Doug's Blog

How time flies....

2013-10-17T20:57:00.002-04:00

Seriously, almost a year ago was my last post, yet 294 some odd people have read what's on this blog. Amazing to me. Yet here I am again, making my own vow, promise, whatever you might call it to be more diligent in writing entries.

This time though, I have a motive, which will come out later. For now, let me say that there is a renewed energy in blogging and that with so many people doing it, why not join in. No, I'm not one to normally go with the crowd, in fact, I tend to be my own person and not go along with the others as the easy way of picking what I do or don't do in a moment or portion of time.

Anyway, these days, look out for newness, goodness perhaps. As I re-evaluate what blogging is, what it does for me, and how I can enjoy or take advantage of a place or space to vent, discuss, brag, and even just chat about world happenings.

Stay tuned!

-Doug

Wow - How time flies!

2012-10-30T17:20:00.001-04:00

Yes, hasn't it been like a month since I last posted? So much for daily blogging and getting into a routine. Nevermind the excuses, like had to do a couple of unexpected work trips and a vacation in there somewhere, and that fall means raking leaves and other get ready for winter to do things.

Anyway, time does fly, and mostly when you are having fun. But I think this big chunk of time, absence from blogging, has been mostly about not fun. Sandy most recently, like we slept downstair last night so if a tree crashed on the house we wouldn't get impaled in our own bedroom. And corporate america where we have a new CEO for the Americas and lots of rumors about job stability jumps out at everyone. That news of our company tends to be more gloom and doom than goodness, and for that we have lots to blame and no answers.

Somewhere in there I even joined a gym, thinking that if I had the blogging thing down daily, then why not a gym too - and get into better shape. I think in the first month of membership I made it to the gym like all of four times! Now, I signed up with a personal trainer thinking both motivation and making sure I do things right so I don't hurt myself in there.. and even that has been difficult since they have me on my third trainer now because one left, the second couldn't fit into my after-work schedule, and now this third one I like and hope he sticks with me even though my schedule isn't seeming to match up to his as much as I had hoped!

Christmas around the corner, so I'm shopping for Cheryl and our families. And projects like converting VHS to DVD for mom and dad, and maybe their 21 boxes of slides to a DVD so they can actually watch them sometime since they no longer have a projector and so they can chuck the boxes of slides in favor of a nice little DVD for the family!

Halloween tomorrow night, what are you dressing up for? I heard that the adult-ization of Halloween is bigger than ever this year. Since when is Halloween for adults and not for kids? Seems it's a trend and getting bigger. What do you think of that trend?

Ok, I'm all over the place as I sit down because I haven't written and want to write a lot... but the gym is calling, the leaves are calling, dinner is calling... so have to run. Maybe I'll be back tomorrow. If someone commented on one of these entries I'd have even a better reason to come back!

How many floridians to fix a slow running drain

2012-09-28T16:38:00.001-04:00

Vacation at last! Long day of airports and airplanes to get to the timeshare we will call home this week. Check in wasn't the without a hitch version since it was both slow and the key cards didn't fit our door but we are in the room.

Older building but room is nice. Kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Bath has a jacuzzi and glass standing shower. And it has a sink drain that doesn't drain.

So we made our way back to check in for new key cards and to let them know the bathroom drain needed someone to look at it. Went out to Publix for some basics. You know, Coors Light, Smirnoff Signature Screwdriver, twirlers, Cheezits-it's, stuff like that. Oh pasta and sauce and burger meat too, least you think we were only drinking and snacking this vacation!

Came back loaded with groceries to find a couple of guys trying to fix the drain. No biggie really. We unloaded our groceries, emptied our suitcases, and say down who a drink and our iPads in hand to relax.

Wallow talkie starts from the bathroom and it's along the lines of "get over here". And the guys are out of the room saying its hot a leak we will. E right back. Leak? Like water coming into the room and you left? That kind of leak?

It wasn't that kind of leak. But there appears now to be more guys working the drain. Like four of them. Maybe by the time they are done we will be asked to move to another unit since we just unpacked!

If its a nice upgraded room, we're in! Let's have a few more floridians and see if it can be an all nighter inconvenience thing so we can get moved!

Airports and outlets

2012-09-26T21:16:00.001-04:00

Why? Why are there never enough power outlets if any!? Is it the airport saving on cost from too much electrical use? Is it space? Is it airlines arguing with airports about who pays what fees?

I think in this day and age of moving to eTickets, it is crazy that you can't find or have to wait on limited outlets at the airports. Just as crazy that there are pods of pay phones still in most airports in abundance!

If they got rid of half the pods of pay phones and put up outlets in the same spaces it might actually be better! I'm
Not suggesting take away the pay phones, just make the number of them align with usage, and similarly the number of outlets needed to align with usage.

