Please accept my apologies for the long gap between posts. There has been a lot going on over the last month, and I'm just now catching my breath. Without further ado, here's the news that's fit to print (at least in my opinion).
Like many of you, our house took a hard hit from "the crud". Based on what people who have actually had the flu have told me, we didn't have it. However, what we did have was bad enough to knock each of us off our feet for at least a day apiece. I took a sick day off of work, and until last year I had gone for almost five years without taking one. Yes folks, it was a sledgehammer. But this too shall pass... We are all back to normal - well, something like that. I'm not really sure what normal means, but we have returned to our previous states of health at any rate.
I was elected Treasurer of our Church at the quarterly voters meeting in January. I'll be serving a two year term in this capacity where I will provide oversight to the Church budget at the Council and Voters assemblies. I also volunteered to be our congregations layman representative at the Texas District Convention this summer. I've never done any of these things before so I'm looking forward to learning some new things. I have had budget responsibilities at work for the last three years so Treasurer duties are a natural extension of that.
This is somewhat old at this point, but I've been meaning to post about it for over two months now. I served on a jury back in December, and it was an interesting experience. I have been called down to the Tarrant County Courthouse two times prior, but I was only selected for reserve jury duty. That's where they keep you for a whole or half day as standby for additional juries if needed. This time they called my name for the fourth jury so I felt like I had a sense of purpose this time. Along with about 50 other people, I was assigned to Judge Dana Womack. I had never been a part of the jury process before, and it was eye opening.
The Voir Dire process was shocking. They called us all in with assigned seating. The lawyers asked questions to specific people and asked for additional comments from other people. The lawyer for the plaintiff said that being quiet was the way to be selected. This invited much diarrhea of the mouth from people who just wanted to get out of there. One person went as far as to say that the plaintiffs "looked like people who would take advantage of the system". After hearing other similar statements, I knew that I needed to be on this jury to try to bring some sanity to the process.
Sure enough, I kept quiet, and they selected me among the twelve. The case involved an unresolved insurance claim from a chain reaction rear ending accident. The facts were fairly straightforward in favor of the plaintiff, but the defendant had the superior lawyer/presenter. I wanted to vomit as the defense lawyer pelted us with a PowerPoint presentation for her closing arguments. I couldn't believe the glassy eyed looks among my fellow jurors as form trumped substance.
We went back for deliberations, and an initial straw poll showed a vote of 8-4 in favor of the defense. I was one of the 4 so I spoke as to my reasons why (with my deepest apologies to the plaintiff) but the next vote was 11-1 (yes I was the one). Since civil verdicts only require a 10+ majority, the case was over. We deliberated less than 30 minutes. What I learned was that I hope to never have my fate in the hands of a jury.
In other news, I've had a lot of time to read and listen to music since my last post. Here's a list with links to the goods:
The Warlord's Son - a war novel set in Pakistan/Afghanistan.
Amberville - a creative noir novel.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - a leadership book.
The Empty Mirror - a historical mystery novel.
Loser's Town - a very salty mystery set in L.A.
Snark - a windbag commentary on social graces.
Chinese Democracy - the long awaited new CD from Guns 'N Roses.
Happy in Galoshes - Scott Weiland's second solo CD.
There you have it. There's a little something for everyone with more to come.
Until next time...
PH
Showing posts with label Scattershooting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scattershooting. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Scattershooting Sunday
In other words, it's time to play some catchup. Christmas has come and gone, and it was a nice one this year. We had a nice music program Christmas Eve at 4:15 followed by services at 5:00 and 7:00. Christy wrangled the music program, and it turned out really well - especially considering that it was the first time Holy Shepherd had done one. Pastor Bramich then had a good sermon Christmas sermon at the 5:00 service.
Afterward, we headed over to Brother Robert's house for food and the traditional gift exchange. It was great to see everyone again, and we had a great time. Here are some pictures from the gift exchange.
Brother Robert is bummed that his B&N gift card got swiped on the final play
Then, we celebrated Christmas Day with Christy's parents. We started by exchanging gifts, but then the focus quickly turned to food. While we didn't have Christmas Dinner, Christy and Jeri were busy in the kitchen most of the day with other goodies - pie and cookies, of course! We then had a nice steak dinner that Okey and I enjoyed with a glass of red wine. Here are a couple of pictures from Christmas morning.
Christy and her new earrings from Damon
There's a new Clone Trooper in our house
I've also reviewed a couple of Vine items over the break. Check out my write ups on Ethics for the Real World and Back to Nature's Summer Berry Blend Cereal. I used to think that food items would be difficult to review, but they are actually pretty easy. I've got quite a backlog of books going so look for a few more reviews to come in the weeks ahead. In addition, I've written up a couple of folk CDs as well. Check out Ingrid Michaelson's CD Girls And Boys and Melody Gardot's CD Worrisome Heart. They are quite different, but I liked them both.
