Do You Care That It Was Pi Day Yesterday?

Yeah, I realized after I sent out my Clarity of Vision that is was 3/14 (Pi Day), so I decided to mention it today. Sory for the delay. I hope it was a good one for you.

I went for a cardiac stress test yesterday. Sure, I had stayed up late the night before studying for the test, but I passed, so that is good news. I don't have to go back to my cardiologist for a year.

I am taking a day off today. For the past few years, we had been taking a Spring trip with the folks, but could not get anything arranged this year. So, I am taking the day off. We slept late. Now, we are heading over to the YMCA for exercise, then maybe brunch. Tonight, we are going to see Satisfaction, a Rolling Stones cover band. Tomorrow, though, it's back to business...literally.

OK, K is saying it's time to go. More in the morning. I promise. I'll tell you about Satisfaction.

Post 1114

Post 1114 sounds like something from an American Legion (coincidentally founded by the son of President Teddy Roosevelt in 1919 although this has nothing to do with today's CoV nor anything else in this post). Actually, the title refers to the fact that this is my 1114th post in this blog.

Some of my previous posts have had to do with bagpipers and Scottish Games of years past. None have had a bagpiper in the Clarity of Vision comic...until today.

In some weird way, I do not really look forward to leading the Chorale during practice. Why is that weird? Because, once I get up there, I have a lot of fun and it is a nice challenge to correct mistakes I hear weekly without making it seem that the regular director is missing them. And I do have fun. Anyway, it went fine. I did make a couple of jokes at the director's expense.

Related to the first paragraph about American Legions, that is a group that supports veterans. Did you hear that Disney is planning to hire 1000 returning vets as part of their "Heroes Work Here" program? I think that is pretty cool.

You know what else is pretty cool? I am going to end this post early to free up some time for all of us. And I probably will not post tomorrow as I am taking a vacation day during Spring Break. I should be back on Friday, Lord willing and the crick don't rise.

Still Sniffling

Do not assume that you have an idea what today's title refers to. It could be me sniffling due to allergies. It could be a co-worker who was laid off last week still being upset. It could be our dog after he got a cactus spine in his nose. You don't know. Actually, it was the first one. Neither of the others happened. My point is, though, that you don't know for sure until I tell you. Fine. It really was obvious, right?

You also don't always know why management asks some of the questions that it asks.

You also don't know if we worked out last night at the Y. Yes, we did. In fact, my better half exercised both in the morning and the evening. She's turning into a gym rat. She does not dress like Jane Fonda or Olivia Newton John did in the 80s. Thankfully. No, I don't dress like them, either.

Each Monday, a blog-only book publishes a new chapter. I think it might be an interesting premise, but the author's spelling and grammar detract from my enjoyment. Plus, I don't know how far into the story we are (even after 22 chapters). Still, I will probably see it through. Here's an example.
Anna can sense that something is bothering Jane. “Are you sure? It seems like your holding back a little.”
See, 'your' instead of 'you're.' Aghh.

Anything else? I think the GRANDS are going to see a movie today. Probably Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.

Did you see the moon waxing gibbous this morning? I could not tell if it was wax on or wax off. Ha ha. A clever reference to a phrase from The Karate Kid movie from 1984.

Enough. You have been more than patient while I write things neither of us cares about. Let's stop pretending. We've both got things to do.

Suns and Daughters

We went to a Phoenix Suns game on Saturday night. We sat on the next-to-the-top row. Wow, I could have used some oxygen, it was so high. We had a great time and Isabella really loved it. This was like an early birthday present for her. And we won, so even better. It was our family plus Lyndsay's family, plus Dave (Alison's boyfriend). We stopped at Rainforest Cafe for dinner before driving downtown. And we had brunch that morning as another part of Bella's Birthday Bash.

So, I mentioned we were way up high for the basketball game? Here's a CoV about just such a topic. Imagine that.Well, we did not actually see the Colorado Avalanche, but that fit the joke better.

We found out that Paul and Kari and expecting child #3. Congrats.

We saw photos from Brenda when ZKW came back to the States on the USS Stennis. Congrats. Nice photos. There a more on Facebook, but I cannot see nor link to them here at work.

We saw photos from LWW about living in New Zealand and wearing gumboots.