What a concept, and I bet it doesn't take a high paid engineer to figure it out but I bet some airports have used high paid engineers to do exactly that-- to figure it out!

Travels

2012-09-25T05:17:00.001-04:00

I should let you know over the next week plus, entries may be few and far between. Today and tomorrow I'm traveling to North Carolina, coming home for a day and then vacation starts with travels to Orlando for a bit then West Palm Beach.

We will be connected still so there may be an occasional entry, you know, like with news about Shamu or some roller coaster. But other than that, hang on and see where these go after that!

Airports have changed by the way. Paperless boarding passes are great as long as your phone is charged. And it does streamline things to be sure. Imagine ten years from now it will be like the chip in our arm has the info already most likely. Hard to imagine what that future looks like, doesn't it?

Cape Cod

2012-09-23T17:48:00.001-04:00

So Cheryl and I seem to go to Cape Cod about once a year... More to see our friend Mary than anything but there's always a Christmas Tree Shoppe to visit. Or two.

This year, the treat was that Mary opened her own specialty ice cream store. It's called The Local Scoop and is in East Orleans, that's Massachusetts for those wondering where Cape Cod might be.

So we arrived and Mary being Mary was both busy and insistent that we were guests so weren't going to pay for ice cream. Well I was insistent too,and given that we had a crepe, some ice cream Sunday thing, and a hot fudge. Townie sundae- I hope she's glad we paid!

The store is a bit of a novelty because you make your own. You turn the handle on one of a variety of ice cream, frozen yogurt, or other style I've creams and then add topping from
Gravity tubes on the wall and the wetbar of items like strawberries, kiwis, gummy bears, and other assorted stuff.

Yummy!

We don't have anything like that up here and I have to say, it's tempting to consider taking her lead and opening something like it at home. Ice cream seems seasonal thought to most, unless you live in new england and you cope with the cold by eating ice cream!

It was a great visit, busy, but we had dinner together and went back to her store to help setup a wireless camera. Late night arriving to the hotel, the next
morning writes to skip P-town and head towards home. Two Christmas Tree Shoppes later we were away from Cape Cod for this years journey.

We did stop for apple picking on the way home, and the apple crisp is in the oven now. The beauty of New England ranges across many things. In the fall, don't miss out on apple picking and fresh apple crisp!

Taskrabbit?

2012-09-22T07:55:00.001-04:00

The things people think of.. that I wish I had thought of first!

Taskrabbit.com, a sourcing web site for major cities for simple tasks.. need a delivery made, put it in there, need someone to type up a bunch of names and addresses, put it in there. Cook for someone, deliver, clean house, tasks that are simple in nature and not creating an employment position, just simple tasks.

How simple!

Or if you're looking for work, there's all of the above in there if you're in the major cities supported. Except that I noticed there are some virtual tasks, like doing stuff on your PC at home and well, I have a PC at home! So I signed up and I am going to try and catch one of those tasks.

If you want a task done, you submit it. If you want to do someone's task, you bid on it. Beyond that, I haven't seen how it works, or what the business model is for the web site unless there are ads that create revenue to keep it running, since it didn't appear that there are any fees for task creator or task bidder.

What an easy concept, and yes, I wish I'd thought of it first!

To work out, or not to work out?

2012-09-18T20:31:00.002-04:00

Ok, yesterday, already seems like ages ago.. I joined a gym. Not the first time in my life, mind you, but one of those things I just needed to do. Last year, the Thanksgiving and Christmas and winter cabin fever days made me gain about 15 pounds. Ok, 20 really. They MADE me do it! All that eating and festivities, and then winter so not much activity outside. It was awful how that happens. And this entire summer I've been conscious of it but not able to really get all of the 15, well, 20 pounds.. back off. I've probably dropped 10 of what I had gained.

And Cheryl has looked at my belly, the other day we're walking, excercise - get it.. walking to the mail box and for some reason she slaps my belly with a 'suck it in Douglas'. I mean, I wasn't blowing it out so there wasn't really any suck it back in thing able to happen.

And I've also felt a few mornings where my back was sore when I got out of bed. Or my arm felt sore like a tendinitis or something had a grip on me.

So I joined a gym. It's not really about dieting and losing weight, although if that happens a bit from going to a gym and being a bit more aware of things, that's a good thing. Really though, it's about toning up as they say, getting the muscles back into a better condition to be able and handle whatever comes along.

And it can be a lot of different things when you think about it.

At my age, I'm beyond already where my father had his first heart attack. And Cheryl loves to ski and although I'm not nearly as good as her, I do enjoy going to the mountains and skiing.. for the exercise in the outdoors. But it takes it's toll on you if you're muscles aren't in shape.

Flabby in fact. That's the kind of not in shape that my muscles apparently are in, since my belly seems to be sticking out on it's own with no way of holding itself back in.

