Break out the parkas

Finally turned colder (cooler) down here this week.

I know, I know. There are others who have been braving much colder temps than we have (tip of the snow shovel to terri & Abby) since September, but our weather has been quite nice down here (mid 70s) and definitely unwinterlike. I am grateful for the temperate weather we've been having, but it's hard to get in the mood for Thanksgiving (much less Christmas) when you are out shopping in shorts and Tevas. Might as well be in south beach or Maui. But finally, on Tuesday the front came through and dropped the temps 20-30 degrees around here. Got up to drive into work on Wednesday and it was in the mid-40s. I know, that's t-shirt weather for some northern dwellers, but down here, people dress up like they are preparing for the ice age. You ought to see this place whenever we get the occasional dusting of snow every 10 years. Entire school districts close, stalled cars, lots of traffic accidents. I've lived in Jersey in my yout, trained in Kentucky during the winter, lived in Stuttgart for 5 years, so I have a wee bit of experience in cold weather, but people down tend to go crazy when at the first sign of frost on the pumpkins.

Slowly getting ready for the Thanksgiving onslaught. Picked up a huge turkey yesterday. We typically invite over my parents, my brother, some of my brother's sons (& spouses), the wife's parents, her sister, my son and his girlfriend, and occasionally a friend or two. Typical controlled chaos. I don't really go in for the massive feasts any more. Would much rather prefer as smaller gathering, but we have started something (tradition?) that is hard to put aside. With all of the preparation, cooking, clean up, we tend to spend way too much energy preparing for this event. I'd rather have a small plate of turkey & dressing and enjoy the game. I tried to convince my wife one year that, instead of gorging and killing ourselves for this one meal, we should volunteer to serve at the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless downtown. I got the evil eye for that suggestion (Please forgive my impertinence, milady). In the meantime, we will enjoy the time with our families and be thankful for all of our blessings.

Speaking of blessings, I'm off to get the dog blessed this afternoon. My old church is conducting its annual custom in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi’s love for all critters. I am not overly religious, but we did it for Shadow (and he enjoyed a long and happy life) and somehow feel we should afford the same blessings for our new mutt. I'm quite sure that Grayson ain't Catholic or Jewish or Hindu (or even Methodist) so he wouldn't care if he got blessed by the Pope or by Bubba. He'll probably enjoy the car ride and chance to visit with other dogs (& cats) more.

More fun than is legally allowed

Here we go again with the stupid pictures...

Had an incredible weekend! We took off Friday on our mystery rally not knowing where we would end up and it turned out to be a blast. After several stops and cryptic clues, we finally reached the campground in Bastrop, Texas (about 30 miles southeast of Austin). Was a very nice drive, weather was great, and we took our time. Made it to the campground in time for happy hour & burgers.

Bastrop is an old Texas town that has a lot of history and some really cool events. It was supposedly going to be the capital of Texas but it didn't work out for various reasons. Still, it has a lot of history and many old homes/places to visit. I've been to Bastrop many times before with the scouts (there is a huge camp just outside of town). Saturday there was a massive craft fair/auto show/veteran's day celebration that just about shut down the entire main street. Dog & I got to see a myriad of old cars and tour many of the local stores. Momma found a really cool quilt store in town so everyone was happy.

An old vintage Airstream trailer polished up very nicely. Can you spot the (skinny) dog in the picture?

Main street car show

Of course, since Bastrop was mere 25 miles away from Austin, we snuck off for a visit with son and girlfriend for lunch. Haven't seen them since the Labor Day rally and it was opportunity to have lunch with our offspring to see how he was doing (very well in my opinion). Great to be able to visit with him on such a short notice. The rally itself was very interesting. Dinner consisted of a very nice catered meal with lots of wine and then a show. I am not proud to admit this but I was "recruited" to sing karaoke as part of the show. Had to dress up and sing a Sinatra song (I get no kick from Champagne). Unfortunately, I did not take the top prize but I was not voted worst singer, so I would take that as a good thing.

This morning, we broke camp and hustled back to Houston to hit the Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever 10th anniversary picnic. Mere words cannot describe it but I'll try. Pandemonium. Chaos. Massive tail wagging, butt sniffing, leash dances. Great job by the volunteers and club. Try this site to view other pictures of mayhem.

Hard to tell but we had a huge turnout. Many activities. Lots of dogs.

I would label it a tremendous success, but I think I broke the dog. He ran his legs off trying to meet every single dog out there. I think he covered several miles in his travels. Of course, he swam in the muddy pond so I had to take him to the dog park to hose him down. He is worn out, tired, wet, and ready to go again.

Friday Follies

Help! I was kidnapped by aliens and haven't been able to keep up with my blog duties. I finally broke away by singing my best rendition of Sting (Roxxxxaaaannnnne).

