October 2012

Stupid.

So last night I was a little bit stupid and left one of the doors unlocked on the Jeep when I went to the gym. The parking lot outside of the gym is rather dark and since folks hadn’t been out the night before, the lot was populated with a lot of vehicles. I ended up parking farther away from the door than I usually do.

When I came back to the Jeep after a very successful workout, I noticed that my jacket had been moved from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat and an ATM slip was sitting on top of it. Since I don’t leave stray papers in the Jeep, I knew that someone had been in my Jeep while I was working out. I looked up on the dash and noticed that they only thing missing was my pair of $20 aviator sunglasses. Whoever made their way into the Jeep didn’t bother to take the case for the sunglasses, the multiple iPod/iPhone chargers in the console, my jacket, Army hat or other hat nor did they take my Apple bluetooth keyboard that I use with my iPad on the road. They only took this pair of $20 aviator sunglasses. Any they were all scratched up and slated for replacement anyway.

I was mad at myself for leaving the door unlocked. I was disappointed in the whole human equation and the idea that someone would break into a vehicle to begin with. But I was dumbfounded by the fact that whoever felt they needed to violate my space was only concerned about looking good in a pair of sunglasses.

There’s a lot of stupid going around these days.

31 October 2012 by J.P. Why. 2

Inspiration.

Earl was watching “Chopped” this evening when he called me into the Great Room. He wanted me to see something on the show.

This is Paul. He is a New York City firefighter who is also a chef. I heard these details but I didn’t really pay close attention. I was busy noticing his mustache.

I told Earl I might be inspired to try again in 2013. He gave me “a look”.

30 October 2012 by J.P. Mustache. 3

Storms.

I’m really hoping that everyone downstate and along the east coast are safe today. My inlaws got banged around quite a bit by Hurricane Sandy, but from what we’re seeing on Facebook, all seem safe.

We didn’t get much of a storm up in these parts. Schools closed, curfews were declared in a few insignificant villages, but for the most part we had a few big wind gusts and a little bit of rain. The yard didn’t even flood this time around. The highest wind gust recorded on the weather station has been 27 MPH. As I type, the wind is still around 10 MPH.

Earl and I decided to go to the gym per our usually Monday night routine last night. The roads had few people on them. Restaurants and other businesses had closed. Around two dozen people were in the gym as we trucked through our workouts. I was happy to see that others were maintaining some common sense and not afraid based on the hype. I think some folks forget that we are 200-250 miles from the City of New York. It’s like when we travel, we have to tell people that we are from Upstate New York because otherwise people ask how things are in Central Park or at the Statue of Liberty. I’m proud of being from Upstate. I wish more Upstaters would remember that this is Upstate. They confuse the hype and panic that grips New York and Long Island with what is going on in this area. I blame the internet.

While we were watching the local news broadcasts during our workout last night, I couldn’t help but notice a slight look of disappointment on the faces of the newsbroadcasters. Reality wasn’t living up to the hype and the bleak picture they had painted. Some say “better safe than sorry”. How many times did Chicken Little yell before people started ignoring him?

30 October 2012 by J.P. Ponderings and Musings 0

Monday Pep Up.

One of my favorite Eurythmics’ tracks, from 1983’s album “Touch”, here is “Right By Your Side”. I clearly remember this video because I was enthralled with the trumpet player’s mustache when I was a wee young gay.

29 October 2012 by J.P. DJ 0

Windy.

It’s windy outside. The power lines are barely swaying. There is no rain. Leaves are being blown about, but that tends to happen this time of year. They say that we could feel the effects of Hurricane Sandy starting this afternoon. It might make for an interesting ride home. I certainly hope it does.

I have been kind of getting annoyed at work with the hysteria surrounding this storm. There’s a panic in the air that makes me feel all disconcerted. I understand concern and the like, but I think people are being a little dramatic. For example, it makes no sense to me that schools are canceling classes this afternoon, especially in this little part of the country. It makes absolutely no sense to me. I know I sound old when I say this, but I remember school being open when the weather was far worse than this. Closing because of a possible power outage? I remember sitting in Room 108 in second grade, continuing to learn even though there was no power in the building. There was enough light coming through the windows that we could see the work on our desks. That power outage lasted for over two hours, and I remember that because of my fascination with the clock system and watching it be brought back up to time when the power restored. Today they’d close the school down long before I’d have the opportunity to watch the clocks catch up to the current time.

