No, It's Not April Fool's Day, Despite What CoV Says

And we are back with your favorite website. Well, maybe your favorite family website. OK, fine, a family website. Anyway, does anything look different? No? You can't tell, but I am back in my normal desk for the first time in three months. I am actually typing this on a full-size keyboard and looking at my double monitor instead of the laptop keyboard and screen that has been my world since I went over to the special project.

Well, two weeks from Wednesday, I have my annual physical and we will see if three months as a vegan has done anything for my health. What is your guess? My regular doctor was concerned about some numbers crashing, but the evangelist-type dude that got me started says my doctor doesn't understand how numbers should work as a vegan. Yeah, that is an ugly middle ground for me. Anyway, I will stay true to my diet until at least 11/20. Then comes the tough decision. What to do on Thanksgiving.

And now, let's look at some more photos from our recent vacat... Never mind. I did not load any last night and I am typing this at my desk at work. I can still share a vintage Clarity of Vision, though, from that halcyon year of 2009. OK, I don't really know if it was peaceful or prosperous or carefree for either of us, but it was my first year of cartooning.

Over the weekend, MBH and TD spent the night at our son's house as part of a girl's weekend. So, I replaced the wax ring under one of the toilets. Oh yeah! A Wild and Crazy Time, indeed. However, it looks like the flange is not holding. Don't you hate that? I have never replaced one of those, have you? So, the toilet still rocks a tiny bit and will probably still leak a bit around the base.

Let's get our mind out of the toilet and talk about TV. I also got caught up on Person of Interest and Face-Off. I am behind on everything else. On Saturday, before she left, MBH and I saw Ender's Game. We enjoyed it and I thought they did a good job of telling the story, considering the complex story line. That is certainly one of the most interesting sci-fi books I have read. I can't tell you much without giving away the plot. It certainly had good SFX, though.

I need to be ready for whatever battles may come my way. So, I need to get my battle gear ready. I must ask you to stay calm and orderly as you depart. I'll lock the door behind you. See you tomorrow.

Last Day in the New, Fancy Building

I did not get the job for which I interviewed earlier this week. It's OK, I really like my current team and job. So while I am a little disappointed, I am still employed and know my coworkers and clients. I return to my regular, work-a-day job on Monday. With the temporary project, I have been working in our newest, fanciest building. Now, I go back to a highly secure, but mostly lightless data center. Oh well, I will finish today up here on the ninth floor. God knows best and I trust His wisdom and guidance.

Dag nab it. What is up with stupid bitstrips? Are they ever going to fix their site? I even had someone else try it in case it was specific to my account or computer. Nope. Luckily, we can still go back to 2009.

Let's start today's photo sharing with a good looking crew. Here we are, looking all fall-y.

OK, we may look good, but do we know where we are? Luckily, Dad has his GPS.

I don't know about you, but I love these kinds of fences, especially with the aspen and mountains all around. I think this was out on CO 5.

Let's end our photo sharing with a nice shady road leading out into some gorgeous colors.

I don't care what the reviewers say. I want to see Ender's game. I am curious to see how they translate this fascinating book into a movie.

OK, I have some things to tie up before I leave this project at the end of today. Y'all have a great weekend.

Happy Halloween, Although We Will NOT Give Out Candy Tonight

American Horror Story: Coven is on the telly as I type this. And we just got back from the Survivor party where the losing tribe made a dumb choice in who they voted off.

I had someone else check the bitstrips website today, and they could not access it either. I may have to move onto a different platform. I could go back to Visio, where I started, but then I lose the face and character details we have all gotten used to. I just surfed with wide world interweb and did find a viable alternative right now. I'll keep y'all updated. For today, though, we are once again reaching into the past for some timeless humor.

I liked the way this small patch of bright colors glowed against the dark green of the evergreens.

"I saw this in the window and just had to have it". I'm talking about the photo below. We were driving along and I made Dad pull over so I could capture this view.

Here is a shot of the colors backlit by the sun.

And here are some colors with the sun behind me.

My current supervisor was out sick yesterday, but she is back this morning and already talking work stuff. I do like her, but I wish I had a little more space in the mornings. I usually want to finish this post first thing, and then work through some email stuff.

No, I have not heard anything about the job for which I interviewed yet. My supervisor heard they were hoping to have the new team start on Monday, but I don't see how that is possible. Even if we heard and accepted today, won't we need some kind of transition plan? For now, I will plan to finish up this special project and go back to my regular job either tomorrow or Monday. I'll let you know.

OK, my time is up. It's just like when you run out of money and the Magic Fingers turns off in your hotel room. All good things must come to an end. See you tomorrow.

Whew. It's All Up to the Hiring Manager and God Now

But not necessarily in that order. The interview yesterday was performed by my potential manager and one of her team members. There ended up only being five questions, and one of them I could not answer. REALLY? Yes, they asked me about a project where the two sides could not agree, and I had just used my only example of that on the previous question. I tried to think of another, but nothing came to mind.

