Quest for Cognizance

Moved

2009-01-17T10:18:00.000-05:00

Blog has moved back here.

Spirit & Opportunity

2009-01-03T23:05:00.004-05:00

I have to say this has been one of the coolest things to happen in my lifetime.

Simple

2009-01-02T15:53:00.003-05:00

Photobucket. Picasa. Godaddy. Blogger. Joomla 1.0. Joomla 1.5. It's all adding up to one big unmanageable garbage pile.

Time to simplify.

Oh. And Happy New Year!

Boycott Day 2

2008-09-11T07:00:00.002-04:00

The drive home was a bit better yesterday. I managed to download a copy of Coldplay's latest, Viva la Vida.

First listen: not too sure.

Second listen on the way in this morning: Much better. It's a creeper and could very easily be a great album with a few more listens.

Also listened to a few songs from an old college-days band, The Mighty Lemondrops. Too many flashbacks and had to turn them off.

At least I'm not a)falling asleep halfway home or b)yelling at my windshield like the rhetoric spewing radio pundits can actually hear me. Or care for that matter.

Boycotting Talk Radio

2008-09-10T06:00:00.002-04:00

I drive almost exactly an hour to work, six days a week, throughout the summer. If I stop for a donut and coffee, it's usually sixty minutes +/- five.

With being, in my opinion, a semi-frugal person (my wife might beg to differ sometimes), I refuse to pay $10-$15/month for satellite radio. I know I'd be much happier than I am now if I did.

My options for AM talk radio are pretty limited. The whole "let's-make-a-joke-at-everything" shtick (including many, many, many... fart jokes), or the right leaning 60 year old radio personalities who's very voices put you to sleep while doing 75 mph on the highway, or even the plain, old "headline & traffic" reports repeated every 15 minutes have left me sad, frustrated, and tired enough to fear flying off the side of the road and into a tree. The forensics team will have to figure out if it was from nodding off or just plain suicide.

So. I'm going to try turning the voices off for a week.

I left home this morning with the radio tuned to the normal morning show. That lasted about five minutes before I switched to the local college radio station. Impact 89 FM.

It was a lifesaver.

For fifty-five minutes early this morning I listened to the likes of: Coldplay, Gnarls Barkley, Radiohead, Oasis, Modest Mouse, NIN, etc.

It was the happiest (and most awake) drive to work in a very long time.

Expectations

2008-09-04T18:35:00.003-04:00

What does it mean when food is the only thing able to pry a three year old lab off the couch and away from a ten month old's Baby Einstein DVD playing in the living room..?

I'm a geek.

2008-08-25T17:08:00.001-04:00

So I have this old printer at work, which used to be mine, (Hewlett Packard DeskJet 722c). It's great printer and has lasted a VERY long time. This little post is a classic example of why it's still around.

Today I realized I almost never print in "normal" mode, but instead opt for the "draft" mode to save on ink and mula. (You know how some printers are just better at "draft" than others..?)

The realization came when I accidentally printed something off without changing the print options. A minor freak out was imminent due to just how crystal-clear and BLACK the print-out was. It's exactly like when you get a new pair of prescription glasses and suddently you can see all the little pebbles in the pavement.

The "draft" mode on this old printer was good enough for me to forget just how good a "normal" print-out should be.

Kudos to the 722c.

Dog Dayz

2008-08-04T20:02:00.002-04:00

It 's that time of year at work where everyone's fuses get just a bit shorter due to the work load, the hot weather, and just about anything else of which can add to your everyday stress load.

Please wish me luck in putting out all the little fires that pop up, and for my head to not explode.

Or for that matter, me squarshing someone elses in the meantime...

Happy 6th of July!

2008-07-06T01:41:00.004-04:00

First of all, please note the time of this post.

That said, let's work backwards in time from this point on...

~Just got to bed.
~Took a shower to erase a vomitrocious stank.
~Staked Abbey to the ground out back and proceeded to scrub said vomitrocious stank from her short, dense fur.
~Ran to Meijer to purchase hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, face mask and latex gloves.
~Googled how the hell to get vomitrocious skunk odor off your damned dog.
~Let the dogs in from their final pee-break of the night. I had to call Abbey fifteen times before she sauntered out from behind the big pine tree at the back of the yard. And BEHOLD... VOMITROCIOUS STANK!!!
~Arrived home from work at 11 P.M. (covering for an employee on a holiday weekend for the second night in a row.)

(Please admire the following photo in context with this post. No other insinuations please...)

Thanks George

2008-06-23T07:37:00.002-04:00

Old House

2008-06-05T21:49:00.004-04:00

We have come to find out, as many have, buying an old house comes with certain quirks, oddities, and shall we way "problems". Most of which you just learn to deal with unless you want to spend a crap-load of money - money you usually don't have when you need it.

