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it is what it is

“Show Me a Little Shame” By Ben Harper

You, you’ve been looking at me just a little too long, now I can never look the same
Blindness and kindness, there’s no difference in the two when I can no longer see the good in you

So won’t you show me a little shame
Won’t you show me a little shame

Now ’cause I’m, I’m a gentleman, lookin’ for a gentlewomen, so-called ladies keep breakin my heart
Show me a house, show me a home, show me how it could all fall apart

So won’t you show me a little shame
Won’t you show me a little shame
Won’t you show me a little shame

‘Cause now I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through crying and I’m sadder then before I wept
I get through thinking and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speaking and I can’t remember not a word that I said

You change your mind so many times, I wonder if you have a mind at all
And I’d rather be by myself than to have your lonesome company come to call

So won’t you show me a little shame
Won’t you show me a little shame
Won’t you show me a little shame

Disney… again.

I spent the last 6 days at Disney World. I was sent there for training and a conference. Kronos, the vendor for our time keeping system, holds a two day technology training session, followed by a 3 day conference. I gained lots of valuable information this year, partially due to improved course subject material, and now that I actually have used/supported this software for 3 years. The last conference I went to in 2005 I had never touched the software. I went to learn about the software, which I have learned is a horrible way to introduce someone to a technology they have never used. Conferences != training!

I really don’t have anything against Disney World. It’s a fun, happy place with something for everyone, regardless of age. However, I have been there every year for a week for the past 3 years. I’m getting kind of tired of the place. Hopefully I wont have to go there for another couple years.

After working late Thursday, I went home, packed, and got up at 5am to catch my flight on Friday. We got down there with no trouble and almost immediately hit the Magical Kingdom. Got back to the hotel about 9pm and crashed.

Day 2 training started at 8am. I was pumped after this course, because this was the type of information I needed 3 years ago when I started working with this software suite. Its such a hybrid system with many disparate components and technologies residing in many locations. That training ended at 5pm, and we then met up with my buddy Matt and his wife who live in Melbourne. They drove into Orlando and we had dinner, and then took the ladies outlet mall shopping. We got back to the hotel at 11pm that night.

Day 3 training started at 8am. This class was good, but not as useful as I hoped. It was on troubleshooting and tuning the suite. Parts of the session deviated from the course description, but others were useful. I was hoping for a more hands-on approach to the topic. Perhaps they could have setup a poorly performing system on each VM (we each had virtual machines to do our training on) and have us resolve the issue. However, I picked up some good tips. That night we had dinner in Paris at Epcot. Excellent meal. Excellent.

Day 4 the conference kicked off with the keynote speech delivered by Malcolm Gladwell. He is the author of “Blink!” (which I am currently reading and is excellent), and “The Tipping Point.” The keynote was on his book, “Blink,” which deals with decision making with too much information, and its negative impact on our ability to make accurate, quick decisions. Fascinating. I was fortunate enough to meet him and get my book autographed. The sessions for this day were mediocre, in my opinion. Later that night we met up with my co-worker and went to Epcot. I had a well-deserved Spaten in Germany then we headed over to Mexico for dinner.
After that we watched the big fireworks show and then called it a day.

Day 5 consisted of more sessions, mostly useful. went to Epcot again for dinner, and ate at the German Bier Garden. We were seated at a table with German family. They were here visiting from Bremen, Germany. It really added to the experience. The lady sitting next to me explained many differences of the regions of Germany and the food. We talked about the origins of my family, and she noted that people from Baden-Württemberg were very smart and hard working. What a funny way to describe a region, but nonetheless, I thought it was cool. Melissa and I got a good seat for the fireworks that night, and I took some really cool photos which I will post later.

Day 6 started off with a few sessions, lunch at the ESPN Zone, and then caught a flight home. We got home about 9pm last night and then crashed and went to bed.

I actually got to see/do very little at the parks. my park pass was actually a waste, in my opinion. Almost every free moment I had, with the exceptions of dinner, I found myself working remotely. We’ve been working diligently to get a new system ready for our International office, and we ran into issues of course, right before I leave for a trip. So I got up early every morning and worked until the conference started, during breaks, and each night up until the time I went to bed. The internet connection there made this even more of a challenge. I had a wired ethernet connection in my room, which was as fast as dial up, and no wireless connection in the lobby of the hotel or anywhere. However, I believe we were able to keep things moving along and not slow down the process. Work has been crazy busy lately. I’m being pulled in so many directions I’m not sure which end is up anymore. We are stretched thin as a group, and I am on 3 high profile projects at once. I need a break.

Anyways, look for some photos to be posted in the next few days.

cincinnati hurricane!

