New Shoes in the Rain

Merry post-Christmas, and Happy almost-New Year, everyone! This is one of the oddest times of year for me, when we're in that time period between two holidays that are close together.  That said, I hope that you and yours have a lovely Christmas! I'm fortunately on vacation until NEXT Monday, so I'm enjoying some down time with my family.  But the treadmill will begin again in about a week. Do you make New Year's resolutions?  I try not to, as I don't like to set a course that I either won't hold to, or set myself up for failure and disappointment.  But I'm certainly thinking of things I'd like to do in the coming year. One is to eat better.  That's a personal choice, and a particular weakness of mine, as I so often will take the path of convenience instead of the better, healthier alternative.  I've been through long periods of vigilance where diet is concerned, but, unfortunately, have been on a more lax regimen for some time.  Need to

Greetings, friends!  This will likely be my last post before Christmas, so let me first say that I appreciate your visits to my blog page.  I hope that you find this as enjoyable and interesting to read as I do to write!  I also hope, for you and yours, that you have a safe and happy holiday season, without travel difficulties, family illnesses or other things that can limit our enjoyment of such a special time of year! That said, I want to share a quick "naughty or nice" list, in keeping with the Christmas season! NAUGHTY:  The Democratic National Committee, for grossly overreacting to an apparent data breach that allowed members of Bernie Sanders' Presidential campaign to see voter information from the campaign of Hillary Clinton.  The DNC chair was Secretary Clinton's national chairperson in 2008, so this strikes me as a conflict of interest.  So she's naughty. NICE:  Jeb Bush, for finally referring to Republican front-runner Donald Trump as a "jerk&

Monday again, folks.  Hope you had a good weekend! My wife and I did, and accomplished a few things.  Our Christmas shopping is done, thank you very much, and everything is either wrapped and under our Christmas tree or on its way to family in Colorado.  The need to ship always accelerates our process, and this year is no exception. But that leads me into my stated subject--discovery.  For instance, I didn't realize until Saturday, when I shipped our box to our daughter and her family, that the U.S. Postal Service prices parcel shipping in such a way that you almost have to use Priority Mail.  Oh, the old standby "parcel post" still exists, but when they project six to nine days of delivery time, the sender gets a little uncomfortable with the idea of waiting and hoping that the item will make it to its destination on time.  Besides, if you add insurance or other components, you may as well pony up for the slightly higher price of Priority Mail.  I did, influenced or

Happy Monday, everyone.  Here's hoping that you had a good weekend. I want to start by indirectly mentioning a good friend who got some great news last week.  He and I were colleagues (I was his manager) a few years back and formed a friendship through common interests.  Anyway, he was displaced from a long-term employment situation some months ago.  He dutifully trolled the marketplace for new opportunities, cultivated one such possibility but courageously declined it because it just didn't feel right, but ended up getting the job he's wanted for a long time last week.  He starts that job soon, and I know that I speak for many friends in common when I say how happy I am for him! As regular visitors know, I don't talk much about my own work here.  And it's a good thing, too, as that would probably be the dominant theme of this and many posts.  Let's just say that it's good to have a job and leave it at that. My wife and I have apparently finished our h

Happy post-Thanksgiving Monday to all.  Hope you had a nice holiday and were able to spend time with those you love! We were certainly blessed in that regard, as our daughter and her kids made a visit to Lexington the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.  They returned to Colorado just in time for temperatures to drop significantly amid significant snowfall.  While they were here, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner with them and our son and his family, and really had a great time throughout their visit. But the world kept turning, even as I enjoyed a weeklong break from work.  The events in Colorado Springs are yet another reminder of how easy it is for guns to find their way into the hands of those who are not capable of owning and using them responsibly, and my heart sinks each time I hear of another such tragedy. Business mogul/presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to lead the Republican primary race, but his lead appears to now be shrinking.  I saw on the news last night t

Happy week-before-Thanksgiving, everyone! You know, it’s that day that comes between Halloween and Christmas, where we all gather with family and other loved ones and give thanks for our many blessings.   What, you forgot?   I know, it’s because of the rapid onset of Christmas music and decorations in the stores, in television commercials, and so on. But it’s important, you know. I’m particularly thankful this year because our daughter is coming home for a long weekend visit, bringing her two children.   Her hubby is staying at home to man the fort, so to speak, and to take care of their dog!   The traveling party arrives tonight (at midnight—long time from right now as I write this!) and departs very early Tuesday morning.    Quick turnaround, but it should be a wonderful visit. And, yes, our clan will be celebrating Thanksgiving during their visit! My wife and I aren’t sure what we’ll do on the actual Thanksgiving Day, a week from today.   My only stipulation to

Good Monday morning to all. I’m sure that, like me, you’re still working to process what happened in Paris on Friday.   I was sitting in a café working through some e-mail between an all day meeting and a compulsory dinner meeting of my work team when I first saw the news. Shortly thereafter, a work associate called me and that was the first thing she said, how awful this is.   The dinner meeting went on as planned, and the events from earlier in the day in France were mentioned in passing, but other than my seatmate, there was little discussion of all of this. I finally arrived home around 10:30 Friday night, and our grandchildren were there for a sleepover.   They were both sleepy but had stayed up to greet me.   My granddaughter’s hug felt so good then. My wife had been with the kids all afternoon and evening and had not seen any news, so she didn’t know anything about all of this until I told her.   She was just as shaken as I was. Saturday evening we watched s

Happy Monday to one and all.   Here we are again, those of us who have jobs to do, places to go, people to see, kids to raise, and so on.   I had my annual visit with the cardiologist last week and decided shortly thereafter that I needed to build in more time in my schedule for regular exercise.   It’s often easier not to, when I leave the house for a distant location early in the morning, but something that I still should do.   So I did that this morning, and feel a bit better for having done so. I attended two things over the weekend that prompted my title today.   The first was a fundraising event where my employer bought a table to benefit our client, which is a non-profit organization.   The second was a movie, specifically the new James Bond picture “Spectre.”   Let me share some details about both experiences. The fundraiser was held in downtown Lexington, which is not overcrowded by any means, especially on a Saturday night where Kentucky isn’t playing basketball

Good Monday morning, first Monday in November and the first of “standard” time. Oh, boy.   Nothing like months of darkness starting before 6:00 PM. And let me also add that yesterday was such a long day that it felt a bit like a death march.   I arose at around 6:20 by the new clock, and stayed up until well after 11:00 PM, since there were, you know, important sporting events being played at that hour. But I digress.   I think that the twice-a-year time change is kind of silly, in the overall scheme of things.   If memory serves, the revised schedule of when our clocks are changed was part of a former president’s energy program, so there you go.   How that affects energy consumption is beyond me, and, no, I’m not talking about my own energy here, either. So let’s talk winners here.   Like the Kansas City Royals, who play baseball games like a dammed up river and when that dam breaks, look out.   As it did last night, when they came from two runs down to win the decidi