As the Beatles sang.. I'm Getting Better Everyday

Yep, I'm feeling better, although I am still sniffling and sneezing a bit. I should be able to sing by Sunday.

Well, we've got a theme going with these old shots. We're traveling back to the halcyon days of 2004. A shot of Stonehenge from way back when. What is halcyon, anyway?

Can you believe they chose a Pope so quickly? I know predictions said it would not take long, but I did not expect it after only five votes. In fact, I was not even ready with a CoV until today. Sorry for the delay.



We hit Mickey D's for dinner tonight with the GRANDS. We went to a different location so they could play on the playground. At one point, they were playing with a little girl there and I heard Bella on the slide saying, "When you hear the roar, we hurry out of the slide." So, I thought I would scare Bella and I roared. Instead, Bella just said, "That didn't scare me," but the other girl really started crying. Her mom had to climb up inside and calm her down. I apologized a bunch of times.

The Games Gang played Small World at lunch today and I won on the first time I ever played it. It was medium fun, but took us 1.5 hours, so I cannot afford to play it too often.

It is bedtime, my friends, so I will not even make a pretense at saying goodbye until we meet again on the morrow.

[Friday update] Whoa! I totally spaced on getting this posted because I had meetings starting at 7:45, so I was preparing for them. Here you go. Better late than never, is what I always say (you may disagree with that statement when it comes to this blog).

Pre-Friday Profundities

Have you ever wondered about the floor plans of homes you see on TV? No? Me neither. However, it intrigued this interior designer enough to get started, and now he has created several. Take a look and see which ones you remember.

Didn't that make your eyes watery with pleasant memories? No? Me neither. However, my sentence reminded me of a photo that I converted to watercolor. It is from Ft. Ross in Northern CA.


Speaking of watercolors (I was. I don't know about you), here is a blog by a dude who was an illustrator back in the days depicted on Mad Men (I don't watch it. I don't know about you).

Speaking of mad men, doesn't going through security at airports make you kind of mad (not me, of course. I don't know about you)? Let's inspect our inspectors, the TSA.



Well, if no one took away your water, check out what you can do with it. Water wave forms in mid-air, anyone? That is really cool.

Survivor tonight was surprising. It involved an event that I don't think I have seen before, and we have watched every season. If you missed it, go catch it On Demand. Based on the TV previews that had already shown, I was correct in who I thought would be voted off.

[Thursday update] The GRANDS are spending the night tonight. It is Spring Break for them and MBH, so a Thursday night is no problem. It would not surprise me at all if we hit Golden Arches for dinner and let them enjoy the playground for a bit. The pool is not yet warm enough. We should have a good time.

[Thursday update] And of course, this weekend is Bella's b-day (both the party and the actual birthday). We'll be having a grandchild-filled next few days. Whoo hoo! We always have a good time with them.

[Thursday update] OK, my mind is already thinking work-type thoughts, so I will wrap it up. Have a good day.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

I stayed home from Chorale practice this evening. I have sneezing and coughing, and would not have been able to sing anyway. So, I am vegging on the couch with the dogs. I don't know where the cat is, but that's OK. We do have a concert on Sunday, so hopefully I will be better by then.

Thanks for sharing the happy memories of Cindy with me yesterday. I really have no idea why she was still on my mind when I woke up. I am not usually very good at remembering dreams, and as I mentioned, I only remember that one scene out of the dream. Weird, but none of should be surprised at that.

I thought about layoffs and severance packages and wondered if it could ever happen that someone would fall between the cracks and get a severance check, but not have to lose their job. No, in life, that would not be possible. In CoV-ville, anything is possible.



Did I share this photo before? I don't think so. If I did, skip over it. We are sitting on the back patio of my folks' house in TX.



I have completing the Jeopardy game for my PMP Prep training session net Wednesday. I am still working on the lesson portion, and it must be ready by Thursday for review with the group leaders. Things like this make the learning more fun than straight lectures. I guess that is why teachers have to keep up with the latest learning trends.

I thought this had some cool arrangements of words mixed with symbols. Personally, I liked the constraints one the most.

Enough for now. Parting is such sweet sorrow. No, I think I made up that phrase. Why do you ask?

[Wednesday update] No dreams that I remember this morning. And the dog did not wake me up during the night, so that's always a plus. So, with no family history stories to tell, there is nothing to stop us from getting today started. I'll meet you on the other side.

Coughing, Comic, Cruising around a track and Cindy

I did go to work today, but I was still sneezing and coughing a lot. And MBH is still fighting it off, too. Do not get this. I am not having fun.

Watch at least the first five minutes of this video. Ricky Jay has some serious card manipulation skills.

A couple of these signs are cute. Several seem a little too staged.

I guess the Disneyland crew is having fun. We have not heard much from them. I think they return tomorrow.

Let's go with Star Wars for today's CoV. Are you excited for a new reboot of the franchise? I am not sure yet.


'Member that I told you about go-karting last Friday. Here is the team posing after our run. We used the track on our right.