We bought a replacement ceiling fan for the non-spinning one in the den, but I did not hang it yet. I wanted to get either the voltage meter from Dad or Dad himself to come make sure I wire it up correctly. Why the worry? Just in case there is a live wire inside the old one for the light kit, even though we did not have one on the old fan.

I suppose I will get my data prepared for presentation at 11:30am. Somebody's got to do it. So, y'all go get your data ready, too. We can meet again and de-stress after our data gathering and analysis tomorrow.

I'm Sick and Tired...

OK, I am tired, but just because it is still morning and I have not finished waking up yet. I am not really sick, although KHW is. So, the GRANDS will not spend their usual every other Friday night with us. One, we do not want to get them sick. Two, KHW would not be up to the interaction. The phrase in the title, though, does remind me of that Bill Cosby routine "(About his mother always saying, "I'm sick and tired!") "And tired" always follows "sick". Worst beating I ever got in my life, my mother said, "Well I am just sick," and I said, "And tired." I don't remember anything after that."

You may be sick and tired of this comic series about cell phone assistants, but I have not quite finished it yet.

I know what you're thinking. Did I finish any of the To Do items on my list yesterday. No, none are completely finished, but I am close on a couple and will finish them today. I have 3-4 more days on updating that VP report, so don't hold your breath. I started this paragraph with a phrase that reminds me of another quote. "I know what you’re thinking. Did he fire six shots, or only five? Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being that this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?"

Wow, I am having an allergy attack this morning. So, I think I will wander off in search of a tissue. I started to say "... in search of a Kleenex," but that may not be totally accurate since a Puffs would be OK, too.

We only need to get through a few more hours to reach the weekend (unless you are in NZ, in which case you are there already). So, have a good day and a great weekend. I will blather on again Monday morning, so be here or be square. Hmm, that does not some as clever without the rhyme of there and square.

A Slice of Pi

No, I did mean to omit the 'e' at the end of the word in the title. You'll see why when you read today's Clarity of Vision. Go ahead. Could this be the end of Ralph? We will know tomorrow.

Did you watch Survivor last night? My wife thinks they hired the women because they were attractive, and the guys because they were stupid. Last night's episode certainly lends credence to that. And after 24 seasons, Jeff noted that this was the first time this had ever occurred. What am I talking about? I cannot say yet, in case people recorded it and have not yet watched it. Y'all go home tonight and watch it so I can comment more on the men's stupidity and why they listen to their de facto leader.

Luckily, I am not as sore as I expected after another evening of exercise. I did the elliptical to warm up and then did lower body weight machines. If we make it tonight, it will be upper body weight machines. I noticed some slight discomfort in my right knee during the elliptical, so it obviously works some different leg muscles than the treadmill. I think I will move back to the treadmill for tonight's warm up. You younger folks reading this (isn't that most of you?), be sure to keep your legs in shape so you can maybe postpone these aches and pains.

Did I mention we are going to the Suns game on Saturday? Yes, a bunch of family members are going. It should be fun.

Did I mention that today's is the 101st International Women's Day? Well, that what today's Google Doodle shows. I imagine there are still a couple of women alive who were around for the very first one.

Did I mention that some of the family went to see the musical Wicked recently? They loved it, as I knew they would. We didn't go since we had already seen it and it is not cheap to attend these touring musicals.

I did not check off anything from my list yesterday, so I need to complete those tasks today. So, instead of telling you more anecdotes, I will end today's missive abruptly right now.

A Cold Day In My Heart

Yes, it is only supposed to reach 62F today, so in the Valley of the Sun, that is cold. I imagine I will see some people wearing heavy jackets in the morning and evening. However, that is not what I refer to in the title.

My heart aches for my Architect Bro and his wife as they face the week in which their son dies. It was a year ago yesterday that he was killed in a car accident. I did not want to mention it until I talked to my brother and determined if I should write about it. Rick sounded very upbeat and said they were doing better than expected. Isn't God great that he can help us heal after such a devastating loss? Still, keep them and their family in your prayers. To help us celebrate Ben's life, take a look at this blog post from when he and Lindsay ran the 2007 Ourayce and this group Walker photo with Ben in the upper right. Aren't we lucky that we shared in his life?

Now, back to the usual drivel that makes up this blog. We start with today's Clarity of Vision comic.