In other news, I am now on Facebook as you may notice by the link to the right. It's a social networking site more focused on quick updates and keeping in touch than the longer posts that you will see on Philip's Corner. I plan to keep both active so don't feel obligated to register for Facebook if that is not your thing.
Until next time...
PH
Afterward, we headed over to Brother Robert's house for food and the traditional gift exchange. It was great to see everyone again, and we had a great time. Here are some pictures from the gift exchange.
Granny got Damon's handmade tank piggy-bank
Brother Robert is bummed that his B&N gift card got swiped on the final playThen, we celebrated Christmas Day with Christy's parents. We started by exchanging gifts, but then the focus quickly turned to food. While we didn't have Christmas Dinner, Christy and Jeri were busy in the kitchen most of the day with other goodies - pie and cookies, of course! We then had a nice steak dinner that Okey and I enjoyed with a glass of red wine. Here are a couple of pictures from Christmas morning.
Christy and her new earrings from Damon
There's a new Clone Trooper in our houseIn other news, I am now on Facebook as you may notice by the link to the right. It's a social networking site more focused on quick updates and keeping in touch than the longer posts that you will see on Philip's Corner. I plan to keep both active so don't feel obligated to register for Facebook if that is not your thing.
Until next time...
PH
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Scattershooting Sunday
Fasten your seat belts, folks. It's time for another whirlwind edition of "Scattershooting Sunday".
Last night we gathered with the Paslay clan at the Islamorada Fish Company in Mesquite to celebrate Dad's 66th Birthday. We had a nice meal and visit at a very leisurely pace. We were in a side room at one end of the giant fish tank, and we dined at our own pace allowing the conversation to drive the pace.
My Elbow CD from Vine came in last Tuesday, and my review is hot off the press. This won't be a CD for everyone, but I liked it for the most part. It's yet another one to add to the list of CDs that I never would have found on my own, but that's the thing I like the most about Vine. I love music, and I'm always game for giving a new artist a spin in the CD player (and moving them over to my MP3 player if they pass muster).
Speaking of music I discovered on Vine, William Wisely is gentleman and a scholar (or maybe it should be artist in this case). After finishing my review of his CD, I dropped him a note on his web page thinking him for participating in the Vine program and letting him know that I had enjoyed his CD. I also offered to put up a poster in my office to promote his CD. He agreed and asked for my address. I checked the mail when I got home Friday, and I found an envelope from him in the mailbox. Much to my surprise, he set two posters, a couple of stickers, and a copy of his EP "Between the X's and the O's" that he recorded on the side while recording his major release. It is a stripped down, mostly acoustic CD that has four songs from his CD and, according to his web site, "some brand new songs destined for future albums". It was refreshing to come across a very down-to-earth person in the entertainment industry. If he ever makes it big, I hope that it doesn't change him.
Is the price of gas giving anyone else the blues? We have started looking for a replacement for the Altima, and this has proved an interesting experience. I started with research through Consumer Reports and Vehix. I narrowed it down to three candidates: the Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, and Honda Civic. This was the first time that I have gone into it with more than one car under serious consideration. Friday afternoon I hit a couple of dealers on the way home, and I drove a Sentra and a Corolla. The Corolla had plenty of legroom, but the center console sticks out to far into the driver's side, and it cut right across my right leg in an uncomfortable way. I was undecided on the Sentra.
Yesterday Christy and I went to a Honda dealership and a different Nissan location to drive the Civic and to revisit the Sentra. We went to Huggins Honda, and that was one of the most pleasant experiences I've had at a dealership when I wasn't buying. The salesman was very thorough, and he was understanding that we were comparing cars and not ready to make a decision yesterday. He never put on the classic "hard sell" that you expect. Don't worry. The two Nissan dealerships and Toyota dealership more than made up for his share. Even after telling the Toyota salesman that the Corolla was a nonstarter, he still made a hard sell including financing options. He also called and left a message on our answering machine later that same evening! Both Nissan places had similar unknowledgeable salesmen. The one on Saturday didn't even know that the Sentra came in an SL model, but that didn't stop him from making the hardest sales pitch in the history of ever. Two minutes into the test drive, he asked me if I was ready to buy it. It went downhill from there.
Since I had no intention of actually buying this weekend, the salesmen didn't impact my decision. I have to tell you that the Civic is a nice car. Honda seems to be where Nissan was about six or seven years ago, and they are actually trying to make their cars more visually appealing. Combine that with the best gas mileage, best maintenance schedule, and the best driving car of the three, it made for a pretty easy decision. Now it's just a matter of when the right time will be. Stay tuned for a future blog entry with an update after purchase.
Well, that's all the news that's fit to print along with some that probably isn't.
Until next time...
PH
Last night we gathered with the Paslay clan at the Islamorada Fish Company in Mesquite to celebrate Dad's 66th Birthday. We had a nice meal and visit at a very leisurely pace. We were in a side room at one end of the giant fish tank, and we dined at our own pace allowing the conversation to drive the pace.
