Proud.

I’m sitting at a Dunkin’ Donuts not too far from the house, though it’s not the closest one to the house. Sometimes life is a little more enjoyable when you venture out a little bit.

There is a Lexus in the parking lot with a license plate frame that indicates they are from Larchmont, N.Y. I know that’s down near the Big Apple but I don’t know that I have ever been there. As they made their way into the store, their loud voices indicated a definite downstate accent. They are all bundled up like they’re ready to mount an Eskimo sled. None of them look husky enough to pull the sled though. They’re making the noises that people make when they brush snow off their bodies and try to stave off the cold. I find this amusing, but I’m not being judgmental. It’s not easy for me sometimes. It’s one of my weaknesses.

The weather today is actually quite nice for February, it’s just above freezing and right now we are enjoying a light snow flurry. The snow is not sticking to paved surfaces but it’s accumulating on the grassy areas. I am more than comfortable with my “trailer park hoodie” as I call it.

Quite a few folks from downstate make their way up to these parts, much more so than farther west to places like Syracuse or Rochester. I’ve always said that it’s because we are around a tank of gas away via the Thruway but that is just speculation.

Personally, I’d be more content farther west in the Empire State, where the attitude is even more Midwestern and the accent follows suit. I’m not a huge fan of this part of the state, but I am very proud to be from Upstate New York. Outside of living around Boston for three years, I have been an upstate New York boy all my life and I kind of boast about that. I often dream of what it would be like to live in another part of the country, or even in another country altogether, but the truth of the matter is that despite the ridiculous taxes, corrupt government and decaying economy, I like upper three quarters of the Empire State a lot.

It feels comfortable and I feel contentment.

Would I like to move again? Yes. I think I could further my career and be even more content farther west in state (especially in the Rochester or Buffalo areas) but that will come when the time is right.

For now, I’m just going to enjoy the contentment.

18 February 2012 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Big Cats.

As I awoke yesterday morning I went through my “Schedule B” morning routine (as I like to think of it). This is the routine that I follow when Earl is out of town on business. It involves a slightly modified shower time, some lunch assembly, chopping up turkey or ham for the cat’s food dish and an extra pet on Tom’s head as I utter my usual morning phrase to him, “Bon appetit, mon chat. Je t’aime. Il y a beaucoup, aujourd’hui!”

The Schedule B routine also involves laying in bed for a few moments longer and flipping through the news, blogs and the like on my iPhone, because I can never have my iPhone more than an arm’s length from me. It’s the way I’m wired and I don’t think that I’m too obnoxious because of this fact (though I blog about it more than some might like).

As I was flipping through the various apps on my iPhone, pinching and zooming and swiping and tapping, I started reading about Linux and whatever advancements were being made in the desktop computing arena with that operating system. I usually start thinking about migrating away from Apple products when I start to get bored. Having a short attention span that requires a routine that one labels “Schedule B” can lead to that sort of boredom. It’s what I do. I try not to make it as expensive for us as it used to be.

Right on cue, Apple announced yesterday, with no rumors or speculative glances from the “click on my ad” media, the dawning of their latest iteration of operating system, OS X. This guy is called “Mountain Lion”.

w00t! w00t! w00t!

My head snapped right back to my Apple senses. Somewhere, an angel named Steve smiled as he strummed his harp app on his iPad.

Mountain Lion will officially be out this summer and breathes a little more intrigue into the Macs we have in the house, as it further integrates everyday computer tasks with living in “The Cloud” via their iCloud service. This is nifty. We have already taken advantage of iCloud in our merry little household by the consolidation of our calendars that we all live by, our groceries lists and our chatting habits as we IM each other between rooms (or hotels if we’re traveling). I’m not going to go into technical details here but suffice it to say that I am very excited about Mountain Lion and how it’s going to be “more iPad like” in the way we do things on our Macs. I have already taken advantage of the IM app now dubbed “Messages”, which allows a user to send and receive IMs with folks using any iDevice. Messages is out in beta form, so there’s a few glitches here and there but I really like the direction they are going with the app.