Following that, I often talk about how tired I am of this cold. I am tired of this cold. OK, that's covered. Hey, speaking of covered, Mom is laying around covered until she can get to a back specialist. She is still suffering from back pain and Dad said it apparently has to do with a vertebrae out of alignment. So, keep her in your prayers.

Sometimes, I also talk about whether or not I am sore. I am not sore today, but we hope to get to the YMCA this afternoon before Survivor, so soreness could return. We may not make it, though, since Kathie is in the middle of parent conferences.

Thanks for suffering through another A Legend In My Own Mind post. You people are crazy to read this every day. Just to remind you, though, I'll be back tomorrow.

I Am A Mighty God Named Sore

In 1967, Marvel Comics had a series called Not Brand Echh where they made fun of their own characters, including Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, and Thor. You can imagine that today's title is taken from the one involving Thor. You can see a sample page here. What made me think of it? Well, I am not that sore today. I hope that is a good sign. Oh, if you see my sister, you can ask her if today's title means anything.

Now, she and her daughter do have smart phones, unlike me. So, maybe mine is more like Ralph in today's CoV.

We tried the Tilapia Parmesan last night from that "Make and Cook It Yourself" place. It was really tasty, although one piece was not completely cooked. We should have more the pieces around so that none was covered before we baked it. Another pre-prepared meal is scheduled for tomorrow night, but I do not remember which. And although they advertise that it serves 2-3, all of them we have tried to date only feed the two of us.

I messed up on generating the team weekly last Friday. I forgot to update one section and got caught. "Hey, this says the same thing as last week. Where's my updates for this week?" I had to re-send it with a mea culpa. Next time, I'll send it with a youa culpa.

I see that today is Oreo's 100th birthday. I also found that over half the men eat them all at once, without twisting and opening. I do not open mine. How about y'all?

Finally, it is allegedly Super Tuesday because of all the primaries and caucuses. Meh. How about Stupor Tuesday because I am bored with all this stuff? Also, stupor instead of super ends today's post with a word twist like the one I opened with. See you tomorrow on Wacky Wednesday.

Like the Shepherds, I am Sore Afraid

Yes, I am starting today by referencing Luke 2:9 from the King James Bible. We joined the YMCA this week and did our first workout on Saturday. So, I am certainly sore today, and afraid I will get more sore before it gets better. However, "no pain, no gain," right? So, we'll go back this evening.

However, we have to drive there without the aid of a GPS or smart phone. Why don't we have one? Well, read today's Clarity of Vision and decide for yourself.

Otherwise, not much going on. Oh wait, there is some illness in the family that you could pray for. Alison has the flu or something, and she got the flu shot. I hope it is not a strain we could catch. Lyndsay was home yesterday with a bad migraine. Mom is home with a hurting back.

I have finished two of the ten Oz books from L. Frank Baum. They are different. I would not have had the vision to pull the movie The Wizard of Oz out of the first one. Will I finish all ten? Probably, since they are easy reading. If my Kindle had the phone assistant Surly on it, I wonder what she would say about them. "Do you want to read an Oz book? They are written for fifth-grade readers, so it should be right up your alley."

A coworker sent a note over the weekend saying I excluded her input from a report I issued on Friday, so I need to do some investigation. It seems she is correct. How did my normal process get messed up?

So, come back tomorrow and I'll share what my investigation found. TTFN.

Driving Around This Morning

I have to leave at 9am for a while to pick up my boss after Lasik surgery. I first drive up into Scottsdale (30 min) to pick him up, then out to the west side (45 min) to take him home, then back to work (40 min) to actually get his work done since I am covering for him on an assignment for the VP. So, no time to dilly-dally.

So, let's check out today's Clarity of Vision.I first considered lemon-related jokes about the photos (e.g. Hillary saying that was one sour lemon), but liked it better if she thought that was her sexy look.

No, we really did not do anything last night. We just stayed home and I did some TV and a little reading. I am working my way through the Oz books on Kindle. I finished the first (Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and am now in the second (Marvelous Land of Oz) out of ten. Why? Mainly because they were free since they are in the public domain.

Nothing big planned over the weekend. We do keep the nursery during church on Sunday and that is usually fun. And we are starting a Philippians study in Sunday School. Here, check out a word map of Philippians generated on wordle.net.You may need to embiggen this to see it.

Hey, I've been doing all the talking. Let me give you a chance. I will wrap up my post and then give my full attention to hear what you are saying. Adios, muchachos.