It is Friday (Happy Friday, Everybody!), March 4, 2022. I’ve been alive on this planet 21,354 days, and my knees feel every minute.

Right now on the news, they’re showing a school in northern Ukraine that’s been destroyed by Russian forces. Now, interviewing an American professional basketball player that had to escape Ukraine and get back to the US.

This whole thing is just nuts. Economies disrupted, conflict between two countries that historically would have been aligned, but Putin can’t accept that Ukraine is an independent country and an independent people. It’s backfiring – so far Ukraine has re-applied for membership in the European Union, as well as Georgia, and now, today, I see that Moldova has applied for membership in the EU as well. Putin was worried about European influence in countries adjacent to Russia, and now he’s motivated his targets into looking out for their own best interests. When people have a choice between Putin and the West, looks like the West is going to win.

I have been posting less on social media this week. Historically, I was pretty active on Facebook, but these days, not so much, with the exception of a couple of groups I like to follow that are focused on a couple of hobbies. It’s just become a bit too toxic.

Lisa and I will be home alone for dinner tonight, so I’m making a plan. I’m thinking I could get over to a restaurant that has some seafood offerings and get in and out, then home, by 6:00. All this after my last day of work for the week.

Time to think about my work day.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Thursday, March 3, 2022. Russia is still pushing hard into Ukraine, and there is no end in sight. The western powers have imposed sanctions everywhere they possibly can. One billionaire had his $600 million yacht seized by the German government. There are walkouts, and protests, and announcements everywhere you turn… but I don’t know if any of it is enough to stop Putin’s march to the Black Sea.

I’m hopeful – the European Union is putting Ukraine on a fast track for membership, and hopefully, that will lead to some additional aid getting through. There were rumors about old Soviet bloc countries that are now part of the EU were sending fighter jets to Ukraine – old Russian MiGs – that the Ukrainian pilots could start flying on day one due to their familiarity with the aircraft. Sadly, that does not seem to be the case and it appears now that those jets are not on the way.

In my world, not much changes. Entering day three of my (our) delivery of an Azure administration course. I am quite fortunate to have a great training partner that has been involved in this project since the beginning, and she has put together copious amounts of documentation in support of the team. She’s also supported me directly and given me positive feedback about my contributions. That’s always nice, even trainers with decades of experience like to know they’re doing a decent job.

Tonight, the Jayhawks host the TCU team that scored a road victory against Kansas on Tuesday night. Tonight is the make-up game for a postponement from January, and I have a feeling Allen Fieldhouse will be rocking tonight, and Kansas will likely win by 20 or more. TCU might come in a little cocky following their unlikely victory Tuesday, but I have a feeling they’ll experience a couple of humbling moments early in the game.

Pray for Ukraine. Screw you, Putin.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Wednesday, March 2, 2022. I’m in front of the camera delivering a course in about two hours, so I’m getting my start, drinking my water until the coffee is done, and then I’ll go into the sunroom and prepare for my day.

Ukraine is getting worst. Putin said that he wanted to “de-nazify” Ukraine – the President of Ukraine is Jewish – and Putin’s forces bombed a war memorial dedicated to the murder of 30,000 Ukrainian Jews during WWII. I don’t think the “de-nazification” argument holds much water… lots of holes.

There are times a person wants to speak up, even shout, about the things in the world that frustrate them, and there are times when a person just wants to withdraw and just fume quietly. I feel like I’m sliding into the later state. The causes of my consternation are not local, they aren’t in front of me, and I recognize the futility of vocal anger. So, I’ll brood, and I’ll write, and I’ll wait for the right time to speak a little louder. Right now I know that my words would be rather pointless.

Didn’t sleep as well as I would like last night. I dreamed about something that got me stirred up, a dream or an event in a dream that got my heart going. I woke up at 3:30 and my heart was pounding out jazz. Not sure I ever got back into a deep sleep after that episode. Might be a good day to sneak in a nap at lunch.

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

Peace y’all.

