Onehundredfiftyeight - Monday

Onehundredfiftyseven - Sunday

Onehundredfiftysix - Saturday

Onehundredfiftyfive - Friday

Onehundredfiftyfour - Thursday

onehundredfiftythree - Wednesday

Onehundredfiftytwo - Tuesday

Onehundredfiftyone - Monday

Onehundredfifty - Sunday

Onehundredfourtynine - Saturday

Onehundredfourtyeight - Friday

Onehundredfourtyseven - Thursday

Onehundredfourtysix - Good Bye Party

One of the team is relocation to the US, and soon another Director will be in place here. Times are changing again.

Onehundredfourtyfive - Meeting Monday, but it is Tuesday

Crazy, Crazy with meeting all day. At least it is a short week.

Onehundredfourtyfour - Zoo

Our son is awesome. We were at the zoo today, and as we walked away from each animal he said "bye, bye", and when we watch the seals being fed, he clapped his hands and said "bravo". He's 17 months old.

Onehundredfourtythree - Park

The other day our son tried to take a shovel from a little girl while playing in the sand box. He's not aware yet of ownership. When he grabbed it she exclaimed "nein, nein, nein" in German. He replied, "nein, nein, nein". He has been repeated things quite a bit recently. But this morning he started playing with all the knobs on the stove, while we were cooking breakfast. My wife said, "no, no, don't do that" and he walked away. He grabbed the chair at the kitchen table and turned around, "nein, nein, nein." He's now a translator.

Onehundredfourtytwo - New Comp

We just got a new computer. Everything was great, but when I tried to install MS Office on it, it would not install. So I rebooted, and it blue screened on me. I cannot stand that. You buy a nice piece of equipment for once, and out of the box there is an issue. This shouldn't happen. I was able to recover from it, but I should not have to reinstall the OS on a new system just so the fucker works?!? I was a bit disenfranchised by this.

Onehundredfourtyone - Chill Day at Work

The last day in the office before a 3 day weekend. Most people took the Friday off too so they could have a 4 day weekend. It was nice to be able to get some work done in a low stress environment.

Onehundredfourty - Ready for Weekend

For some reason this day seemed to drag on and on. It was 2pm and it felt like it should be 6pm, maybe there was something in the lunch food which slowed the afternoon down.

Onehundredthirtynine - Babysitting

I gained quite a bit more insight today. I got home from work and planned to relax, but from the moment my wife left for the evening, our son started to cry, a lot. It took about an hour to put him back down. My wife is awesome for all that she does!

Onehundredthirtyeight - Unihockey II

Not sure what it is, but I was on Fire today again! Sorced the first and the last, winning goal. Damn that felt good! Boo-Yah!

Onehundredthirtyseven - 1st Day Back at Work

As far as first days back go, this was quite reasonable. Not to much to argue about here.

Onehundredthirtysix - Rest Up

Sunday was a recovery day for all the running around in Italy. It was quite exhausting getting in so late the night before.

Onehundredthirtyfive - Giro d'Italia

We thought we had more time to check out, but had to at 10am. We decided to stop by Montalcino on the way to the airport. It was a slow steady rain the entire day. As we arrived in Montalcino it was packed, completely! Then we saw signs for the Giro d'Italia. NICE! So we parked, which seemed to be completely outside the city, and walked in. The rain kept coming. We walked around, took some pictures, grabbed some Pizza, and headed out. We figured the roads would be closed soon to let the race through. We still had a plane to catch and didn't want to be stuck in Italy. We were just able to get out, and were even turned around because of road closures, but managed to press on. They must have closed the roads about a half hour later. We got to the airport after cracking the Rental Car Return secret location. We let our son play a bit before checking in, but when we did the line was completely ridiculous. There were only two people were checking in about 300 passengers. The line for Security was about 2 people. We got to the gate and the plane was an hour and fifteen minutes late.

Onehiundredthirtyfour - Winding Roads

Our last full day we decided to drive up the road and follow the Chianti trail. I would not recommend this drive for anyone who is easily tested with car-sickness. My wife braved the drive and held tough for the whole trip. She's a trooper!

Onehundredthirtythree - Bella Gelateria

We went back to San Giminano and decided to stay longer than 35 minutes. We parked on the other side of town in a large lot with long term parking. This took us a different way through town and we were surprised how different the town felt, just going off the main tourist paths and exploring the town. We avoided 90% of the tourists and really had a nice time. We even found a play ground and let our son swing for a little bit. Then we ducked back into town for some of the BEST homemade gelato I have ever had, I asked for the "Delicia". I would make a trip to that gelateria just for that!

Onehundredthirtytwo - Siena

Our day trip to Seina was really great. It took forever to find parking, and I stressed about the car the whole time, because we parked on an obsure street with temporary parking signs set up for a market. The city is perhaps one of the most charming we have ever seen. Not a big city, but enough to make it feel big. We really enjoyed it. I was so happy to see the car where we left it.

Onehundredthirtyone - No Place Like Home

We decided to visit some less popular towns, but were actually disappointed. We drove through one and stopped in another. Not to say that these towns were not special, but we would not have noticed that on a superficial visit. We walked through one and somehow quickly left.

Onehundredthirty - Volterra

We drove to Volterra today. The drive was really nice and not too winding. We were pleasantly surprised by Volterra. It must have been a hot spot for the Romans because there were ruins surrounding the town, well maintained architecture and walls. The added bonus was walking with our son up a small hill to a park with nice views.

Onehundredtwentynine - San Gimignano

As it would turn out, we followed the first sign to the parking places, unfortunately it was a one hour parking lot. We had heard this town was a huge tourist trap, but it looked nice regardless. We scrambled around for about 35 minutes, and headed back to the car before our time was up. Totally not relaxing, but I think we got a few good pictures.

Onehundredtwentyeight - Drive to Tuscany

We drove to Tuscany while stopping in my wife's grandmothers' village. I am so glad I got the GPS. I would have never found anything. Although the GPS did direct us to our place in Tuscany via a closed dirt road, I was able to use my mental GPS to get us to a point where the GPS was able to reroute us to the right place.

Onehundredtwentyseven - Going on Vacation

We flew to Rome today to begin our week long holiday. We had planed on going to into Rome, but never made it. We had to get 3 different rental cars (1st for some reason could not function with the GPS I had requested - not sure why because that plugs into the cigarette lighter, and let's face it almost everyone smokes in Europe, so the damn thing should have one; 2nd replacement car was a chinced out 2-door Alfa Romeo posing as a sports car, which may have been fine but we had our son with us and his car seat and didn't want the inconvenience of the 2-door; 3rd car was ok but it was a brand new Peugeot which I was paranoid about the whole time because I didn't want trouble if it was returned with a dent or worse despite our almost full coverage ($1000 deductible), and couldn't withdrawal money from the ATM to pay cash for the Hotel, had to get food for dinner, and by this time it was 6pm. No Rome.

