Walking Through Cambridge

I actually felt OK today. I slept for about an hour on the way from Denver to DC after having a glass of wine.  I had to hustle to get to my connecting gate, and was glad I had premier status and could jump ahead in the line to get on early. It wasn't a full flight, but the overhead space can get tight across the water.

On the long walk over I'd been refreshing my boarding pass, hoping for an upgrade, but apparently they're not giving those out. I was in economy plus, and had an empty seat next to me, which was fine. It was a fairly smooth slight, I watched part of a movie, read a little, and slept for 2-3 hours before arriving at 10am in London. A short nap on the way up to Cambridge, and I was actually feeling OK, able to meet with some people and get some work done during the day.

I got back to the hotel around 6, and did a little more work, since my daily stuff hasn't gone away. I wanted to go back to this Italian place tonight, but also needed to work out. I decided to avoid the treadmill, and not delay things more by taking a roundabout walk to the restaurant. Things are fairly close to the hotel, so I headed across the river, walking a different way, expanding my knowledge of Cambridge and enjoying a new route alongside the backs of one of the colleges.

It was a nice walk, a little chilly and I was glad I brought a hat. A little over two miles before I sat down to dinner, and then about a half mile walk back to the hotel. Not a ton of exercise, but not bad.

A Crazy Day

Laundry to finish, need to pack for the UK, find time to spend with my wife, and also fit in some work before I fly away.

Crazy.

Sequester

I liked the sequester because of this reason: everyone somewhat loses and it should force people to work together. Instead we have parties looking to lose, just so they can say the other side lost more. ^#$@#@# parties, politicians, and their squeaky wheels.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/29/wonkbook-with-sequestration-everyone-loses-even-republicans/

28 Hours

This time I'm home for about 28 hours. An easy flight this morning back from Fargo, though my ear wouldn't clear. Need to be sure I pack Sudafed for my trip to the UK tomorrow.

I arrived home and got back into ranch mode right away. I stopped at the store after texting Tia for a list, and when I got home, it was time to do laundry and work on some chores. Lawn watered, hay moved, misc supplies unloaded from the truck that Tia and I got for free, watering trees, it was a busy day.

Now we take Delaney out to celebrate his FBLA award.

Fargo

It's flat, and it looks like an older town. There are the modern day stores and chains I see everywhere, but it feels like an older town.

I stopped by the visitor center and asked what there was to do. The "flood" was the first thing out of the young lady's mouth, with the Red River well above normal levels, and flood gates closed and people worried.

 

The girl told me her high school had flooded 5 or 6 years ago and was closed for 4 months. They had a month off from school while arrangements were being made for another location.

 

When I arrived at the airport, which is tiny, I found a neat display at baggage claim. What I'd expect if Elizabeth had an airport. The airport was so small, just a few gates, I'm surprised they had jetways.

At least I got a nice ride, a G35.

I like it, but the acceleration isn't smooth. Someone should have worked on the tranny shift points more.

After seeing the river, I stopped by a local sub shop:

Just the name, and old style brick building drew me in. It was a nice place, and I had a great chicken pesto sub.

I swung by the Maris museum, which I didn't know was here. Not much there, in a mall, but neat to see some memorabilia, stats, and info about an iconic baseball player.

And I got to see the wood chipper :)_

Book #19–Spree

I love Joe Konrath. He’s not for everyone, and he’s a little silly, but I enjoy his books. The  Chandler series hooked me right away, with a fast pace as a secret agent is pursued through Chicago, getting into, and out of, impossible situations. Spree is the middle book of a trilogy after Chandler saves London from being destroyed by a rogue nuke.

This books picks up after the last one ends, the same day with Chandler and Fleming surviving. However everything is not in order, as Chandler looks to escape from the hospital that Jack Daniels put her in and take Fleming with her. Fleming is kidnapped and the rest of the book is getting her back and stopping Hammet (the other sister) from causing more trouble.

This book has the return of characters from other books. Lund and Tequila are back, with the same wit and style, though we see Tequila more developed. It’s a wild ride across a few days, very little of it believable or possible, but very exciting.

Packing

Travel starts tomorrow. I've been working on some things, getting prepped to be gone. Not tomorrow, that work was done on Monday. All week I've been prepping to be gone all next week. I'll be here a half day Monday before I fly to the UK, and I have some things to get done on Monday for the following Monday.