It is a new day and a new month, Tuesday, March 1st, 2022. The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces continues, Ukraine President Zelenskyy is an international hero, and Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin is an international pariah. Looks like the EU is expediting Ukraine’s application to join the European Union, and there will likely be an expansion of NATO to include several countries in Europe that are not currently aligned with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – namely Sweden and Finland, and some other countries bordering the Baltic.

Today I start a new adventure with the new delivery model, teaching and guiding learners through a 4-day class spread out over 4 weeks. It’ll be combinations of office hours, lab support, and ad hoc lectures. I look forward to it. My training partner kicks us off for our first office hours section this morning, and then I’ll talk folks through the lab setup later today.

Tonight, we’ll enjoy some family time, watch a little basketball, and just enjoy the evening. Nice that we can do that without having to worry about Russian missiles crashing into the house.

There are still people in America that are supporting Putin. I have no idea why. He’s a murderer. The people of Ukraine did nothing to cause this to happen other than a desire for independence from the old Soviet regime. Just makes me sick to watch. I hope the international pinch on Russia starts to hurt and hurt bad.

I’m going to call it and get focused on my other responsibilities.

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

Peace y’all.

It is the last day of February, 2/28/2022, or as the Europeans and the military write it, 28 February 2022. Right now in one corner of the world, representatives of Russia and Ukraine are discussing the state of the hostilities, and all I can do is hope for a peaceful outcome sooner rather than later.

Trying to focus on habits again today. Get up, take care of my morning business. I’ve got coffee dripping into the carafe, and I have my second glass of water sitting to my right, the second of eight if I stay focused on my habits. I’ll focus on morning protein here in a few, probably whip up a couple of eggs and bacon for breakfast.

I’ve got meetings starting here in little more than an hour, and from there the rest of my day is all about preparation for the rest of the week as my training partner and I plot our approach. It will be a little bit different, doing everything we would normally do in the course of a class delivery without covering the regular lectures.

So, the day will proceed with the intermittent meetings and emails, and I’ll do my regular tasks around the things that are scheduled. I’m lucky – my teammates all know we need gaps in the day, and I’ve got a few. I’ve got a few plotted into the schedule tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday will be kind of an oddball, with some lab support early in the day, then an open schedule for the balance of the day.

Yeah, I’m kind of boring on this Monday morning. Just feel like I need to focus on my routine right now.

I’ll be back tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post that Russia is withdrawing from Ukraine, but I have my doubts. I can’t help but wonder how far Putin is willing to go in his pursuit of that sovereign country.

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

Peace y’all.

Today is the 27th of February, 2022, and it’s a pretty good day for me to just sit down and shut up.

Seriously.

Seems like I post an opinion on something, and it doesn’t take too long for someone to tell me that I’m wrong and why, so screw it. I’ll just keep my opinions to myself. ‘

Stuff happened today, somewhere. I have no control over what happens. No point in even talking about it.

I’ll focus on my work, focus on my family, and let others focus on being right. I’m never one to claim to be the smartest in the room, there seem to be 4 or 5 billion people on the planet that know more about everything than I do.

Seems if I make a comment about the way my shoes fit, I’ll have someone telling me why my completely subjective opinion is wrong. Try to say something in support, it’s virtue signaling. Try to say something critical, and here’s where my opinion is wrong. Quote somebody, and here’s a quote from somebody else, posted with the intent of making me look like a fool.

It’s discouraging. Just reinforces a belief that I should just retreat and learn to care less.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Saturday, February 26, 2022. There is still war in Ukraine. I’ve seen charts on the internet marking off lost lives, lost tanks, lost aircraft, like war is some sort of sports competition and we need to keep score. Makes me wonder if scoreboards evolved from Napoleon’s butcher’s bill.

Steps are being taken to lock down Russian financial assets overseas through SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Apparently, banks around the world are getting on board with the lockdown, including (surprisingly enough) Cyprus, which hosts any number of financial institutions of questionable repute. I hope that all of the Russian seized assets go to rebuild the bridges, buildings, and lives that Putin is showing complete disregard.

This is, once again, a very dangerous time, and lots of dangerous little games are being played in the media. We’ve spotted blips from Russian State Media that is spewing abject propaganda about this conflict. Putin has told the Ukrainian military that they should turn their weapons on their own people and work with Putin to overthrow their own government.