Since I make my living as a programmer (among other things in the technical realm), new iterations of any operating system, but especially OS X, are just my cup of tea.

I’m looking forward to getting to know this big cat named Mountain Lion.

~~~

Tip o’ the hat to reader JonInAtl who pointed out to me that the WordPress app for iPad had been updated. I no longer have to suffer through the BlogPress fiascos, because this update fixed the bluetooth keyboard issue. Jon took time out of his day to send me a tweet letting me know about this. I like that sort of thing. Thanks much.

17 February 2012 by Geek 1

Random.

I just tweeted about this but I thought I would elaborate here a little more. Due to the hectic work schedules, there has not been time to go to the grocery store to stock up the cupboards and the fridge, so I needed to buy my lunch today. I’m on a vegetarian kick (it’s my second day, yay!) so I opted to go to the World’s Best Subway (my description of the place which is apparently becoming outdated), which is situated in the little mall near work. I say “little mall” but that’s being generous, it’s populated with eight stores, including the movie theatre and the aforementioned Subway.

As I walked in the main entrance, I noticed two men looking at me and smiling which was kind of creepy. They were sitting on the small gathering of four tables outside of the entrance to Subway. This area is otherwise known as The Food Court. For some reason, I think it would do better in this little mall if they called it Ye Food Courte but I digress.

As I made my way towards the entrance of Subway, one of the men leaped up and started screaming and dancing. I think the screaming was suppose to be singing but it was more startling than anything as he bellowed, “Welcome to the Pyramid Mall Johnstown! Wooooooo!” I smiled politely, looked around for the Candid Camera and walked into Subway, where the tune apparently changed. “Welcome to Subway! Home of the $5 sub! Wooooooooo!” This verse required a little bit of shuffling, as the disheveled looking gentleman, whom I noticed was wearing a uniform from the local grocery store, started doing a little dance a la “Hello my baby” from the WB.

“Why thank you,” I said in my gruffest voice, which sounds like the blond guy from Brokeback Mountain (the top).

I got into line at Subway and didn’t think about the dancing man much more as the woman with the mustache in front of me pulled out a list of one or two dozen subs and started barking out her order in the wrong order, asking for the veggies first. I banged my head against the closest wall a few times and that’s when the woman down the Subway assembly line looked at me, smiled and said, “I can help you over here.” She promptly put together a veggie sub on wheat that was remarkably tasty. As I was paying and accumulating points, I couldn’t help but notice that the woman with the mustache was still barking out random vegetables when asked if she wanted her tuna subs toasted or not. She’d reply “tomato.”

As I made my way to the beverage counter to get my unsweetened iced tea, the man from the hallway burst through the doors and screamed “$5 subs only at Subway of Pyramid Mall Johnstown! Wooooooo!” He then shuffled back outside of the restaurant.

I turned to the cashier and said, in my best Brokeback Mountain (the top) voice, “that was odd.”

“Yeah, he does that all the time and it scares us but we laugh.” She then gave a nervous laugh that bounced her jaw like one of the monsters from Scooby Doo.

Sounds like a hoot.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

16 February 2012 by Fun and Games Dept 4

Passion.

I guess I’m a passionate person. I believe that passion is one of the primary fuels that fire up those that excel at whatever they choose to excel at. I can’t imagine going through life doing something that you’re not passionate about. How boring.

I have met and/or admired people that showed a great deal of passion in what they do for a living. They don’t just do it, they live it, and to me that’s a commendable thing. I once started a job that I was excited about but didn’t feel very passionate about. After a few weeks I knew that the job was going to work for the short term but that I could never spend the rest of my life with that company. A few years later I left the job because I didn’t believe in the product they offered to their customers. There’s no passion where you don’t believe in something.

When I interviewed with the Department of Transportation a few years ago I realized that the folks that work there had very little passion for making the roads and highways a safer place. I was more excited than a little kid when I thought of the possibility of marking roads through signs and pavement markings and lights in an effort to convey the most amount of information to a motorist in as little space and time as possible. When I discovered that I would be somewhat of a freak in the state run office (because I had a passion for what others considered just a job), I knew that I was not on the right career path. The lack of effort shows on the roads of New York today.