Running a daily newsletter means that I need to have everything scheduled ahead of time. As of today I have things scheduled through Tuesday. I'm waiting on a few other things before I can get Wed-Fri done, but everything else is in place. What I'm missing is the following Monday since I don't want to be worrying about that when I get home Sun afternoon.

Tia gave me her old laptop bag. With a new machine, heavier and thicker, my backpack wasn't working. This one is smaller, but wider and also has wheels, which will come in handy.

Compassion

When I see pieces like this one, I am somewhat disturbed. Mostly because I read this as a privileged view of the poverty and welfare issue, but also a mix of politics and religion that seems naïve and disingenuous.

Compassion is defined as “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it”, or from Oxford dictionaries: “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” There are probably other dictionaries and definitions that can be used, but it appears to be some level of empathy, and perhaps action.

The piece talks about an original definition of suffering with another. If that’s the case, then I’m not sure where the “true definition” in the piece of people helping others comes from.

The view that people only look to government to help is somewhat true, and I mourn the fact that so few people are willing to volunteer and help. However many people are willing to donate and give to groups that do help others. I’m not sure I find a huge distinction in those that are willing to donate time versus money, but that is me.

What disturbs me in the piece is this idea that most people want government to help others, and that those being helped are somehow having government substitute welfare payments for their attempt to work. That people receiving help from the government are shiftless, lazy, and unwilling to work hard enough to support themselves.

I’m sure there are people like this, but overall I find this argument mostly full of shit and distorting the picture. Welfare payments are small. They are not providing an easy life for most people. Some may game the system, but many people that I have known or read about getting benefits are struggling to survive. They miss meals. They go without heat or light. Their kids forego participation in sports or other activities. They don’t ever go to the doctor, or if they go to the emergency room, they struggle to pay for medicine.

For many of these people, many who work full-time or beyond, putting in lawyers’ hours for fast good workers’ pay, life is hard. It’s hard in way most of the people that have the time and access to read Facebook can’t imagine.

I was in that situation a long time ago. Not for long, and I didn’t miss meals, but we struggled. We worked hard, and made our way out of the situation, but I was lucky. Yes, my Mom worked very hard, and we as kids chipped in where we could or bore the struggles without many complaints, but we were lucky.

We had hit the gene lottery. We had intelligence, we spoke English, and perhaps just as important, my Mom was white. If you think that doesn’t make a difference, you have very little clue as to just how much of a handicap it can be for those that aren’t. Racism exists. and while it’s not pervasive, look how quickly after events involving a person of color, or even an immigrant, do the media, government officials, and plenty of people, white or otherwise, turn on a group of people for no reason other than their color or ethnicity.

If you think you got where you are just because of your own hard work, you are deluded. Somewhere along the way you had help, and most importantly, you had the fortune to be born with some intelligence, dexterity, skill, or something else. That doesn’t even remotely include the benefits (or handicap) that came from your parents’ situation (wealth, career, morals, etc.), or from the place where you were born. Those things all have a huge impact on life, and many people born into less than favorable situations or with average (or subpar) skills, struggle their whole lives.

There’s no doubt out welfare system could be done better. There are ways we could improve both the work situation for people as well as build in more responsibility and pride in people to be good citizens. I’m a libertarian at heart, but I also recognize that the harsh reality of everyone out for themselves ignores some of the realities of today. I’d like to see more people standing on their own without the need for help, but I know we cannot eliminate this completely, and we also have a huge “get there from here” problem.

I’ve deviated away from compassion, but that’s largely because the piece did so as well, ignoring many factors that can impact the need for compassion. At the end of the discussion, I feel that compassion is us caring for others, whether we do so personally, or we believe a civilized government ought to be a part of that. Compassion is the understanding and help we give others.

8th Place

I picked up Delaney yesterday afternoon after his trip to the State FBLA competition in Vail the last few days. He looked good and was wearing his 8th place medal.

He took at test on the Intro to Business Monday morning and was recognized later in the day as having scored 8th in the state. Delaney said that top ten has him thinking about competing in another area next year.