Onehundredtwentysix - Chest Pain

I must be allergic to work or sometime, I had the most uncomfortable chest pain all day! I couldn't figure out what it was, but it seemed to begin the day before and it lasted for a while.

Onehundredtwentyfive - Flight Home

Finally the meeting is over and I can go home. The location was nice, but It is always better with family. Even though I didn't get to bed until midnight, It was good to be back.

Onehundredtwentyfour - The Meeting

Get a group of 7 high profile people who are experts in their field in a room and present to them for 2 days. Add to it a short fused moderator who is batting for the 7 and it makes for a real fucking treat. I can't wait until vacation.

Onehundredtwentythree - Flight to Mallorca

I had to leave for this meeting today. I'll be home on Wednesday after this 1.5 day presentation is over with. I think AirBerlin had their flight music donated, they were playing "Sweet Home Alabama, All Summer Long"; Cheryl Crow - Fight for this Love, Stanfour - Wishing you were, and Robbie Williams - Morning Sun. I actually took the time to write this down, because it was the pinnacle of my day (at 6am) and since I knew that the complete misalignment with my music preferences was certainly blog-worthy. To top it off, the same damn Cheryl Crow song was playing in the cab on my way to the hotel!

Onehundredtwentytwo - Home with Family!

I wish I was independently wealthy so that I could stay home and watch my Son grow up.

Onehundredtwentyone - Home with Family!

I really live for the weekends. My wife is awesome, she is really good with our son, he is talking more than other kids and has so much personality, she is really a great mother to him. He awesome too.

Onehundredtwenty - Dentist

I know I need to take care of my teeth more. I just cannot wait until the drilling is finished. One more visit.

Onehundrednineteen - More 3 Hour Meetings

More presentation reviews, gotta love 'em.

Onehundredeightteen - 5 Hour Meetings

More meetings? Yeap, five hours of dialoging through a presentation for next week. I cannot wait until it is over with.

Onehundredseventeen - Unihockey (Floor Hockey)

I don't know what it was today, but I totally kicked ass in Unihockey! We usually play at lunch so it is no more than an hour, today I was on fire, I scored about 6 times, and had easily as many assists. Needless to say we won.

Onehundredsixteen - Booked Solid

Sometimes I don't understand meetings. We sit, we talk, we all get up to speed on things we normally should all know, and then we spend time writing them up with another meeting the following week. It is rediculous. We should all talk anyway. I think I am going to start canceling meetings.

Onehundredfifteen - Sunday

I went for a mountain bike ride today. There was nine of us, and it seemed a little haphazard but it was a lot of fun. Then we met up with some friends for a picnic and some fun with the kids. Afterwards we went to a friends housewarming. This was another really nice day, and the weather was great.

Onehundredfourteen - Great Weather

We had such nice weather today, it just begged you to come outside. We spent most of the day outside going for walks and playing in the park with our son. He really loves the swing, and I am amazed at how well he can spot a plane even while swinging!

Onehundredthirteen - Happy its Friday

A good end to a long week. Not much today, but it was an overall good day, and Friday too.

Onehundredtwelve - Free Day

The board meeting was to happen today, but it didn't. They had it somewhere else and it was a bit less stress in the office. I was able to get a lot of work done and at the end of the day I road my bike home. It felt great!

Onehundredeleven - Quarterly Reviews

I made it a goal to access everyone in my team every quarter to keep things up to date, informed, check ups etc. I think it is a good idea, and I think the team is strong and everyone feels really good and that everyone has each others back. Sweet.

Onehundredten - New Pass

I picked up my new passport today. I was able to get there right when it opened, I was there all of 15 minutes, maybe. I was still only able to get to work by noon.

Onehundrednine - Monday Scramble

The volcano in Iceland has everyone screwed up. People are stuck in travel chaos, shipments are delayed causing back orders, and there is to be a board meeting here on Thursday, but people are skeptical that it will happen. General confusion.

Onehundredeight - Zoo

We put our son in a child backpack and took him to the zoo. He had so much fun and he could see everything really well. It was a lot of fun!! When we saw the lions he whispered to me "raarrr" He's awesome!

Onehundredseven - Weekend Family Time

I really enjoy the weekend. I wish I could see family more during the week. We took a nice walk and enjoyed the area we live in.

Onehundredsix - Friday

Finally today is Friday. I was able to get a bunch of work done, and had a really good discussion with a colleague who I am working on a good side project with. Overall a good day at work.

Onehundredfive - Meetings in the PM

I really do not like to call people for work when I am home, but tonight I needed to. I just don't like work time crossing into home time. I know sometimes it is unavoidable, but it still doesn't change the way I feel about it.

Onehundredfour - Sick Day

My Wife must have gotten sick from the plane trip back. I stayed home to watch our son while she when to the doctor. :0( I hope she feels better quickly.

Onehundredthree - Long Day

Got in early, left late. I don't like it when meetings go long and your evening is shot. Plus the project list was released today and of course everyone was flustered.

Onehundredtwo - Another Case of the Mondays

It was a "case of the Mondays" kind of day. Lot's of meetings, running around. Many people are out of the office, but it still was lame. I hope tomorrow is a bit lighter.

Onehundredone - Do Nothing

Still recovering from the jet lag. It is one of those do nothing, rest up kind of days.

Onehundred - Jet Lag

After we arrived, we realized just how tired we were. Jet lag, I am now convinced, after an almost sleepless overnight trans-Atlantic flight feels quite similar to a hangover. All the same symptoms occur, dizziness, mild nausea, sensitivity to light, hunger, numbing fatigue. I think I am on to something here.

Nintynine - Friday Fly Back

Friday was the return trip. Overnight flight, we sat behind my companies head of Europe and in front of a lady who couldn't turn off her light. I was please that my son was able to sleep most of the flight, but sad that my wife had to hold him the whole time. US Airways is so ghetto, I hope I never have to fly with them again. Pure chince. Old jet, hell of a noise on take off, really bad food, and when we requested a bulkhead seat with a bassinet, they stuck us in the side where there was none, and did not even have a lap belt for our son, they told us we should have picked up an FAA approved belt before we boarded. Hey US Airways Lady Steward, maybe I'll fly Lufthansa next time because they provide child safety lap belt for free, not to mention individual TV's with your own movie option, oh wait and they also have food which is more than just one muffin for the second meal on a trans-Atlantic flight, and I almost forgot, they have baby changers in more than one lavatory. Snap.