My Elbow CD from Vine came in last Tuesday, and my review is hot off the press. This won't be a CD for everyone, but I liked it for the most part. It's yet another one to add to the list of CDs that I never would have found on my own, but that's the thing I like the most about Vine. I love music, and I'm always game for giving a new artist a spin in the CD player (and moving them over to my MP3 player if they pass muster).
Speaking of music I discovered on Vine, William Wisely is gentleman and a scholar (or maybe it should be artist in this case). After finishing my review of his CD, I dropped him a note on his web page thinking him for participating in the Vine program and letting him know that I had enjoyed his CD. I also offered to put up a poster in my office to promote his CD. He agreed and asked for my address. I checked the mail when I got home Friday, and I found an envelope from him in the mailbox. Much to my surprise, he set two posters, a couple of stickers, and a copy of his EP "Between the X's and the O's" that he recorded on the side while recording his major release. It is a stripped down, mostly acoustic CD that has four songs from his CD and, according to his web site, "some brand new songs destined for future albums". It was refreshing to come across a very down-to-earth person in the entertainment industry. If he ever makes it big, I hope that it doesn't change him.
Is the price of gas giving anyone else the blues? We have started looking for a replacement for the Altima, and this has proved an interesting experience. I started with research through Consumer Reports and Vehix. I narrowed it down to three candidates: the Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, and Honda Civic. This was the first time that I have gone into it with more than one car under serious consideration. Friday afternoon I hit a couple of dealers on the way home, and I drove a Sentra and a Corolla. The Corolla had plenty of legroom, but the center console sticks out to far into the driver's side, and it cut right across my right leg in an uncomfortable way. I was undecided on the Sentra.
Yesterday Christy and I went to a Honda dealership and a different Nissan location to drive the Civic and to revisit the Sentra. We went to Huggins Honda, and that was one of the most pleasant experiences I've had at a dealership when I wasn't buying. The salesman was very thorough, and he was understanding that we were comparing cars and not ready to make a decision yesterday. He never put on the classic "hard sell" that you expect. Don't worry. The two Nissan dealerships and Toyota dealership more than made up for his share. Even after telling the Toyota salesman that the Corolla was a nonstarter, he still made a hard sell including financing options. He also called and left a message on our answering machine later that same evening! Both Nissan places had similar unknowledgeable salesmen. The one on Saturday didn't even know that the Sentra came in an SL model, but that didn't stop him from making the hardest sales pitch in the history of ever. Two minutes into the test drive, he asked me if I was ready to buy it. It went downhill from there.
Since I had no intention of actually buying this weekend, the salesmen didn't impact my decision. I have to tell you that the Civic is a nice car. Honda seems to be where Nissan was about six or seven years ago, and they are actually trying to make their cars more visually appealing. Combine that with the best gas mileage, best maintenance schedule, and the best driving car of the three, it made for a pretty easy decision. Now it's just a matter of when the right time will be. Stay tuned for a future blog entry with an update after purchase.
Well, that's all the news that's fit to print along with some that probably isn't.
Until next time...
PH
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Scattershooting Sunday
Hello one and all. So much to cover, so little time. Without further ado, here is a brain dump of what's been going on.
Today is my sixth wedding anniversary to my lovely wife, Christy. We have had an enjoyable weekend. Friday I came home to a nice home cooked steak dinner with a dessert of sweet potato pie - yum! Saturday we went out for dinner at JR's Steakhouse. While we enjoyed our dinner together, it had more to do with the company than the establishment. My steak was very unevenly cooked which is unacceptable at $32.99. At Chili's or the like you might overlook it, but not at a "fine dining" establishment. Today we put six pennies in the "chapel piggy bank" during Sunday School and had "Happy Anniversary" sung to us by the remainder of the Sunday School group. Overall it was a very nice weekend. Can you believe it has been six years since that hot Saturday afternoon at
Today was also Confirmation Sunday at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church. I absolutely love being in a small congregation. This year's confirmation class totaled one young lady. Someday Rachel will appreciate the fact that she had a sermon preached largely for her - that day may actually be today. The sermon was based on Rachel's confirmation verse, 1 John 5:13. I thought it was very special. It made me remember my own confirmation some 20 years ago. While there were seven in my confirmation class, I found it easy to relate to being a class of one. Much like Rachel, I could picture myself up there alone with the Pastor reciting the responses as quickly as possible during the Rite of Confirmation. Let me say again that this is a special congregation. If you are looking for a Church home in the north
Christy will attest to the fact that I am a spontaneous - read unplanned - person. However, even the post take it as it comes person enjoys some stability. For about a year now, Marcus has been the coffee man at work - that was until about 2 weeks ago. Monday Marcus was there, and Tuesday he had accepted a promotion at another location. I saw Marcus between 7:00 and 7:15 a.m. everyday for at least a year, and for I can't remember how long he greeted me each morning with, "What's up, bro?" He had worked at Starbucks prior to working our Starbucks Cafe at Southwest Airlines. He explained a lot to me about coffee and the Starbucks way of preparing and serving coffee. We also talked about Cowboys, Mavericks, cars, and many other things that you might talk about with a bartender. Now he is gone, and I can say that I miss him. There hasn't been a consistent replacement for him yet, but no one will ever truly replace Marcus. He understood customer service. He knew me, and he knew what I wanted when I walked up. While he had a different mild, medium, and bold coffee each morning, he knew what I wanted. It wasn't always the same each day. It would be easy to remember that someone always gets the bold, but I don't like
Vine leftovers day was the Thursday before last. Since then I've been reading All That Road Going and Christy and I have watched The Best of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on DVD. My review of the comedy DVD is hot off the press while I'm a little less than half way through the book. The next Vine newsletter is scheduled for May 15, and I'm hoping for another good selection of music. While it is fun to get the electronics stuff, the music is what I wind up getting the most out of on a consistent basis. I enjoy most of the books, but I have never read a fiction book a second time. I'll refer to a good work related book for years to come, but there haven't been many of these. Plus my music tastes are pretty diverse, and I love finding new artists. (BTW, Christy got me three CDs for our anniversary, and one of them was by a trumpet player, Chris Botti, that I had not heard of before.)
