My 2 G's

I know you just assumed I was writing about $2000. I wish. I could think of a million things to do with it. No. My 2 G's are Gabriel and Gavin. Gavin was in the church nursery today and those boys had so much fun. Gavin's mom came in and immediately noted the flushed cheeks on Gavin. I told her with a smile that was expected since the boys were running circles around the rocker (one of the glider kind with a footstool) for about 15 to 20 minutes previous to her arrival. She just laughed. I like having Gavin in the nursery. He's a nice boy and Gabriel really gets along with him.

This Kid is Different

I will give Jericho 2 bowls of cereal today. He was the one that requested cereal this morning. I have been giving it to him at night so he will sleep longer. Despite that week or so he slept completely through the night, he has been waking up a couple times per night with hunger issues. He seemed to want cereal this morning, but that won't stop me from giving it tonight. I want to step it up to twice a day and he seems ready. The title of the blog says it all. He really is different from Gabriel. But I'm different too. I don't have the patience for him screwing around while he is nursing. Maybe it is because he messes around so much that I am really anxious to stop nursing. They really want you to breastfeed for a year, but I don't know if he will do it that long, and I don't know if I can tolerate it that long.

Why am I less tolerant of being a pacifier and milk cow? Maybe it is because I feel like that is what defines me these days. I think it is also because I can't do anything else while nursing Jericho. He is 16 pounds and too heavy to hold with one hand in that position. That makes me feel trapped and useless. Something tells me that Jericho will be on baby food relatively quickly, and it isn't only because I want 5 inches of personal space. He seems ready to taste other things. That is good for me. I just wish he would figure out how to eat his food instead of spitting it back at me. He gets it down eventually. He just seems a lot messier than Gabriel was.

Christmas Morning

It is Christmas morning. I just have to wait for Heather to get out of the shower and then the kids are going to open their Christmas presents. As ever, Santa Claus made his visit right on schedule, and, even without a chimney, gained access to the house to deliver a staggering array of gifts to the kids. Gabriel has a few gifts here, too, so he will be having fun opening presents shortly. afterward, we are heading to Mom and Dad’s at the farm. We usually do some of the cooking and cleaning, assisted in large measure by Mike (who makes his famous lump-free mashed potatoes and green bean casserole) and Karen (who makes the turkey at her house along with other good food, especially sweet potatoes). Mom always makes the dressing in an impressive quantity, and we bring the ham.

I delivered the ham last week while I was working at Jackpot. Mom met me at the casino to bring Christmas presents and ham to the farm. I reminded her to take the ham out of the freezer to thaw a couple of days ago, so we should be in good shape for making dinner this morning. It always turns out to be a team effort, with three or four people working in the kitchen. Its Christmas. What a great way to spend the day, with the family. I don’t mind helping with the cooking, but it is a big collaboration amongst various people. We brought drunken apples with us, and three pies from Baker’s Square. We will see how all of that goes over. As long as I get some of the Christmas silk and a taste of the Candy Cane pie, I am good to go!

It is present-opening time. I will write more later.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Peace!

Christmas Eve (Part II)

Deb and Tom’s kids, Matthew and Emily, each got to open a couple of their presents tonight, on Christmas Eve. Gabriel joined in as well. He got a Thomas the Tank Engine train set. His Uncle Tom put it together for him and Gabriel stayed occupied for a couple hours with that. In the meantime, we watched Hoodwinked and I finished posting my homework for the week. All I had to do was my weekly discussion summary. The day before that, I had to write part of a paper explaining the rationale for analyzing MLB statistics, comparing the dollars that major league baseball teams spend on their payroll (athletes only, of course, and not including office personnel). The analysis for our team is examining the relationship (if any) between payroll dollars and the number of games won in 2006, and also compares the payroll to attendance, home runs, and other baseball stats.

The class I am working on now is a pre-calculus to calculus-level research class. I posted that assignment on Sunday. The nice thing is that there is a break from school through January 8th, a break which started as soon as I posted my last assignment on Christmas Eve. Sweet! I need this time to review all the material and to be sure that I can understand and absorb all the formulas and apply it in such a way that I can put the information into excel in a coherent manner. Fortunately, the class hasn’t been too difficult so far, but on the other hand, college courses are expensive, so I might as well be challenged and learning something from all of this.