Three days in a jacket and tie and he enjoyed it. I think he was inspired because he ran the flag ceremony at Scouts, calling out the movements of the color guard. He was loud, confident, and authoritative. I noticed right away that he did a much better job than many of the Scouts and took it seriously. A few other dads noticed as well and commented to me.

Very proud of the boy.

Book #18–The Phoenix Project

A friend recommended The Phoenix Project as a read about technology in business. It’s a fictional story, like The Goal, and after starting the sample, I immediately grabbed the book.

It’s an interesting style book. A midrange (AS/400 style) manager is promoted to VP of IT when the former VP and CIO are fired. He’s not sure this is a good idea, and after a little resistance from his peers, he ends up convincing them he has some good ideas. He’s thrown in the fire, with a payroll process failing right away, the large $20mm Phoenix Project behind, and more problems. It reminds me of the first job I had in Denver, and I wish I’d had this book then.

He fumbles through, with a board member acting as his mentor, giving him hints and ideas of the Lean Way, which is a technique I think I need to study. He works his way through his issues, seeing the IT group as a plant, with work in progress and inventory being a problem. There are some good parallels to what my company is doing, and I like it.

I had a hard time putting down the book. It’s an interesting read, with some good lessons in there.

Opening Day

Yesterday was opening day for me. I’d missed the first baseball game of the year for my team because of work travel, and last week was a rainout. I was hoping to play yesterday as I’m gone for the next two weeks and then we have the Mother’s Day break. I’ve resigned myself to playing part time this year, but I still want to play as much as I can.

The weather held out, and after dropping Delaney off at 7:30am for an FBLA trip to Vail, I headed to the field. I know a number of people were unavailable, but I figured we’d have plenty. I was just hoping I had the chance to play infield. I arrived as the #8 person, and we were concerned we might not have 9. A guy showed up at the last minute, and we were set. Stretching, a little throwing were my warm-ups before taking a few swings.

I was in the #2 slot and a little worried. This year, actually since last Aug, I’ve had exactly one throwing session in the cage and an hour of batting practice. Not much. Fortunately the first guy struck out, taking off some pressure from me. Facing a pitcher I’ve known for years, I missed a couple swings, let one go, and then laid into a curve that was dropping in for a double down the line. I was stuck on second and that ended the inning.

I walked out for the bottom of the first looking around at where people were going. Our manager was out of town and the fill in hadn’t listed positions, or I hadn’t seen them. I noticed no one going to shortstop, including the new guys, so I guess that was my position. Not a good way to start the season when I hadn’t fielded a ground ball.

It worked out well. I saw an easy liner in the 3rd or 4th I caught, and picked up a ground ball to get a force at second. I backed up the third baseman and stopped a ball from going into the outfield, though I didn’t field it clean. I picked up a slow roller behind the pitcher’s mound, but then threw it low late in the game and the guy at first didn’t pick it up. All in all a decent game at short, but not much activity.

At the plate I was called out on a 3rd strike I thought was outside, but probably close enough to swing at. However with the shorter bat, I couldn’t have reached it, so it was moot. I hit a hard liner down to first, but since the guy was standing on the bag, holding on the runner, he caught it. 1-3, not bad, not great.

A rough game. I think it was 17 or 18-1 at the end, in 7 innings. We didn’t put much together, had a number of outfield errors, and no good swings at the plate. Hopefully the next one will get better.

Volleyball

A great night of volleyball last night. Tia was tired, Kendall and I working on her CBK application and getting a little worn out. We decided to get ourselves moving for a Sunday night practice.

It was a little crowded when we got there, with 2 4-on-5 games going on. Instead of joining in, we went to the basketball court and did a little bumping practice. After about 10 minutes, one of the girls in Kendall’s league, who was playing on a court, came over and asked if we wanted to play. A few of their players had left, and they wanted to keep going. We decided to practice a little more since the other court opened up, but after a few serves, we wandered over. There were only the girl and her Dad, and another man practicing, but we jumped in with a 3-on-3 game. Eventually more people came and we ended up going for well over another hour with a great pickup game.

We have some tough games, especially with kids that don’t treat it seriously. Not the points or winning, but just the effort. Last night wasn’t one of those. Everyone was working hard and really trying. We had some great volleys and lots of laughs. No one wanted to leave, but I finally called it at 8:40 for us since it was late. Much later than we’d planned.