As I type this I’m watching a horse pull an Amish buggy through the parking lot. They don’t seem bothered by the storm. They don’t seem hysterical.

It’s still windy.

It’s interesting to hear the political debates as to how the campaigns will be affected by the storm this week. If there’s lingering power outages, there won’t be electricity to run the voting machines. We wouldn’t have that problem with the older machines, now would we. If President Obama reacts poorly to any disaster as result of this storm, it could cost him the election. It’s all very political.

I’m going to just sit in the Jeep for the remainder of my lunch hour and listen to the sounds of Mother Nature doing her thing. Perhaps it’ll put me in a better frame of mind for the afternoon side of this day.

29 October 2012 by J.P. Fun and Games Dept 0

Prepared!

Since everyone is going on and on about being prepared for the storm, I have taken the necessary precautions to make sure that we are fully prepared for this latest round of Armageddon. Which begs the question, how many instances of Armageddon or a “Storm of the Century” can a planet have only 11 years into the current century?

Nevertheless, we are prepared.

27 October 2012 by J.P. Why. 4

Free.

So I recently purchased a new laptop. The latest piece of technology in the house is a Lenovo ThinkPad T430 laptop. For the technically curious, it has an Core i7 vPro processor with 16GB RAM and a 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive.

This baby is fast.

The new laptop arrived on Thursday. I made the recovery discs (since they no longer come with a new computer) and then went ahead and wiped it out, installing Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal) Linux in it’s place. I found it ironic that I chose to do this on the day that Windows 8 was being released to the world. I know a lot of people are excited about Windows 8, but using the new version of Windows for only an hour made me feel like the most ignorant or stupid computer user in the world. Everything was different and I didn’t have a touchscreen, and Windows 8 was clearly made for a touchscreen. Flinging my mouse off the right hand side of the screen to bring up a neutered version of a start menu did not feel intuitive for me. For a person that’s been using Windows in some fashion since 1988, I was completely lost.

Ubuntu Linux is not windows and it has a different user experience from Windows (if you want it to), but it still feels intuitive to me. Things are different, but they make sense. And there’s no need for a touchscreen.

If you want to learn more about Ubuntu Linux, please feel free to check it out here. I’m a bit of a Linux evangelist, so if you are curious and have any questions about using Linux, just drop me a line. I’ll help out where I can. I use Linux both at work and at home.

And now I have some Macs for sale. A couple of them, as a matter of fact. I’ll post the specs online sometime this weekend in case anyone is interested.

I’ve been asked why I would want to move away from the Mac and onto Linux. They’re kind of close cousins in the way that they work under the hood (Macs run a flavor of Unix and Linux is Unix-like) so at that level I feel very comfortable with either. The thing about using a Mac is that Apple is locking users in even more than they used to be into the “Apple walled garden.” For example, one used to be able to subscribe to their MobileMe calendar using a third-party service such as Google Calendar, but this is not possible with the advent of iCloud.

I want my bits and bytes to be open and free. I want to be able to share my information with whatever application I choose to use and with whomever I want to share with, regardless of what operating system they’re using on their computer. Linux gives me that luxury, Mac OS X doesn’t always provide for that.

If you’re looking for a new computer to run Linux, or even Windows on, I highly recommend the Lenovo line of products. I love their hardware. It has a nice, solid feel to it and the ThinkPad keyboards can’t be beat (even the new iteration of ThinkPad keyboard that appears on my new laptop). Highly recommended.

27 October 2012 by J.P. Geek 2

Smile.

Earl and I just stopped at the filling station on the way home. As I sat there watching the gas pump count up at an alarmingly fast pace, I noticed the woman using the pump opposite of mine looking at me. I smiled at her. She smiled back and said hello. We then had a small conversation about the weather and the leaves and just some good little thoughts. We didn’t know each other. We had never met, but a smile, followed by a smile back, prompted a conversation, and that doesn’t happen nearly enough in today’s society.

As we got home and I took a look at my Google+ stream, the very first entry of the night was about smiling and being happy, simply because you can. I needed to read this today. I needed to have that conversation with the woman at the Hess station. I have been way too stressed out again and it feels good to just smile.

Smile at someone today. They’ll smile back. It’s contagious that way.

Here’s the Google+ entry I enjoyed. It’s a little long, but worth the read.

Life is full of positive experiences. Notice them. Notice the sun warming your skin, the small child learning to walk, and the smiling faces around you. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential by reveling in the beauty of these experiences, and letting them inspire you to be the most positive version of YOU.