Enough for now. The kids, nephew, niece, and our son, are all excited about Santa Claus visiting tonight. Our other son, Jericho, is happy as long as he is fed and in getting attention from Mom, Dad, or Uncle Deb or Aunt Tom (that was not a typo, spoonerism, or, God help me, a Freudian slip, even though Uncle Tom is kind of girly. Hehe!)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Eve (Part I)

We traveled to Deb and Tom’s tonight to spend Christmas Eve with their family, which is something of a family tradition for us. We have done that ever since they have lived in the same house. They have a big remodeling project going on. It really doubles the size of their house, I think. I wouldn’t necessarily do the project the same way, but that is the great thing about it for them: their house, their plans. Of course, the reason I would do it differently is because I would have so many windows and more room for our houseplants that are standing twelve feet tall now (the bird of paradise palms).

Tom made a good dinner. Deb says that he is a good cook, and I would have to agree. I hate being forced to agree with my baby sister, since I think she is kind of a dufus (stated with all the brotherly warmth that a person can muster for his little sister). Anyway, Tom baked a ham and potatoes, the usual fare, though the apple pie was very good. Side note: I found out later that the food was as good as can be bought from the Cashwise deli and then reheated at home. The food was good, so to each his own.

A Second Opinion

I knew this, but I smiled greatly when I read a card we received in the mail tonight. Aunt Helen (ok, so she is my dad's aunt and my great-aunt) got our card before she sent one out to us. This was made evident by her comments. She said he was a "fantastic writer" and his photos are "just beautiful". I would have to concur. :-)

Jericho's first cereal

At Jericho's last well-child visit, the pediatrician urged me to start him on cereal slowly, like once a day for 2 weeks, then step it up to twice a day for 2 weeks. I was resistant because I hate the baby food stage. It is incredibly messy. I also was not in a rush because he is now 5 months old. The doctor told me to do this at 4 months old. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, when I was a kid, parents were told to start baby food at 6 months. What makes my kid any different from me (barring the gender, you smart-alick!)? Well, lately he has been resistant to nursing at times. I'm wondering if he will refuse to nurse after awhile. Because I'm afraid he'll wean himself before I start him on food, I gave him some tonight. Why tonight? I was interested in his reaction, and he was awake and hungry. He liked it. All I did was mix cereal with water. At first he turned up his nose because it was cold. Then he tasted it and decided he wanted more. In fact, I was trying to feed Gabriel at the same time. When I walked away for a moment, Jericho complained. I took that as a good sign. He wanted what I was giving him. We'll try it again tomorrow.

CJ's injuries

I found out that he was skiing in Winterpark, Colorado, so flying him to Denver must have been the choice for the nearest trauma center. I was told this evening that CJ broke his hip and his femur. The doctors put a rod in his leg and immobilized his hip so it will heal. They said that he would be dead if he wasn't wearing a helmet. He is on blood thinners to prevent a blood clot. I don't know when he will be allowed to go back home or even to an Illinois hospital. I thank God for the people who developed helmets, for my aunt, who taught him to have the sense to wear one, for the doctors who have the knowledge to help him, and for God for protecting him from a devastating or life-ending injury.

CJ (my cousin) is hurt

I found out tonight at 8:30pm that my cousin CJ was in a ski accident today (ok...yesterday, Tuesday, since it is now 1am Wednesday). He hit a tree. I don't know anything other than that they flew him to Denver for surgery. It makes me wonder where he was skiing. Either he was extremely hurt (You are thinking: Duh! He hit a tree!) and that was the hospital with the specialists and medical equipment that he needed, or that was the closest trauma center and he was skiing in Colorado. I say this only because my cousin lives in southern Illinois. Denver seems to me to be a long way to fly him for surgery. They want a parent there tonight (he isn't THAT young), but I guess Aunt Carol can't get a flight until tomorrow morning. I just pray that he is ok. I would turn off my cell phone overnight, but I keep wondering if I will get a call or text message in the middle of the night to update me. I figure that I probably won't hear anything unless something really drastic happens, but I don't want to take the chance of missing it. Besides, I am hoping that being prepared for that devastating phone call in the middle of the night means that I won't get one.