Nintyeight - Closing Time

So we had closing on our house today. We found a buyer and had to bend a bit to get the sale to go. We had committed to upgrading the kitchen because every house on the market had one. But then there was the home inspection, which ID'ed the roof to be out of date, and needed replacement. The buyer's agent recommended a guy who turned out to be the low bidder, however, during the walk through on the day of closing, the roofer had stepped through the ceiling above the stairs and the garage door wouldn't work. To top it off, the buyer had money wired from another country which required traceability and resulted in a delayed closing date. We signed off on the closing, checked the house which we found the garage door to be locked (simple fix), and withheld the final payment check for the roofer until the ceiling was repaired just in case the buyer walked. What a fucking hassle!

Nintyseven - Ol' Skool Ride

My friends and I have a golden rule for mountain bike rides which goes back years. I am 99% sure that this rule has always been proven. The "Rule of Three" states that when any 3 or more of us ride, someone, one of us, will, and I mean will break something on their bike. Usually it is a flat tire or something simple. In the past we have had flat tires, blown side walls, flat shocks, broken seat bolts, spokes, derailleurs, chains, rims, cassettes, bottom brackets, you name it. Somehow we always get the job done. We even went for a ride when someone lost the key to their U-Lock, we manager to rig it and duct tape it to the frame. This ride was no exception. At mile 1.01 into the ride, someone broke a chain. He didn't even bring his backpack with gear because for some reason, he thought the curse would be lifted if he didn't have it. I was riding a borrowed 12 year old Trek Y-bike which make so much noise I thought for sure I would be the one with the broken stuff. Nope. Anyway, we patched the chain together with some spare links we found in another old camel-back, and a chain-tool we never knew we had.

Nintysix - Souwf Joysie

We took a trip down south today. Totally not for me. I had a really hard time trying to interact with everyone. I think I will bite my tongue (so to speak).

Nintyfive - Lost Ride #2

Damn it! It didn't work out. For some reason, once I got a hold of everyone, it was too late to do anything. Looks like it's on for Wednesday.

Nintyfour - Easter Sunday

It was cute to watch all the kids run around and find the eggs despite the over-commercialization of this holiday. My son learned how to crack open a plastic egg even though no one showed him. Yep, total rockstar.

Ninetythree - Lost Ride

I had planned to go for a mountain bike ride with my friends on Saturday, but everyone was waiting for each other to make a decision. No one could set a place or time to meet. So we had to reschedule. I decided to through the hammer down, Mon, VFP, 4pm be there!

Ninetytwo - Friday Flight

Day two of flight travel. We flew with our 15 month old son to the US. 9 hours of discovering new games to play like headphones with music, video monitors, bassinet fun, say hi to everyone in the aisle (5x). He even called some lady's fuzzy boots "Dog". Awesome!

Ninetyone - 2x Prof

I was in a lab today with two top professors. Wow, the competing ego's were a bit much to start the day with. After lunch things got better, but still you could feel the subtle verbal ego jabs. I think next time I won't schedule two professors in a lab on the same day.

Ninety - Day before out of office

Last day in the office for a week. It is always so busy before a trip. Non-stop running around.

Eightynine - To Blog or Not To Blog

Sure there were things today worth mentioning, and I sit and can think of many, but for some reason, I cannot type it. Maybe I have Dextral Aphasia or something. Not sure.

Eightyeight – Another Run

This was good, a few hills and some sore muscles. Now the ball is rolling I just have to keep it up and work past the soreness. Hopefully I can stay motivated to keep the workout momentum.

Eightyseven – Right is not Right

My wife and I got into some heavy conversations today about the state of the US. The depth of the trouble is far beyond the economic depression which most people would not go so far to say. The discussion mainly focused around the sale of our house, the work contractors have performed on it, including their lack of professionalism in completing the job, the lack of respect of other peoples property, not just with our house as a rental property but for rentals in general, the changes in political landscape which creates a further rift between the left and right primarily and currently driven and fueled by “tea parties” and the likes of Fox News, and the overall lack of compassion, lack of respect, and outright discrimination that takes place by bigoted right extremists. We were quite impassioned by the discussion to the point we were border-line arguing with each other whether or not to let go of some of the issues and what it means to “let it go.” She always knows the right medicine, because she told me (with kind persuasion) to go for a run. Perhaps my internal rage was fueled by the screams embedded in the slaughtered flesh of the bacon I had for breakfast. I ran, and kept running. I was saddened by the dead pig and for the dying society. I felt the burden of the degrading US society, anesthetized by the solitude of rationality in my mind as if I were the only person to figure this out. I cannot be the only one to see this. The depth of this mentality in the US is frightening; the land where “I’m right” and freedom is interpreted as “free to do whatever the hell I want” up to and including infringement of other peoples rights (perceived or constitutionalized). Hypocritical are those who seek congregations of the like minded and whose beliefs of wholesomeness catalyze the demise of others. There is no leeway in the flippant minds of the self-assured, who enslave others by their rigor of values which only serves to propagate tragic social divides further into disrepair. Acceptance, tolerance, respect, and genuine caring about other people, are the only possibilities to reverse this.

Eightysix – The Jack Wolfskin Watchtower Supreme

We borrowed a child backpack this weekend to carry our son in. We are considering buying one, but after trying out this rather nice backpack we were disenchanted by it. The lumbar support was almost none existent and the center of balance was so high, so it seemed that it caused to wobble as you walked (almost). The shoulder straps, quite considerably padded, caused you to rotate you thorax somewhat forward (pseudo hunched over) creating an unnatural curve in your spine. I really don’t think we will get one now, or we will have to try out quite a few more before we do.

Eightyfive - Integratitousness

Today I took the day off to go get my passport renewed. I swear the security was tighter than Fort Knox, though I've never been. Anyone with a hand bag, purse, or man pouch, was turned away, and only one person through the security screen was let through at a time. I planned to have all my coins and phone etc. contained in my jacket for a separate scan, but that was quickly overturned, and resulted in my pulling everything out of my pockets which would have been scanned separately anyway. So, once at the second check point, I had proceeded to do everything as instructed (in German) and then the guy told me to go "Links" (Left). But that was the line for all the people seeking visa's, so I went right to get me passport renewed. The guy called me back since I didn't obey, but I turned and showed him my passport. I guess, my little bit of German and understanding his commands made him assume I was someone else. Awesome, now if I could just be fluent.

Eightyfour - Lazy Ass, Part Two

I saw a lady through the reflection on the tram window, and had to laugh. The double pane window made her face looked all distorted like she had a really bad collagen lip job. I thought it was quite funny. Anyway, I got roped into several meetings, basically all day. I was planning on going for a run, since my plan to bike to work failed since I am out of the office Friday, Wednesday was the team event, etc. and I really didn't want to ride with my laptop on my back. Anyway, the meetings went right through lunch, so I couldn't run. =o( Not happy, and it continues to perpetuate my lazy assness.