Yes, that’s right. sustained winds of 50 mph, with gusts up to 80 mph for a duration of 4 hours (photos here).

As I checked my email and the weather this morning, I noticed that there was a high wind warning and didn’t think much of it. I went on over the Race for the Cure in Mason to watch Melissa and her Mom walk, and noted the nice breeze.

By about 11:30, the wind really started picking up. We went to Natorp’s to pick up a couple Hollies, and were amused by all the plants and trees falling over. On the way home, we noticed the power was out everywhere from Liberty all the way past Tylersville. As a side note, people really ought to learn how to drive. Lights out means four-way stop people! We saw 2 accidents happen, one of which the lady behind us got rear-ended.

Surprisingly, we had power when we got home. I noticed that the patio furniture was blowing all over creation, so I strapped it all down with bungee. I then watered my new grass and the straw in hopes if it were wet it would not blow as easily. For some reason we decided that we were going to go up to Bern’s and look at some Rhododendrons. We just got down the road and noticed it was closed due to a tree being down. As we made it back, I saw this dust cloud building over Sharonville. I also noticed the shingles were starting to come off people’s houses.

By the time we got back to our house, the wind storm was up to full speed. The shingles on the back of my house were flapping up and down, and randomly blowing off. All of the straw I put down was gone. All the neighbors came out. Siding was flying off people’s houses. I saw a mailbox break in two. Why we were all outside, I am not sure, but it was like nothing we had ever seen before, especially in Cincinnati.

The wind hurt. There were particles of dirt bombarding me, along with leaves, branches, etc. It was actually hard to walk in, and almost fell a couple times. Later we drove around the neighborhood and found out we were quite lucky. Many, many houses lost shingles. A good number also lost siding. A couple lost all the siding one one side of the house. I’m a bit concerned about my windows. They were moving in and out as the wind hit, and were making bad sounds, particularly the big bay window in the kitchen. You can see where the sash was pushed in away from the frame.

There are approximately 853,000 people without power in the city, including both sets of parents. It is estimated to take 2-5 days to restore power. Miami canceled classes at all 3 campuses tomorrow, which is a good thing. I was going to stay home in the morning anyways to patch my roof until it can be re-done.

Check out all the photos here!

day at the zoo

Today I took a well-deserved vacation day. I put a lot of hours in at work last month, and it felt great to take a day off and not think about work.

Melissa was off today as well, so we took advantage of half price admission at the Cincinnati Zoo. Even with half off, we ended up spending $50 in admission, parking and food. Nothing is cheap anymore. I have been to the zoo numerous times in my life, but I have not been during the summer months in probably 10 years. We usually go to the festival of lights each winter, but most exhibits are not open. I caught myself looking less at the animals and more at the landscape, hence “Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.” I think it is interesting how my perspective has changed.

After the zoo we headed over to UC to get some gear at DuBois bookstore. All of my old UC gear is long gone, and I am still in need of smaller clothes. I was surprised to find out that I didn’t know where the UC bookstore is anymore. It was my first time back on campus in probably 3 years, and could not believe how much it has changed.

We then headed up to Rookwood to find some end of season deals. I picked up a couple pairs of jeans at American Eagle; my current ones are way too big. They had a buy one get one half off sale. I’ve now officially gone down 8 inches around my waist.

After that we ran to Natorp’s to check out some hollies, but they wanted double what Berns’ charges, so we’ll be heading there tomorrow morning. After that we went to Abuelo’s for dinner, ran by micro-center and then came home.

I finished up picking bagworms off my evergreen trees. I collected two large zip loc bags of them. Tomorrow I will spray them to get anything I missed. I really hate these things and wish they would die. I’m not sure why they pick my trees to infest; I cannot find any evidence of them in neighbors’ yards. I once again am the idiot on a ladder at dusk picking bagworms. Why my trees?

Well, it’s been a full, refreshing day. It’s time to retire to my spot on the couch and watch the Olympics. I see that Michael Phelps just won another Gold. Amazing.

summer

First off, I’d like to celebrate the fact that I finally reached my goal of weighing less than 200lbs. That brings me to a grand total of 58 lbs lost. I haven’t weighed that little since I was in high school!

This summer the yard is finally starting to come together. I was able to get the whole back garden cleared and some new stuff planted. Melissa ordered 8 cubic yards of mulch and put it down with her parents’ help. I can’t believe we got it done, and it looks spectacular. For those of you who don’t know, the garden runs the entire width of our property in the back. Its dimensions are 195′ X 20′. Now that all the weeds are gone and ivy is trimmed back, you can see the beautiful stone work.