Christmas with the parental units and brother

As usual, the weekend with my parents went too fast. Also typical, they brought a million presents for Gabriel. He knew it, too, and conned Nana in to letting him open as many presents before the actual present-opening as he could. She bought him finger paints and big paper, so, of course, he begged her and Uncle Josh to paint as often as possible. Doug got a laptop and portable printer so he can work on homework while on the road. I got a new phone, a new backpack, and protection from the cold for when I take the dogs out in the middle of the night. Gabriel got Spiderman bedding and lots of toys. Someday I'd like to go back to Indiana for Christmas, specially timing it for the Christmas party on my mom's side of the family. I just can't see how to do it at the moment. Travelling really long distances with a two year old is more daunting than the price of gas. I'd have to try to drum up the money for a flight.

Anyway, the only reason I am blogging this late is because Doug is in a hotel and knew he wouldn't have written about this yet....and I have trouble sleeping without him. I'm really tired, though, so I am going to bed, and Doug can write more on this later.

Smoker groomed her kitten

Ok. I can tell you that Doug would look at the title of this post and immediately assume that Smoker was grooming the Brat, sometimes jokingly called Bob. From the minute we brought him home, Smoker adopted the Brat as her kitten and continues to treat him that way to this day. Well, I was sitting right where I am now: on the bed facing the computer, except, at the particular moment to which I am referring, I had Jericho in my lap, and I was nursing him while typing. (You don't believe me, do you.) Smoker sat next to me and started licking Jericho's head, just like she would groom the Brat, and grooming she was. I had no idea how much saliva was involved in the process until I saw Jericho's full head of hair become as soaked as if I ran a wet sponge over his head. I think I need to give him a bath.

Oh, and I finally found what I did with Doug's birthday present. That is one of the reasons I am still awake. That and covering Gabriel with lotion since he woke up just a little bit ago practically in tears because he was itching. Doc says he has eczema. I'm trying to find the right lotion or whatever to provide him relief. I should stay awake and clean, but I think I'm going to get some sleep. If I don't, I won't be nice to my parents. The lack of sleep will catch up to me when they get here on Friday afternoon, not necessarily when Doug does on Thursday afternoon. So goodnight.

Putting the Brakes on My Earlier Plans

Disregard all that happy, mushy gushing about going home. It turns out that I am needed at a location in North Dakota. In the morning, I am traveling to that site. I am staying in the hotel at the casino and heading home Thursday. I hope to be home by Thursday afternoon, but at this moment, I can't say that something else will not come up to delay my return home. I am disappointed, but that is part of the job responsibility. I will be home when I get home, and whining, complaining, or cursing the situation is neither going to make me feel better about being away from my family, nor going to get me home any faster. That's life.

I will stay in the hotel one more night. We are watching our overtime hours, and because of that, I will very likely be in hotels more than I have been in the last few years. I don't know how that translates, but am guessing that I will be in a hotel at least every few weeks, if only for one night here and there. It doesn't make college assignments easier, but I will ponder that difficulty and find a workable solution in good time... whatever that means.

I have been sitting at this computer, working for six hours. It is time to log off and try to sleep so I can drive in the morning. The next stop is five hours away. I will finish the work and check into the hotel once again. From there, home is about another five hours away on Thursday.

I do not want to wish my life away, but in my mind, I am counting the hours until I am home again.

Still Training, but it is Break Time!

It’s lunch time again. Today we are covering the VLC game platform. The funny thing about it is that this hardware is so obsolete! When my current employer acquired my former employer and its subsidiary, VLC, seven years ago, the stated plan was to not continue with VLC support. There are still thousands of these old machines in service, almost exclusively in South Dakota. So here I am, training to support machines that haven’t had parts manufactured for them in seven years. How do all these little convenience stores and store-front "casinos" keep their games running with no manufacturer parts available? As explained to me by several operators this morning, and I quote, “Can you say E-Bay?” If it weren’t for E-Bay, many of the little gambling operations in the Dakotas would be out of business. As casinos finally dump their old VLC games, they auction the hardware on E-Bay, keeping other small operators running for awhile. I just found that interesting.