Aside from the obvious passion I have for my partner and our little family, I have a passion for technology. I think that’s the reason that I love Apple products so much; Apple has a passion for what they bring to the world. I feel an emotional connection to my iGadgets. I know that many would roll their eyes and say I’m nuts (I’m used to that), but I think that when the right technology is used in the right ways, one can change the world. I feel a certain (but less) amount of passion for Ubuntu Linux as well, but the rub there is that there isn’t a hardware experience that compliments the Ubuntu Linux operating system the way a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air compliments OS X Lion. “You can use any computer!” they say. I don’t want to use ‘any’ computer, I want to use ‘the’ computer. The package is not complete, and therefore, I don’t feel that emotional connection. You have to have the right combination doing the right things to make it work. You can’t force passion through marketing. Claims of “You will love this!” do little for those that have access to a passionate existence.

When I build a program or improve a process at work that simplifies what others find a chore, and their eyes light up with relief and/or gratitude, I know that my passion for what I do is not misguided. I love efficiency and I love making people more efficient. I suck at it personally, but I love what I do for others and it’s because of that passion that I occasionally rock the boat on conference calls or not worry about playing the political game and asking the obvious questions that others are afraid to mention. If you believe in something, you need to believe in it all the way and that has to be demonstrated out loud. I read about these tech companies that employ professional chefs or on-site masseurs (among many other niceties) for their employees. I think that’s awesome, because that gives employees the opportunity to embrace their passion and feel good about what they’re doing. Ultimately it’s a win-win situation. It’s like the company that puts effort into giving their employee a cubicle that feels inspiring instead of plopping them into a gray/mauve blended drab existence where there is little opportunity (due to ambient noise, outdated equipment, etc) to focus on one’s passion. It’s about the whole package. Build an environment where the truly passionate can flourish.

I feel lucky that I have been able to find things in my life that evoke an emotional response, and I feel even more lucky that I have found that passionate, emotional response in the first place. I know so many people that don’t find what truly makes them tick or even how to access those types of feelings and I wonder what that’s like.

Because feeling passionate is an awesome experience.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

15 February 2012 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Exercise.

I was walking up to my favorite Dunkin’ Donuts when the voice in my head started in on me.

“Remember that dream you had the other night where you were running so fast that you were running in slow motion?”

“Yeah, what about it,” my curious side asked.

“Remember how good you felt when you were running so fast that you were running in slow motion. Remember how streamlined and how healthy you felt when you heard those ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch sounds in your head?”

“Yes,” I confessed. I didn’t want to pursue the conversation any longer because the fact that I was running in slow motion and hearing ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch sounds at 43 years old was a little disconcerting.

“You should skip the cookie today, just like you did yesterday.”

“But yesterday after skipping the cookie at Dunkin’ Donuts I ended up eating pistachios at my desk and they were really good,” I countered.

“You should skip the pistachios, too.”

“I want to ride my bike but it’s not bike riding season yet,” I silently remarked, using whatever telepathic means was necessary to shut the voice up inside my head. I don’t like it when that voice reminds me of ch-ch-ch-ch and healthy eating.

“Riding your bike will be much easier this spring if you watch what you eat during hibernation season.”

“I want to sleep if it’s hibernation season,” was my simple reply.

“You can’t. There’s too much to do. Why don’t you ride the exercise bike tonight as a way to celebrate the fact that you’re not going to order a cookie when you get to the counter?”

I was entering the front door of Dunkin’ Donuts when I muttered out loud, “Fine.” I wonder if people think I have tourettes.

