I've been in a real funk lately since my good friend, Ken Henderson, passed away unexpectedly two Sundays ago. It's taken me this long to get into a place where I feel like I can blog again.Ken was 40, a father with young kids, and a happy marriage. I don't know the exact cause of his death, but it was very much a surprise. Ken was a SQL Server expert and author like me and we often shared a beer at the various conferences every year, as well as emailed and talked often.If you read my blog with any regularity, you might've noticed a link on the lower left entitled The Antichristian … [Read more...]
If I Were President, Episode #3
January 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment
The newspapers are filled with news about how hard it is for the Army to find foot soldiers for duty in Iraq. It's ironic that the USA has over 2 million people serving in active duty roles in all branches of the military, but we have great difficulty fielding more that 130,000 fighting men in Iraq. This fact of military organization is metaphorically known as "the point of the spear". The idea being that it takes an even larger pool of cooks, logistics officers, car pool mechanics, administrative assistants, and others in total to field a large group of fighters. I can't remember the exact … [Read more...]
Rethinking Sears
January 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I gave up on Sears back in the late 80's when the stopped taking Visa, Mastercard, and American Express in order to shill the Discover Card. Although I liked their product lines, especially Craftsman tools with their unlimited lifetime warranty, I decided I didn't want to buy from any company that didn't want to take my money on my terms. (And why is it that big, successful American companies, think GM and others, always seem to get so arrogant like that?)Anyway, I received a possible chain letter from a friend, shown below:I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn't always my first … [Read more...]
Vasovagal Syncope
January 7, 2008 by 4 Comments
Ok, it happened again.Twice now in the past two Februaries, I've had a situation where I had a terrible fainting problem that caused my heart to stop beating. It's known as vasovagal syncope (that's pronounced "sin-cope-ee") and it's actually rather common. About 1 in 200 people have it, but for 90% of them, it simply causes dizziness when they stand up quickly. For a few of them, it will cause outright fainting. And for a very few, it causes our hearts to stop.On the previous two occurrences, I was very sick with stomach flu and quite dehydrated. This is one of the triggers of vasovagal … [Read more...]
A Great New Book for the Family to Read Together
January 7, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Rachel bought me a most wonderful book as a Christmas present. If you have enjoyed books like Harry Potter or other family reading, then have I got a recommendation for you. Note, though, that this story is basically a period mystery set in late 19th century Paris. It doesn't have any supernatural elements to it, except for a sense of wonder and a charming story line.I've never encountered another book like this one. It's part story, part graphic novel - yet this book manages to use its multitude of beautiful black & white pictures to dramatically and tenderly advance the story.I've been … [Read more...]
Happy Holidays
January 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment
This Christmas was really good this year. As is our tradition, the kids and I put up and trimmed the Christmas tree a few weeks before Christmas (12/10/07 to be exact). We had fun rediscovering all of the ornaments we'd stored away last year. And we listened to and sang Christmas songs while we hung them up.Picking out the stockings was a bit of mini-adventure too, since Katie had some preferences that made it kind'a funny and silly to accommodate.I had a huge amount of fun selecting the gifts for each of the kids and imagining how much fun they'd have with each of their presents. I've also … [Read more...]
If I Were President, Episode #2
December 22, 2007 by Leave a Comment
This idea comes from two contradictory forces at work in the capital.On the one hand, you have a President that always has to deal with currying favor with various legislators to gain their support for various laws and policies he wants to enact. On the other hand, DC and the surrounding areas has grown into one of the most pricey, traffic-laden, HR-recruiting nightmares in the country. A final factor in this line of thought is that DC was rather centrally located back with the USA was only 13 States on the Eastern Seaboard. But now, DC is far removed from most of the country and, many say, … [Read more...]
Those Dirty Rats Aren’t so Dirty After All
December 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment
I've always been a big proponent of thinking expansively and in broader, more disconnected ways. A lot of people would call this thinking outside the box. But I tend to think of it as simply allowing more options into your set of alternatives. My biggest intellectual assets have been breadth of understanding, not depth. My biggest intellectual inspirations are books like "Connections", "Guns, Germs, and Steel", and "The Ghost Map". These books all very clearly show that the greatest innovations come from individuals with keen minds and wide, interdisciplinary skills. In other words, the … [Read more...]
Treat yourself to a moment of laughter
December 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment
This is so darn funny. It also makes me thankful that I don't have quads!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EIuk50RTp4 … [Read more...]
The Braces are off and the bars & locks are going up!!!
December 11, 2007 by 2 Comments
Sometimes your kids don't understand that you simply HAVE to capture the moment, even if you have to take more pictures than you want to. In Emily's case, I'd take a couple pictures trying to show her last day in braces. But they didn't turn out too well. Consequently, her expression practically screams "Dad, please finish before I start hitting you!"Every now and then I look at my daughter(s) and see not my daughter, but a beautiful woman - a beautiful woman that other boys/men are staring at. Needless to say, all those males died bloody and horrible deaths at my hands, nostrils, or … [Read more...]