I also put the finishing touches on an old Troy-Bilt Horse tiller my in-laws had. After a few minor adjustments to the carburetor this year, and an oil change, it runs like new. Last year I rebuilt the carburetor, put a new wheel on it, changed the spark plug, installed new fuel line with a cutoff switch, and put a new throttle on it. This week I was able to till up an area that we are reverse-landscaping back to grass for a solid hour with no problems. I apologize to my neighbors, because the thing sounds like a motorcycle, and I ran it until 9:30pm the other night =).

I also decided that I was done pushing my half acre lot and bought a riding mower. I bought a John Deere LA115! I now can cut the yard in under an hour. Its so much nicer than spending 2 hours convincing my push mower to go up the slope in a 90 degree Cincinnati sauna.

Other than that, I’ve been working like crazy trying to get projects finished for the beginning of the school year. I can’t wait until it starts; I am so ready for a vacation.

music in the shower

Yes, it is I, the master of this award winning website. I am alive and doing well. To my loyal readers, I apologize for my absence.

I got to thinking this morning about my morning shower. So many things become clear to me while showering. I figure out problems in the shower, including many programming/coding ones. I guess it’s my version of the thought pot.

While doing my daily thinking, I realized that every day while I am in the shower a random song pops into my head. I wake up, turn the shower on, get in and…. some song starts in my head. Yesterday it was “Taylor” by Jack Johnson. Today it was “Razorblade” by The Strokes. I’m gonna keep track of these songs, and perhaps make a mix or something. I’m also curious to see what type of songs come to my head different days of the week and if there are any trends.

memorial day weekend

Bro and IMemorial day weekend was quite busy this year. I took a vacation day on Friday to make a 4 day weekend. Our activities included golf, visiting families, grilling out and some shopping.

Friday I spent trying out my new golf clubs with Greg. We went to Eagle Tee driving range so I could get accustomed to the new clubs, and then headed up to Vista Verde for a round of golf. I played pretty bad until half way through the game. I then started playing pretty good; I hadn’t played golf in a year. That evening we met Kirk and Abby over at Abuelo’s after their house closing and we went home and played Mario Kart with Greg.

On Saturday we headed up to Fostoria to visit Melissa’s grandparents. We visited her grandma at the nursing home, and then went back to the farm. I spent a while there working on grandpa’s old F250. It hadn’t run in a year, and after someone’s shoddy attempt to work on it, it still wasn’t running. I took a look at the work, and determined that the ignition cables were not plugged in securely, and they were not matched to the firing order of the engine. I was able to get it running, but did not have the wiring diagram, so I’ll have to take care of that this weekend. Hopefully no more misfires after that!

dscf2706-4.jpgSunday I met up with Greg, Andy, and Jason for a round of golf at California Golf Course. It had been a long time since we all played golf together, and had good reason to get together and celebrate. Andy received his M.D. at UC’s med school graduation on Monday. It is quite an accomplishment, so a big congratulations to Andy. Later that day we had a family dinner at my parents’ house since Greg is home on break.

Alladin’sOn Monday I got out in the yard and did some weeding, mulching, etc. I also finally got the garage cleaned out.
For lunch Melissa and I tried out a new Lebanese restaurant in West Chester called Alladin’s. This is some of the best food I’ve ever had, and what’s more, its healthy. The owners were very friendly and informative. They brought out samples of the various dips they have to go along with the pitas (mostly hummus based). It was also very reasonable. I highly recommend this place.

After lunch we headed down to the mall to once again buy some new clothes. I’ve gone down another size and I was swimming in my cargo shorts, and some shirts. I’m now down to a medium shirt and a 36″ waist. I still cannot believe I’m back to 36s. When i started out, I was busting out of 42s and wearing an XL shirt!

Late Monday I started to come down with a cold. I thought it was just allergies but apparently not. I’m not sure who gets sick late May, but somehow I’ve done it. Hopefully it won’t last too long.

memphis belle, b-day weekend

This weekend marks my 28th birthday- closing in on the big 30! Not that 30 is that old, but it sounds like an age where you are definitely grown up and probably with kids =).

I took a 3 day weekend to take the Memphis Belle Restoration Tour at Wright-Patterson AFB. For those of you who don’t know, the Memphis Belle has been at WPAFB since 2005 is undergoing a complete restoration. The tour far exceeded my expectations due to the fact we really were given unrestricted access to the restoration. We were divided up into small groups of 8 or 9 and pretty much were free to roam through the metal shop in the hangar and look around. I got into places and saw things I didn’t expect to see. Check out my photos here.

On Saturday we were lazy in the morning then went up to Bern’s nursery and got some hostas to replace the ones our friendly rabbits ate last year during the drought. I then and went and got my Birthday haircut, and then went down to my parents for dinner and cake..