One positive… looks like the Russians are meeting a little more resistance than they anticipated, and that is a good thing. I hope the Russian military is embarrassed and demoralized when they confront the locals.

I wonder what you all will read about these days twenty, thirty years from now, if my words still appear anywhere. Who knows? If Putin can march through Ukraine, who’s to say that something along those lines can’t happen here, with some nutcase’s followers pulling the right strings, then silencing any critical voice.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Friday, February 25, the 21347th day of my existence on this plane. I’ve got some meetings in a bit, but right now I’m going to gather my thoughts on what’s going on in the world.

Russia has invaded Ukraine, the largest mobilization of ground forces in Europe since World War II. The president of Ukraine has pleaded over the airwaves, looking for any path to negotiation to save his country. If Putin follows his playbook, he’ll depose Zelensky, then replace the elected government of Ukraine with a puppet that he can control from Moscow. Throw in a few divisions of troops and tanks for permanent deployment in Ukraine, and you’ve got the end of Ukraine as we know it.

I am sad for the people of Ukraine. I also empathize with the innocent people of Russia that are going to feel the pinch of the sanctions that a number of Russia’s trade partners are implementing. I’ve already received communication from coworkers and peers in Russia that have been locked out of services hosted here in the states.

These times are pretty crazy. I think about what we’ve witnessed from a historical perspective in my son’s lifetime. He was born in June of 2001, Here we are with several events going on right now of significant historical impact – the pandemic, the ongoing legal troubles of the former guy, the war in Ukraine, multiple issues affecting the economy, and now the first black woman has been nominated for the Supreme Court. It’s hard to fathom sometimes. I wonder if one day I’ll have a grandchild in need of a book report, and I’ll hear a young voice ask me, “What was it like to go through the events of that year, Grampa”.

Sit down, kid… this might take a while.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Thursday, February 23rd, 2022, and the Russians are poring over the border of Ukraine, as a “peacekeeping force”.

Ah, the old, “We need to kill some people in the name of peace” argument.

It is not a good day to be a Ukrainian citizen today. I need to check on a couple of friends… I’ve got some folks in my “sphere” that are originally from Ukraine, and I hope their families are safe.

It’s interesting bouncing from news channel to news channel. Some are cracking down on Russian pretty hard, others are pointing out Putin’s objectives, his plans to install a Russian-controlled puppet government that will do his bidding in the region.

A friend of mine in Europe posted a figure on Russian stock markets and the value of the ruble against the US dollar. The value of all Russian stocks is in the tank, and the ruble is crashing, too.

In my corner of the world, it is the last day of the class I am sitting, and I think I’ll be OK with teaching it when the course shows up on my schedule in April. I did get a notice that the May schedule is available for sign-up, so I should take a look at that.

I also need to get some notes put together for another course I teach. Had a student reach out to me about getting some notes, so I should get something put together.

Alright, time to get focused on the day ahead.

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

Peace y’all.

It is Wednesday, February 23, 2022. Putin is invading the “breakaway” regions of Ukraine – basically, places where Russian has financed a separatist movement and is now rolling tanks in support of those movements. The only folks Russian-state TV will show are those that are happy with the invasion when other reporters say that the separatist is not as popular as Putin’s propaganda machine says it is.

Oh, and Trump has come out in support of Putin.

Of course, he has. Trump was always in Putin’s pocket and remains as such.

Meanwhile, commentators on multiple networks talk about Putin breaking international law with this.

Let the sanctions begin. Lockdown all of the resources that can be frozen… after all, if the oligarchs have their wealth due to Putin and are rich because they have supported Putin, those assets can be used to support an illegal campaign. Lockdown all of the oligarch’s assets resting in western countries and make ’em feel the squeeze. Let them go complain to Papa Vladimir about the grave injustice and let’s see what happens next.

Kansas hosted Kansas State last night in men’s basketball. KU won by 19 and looked pretty effective doing it.

I’m back in the classroom this morning, sitting a course, right after an 8:00 am meeting to review a blended learning test class.

Alright, time to get up and make myself a little breakfast.

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

Peace y’all.