I am looking forward to heading home in the morning. I have to help load a training game into Huntz's truck, and then I can head back to Minnesota. I still may have to stop at a casino on the way home, but am doing my best to avoid it, by requesting that the other Minnesota techs provide some telephone support while I am in training. I don’t want to miss out on sharing my birthday with Heather and the boys. I have some school work to do tomorrow, so it will probably be a fairly uneventful evening, but I still want to be home with my family to note the anniversary of the day I was born about a million years ago, give or take a millennia.

By the way, if I had been born less than half an hour later, I would have been born on Friday the 13th. Would that have been good or bad? I am not superstitious, so it probably doesn’t matter. That was my random thought for the day. Time to go back to class.

I am going home tomorrow. Sweet!

I say "Merry Christmas". Oh, does that offend you?

I read an article this morning about how a few members of the Christian clergy in Great Britain are telling people to “stop being daft about Christmas.” More specifically, the point was that it was fine to celebrate Christmas from a Christian viewpoint and to stop worrying about offending non-Christians. I couldn’t agree more.

A cashier at the local Wal-mart last week wished me a “Merry Christmas” in those words. I specifically thanked her for saying that. She thought I was offended and thanking her sarcastically. I reassured her that, no, I was sincerely offering my thanks for noting that Christmas is the point of the season. Christmas is not a secular holiday, and if that offends someone, too bad! The cashier then said that even though they were permitted to say “Merry Christmas,” employees were discouraged from doing so, and should say “Happy Holidays” instead. If that works for you, so be it, but I am tired of the political correctness nonsense.

When was the last time that you heard a Jewish person complaining about the mention of Christmas? Would you be offended if you heard someone say “Happy Hanukkah?” I didn’t think so, and neither would I.

The fact of the matter is that December 25th, for the majority of Americans, is a Christian holy day, and as such, it should publicly and proudly be recognized with a hearty “Merry Christmas!” If anyone finds that offensive, that person has bigger problems than the mere recognition of Christmas by name being odious to their sensibilities, or lack thereof.

Face it. Christmas is called by that name for a reason. Christ is the star of the show during the Christmas season. I am proud to trumpet that to the world!

Are you offended by that? I hope you get the attention you are looking for by standing against more than 90 percent of Americans, who happen to be Christians or of other faiths but have no problem with Christ in Christmas FOR Christians. Keep it up… it is soooooo cute. Really. Very cute. Now please, get a life!

That was Quick

I am done with the class for today. This afternoon's conference was, indeed, Game King hardware. The bulk of it related to the processor board and the assorted voltages, which power supply unit created what voltage, and that sort of material. There were some practical reminders in this course, so I don't mind the review.

The other Minnesota tech, Huntz, and I were discussing ways to accentuate the caliber of training at the service center. We agree that the material in this part of the training should be reviewed for all techs annually, because of the level of detail. Though it involves component-level training, and we only troubleshoot to the sub-assembly, it is helpful to recognize what process each component on a PC board actually performs. Knowing where each of the various voltages originates helps focus on troubleshooting the pertinent structure in a machine more quickly. I may mention my thoughts to the management. Annual in-depth hardware training for all the service center and remote techs would be beneficial and training dollars well-spent. I am not sure where that suggestion leads, or if the bosses would consider it. They usually do, though, so I may throw the idea out there to see what sticks.

Most of the lottery techs in the class are from Sioux Falls and are new to the field, i.e., less than a year of experience. Regardless, the Dakota techs have daily exposure to hardware explicitly adapted to South Dakota jurisdictional requirements. I did get some interesting insights based on their experiences. That alone makes the training worthwhile.

Tomorrow is the class on the VLC platform. I don't mind the refresher, even though we don't have any VLC assets in Minnesota. Lacking an immediate practical application, additional insights are useful to expand a well-rounded technical understanding of proprietary hardware. I am the alternate tech for some locations in South Dakota and the primary responder for others. This is going to be a beneficial opportunity to renew the knowledge base in my mind. Okay... I have probably bored my two or three blog readers enough talking about gaming hardware nomenclature, so I am going to post this and give my mind a rest for awhile.

