I still can’t believe this. I’m in line at Hy Vee last night, waiting to pay for some soda and I spy this book in the rack.

So I’m in Minneapolis working on transitioning a company to our domain. A co-worker and I head to Old Chicago for lunch; nice pizza buffet, by the way. And guess who ends up sitting three tables away…

It’s a sad, sad day in our household. Our wonderful dog Daisy was put down today. She had been having a lot of problems and was getting seizures lately also. When KC took her to the vet today to have a checkup, the vet did not give her promising news. She was 13 and had faded fast in the last few months.

Happy Birthday, Vickie!

“Hey, Good Lookin’, whatcha got cookin’? How’s about cookin’ something up with me.” It’s time to get back to the Thursday Threesome and that’s the theme!

Onesome – Hey, good lookin’: Makeover time! What’s the one thing about yourself you would change if you could? From your hair style to your nose to your weight, you name it
Well, there’s TWO things I’d like to change if I could. First off I’d like to drop my boiler; I like to eat too much and my belly shows it. Secondly, I’d like to have hair on my head. (Oh, and “good-lookin’” I ain’t!)

Twosome – whatcha got cookin’?: Do you like to cook? What’s your favorite meal that you cook yourself? Care to share the recipe?
Oh yeah, I like to cook. Ask anybody… I’m a good cook. Breezomatic is majoring in culinary arts and it’s no coincidence. My favorite recipes can be found here.

Threesome – How’s about cookin’ something up with me?: If you like to cook, do you like to share the kitchen/grill? If you share, do you direct the goings on, or just let the other person do their thing? Or do you prefer to solo it, subscribing to the “too many cooks spoil the broth,” theory?
Too many cooks spoil the broth. If I’m going to cook, then get the heck out of my way and let me do it. You’ll like the results.

As some of you know, well at least the ones who have read me for a while, my Dad has been in the hospital. It all began in November when he had triple-bypass surgery. He seemed to recover from that to a point, but never really got rid of some of the complications. Then he “found out” that he’s diabetic. He’s still kind of struggling with his meds and may have to inject insulin. The next complication was that his system was retaining fluids. He had so much fluid in his lungs that he had a hard time breathing and had to go in twice to drain off the excess fluid. Well, they brought him in to the hospital this last time because he had a viral infection of some kind that he just couldn’t shake. He was coughing a lot – to the point where his entire chest and shoulders hurt. Also, he hadn’t been taking care of the diabetes.

Today they removed three of his toes on his left foot, due to complications of diabetes. The doctor says that went well; chances are about 70% that this is all he’ll lose. At one time they were talking the entire foot and ankle might have to go, so this is really good news. I hope that he heeds what’s been going on and follows the doctor’s advice. While my Dad is one of the smartest guys I know, but as Will Smith says in I, Robot: “You’ve got to be the dumbest smart person I know.” When I was in high school he had a gall bladder attack (whatever that is) and was supposed to cut back on beer and salt and take meds. After about a month he figured the doc was off his nut and abandoned the advice and the meds. He’s done stuff like that since. Maybe this will scare him into sensible action. He’s only 73 and I don’t want to lose him just yet. He hasn’t seen any great-grandchildren yet (well, not any blood-related great-grandchildren) and I want him to be around for that. The problem is that you can’t make up for decades of doing the wrong things in a few short months or years.

I just hope he gets his head on straight and stops being the ornery cuss that he can be and become the cooperative, insightful guy that I know he can be.

Missed last week’s, so here’s this week’s Are you more…

01) Pure chocolate (either milk or dark) or chocolate mixed with stuff (peanuts, almonds, rice puffs, etc.)?
Are you kidding me? ANY chocolate is good!

02) Someone with a neat, beautiful signature or someone with a horrible chicken-scratch signature?
If I don’t read my handwriting in short order and type it up, I won’t be able to read it in a few hours. My signature is the very definition of chicken-scratch.

03) Tolerant of phone solicitors because they might be offering something you want or intolerant of phone solicitors because they’re annoying you at home?
We have a TeleZapper, does that answer the question?!

04) Joysticks make for the better gaming overall or gamepads make for the better gaming overall?
Gamepads make for the better gaming. Real-life movement isn’t limited to a joystick movement. Of course, real-life is also more complex than a gamepad as well.

05) A lover of fast automobiles or a lover of reliable, sturdy automobiles?
Neither. I’m a fan of automobiles with LOTS of head and leg room. After all, I’m 6’7″.

06) The regular holidays should be kept as-is even if they have a religious background or all holidays should be completely secular?
The regular holidays should be kept as they WERE. All holidays have either a religious or nationalistic background; more are religious. I mean REALLY… why did Columbus Day become a float? Why did we need another holiday in January (Martin Luther King Day)?! Why do people want to mess with Easter and call it Spring holiday?

