Fun and Games Dept

Be who you are
and say what you feel,
because those who
mind don’t matter
and those who matter
don’t mind.
-Dr. Seuss

So Earl worked this morning and I did some routine stuff for work (it’s an on-call weekend). We did our obligatory workout at the gym and then when we got home, we looked at each other and wondered what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. I wasn’t really in the mood to sit at home; the weather being quite nice for this time of the year, so we decided to go for a ride. Armed with two computers (one personal, one for work) and a cell phone, a husband (and his cell phone and computer) we hit the road and headed north.

I decided to take some back roads through the Tug Hill Plateau and then climbed up into the Maple Ridge Wind Farm, where I snapped a new photo to commemorate my favorite road to drive in Upstate New York.

We then made our way up to north of Watertown, where I wanted to be a complete geek and check to progress of Interstate 781.

We are now stopped at a Panera, where we are enjoying a tea and splitting an oatmeal cookie. We are not ready to eat supper yet, that will come along in another city along this ride, but for now we are content. Actually, we’d really be content if the wi-fi at Panera was actually functional. This crazy “maybe it will, maybe it won’t” approach to wi-fi doesn’t really lend itself to building consumer confidence in technology.

I just went to my formerly favorite Dunkin’ Donuts for an unsweetened iced tea with lemon. As mentioned in a previous post, this DD now has an all new lunchtime staff, and since I’m no longer here on a routine basis, they don’t know me or my usual order. I can handle that.

What I can’t handle is when I’m handed the unsweetened iced tea with lemon and I say “Thank you”, the clerk responds with “No problem.” No problem? I just made a purchase that contributed to your paycheck and you respond with no problem?

If my grandfather or father were alive and that happened in the family store, we’d be scolded to the brink of tears (by my grandfather) or to a very uncomfortable silence of disappointment (by my father).

I have prefaced quite a few Facebook statuses with “I might be getting old…” lately but I am really starting to think that I am one of those old people that talks about the good old days. While I find canned phrases such as “Thank you for shopping at wonderful Hills” to be absolutely ridiculous, I do expect cashiers and the like to say “Thank you” on behalf of the retailer that employs them. The truth of the matter is, I should be happy that they haven’t spit in my tea, but I find it very disheartening when I hear “no problem” in response to someone doing their job. Maybe I’ve watched too much Downton Abbey lately and my head is stuck in the early 20th century, but I am feeling increasingly obsolete with my expectations and ways and quite frankly it disappointing to me.

Earl says I worry about little stuff too much. I think that when you have a million cases of “little stuff” to worry about, you have a whole bunch of big stuff to worry about because all of the little stuff was a symptom of a bigger problem.

Thank you for reading this.

Walking through Kinney Drugs (Central and Northern New York drug store chain) yesterday I noticed that the seasonal aisle had been populated with an assortment of Christmas/holiday decorations, festive lights and bulbs and baubles of all sorts. In the distance I overheard a “ho ho ho” from the tinny intercom speaker. The sound of jingle bells blared from a card in the greeting card section.

I’m sorry, but it’s just too early for that sort of merriment.

There may be snow in the air and it might be getting dark early, but Christmas does not come before Thanksgiving in the United States. If more people would stop and take time to appreciate what they have to be thankful for, instead of plotting on how they’re going to double their electric bill with blow up baby Jesuses on the front lawn, I firmly believe that we would be living in a happier time.

I have a few ideas of what I am going to do to celebrate the holiday, after Thanksgiving. I muse over these things in private. I do not muse over them while enjoying a cup of egg nog because it’s just too early for that sort of thing.

Thanksgiving is a dignified, responsible holiday. We need to remember that and give it the dignity it deserves.

So tonight Earl and I went to the local Best Buy (I like to call it Barbie’s Dream House Best Buy because it’s built to 3/4 scale) and we took a look at the various gadgets and widgets that were vibrantly displayed throughout this quaint little store.

My first stop was the smartphone area, where I decided to take a look at the various Verizon Wireless offerings. My iPhone 4 is starting to show it’s age (in that it has slowed down considerably since the release of iOS 6) and I keep hearing great things about the latest incarnation of Android and the upcoming Windows Phone 8, so I wanted to take a look and see what all the hullabaloo is about.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 just feels too big in my hand. While many guys like having large objects in the front of their pants, the Galaxy S3 just felt like it would be overkill in my pants. I hear it’s fast and does amazing things, but it just felt like it would be too big as my phone. I did like the look and feel of the Galaxy Nexus, though I hear it’s outdated now. If I’m going to go the Android route, I want the latest and greatest version of Android software and that Nexus line is the way to get there. Something to consider.

Unfortunately Barbie’s Dream House Best Buy didn’t have an Windows Phone 8 devices on display. I’m not sure if they’re even available yet. I did see a WP7 in the wild last weekend and it looked quite nifty, so I’m sure that WP8 will be even more nifty. I have to see and feel one in action though before making any sort of reasonable determination.

The one thing that surprised me this evening was how much fun using Windows 8 on a laptop with a touchscreen could be. After about two minutes of trying out various gestures, I found that the gestures used in the Windows 8 GUI felt very natural. I asked Earl if he liked messing around with the Lenovo Ultrabook they had on display and he really liked the way Windows 8 worked as well. I have to admit that I found this surprising. I still question the touch-centric elements on a non-touch based computer (like a normal laptop or desktop) but on a touchbased interface, it is very intuitive, it’s snappy and dare I say it, it’s fun and INTERESTING to use

As a techy that is easily distracted by bright and shiny, the latest stuff from Apple seems very stale and pedestrian to me. While iPhones and the like are making incremental upgrades and the Mac line just received a refresh across the board (except the Mac Pro), it still feels very last decade, or at least early 2011, to me. I believe that Windows 8 is much more likely to get us to the 2019 vision that is shown in the Microsoft video below (and yes, I’ve shared this before).