I am one day closer to heading home to my beloved wife and our two adorable sons. Life gets sweeter as the days go by. I am rewarded and blessed, but eternally grateful and happily shout it out! Thank you, JC, for everything!

Later, Gator.

After awhile, Crocodile.

Not too soon, Baboon.

Break Time!

We had a break from the training, so I came back to the hotel room to have a salad, vegetables, and grapes while everyone else went to the trough, er, buffet. I like a good buffet, but it just isn't the same with a bunch of lottery guys. So, I am eating my rabbit food while the rest of the class is eating dead cow.

The class this morning was lottery-related, but was tech I (in title AND content). So far, this is the stuff that my brother probably learned in his first day of training in Vegas. The one and only thing that was new to me in the first four hours was the lottery ticket printer. The rest is 100 percent review. This afternoon is the lottery tech II class, and it sounds like it is mostly review as well, dealing with Game King stuff (the stuff I have worked on for the last 10 years). At least I get to add to the class by commenting on things the instructor isn't familiar with, so I still get to participate.

Tomorrow's class is on the video lottery terminals made by VLC (a subsidiary of IGT). I worked on VLC games back before Anchor was acquired by IGT, so much of that will be review as well, but since I haven't touched a VLC game in about five years, it will be a refresher course. Then again, the only VLC games out there are in the Dakotas, since they have video lottery and Minnesota does not. I may do the odd service call once in a blue moon, but mostly, I will be the backup tech for the video lottery equipment.

I need to get to the next training class. More later. It's about 15 degrees here, downright tropical weather we are having!

Monday, Monday

Ugh. Is it Monday morning already? The only thing good about this Monday morning is that it means I am one night closer to being on my way back to the wonderful blustery cold of Minnesota's icebox. Freezing my kiester off never looked so good as it does, when I think about going home Wednesday. The negative temperatures do not bother me that much, and the vehicles are parked inside this winter, so the temperatures are a minor inconvenience. We just tend to not be outdoors much this time of year, other than to take care of the dogs and to clean up any significant newly-fallen snow.

I start a class tomorrow, but am not worried about it too much while I am in the hotel. The first day I need to really contribute anything significant, I will be home, making it easier in that regard. For a hotel in the middle of nowhere, this joint has great Internet access, both wired and wireless. Some of the hotels where I stay (e.g., Shooting Star) have NO Internet access at all. That is the dark ages of the hospitality industry. Sheesh.

I didn't sleep very well last night. I remember being awake half a dozen times, and I woke up again at 5:30 this morning, and decided to not stay in bed at that point. I am a morning person. Maybe once we get heat in the garage-gym, I can work out and I will be energetic enough to be a morning and a night person, the way I used to be, especially on weekends. These days, a weekend evening doesn't get much better than lounging around in front of the TV, while Gabriel jumps on the bed like a hyperactive kangaroo with a double mocha latte caffeine buzz. Parenthood is good, and the boys make being a dad great.

I need to order a part for a casino this morning before I head to the training in the conference center. See ya on deck later.

A Revelation

Ok...so this is a long time in coming. I usually can't figure out what to say. My world consists of caring for an infant and a 2 year old, along with many animals of various temperments and ages, answering the Crisis Line every Wednesday morning (though I wish I was doing nights again), and going to MOPS two Tuesday mornings a month. Since I have nothing profound to write about, I forget my password. Doug reset it for me last night. Lucky you.

Anyway, if I was able to get into this thing sooner, you would have been able to read this the morning I thought about it. But then you wouldn't have gotten this wonderful color commentary on my limited sphere of existence and bad memory. Ok...so you've been suffering through my blah-blah-blahs, and this is going to be anticlimatic, but my husband and mother will enjoy it:

I was changing Jericho's diaper and started thinking (I can hear Doug now: Oh no!). We had just been talking about Gabriel and how smart he seems to be. The words he comes up with, comments that are two complete sentences in length, counting to 14, differentiating between a square and a rectangle. I really wish I could introduce him to my high school Geometry teacher, Mrs. Jumper. She had the personality perfect for working with young kids and would love to teach my kid math. I often show Gabriel Donald in Mathemagic Land in her honor. This teacher, God love her, tutored me before and after school to get me through her class. Thus my comment to Doug that I thank God every day that Gabriel got his brains and not mine. Doug can deny this all he wants, but he's the genius. It certainly isn't me.

