Fun and Games Dept

People fascinate me. Groups of people are even more fascinating, especially when I start doing a comparison game and start contrasting the differences of various of folks against other people I have met along my life path.

Gosh, that sounds deep.

I grew up in the Lake Ontario snowbelt, that beautiful area of New York State situated along the eastern shores of the smallest of the Great Lakes. My hometown was located right between the lake and the Tug Hill Plateau, a precursor to the larger Adirondack Mountains to the northeast. Like our counterparts in the Lake Erie snowbelt (Buffalo and southwest), we usually get lots of snow in the winter. It’s what we do and there’s an impressive tourism trade built upon these winter storms. The mountains aren’t really big enough for impressive skiing (though there are ski resorts here and there), folks instead turn to cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. Fun times. I’ve had only one opportunity to take Earl on a snowmobile in the past 15 years and I don’t think he’s ever yelled as loud as he did when we went whizzing alongside the railroad tracks behind my dad’s house at around 40 MPH. (He swore we were doing 70 but I know we weren’t).

Ah, good times.

Because I grew up in the snow and around people that enjoy snow, I always find it interesting that folks in the areas that we work and live in now get a little hysterical when the National Weather Service blasts out a Winter Weather Advisory. I’ve mentioned before that I think these advisories are kind of ridiculous because I don’t think you should fire off the Emergency Alert System unless it’s something really important like a nuclear attack or a tsunami.

I know that it’s because of societal changes in attitude about snow that schools close a lot more than they used to in these parts when it came to winter weather. I can’t count the number of times that my sister and I would have to go running because the school bus was trying to stop at the end of our driveway and ended up in a skid. There was no crossing the road early when the bus came, you waited until everything got skidded and settled into place before venturing out. Mr. Curry, a dutiful bus driver, was always good to give us a wave to let us know when the bus was done skidding.

Ah, good times.

I don’t think of six inches of snow as a big deal. You plan a little extra time, you drive a little slower and you keep both hands on the steering wheel. It’s not that hard to deal with. Oh, never let your gas tank fall below a quarter of a tank because you don’t know how long it’s going to take to get to the next station. And make sure you have hat and gloves in the vehicle at all times.

Folks here in the more eastern part of the state (where I work) tend to get all nerved up when there’s snow in the forecast. Everyone talks about it, incessantly, and they start buying milk and bread in droves (lactose intolerance be damned.) I think I attribute this to what I call “downstate hysteria”. Folks from downstate New York (and especially New York and Long Island) tend to seem much more high strung than the folks upstate and this ‘snow concern’ adds a little bit of credibility to this observation. I think that’s why I’ve never had a serious thought about relocating to the Capital District (even though theoretically Earl and I could have at one time), it’s too unlike where I grew up for my comfort level. The accent is different, the attitude towards snow is different, it just doesn’t feel like the Empire State I know and love. And that’s perfectly fine, I’m not saying that one is better than the other, I’m just saying it’s different and that kind of fascinates me. Kind of like trying to identify where the soda/pop dividing line is (it’s somewhere between Syracuse and Rochester).

As I type this, I see that the snow is picking up. Rumor has it we are going to get six to ten inches of snow by tomorrow at home. I’m looking forward to it.

On the other hand, the person here in the plaza parking lot near work has parked across two parking spaces, at a diagonal, and is undoubtedly heading into Dollar Tree to clear the shelves of all available bread.

Ah, good times.

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I’m doing a daily photo log this year. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this here on the blog or not, but I did this once before in (I think) 2009. I don’t know if I completed that project successfully or not, but I intend on sticking to it this year. It’s kind of a vain thing; I take a photo of myself once a day and post it. This year I’m doing it on Instagram and Flickr.

As I walked into Dunkin’ Donuts a few moments ago, my iced tea waiting and the sale already pre-rung on the register (all that was missing was the Great Cookie Debate), I decided that I needed to give props to the company that brings me caffeinated goodness everyday. So I put the phone on timer and just snapped a photo while walking out the door.

Heck, this could be a marketing shot! “Happy bear gets his caffeine at Dunkin’ Donuts!” You could even at a jingle – doo doo doo!