Up to no good. Been trying to catch up at work and stay below the radar. We have 7 weeks left in the year and I have to burn 2 weeks of vacation (or lose it). Because of our system implementation/testing this year, I have not used up my vacation like I normally do so I am left with a challenge to use it or lose it. Interesting dilemma to have. Basically I will be taking off just about every Friday until the end of the year (Whoo-Hooo! 4 day work week!). Ergo, I am off today getting ready to head out to another weekend rally with the parents/brother. Should be a packed weekend. We are heading out to an unknown destination (it's a mystery rally) for an unknown agenda. It is kinda like a scavenger hunt (for old people). We head out to a specific spot west of town and stop in at the local RV dealer and get the next clue on where to go. Should be interesting. Hopefully, everybody can decipher the clues to get to the rally. The only clues I have is that it is within a 2 hour radius of where we live.

On top of that gig, I am signed up for a dog picnic this weekend. The rescue group (GBGRR) that we got Grayson from is having a 10th anniversary picnic this Sunday. They have been fostering and adopting Goldens for over 10 years and have placed roughly 2-3000 dogs over the past decade. This weekend the group is holding an anniversary picnic to celebrate. So far, there are over 250+ dogs signed up to attend. I have just got to go just to see that many tail wagging, face licking, flea bearing fur bags in one group. It will look like a freakin golden convention. This group is excellent about promoting its cause so I am certain it will wind up in the local paper.

Ya'll have a great weekend and remember, always drink upstream from the herd...

Veteran's Day

11 November

Somehow, I did not get this posted on Wednesday. Been pondering this thread for a while.

I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all the men and women who have served or are serving in the armed forces. Your unselfish sacrifices have enabled the rest of us to enjoy the lives and freedoms we have today. To me, one day is not adequate enough. This is not some sort of Hallmark moment or excuse for a 50 off sale at the local electronics store. There are a lot of heroes we encounter in life and the men and women who serve our country should be at the top of the list. Too often we idolize movie stars or aging rock star and we hold massive memorials when they die tragically. The average guy or gal who is patrolling the hills of Afghanistan or the streets of Baghdad or has manned a fox hole in some foreign land wants to be home with their families, wants to enjoy a normal evening, wants to go to school, wants to cheer on their team to victory. To me, these people are the true unsung heroes.

I say this with some humility. I have had the honor and privilege to serve in the US Army back 25 years ago. I spent 5 ½ exciting/long/excruciating years as an Armor officer in Germany. The Army – It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure. Where else will they let you run over thing with tanks and blow things up for a living? Life in the Army is pretty much 24/7. You are on call every day and a lot of weekends. The time we were stationed in Germany was at the tail end of the cold war era. Right at the end of the Iran hostage crisis and about 10 years before the Berlin wall came down. We were still the primary barrier against an East German/Russian invasion force. My unit was stationed south of Stuttgart and not a border unit, but we did man the border along East Germany at times and our primary mission was to back up the units on border. Let’s not sugar coat it here. While I did not feel we were in jeopardy during our years in FRG, our primary mission was to slow down any advance in case the Eastern bloc invaded the west. While we trained and prepared, I had no illusion as to our longevity if the balloon ever went up. Kinda fatalistic, but I felt you couldn't let that weigh you down. A lot braver souls than I have served and died for our country and I always felt I had an obligation/duty to serve.

But even with those 5+ years in the Army, I still don’t consider myself as a veteran. I know, technically, I am one. I served in the military for an extended period of time and have slept out in the mud & rain for many a night and have eaten more c-rations that I care to remember. I was lucky enough to have served during a time of peace, but I was not engaged in any active conflict (Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, WW II) so, in some way, I don’t feel that I have earned the same accolades that my fellow soldiers who have been in harm’s way. My dad served as a B17 pilot in WWII and I consider him a true veteran, but he does not wear it on his sleeve and I tend to follow his lead. I was proud & honored to have served. I’ve had some people thank me on Veteran’s day and I am grateful for their comments, but I don’t truly feel I deserve it.

Post Halloween

Great weekend.
Weather fantastic.
Outstanding game.
Nice road trip.

Spent the weekend with the parents & brother camped out in the RV lot on campus and participating in various pre football game activities. It's been a while since I have had the time to enjoy touring the campus or hitting some of the pre & post game activities. I walked the legs off of the dog and he loved it. I took him on several walks on the surrounding field adjacent to the RV lot and then hiked over to campus and did a tour of my old stomping grounds. After 30 years, things change. A lot of new buildings, but many of the older ones still remain. I always like how my school has a strong sense of tradition and they tend to keep a lot of the older buildings in use (with some modernization). Brings back lots of memories. The dog was well behaved in the crowd of people, but he still acts like a puppy when he sees other dogs (wants to play). He even got to greet the school mascot (Reveille) - a beautiful full blooded Collie. I'm just glad he behaved himself and was a gentleman (not cool to have your dog get into a fight with the school mascot). Of course, Grayson was always up to the challenge of meeting new dogs. Our next door neighbor dropped by with her dog, Tahoe, a Great Dane. And when I say Great, I mean GREAT. This dog stood flat footed and its head was over 4.5 feet tall and weighed in at 185 lbs! Grayson is not a small dog, but he was dwarfed by this beast/horse. Tahoe was easily 3 times the size of Grayson but as gentle as a lamb (or cow). I don't even want to ponder the logistics with handling and supporting a beast of that size....