There might be more, but I've been writing for a while now. It's after 10:00 p.m., and that means it is time to get some sleep. I know that I haven't been the best at responding to e-mail or making phone calls of late. Rest assured, I am not mad at anyone or anything else bad that you might think of - beyond having an insane amount of things going on. (I didn't even mention the garage sale that the Church youth group had last weekend. Ask Christy about her "tan".)
Until next time...PH
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Scattershooting Sunday
Happy Easter! I hope that you all have found joy in the celebration of Christ's resurrection. We had a put lock breakfast at Church this morning followed by service at 9:30. We did not go to sunrise service this year. Christy played a few songs for service, and the choir sang one.
Yesterday was just about a perfect day as far as weather goes. After my morning workout, I spent the afternoon in Arlington. Part of the time, I was at the new Arlington Heights outdoor shopping center. These have become the new trend with Southlake Town Square being one of the "older" ones. However, Arlington did not follow Southlake's formula. It is clear that Southlake Town Square was meant to be walked. In Arlington, you do this at your own risk as the heavy traffic flow plays chicken at the four way stop signs - and that's before you add pedestrians into the mix! Luckily, I was paying attention and patient...
When did the world yield become equivalent with "pay no attention to the triangle shaped sign or the traffic to which it refers"? If you driven in at all in DFW, you know what I mean. Perhaps photo enforcement of these is next. Not likely...
Thursday was Vine day for March. I'm excited to be trying out the Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System and the Philips Sonicare FlexCare Rechargeable Sonic Toothbrush. Both are still en route so stay tuned around the end of the month or early in April...
What's new on my mp3 player? I've just added Moment of Forever by Willie Nelson and Warpaint by The Black Crowes. How's that for eclectic?
Until next time...
PH
Yesterday was just about a perfect day as far as weather goes. After my morning workout, I spent the afternoon in Arlington. Part of the time, I was at the new Arlington Heights outdoor shopping center. These have become the new trend with Southlake Town Square being one of the "older" ones. However, Arlington did not follow Southlake's formula. It is clear that Southlake Town Square was meant to be walked. In Arlington, you do this at your own risk as the heavy traffic flow plays chicken at the four way stop signs - and that's before you add pedestrians into the mix! Luckily, I was paying attention and patient...
When did the world yield become equivalent with "pay no attention to the triangle shaped sign or the traffic to which it refers"? If you driven in at all in DFW, you know what I mean. Perhaps photo enforcement of these is next. Not likely...
Thursday was Vine day for March. I'm excited to be trying out the Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System and the Philips Sonicare FlexCare Rechargeable Sonic Toothbrush. Both are still en route so stay tuned around the end of the month or early in April...
What's new on my mp3 player? I've just added Moment of Forever by Willie Nelson and Warpaint by The Black Crowes. How's that for eclectic?
Until next time...
PH
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Scattershooting Saturday
Wow, has it really been that long since my last post? That can only mean that there's a lot of ground to cover so here we go...
One of the things that have been taking up my time lately is that I have joined a book club through Barnes and Noble. The common tie that this has to Amazon's Vine program is that you can receive advanced copies of books to read. However, the difference is that there are fewer of them with more time between. The First Look program is the section of the club that reads and discusses advanced copies of books. I am currently taking part in the discussion for The Sister. I would have never chosen this on my own, but it turned out to be an interesting read. At some point I will be posting a review on the BN website. Stay tuned... One other note, unlike Vine the First Look program is open to anyone who registers for the Barnes and Noble Book Club.