[Tuesday update] I woke up this morning thinking about my cousin Cindy, who was born with Down's Syndrome. I remember from my dream that I was taking a photo of some family (I don't know who, and I don't know where) and when I looked in the viewfinder, I saw my cousin sitting behind them on a bench. She was holding a cane and smiling like she always did. When I recognized her, I lowered my camera, but she was not there. I'm no dream whisperer, but it made me smile to think of her. She passed away last year and now is in heaven with her perfect mind, praising Jesus and visiting in a way she never could with her loved ones. I smile as I remember her always saying, "Hey, Randy." "What," I would usually reply, sounding perturbed but smiling at her. "C'mere," she would respond. I would walk over to her and she would smile in her special way and say, "I love you." What can you say to that except, "I love you, too, Cindy." As I wrote that, my eyes got misty. I know Cuz and Aunt Frances miss her, but she is happy and healthy in Heaven.

[Tuesday update] What else can you say after such a personal memory? Nothing. Let's get today started. Remember to enjoy your loved ones while they are with you.

Bible, Beatles, Bella and Broken Down

I am writing this post while working on a lesson for my PMP Study Group and watching The Bible on the History Channel. Actually, I am not watching that closely right now, but it is on in the background. They are telling the story of Sampson.

We are each taking a week to teach a lesson in the PMP Study Group. My turn comes up 3/20 and the leader wants to review it this coming Thursday. So, I am doing a little work over the weekend. I am using Jeopardy as a technique and that made me think of a CoV theme.


We are coming up on a seventh birthday. I wonder whose it could be?

Oh, yeah. It is Bella's birthday next weekend. This is her with her parents when she was just over six hours old. In fact, some of us (but not me) are celebrating with her at The Dis right now.

We went to a concert of Classic Albums Live performing Abbey Road, song for song and note for note. It was a Christmas gift (or maybe birthday?). Anyway, it was so much fun. A surprising revelation is that I liked He's So Heavy more than I did from the old LP. They had so much fun rocking out to it on stage. And Abbey Road reminded me of when the family posed there. Take a look.


I am trying to get a cold or suffering from allergies or something. As a result, I have not yet taken time to work in the garage. I am sniffling and sneezing and have a scratchy throat. I am dosing up on OTC medications in hopes of pulling through mostly unscathed. Otherwise, I will be scathed and you know how bad that can be.

I need to get back to my lesson plan. I will post final thoughts in the morning before I post this for your perusal.

[Monday update] I am at work right now, but still coughing and sniffling a lot. I will try to stay at my desk to avoid contamination of coworkers. I brought some DayQuil in case I decide to self-medicate. I usually refill my water bottles for 2-3 days before tossing. Today, I brought a new one that will get tossed at the end of the day so I can get over this....whatever it is.

I Wish We Could Help, But...No!

There was an article on Yahoo yesterday (or maybe it was an ad. I don't remember) that reminded me of a castle we stayed in during our trip to Scotland a few years ago. We stayed at Birkhill Castle and you can see some photos of the place on the website.

That made me happy, but my discussion with the Help Desk today did not make me as happy. They said that I could not load some company software on my machine, even though it supports an approved company goal. They said, "Don't you have a computer at home you could use?" I explained that I used a Macbook, but got no leeway. I decided it deserved the CoV treatment.



I could have used some WD-40 to eliminate the friction between them and me. Yes, that WD-40. It is used for so many things, I figured that would be one of them

I need to move some stuff out of the garage so that Dad and I can pour some concrete and enclose our laundry area. Sounds fun, right. I was thinking to do this Saturday morning, but it supposed to be raining and loading and unloading at the storage place would not be fun. I may start it tonight, or maybe wait until Sunday.

Think my resume looked anything like this? Would it have gotten me a job quicker? Actually, you can tell it is not me because I am not that good at Mariokart.



The news is showing a story saying we should be careful when hiking and look for rattlesnakes. I guess that's good advice. they are apparently already active since we are having such warm weather.

I ran out of links and quips for today. That's all for Thursday evening.

[Friday update] We desert dwellers are not very accustomed to rain. When we get it, we tend to sloooooow waaaaaay dooooown on freeways. So my commute today took 30 min instead of 20 min. True, that's not killer by itself, but recognizing it as 50% longer tells you something. Oh well, I made it without incident and that's worth something.

[Friday update] No emails yet from the boss, so the go-karts could still happen right after lunch today. Sure, boss, you had to make us go back out on a rainy day? I'm definitely going to try to beat you in the race.

Ack! I'm Already Behind!

Stinking Adam had to go and sin and now we all have to work. So, I went and got a job to help pay my bills and they expect me to produce stuff...like, every day. I need to get my first review documents ready this week, and a presentation for my PMP Study Group by next Thursday. Arghh. Luckily, I work on my blog at home after work, so it should not be affected. Or maybe you were hoping that it would be?

Let's keep the nostalgia going with another historical (or maybe hysterical) photo of me reading to some of the kids. Yes, those were really my glasses. I think the extra kid is Leigh, Carey's daughter?