Thanks to a 7-day forecast in the mid-nineties with a chance of thundershowers - and we all know in Michigan that means MUGGY- I spent at hour after work installing both of our window air conditioners upstairs. (Max's mom ordered the quiet one into the boy's room.)

In the summer our second story averages 5-10 degrees warmer than the main floor. In the winter 5-10 below.

Old houses rule...

Simply simple.

2008-06-03T19:38:00.002-04:00

Thanks to a late hockey game resulting in four hours of sleep, a couple of tuna fish sandwiches for dinner amazingly hit the spot.

That's all I got...

Robert Smith & Co.

2008-05-20T17:01:00.007-04:00

Annie and I packed up the little guy and what seemed like 93% of his belongings into her new Rav-4 on Friday and jumped on the road to Chicago for the weekend.

The trip served two purposes: 1) finally meet our new nephew and Max's cousin Steven (of who's mother, my baby sister, I still can't believe is now a mom); 2) to finally see The Cure live at Allstate Arena (the tour-date had been postponed since last September).

After the initial outburst of disbelief and laughter from Tim and Amber upon seeing how GIANT Max has become, we discovered one month old Steven is all arms and legs, just like his dad. You can see a bit of Amber in the cheeks right now, but it's early, so who knows what he'll look like in a month when we see them again. We had great time getting Steven and Max together. Max and Steven couldn't have cared less, but the two moms had a blast.

More on Max's trip here.

The Cure. Wow. This group, in it's various forms over the years, continues to rank at the top of my list of favorites. If you strip away the crazy hair, make-up, and gothic image, you're left with some very talented musicians and writers who never fail to deliver when it comes to a live performance.

Aside from Robert Smith having a cold (I could only see it's effect in one song), the show was fantastic. With swapping out two keyboard players (who had been in the band for quite some time) for the former guitarist (and genius) Porl Thomson, there had been some worry as to how they would pull off some of the keyboard-laden tunes created over the last 10-15 years. When you get rid of a full time keyboard player, and a guitar player who also plays keys on various tunes, and replace them with a single guitar player, something has to suffer, right?

Did I say Porl Thomson is a genius...? He did an amazing job covering keyboard and piano parts with his lead guitar. Sometimes he seemed to have 15 digits versus 10. He didn't use his guitar as a MIDI controller as much as I thought he would. Granted there were a couple of songs with some sequencing, it was sparse and used very little. The keys weren't missed, and the best part is some songs became edgier, rocked a bit more, and had more of a groove. All four members seemed to be having a great time up there; Robert dancing and playing to the crowd, Porl flaunting his chops, Simon dancing the whole night with his bass hanging at his knees, and Jason Cooper rock solid, like a machine, pounding his drum kit.

We won't even get into what Porl was wearing. All I can say is it was classic Porl Thompson. If you know who he is, you know what I mean...

The highlight of the show, for me and my wife I think, was during the first encore when they played The Kiss from the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album. There's about a five-minute intro where the song builds and builds with Robert progressively going nuts on his guitar. It took us a minute to realize Porl, the lead player, was sitting down in the shadows as Robert played the whole intro, and only stood up and joined in as the song reached the verse. It almost felt like Porl was tipping his hat to the bandleader, wanting everyone to remember just how good of a player Robert is. Sometimes I think his talent gets lost behind his crazy image. I'm pretty sure all 8000 people in the arena got the point loud and clear. It was mesmerizing and intense, and I think I held my breath the whole song.

There's a new album coming out in September. It'll be interesting. With the sound we heard Saturday, I can't wait.

They played for three hours. Nothing else needs said.

Video of alt.end from the show.

~Live~

Vinnie

2008-05-09T19:33:00.004-04:00

I think I like my dog again.

Three years and three months ago Vinnie came into our lives with the intention of becoming a golf course dog. A golf course dog is usually a hunter/herder type of canine used to establish a presence on a property to dissuade pests such as geese and varmints from taking up residence.

He started out at two months old riding in the front seat of not only my truck, but a golf cart as well. It took him three jumps off a moving golf cart before he learned he really shouldn't do that.

The first season with Vin at work was great. He bounced around the clubhouse as a puppy, made everyone who walked through the place smile (the ladies leagues LOVED him), and he did his best impression of a full grown dog when he caught site of geese on the course.

The second season was a pain in the butt. My plan had been to have the greatest, best looking, superbly trained golf course dog in the area. pfft... He's a lab. He was between year one and two. He could sit, shake and lay down like all the rest. He also couldn't help putting his nose on customers tables while they ate our famous Rush Lake hot dogs. He also couldn't stop himself from jumping on people as they came from the front door, especially women and children.

The third season Vinnie stayed home most of the time.