A few weeks ago, Ben and I went back to school - beer school that is! Each month The Covey in Forth Worth has beer school (it will be somewhere on the event page) on the third Sunday. The beer was pretty good, but the "sausage" platter was even better. Would you expect chilled BBQ Salmon on a sausage platter? Me neither but that's what we got. I don't know if it's always that way, but I'd be willing to go back and find out...
Dad and Bobbie were in for a visit a couple of weeks ago. They came to see one of Damon's basketball games. We mixed in a trip to the Fort Woof dog park and a few good restaurants to round out a nice visit. It was a short visit, but we enjoyed it.
Vine has also kept me pretty busy. In addition to the normal monthly newsletter, they had a special "clearance" newsletter the beginning of this month. Between the two, I selected two books and two CDs. I just finished reading The Secret Scroll last night, and I will be posting my review in the next couple of days. My CDs just came yesterday. I chose a couple of pretty different selections: Mockingbird by Allison Moorer and the latest CD from Wisely. I should have something up for both of these by the end of next week. Both artists have enabled streaming of the entire CD on their web sites (Allison Moorer and Wisley) if you are interested. Finally, I am waiting on Now You See Him to arrive. With all the books, I guess you can see where blogging time might lose out...
We also have our house back on the market as of Monday. We are now with a Keller Williams agent based on a recommendation from a family friend. Darin Davis has our listing on his site now as well on all of the normal MLS sites. We hope this is going to be the listing that does it.
And that is what's been keeping us busy for the last few weeks.
Until next time...
PH
One of the things that have been taking up my time lately is that I have joined a book club through Barnes and Noble. The common tie that this has to Amazon's Vine program is that you can receive advanced copies of books to read. However, the difference is that there are fewer of them with more time between. The First Look program is the section of the club that reads and discusses advanced copies of books. I am currently taking part in the discussion for The Sister. I would have never chosen this on my own, but it turned out to be an interesting read. At some point I will be posting a review on the BN website. Stay tuned... One other note, unlike Vine the First Look program is open to anyone who registers for the Barnes and Noble Book Club.
A few weeks ago, Ben and I went back to school - beer school that is! Each month The Covey in Forth Worth has beer school (it will be somewhere on the event page) on the third Sunday. The beer was pretty good, but the "sausage" platter was even better. Would you expect chilled BBQ Salmon on a sausage platter? Me neither but that's what we got. I don't know if it's always that way, but I'd be willing to go back and find out...
Dad and Bobbie were in for a visit a couple of weeks ago. They came to see one of Damon's basketball games. We mixed in a trip to the Fort Woof dog park and a few good restaurants to round out a nice visit. It was a short visit, but we enjoyed it.
Vine has also kept me pretty busy. In addition to the normal monthly newsletter, they had a special "clearance" newsletter the beginning of this month. Between the two, I selected two books and two CDs. I just finished reading The Secret Scroll last night, and I will be posting my review in the next couple of days. My CDs just came yesterday. I chose a couple of pretty different selections: Mockingbird by Allison Moorer and the latest CD from Wisely. I should have something up for both of these by the end of next week. Both artists have enabled streaming of the entire CD on their web sites (Allison Moorer and Wisley) if you are interested. Finally, I am waiting on Now You See Him to arrive. With all the books, I guess you can see where blogging time might lose out...
We also have our house back on the market as of Monday. We are now with a Keller Williams agent based on a recommendation from a family friend. Darin Davis has our listing on his site now as well on all of the normal MLS sites. We hope this is going to be the listing that does it.
And that is what's been keeping us busy for the last few weeks.
Until next time...
PH
Monday, January 14, 2008
A little of this and a little of that...
I haven't been very consistent in getting posts up lately, but I'm hoping to change that. I just finished writing annual appraisals at work, and that was rather time consuming. Since a lot has happened over the last few weeks, I'm going to jump around a bit today.
Anyone else have Cowboys letdown this morning?
One of the great things with music is rediscovering something that you liked but had forgotten. My recent experience was with the Traveling Wilburys. While I didn't buy the CD set listed here, I bought "Handle with Care" and "End of the Line" from an MP3 site. Among the many things to like about this group is it has one of the last recordings by Roy Orbison. Good stuff.
I've been using dotphoto for uploading and sharing pictures since getting a digital camera last month. I recently took advantage of the 50 free prints, and we got them in the mail last week. Prints are normally $0.12 a piece, but I'm not sure how good that is. I'd be curious what other folks are using.
There is an interesting looking movie coming out next month called Vantage Point. The movies main web site is not responding at work, but the IMDB link has the trailer.
We are in the process of changing realtors again with the hope of getting back on the market by the end of the month. If you know anyone wanting to relocate to the Hurst/Fort Worth area....
I'm nearly finished with Daydream Believers. Look for my review by the end of the week. It's turned out to be a pretty interesting read.