So I joined a gym. But I've told you that. Did I mention that I actually went to the gym too, and did the treadmill thing, and some of the various, I don't know what you call them - muscle machines? I did.. twice now! Of course, both times I went before dinner, so after that workout, not much of one I'll tell you, I was taking it easy on the whole getting into it thing, but after the workout, well, I was starving! Last night when I came home I had shaved steak sandwich, pudding, ice cream, cukes, and doritos. Tonight after the time at the gym, well it's National Cheeseburger Day so I went to McDonalds of course, and no, couldn't stop at two cheeseburgers.. it's National Cheeseburger Day of course.. so I had to have three of the things!

Some day this whole joining a gym thing will mean more, but I'm taking it slow, can't you tell!?!

Weekends?

2012-09-16T06:58:00.001-04:00

Where do weekends go? If the work week seems to drag most of the time, and the weekends disappear, is that because one is longer and the other is shorter? Or is one more enjoyable while the other is a burden?

Yesterda, Saturday, the day I missed on the blog, we had a busy day.. Segway rides in Portland about 10, which was fun. The tour part of Portland, well, it's a tour of Portland - been there done that! But playing on the Segways again, yeah, I could do that anytime!

We got home after a few errands from there, mowed the lawn, did some housework, and went to a wedding. Day over.

Today, Cheryl is up for Old Navy at six am 'til noon. I had a list of things in my head and couldn't sleep last night, so am trying to tackle getting my desk put in order from the stuff that came off the old one, groceries, SAM's club, maybe put the old desk back together and see if I can take a decent picture of it to sell, try to get Cheryl's mom's new computer running and ready for bringing over, and on an on. But it's Sunday, and there was also apple picking and a Pat's game in there somewhere.. guessing not at this point though!

I guess in the end weekends go away so quickly because they are short and they are what you save up for each week to get 'your stuff' done instead of what others want. And when it's yours, even chores, it's more fun or fruitful perhaps?

I've got some blog topics in my head too, but they are long and well, today is the last half of the weekend and I want to get to it.. so short topic only for today!

Oh Segways, if you haven't tried them, do it.. don't be afraid of them. Wonderful toys!

Size matters?

2012-09-15T08:37:00.000-04:00

So everyone knows, size matters! In lots of things, and no, don't go there.. you know.. there!

So yesterday I received my new desk. Bigger, more surface space.. better right, because size matters!

It actually is a lot of extra surface space over what I had before, so now I could have say two monitors for my own PC and two monitors for the work laptop all on the same surface. Couldn't do that before! And this desk has a hutch with a couple of doors to hide the clutter, that works in my favor too! I do wish it was a bit wider on the surface area, it's an L-shaped desk and each surface panel seems kind of narrow, but still, I have more surface area than I had before. Since size matters, there's always room for more!

So I'm setting things up this morning, the pictures I'm hoping to include are my 'before' and 'after' desks. Let me know what you think! Did I end up with a better solution!?

I think so!

Summer Weather In Maine

2012-09-13T14:12:00.002-04:00

Awww yes, summer weather. Here in Maine we actually do get some. It used to be worse, what with global warming. Don't even say there's no such thing. We used to have maybe five or six days a summer above ninety, these days it's really many more, in the tens and twenty days most summers!

But when September gets here and the nights start getting into the 50's and even 40's, you know those nice days are few and far between if not even waiting until next year!

Well today, was an in the 80's day.. and to me, it won't matter how cold it drops tonight, and it will, because the day is beautiful. As it turned out, it was our work's "associate appreciate day" so had a great chance to get outside for some food and fun, although that made it hard to go back to work for sure.

And by the way, when did employees start getting called associates? Is that because we all associate with each other? Is that like at a legal firm, you work there but aren't a partner in the profits? Why is it politically correct to be an associate but not an employee anymore? The awful things we do in language just to be politically correct and make each other feel neutral instead of excited about something.

Anyway, back to the weather. And no, it's not because I didn't have anything else to talk about, but rather because it stands out as such an important thing today since the weather IS in the 80's. I came home from work after the appreciation festivities, and though I still have to work, the windows are open, the fans are on, and I'm back in shorts and a t-shirt. Even working from home, this is the way it's nice to spend time on a day like this if you do have to work!

The weather this winter might be cold and blustery, but I'm going to enjoy days like this while we have them. September can have some Indian Summer days (and I bet that is SO not politically correct to say) which are nice. It's the leaves turning that makes even those days not so nice, because it's the certain sign of winter around the corner.

Oh I don't mean to knock winter that much. Skiing is fun, snow falling while sitting in the hot tub is fun. It's the driving in icy conditions or shoveling that 10 inch snow storm off the deck and hot tub that makes it not quite so nice. All in all though, winter will get here as much as I might not want it to hurry along, and then we'll be back to spring and summer... and more days like today but maybe keep the nights a bit warmer then!!