What would happen if you approached each day intentionally, with a positive attitude? What would happen if you embraced life’s challenges with a smile on your face? What would happen if you surrounded yourself with people who made you better? What would happen if you paused long enough to appreciate it all?

Living a positive life is all about creating positive habits to help you focus on what truly matters. This is the secret of super positive people. Here are nine simple ideas to help you follow in their footsteps.

1.Wake up every morning with the idea that something wonderful is possible today. – Smiling is a healing energy. Always find a reason to smile. It may not add years to your life but will surely add life to your years. A consistent positive attitude is the cheapest ‘fountain of youth.’ You’ve got to dance like there’s nobody watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on Earth. Read The How of Happiness.

2.Celebrate your existence. – Your mind is the window through which you see the world. The way to make this the happiest day ever is to think, feel, walk, talk, give, and serve like you are the most fortunate person in the whole world. Open minded, open hearted, and open handed. Nothing more is needed. All is well… and so it is.

3.Appreciate life’s perfect moments. – Your life isn’t perfect, but it does have perfect moments. Don’t let the little things get you down. You’ve got plenty of reasons to look up at the sky and say, “Thank you, I will do my best to make this a great day.” So slow down and pause for a moment to stand in awe of the fact that you are alive, and that you have the ability to rediscover life as the miracle it has always been.

4.Embrace life’s challenges. – Uncharted territory in your life is not good or bad, it just is. Yes, it may rattle your foundation, and you may be tempted to pullback, say you can’t do it, or bail completely. But these are exactly the conditions that set you up for massive amounts of personal growth. Each experience through which you pass operates ultimately for your own good. This is the correct attitude to adopt, and you must be able to see it in this light. Read Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life.

5.Become addicted to constant and never-ending self improvement. – It doesn’t have to be January 1st to give yourself a chance to make the most out of your life. Every day is a new day to learn, grow, develop your strengths, heal yourself from past regrets, and move forward. Every day gives you a chance to reinvent yourself, to fine-tune who you are, and build on the lessons you have learned. It is never too late to change things that are not working in your life and switch gears. Using today wisely will always help you create a more positive tomorrow.

6.Live and breathe the truth. – It’s the most positive, stress-free way to live, because the truth always reveals itself eventually anyway. So don’t aim to be impressive, aim to be true. Those who are true are truly impressive. Being true means having integrity; and integrity is doing the right thing even when you know nobody is watching.

7.Fill your own bucket. – Choose to be happy for no reason at all. If you are happy for a reason, you could be in trouble, because that reason can get taken away from you. So smile right now because you can right now, and make it a point to fill your own bucket of happiness so high that the rest of the world can’t poke enough holes to drain it dry.

8.Help the people around you smile. – Today, give someone one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine they see all day. Sometimes just a single genuine smile or compliment can lift a person’s spirits to new heights. At the right time, a kind word from a stranger, or unexpected encouragement from a friend, can make all the difference in the world. Kindness is free, but it’s priceless. And as you know, what goes around comes around. Read A New Earth.

9.Spend time with positive people. – Life’s way too awesome to waste time with people who don’t treat you right. So surround yourself with people who make you happy and make you smile. People who help you up when you’re down. People who would never take advantage of you. People who genuinely care. They are the ones worth keeping in your life. Everyone else is just passing through.

-Marc and Angel Hack

26 October 2012 by J.P. Ponderings and Musings 1

Relax.

So today I found myself with the afternoon off from work with one instruction, “Relax.” Since my bubble isn’t quite in the center, I decided that this could be taken many ways. I considered relaxing in the manner in which is implied by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but I’ve been there, done that way too many times in the past 30 years or so, so I thought to myself, “how can I forget my cares in the world today and just enjoy myself?” Since The Art of Shaving is too far away and there wasn’t any room at the spa, I went with my third option, a bike ride.

Three hours and 19 minutes later, I was back home, after completing a ride of nearly 42 miles. It felt like a 30 minute ride, most of the time.

I usually ride in an east-west direction, usually favoring the west because I prefer things in that direction in The Empire State. East-west usually avoids the bigger hills in the area as in these parts one can follow along the Mohawk River and the Barge Canal. I decided to be a complete mad cap and headed in a northeast direction. There are some roads over yonder that I had never ridden on before. These roads are narrow and sparsely dotted with dairy farms for the most part. After passing through the northern limits of the city and in the adjacent county, I found myself on a road called the Shortlots Road. I took a photo of a very old cemetery that had no way of getting to it, as it was surrounded by a cornfield.