And now my head is emptied of random thoughts for now.
Until next time...
PH
Anyone else have Cowboys letdown this morning?
One of the great things with music is rediscovering something that you liked but had forgotten. My recent experience was with the Traveling Wilburys. While I didn't buy the CD set listed here, I bought "Handle with Care" and "End of the Line" from an MP3 site. Among the many things to like about this group is it has one of the last recordings by Roy Orbison. Good stuff.
I've been using dotphoto for uploading and sharing pictures since getting a digital camera last month. I recently took advantage of the 50 free prints, and we got them in the mail last week. Prints are normally $0.12 a piece, but I'm not sure how good that is. I'd be curious what other folks are using.
There is an interesting looking movie coming out next month called Vantage Point. The movies main web site is not responding at work, but the IMDB link has the trailer.
We are in the process of changing realtors again with the hope of getting back on the market by the end of the month. If you know anyone wanting to relocate to the Hurst/Fort Worth area....
I'm nearly finished with Daydream Believers. Look for my review by the end of the week. It's turned out to be a pretty interesting read.
And now my head is emptied of random thoughts for now.
Until next time...
PH
Monday, November 12, 2007
Enjoying the little things
In today's hustle and bustle life, it is easy to overlook the little things that bring pleasure. I noticed one of these yesterday, and I thought I'd post a list of a few that I could think of.
1. I was driving home from the gym yesterday with the window down, and the cool breeze was just about perfect.
2. Last winter I went to the gym on a chilly evening. When I arrived they gave me a towel that was fresh out of the dryer. When I put it around my neck, the warm feeling was very comforting.
3. Many of the recent days have had almost perfect weather. It's hard to beat a cool afternoon when the warmth of the sun feels just right.
4. If you like coffee, take a bite of dark chocolate and follow it up with a sip of rich coffee.
5. Or follow it up with a sip of bold red wine.
6. Can you beat the smell of a home cooked meal after a long day at work?
7. I barely get in the door of an evening before Kassie is there to greet me.
8. Sometimes it is just nice to finally lay down in bed after a demanding day.
I'm sure that you can think of your own list, and this is far from exhaustive for me. It's just some of the things that come to mind.
Until next time...
PH
1. I was driving home from the gym yesterday with the window down, and the cool breeze was just about perfect.
2. Last winter I went to the gym on a chilly evening. When I arrived they gave me a towel that was fresh out of the dryer. When I put it around my neck, the warm feeling was very comforting.
3. Many of the recent days have had almost perfect weather. It's hard to beat a cool afternoon when the warmth of the sun feels just right.
4. If you like coffee, take a bite of dark chocolate and follow it up with a sip of rich coffee.
5. Or follow it up with a sip of bold red wine.
6. Can you beat the smell of a home cooked meal after a long day at work?
7. I barely get in the door of an evening before Kassie is there to greet me.
8. Sometimes it is just nice to finally lay down in bed after a demanding day.
I'm sure that you can think of your own list, and this is far from exhaustive for me. It's just some of the things that come to mind.
Until next time...
PH
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Scattershooting 11/4/2007
Today seems like a good day for scattershooting so here goes.
Did anyone else forget to "fall back" last night? We did, and it wasn't until we had been up and had breakfast before we figured it out. To top it off, we still managed to be running late this morning, and we got to church after the first hymn started.
If you live in DFW, you know that the weather the past couple of days has been almost perfect. It doesn't really feel like the first week in November, but who could argue with a low of 60 and a high of 85?
Can you believe it is time to start thinking about Christmas shopping? I like to be done before Thanksgiving so that I don't have to worry about all the madness between then and Christmas. Where did 2007 go?
I opened a bottle of wine this afternoon. It's a nice lite Chardonnay from my birthday party. I haven't really had much wine this year, but it just sounded good. I also prefer white wines during the warmer weather which can't be with us much longer. Is there anything better on a cool/cold evening that a nice bold red? Some may say a nice winter warmer ale, and I'd be hard pressed to argue.
I'm excited about the Cowboys game tonight, but I wish that I hadn't gotten up an hour earlier than usual. What will feel like 11:00 p.m. is awfully late for an early bird who's now 10 years out of college. That sounded really old, didn't it? Perhaps that's what I am.
Until next time...
PH
Did anyone else forget to "fall back" last night? We did, and it wasn't until we had been up and had breakfast before we figured it out. To top it off, we still managed to be running late this morning, and we got to church after the first hymn started.
If you live in DFW, you know that the weather the past couple of days has been almost perfect. It doesn't really feel like the first week in November, but who could argue with a low of 60 and a high of 85?
Can you believe it is time to start thinking about Christmas shopping? I like to be done before Thanksgiving so that I don't have to worry about all the madness between then and Christmas. Where did 2007 go?