I didn’t have to place an order for the unsweetened iced tea because the order was already in the process of being assembled. Yesterday I had encountered a new person behind the register and she asked what I wanted as the other person behind the counter handed me my already assembled beverage of choice.

“I’m predictable, I guess,” I remarked to the new person behind the register. Apparently this translated to “my UFO has cruise control” because she gave me a look like I was an alien.

I started my journey back to the Jeep to write this blog entry when the voice started up again.

“See, you did it, no cookie today. You’ll thank me for it later on.”

I better find a way to make the ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch sound.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

14 February 2012 by Fitness. Ponderings and Musings Quirky. 3

Bestest Friends.


So yesterday around 5:30 p.m. Earl and I returned from our trip-that-never-happened to Virginia Beach, Va. After a lovely drive from State College, Pa. to Corning, N.Y. and then up through the beautiful Finger Lakes to the New York State Thruway, we were home safe and sound, all relaxed and ready to take on the challenges of this work week. It was a good feeling, and one that afforded me a good night’s sleep last night. That’s a rarity on a Sunday night for me. Quite enjoyable.

It’s been a long time since Earl and I went “on a ride”. One of our first rides of this sort was 14 hours non-stop in my old ’94 Hyundai Excel. I think that was the acid test to see if Earl could handle my idea of a road trip, and he passed with flying colors back then. These rides are kind of like those summits you read about where the CEO of some big corporation goes and hides in a cabin in the woods for a while and comes out with brilliant ideas. Earl and I talked about our finances and our retirement and where we see ourselves at various milestones that lie ahead. I would say that we reconnected, but the connection was never absent to begin with, so I guess we just continued and strengthened the connection that was already there.

I keep hearing that gay marriage isn’t appropriate because you’re not suppose to marry your best friend, you’re suppose to marry your spouse. Spouse != best friend (that’s geek speak for ‘does not equal’). I think that’s ridiculous. The couples that last are the ones that married as best friends, regardless of whether they’re a gay or straight couple.

I’m lucky that I found my best friend and that he said ‘I Do’. The road trips would get lonely without him.

** If you follow my Twitter and/or Foursquare, you probably know the route we took just as much as we do.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

13 February 2012 by Fun and Games Dept 2

State College, Pennsylvania.

For the past two weeks the plan has been that on Friday Earl would meet me at work and we would leave on a weekend adventure. The target destination has been Virginia Beach for this particular weekend. We have done is weekend jaunt in the past; it’s a good way to get away from the chill of Central New York that is so prevalent this time of year.

Earl met me at work on cue Friday afternoon. It was then that he informed me that he had received word of some major changes at his work that would be taking place on Monday. We needed to stop at his office in Scotia to pick up some binders. No worries, we did just that and continued the ride.

As he perused the binders as I drove, I could sense that his business wheels we turning. He made a few calls and got things in order for Monday. At our first stop I said, “you’re concerned that we’re going to get home too late on Sunday.”

I was right.

“Why don’t we just go for a ride this weekend and see where we end up, with an earlier target time for home on Sunday?”. I assured him there would be no disappointment.

We spent the night in southern Jersey. I’ve never really been a fan of the congestion along the east coast, so this morning we turned westward and started following the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Now I love America’s first superhighway because of its historical value. Driving along the turnpike does not give you the same feeling of disconnection from the rest of the world like the rest of the interstate system does because of the narrow right of way of the highway. Plus, the tunnels are wicked cool.

We made a few stops here and there but had a pleasant drive all the way to Bedford, where we decided to turn north so we’d be about five hours from home for our drive tomorrow.

We are in the lovely city of State College, Pa. I always add “P A” to a Pennsylvania destination; this is a holdover from my days of living along the border in Jamestown. It’s just what we do.

We went to a local pub and brewery tonight where I had a couple of draft “Red Mo”s, well, because I am a red ‘mo. It had been a very relaxing day.