07) Expecting that there will be ETs walking freely on Earth within your lifetime or expecting that it will happen after you’re dead if at all?
For all we know, they may be among us now; kind of like the movie They Live.

08) Needing of quiet when you work or enjoying noise (radio, tv, conversation) when you work?
I like background music. I don’t need it but I feel I’m more productive with it.

09) A karaoke singer or a karaoke critic?
More of a critic. Of course, if it came down to me singing or the world coming to an end you better kiss your ass goodbye.

10) One who thinks that you should honestly critique children’s work (so they can improve) or one who thinks you should always praise children’s work?
Wrap your criticisms in praise. There’s always some good in children’s work. Pick it out and tell them about it then tell them what they need to work on, and finally wrap it up with another good thing. It’s honest criticism in a form they’ll listen to.

I’ve decided it’s time for a new theme. I’m still working on it, but hopefully I’ll have it done this weekend some time. I wanted something green for spring. Tell me what you think of it.

Yes, sports fans, I have accepted a new position at my current place of work. No, it won’t be the SSDD kind of job. No, it isn’t moving “up” to management either. I have accepted a position on the new IT Acquisitions team. I will be the Client/Server Analyst for this team. Basically I’ll be working with a team to transition companies that my current company buys to our network. My specialty area is the client PCs on the network. I’ll be working with our team manager, a Server Analyst/Administrator, and a LAN/WAN Analyst/Administrator. As you may have guessed, the new job will involve a lot of travel. I look at it as an opportunity to improve my skills; a chance to take on new challenges. The only down side (which I don’t really consider to be too much of a down side) is that I will be traveling up to 75% of the time. KC isn’t too keen on the fact that I’ll be gone so much, but she’s trying to wrap around the idea. Maybe she could take some pointers from her sister-in-law as her brother travels a lot for his job?!

In the exciting developments area of this job, we are looking at purchasing a couple of companies in China. We have already purchased one of the major players there, and another one or two will be icing on the cake. One of the prerequisites of the job was to have a valid passport (which I have). While I’ll be away from home a lot more, I think it will be a great opportunity.

The job officially starts on Monday, April 17, but I’ll be transitioning for a period of time. I have a lot of systems that I manage that I need to document in more detail than currently exist. But I start traveling Monday, April 24 — out of the frying pan and into the fire!!

Doncha just loves ya some Wednesday? Doncha just loves ya some Are you more…

01) A believer that the “race card” is an important equalizer in public affairs or a believer that the “race card” is an overused club that lacks merit?
I believe it is overused and lacks merit. If you resort to the “race card” you’ve lost whatever debate you are trying to win; race doesn’t matter… ability does.

02) Overbearing or whiney?
I sit in the middle on this one.

03) Spiteful or jealous?
Neither. I am not spiteful because you just can’t burn bridges; you never know when you will have to cross them again. I am also not jealous; jealousy doesn’t show someone how much you love them – it shows them how insecure you are.

04) Fan of indie music of fan of the big names in music?
I like new sounds; that means indie music. Lateley it’s been Just Bus and BB Chung King and the Budd.

05) Likely to use the word “harken” or likely to use the word “thusly”?
I’m more likely to use the word thusly, as I use it thusly now…..

06) Prone to act cordial and compliant with police or prone to act like a smartass with police?
Why act like a smartass to a guy who can lock you up? Better to act cordial and compliant so they don’t mess with you.

07) A firefighter or an ambulance emergency medical technician?
Firefighter. My father is a fireman…. he… puts out… fires….. At work I’m putting out “fires” all the time.

08) Jeans or non-demin casual pants (like Dockers or something)?
I prefer jeans but I can’t wear them to work so it’s khakis to work!

09) Body-healthy or brain-healthy?
Both healthy. I went to the gym and played basketball for an hour and a half after work tonight. I also took my ginkgo biloba today.

10) Someone who would send food back again and again until the kitchen got it right or someone who would just eat it anyway unless it was totally disgusting?
I’ll eat it anyway. I saw Waiting. If you watch that movie you would NEVER EVER EVER send food back to the kitchen!

I gotta let everyone who reads this know this little tidbit. It really appeals to the geek in me. Wednesday in the very early morning for one full second we will have a very special time and date. The special event will occur at 01:02:03 04/05/06. That is it will occur at precisely three seconds after 1:02 am on April 5, 2006. How cool is that?!?!

Happy April Fools Day to all my fellow fools!! Don’t forget to set your clocks an hour ahead before you go to sleep tonight. (UGH! That means we lose an hour of sleep!?)