Eightythree - Saving Face

Today we had a team event with this group whose manager was asked to step down. This person had planned the event, and then came to me to say that the duration of the event was not convenient. I suggested drinks after work, keep it low-key, which was "great" from both sides. Long story short, 5 minutes before we all left... "oh, sorry, I don't think I can make it, I just have a lot of work to do..." Sure, this is from someone who has never missed an opportunity to go for a drink ever.

Eightytwo - Same but different

It was the same today as Monday, but it was a bit different. Several of the managers are scrambling to finish this re-prioritization list, and none of our staff knows about it, and the manager which was ask to step down wants some involvement, but none of the work, so I am stuck making all the preparations to get it done. Total craziness.

Eightyone - Not Busy but no time

It always seems that when some time appears on the schedule, there is inevitably somethings which come out of the wood work which is not expected. I spent all day on the scramble. I hate this.

Eighty - To Bike, or Not to Bike

I really feel like a lazy ass. The weather just turned marginally better, and I still find excuses to not go for a ride. Even when there is some time or whatever, it just seems that there is a sudden time shift, or excuse or de-motivating factor which prevents me from riding. I need to fix this.

Seventynine - Saturday Massages

After a long week it was well worth the time to have a little massage. Great to relax a bit an detox from the week.

Seventyeight - Exodus

With all that happened this week, there was a lot going on with many emotions, expectations and let downs. The office was in complete fucking turmoil. Add to that the secret re-prioritization project list with cut projects, re-allocated resources (people) and it made for a cluster-fuck of demotivation and anxiety. Almost as soon as it happened, the person the asked to step down had written off their group and was paranoid of who would take it over, and rescinded offerings to help out when she stiffed the team and left at 3pm. She might as well have told the team to go F-off when she left because, everyone came to me in a scramble to help out and promote documents and projects at the 11th hour. Total Chaos.

Seventyseven - Keep to the message

It is always amazing to me, even when they want to get rid of someone, or move them or what ever, they have to make it look like there was a need for the change, some unmet need which required someone who could not manage their own group to be demoted into some other position with an ambiguous title which doesn't really explain anything. I think this it management's way of thinking everyone is on the same page and speaking the same anti-negative comments.

Seventysix - A rolling stone gathers no moss

So the shit went down and upper mgt. took out my counter part in another group. A lot of people were really happy about it. There was much rejoicing, and celebratory mixed emotions. For me, it means I need to cover for them so I'm not psyched that I'll be called on to do more, I just hope I'm compensated a bit more for helping out.

Seventyfive - Big Meeting Day

I think all went well. I think it is alwazs good to come out of these kind of meetings with less homework than what you came in with. Also, I found out there would be some changes coming soon which directly effects me, but I'm not too worried about this at the momment.

Seventyfour - Monday, not Funday

With all the work on the weekend, here is yet more to do. I spent 4 hours just reviewing presentations for Tuesday. The day seemed to cruise on and on but I still had no time. And then at five I was done and just had to leave.

Seventythree - Werk, Again

It's Sunday. And all the work I have to prepare for this week is forcing me to use my spare time to get done. So not relaxing! I put in at least 5-6 hours today. Ridiculous. Oh well, we'll see if it was worth it after all the meetings are over.

Seventytwo - Little Kids

Sometimes I wish things were a simple as when you were a kid. I see my son and he has what appears to be all the emotion as I, but it is about such simpler things, like eating, and playing with toys, and saying hi to everyone around, and splashing in the bath. It's awesome. Life it too complex sometimes, we should all try to decomplexify our lives from time to time. I think we would all be much happier.

Seventyone - Full Circle

This week had a way of coming full circle. It started tough and ended tough with a late Friday at five o'clock reshuffling of priorities for the coming week with the only posiblity to get things done involves work on the weekend. Yeah!

Seventy - One Question, Many Answers

I spent the whole day trying to answer one question. I came really close several times, finding the right numbers, checking percentages, realistic values, getting it all to make sense. But one value, which is key to the whole deal could not be confirmed. I even checked other departments, and people (13 or 14 in all) to get one value, and no one could give me the info I was looking for. I even uncovered an issue in production requiring extensive follow up, and still no correct info. Some days it is hit or miss, I tell you, but in the process I did learn quite a bit more.

Sixtynine - Cold

It started snowing again after so many weeks off. The little flowers were already popping up through the grass and Boom! the snow came again. The wind I think was even worse, I didn't want to go outside for anything. I think I am really looking forward to Spring and Summer. A late cold snap has a way of turning you positively towards a new season.

Sixtyeight - Every Last Minute

We have a few big meetings coming up at work and needless to say there is always a scramble to get info, clarify points, double check numbers, and ensure clear messages. Somewhere in this chaos people forget to communicate what needs to be done, but clearly communicate when. So your left with 30 minutes to get information which you were never asked for to consolidate and put up numbers and discussion points which in the end all change because your boss's boss saw something he liked or didn't and now has to be reworked at the last minute, again.

Sixtyseven - Audit This

Today was a big audit day at work. There were several places the auditor could have looked, and somehow, they had picked a project I had worked on. Overall we passed, but the questions he posed, and the way in which he built up to the main questions gave me a different perspective on what I do. I think now, after going through this, I am better quipped.

Sixtysix - TGV2

Sunday we returned home, again via train. Before we did we stopped into the Louvre to see some amazing art works. We only just scratched the surface of what was there, visiting 4 or 5 rooms on one floor in one wing of the huge structure. There were so many people and everyone running around, I almost felt disrespectful to the people who painted all of this that I wasn't admiring their work even for a second or two. There was just so much art, it was impossible to really appreciate it in one a few hours we had before we needed to catch our train.

Sixtyfive - On Foot In Paris

Saturday was our day to tour Paris, but we did so on foot. I think it is a little better to do it this way, because you tend to discover things along the way which you may not see using other forms of transport. We still used a map, and it was cold and windy, but it was still amazing to see the city this way.

Sixtyfour - Train à Grande Vitesse

This Friday I took the day off to have a long weekend in Paris. This was our fist trip to Paris, and we decided to go by train. It really didn't seem fast until we between Strasbourg and Paris, and even between Nancy and Paris is where it really started to kick ass. But despite the "High-Speed" attraction, I really felt that the overall speed was somewhat average. I have been to Japan several times, where they have dedicated Shinkasnen lines with no rail crossings. I believe the construct in Japan gives an overall point-to-point high-speed, and gives you the feel that you are really covering a lot of ground for the price you are paying. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't disappointed with the train, it was a quick way to travel to Paris, but I still think the high-speed was a little over sold.

Sixtythree - Outsource Yourself

I find that people are becoming better and better at asking enough questions and info and help from others that other people wind up doing the work for them. There was this guy who kept calling one of my workers and kept asking for info and to confirm info, and when it comes down to it, if there is a discrepancy or questions in the data, they can always defer and say, "well, I got that info from so-and-so" which makes it look like someone else did a bad job. All the glory, but none of the blame. I mean if you are responsible for numbers and estimations, have the balls to stand by them, don't defer your ignorance to someone else.