I opened a bottle of wine this afternoon. It's a nice lite Chardonnay from my birthday party. I haven't really had much wine this year, but it just sounded good. I also prefer white wines during the warmer weather which can't be with us much longer. Is there anything better on a cool/cold evening that a nice bold red? Some may say a nice winter warmer ale, and I'd be hard pressed to argue.
I'm excited about the Cowboys game tonight, but I wish that I hadn't gotten up an hour earlier than usual. What will feel like 11:00 p.m. is awfully late for an early bird who's now 10 years out of college. That sounded really old, didn't it? Perhaps that's what I am.
Until next time...
PH
Monday, June 4, 2007
A New Game Of Tag
My friend Amy got me involved in a high tech game of tag where it is now my duty to give eight factoids of interest that you may or may not already know. Limiting this to eight might be a challenge...
1. After my freshman year in college, I spent eight weeks working at Camp Discovery Space Camp at Northwestern State University. Each week on Sunday afternoon, a new group of kids came in and spent the week through Thursday evening when we had "graduation". The Director, Mike Hawkins, started his address to the parents and family with the same phrase, "We are officially tired." This has since evolved into a much larger program.
2. Staying with this theme, after my first senior year in college, I spent a total of five weeks (one three week and one two week session) as a resident adviser for the Investigation of Talented Students at the University of North Texas. This was what you would call a different kind of summer camp. Highly intelligent and motivated middle school and high school students came for either a two or three week intensive match course that would advance them one year in their math studies. I can't imagine taking Algebra II in a three week period as a high school student, but there were about 40-50 students at each session. I was the RA for the Precalculus students, and it was one of the best experiences that I had up to that point. For five weeks being a math major made me a hero. This program has also progressed to a new form in the last eleven years.
3. As the previous two items imply, I split my undergraduate work between two universities. I also changed majors from physics to math during my five year journey. Unfortunately, I didn't decide to make the change until I had already invested enough hours in physics that I had to make it my minor. While graduating was a huge cause for celebration, there are few times that I've been as relieved as I was when I finished that last physics class - Statistical and Thermal Physics. Yuck!
4. When I started my career search during my fifth year of college, I only interviewed with three companies. I had what was probably the worst interview in the history of IBM. To say that I was ill-prepared would be an understatement. I tried to sell myself on problem solving abilities and good smile. It didn't work out.
5. My second interview was with Usability Sciences Corporation in Irving. I thought I had this one in the bag, and they even called me out for a second interview. The only problem was the "Dear John" letter that I got in the mail about a week later.
6. I guess you've figured out that the third interview went better than the other two. Raytheon was actually looking for math and physics majors to work on their high performance algorithm software. It's really nothing other than the providence of God that got me this job, truth be told. I can remember being in my apartment and getting a call from their recruiter after submitting my resume. I'm not sure if it was the way that she described it to me, but it just didn't really sound all that interesting to me. She offered (thankfully) to have the Director of my future department call me and give me a sales pitch. After talking to him, I decided to go in for an interview. I interviewed with three different groups, and I actually got offers from two of them. Most of you know that I joined the Software Algorithms Group, and that launched my career in the world of Information Technology.
7. I almost moved to Southern California toward the end of my time with Raytheon. I had been traveling to the Los Angeles Area to work on a project with one of our sister sites in El Segundo. My first trip out there was at the end of July. My boss had commandeered a convertible for our rental car, and it was great riding on the Pacific Coast Highway at 8 p.m. with temperatures in the mid 80s. I can remember my boss saying, "It's 10 p.m. in Dallas, and it's still 100 degrees!" Then he burst into an evil laughter that those of you that know him are too familiar with. Luckily, the cost of living difference was a deal breaker because...
8. Toward the very end of my time at Raytheon, I met my future wife, Christy. What you may or may not know is that we met through an online Christian singles web site. While bored at my apartment one night, I created a profile on this site on a whim. A couple of months had gone by, and I had forgotten about it. Then one day, I was checking my e-mail (in El Segundo) before my boss and I were going to dinner, and I noticed that I had a reply to my profile that I had posted. Pressed for time, I didn't respond right then, but I did so after getting back into town. However, the web site was not the best, and it took me three tries to get it to allow me to respond to Christy's inquiry. The third time's a charm, right? And the rest, as they say, is history.
Since I got tagged by one of the two other bloggers that I know, that leaves Mark as my one and only lucky victim.
Until next time...
PH
1. After my freshman year in college, I spent eight weeks working at Camp Discovery Space Camp at Northwestern State University. Each week on Sunday afternoon, a new group of kids came in and spent the week through Thursday evening when we had "graduation". The Director, Mike Hawkins, started his address to the parents and family with the same phrase, "We are officially tired." This has since evolved into a much larger program.