All of the farms I passed on the Shortlots Road were fairly busy with activity. I spotted at least one farm implement in motion with a friendly driver at each farm. The story repeated itself on the adjacent, but narrower Dutchtown Road.

The climb up to these roads was a bit of a challenge but since it was fairly early in the ride, I trotted up with hardly any difficulty. The headwind kept things interesting, but the sun shone brightly and I was feeling content. After making my way down the hill through a little hamlet I didn’t even know existed (Millers Grove?), I followed along the Mohawk River and then made my way into the valley village of Frankfort.

Here’s a shot of Canal Street in Frankfort. I’m thinking the grassy area must be the original Erie Canal.

After eating a little snack because I was starting to feel a little bonky, I decided to try my hand at the Frankfort Gorge. Now for those of you not familiar with the area, there are several gorges that run roughly north-south, with the northern end being the lower end. Since I was already at the north end of the Frankfort Gorge, I knew that it would be a climb to get to the southern end. Feeling good, I decided I was looking forward to the challenge. The little NYSDOT marker on Route 171 indicated that it was five miles from where I was to the end of the route, which was the southern end of the gorge.

I was too out of breath to stop to take any photos along the Frankfort Gorge. I did notice that several people had the same idea of riding bikes in the gorge today. I encountered about a dozen cyclists winding their way through the gorge. The only difference was they were heading downhill and I was heading uphill.

When I got to the marker that indicated the southern end of the gorge, I stopped for another snack. I was pooped.

So after riding through the gorge, my choice was to either keep heading up the hill or just ride the gorge back down to Frankfort at a pretty good clip. Feeling ambitious after the energy bar, I decided to keep riding up. I ended up riding to the top of the hill where I found Frankfort-Highland Airport, an airport that my father and I had flown into many, many years ago in the Piper J-5A.

Runway 13.

By then I decided I should probably start the ride home, so I rode along the Higby Road, which is a road I never thought I would ride on because it’s way up on top of a hill. It turned out to be a very busy road so I decided to get off of it as soon as possible and found myself descending back into the City of Utica along Albany Street, which has a VERY steep hill. I think I burned whatever was left of my brakes on the way down.

From there it was just a matter of riding through the city during Friday rush hour, where I shortly found myself home after 3 1/3 hours.

And I feel totally relaxed. A very good way to destress.

26 October 2012 by J.P. Cycling. 0

Hysteria.

So the news and the weather folks and all that sensationalize these things are starting to talk about the possibility of a Perfect Storm that could hit the East Coast of the U.S. in the beginning of next week. Guesstimates right now indicate that the peak of this Perfect Storm would be Tuesday afternoon. The Perfect Storm scenario is the combination of Hurricane Sandy hitting the coast somewhere between Delaware and Maine, a blast of cold air coming down from the Arctic and a front coming in from the west. There is the potential for a lot of wind, rain and/or snow.

This potential has already started whipping some people up. There’s chatter at work about it, money people are saying it’s going to cause $1B in damages and at any moment I expect to see the couple that buys the donuts come careening into the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot in their wood paneled Country Squire (with shutters!) at any moment. I know that tonight I plan on doing three laps around the lawn yelling “Help Me! Help Me!” whilst flailing my arms in the air.

Hysteria is the name of the game and if you’re not being hysterical about the weather then you’re not following the script.

There’s a part of me that thinks that the Mayan Prophecy of 2012 has people a little more on edge than usual, but there’s a more realistic side of me that realizes that people are just getting more hysterical by the minute. I, myself, can be hysterical at a moment’s notice, but that’s only because it adds to the levity of the situation. These folks that run around gathering donuts and buying milk and crying a good 96-150 hours before the possibility of a storm are just plain nuts. You can’t change the weather. You do what you can do and just get through it.

Perhaps a few laps around the house flailing my arms and yelling “Help Me! Help Me!” in a puny voice will convince Mother Nature that I have a sense of humor. If not, we’ll add an extra gallon of milk to the fridge, make sure there’s gas in the snowblower and stock up on a few canned goods to hide in the secret room in the basement.

It’ll give me an excuse to go off my healthy eating habits and eat a Slim Jim by candlelight whilst listening to the wind.

Calm down people.

25 October 2012 by J.P. Why. 2

October 2012

Stupid.

Inspiration.

Storms.

Monday Pep Up.

Windy.

Prepared!

Free.

Smile.

Relax.

Hysteria.

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