Sixtytwo - der Hinterwäldler

On Wednesday, it was quite funny for me to discover that despite differences between countries, we are really quite similar. Der Hinterwäldler in German means a person living in the back woods, or Hillbilly. In Germany there is a mentality about the southern speaking Germans because of their accent, which in lies the similarity to the US. I thought this similarity was funny, and not the wording or mentalities which were explained to me.

Sixtyone - A Team, not The "A" Team

I had a discussion with one of my employees today who was concerned about the state of his project team. We were quite honest about team dynamics and what makes a team, a team. It was apparent that he wanted the team to be better, but it is not easy to work with some people, and let's face it, their not going to change unless they want to change. It is a shame really, because the project is quite interesting, but the work ethic of some, the spotty planning from others, and the time demands of the rest make the interest dissipate which is then replace by frustration and un-enthusiasm. Some things need to change.

Sixty - ?WTF?

I was going to Diablog about stupid people at work who try every excuse to not do work when they have been caught or proven to not have done what they were responsible for. Needless to say I just Diabloged about it. Anyway, what a waste of a post...

Fiftynine - Learning to Walk

There is much celebration in the little things and the big milestones in watching the learning and development of your own child. It is really awesome, because this weekend our son walked... 11 steps. Totally awesome. Now it seems like he needs to out do himself still by trying to pronounce everything we say, and he's still less than 15 months old! Total Rockstar this kid!

Fiftyeight - State of the Union

My wife and I began a discussion on the US today, and it became apparent that the mood was quite depressive. So we decided to change the topic, but the feeling and thoughts of the conversation stuck with me for a while.

Fiftyseven - House Swap

We're tired of shelling money out for our house. I swear all we do is cut checks to everyone. Now we may actually sell it, and I feel like were giving it away. I don't have the energy to negotiate because I too tired of dealing with this as a liability. I don't know, if it is meant to be bought by this person, then it will happen, if not I don't want to sweat it.

Fiftysix - King of Tangents

My boss and my counterpart are kings of tangents. I had a meeting which was three hours which could have been one if they could just stay focused long enough to cover the topics which need to get covered. I don't know, it seems to be a bit ridiculous to explain everything and go on and on about BS. Hence I was on the phone until 7pm.

Fiftyfive - Running to stand still

I have been meaning to go for a run for a long time now, and it inevitably turns into lack of time, snow & ice on the ground, rain, too much work, etc. I am tired of it. I've given up too much of my lunch hours to work or cleaning up others messes when I should be de-stressing with a little bit of working out.

Fiftyfour - Werk, Part 2

So much of my time now is consumed with cleaning up other peoples messes. I feel like I am constantly following these people around at work with handfuls of toilet paper. I have come to the realization that some people do what they what and when forced to work on something which depends on them, they put forth the least amount of effort, cutting the shortest distance from point A to point B, and sweep it under the rug. Then when the issue rears its ugly head, and you need to ask these people what they have done, there is a dodge and flood tactic which causes you to chase them down until they respond. They then try to defer it to others, make up a story with several tangents, and then flood you with excessive information which is somehow not related to answering the issue you have raised, thereby creating more work for yourself so they can go about doing what they want to do, which, lets face it, amounts to very little and is non-participatory in getting the job done. I don't know how these people exist in companies, I am really curious.

Fiftythree - A Case of the Mondays

It's that time of the week again... The good thing today was that I could get a tram from my house direct to the train station, Nice! Other than that it was riddled with lengthy meetings and problems that should not have occurred. Then I came home and everything was great. Maybe Mondays are better spent at home.

Fiftytwo - Spring has Sprung

After all that snow we had, the little flowers have popped up through the grass and are in bloom! The days already seem a little longer, which means there is hope for warmth to come!

Fiftyone - Tram and Pram

We went to get on a tram yesterday with our stroller, and there were already 4 strollers crammed into the small space, and the last lady barely got on with an IKEA box. I gave up even before she managed to get on and backed away from the Tram. We had decided to take the next Tram which was about 4 minutes later. Somewhere, in the colostomy of Pram parents, it was decided to make room for us. I waved my hand several times to indicate "go on without us," but no avail. One of them wouldn't let go of the "hold the door" button, and the others kept shimming to make additional millimeters available to us. So we were forced to jump on, because now the entire Tram was watching us since we were holding up their precious timely Saturday cruise through the city. As we were boarding the Tram, the driver started to go. It was jump on or jump off, and since we were half on at the time, we jumped on. Total ridiculousness! I have never disapproved of my co-Tram riders than today, not to mention the Tram driver. The Tram driver is willing to fixate on a (insert spontaneous upset adjective here) schedule than the safety of children in strollers. Unbelievable.

Fifty - Toothification

Another trip to the dentist. This time my face was numb from my palate to my lower eyelid. I hate that feeling. Everyone looks at you because you talk funny, and one half of your upper lip and one nostril is immobile. I felt like one of the doctors in that one Twilight Zone episode where the lady was in an accident and they fix her face and when the bandages are removed her face is perfect and she screams but all the doctors and nurses all have distorted faces. Brush and floss more, eat less sugar crap, and it should be a better trip next time.

Fourtynine - WebEx

It seems like this is all the rage right now, people are using webex for everything. Yesterday I had two calls back to back on webex. The first I could see the benefit, because there were many people and there was a presentation. Makes sense, right? the second was a 2 hour conference call that could have been done using an intern extension. Instead we were asked to use webex dial in numbers, how ridiculous. We could have just burned cash.

Fourtyeight - Twentyfour

It has been more than 24 hours since my last post. This is mostly because I worked more than 12 hours yesterday. Quite ridiculous considering how much time that was spent in meetings or conference calls, 70%+. I guess work is a relative term.

Fourtyseven - TOMS

Train wrecks in Belgium, Death during Olympics, and countless other depressing and tragic things in the news, I thought I would dedicate this post to some outright positivity. My wife pointed out to me this small company with a simple plan: One to One. It means for every single pair of shoes you buy, one pair is donated to a child in a less fortunate area in third world countries. This is a beautiful message, which all businesses could learn from. You see, it puts people ahead of profit. It says, I don't need a bigger house, a faster car, or more of what I don't need. I says "I give a shit!" (NOT a direct quote from the company) It says, "I want to do good," and there is a way we can all benefit if we stick together.

Fourtysix - Meeting Attendance

We're convinced this guy on the other end of our phone conference is sporadically ditching the meetings. He (his voice) shows up, usually at the beginning of the meeting, asks a few questions, and by the end of the meeting he is gone. The next series of phone meetings we are planning to do a XYZ (insert his name here) Check. This would be a single pointed question towards him with an anticipated 'no response' or ' he had to go' from his colleagues. We'll have to see how this goes.