2. Staying with this theme, after my first senior year in college, I spent a total of five weeks (one three week and one two week session) as a resident adviser for the Investigation of Talented Students at the University of North Texas. This was what you would call a different kind of summer camp. Highly intelligent and motivated middle school and high school students came for either a two or three week intensive match course that would advance them one year in their math studies. I can't imagine taking Algebra II in a three week period as a high school student, but there were about 40-50 students at each session. I was the RA for the Precalculus students, and it was one of the best experiences that I had up to that point. For five weeks being a math major made me a hero. This program has also progressed to a new form in the last eleven years.
3. As the previous two items imply, I split my undergraduate work between two universities. I also changed majors from physics to math during my five year journey. Unfortunately, I didn't decide to make the change until I had already invested enough hours in physics that I had to make it my minor. While graduating was a huge cause for celebration, there are few times that I've been as relieved as I was when I finished that last physics class - Statistical and Thermal Physics. Yuck!
4. When I started my career search during my fifth year of college, I only interviewed with three companies. I had what was probably the worst interview in the history of IBM. To say that I was ill-prepared would be an understatement. I tried to sell myself on problem solving abilities and good smile. It didn't work out.
5. My second interview was with Usability Sciences Corporation in Irving. I thought I had this one in the bag, and they even called me out for a second interview. The only problem was the "Dear John" letter that I got in the mail about a week later.
6. I guess you've figured out that the third interview went better than the other two. Raytheon was actually looking for math and physics majors to work on their high performance algorithm software. It's really nothing other than the providence of God that got me this job, truth be told. I can remember being in my apartment and getting a call from their recruiter after submitting my resume. I'm not sure if it was the way that she described it to me, but it just didn't really sound all that interesting to me. She offered (thankfully) to have the Director of my future department call me and give me a sales pitch. After talking to him, I decided to go in for an interview. I interviewed with three different groups, and I actually got offers from two of them. Most of you know that I joined the Software Algorithms Group, and that launched my career in the world of Information Technology.
7. I almost moved to Southern California toward the end of my time with Raytheon. I had been traveling to the Los Angeles Area to work on a project with one of our sister sites in El Segundo. My first trip out there was at the end of July. My boss had commandeered a convertible for our rental car, and it was great riding on the Pacific Coast Highway at 8 p.m. with temperatures in the mid 80s. I can remember my boss saying, "It's 10 p.m. in Dallas, and it's still 100 degrees!" Then he burst into an evil laughter that those of you that know him are too familiar with. Luckily, the cost of living difference was a deal breaker because...
8. Toward the very end of my time at Raytheon, I met my future wife, Christy. What you may or may not know is that we met through an online Christian singles web site. While bored at my apartment one night, I created a profile on this site on a whim. A couple of months had gone by, and I had forgotten about it. Then one day, I was checking my e-mail (in El Segundo) before my boss and I were going to dinner, and I noticed that I had a reply to my profile that I had posted. Pressed for time, I didn't respond right then, but I did so after getting back into town. However, the web site was not the best, and it took me three tries to get it to allow me to respond to Christy's inquiry. The third time's a charm, right? And the rest, as they say, is history.
Since I got tagged by one of the two other bloggers that I know, that leaves Mark as my one and only lucky victim.
Until next time...
PH
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Scattershooting 4/28/2007
This post will really fit with the theme of my blog. I don't have any single topic for today so here's a hodgepodge of ramblings...
I was on the treadmill at the gym this morning, and the TV happened to be tuned to a fishing show. Let's go ahead and take it as a given that the need for fishing shows is questionable. Beyond that, when did fishing become so high tech? With all of the digital fish finders and tricked up bait, where is the sport? Seems like shooting fish in a barrel.
It is really difficult for bands to sustain success these days. One of the recent bands that I had really liked was Evanescence. While not an "official" Christian band, you can hear the influence in their songs. While their debut CD in 2003 was really good, changes in the band resulted in a very spotty follow up in October of last year. Too bad.
Weddings are fun. We are going to a wedding for one of the folks on my team this evening. Most of my friends are married now, so we don't get a lot of chances to go. It is nice to look back nostalgically on my own wedding day attending other weddings. Friday, May 4, is five years for Christy and me.
That's it for today.
Until next time...
PH
I was on the treadmill at the gym this morning, and the TV happened to be tuned to a fishing show. Let's go ahead and take it as a given that the need for fishing shows is questionable. Beyond that, when did fishing become so high tech? With all of the digital fish finders and tricked up bait, where is the sport? Seems like shooting fish in a barrel.
It is really difficult for bands to sustain success these days. One of the recent bands that I had really liked was Evanescence. While not an "official" Christian band, you can hear the influence in their songs. While their debut CD in 2003 was really good, changes in the band resulted in a very spotty follow up in October of last year. Too bad.
Weddings are fun. We are going to a wedding for one of the folks on my team this evening. Most of my friends are married now, so we don't get a lot of chances to go. It is nice to look back nostalgically on my own wedding day attending other weddings. Friday, May 4, is five years for Christy and me.
That's it for today.
Until next time...
PH
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