I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, I can’t believe I’m praising an operating system that I vehemently disliked just two months ago. Using the right hardware, Windows 8 is very impressive, even to this old geek.

So yesterday was Halloween and people of all walks of life were dressing up as people of other walks of life. This in itself was a call for celebration, and lots of people did just that, however, I was feeling particularly celebratory because I was able to put on a Halloween costume I haven’t been able to wear in years.

I am ahead of schedule when it comes to my fitness regimen and my overall health plan. I’m feeling really good about being ahead of schedule, but I’m not relaxing. Numbers are still being tallied at the end of the day and abs are still being crunched. I’m carrying on with my plan and I’m already working on the new goal that has been established.

But it felt good to feel like a superhero yesterday.

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.

It’s probably not a good sign when you wake up on a Monday morning and look forward to going to bed on Monday night. When that’s the highlight of waking up, there’s something amiss. It’s not like I don’t have things to do or that I’m unhappy or anything like that. Quite the contrary; there’s plenty on my plate and I’m a very happy guy.

I just need a little more sleep. The transition from weekend to weekdays can sometimes be a tough one.

So today I’m sitting in the Jeep and enjoying the sun for my lunch hour. Yesterday I treated myself to an unsweetened iced tea from the Dunkin’ Donuts near home but today I have opted to not do such a thing. Bottled water is the beverage of necessity this lunch hour.

You can see in the picture above that I’m smiling. Observant people will also notice that I am wearing my Ubuntu shirt at work today. I love the feel of this shirt and it fits me well. I opted to wear my Ubuntu shirt today because at any moment, the latest version of Ubuntu, 12.10 or “Quantal Quetzal” will be released to the masses. For those unfamiliar with Ubuntu, it is a Linux distro, or a version of Linux. It’s actually one of the easiest distros to install and it gives the user all sorts of functionality at no cost. Web browsing, email, office applications, chat… all of it is free of cost. Heck, even the operating system can be downloaded at no-charge.

I have been wanting to switch back to Linux full-time for a while now. Some will roll their eyes and say “I thought you loved Apple!”, but over the past year or so, the things that are suppose to “just work” have required a lot more tinkering and futzing than something that “just works” should and I can’t really justify the extra cost of getting something that “just works” when it doesn’t. I’m tired of spending money on new version of software and the latest and greatest app. The thing that bothered me the most was that a monitor that was purchased in early 2012 was not compatible with a MacBook Pro that was purchased in 2010, even though the connectors look the same. The monitor plugs in, but there’s something in the magic tube there that doesn’t let the monitor work with that incarnation of MacBook Pro. That’s when I said, “enough is enough”.

I’m using quote marks a lot in this blog entry.

So I have opted to go back to Linux full-time and become a Linux crusader again. This makes me happy. And that is one of the reasons as to why I’m smiling today.

So today was the actual anniversary of our wedding. Earl and I celebrated throughout the day after a good night’s sleep here at the Lodge at Turning Stone Casino and Resort.

My first order of business was an 80 minute Arnica Muscle Repair massage at Ska:ná, the spa here at The Lodge. My spa experiences have been limited to the Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa at Disneyworld and today’s experience made the House of the Mouse look rather mediocre. My appointment was for 1:30 p.m., but I was urged to get there early so that I could do the traditional Balancing Waters Ritual. This involved a visit to the steam room, a cool shower, a visit to the sauna, another cool shower, a ride through the whirlpool and then a dip in the mineral springs pool. The mineral springs pool was the only co-ed part of that experience and the only place where a bathing suit was mandatory. For the first time in my very brief spa history, I did the rest in all sorts of nakedness. It was kind of cool.

Katherine was my very capable massage therapist today and she worked magic working the knots out of my muscles in various areas of my body. The Arnica Muscle Repair massage is designed to energize the senses, promote circulation and relieve muscle soreness. It did all that. The lingering pain in my left hip from my cycling fall last week was gone by the end of the 80 minute session. I felt absolutely amazing and the most centered I have felt in a long while. I enjoyed a few more of the spas amenities before heading back to the room, where Earl had ordered a light salad from room service for my lunch.

We then walked around the grounds a bit and relaxed before getting all dressed up and heading to Wildflowers, the five diamond restaurant here at The Lodge.

At Wildflowers we were taken care of by a very capable staff that included Michael, Alex and Timmy. Everyone wished us a happy anniversary. There were even personalized menus waiting for us on when we arrived at the table!

The dinner was magnificent. It was kind of cool eating in a restaurant where everyone there was dressed for the occasion. We don’t do that often enough. I told Earl that I was lucky to be a guy that’s comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt or in a suit. He agreed.

Near the end of our meal, Room Service was working behind the scenes to leave a smaller version of our wedding cake in the room so that it was waiting for us.

It was delicious but we decided we liked the original wedding cake better. We then did some gambling in the casino where I promptly lost some of the money allotted for that sort of thing before I announced I was headed back to the room. Earl gave me the cute bear eyes, asking if I minded if he played some blackjack. Of course I don’t mind at all, so that’s where he is right now. The longer he’s gone, the better chance that daddy is going to get a new pair of shoes. w00t!