Fourtyfive - Zoo

Have you ever seen Hippos up close? These animals are huge! and we only saw a part of them. It was cold (hence all the previous posts about snow) so we when inside the hippo exhibit and saw them in there water area, grunting and honking. Wow, don't get too close to those guys...

Fourtyfour - Cornbread

My wife and I had experienced the best cornbread in the world when we were in college. There was this student cafe down the street where, when you had a few bucks, you could go, hang out, read, meet, and get a really good meal, cheep. They had the best cornbread there, and today we made our own from scratch in the spirit of this place in college, only this batch was mustered up from the finest in organic materials and came in the shape of muffins. We didn't have buttermilk like it called for, but none-the-less we used cream which came out fine. In fact, these were moist and golden brown with the course cornmeal and whole corn pieces just like we could remember. Slather on a piece of butter in the steamy center and these cornbread muffins were the best!

Fourtythree - Tardy

I was late with the last post, like I was late with this post. It seams this Diablog 365 is more of a challenge than a experiment. It is often difficult to come up with a topic during a busy week other than an overwhelming amount of snow which continues to fall. I will have to try to diversify and be more diligent about the posts.

Fourtytwo - Still Snowing

Yeap, more snow. It is falling more like powdered sugar than anything else. Not a ton, just constant.

Fourtyone - Guess what? More Snow

They say it will snow today and for the next two. We have unofficially been having snow on and off for the last 5-6 weeks. Unbelievable. I think this is the snowiest winter I can remember. Not to mention cold. It is expected to get down to 10-15 degrees F by Friday. yikes!

Fourty - First day of a short week

Since I was off on Monday (Yeah!) most of my meetings were today. I didn't really expect to get anything done. I felt like I actually did though, which is weird considering. I also think that since so many people are still in from out-of-town, that it may be impossible to get a long accomplished anyway. I try.

Thirtynine - Weather

It was completely sunny and cloudless this morning, and the sun had warmed up the mountain but not so much the snow. It seemed to crunch and squeak beneath our feet as we walked. Even though it was early and we could have stayed longer to enjoy the place we were at, we headed home. It went from warm at 5150 feet, to cold at the bottom of the mountain, to freezing when we got home. It is supposed to be 10-15 degree this week, so it will only get colder.

Thirtyeight - Quite Sunday

When we plan a three day weekend, I really like taking Mondays off. Most people take Friday off, and then when you stay somewhere, it is typically quiet on Sunday night. It makes it more relaxing and Mondays don't feel so down.

Thirtyseven - Mountains!

Whenever I go to the mountains, something happens. I just get lost in the intensity of them. I saw cold, giant, snow capped mountain against a really nice sunset, and it was quite relaxing, even though I lost my gloves and was freezing my ass off. Awesome!

Thirtysix - Another Friday

With all the melodrama coming to a close this week, I am quite please to be going away this weekend, and taking Monday off. Much needed time away.

Thirtyfive - Reorgs and Reviews

I swear this work week is longer than 5 days. Someone must have snuck another one in there while everyone wasn't looking...

Thirtyfour - What goes around, comes around

As much fun a personnel reviews wasn't, I had mine today. I would say it is pretty good and accurate, but it never fails that there is always something significant enough which is in disagreement. While adding fuel to the fire, despite my thorough and concise argument which would counter weight the point under normal circumstances, the fact is that the review is already submitted, signed off and approved. So what is the point in the review (i.e. the fuel)? This only overshadows all the good which was conveyed.

Thirtythree - Controlledchaos

There are so many people visiting at work this week its crazy. I really think somehow it is organized, but it still randomly out of control with above normal day-to-day activities which makes for quite a chaotic week. I am already looking forward to the weekend.

Thirtytwo - Musical Chairs

I guess the the thing which stood out the most today was another significant reorg only a few months after major reorg. Looks like the top people in our department are changing positions as well as where they sit in the world, and then one will leave all together a few months later. Now the politicking will begin. For the one that is leaving, I think they really has a strong influence on people, and for some in such a why that they could not see past the fact that this person drove them to be better at their job.

Thirtyone - Sunday Run

I went for a run this afternoon. It snowed all morning, almost an inch, and when I went running it was a mess. Icy, slick, cold, but nice. For some reason it didn't feel like it was zero degrees out. The sunset too was nice, but the cloud cover was just enough to prevent it from being amazing. I was a nice run and made me think I should do it more. I don't really want to train for anything or compete in a running race, but today, just enjoying the process felt good.

Thirty - Let it Snow...

It has been snowing for like four weeks it seems. Not that it is constantly accumulating, but it comes and goes and comes again. It warms up a little, and then freezes again. It is kind of nice, but then it goes away and you miss it again.

Twentynine - Friday!

I usually wake up at five, have some breakfast, and catch the train to work which takes a hour with one transfer. Most days it is quite busy, and when it is the first leg of the journey, which is only ten minutes, it is so packed that I don't bother to take a seat but rather stand in the aisle by the door with hoards of other people. The second leg is usually dominated by noisy school kids who seem do board in drove upon drove at every other stop and who are either playing games, listing to their music on their cell phone speakers (why do people have to listen to crappy music on even crappier speakers?!? get headphones please!), and laced up on faux Redbull energy drinks. These kids are all of 8, 10, 12 mobbing ever body's unadulterated silence. Anyway, it was friday, and for some reason, the same train I normally take was completely empty. It was still early enough to make it feel like two in the morning, and I was probably just as tired. But the Friday train ride to work was fantastic for some reason. Maybe because I was the only one on the train, or maybe I knew it was the last day of a seemingly long week.

Twentyeight - Let it Snow

It hs been snowing (off and on) for what seems like the last 3 weeks. It should continue, it looks like, for the next 3 days. This week however is quite cold, below freezing, and is a good week to stay inside. It looks realy nice outside, so I don't mind it so much, but you can only stay inside so long.

Twentyseven - Reactions and Interactions

We are all taught to do our best, try harder, improve. Yet, how many of us are truly and critically objective to themselves? Perhaps we all want to be better than each other in some way, or even better then ourselves the last time we checked. In some way or another, we give ourselves more credit while dismissing the contrary which would right us back to center. We lack honest self judgment. This is not competitiveness, which is truly a metric to gauge ourselves against others. Self judgment is knowing, understanding, and reconstructing your own self (in reflection) in situations, environments, projects, interactions, and work such that you are able to see what is good, bad, or indifferent. Sometimes we think we are hot shit, and sometimes we are. But were not hot shit all the time, and not hotter shit that the last time we checked. This isn't a tirade on people who are positive, optimistic, competitive or good at what they do. Nor is this a reasoning for the negative. I think we all may become better if we are able to be honest with ourselves. I believe, that if we are truly and constructively self critical, then who can tell us otherwise that we are better than those who are not?