So, what do I think my chances are? Well, I think they are good since I already knew both of them, but they played it very poker-faced. I know they have had a large number of applicants. I would bring IT knowledge into their space, but I don't know the college side of things. They plan to complete interviews this week and make their decision early next week. Still, I have my one-on-one with my current boss at 11am, so I will tell him that I interviewed. It is only fair.

Once again, I cannot get into my comic creating tool. And once again, I did not send them an email asking what the heck is going on. So, let's head back into the dead files and see what comes up. I see it is a CoV from 3/27/09. Where were you that day?

Did you know it is almost Halloween? I just found out myself. so, we went to Howl-O-Ween at the Zoo on Saturday and carved pumpkins on Sunday. SS wanted to just start carving with no plan, so I went and found a Mickey Mouse pattern for one, and Bella decided on Jack Skellington for the other. First, grandkids at the zoo in their costumes.

Here is Jack as the Inedible Hunk.

And the girls as Supergirl and a cheerleader.

And now, here is Bella's design (drawn freehand) of Jack Skellington.

And our end results. I think we all did well. Yes, power tools were involved in carving out Mickey.

At Chorale practice last night, the other replacement director ran long, so I only had time to work through three of my four songs. As usual, though, I had fun and the 80-singer group sounded really good.

Hey, before I let you go, Fai posted his Price is Right video on youtube. You can see our group several times, an dyes, we really were that excited to be there and see our buddy get up on stage.

I notice that daylight Savings Time ends this weekend. Our time does not change, but it plays havoc with what time cable shows air and we often have to rearrange when we record programs. Don't you feel sorry for us?

The old clock on the wall says that it is time to start the workday. Thanks for hanging.

We're Not The Goldbergs

No way this is only Tuesday. I think that, because we were busy all weekend, I did not have the same downtime that I normally do, so this could feel like a long week.

That's an odd title for today's post, right? Any idea what it means? I didn't think so. There is a new TV program called The Goldbergs. I am watching it as I write this. It is based on true stories from this guy's family (I am guessing his name is Goldberg). Anyway, it has some funny stuff in it. I wouldn't say it is great, but it is enjoyable. We also watched an episode of Shark Tank. I like that program and always decide whether or not an offer will be extended.

Check out this fact that I read the other day.

Coca-Cola is the best selling soft drink in nearly every county on Earth, except in Scotland and the Middle East. In Scotland, locally-produced Irn-Bru is the drink of choice while Pepsi is the favorite choice in the Middle East. Have you ever tasted the stuff? I have and it is...different. They also have unique commercials on the telly. Watch this one. 

Ready for a new CoV? Yeah, me too, but the creation website is STILL DOWN! What is going on? I tried it form two different computers and it is not accessible from either. So, we will trip back down memory lane to 3/26/09.

I took a group of photos of the Silver Jack Reservoir to make a panorama and I just assembled them last night.

And here is a shot of Katie's Meadow, where they filmed one of the ending scenes from The John Wayne move True Grit.

And we saw this bright spot in the road as we headed back towards civilization.

Who has a job interview today at 4pm? This dude. So, I do have on a shirt and tie, but I did not wear a suit. I am certain I want the job, but not as certain which job God wants me in. Pray for guidance.

I Don't Want to be a Truck Driver

Guess what came to my personal email this weekend? Yup, someone had applied to be a truck driver in Louisiana using my mail address? One of the forms included some of their resume and a few years ago, they worked at Flava Snoballs. No way I would make up something like that. I deleted the forms and will let the other guy figure out that he used the wrong address.

What shall we look at today? How about a little journey to Silver Jack reservoir? Here's all the stuff around it. From the last photo, I am thinking we are looking across the reservoir just to the right of Courthouse Mountain, don't you?

I had forgotten that we came here a few years ago and saw a professional photographer taking photos of the area to sell as stock photos. Take a look at a couple of our shots from this year.

Here is the road into the area.

Here is the walking trail to the overlook.

And finally, the fall leaves around the water.

I have a job interview tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. Y'all can just pray that I will be in the job where God knows I can be most effective, both professionally and spiritually.

Have you stepped back and looked at today's post from the 50,000 ft level? Can you believe it took two hours to write it? Well, more specifically, two hours elapsed from my last words until this paragraph. Yeah, I've already had three meetings with my supervisor and one other dude.

OK, let's get Monday started for real now. To me, it doesn't really get going until after I post my new blog entry.

And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain

This special project to which I was assigned is coming to an end. Several of the PMs from other orgs were brought in to help with the phase just ending. Future phases will be led by the business PMs, so the rest of us go back to our regular jobs. Boo. This has been really interesting and exciting. I wonder if it is anything like the emotions Ex-NZ Niece faced in coming back to her US-based job?

Sure, I have a 401(k) at work, but I also have an IRA from previous 401(k)'s at other companies. Do you? Are you funding your 401(k) even though it is years before you retire? Read this to make sure you don't want to save those funds in a Roth IRA. I think it is too late for me. Save yourself! Salesman Son, start preparing now so you are better set for retirement than I am.