And another nostalgic item (since this was an idea from 2010) is today's Clarity of Vision.



Hey, here is the shower after I replaced the red grout with white. Better, right? Even MBH, who had suggested it didn't matter if I did this, agreed it was an improvement.



OK, I think I will go review this week's Sunday School lesson. If I do not make time for it, I know I will miss out on something God wants to say to me. I'll post tomorrow, OK?

Just got back from Survivor Party and I was wrong. The fans lost.

[Thursday update] Luckily, my commute was not impacted this morning, but we have another freeway closure during rush hour. As usual, there is a miles-long backup already and there are still almost three hours left in the morning rush. Why don't people pay attention and avoid the affected roads? Many, like I was last week, are caught before they know it has happened. Still, it you just now getting on that freeway, and you are seven miles away from the accident, go a different way!

[Thursday update] Hey, it would be cool to have one of these, right? If you have an extra $100K, you can!


Or how about this for on $55K?



Or even cheaper, get a new workstation for under $50K.

Looking at the Past (Photo, CoV Idea) and the Future (Father, Vote Off)

Let's keep going with the photos from our past. Today is a shot of Christmas 1984 (I think). I am sure most of you have similar memories of days gone by or even from your own childhood. It does bring back some fun memories for me. Look at the madness. And look at the facial hair, and the guys look shaggy, too. Ha ha. A little photographer humor.


Here is a CoV from an idea I saved in January of 2010 and never got around to using.



I have been less diligent in my Bible study since I started working again. That has to disappoint God. I know I don't like it when a child or grandchild doesn't interact with me sometimes. Anyway, at Chorale practice while ago, we sang a song whose words impacted me. Do you ever sing a song without even really hearing the words? Well, I heard this one. It is Trust His Heart.

All things work for our good, though sometimes we can't see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two sometimes blind us to the truth.
Our Father knows what's best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim, and you just can't see Him,
remember, you're never alone.
God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
when you don't see His plan,
when you can't trace His hand, trust His heart.

OK, that's what's on my mind tonight. Until tomorrow then.

[Wednesday update] Let's go with Corinne to be voted off of Survivor tonight. There was some smack talking about her last week and I think it is time for the Favorites to lose. With pizza and wings coming, I know I am not going to lose...neither in taste nor in weight. That's OK. We only do this once a week.

Zero Hour for Zero Hour

I recently started watching Zero Hour on ABC with Anthony Edwards. It is like a TV version of The Da Vinci Code. They have shown three episodes and now I found out it has been cancelled. Don't you hate that? At least I can keep following The Following, although it is pretty dark.

I have not yet worn the red socks that the company gave me. And I don't have any plans to do so. However, I might wear these. Would you?

While we are on the topic of interesting links, let's look at one about game origins. They are somewhat surprising, right? I did play a game at lunch yesterday. We played Super Munchkins and I won. Yeah, baby.

Still on the subject of links and the interweb, I hope none of you have ever been caught in a phishing scam.


Here is a photo of me holding Jack. How did I grow a beard in one day? No wait, it's Kyle. Yes, I do think they look alike.


So, college roomie, comments two days in a row. One making fun of your truly, with no provocation. A second implying you are a better racing kart driver, again with no provocation. I challenge you to a kart-off next time we are together. Hey, it could happen. By the way, it looks like the boss is trying to reschedule our event for this Friday.

[Tuesday update] I am trying to learn Prezi well enough to use it in my PMP Prep class on the 20th. Have y'all ever played with it? It certainly livens up a presentation.

Why My Kart No Go?

Let's start off with an interesting story about the kind of people who build useless machines to do unnecessary things. Then again, maybe this is something people really do need.

Doesn't the title of today's post sound a little like Jar Jar or Yoda? Anyway, you probably wonder how the go-kart outing went last Friday? Unfortunately, it didn't. The boss got sick and we had to cancel. I don't know when or if it will be rescheduled. By then, though, I had already told the Games Gang that I was busy. They played two rounds of Bang!, but I missed out. It seems that the Renegade won both games. Remember that they play using two characters each, so the Renegade player had good skills in both games.

It is about time to get ready for a Chorale + Orchestra concert tonight. We are performing out at a local RV park. We have joined with a little choral group from that park (also directed by our Chorale director), so we have a total of 122 singers and 14 orchestra members.

I also wrote Monday's CoV. Just a little take on what "back-up" means.




OK, I scraped out some of the red grout so I can make it all look consistent with the same grout as the floor. I am not sure when I will get to it. My plan is this week.


On Saturday, we took the GRANDS to a park. Here is Nana with Jack. Jack is the one with the hat.


And Bella swinging on a round disk. I t looks like a more modern version of the old tire swing.


And Kendall jumping on a platform thingy. I don't know exactly what it would be called officially.


That'll do for now. We'll see if I decide about updates in the morning.

[Monday update] The concert last night went well. You know how that kind of stuff is. I was at home and didn't really want to get dressed and spend a few hours at the concert, but I enjoyed it once I went.