Oh what to do about Apple!

2012-09-12T12:26:00.002-04:00

Within an hour, the event everyone is expecting will announce the new iPhone will start. And it seems the even with little changes likely other than a bigger screen, new connector, and some apps.. this phone is going to outsell all of the other iPhones combined.

Will you jump on that train, or wait for something better?

We have iPhone 4's here, both Cheryl and myself. The phones really are fine, they work, they make calls and send text and do apps. But new and bigger is better, right?

And where does revolutionary vs evolutionary fit in? For me, if this new phone feels like something evolutionary, I'll just stick with the old phone until something we need to do can't be done on it. But if it's revolutionary, that's where introduction of 'new' comes in.. but even then, is it need or want!?

And all of that comes into play even more these days, since Cheryl took her class on corporate responsibility, and how as consumers, we play into that by buying things we don't really need, upgrading 'just because' and buying but not reusing or recycling what we had if it still has any worth or to even make sure it doesn't end up in a landfill.

Oh what to do.

We didn't buy the iPhone 4S last year, really cause our phones were still in contract and the only real feature I could see using was Siri. Now there's a new phone and I'm sure some new features plus of course Siri, but is that really worth buying a new phone if we have working iPhone 4 versions?

And it's not about cost, because we could certainly sell ours for something to help with the cost. But that puts more electronics out there in wasteland somehow.. even if someone uses our old phone, eventually it AND the one we purchase as a replacement will be landfill material.

Oh well, guess it's wait and see the event to really know what level of drool takes shape over that time.. and what tolerance Cheryl and I have to being responsible about not buying if we really don't need to vs buying because there's something about the new version we just 'have' to have!

Remembering 9/11/2001

2012-09-11T09:32:00.000-04:00

I think most people are able to remember clearly where they were, what they were doing, when the news hit about the tragic events of September 11, 2001. I know I do.

I was attending a conference with work peers in Atlanta, across the street from the CNN building. So we had stopped there for breakfast in the cafe downstairs and to arrange for tours of the CNN studio. My friends were at the table, and there's a large screen TV for each of Ted Turner's stations up on the wall in this large area. I was in the line for the CNN tickets. Suddenly, the ticket people put up a sign saying temporarily closed, so I went back to my group where they were watching and pointing at the screens.

Of course, at that time, the images looked like it could have been a tiny Cessna plane hitting the first tower, not a 767 as it turned out to have been. Shocked certainly, but we had to get to our conference and so went to the gate and ticketed our selves inside.

But in there, no one was showing their technology wares. Instead, since some time had elapsed since we left CNN, they were all watching the videos of what was now the second plane and the second tower. Computer screens that were supposed to be showing products and new technologies, were instead on whatever news source people could get and the large audience in attendance just stopped, in their tracks, watching whatever they could for news.

In the middle of it, my then soon to be ex wife called and asked where I was. I had been gone for more than a year but she had the decency to ask my whereabouts, mostly because of our son. She briefly told me what she was getting from the news and after hanging up I confirmed it with others around and suddenly, being in a large arena with some 10,000 people that could be a target if more planes are circling with terrorists didn't look like such a good idea.

And the group that I was with agreed, so off to our car we went for a return trip up to the Charlotte area. What should have been a three hour ride turned into almost six. Leaving the city was a mess, as Atlanta had been announced as evacuate immediately by then. Things were happening very fast. And being in the car all we got was radio of course.

They dropped me off at my hotel in Charlotte, where I had a first chance to see images since the first ones.. and putting the images together with what we'd heard on the radio was incredibly impactful. I think I stayed up that night for hours, watching and figuring out what to do. Hearing that flights were grounded, and not knowing for how long, I was thankful that I had a rental car, and didn't care really about returning it or what fees there might be if it was late or returned not where I picked it up.

That evening I made a plan to get home, looking at the roads and wanting to avoid the I-95 corridor. And thinking others were avoiding it too, that meant the next interstate inland would be a mess too. So I planned to head up towards the western tip of Virginia and then into Ohio and across the Pennsylvania turnpike and into New York and New England well above the main cities.

So I headed out early, like 4 am early... and I don't know when but somewhere got a call from a work friend who asked where I was, how I was getting home, and if I was doing it, could I make a bit of a detour and pick up a friend's husband that was stranded in Ohio? Sure.. why not, I was headed that way mostly and it would give me someone to ride/drive with the rest of the way home!

So I met up with this person, and kept going.. it was a 22 hour drive home all together, not that bad really. And of course the events of that day and that trip will be in my head forever.