Yesterday, Earl and I were talking and he says that one of the things he loves about me is that even though I’m 43 years old, I’m still very much a kid at heart. In 7th grade I was scolded by my Social Studies teacher for being too much of a kid at that age and I remember that as clear as if it was said to me yesterday. I guess she was wrong, because others find it to be a lovable trait.

And taking a photo of myself while walking out of my favorite Dunkin’ Donuts is a glimmer of the playfulness I feel. I should really stop giving a hoot as to what other people think as long as I’m being true to myself.

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I’m writing this blog entry nearly two hours later than usual. While I am very grateful that I have found room in today’s hectic work schedule for a lunch break, there is a small voice in the back of my head that reminds me that I am entitled to a lunch and that I should always find time to enjoy an hour of solace during the day. There’s an even louder voice that reminds me of my need for iced tea and to make it’s point my head hurts a little bit. The Dunkin’ Donuts iced tea will help this problem, though it’s kind of a shame that I’m getting caffeine headaches again.

I keep thinking about the fact that tomorrow is Friday. I’m proud to say that it appears that I am surviving the first full work week I’ve had since the week before Thanksgiving, but I still don’t know who decided that we should do this work five days/get two days off thing that is the accepted norm in society. Personally, I would function better under a 4 on/3 off schedule, but that’s just the way I work. I’ve never been able to function inside the box that everyone else lives in. It’s one of my quirks, like mashed potatoes for breakfast. (Oh sure, but when Laverne drinks milk and pepsi, the laugh track goes on and on in an uproar.)

My sister asked about the Big Project that I am working on at work. There have been some twists and turns along the way, but my big presentation was on Tuesday and it went well. There’s much to be done to make the program behave the way I want it to behave, but the first implementation begins in less than a week and for those used to Windows it should work just fine. I had hoped to knock out a few thousand lines of code today, but I have been in one meeting or another since 8:15 this morning. I was even in one meeting about when we were going to have meetings. It was boring.

Having lunch at 1:30 in the afternoon kind of rocks my world a little bit because I am very much a creature of habit. It’s kind of like being forced to sleep on the wrong side of the bed, you get things done but it just feels wrong.

The iced tea is good, though.

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Remember the first, second season episode of “The New Adventures of Wonder Woman” where Diana Prince returns to the United States in the 1970s? Jimmying her way into the IADC as an agent needs a little bit of covert work. One of her accomplishments is that she is able to gain access to the room that houses IRAC, the Information Retrieval Associative Computer. She does this by remembering the tones uttered by the security keypad as she is being given a tour of the facility. Without looking at the keypad, she is able to remember the musical sequence and press the buttons in the exact same order when she manages to get to the security door alone.

I do not possess this skill.

Like many technologically oriented business facilities, the building I work in is protected by various security measures, including our keycard work badges. We are required to wear our badges at all time and they are needed to gain access to the building. Because I work in one of the Network Operations Centers, we need our badge to gain entry through that door as well. Not everyone’s badge gains access to this inner part of the building, but my badge has been so blessed.

I left my badge sitting on the kitchen counter today.

I was not able to make the screeching noise that the keycard mechanism makes when it recognizes your badge. I don’t think the mechanism even works that way. I also confirmed that neither my body (nor my personality) is magnetic enough to make the keycard thingee do it’s thing without having my badge.

Forgetting my badge is just a symptom of my day, as I have forgotten a couple of things along the way today, including my hat and gloves. This has made for a chilly walk around the parking lot during our twice-a-day attempts at exercise during breaktime.

I have forgotten my badge once before in the nearly two years that I have worked in this building. It’s not a big deal; you smile and kid around with the person that holds the visitor badges for a moment and they’ll scold you a little and let you use one of those badges that day. I don’t mind that except that when I introduce myself I’m tempted to say that my name is Anonymous. The card reader doesn’t know who I am, it just knows that I’m a friendly visitor. The real problem with using the visitor badge is actually obtaining one. To do this, you kind of have to lurk around the entrance and then do a little shimmy to get in behind a co-worker who thoughtfully remembered their badge. I’d mention that it’s kind of a like a terrorist move to gain access to Fort Knox, but I don’t want people to think that I am a terrorist because I’m not. I just know how to shimmy in behind another person. I would never use my powers for evil.