That is when it occurred to me: the clean-cut, all-American boy look isn't what I'm most attracted to...it's brains. Ask my mother and she will tell you who my high school crush was. Dan Olson may have been fun, clownish, good-looking (a redhead), a good cook (I was in Home Ec with him), and the first-string receiver on the football team, but he was also the president of the National Honor Society. He had the 4.0 or better to prove it, too. Doug took AP classes in high school and graduated with a 4.0, I'm sure. He can get nearly a 4.0 in college without having enough time to put into it. And, along with all the brains, I got a great guy, too. I think I made a good choice.

At the Hotel Sunday Night

I arrived at the hotel, finally, at 8:00 tonight. Funny, Mapquest said it was an 8-hour drive, but ten hours later, I am finally (NOT) at home at the hotel. This place is like a ghost town. Judging by all the hunting-related signs, this place must get a lot of hunters. There are signs in the hotel room to the hunters to not use the nice white towels to clean the dogs or their shoes or grimy hands, to clean their firearms, etc. Where the hunters are today, I cannot say. but they are definitely not here. There are about ten cars in the parking lot, but room for, I don't know, maybe a hundred or more.

It was -4 degrees when I left the house this morning, but during the drive, the temperature steadily climbed, and it is 12 degrees above zero here in the middle of South Dakota. I packed all my food in the cooler, and what wouldn't fit there, I put in a plastic bag in the bed of the truck. There is a topper, mind you. I was surprised to find out that the bottles of soda were frozen solid, along with the ham and everything else. Fortunately, the lettuce in the cooler didn't freeze or I would be bummed. By the way, the food I brought with me is so that I have something healthy to eat, instead of eating fast food or the same old franchise dinners. Besides, that is too expensive! I am going to log off, but thought I would mention that there isn't a microwave in the room, so I am warming my sandwich by putting it on a plate on top of the lamp. It fits perfectly on top of the lighted (and toasty warm) lampshade. You know, when I am roughing it out here in the wilderness of central South Dakota, I need to improvise, so I don't go hungry. =) Besides, ham is not that good to eat with ice crystals in the middle of it.

It looks like we will be here with some South Dakota Gaming Commission personnel and various other people, maybe from casinos and the company, too. The good news is that I get to go home on Wednesday, barring the unforeseen. As a quick aside to Heather: A few inches of snow on the ground here, not shin-deep snow like at home.

Good night, folks. Back to Heather now... everyone else can go on to the next post. H, I know you will read this tonight. I just wanted to tell you to give the boys a hug and a kiss from me. I love you all and can't wait to be home again. Wednesday night can't come soon enough for me. Now, Heather, stop reading this mushy stuff, and get some rest while you can! Why are the rest of you still reading this section? Sheesh! =)

Over and out...

On the Road Again

I have my things together so that I can hit the road for South Dakota. I will be staying in a hotel in the middle of nowhere until Wednesday or Thursday. I figure I will be home the 12th, but I won't guarantee that. In this business, you just never know what will happen. I sent Heather, Gabriel, and Jericho off to work and church, knowing that when they got home I would be gone for four days. I know that stinks, but it is part of the job, maybe the hardest part of the job. Is it harder to leave, knowing that your family will come home to a house where you will not be for awhile, or to not see your family and your kids? Of course, I worry that something will happen, and I will not be here to fix it, but Heather can handle anything that life throws at her. I just hate to miss a single day with my family.

But duty calls and I need to hit the road. The drive is around 450 miles to the hotel, and the clock is ticking, though I have tried to slow it down, and had no luck at all. I need to meet with another tech to unload and set up a prototype game that will be used for training the South Dakota techs and anyone who will be working on video lottery terminals. It is about as exciting as it sounds... After more than a decade in this business, it is not very exciting, believe me.

