I received my last paycheck at all.

I am in a better place today than I was in December of 2002, that is for sure.

I’m back in my virtual classroom here in another couple of hours, today talking about Platform as a Service, focusing on web & mobile application support, Docker containers, and Kubernetes orchestration. A lot of information to cover in two hours, and I try to get through it with a little room to spare for questions at the end.

I think that’s going to do it for me this morning. I’ve got a few things to look over before my discussion with learners, so getting this in the can will give me a moment or four to organize my thoughts.

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

Peace y’all.

I hope you are well this morning. It is 18 January 2023, a warmer-than-average (39 degrees F) Wednesday morning, the sun still hiding below the eastern horizon at 5:52 AM.

I get up early.

OK, a recap from yesterday – I have some sort of winter cold, and yesterday I was sneezing and my nose was running at a pace Usain Bolt would be challenged to rival. I put lotion on my nose and upper lip to medicate my skin, left dry by constant contact and abrasion from Kleenex tissues.

Last night was a big rivalry game in the Big 12, with the #2 ranked Kansas Jayhawks traveling to nearby Manhattan, Kansas to take on the surprising #11 ranked K-State Wildcats. It was a pretty wild affair with K-State starting hot and KU starting cold. K-State at one point had a 14-point lead, but KU fought back to make it a competitive contest. It was tied at the end of regulation, but with three starters fouled out, overtime was a challenge. KU played well, and almost pulled it out, but eventually fell 83-82 on the road. We’ll get to host the Wildcats on the 31st at Allen Field House, and I’m fairly confident KU will not get swept.

I’ve been thinking about the word “validation”, and I’m coming to terms with the possibility/probability that much of what I have done in the past has been in pursuit of validation – I wanted to be accepted. Whether it was participation in theater, football, or track & field, a lot of what I have done over the years has been tools to seek acceptance. Now I find myself accepting that, but now I’m focusing on the “why”, and what I can do to validate from within – it’s not that important that others accept me, but it is absolutely necessary for me to accept myself.

More stuff to think about…

On that note, I’m going to get this in the can.

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

Peace y’all.