A fun time, though Tia was worn out and I ended up going out in the dark after 9:00 to feed horses. Our Polaris Ranger is great, and it made feeding so much easier. One trip around, filling the dump bucket and trailer, and much easier on the eyes to have the windshield.

A long day.

42

An excellent job on the Jackie Robinson story. Tia and I took the kids last night to see it, a late movie and I was tired, but I got caught up in the tale.

Amazing to think that was not that long ago that the game I love was a segregated playing field. I think we've come a long way, but longer still to go.

Relaxing in the Snow

A snowstorm today. Here was the view on the way to get Delaney

 

A decent snowstorm today, but not sticking to the roads. It was hard to see and the Prius defroster struggled at bit. No track practice, as expected, but Delaney had to make up a test, so I went to get him. Afterwards we hit the store, with him waiting in the car while I hurried. I came out to find this.

Warms my heart to see my kids reading.

Thirty Eight Days

Yesterday was 38 days of continuous exercise for me. Not all hard, but all good. I felt I was missing too many days since the streak ended, unable to get to 20 days, so I decided to press a bit more. I'm still varying things, but I want something every day.

The new schedule is:

Sun: baseball + volleyball
Mon: yoga
Tue: Run
Wed: Yoga or Run
Thur volleyball
Fri: lift
Sat: run, maybe swim.

Spring Snow

The view from the office.

It was a blizzard of sorts last night as I went to yoga and a slow drive home. However it didn’t turn out to be much today.

Unfortunately Delaney is still down, sick again. He slept all of yesterday, until about 5 last night and then overnight. Still said his stomach hurt today.

Ugh.

Ten Miles…Again

Our third hike this spring of the Hiking Merit Badge was yesterday. Delaney and I got up early, packed and headed out. It was easier to pack, since Delaney knows to get himself ready and put water, snacks, etc. in a pack. I asked him about breakfast, and he asked for Subway, so we made it a Subway day, grabbing 2 for 1 breakfast sandwiches and a foot long to split on the way to Dawson Butte.

It was chilly, having rained at night with some snow falling. I was worried as I was supposed to have a 4pm baseball game and trying to get 10 miles in starting at 10am, get Delaney home, and then get out to the field was tight. Fortunately I got a text halfway through the hike that the game was cancelled due to rain on the field, so I could relax.

We gathered in the parking lot, all 16 of us for the first 5 mile loop. Three dogs came along, though the others didn’t get along with Deuce, so we kept him separated.

We started out at 10, heading down the trail. It was cold and windy at first, until we crossed the first field and got into the trees. Delaney had Deuce, walking near the front with a few other Scouts.

We walked about 2.5 miles, then a short break. Since I was thinking I had baseball, I was pressing to start again after 10 minutes. I also know that on these hikes momentum is important. If you sit too long, it’s hard to get started.

Delaney and I finished the first 5 mile loop with 4 other boys and started to eat. Others came along shortly, and after about 30 minutes, we started again. This time Delaney set the pace out front with 2 other boys, pressing hard. According to my phone, we were 4.5-5mph most of the first few miles. We paused at 2.5 miles again, with stragglers taking about 10 minutes to catch up. We were itching to get done, and as soon as the last people caught up, we moved on.

 

The last mile or so was hard, being uphill and us being tired. I could feel my feet aching slightly and had to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. It make me realize that Delaney and I need to keep doing more training this summer if we want to complete the 20 mile hike in August. I also think we need to pick a route where we won’t have people dropping out and impacting others.

I had some good chats with Delaney and a couple boys, but mostly tried to give them some privacy and let them be teenagers. I was proud to see them pressing to get done quickly and not straggling along.

After the hike we headed out, stopping for pizza together.

We skipped volleyball last night, tired after the hike. However Delaney and I did help Tia feed. Hopefully I didn’t take too much out of him as he was sick this am.

Book #17–Scarecrow

The third in the Scarecrow series, this book named for the hero is a bounty hunt, brought on by a secretive group that wishes to create more money and power in the world for themselves. They lure Scarecrow, and many others, to a Soviet abandoned base, supposedly overrun by terrorists. As Scarecrow arrives, he barely escapes with Book II as they realize they’re the target of the bounty hunt. A few others aren’t as lucky.