Now if I could just figure out how to make that screeching sound.

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So today is Monday and I think this is the first week since before Thanksgiving that I have to work the entire week. Can you imagine? I have to work five out of the five workdays this week. The world has gone mad. Let’s see how I do with trying to be a morning person five days in a row.

This morning I woke up promptly at 5:30 and hit the exercise bike. I’m still really in the mood to do some riding on my road bike out in the fresh air, but it’s not something that is really enjoyable in Central New York in the middle of January. Nevertheless, it is something that I continue to daydream about and this keeps me happy in some way. Riding the exercise bike is ok for trying to keep some sort of exercise in my daily life, but I don’t really feel the psychological benefits that I experience when I ride my real bike. Perhaps I need a wind machine, a large screen television with some footage of the countryside whizzing by and a dash of scent of meadow muffins.

Though I worked many hours this past weekend (in preparation for my Big Presentation tomorrow), we did manage to see a lot of friends in Albany during the semi-monthly “Bear Albany” event. I must be getting old, though, because I decided at a little after midnight that I had had enough merry making and took the shuttle back to the hotel, where I promptly fell asleep after sharing a bag of microwaved popcorn with Earl. There’s a part of me that can’t believe that I used to DJ until 2:30 in the morning (4:00 in some parts of the state) and then after DJing I used to go to after hours parties and be rowdy until dawn.

I think I liked Saturday night’s approach better, because we were able to get back on home on Sunday early, giving me the opportunity to get more work done. Working from home certainly has it’s benefits, even on the weekend.

On the way home from Albany yesterday I suggested to Earl that we sell our house and buy a double-wide in the country somewhere. I was joking about it, but he gave me “the glare” and told me that he would rather live in a tent during a flood (or something equally colorful). I always remind him that I grew up in a single-wide mobile home and he’ll be funny and retort, “I can tell”. I don’t want to actually live in a double-wide, though I would if the budget dictated so; there’s a part of me that hopes that our next abode, wherever it is, is either a house on an isolated peace of land somewhere close the civilization or a loft right in the middle of it all where I can either walk or use public transportation everywhere. I think I’d like to experience living in a big city and trying out that lifestyle for a while once in a my life. It might be a kick.

Plus, I could ride my bike everywhere and then I’d be really happy.

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So I spent a few days off the grid this weekend and it was quite enjoyable. There was some meandering around the nation’s capital. New friends were made, online friends were met in person, which was quite awesome, and old friends were connected with again.

Friends are good.

Relying on nothing but my iPhone for my connection to the online world was an interesting experience and one that I will be anxious to repeat again. There were a couple of occasions where I wanted to sit down and write, but outrageously high wi-fi access prices sometimes help you keep it real.

I needed to regroup to get this 2012 thing going in style. Now I feel like I’m back on track.

Oh, ginger beards are apparently quite popular these days. I think I’ll keep mine.

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Back during tax return season in 2008 Earl and I treated ourselves to a couple of new computers. At the time I had an Apple PowerBook G4 and Earl had an iBook. Both were good machines that had served us well, but they were quickly falling behind on their abilities to keep up with the latest operating system, so we decided to use our tax returns to buy new MacBook Pros. My choice was the 2.5ghz model, Earl went with the slightly slower 2.4ghz model. Both used the same chassis as my old PowerBook G4. I liked the feeling of familiarity.

A couple of years later I lost my mind and decided to get rid of my MacBook Pro and go with a Linux laptop instead. I ended up using the iMac a lot and used the Linux laptop in my spare time. It wasn’t my happiest moments of technology. In the meantime, in late 2010 Earl dropped his MacBook Pro, bending the corner nearest the optical drive and giving the laptop a bit of a wobble whenever it sat on a flat surface. We decided that his computer wouldn’t be around for much longer and opted to replace it with a new 15-inch MacBook Pro. That was quickly replaced with a 13-inch version, as the bigger laptop proved to much for his travel. The 15-inch MacBook Pro went to Jamie.