More importantly though, are remembering those that lost their lives that day, and how we as Americans, seem to have forgotten as people question the tactics used by airport security, or what we do in the military to defend our home from abroad. I hope never to see such an event again, and hope in our childrens' lives it doesn't happen either. But as people forget, and they make their privacy or their inconveniences more important than the safety of our homes and our country, it seems like we set ourselves up for failure again.

Let's hope not... and let's remember 9/11/2001 and allow a little inconvenience here or there, a safety measure that seems crazy to be not optional, and let's know that in the end, it's for all of us not one of us to do our best to remember and be ready to do what is needed to avoid another such day from happening again.

Canvas On Demand

2012-09-10T14:58:00.002-04:00

There are products that you buy and then there are products that you fall in love with. Having a photo made into a canvas print, as if an artist painted it on the canvas, is one of those fall in love with products.

I had purchased one from CanvasOnDemand.com a couple years ago for Cheryl and myself, a picture we both liked from our trip to Cancun. And as we start the Christmas shopping season (you ARE starting to shop or at least think about it, right?) Cheryl has actually prompted that another canvas of a natural scene would be great to have. She doesn't prompt for gifts, ever really. So I know she really wants one.

The surprise for her is that it's going to be a picture she actually took. Though she may read this and find out, but she won't know which picture! And I also ordered one of my mom and dad for them for christmas too!

Here's a link if you're interested... I really have enjoyed the attention our first one has gotten, and can't wait to see how this next one looks hanging on our wall!

Canvas On Demand Link

So give it a try, there's a discount from that link.

Vacation Ends

2012-09-09T18:16:00.001-04:00

Yes, vacations do come to an end. This was a week off with rain, sun, fun, and chores. Although mostly planned were chores, there was plenty of down time too.. Diablo III for instance, I had a chance to play quite a bit. Along with my helper, Aiden. And books, the Kindle got a good work out this week with a couple of books being read.

Chores planned were scattered, some putting away stuff for the winter, splitting wood and getting that put in the cellar, even stained a few deck chairs which I had hoped was a surprise for Cheryl but she figured it out.

I also found out that my painting skills are better left in the paint can! Some trip outside needed to be primed and painted, which I managed to get to. But looking at it, you can see where I actually missed paint over the primed areas!

Vacation was also a lot of fun with Cheryl, who was able to take Friday off so we had a long weekend together. We had planned to visit Cape Cod, but our friend was ill that we were going to visit so changed to a couple of weeks from now. That left us a chance to head to camp for the day, and then a couple of days around home for ourselves.

Madonna concert during the week, plenty of time with Zoey and Squirrel and Aiden and Abbey too. Quite the family Cheryl and I have here!

But tomorrow is the return to work. Since I work from home, it's a lot les dramatic than past vacations where returning actually meant returning. So maybe tomorrow instead of working from home, I'll go into the office so it does feel like returning back to work. Otherwise, it might be harder being home in a work from home environment after vacation I think!

Evening is winding down, the week comes to a vacation ending... but in a few weeks we look forward to another vacation together with an adventure to Florida. Can't wait!

The Weatherman (or Weatherwoman?)

2012-09-08T15:44:00.000-04:00

Do you plan your day relative to what you hear for weather? Today, overcast most of the day chance of rain in the afternoon. So we started around the house chores, inside chores.

It's sunny. Hot. No clouds. Windy, but beautiful otherwise.. would have been a day at camp not around the house if we hadn't heard the weatherman say overcast all day with chance of showers.

So is it a weatherwoman or weathergal if it's a she not a he doing the weather? No idea.. but are they right more than wrong?!

Cats

2012-09-07T07:27:00.001-04:00

Kittens become cats, and watching them grow up can be a whole lot of fun! Sometimes there are tough times too.

Zeke and Zoey came into our lives a bit more than a year ago. We went to the shelter for a kitten but couldn't break up the brother and sister pair.

About five weeks after we got them, Zeke became very sick. No amount of money or care at a veterinarian would help that poor little guy, and anyone that has had pets knows how much that hurts when you lose one. And to do so as young was a heartbreak that today is still not forgotten.

Zoey went through a stage where she missed her brother big time, but with Squirrel around, who Cheryl has had for some twelve or so years, things got better in time. These days, Squirrel seems to tolerate having Zoey around, and Zoey seems to adore Squirrel.

Lately, it's been noticeable that Zoey is turning from a kitten into a cat. She's growing up! She was such a runt of the litter, little thing and so cute. Oh she is still cute, but developing a wonderful personality as she grows older. She rarely meows, rather she has this loud mrrrr she makes when she is talking to you. Yesterday though, Cheryl and I were on the deck and she was at the screen door meowing!

Anyway, we also know that we have to not feed her constantly or she is going to pork out. But it's incredible to be part of bringing up this kitten into a cat, and having her love returned to us full time!