And now this fourth season things have changed a bit. Number one he's 3 1/2 now and THANK GOD that's when everyone tells you they start calming down. And he has. Vinnie now doesn't whine and beg to go outside every fifteen minutes. He calmly sits a few feet away and watches people eat their famous Rush Lake hot dogs. The only people he jumps on coming through the door now are the ones who (oh SO naive...!) bring treats for him.

I actually watched Vin start running for the door the other day, mistaking a new customer for one of his 'treat-bringers' only to pull up short when he recognized it wasn't who he though it was. I really think it was because both gentlemen wear bucket hats.

Vinnie loves riding on the golf cart just about as much as running at 3/4 speed, on cruise control, with his nose to the ground searching for the latest ground squirrel, goose, deer or rabbit. I rarely have to chase him down anymore if he takes off on a scent. After he's had a good run, you're liable to find him sleeping with his chin on his paws in the clubhouse -- a far cry from previous year's constant pacing and whining to go back out.

All in all, he's slowly becoming the dog I always wanted him to be. He just needed his own time to do it. Patience doesn't come from my side of the family, but Vinnie has taught me a few things about it.

Just a forewarning: Vin might be featured a bit more on this site than in the past. He's earned it.

I can't wait for Max to realize how good of a best friend Vinnie is and will be.

~Vinnie waiting not-so-patiently on a frosty morning~

Assistant Manager

2008-05-06T19:56:00.002-04:00

After a long winter, Vin seems to be fitting in quite nicely at work. We haven't seen geese on the course in 2 weeks now. I think he's earned his premium dogfood so far...

Smartass

2008-04-25T21:33:00.002-04:00

I sent my eighteen year old employee out to repaint the warning signs around our irrigation pond. This is how he left it while coming in for his lunch break.

Shuffle Play #2

2008-04-07T22:11:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you start off your drive home from work on shuffle play and you come upon a song you haven't heard in awhile and it slaps you in the face.

Next action: shuffle play off, album play on, start from the top.

Arguably one of the best rock albums of my time, U2's The Joshua Tree deserves a full play-through from top to bottom every time you put it on. There's a reason the album gave the band their first two Grammys.

Exit baby. EXIT...

Work is the curse...

2008-04-06T08:16:00.007-04:00

"Work is the curse of the drinking classes." Oscar Wilde

If you haven't been to my place of work, you have no idea how appropriate the previous quote is in several different ways.

Although I've been back out to work for the last few weeks getting things ready, today is the first day I'll be back with the course open for play. The weather has put us behind about two weeks, which is ok except the state switching the high school sports seasons around has left us with an 80 man golf invitational this coming Friday. The grass hasn't even begun to move yet. But we'll take it. It's mula.

The course came out pretty well as far as disease is concerned. I'd like to get a hold of the people who decided to use every fairway as a snowmobile drag strip and the greens as their 'turn-arounds'. Every year it's the same deal - just varying degrees of damage. You can only call the cops so many times after spring arrives when there's no way to track the vandals back to their well disguised rat-holes. As my late, former boss used to say, "It's grass. It'll grow back."

And then there's this classic, "Just do it. I don't pay you to think..."

I have 100% of my crew last year coming back with about 98% of their same availability - which is uncommon. I usually have to replace 2-3 spots with newbies, but not this year. Less training, but more reminders of bad habits...

I've actually had a ton of people looking to trade work for memberships. Times are tough, especially with most of our customers being hard working, blue collar trades people. In Livingston county we're in auto worker and house-building country.

Gonna be a rough year I think.

Shuffle Play

2008-03-31T18:27:00.003-04:00

Sometimes, on the way home from work, you get a run of songs during shuffle play on the .mp3 player that just needs to be posted:

1. Your Song - Elton John
2. Yer So Bad - Tom Petty
3. Why Can't I Be You - The Cure
4. Tom Sawyer (live) - Rush
5. Three Imaginary Boys - The Cure
6. Dig it Deep - The Candyskins
7. You Are Here - The Candyskins
8. Two Sisters - Fiction Plane (the boy does sound like Sting...)
9. Whistling in the Dark - They Might Be Giants
10. Untogether - Belly

Back to Work (2nd try)

2008-03-26T22:12:00.002-04:00

Two weeks later and I've just today been allowed to start calling people back to work starting next week.

On this day one year ago it was 76F.

We have a forecast for a possible 1 inch of snow tomorrow night.

Thank you very much Mother Nature. I'll just go back to twiddling my thumbs...

Back to work.

2008-03-14T17:21:00.002-04:00

I'm back to work on Monday.

Despite the cabin fever, and the permanent imprint of my ass embedded in the far left cushion of our couch, getting up and getting things going is always a bit of a struggle. Making the necessary phone calls to see who's coming back to work, arranging interviews and equipment demos, contacting old members and outings, etc.... Can't wait!