Twentysix - Tuesday

It's Tuesday, but the post says Wednesday. Looks like I missed a day. Too busy to conjure up a topic.

Twentyfive - Another Monday

Even though it was another Monday, it didn't really feel like it. There was still a lot to do, and meetings, and the daunting personel reviews this week, but other than that, not too bad. I still managed to get some work done, call my parents, plan the week, help out others, and make it home on time. Lets hope the reviews go this well.

Twentyfour - Fourtyeight

The weekend is over. I just don't think it is all that fair. You spend most of your time working and with your work colleagues, and then you only get a few hours on the weekend. I would work 12 hour days just to have friday or monday off. The weekends are never long enough.

Twentythree - Product Returns

I returned a seemingly defective phone today. Normal procedure; here it is, it doesn't work, yep - receipt, thanks. But when I bought the phone, I only bought it and nothing else, but there was another charge on my bill. While returning the phone I questioned this thinking it was some kind of warranty or something. Nope. It was the charge from the person in front of me who bought a pack of CD-R's. I was told I can't get the money back without returning it. I never F***ing bought it, but you took my money! Then since I returned the phone, I needed to buy a replacement. Great, I either buy the same piece of crap I had before which didn't work, or shell out some more coin for another model. Now I'm out 19 bucks for CD-R's which somebody else has, and 10 more for another phone (this is my third one). Gotta love the financial times we live in, even the cashiers are scamming for money by not closing out the previous customer.

Twentytwo - Friday

Another long week has deservingly come to an end, or a beginning to a weekend. It is a celebration not just to relax a bit, but to enjoy time with family. Yeah!

Twentyone - Responsibility

I was in a meeting where someone got upset for bring up a topic for which they were not responsible for. I really wondered why they were taking the responsibility to discuss a topic which they were not a part off. Strange. This kind of ruined the group dynamic for the rest of the day. Then I started to think how we each have a responsibility, to ourselves, our families, our friends, co-workers, and eachother - even those we don't know. It's an important topic, especially when people take responsibility from those who should be, or we neglect our responsibilities to help others who may be less capable.

Twenty - Hee Haww

Today I felt like this...

image found on photobucket.com

Nineteen - Soap (Part 2)

In an attempt to know where our products come from and at the same time make a less expensive laundry soap... which we then used to do the rest of our laundry on Sunday. We may have had better results using old socks as soap or fabric softeners, than to use this simple recipe. Everything which was washed using this new formula came out of the wash smelling awful. Needless-to-say we had to redo much of the wash today using more expensive soap, however, our stove is still clean.

Eighteen - Boomtown Rats

Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
I wanna shoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oot
The whole day down, down, down, shoot it all down

This was the theme for most people today, even though they may not have hear their little voice inside their head shouting out the lyrics to this song. Thank you Boomtown Rats for giving us some of the best (most applicable?) lyrics in one of the most (worst?) melodramatic songs I have heard.

Seventeen - Soap

I don't know very much about soap, except that it's a surfactant used with water for the purpose of cleaning, some have ingredients which I cannot pronounce, some have Glycerol, and salts, and some leave "a sticky film on you which just won't rinse away." In an attempt to know where our products come from and at the same time make a less expensive laundry soap - which by the way we were short on and all the stores were closed on Sunday - we set forth with a simple recipe of water, baking soda, and bar soap shavings, which were combined into a heating pot. As my wife left to go down stairs to check the laundry, she had asked me to check the heating pot while she was gone. After a few minutes, I checked, nothing happening, so I went back to whatever it was I was doing. Well, somewhere between nothing and when my wife got back, the heating soap solution took to our kitchen like Vesuvius to Pompeii. The baking soda was the special ingredient which allowed for the pot to boil over like crazy, silently. I swear I heard nothing. Needless to say the added benefit of making inexpensive soap is that you can clean your kitchen and stove in the process.

Sixteen - Workout Day

Not only did we do an early morning run around the blustery river, we also enjoyed a seemingly long hike through the snow, wind, and cold. All around fun and fatigue, Nice!

Fifteen - Friday

Another work week awards us with a weekend. Not much else matters except the promise of spending time with the family.

Fourteen - Never Enough Time

There are things I have put off, small things, for about a month. But it never fails, every time there seems to be a small window of opportunity to catch up, I get a call which requires some type of resolution which takes two days, or weeks to solve, and inevitably, that call, is not the only disturbance. There are already about 50 things happening, long term, short term, high prio, back burner kind of things, but no matter the issue, I could spend all my time working, and still not have enough time to finish. Then I would never have enough time for my family, or myself. So we make choices. Personal priorities, work-life balance compromises. But still not enough time.

Thirteen - It's Early

It's too early to go to work right now. The good side; I can get some work done, and there is no one at the coffee machine.

Twelve – Smokers Suck

In 2010, most first world countries realize the health detriments to cigarette smoking and second hand smoke. Even in Japan those who do decide to plague their lungs with tar and impregnate their tissues with carcinogens are quarantined in small cubical containers with independent ventilations systems, which are now being removed from public buildings; similar in nature to the “smoker lounges” in many airports. In the US, some regulations (for which I am pleased) mandate that smoking be performed more than ten yards away from the front entrance of a public building, and in California, no smoking at all in, around or near any building practically. Subsequently these regulative successions have led to the curbing of addictive habits, which more than just the smoker can benefit from, all cravings aside. Here in a country which appears to pride itself on outdoors lifestyle, above average fitness, natural / biological / organic products available frequently, and innovation, it appears to be a big step back. I walk down the street on a calm day, and I can smell the guy smoking in front of me a block and a half away. I am waiting for the train and from all directions and various locations, smokers on the platforms. I have to go into a cubical if I don’t want the smoke! At lunch, I’m walking to get something to eat, 12 year-olds are getting out for lunch, yep, their smoking. On the way home, I get off the train, and the same guy who was smoking at the stop where we boarded the train, lights up as the door opens to let us all out; It’s a nine minute train ride!!! I understand about peoples right to choose, and if someone wants to choose a long term suicide plan even though I am not a proponent of that selfish decision, go ahead it their choice; but don’t allow you’re right to choose infringe upon my right to breath smoke free air. I am aware that laws here are in place to mandate no smoking in restaurants and bars, but let’s face it; does it really take over 18 months to execute such a plan? It's a placard on the door, not a construction project. I can’t wait until this is in effect in April!

Eleven - Train Home

I was glad to take the train today; you should have seen the traffic!