Gotta run. I am out.

The Christmas Letter

We have the Christmas letter printing on three printers in the house. By the time it is all done, it takes 300 sheets of paper, so it takes a little bit to print it out. I actually priced what it would cost to have a printer or Kinko's (also known as the UPS here in town) do the printing, and it was so expensive, I could print a thousand pages for what that place wanted to charge.

I find it so amazing how technology has changed. We have two all-in-one printers that we are using, and also Heather's photo printer. I have another printer upstairs but I don't have that one networked with the rest of the computers and printers. On the two all-in-one printers, I use a higher image quality setting, and yet, the photo printer has better image resolution. On top of that, the photo printer is printing 18 pages at a higher resolution in the time it takes either of the two all-in-one printers to print three pages at the normal resolution. I am working on other things at the same time, and occasionally checking the progress on the printers. When one stops, I start it printing a few copies again, but I don't want to run out of ink and waste paper while any of the printers is running unattended.

I am heading for South Dakota in the morning. I am not thrilled that I have to leave for the hotel while Heather is at work. I will return on Wednesday evening with any luck. I thought about stopping at a casino to work on the way home, but it depends how I feel during the return trip, and of course, the weather. No snow of consequence is predicted, so that isn't an issue (bummer, dude!) We are looking forward to more snow. I figure that we have received about 16-18 inches of snow, although at the airport, the official record says we have received around 10-12 inches. I don't know how they measure it, but it is typically less than what it appears to be here, for whatever reason. Maybe being next to the lake makes a difference, but I wouldn't think so, since this isn't among the Great Lakes... and is not a large lake for that matter.

Back to printing... more later. Urge Heather to get blogging! Of course, she may be blogging while the world sleeps, but she told me that while I am gone this coming week, when she can't sleep, she figured she would stay up and work on the house. I am confident that means she will blog and clean, wrap gifts, decorate, and blog some more, before she cleans some more. I am not sure if it has rubbed off from my influence, but I thrive on pressure. Last-minute work and deadlines make my engine hum along like crazy, and I am starting to think that the same is becoming true for Heather, more than ever before. She never gets enough sleep, though, so as much as I would like her to blog, I would much rather that she gets adequate sleep, too.

Okay, seriously now, back to printing! Good night, Jim-Bob. Good night, MaryEllen. Good night, Elizabeth, etc., etc. All is quiet now on Walton's Mountain. My brother would appreciate that reference, but would add in more lines such as Elizabeth saying, "Jim-Bob, you're a name!"

Christmassing with You

First thing, I just wanted to note that the subject line here is wholly for Heather's benefit or detriment (negligible but amiable needling between husband and wife). You see, it drives Heather crazy when her favorite singer, other than Celine Dion, namely Karen Carpenter, uses the word ‘Christmas’ as a verb. As a self-styled affiliate of the grammar police, it is annoying, but I overlook the English language syntax mishandling long enough to play Carpenters songs whenever Heather is within earshot of the music. Ugh, where in the wild, wild world of sports are my earplugs? =)

We put up the Christmas tree in the basement, but it still needs the ornaments. I am guessing that by the time we finish it, and put up the large tree upstairs, Heather's brother and mom will be doing much of the decorating, indubitably aided, by Gabriel and the cats. I note here a potent extrasensory presentiment that sometime later this month, either Heather or I will walk by the Christmas tree late at night, half-asleep, and will abruptly become conscious of a cat's face peering back at us from about six or eight feet off the ground, snugly perched within the branches of the Christmas tree. Okay... full disclosure time: I am not psychic, but Heather will tell you that I am 'one with the cats'. Further, the last few years' Yuletide experiences have revealed that the cats enormously love to climb, and occasionally, to sleep, up near the peak of the Christmas tree. For this reason (along with the fact that we have two boys), we do not have any fragile ornaments on exhibit in our home. Maybe someday, but for now, lots of resin decorations, mostly the characters from the ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ movies, adorn the tree.