Sunday we got up and went out to the back garden, aka The Jungle. I was able to clear for the first time all the way to the fence, so it has been completely weeded and hacked down at least once. I’ve got some roundup to take care of the stuff that came up since last year. While it has been weeded, there is still much work to be done. I took out 3 dead evergreen trees a rrhodedenderon, and some sort of bush. I then trimmed our Wilow tree, which had a lot of dead on it. It looks a bit bare, but hopefully it will fill in this year. I also took out a whole done of ground cover and found yet more stone work I had not yet seen. Now I have to cut this stuff up and get it out for the trash tonight.

I’m worn out, but a good worn out. The type of worn out that makes you sleep well and gives you a sense of accomplishment. I also weighed myself today after doing all the work (i probably sweat off a pound), and weighed 204. Thats a total of 53 pounds! Thats what I call a birthday present.

Time to nap and go to dinner.

anniversary

Today marks my 3rd wedding anniversary. It amazes me how much we have accomplished over the past 3 years, and happy to say we are still going strong. While we have much to celebrate, today was far from a good day. Nothing seemed to go right.

I did not sleep well last night, and got up several times. Of course, when I fell asleep, Melissa’s alarm went off and was time for her to get ready for work. Shortly thereafter, I was woken by a frustrated wife. The bathroom GFI tripped, and she was unable to reset it and dry her hair. All the bathroom plugs are wired to the one GFI upstairs, so none would work. I was able to reset it; I probably should replace it.

I got up on time, yet somehow slowly got ready for work. Despite being behind, I decided I deserved a cup of coffee for the commute. I headed up to Caribou and found two idiot guys who could not decide what they wanted, and ended up getting the last cup of my usual coffee. When asked if I had time to wait for another brew, I told them I was running behind and had to pass. Instead they gave me a free cup of their dark roast coffee.

So off I drove to work. When I hit Hamilton, I found they had started some road construction overnight. Well, I hit quite a bump in the road and a small bit of my coffee spilled. I then reached down to get it and take a sip, lost my grip, lost the lid, and dumped 16 ounces of liquid inferno on my crotch. Yes, that’s right, I scalded my balls! I yelled so loud I think the car next to me heard. It was so hot after I dumped it, the windows steamed up! So, I turned the car around and went home. I had to wash my clothes, take a shower and clean up my car seat. I got it all up, but the car smells like an old coffee mug.

For our anniversary we planned dinner at Carlo and Johnny, a great Jeff Ruby steakhouse in Montgomery. It is in a very old house with a great atmosphere. We both had excellent steaks. As you may know, I have a bit of IBS. A classic way to trigger IBS is to eat red meat, and lots of it. Well thats exactly what I did. I ended up spending $40 a plate just to come home in pain and have it exit rather quickly. I guess I would have been happier at one of my favorite eating establishments, The Cracker Barrel. What can I say, at heart I’m a simple man.

So that leaves me here, upstairs next to the bathroom blogging about this day that I am glad is over. I sure hope tomorrow brings better luck!

taste of spring

Last weekend Melissa and I went to New Orleans for the weekend to visit my brother Greg. We left cold Dayton Friday morning and arrived in New Orleans early afternoon. Friday night we went down to the French Quarters for dinner, and watched a St. Patrick’s day parade. We were going to go hear a band play in the Jazz district (Frenchman Street), but it was getting late and we were worn out from our travels, so we headed back to the hotel.

Saturday, we ate brunch at the Blue Bird Cafe which was right by our hotel. We then headed north over lake Ponchartrain to Honey Island Swamp. We spent about 2 hours in the swamp on boats. It was quite interesting to see all of the wildlife and the impact Katrina had on it. We saw lots of snakes, lizards, birds and Alligators! After that we headed to Tulane to walk around and see what my brother has been up to with school and work. While on campus, Bill Clinton was speaking so we saw all the crowds, secret service and of course, protesters. We then headed over to the Superior Grill for dinner and drinks. In my opinion, its some of the best Mexican food you can get anywhere. As a bonus, it is in the Garden District right next to our hotel. The weather was perfect so the patio was open and we sat in 72 degree weather watching the people and street cars go by.

On Sunday we headed back down to the French Quarters for a Jazz brunch at Muriel’s on Jackson Square. This is one of the best dining experiences in New Orleans. Great atmosphere, great food. We then went to the National World War II Museum. Lots of neat history there, although I think I enjoy the Air force Museum at Wright-Patterson more. After that it was time to head to the airport for the trip home. We had a couple delays on our way back, and did not get to our house until 2am Monday morning! We went from 75 and sunny to 28 and cold within a matter of hours.

Unfortunately, I picked up some sort of cold while traveling (i always do). Hopefully it won’t last too long.