Ten – Oh, the people we’ve known…

This morning revealed a few more inches of fresh snow. It was quite cold. Today is not about cold or snow, it’s about the past. The main topic of conversation today was about past people we’ve known – girlfriends (boyfriends), friends, neighbors, classmates, etc. - which made me think. All these people we know which come in and out of our lives, positive or negative, have helped in some way to make me who I am. Think about that. I am a different person now than I was because of a choice I made based on the interactions of people I have been in contact with. I chose to be different, react to, remain passive, retain anger, brush off, laugh about, try harder or not at all, interact, plan ahead, enjoy more, respect others, be lighthearted, forgive, and enjoy life. Everyone has shown me this, good or bad, I thank you… Everyone!

Nine – Still cold after all these posts…

We woke up today with about 2+ inches of fresh powder. I love the snow, even more when I don't have to scrap it off my car (because I don't own one presently). I did have to go pick up some groceries earlier this morning. The snow had stopped, but the wind didn't. Later on we went for a walk through the city, past frozen fountains and through slushy streets. It was fun, and really wasn't as cold as one would expect. Well, here's to some nice snow during the winter months!

Eight - Oralhygenification

Not much today. Went to the dentist, cause it's been a while. I must have had more anesthesia than ever before, or maybe it had been a while, cause I was numb for most of the day. I ready hate that dead feeling in your face. I was paranoid to eat lunch; I kept thinking of chewing on my lip or tongue. I seemed to have made it through the experience. I don't really mind the dentist, I actually really don't like the minor occlusal change that you realize after the Novocain wears off. It'll be a couple of weeks for me to get used to the 0.5mm change, maybe it's only perception, but it is noticeable. Anyway, to make a short story shorter, eat less chocolate, and drink less coffee with less sugar more quickly.

Day Seven – Familiar Whiff

I left for work this morning. Cold. Dark. and I missed the tram. This usually means the connecting train may be missed as well, so I began to walk faster to the next stop to catch another one which would put me at the station in time. As I was walking down the cold and icy street, a familiar smell hit me, and for some reason it smelled good. I can't explain why, but it just did. The reason there is absence of logic in that last sentence is due to the fact that the smell reminded me of scrapple. I have only smelled this in Philly, and if you are unfamiliar with it, it is a sausage like meat product constituted from the parts of animal which one would typically not use for anything else, thereby combining all non-usable or solely inappropriate parts into one lump sum and serving it, at least in Philly, on an Amoroso Roll for breakfast from a roach coach, a.k.a. the food truck normally parked in the street. Now you know what I mean by the smell awkwardly revealing a comfortable scent. Perhaps it was the bacon undertones, or the savory salinity in the gristly oder. I wasn't hungry for it, actually, I just had breakfast. In fact, I've never eaten scrapple, and knowing what it is, I will never knowingly eat it. This topic even came up at work because a few colleagues had recently traveled to Philly and were enlightened to learn something new.

Six - Werk

It's only Wednesday. It seems like the work week should be over by now. After a holiday, it always seems like a long week. Fortunately, I feel like I am actually getting some work done, despite the repetitiousness of the inundations of spontaneous distractions and side tracks. If this were last week, holiday, the week would be over. I don't know why that is. Days off, weekends, holidays, vacations, etc. seem always to go by too quickly. Work only goes by fast upon reflection, and not while your in the middle of it. Oh well, tomorrow will be Thursday, and then one more later it will be the weekend, Yeah!

5 - as in Degrees Below

Wow, it's cold. Today was quite cold. But as my wife puts it, "it wouldn't be so cold if you didn't wear that thin ass jacket." I did have several layers on, but still while waiting 3 minutes for the Tram, I was able to get so cold, that I was unable to thaw on the heated tram during the ride home.
A couple of us ventured out for lunch today to hunt for some food. It was definitely a hot lunch sort of day, but as we walked we joked about the little dog that barks at us around the corner from the office. He was not out today. "He's probably in the house by the fireplace." "He's probably in the fire!" "that's where we should be..." "at least we're not in Siberia, there it's so cold, thoughts freeze." Anyway, it was quite cold, and tomorrow is supposed to be colder. Maybe I'll wear a warmer jacket.

IV – Work Begins

(ISP was down... Delayed post)

It's the first day of work and school for the new year. Lots to do, but not all the pressure to do it like before the break. I think everyone I work with is getting their bearings, or using today and tomorrow as bridging holidays for the 6th.

3 - Positivism

The conversation about my Diablog occurred today with my wife. She brought up a good point about maintaining a relatively positive and upbeat tone throughout the Diablog experiment. I do not want to post anything that I am not willing to say to someone’s face, or have a rationally constructive debate with. Although I cannot guarantee that all posts may be positive, I can, in the process of Diablogging, retain the deliberation to resist negative connotations. Typically, negativity can make for a more dramatic or interesting story, but perhaps a positive spin could be used, I am not sure if this is possible, but I will have to try this. In reality, I do not wish to turn this into “the daily rant,” “a diary of mental venting” on the daily crap that can be just that from time to time, nor is this a “diurnal psychology session.” However, in an attempt to maintain the overall positivity of the Diablog, I will begin to post with a positive, neutral or negative label, which will appear in the margin tallied. We’ll see how the score goes…

Day Two – Transaction Shi…

I think part of the reason online transactions are not as popular as they were expected to be is because of how complicated it has become. I can go into a brick-and-mortar and pay with cash, card, or check in some places, but online you have all these third party verifications, like Saferpay, Verisign, 3D Secure, which can be a real pain in the… or a deterrent to order something simple which you don’t need in the next 24 to 48 hours. These third party services sometimes over complicates a 30 or 40 dollar transaction and wastes time, by requiring all the data the second party would need anyway, but just going through a more extensive infrastructure which the second party isn’t willing to setup for the customer convenience, but will still charge you a fee to use. I get it though; I don’t want some zero-hacker-net-tool taking my data to buy crap they don’t need with my money. Whatever, looks like I have to go to another store to get what I need, there goes convenience, right?

Day One - Blog Start – Resolution Experiment

I thought about what to Diablog for day one. Maybe it’s too much self pressurization to be poignant on the first day of the Diablog 365 experiment.

I thought I should Diablog about this kid on the bus on our way back from Ikea. He was driving me crazy, and was all up in my son’s grill with his fingers in my son’s mouth. We kept pushing his arms away, and for a minute we thought he was a bit special. He was about 4 or 5, but still should have known better than to put his hands in the mouths of other kids. All we could do was move our stroller a few inches away. I need to teach my son how to bite other kids, because this kids’ mom wasn’t doing much on the discipline front.

Then I thought maybe I should Diablog about New Year’s resolutions, which this blog is, in a way, but more of an experiment. This is an attempt at the experiment in the one-blog-a-day test on socially distinctive interactions which all of us have on a daily basis, whether it be at home, with friends, at work, commuting, buying things at the store, being a foreigner (or local), watching the news, or overhearing another’s conversation. Even with reflecting on past issues and occurrences, conjuring up future ones, and dealing with the present, the Diablog is just this, a personal dialogue on one issue a day.

Let’s see how this goes...