From there. Scarecrow races around the globe, trying to prevent himself from being killed while saving the world with multiple groups after him. It’s a wild ride.

A re-read for me, but one I still enjoyed.

Book #16–Transfer of Power

A re-read, but after seeing Olympus is Down, I wanted to contrast Transfer of Power with it.

It’s a better book. This is the story that should have been filmed. Rapp in his first role, as the White House is taken over by terrorists, he infiltrates and must save the President.

Worth the read. I think this is my third or fourth time reading this one.

Active, but Tired

Volleyball last night was tough. Tia and I headed down for our rec league match, against the undefeated team.We had almost all our team, except the setter. That's tough, and we ended up playing with multiple setters the first game. We won, but it was a tough game, with lots of movement by everyone to win points.

Somehow we fell apart in the second game, but we roared back and dominated the third game. It was a tough night, and I felt like I worked hard.

Afterwards we headed down to the church for a couple hours of late night pick up. That was even harder, and I felt like I was diving around the floor quite a bit. I hit the ground hard a few times, and I definitely was jumping too much. The right knee was sore afterwards.

As was my left arm, but I had a couple really good hits that felt good during the game. I really hit a few hard, and was glad my timing is getting better. All in all it was worth it, and I'm glad I work at home. After getting the kids to school I had to come home and sleep a couple more hours.

Self-induced punishment

A hard night and morning in Vegas. I had dinner with a few friends I've been trying to get up with for a few years. We keep missing each other and finally had the chance to sit down last night and chat over dinner. Afterwards they invited me back to their suite for a few more drinks.

We were at the MGM, and apparently they were upgraded to the "Mansion", which is a side complex, with no signs off the casino. It's a private area, that has a few casino rooms and a private dining room you pass (along with 2 guards) before you reach an open garden area. It's somewhat amazing how opulent things are in Vegas. I can't even be sure where this is on the MGM property as it's a covered garden that had to be 100-150ft square. It was surrounded by balconies and 3 story buildings, with a private pool at one end.

We rode up to their second story suite, which was amazing. It was an apartment, easily 2000 sq feet, maybe more. A small kitchen where a butler would come in at times. Two large bedrooms, with large bathrooms, a guest half bath off the hallway, a dining room, and a sitting room. Oh yeah, a study as well. All done in some classical, Renaissance style, almost like an Italian villa style.

Crazy. Not something I'd aspire to, but nevertheless I'm amazed by. We sat around chatting, drinking wine, and laughing about life until midnight or so. I stumbled out with another friend, managing to get back to Elara without banging into anything. Lots of water on the way (I bought a couple bottles), and aspirin overnight, but I was hurting when I awoke today.

I dragged myself to the gym and sweated on the elliptical. After packing up, I walked back to the conference. Breakfast and coffee had me starting to feel normal. Not something I want to do often, or perhaps ever, but a very memorable and enjoyable night.

Elara in Vegas

I'd booked a room at Elara in Vegas, even though the conference I was speaking at was located in the MGM. Elara is a Hilton property, and I've never stayed there, but getting the points might be good for family vacations this year. It was an easy trip from Denver and a quick cab ride over.

Elara is a tall, thin building just off the strip. I ended up on the 16th floor, and was slightly stunned when I walked in the room. The living area had floor to ceiling windows and the sliding shade was rising up. It was impressive.

Standing at the windows, here's the view of first room.

and the second room, where I slept. A large bathroom in the back as well as a jacuzzi tub in the bedroom.

I went out immediately to Burgr, a Gordon Ramsey spot, with a a friend. It was good, and fancy, but not something I might pick again, I do have to say the fries were very good. Afterwards I headed back to my room to rehearse talks and get a little work done. As I was watching the basketball game I looked up and noticed a projector in the ceiling. Hmmm. After reading the room manual, I ended up working with a 10 foot basketball game playing in the background. I enjoyed that.

I even had a full kitchen, with a real fridge, which was somewhat wasted on me, though I did get fresh water.

This might be one of the nicest rooms I've ever stayed in. I'll be looking at Elara again in the future.

30 Hours

Back home for about 30 hours. I flew back from Omaha this morning, a quick, uneventful flight.