I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.

11 February 2012 by Fun and Games Dept Ponderings and Musings 0

So Emotional.

So sad to hear about the passing of Whitney Houston this evening. She was an incredible vocalist with an amazing talent. It’s such a shame that she fell off her path and didn’t find her way back on it.

She will be missed. RIP Whitney.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

11 February 2012 by Why. 0

Controls.

I open my eyes and notice that I have jeans on. I feel younger than I actually am. My right wrist has a calculator watch on it. Trying to ascertain as to my location, I look up and see nothing but blue sky and white, puffy clouds. I’m looking through a skylight. Actually, I’m looking through the top of an airplane. Once my mind figures this out, I can hear the engine of the plane.

“Give ‘er a rip.”

I know that voice. Instinctively I put my hands on the controls and my feet on the rudders. I’m sitting in a rented Piper in the co-pilot seat. Dad is sitting in the the pilot’s seat, urging me to take control of the plane. He’s got a huge grin on his face, one that you would only see when he was in or near a plane. My dad grinned a lot, but the grin was different when he was flying.

I glance at the instruments to make sure I’m level with the horizon and then I decide to make a slow turn to the left. We are somewhere over a hilly, wooded area. I start to bank to the left a little bit. Dad is helping with the controls a little bit but letting me do my thing. As I gain confidence, I start to descend just a little bit. Well, I try to keep the change rather slight, but I push too hard on the controls and we start to go down more than I expected. I get dizzy from the change in altitude while turning at the same time and feel a moment of disorientation. The hills start to look closer and more menacing because we are headed toward them when we shouldn’t be.

“Whoa!”

Dad grabs the controls and pulls the Piper level. I gain my senses and am allowed to give it another try.

“You gotta work at it. Easy.”

He’s still grinning.

I decide that I have had enough of heading toward the hills and bank to the right.

“Well, we can’t go too close to the base. They don’t like it when we get into their air space. Gotta do it by the book.”

I level off and decide to head straight ahead. I squint as we head toward the sun, Dad is wearing his aviator sunglasses. He was always prepared like that. The sky is clear, the ride is smooth and the warmth of the sun coming into the cockpit is reassuring. A beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Dad takes the controls and banks us to the left with much more confidence than I displayed when I was trying to turn earlier and became disoriented. Urged to try, I do the same. I do much better and I successfully head us off somewhere; apparently I’m headed in the right direction. He continues to grin.

And then I jump, as I wake up and realize my alarm is going off, telling me it’s time to start my Friday.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

10 February 2012 by Ponderings and Musings 0

Rest.

Last night I got 7 1/2 hours sleep. That’s not bad for the current, chaotic circadian rhythms I have going on lately. I awoke only once during the night and that was around 3:30; I was so giddy with excitement that I had actually slept from 10 p.m. straight thru to 3:30 a.m. that I jumped out of bed and did some sort of groggy lap around the bedroom and then went back to bed. I think the only reason I woke up was because I had wrapped the cord to my headphones around my neck and I was depriving myself of oxygen. After the impromptu lap around the bedroom, I promptly fell back asleep until my alarm went off at 5:30.

Good times.

Since I clocked 7 1/2 hours of sleep last night, I don’t think I should be feeling as groggy as I do today. The only thing I can deduce from this is that I am working way too much and I have too much on my plate for any one person to handle. The launch of the Big Project at work has been delayed due to circumstances beyond my control and this morning I was told of a bunch of changes that need to be made to the application I have been building. That stuff doesn’t bother me all that much because that’s how these things work in Corporate America, but it’s still one source of stress that I have on a list of things that are stressing me out, and that list is getting too long.

This weekend Earl and I are doing one of our getaway weekends so that we can enjoy a change of view, a good meal or two and some together time doing what we enjoy doing. I’m hoping that the weather will cooperate so we can enjoy ourselves a little bit.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9 February 2012 by Fun and Games Dept 2

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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