Heather could not access her blog account, but I reset it for her today. Undoubtedly, as soon as I desert the PC, she will start writing. That is okay by me, since I do most of the blog entries here. Encourage her to write! I may write more later, as I need to run an errand. Ho ho ho (and other Christmas salutations).

Christmas planning 2

I finally made the time this morning to write our annual Christmas letter. I have been working on it off and on all day. Heather wrote a bit of the content, mainly the parts about the birth of our second son and about the additions and goings-on within the populace of the zoo. I put it all together and am in the process of printing out the letter for our Christmas card recipients while I work on other things at my desk. Occasionally, I read the letter again and see something that I should have added or grammar that bugs me. So, this will be a continuously-edited letter. If you happen to be one of the people who receives our family letter, consider that you may very well be reading an edition that is uniquely yours, since I keep adding and editing the thing throughout the day. So, yes, you are special... and no doubt, your mommy used to say that to you, but meant it in a different way. =)

Christmas planning

Heather and I finished our Christmas shopping ages ago. Okay, it was two weeks ago, but by deliberate design, we were done by Black Friday. We stopped at the local big-box retailer today (you know the one that is so close to our home that we can smell the b.o. of the workers). The store was a madhouse. Everyone was pushing and shoving and courtesy was, I dare to say, at an all-time low. If you ever watched the Ron Howard-Jim Carey version of the Doctor Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and saw the way all the Whos were obsessing about the material side of Christmas, then you know what I saw today. We stopped to pick up a gallon of milk for Gabriel, and the Toys-For-Tots volunteers were in front of the store with a pickup trucking, accepting toys for kids. One of the guys was so friendly and gave Gabriel a candy cane and a high-five as we passed. We asked what they were running short on, and they said that the toys and gifts for poor teenagers were in short supply. So, we picked something up to donate and Gabriel got another candy cane on the way out when he wished all the volunteers 'Merry Christmas!' a half a dozen times. I think that is the best way to be charitable at Christmas, to give anonymously and not to seek glory for generosity. This time of year, everyone is so busy, and it is easy to forget that there are many others far worse off than we are at this time. We are blessed far beyond what we have ever earned from the good Lord. A thought and a gesture for those who are less fortunate is the very least I can do to give thanks.

Busy Month

We all know that December is a busy month, with Christmas, shopping, baking, sending greetings, getting pictures taken, etc. Well, we had our Christmas pictures taken before Halloween, so that is our answer to getting done with that before the rush. We had our Christmas shopping more or less complete before Black Friday. We are just too busy to bake our usual 120 dozen cookies for Christmas, and there is enough junk food for everyone this time of year, so we are foregoing the distribution of sweets this year (though we are going to bake cookies for my dad, like we do every year). The one thing that we haven't managed yet is to get our Christmas cards sent. I haven't even finished our Christmas letter (I loathe brag letters!) We try to write an informative letter as an overview on the year without boasting about our huge successes that make everyone else's life seem small by comparison (note the sarcastic emphasis-brag letters stink, or as my mom used to say, 'Self-praise stinks!)

The one thing that stands in the way of finishing the Christmas cards soon is that I found out I will be traveling and away from home quite a bit in the next two weeks. The solution, as far as I am concerned, is to get our Christmas cards all done before Sunday.

Back to Sunday... I am leaving Sunday morning for South Dakota. I have training classes on Monday and Tuesday at a hotel in the middle of nowhere (also known as the middle of South Dakota). I have to help our 'esteemed' tech 3 unload a training game at the hotel Sunday night, and it is an 8-hour drive from the house to the hotel. So, I have to leave Sunday morning. Yuck. I would rather not sit in a hotel for a number of days, but in this case, it can't be helped.

The training involves South Dakota lottery terminals (since I now cover South Dakota territory). I just found out about the training this morning. Thanks for the heads-up on this! I figure I will be gone from Sunday morning until Wednesday night.

The following week, I am working far enough from home that the install work will probably take three days and involve staying in a hotel two or three nights. Some consolation in this case is that the casino in question is close to Mom and Dad and other family members. Maybe I can at least visit some of the family during that work.

I need to get some sleep. Signing off... over and out. Guten nacht, auf Weidersehen, and, uh.... stuff.