Friday night was a treat (& trick). A lot of people had set up for the game so there were a lot of families camped out on the lot. I guess that, because the game was Saturday afternoon, most people decided to do trick or treating Friday night. It was a hoot to see all the families and kids dressed up and go trick or treating from camper to camper. With a football game camp out, you'd expect to have a lot of rowdy fans, but is was like a close-knit neighborhood with everybody decorating their trailers and trying to out do each other. Kids had a blast and scored a ton of candy. Even saw a number of dogs dressed up in costumes for the festivities (I didn't subject my dog to that torment, yet).

Friday Follies (Trick or Treat version)

BOO- YA! Made it through another week!

Loading up the truck and heading north as soon as the rain stops. BTW - for those who actually read this tripe, I commented this summer on how bone dry we were. The saying goes: If you don't like Texas weather, just wait a minute and it'll change. Over the past two weeks, we've just about caught up to our rain deficit. Earlier this summer, we were behind 7-8 inches in rainfall. Lots of rain/flooding in low areas. The hill country is always susceptible for flash flooding, so you gotta watch the river crossings. Even though people are griping about the rain/nasty weather, I am glad we are finally getting the rain. I've been out on the trail or in the field when it was pouring down and I'd much rather sit in my office or at home and listen to the rain on the roof and watch the show.

The office had a costume contest yesterday to encourage people to show their spirit. It is kind on an interesting culture where I work. Some groups/department are a bit more open/relaxed and get fired up for these kinds of events (you ought to see them during the Christmas holidays). Other groups (mine) are a bit more reserved and some folks tend to frown on this "dress up". My boss is one who thinks this is silly/unprofessional but I am ok with it. I have told my people that, if you want to dress up for Halloween/Xmas/Mardis Gras, knock yourself out, just keep it legal (no thongs/fishnet). Anyway, there was a company contest and a number of people dressed up in various costumes to see if they could win the prize (dinner, $$$). I applaud everyone's spirit and imagination, but you should always be cognizent of your gear/attire. One pair of engineers dressed up as two Star Trek characters (Kirk & Urhura). I don't think that Lu (Urhura) fully realized the logistical issues with the mini dress uniform that they wore back the 60s. I was in a design meeting with her in the morning and she was having issues maintaining her decorum in the leather conference room chairs.

Lots of ghosts & goblins out on Saturday. Make sure you keep any eye out for the little ones.

Hope everyone has a great and safe Halloween!

In Training (a lost cause)

Been too busy (or is that lazy?) to come up with anything meaningful to write about. The past week has just flown by and I am staring down the barrel of another weekend. Normally we hold out at the house for Halloween and pass out candy to the roving hordes that roam the neighborhood, but we are heading out to catch a football game at my Alma matter and will spend the weekend camping out in the RV lot in the trailer. Been doing this gig for years with my parents & brother and it is more of a mini-vacation away from home/office. With the fall weather finally here to stay, we try to enjoy the outdoors a lot more.

Got sucked into a training class yesterday. One of those classess/seminars that the company has determined that its entire management team needs. This is one of a series of 4-6 hour classes on various management/leadership techniques (communication, dealing with stress, how to plan projects, conflict resolution, etc.). Not counting the 5+ wonderful years I spent in the Army, I have been in business for ~25 years in various roles from individual contributor to department manager. I have had a plethora of these styles of classes/training over the years and even spend time learning communication when I got my MBA. Given all of that background, I honestly feel that these classes are a total bust. I am trying not to be one of those old, entrenched farts who sits in the back of the class muttering "That'll never work here", but I feel that some of this material cannot be adequately covered in a 4 hour class. To me, some of these classes should be 2 days to be effective and we are cramming them into 4 hours (not counting breaks). Yesterday's class was on communication. We are learning techniques on how to communicate effectively. Would be a good class for the masses, if they spent more time allowing people to absorb the subject. For once, I was glad to have my blackberry so I can keep in touch with the outside world. To me, the highlight of yeserday's training was reading about terri's potty problems. Of course, after years of taking these classes, I tend to go "off script" when it comes to the role playing exercises just to lighten the mood. In one scenario, where my partner (another manager I have worked with for 8 years) and I were to practice communicating about a problem. I was supposed to encourage and empathize with my co-worker about his work load when he griped about it to me, but it came out more like: "Is that all? Oh, just man up and deal with it. Quit whining like a 5 year old and get back in the saddle." Somehow, I don't think the instructor did not seem to appreciate my sense of humor.

And I wonder why I keep getting invited back to these classes...