Let's mess with the natural order of things. Today, we will look at photos before I show today's (actually from four years ago) Clarity of Vision.

As we drove down the backroads of CO 10, I am constantly on the lookout for interesting shots. I liked this one, and as often happens, I have seen the exact same shot before and taken it in years past.

It was a nice, sunny day when we were doing our drive that day. That sounds like a starting sentence in a bad novel, doesn't it? Anyway, I sometimes like to include the sun in a corner of the photo.

Speaking of taking the same shot in different trips, we have also eaten at this spot for our picnic lunch before. Stealey Mountain Trailhead, in case you are ever in the area and looking for a nice spot.

I don't know where I would use this Photoshop technique, but it looks like it could create a cool effect.

As I mentioned above, we are again seeing a CoV from the past. Bitstrips is still not working. And they are not responding to my emails. We are up to my original comic #3.

Check out some examples of "honest" slogans this dude has come up with. Pretty clever.

He got this one right. That is exactly what we do with any of those books delivered to our house.

It's true, they do have a lot of surcharges.

OK, it is time to get Friday started so i can get Friday over with. Y'all have a great weekend and come back on Monday ready to start it all over again.

Take a Walk for Your Health...I Know We Did

Today is the first day after two days of layoffs. What will the mod be? Who is left in the different departments? The CIO held a conference call last night, and he did tell us the cuts are over for now. IT lost 150 out of 1000. He did not really tell us about the changing business environment and why that drove a need to change our orgs. Well, we'll see. PTL, I made it through this year's cuts (unlike last year. Remember?).

Still no answer from bitstrips, where I build my CoV comics. However, it looks like it may not be just my problem since I get a "servers being rebuilt" message when I open the tool. I guess that's good and bad, but I hope I don't lose access to my portfolio of humor. So, as I did yesterday, let's bring back a comic of times gone by. Here is CoV #2.

Let's take a walk. This path looks interesting. Is it too scary for you? Well, MBH took off down this road.

Maybe she ended up at this old homestead? I thought it look picturesque with the colors behind it and the mountains behind that.

But wait. Here is another road we can take before we leave our photo block behind. All three of today's shots were taken on the CO 12 to CO 10 loop near Ridgway, CO.

Well, supervisor and I are talking about the impact of the layoffs on our project, so I had best talk to her. I'll stop back by tomorrow. Will you?

Looking For Something I Don't Have

I am still not able to get into bitstrips to create a comic, and I am looking for them to respond to my email about it. I will send another reminder in the morning. For now, though, let's take a walk down memory lane and look at CoV #1 from March of 2009.

And I know you have been looking for some photos after forgetting them for a couple of days. Here is a shot from CO 10.

Still looking at the blog? We then diverted over to CO 12, and I caught a shot of the rest of the family walking along through the colors.

Looking for one more photo? We've got it...right here. As we pursued CO 12 along toward Owl Creek Pass, we noticed how the path sort of drew us towards the colors and the mountains.

I am writing this at home on Tuesday night. Nothing is on TV right now, although we did watch Sleepy Hollow earlier. I like that show. Have you tried it?

OK, since I have a moment, I am going to call some of you out. CPA Cuz, it has been a while since you gave me an update. Whazzup in La right now? Ex-NZ Niece, I have not heard hide nor hair from you since you came back to the USofA. No photos. No blog entry. Nothin'.

Well, I've said alls I can say, and I can't says no more (to paraphrase Popeye). Hopefully, we can get the COV train moving again soon. Now if I could just have some ideas for new comics, it would be ideal. Let's visit again Thursday. OK, stop looking. We're finished for today.

Not Much to Share, But I'll Share It Anyway

Stinkin' dirty dogs at bitstrips have not fixed my account yet. So, I cannot create any new Clarity of Vision comics. I will admit that I struggle a bit more coming up with ideas (although the granddaughters do give me material), but if I do not write a new comic, I want it to be my choice, not a technical issue.

Did I mention that our trip to Ouray was missing a major piece? Due to the snow, we did not make it to Yankee Boy Basin. Now, every day was full and I don't know when we would have gone, but I still miss it. Our family has traditionally built a small dam on Sneffels Creek that runs through it, and we could usually see some evidence of the previous year's effort each time we returned. Hopefully, we will get up there on our next visit.

Did I mention there are rumors of a layoff this week (and possibly today)? Hopefully, I will be luckier this October than last. If not, you will know in tomorrow morning's blog. I do notice that there is a PM job at ASU posted again, so I would try there again if I am suddenly in the market. Keep those prayers going.

We have the GRANDS this Friday night. Since we did not go to Mickey D's last weekend, I would not be surprised if we do so this visit. There is a new one with a new playground that we saw a week or two ago, so maybe I can remember where that was.

I am back after a 1.5 hour absence for some work stuff. So, I received an assignment and need to leave you. I only wrote this Tuesday morning, so I did not load any photos last night. Sorry. Hopefully, I will take a little time tonight after Chorale practice. See ya.