And with that, both cats are thinking its time for breakfast, which it is. Squirrel was just biting my toe so that's the hint I need to get up and feed them.

Hotels and Cancellation fees

2012-09-06T15:56:00.000-04:00

So Cheryl and I are headed to Cape Cod tomorrow for the weekend. Only not any more. Our friend that we were going to visit is ill and so going would mean missing out on seeing her and her family. Our hotel check in isn't until tomorrow night, and it's something local, not a chain hotel.

You'd think that cancelling, or moving to another date at this point would be ok. Get this, the hotel's cancellation policy is noon three days BEFORE check in! Wow.. three days! I mean, I get that it's Cape Cod and in the summer months, busy is busy.. but three days?

So I've begged and pleaded, trying to get them to move it. Finally got to a manager who said 'sure'. And then a minute later said, "but wait, you made this reservation on Expedia so I can't modify it". Huh?

Hey Expedia, can you help me? Um no, the policy is forfeit the prepaid deposit if making changes or cancelling within three days before check in. Um, Expedia.. I checked with the property and they said it was ok but you had to do it. We can't.. policy is forfeit the pre pay amount sir.

Run around hell.

Asked for a manager at Expedia, and got someone who actually heard me say I'd checked with the property and they were ok with it except that Expedia had to do it. That person, wish I'd caught their name, said they would check with the property to confirm if I would hold.. they did, they got confirmation, and viola' it was all arranged as a move, no forfeiture of the pre-pay.

I know it won't work that way all of the time.. but phew.

MDNA - MADGE - Madonna!

2012-09-05T16:14:00.003-04:00

Madonna, TD Garden, Boston

We've been to some outstanding concerts over the past few years... Shakira, 3 Doors Down, Britney, Lady Gaga and now Madonna. But I have to admit, the concert was so much about the 'show' and less about the music, and isn't it the music that you go to hear?

Of course, she's promoting her new album, MDNA, which has some music on it that's, well, it's not her old music that's for certain. And that's OK. It just ends up being a big part of the show. And the performances are sometimes over the top. One segment where the lyrics are "shoot my lover in the head" showed her shooting various on stage performers and the big screen behind the stage showing blood splatters each time. I know Madonna has been controversial many times, but I have to admit, Cheryl and I were uncomfortable because going into TD Garden we didn't see metal detectors, anyone being searched.. and if someone did make it inside with a gun and saw that performance, it seems it would have been enough to set them off.

Anyway, there was music in there that was more familiar and made the concert overall what you might want to see and hear. I do know that I'll pay more for tickets if I have to next time to NOT sit in the nosebleed section. Sitting up in the upper balcony before the show, it was literally like am I going to hurl? See in this picture how far up it is!!

The best part of the performance for me in the show was near the end, where she sang "Like a Virgin". I do wish there was more of that, the Madonna of old instead of the newer songs in the concert, but hey, I can listen to all of it.. she's been making music for 30+ years and honestly it's all in what you make of it.

Oh, notice the halo in the picture below as she sang "Like a Virgin".. seems so fitting for a performer that has added so much to our enjoyment over the years, doesn't it?

Oh, MADGE, in the title.. Cheryl bought a t-shirt on the street with the Boston Red Sox logo for the concert.. with MADGE on it. We thought maybe afterwards it was a joke on us because we've never heard that term in reference to Madonna. Apparently she likes it though, although didn't at first.. it took her understanding it was short for your highness or something like that!

Vacation plans

2012-09-04T14:57:00.003-04:00

How often is it that the weather man, or woman, messes up your plans? Well it seems if you're on vacation, that IS the best time for it to happen, isn't it?!

This week is vacation, and my priority is to split the wood with a wood splitter that I've spent off and on throughout the summer cutting from tree-length firewood bought last year. Only now it is going to rain the next couple of days so can't really do that now, can I?

Or can I?

There is a pile of wood that is split sitting out there from the same trees that was intended for last year, but the cellar is empty. So I think soon as the rain lets up, I'm going to bring in wood that was already split and intended for next year into the cellar. And then I can split at my leisure, ok, not leisure, but soon.. and just replace the pile for next year. If that wood is wet, so what, it's going to sit a year. It's the wood going into the cellar, that was going to be split from the pile that isn't covered that shouldn't go in there wet. Guess in hindsight, if I had covered the cut but not yet split pile before the rain came, that would have been good too!

Oh well!

Too much to handle?

2012-09-03T17:02:00.001-04:00

So I thought I'd sit down every day and write a post.. seems easy, especially since there is rarely a day that I don't sit down at the computer for something! But I started vacation when work ended on Friday, and even though I've been at the computer a few times, blogging just hasn't been top of mind I'm afraid.