After four months of doing nothing but eat, sleep, and (proudly) take care of Max, it's a little tough getting my butt up off the couch and into 'work' mode.

Looking at the little guy sitting here beside me, I've three days left and I can already feel the separation anxiety kicking in.

Lewis Black

2008-03-10T15:53:00.005-04:00

Last night we went to see Lewis Black for my father-in-law's belated (and belated again) birthday.

I had seen a few of Mr. Black's performances on comedy central and had come to believe I was sufficiently prepared for an hour or so of his exasperatedly 'pissed-off' behavior.

What I wasn't prepared for was the 'lead-ups' to his foul-mouthed, spit-ridden, I'm-having-a-heart-attack exasperations. The man is a master craftsman of epic proportions. The way he can reel a crowd in and let it out over and over and finally set it up for the perfect fall was nothing short of comic genius.

The act was solid top to bottom to the point my own stomach, cheeks, and throat ached from exertion for hours afterward.

The photo on the left is the view from our seats, although it seems further away than it really was. The photo on the right is in reference to a reference made by Mr. Black during one of his tirades. We thought he was joking. (Thanks Dick)

Living Legend

2008-03-04T12:20:00.007-05:00

Back in the mid-'90's my younger sister left Michigan to attend college in Indiana. Somehow, in a round-a-about way, while there she became a huge Green Bay Packers fan. At the time, this revelation came as a surprise to me for a couple of reasons.

One: I hadn't even known my sister was even vaguely interested in football.

Two: Green Bay...? She was born and raised in Michigan, had been living in Indiana for a couple of years, and now she's a Green Bay fan...?

However the story goes my sister had become a very tenaciously defensive and loyal fan. She never lacked for little known details of the lives of people like Don Beebe, Reggie White, and of course Brett Favre.

Besides a storied career in the NFL with accomplishments like leading the Pack to a Superbowl win in 1996 and just recently by-passing Dan Marino in career passing yards, attempts, pass completions, touchdown passes and wins as a starting quarter back, Farve also is quite well known for his humbleness, hospitality, and willingness to help others.

Oh, and by the way, he also merely came in second in consecutive games started with 253.

Over the years I became a fan just like millions of others. I have my sister to thank for the introduction.

Happy retirement.

R.I.P. Jeff Healey

2008-03-03T16:44:00.004-05:00

There are always going to be people you forget about until, sadly, you hear they're gone.

Book-snob

2008-03-02T11:53:00.013-05:00

Thanks to a very high recommendation from my old buddy Ryan, I've just finished the Pulitzer Prize winning 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay'. What a great freakin' story.

I have spent most of my adult reading life under the assumption good books are relative to the readers taste. While I still mostly agree with that statement, every once in awhile you get a hold of a book where not only the story, but the writing itself just grabs you and won't let go. Usually it's an author you've never read with a style that might take a couple of chapters to get used to, but when you finally finish the tale, you're left with this incredible, almost palpably empty feeling of 'wow.' Having wanted to finish the book so badly with 100 pages to go, you now feel a little bit disappointed you rushed to the end.

I've always been a voracious reader and before meeting my wife I'd consume anywhere from ten to fourteen books a year. I'm one of those people who can't just go to bed by turning off the lamp, closing my eyes, picking my nose and voila!- talking with the sandman. Sometimes it took just a couple of pages before my forehead landed between the pages of an open book, sometimes an hour or two.

Nowadays I'm lucky if I even turn the page once before dozing off to sweet oblivion. At this pace it has taken me most of this winter to read 'Kavalier and Clay'. Because this pace seems to be about all I've been able to muster over the last couple of years, I've recently decided to make whatever reading time I might get before nodding off count for something a little bit more than it has been.

This is my goal: Read as many Pulitzer Prize winning authors in a row as feasibly possible.

Now, we're talking fiction here. I completely understand and admire every single writer to be nominated and/or have won the prize (and the thousands who haven't), no matter the subject or content - but to try and keep my eyes open for any period of time with any genre other than fiction would be fruitless at best. No offence intended to the many talented journalists, columnists, biographers, speech writers, and others who base their careers on any one or all of these areas. My brain just doesn't like to work that way, particularly when hitting the sack.

The last paragraph doesn't mean I don't have an appetite for what's going on the world via all my bookmarked Internet news sites. Just ask my wife. Every night there's the inevitable "Did you here about this... honey?"

Since 1917 there has been a Pulitzer given every year in the 'Fiction' (pre-1948 'Novel') category except for in 1920, '41, '46, '54, '57, '64, '71, '74, and '77.

That's a lot of reading. Would love to have some recommendations...

As for now I'm following 'Kavalier and Clay' up with John Updike's 'Rabbit , Run', the first in a series of four in which two have won Pulitzers.

We'll see how long being a "book-snob" lasts.