Tia was sitting outside, watching horses, so I sat with her a bit, getting my new laptop setup while we chatted. Then she was off to work and I cleaned up a little at the house. Laundry, unpacking and repacking my bag, since I'm off to Vegas tomorrow around lunch.

I also managed to do a few chores, not wanting to waste the day. A little fertilizer spread in the front, cleaning the garage a bit, and then trimming the front hedges. A good use of time during the afternoon.

Book #15 - Political Suicide

The second Michael Palmer book. I think this one was written first, but in any case, it's another ride for Dr. Lou Welcome in Political Suicide. In this one a friend calls him, having just left the house of a Congressman who was dead. The friend suspects he'll be arrested, and asks for Lou's help.

Combine this with a rouge army unit, and Welcome's inability to reign in his impulses and it's a wild ride. Not as unbelievable as the other book I read, but close. Some coincidences, some close scrapes and situations that are too tight.

Not sure I'll do another, as the writing is still missing something. It lacks some character depth or plot structure and seems like too scatter-shot as well, moving through scenes, getting focused on Welcome and ignoring his friend's lawyer, despite her large part of the story. I'm not quite sure  what I don't love, but I don't love the writing.

Book #14 - Area 7

Another re-read for me, this one of the second Scarecrow book. It's after Ice Station, and Scarecrow is assigned to the Presidential Marine detail. He accompanies the President to Area 7, a secret base in the Nevada desert.

As we expect, all hell breaks loose. A convicted Air Force officer, supposedly dead, has taken control of the base, with loyal Air Force special forces troops helping him. They plan to kill the President, who must try and survive while also ensuring he gets his handprint on the nuclear football every hour or bombs explode all over the US.

Scarecrow is there, bolstering the Secret Service and working to stop the forces against them, including South African special forces and Chinese spies. It's a wild one.

Book #13 - Ice Station

A re-read for me.

Still love the action in Ice Station and think it's one of Reilly's best.

This was the second book of his I read. It introduces Scarecrow, Shane Schofield, who is sent to secure a US research station in Antactica. He arrives, expecting to defend the place against other countries that want to take control of the spaceship the station supposedly found.

He's not disappointed, as he must first secure the station from the French, and then the British SAS. It's a wild ride, setting the stage for the rest of the Scarecrow novels.

Slow

After 2 weeks since I last ran, I got out today and went further. I did a 5k, actually a touch over, and was glad I did. I run too little when I run and doing the 4 miles in Bellevue, which didn't killed me, reminded me I can and should do more.

This was slow, but not as horrible as I might have thought. I was tired, trying to baby the knee a little, and still was under 30, which was good.

Glad to be back running after a layoff. The knee has been sore, which I think is mostly volleyball, but also some late season skiing. I can't decide if I should run more steadily to keep strength up or less to let it heal. Hard decisions all the time.

I need to get it checked out. After talking with my brother and him looking at it, I think I should get some examination, perhaps PT, but worried about doing much more, especially with Western medicine.

I also think I'm getting a little heavy. Not a lot, but a little, and some of that is switching activity, and slowing down a bit on exercise, combined with a crappy diet. Need to work on both of those.

Today was a good run, from downtown Omaha out across the bridge to Iowa and back. A cool, windy, but not too unpleasant cloudy day. After flying and working a bit, I was itching to get outside and glad I did.

Printed Guns

Fascinating documentary: Click, Print, Gun.

This will probably scare some people, cause some to cheer, amaze others, and likely even more reactions I can’t conceive of. While I find this to be slightly disturbing (3-D printed bombs when metal printers are available?), I do fundamentally agree that this will likely reduce lots of the gun debate. Or perhaps it will change it to an ammunition debate, but will casting bullets be illegal?

I overall feel that the idea of normal citizens having automatic weapons is a bad idea. I foresee more mistakes and escalations of issues if this happens. By the same token, I find the idea of open carry to be disturbing, mostly because it feels like brandishment to me.

However I do think the right of people to own firearms, absent some strong reason like mental illness, legal issue, or felony conviction, is one we have and should not be limited by the government.

That being said, restrictions that slow the process down, like a waiting period or background check, do not appear to infringe substantially on my rights.