This evening I'm about to watch the movie "The Hunger Games" after having just read the book over the weekend.. it's an easy read, fun book.. and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie. As long as the Apple TV and the home network cooperate about getting the movie downloaded and playing that is! I think it's my network, things have been going on with the broadband service and there are hiccups left and right it seems with what appears to be outages. Tomorrow, holiday over, raining, and I'm hoping I remember to call Time Warner about it.

And to write another blog!

Oops!

2012-08-31T12:07:00.004-04:00

Well, thought I was off to a good start and then what happened to yesterday?! Seems somewhere along the way yesterday happened but I missed my intended daily routine to say hello and what's going on here in this blog!

So TGIF, we'll just skip yesterday and move to today since it is FRIDAY! It's better than just any old Friday though, it's the beginning of a vacation, or more correctly a staycation I should say. But it's not work!

So let's talk about work a bit and get that off my plate.

In high school I did what lots of guys and gals do and got a job. The summer job. Local grocery store, bagging groceries was where I ended up. And stocking shelves. Even learned to run a register. Back then, it was actually mechanical.. 3....5....9 ca-chunk! And so on.

I graduated high school and thought the world ahead of me was all about solving cancer, so I wanted to be a microbiology major and work in a major lab to do just that. But somewhere along the way in my first year of college, it didn't work out quite that way and I was back to, well, my summer job again.

Apparently they liked me, because a new store opened up an hour away from where I grew up and they wanted me to be their 'third man', which today I don't think they could get away with that name, but basically it was the assistant-assistant-manager, hence third in line person. I took the opportunity and from there worked 11 years in grocery retail from third man to assistant manager and even to store manager over that time period. I worked in about 16 different stores in that time period so had a lot of retail experience, good and bad, and worked with a lot of very talented people.

In about the 1987 time period, the store I happened to be in was one of the chosen stores to pilot a Honeywell-Bull computer for time and attendance and direct store delivery. A computer in our store, wow! I volunteered a ton with the staff in the office, let me do this for you, oh you need it rebooted I can do that tell me what to do! From there, with the interest that I was showing and an opportunity that came along, they actually offered me a role 'inside'! Yes, I was going to be a corporate man now!

So up the ranks I went, always looking for more. From analyst to specialist, from technical lead to team lead to manager and even to director. My interest was always the hardware and what kept them ticking, how they ran, how you could make them faster, what would the next model look like, what was the best one to get tomorrow when it was time to buy. And so I lead many efforts in that company around retail automation from a technology view up to last year where I had actually been director over the entire platforms engineering group. It was something to be responsible for a great group of people that managed the care and feeding of all our mainframes, UNIX servers, Windows servers, and client PCs throughout the US.

But a direction and opportunity that I hadn't imagined became available, and even though I loved that role, I took a fork in the road to become an IT architect. Partially because in the director role, that's actually one of the things I found hardest to let go of, and partially because that's just plain what I love and I'm good at.

So today I'm an IT architect, more of an Enterprise Architect actually. And the previous roles certainly help with how to lead infrastructure and strategy for our business. No more people that report to me though, which allows for a lot more time 'thinking' the technical. "Playing" as I call it with the ideas and technology that is available to us to improve the way the company does business. And yes, I am good at it and proud of it.

The people part I missed at first, but this year through a Dale Carnegie class that the managers in our IT department were taking together, I realized that without people reporting to me, I still had a lot of opportunity to guide and coach individuals in so many ways. And have done it all along but now without the direct reporting relationships which actually makes it even more fulfilling!

I'll talk more I'm sure some day about the day in the life of an IT Enterprise Architect. And oh, the company that I work for, is Delhaize Shared Services LLC, formerly based in Salisbury, NC. But I work in the office in Scarborough, ME. Delhaize owns and operates supermarkets in the US under various banners, locally it's Hannaford, in Florida it's Sweetbay Supermarkets. From North Florida to Pennsylvania, there are Food Lion stores, Bottom Dollar stores, and Reid's stores. In Georgia primarily there are Harvey's stores. Owned by a Belgium company called Delhaize Group, it all adds up to a group of banners and divisions that needs a lot of IT Enterprise Architecting!!

Nissan dealers

2012-08-29T10:10:00.001-04:00

So I divert a bit from my intent of the getting to know me blogs starting out. Today I'm sitting at a Nissan dealership waiting for a car repair. It's my fiancé's car, only 50,000 miles on it but the steering column motor which does an up thing when you get out of the car and returns to your setting when you sit back in the car has a broken motor.

You'd think that something designed to go up and down every time you got in or out of the car would be designed to last a bit longer than 50,000 miles. Apparently not based on the number of Google hits and NTSC complaints. But Nissan doesn't cover the repair as a recall even though they have a service bulletin out since it is a frequent service item.

They should. Or they should split the cost maybe.