I am proud to say that I decided to keep the bent, older style MacBook Pro in the family. I bent the corner back into place so that it firmly sits on the table or desk as I’m using it. The keyboard is just lovely; I prefer the older style keyboard much more than the newer style, and quite frankly, when I take the older style laptop to Panera or something, the young hipsters whisper about me because I’m all retro with my computing flair.

I didn’t know how long the MacBook Pro with a cracked up case would last, but I recently replaced the power adapter and gave it a fresh battery. It feels as good as new. The retro, rainbow “Apple Computer” sticker completes the look and vibe that I am striving for.

It is my intention to keep this computer around for as long as possible. I hope to make it to the end of the Mayan Calendar and beyond, in retro Mac bliss.

It’s the little things that make a geek like me happy.

The nicer, somewhat spring-like weather of the past couple of days have really put me in the mood to start up cycling for the year. Of course, this isn’t really a practical wish, because I can barely make a ride alive in the daylight, let alone trying to ride at night. I’d have to find a back road or something if I wanted to ride at night; I’d have to only contend with a surly cow that’s busted out of her pasture or something.

Riding my bike is very relaxing for me. Once I get into the countryside and am away from the majority of traffic, my head starts to clear and I find a certain amount of peace that’s wrapped up with a tinge of excitement. The ride towards Binghamton (notice, no “p” in Binghamton) was quite relaxing for me last summer and I want to do many more of those types of rides. I already have my eye on some routes I’d like to take this coming spring and summer and I’d like to incorporate an overnight or two into the mix. I have my little cycling tent and stuff that I have only used once; I need to use it again. I need the adventure.

One thing that I found on Amazon is a charging kit for my iPhone so I can use the MapMyRide (or something like that) app that kills the battery in an hour. When you’re riding for five or more hours, it doesn’t do any good to have the iPhone go dead after only an hour. This little charging kit works like the headlights we had as kits where the power comes from a little generator on the wheel. I think it’s kind of nifty that the old technology of yesteryear can help out the new technology of today.

One of my goals for cycling this year is that I’m not going to be afraid of the hills, in fact, one of the routes I have my eye on include many of the hills I traverse during my daily commute. I figure that if a horse can yank a buggy with three men in it up a hill, I can certainly sympathize and do the same with me and my bike.

I know that Mother Nature has been a big tease thus far this winter since we haven’t had hardly any snow and the temperatures have been very spring like. The purpose of blogging about my cycling plans is two-fold: looking back at this blog entry when we finally get slammed with snow later in the season will remind me of how happy I was as a daydreamed about my plans and writing my intentions to do a lot of cycling this spring and summer commits me to the idea and reminds me that I had this conversation with myself in the first place.

Dear Christmas Tree 2011,

This evening you were relieved of your duty of bringing wonder and fulfillment to this year’s Christmas and New Year’s festivities.

Your task was not an easy one this year. Prior Christmas Trees that held this duty had an easier time of it. Our December got off to a rough start, and there were times when we felt like we weren’t going to find the joy that one expects in the holiday season. But every time I walked into our Great Room, there you were, looking lovely, green, festive and heartwarming.

You stood strong, didn’t shed hardly any needles and you added a beautiful aroma to our home long after it was expected of you. Your beauty brought a smile to our face and helped boost our moods when we needed a little boost. Your reminders always hit home.

Your presence embodied the love that never left us this holiday season and for that we say thank you. Thank you for sharing our Christmas with us.

Even though it’s a short week, this week feels like its dragging on forever. I don’t know if it’s because I’m anxious to get on with 2012 and leave 2011 behind or what, but I keep thinking everyday is Friday (Rebecca Black song notwithstanding) and then I realize today is only Thursday.

I’m trying to be productive at work, but it’s difficult to get things done with other departments when half of the work force is on vacation. I then wonder why I’m driving to work when I could easily telecommute and be much more productive by working in the comfort of my own office. Plus, it’d be much better for the environment.

So today is Thursday and tomorrow is Friday and apparently everything is right on schedule.

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