Category: Culture

Culture can he high or low, good or bad…

I sit here, safe and snug with my family as the storms roll in…

…and I wonder how many folks in downtown Austin are wishing they had a choice of Uber or Lyft, but couldn’t vote because they have a DUI on their record.

And as a followup, why did Uber and Lyft let the “Big Corporations writing our laws” meme stand instead of coming back with a “Big corporations fighting about which corporations get to write our laws” meme? Aside from being a cash cow, how is the medallion scheme any less a bribe?

Meh. Probably time to go to sleep.

Normally, Cy is the one who brings new, exciting things into our life.

Today, instead of going to my in-laws for Easter, and instead of Cy getting his required (and all-too-often-interrupted) Sunday afternoon nap, we went to the finals of the Dell Match Play tournament.

Between 12 and 13
Between 12 and 13

For all that I have given Dell over the years (Cy recently reminded me of a trip to the E.R. while I was working there wherein I couldn’t feel my legs…), from being their first webmaster (remember back when that was a thing in 1994?) to all the jobs since where we’ve purchased exclusively Dell (NetSuite being the singular, notable HP exception), to all our personal laptops (still loving my XPS 13 with infinity display!), today was another example of how we get paid back. (Aside from our cars, our house, and our daughter…)

Nicely wined, nicely dined. My fitbit hit it’s daily goal just as we walked in to the Chalet… then hit double that goal as we trudged back uphill!

Thanks to the in-laws for the faux-uber ride from my office (which you can see just over Cy’s left shoulder) to the game and back, but more importantly, thanks to them for the tupperware of homemade Potato Salad that was waiting for me when I got home!

But more than that – if you’ve actually read this entire diatribe, instead of just clicking “Like” on facebook, please let me know you read the article by copying and pasting the next paragraph/sentence as a comment:

J, you idiot – I bet you didn’t stretch before all that walking.

(Yes, I’m a little sore.)

Twas the night before southby…

Twas the night before southby
Twas the night before southby

Twas the night before southby and all through the town

Not a car was stirring, no-one could get around.

Each person alone, and still on their phone

As the mayor said, tomorrow, work from home.

The presidents visit, he said, not his first

Will make tomorrows traffic much closer to worst.

Math homework, again the best part of my night.

When I pick G up from school, I always ask how her day was. For years, her answer has been “boring.” Recently, however, she’s accidentally messed up and replied “Great!” – especially when we’re bringing a friend home with her. Even more recently, she’s begun being completely honest, even asking for advice on how to deal with problems with friends. (My advice on that has ranged from “Take the high road”, to “I wouldn’t reward bad behavior with what they want”, to “That doesn’t sound like someone I’d bother being friends with anymore.”

I’m sure that sometimes my advice is followed, and sometimes ignored – I’m just glad that she is finding her own way, but still letting me into her life.

But even with all that, I still love when she comes downstairs to get help with math homework. Tonight was more awesome than usual – it was one page, front and back, about 10 problems in total. I help her work through them, but make her do all the thinking – I’m just here to guide and assist.

We get done in about 15 minutes. She flips the paper over, and says, “I thought that would take a lot longer.”

Daddy J for the win.

</drops mic>

 

Bookmarks catchup/cleanup

It’s been much, much too long since I’ve cleaned up my bookmarks “other” folder; A simple dump is all that I can bother with at this size.

I wish my daughter was having some fun growing up…

We whiled away a delightful and filling evening with Didi and Torsten, gorging ourselves on a delicious steak dinner and earlier munchies. Then, to top things off, G and her friend decided they wanted to bake some dessert while the menfolk sat on their asses and watched UT decimate Kansas.

Those of you who have watched “The IT Crowd” will understand that I’m telling you that what is on G’s face is chocolate.

And, as always, I remain convinced that the best sound in the world is my daughter’s laughter.

IMG_20151107_214520

IMG_20151107_214525 IMG_20151107_214602

 

Credit where credit is due…

They said the rain would begin at 11pm. With the garage door open, I was able to verify this as true within 2 minutes error. Well done, forecasters. I would raise a glass to you, except that:

The drinking game still holds true. As a reminder, the key words are:

  • shelter
  • precaution
  • evacuation