$350 is the estimate and the technician said I should be happy because when the repair started showing up Nissan was having them replace the entire steering wheel for about $1400! Happy it's not that amount, sure. But if it's a frequent repair why not a recall?!

Anyway, this little problem did allow us to try a new dealership in the area which we like better. We ran into a bit of an "it will take an hour to look at it first before we can order the part" at our regular dealership. For something that has a service bulletin and is a frequent repair, paying for an hour for them to see if that is what it really is didn't make sense. So we found someone that said they would just need us to drive by to check and it would probably take only ten minutes. No charge. Yeah, that's the type of dealership and customer service you want to find!

So we shall see how this turns out but I'm thinking that both of our Nissans now have a new place to go for their work needed!

Oh, in case you're wondering, it Nissan of Saco that we are trying. Wish us luck!

A little more about me

2012-08-28T13:14:00.002-04:00

So I have to admit, the first post I really skimped on details, so that I would have some things to write about as I got started here. From there, I think it would be like I'm on a roll.

So let's go with more of my background first.

I am actually from Vermont, having lived in northern Vermont until about the seventh grade. My mom and dad both had family all around us, back then it seemed that everyone stayed close to home. None of this moving across the country thing. I am the oldest of four, brothers David and Dan come next then my sister Diane. Pretty evenly spaced out too. It's the D..D..D... Doug call that I remember back then when mom was calling for us and stuttered through the D's.

My dad had worked in a feed store, then moved on to manage a dairy herd. My mom was a stay at home mom. Both are still living by the way, though more on that and their health and such later. About seventh grade, we moved to Virginia, 1972.. do you know what that year was about? Desegregation... in the seventh grade I was bussed some 20+ miles to a school that had originally been black. And please, don't get offended about that word if you're African American, it's what back then I was told to call this other race that I hadn't seen much of from the north. And I know that's changed over the years, but it's how I'm going with it.

It was a tough year there. My dad managed a dairy herd that milked cows around the clock pretty much. And he had a lot of clean up to do in that herd, like dumping gallons of clorox in the bulk milk tank before the truck came to get the milk when he first got there. And my being bussed so far made for a long day. Eventually, dad said we're moving north.. going back to what he knew for family life, work, schools.. and we ended up in Maine.

Maine has treated us well, and today I call it where I'm from. Middle and High school, a try at college, and ended up working for a small grocery store in town which is where my career started and to this day I give credit too.

It's rural enough here that you can be in the middle of nowhere from a person's view if they are from the city. And yet we're just 15 minutes or so to almost anything you might want for shopping or services.

So along the way, I got married, stayed that way almost twenty years and had a son, Matthew. Divorced when he was about 15, that was ten years ago now. And today I'm engaged, although may never get married again, to a wonderful gal that I met through work and love dearly - Cheryl.

I can tell you a lot about both Matt and Cheryl, and about the marriage and divorce. But I think I'll leave tht for another time. Today, let's say that I'm in that happier than every place, with a wonderful partner to come home to and spend time with. And making her home our home, has been such a wonderful change in my life that it's like why couldn't it have happened sooner! You'll all get to know that part later, but it is great being here and being able to share.... so stay tuned!

New day, new blog, and why!

2012-08-27T13:52:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, so I'm starting a new blog, as it seems to be the 'in' thing to do. Don't you blog? The reality is it's a way, or so I hear, to let your mind roam, to get said stuff you feel needs to be said, and maybe even find along the way that people like it, hate it, or you can make money from it! What a concept, writing to see who likes or not or if there's money to be made!?

Well, I do know that I can write, although how well only time will tell. There may be a limit of the topics I write about, even that though could be far from the truth in say a week, or month from now!

About me though first.

I live in Maine, which is "the way life should be" and most days I believe that. Don't ask me on day five of the below 10 degree days though. Southern Maine actually, so there's enough to do around here but still allows for a rural feeling to the area. I live with my fiance who you'll meet of course in a later blog in her house along with a couple of 'kids' and cats. I have a kid of my own, he's out there in the real world too somewhere but seems in that rebellious stage of his life and doesn't want to have anything to do with his father!

I've grown up in the retail food industry, first in operations and then in the Information Technology side of things. My career is just over 35 years with one company. Yes, I'm being vague, more about all of the above later gives me some starting places to blog about don't you think? Rather than dump it all on you now with names, places, and such!?

For hobbies, I do enjoy 'playing' with techie things, and lately have been spending probably way too much time on Diablo III. That can consume a LOT of time, let me tell you.. but at the same time feels rewarding. I'm not one to spend my days on the WII or XBOX or Playstation for hours on end, nor do I watch movie after movie.. but this one computer game series has had my attention for the years it's been available and now refreshed with a new release.

Anyway, more to come about me and blogs here and there. For now, that's the introduction, and I'm sticking to it!

-Doug