Midlife Ramblings

1/21 - 2/2 (Mind the Gap)

No excuse. I fell off my writing wagon and there was no way in hell I was going to try to piece together every day in between. Remember that issue with Microsoft that started over a month ago? Well, it has gotten worse and finally worked 5 hours with Microsoft yesterday only to discover that it was a previous implementation that broke everything. So now, time to wait for that company to fix their shit. Of course, I can rip out everything and that will remove the problems... but it is now needed for MFA implementation.

Podcasts have been recorded, uploaded, and one is in the midst of being re-edited. My current free DAW has given me numerous issues, so I am learning Reaper on the fly. Thankfully, they have a 60-day evaluation period and more YouTube videos than what I need - I give it 4.3 stars at the moment, but once I become more familiar, that rating is likely to go up.

What else?

My beloved Buccaneers were eliminated in the playoffs and Tom Brady has retired. It was a fun ride, and I have come to like the guy. I have realized that it is the Patriots organization that is quite shitty. I am happy for Brady and wish him all the best. He took a beating as the season went on and injuries piled up. The NFL can suck it with their Thursday night games. It is the key reason I stopped playing fantasy football. I guess the NFL could not stand that High School and College Football was making people weary by Sunday and not watching their games. Dumbasses.

The Marvel Universe Marathon watching was finally completed and I finally went to see the latest Spiderman. It was quite good.

There was another trip to the Ringling Museum, and this time I was able to check out the library and glean some really good information.

I am sure there was other stuff, but this old guy cannot keep up with so many things - including this blog. But I will attempt to do better.

1/20 - Day of birthdays

Today is the birthday of someone that lived one street behind me when I was a young lad.

My earliest memory of meeting him was when he showed me the shortcut to the next street over without taking the "busier" street. In south Tampa, San Miguel experiences an abrupt stop at Occident Street where it becomes a shared driveway (I think) for two houses. Of course, all of this has changed, but let me tell you of the shortcut that was.

If you were to follow that driveway (heading due west) into where there is an opening for a chain-link fence, the pavement turns to hardened sand (and would be muddy after rain), and after crossing the threshold of the fence, you must take an immediate right to follow the trodden path along the fence. To your left are some vines and overgrowth leading down into a ditch. And this ditch runs from the canal to the north and down to the end of the street that I lived on - in fact, we once built bike ramps coming out of the ditch and landing in my backyard (a tale for another day).

Following this path to the north for about fifteen yards comes to another fence and the path turns to the west again and empties out onto San Miguel again.

1/19 - Hump Day

It is unsure at what point someone thought to make Wednesday the middle of the week - it was not someone that worked in Information Technology, I can assure you of that.

I did get a nice walk and was listening to my current audiobook of "A Nameless Witch" by A. Lee Martinez. It was very enjoyable, had some clever humor, and the overall story kept my interest. If you need a quick read that works as an escape, then please go check this out.

1/18 - Tuesday (the new Monday)

Early rise and late to bed.

Another day full of work and mayhem, and some serious podcast editing. The goal is Thursday, but I can tell you now that I did make it! Mondays seem to do better as a release date, so I pushed it out, thinking it would give me more time to finesse it and also be prepared for a Sunday recording. I'm a dumbass with some poor time management skills.

I am surrounded by clutter that distracts my mind. What I need to do is find a remote location for a few days where it is just me, a computer, a couple of books, some good trails or places to walk, and to be disconnected from it all. Maybe a week?

My plan last year was to take two weeks and cross the country by train and back. I figured out that it could be done, with some mild discomfort until I upgraded for the long stretches. I may reconsider and get a room the whole way, there and back. The goal is complete at least one of my works in progress, be disconnected from work, and force myself to meet new people.

I think that is enough. Yes. Absolutely.

1/17 - So far away

It was the day off to end all days off. Hey Ferb, I know what we're doing today - absolutely nothing!!

If I am not mistaken, I took in Marvel's Infinity War or maybe one of the movies betwixt Infinity and Endgame. Whatever the case, I have come to the conclusion that the Marvel Universe is beating the snot out of the Star Wars and Star Trek universes.

Don't get me wrong, I grew up as a fan of the Star worlds and loved them both. I ran around pretending to be Luke Skywalker and sometime after that first movie I received my first kiss from a girl playing Princess Leia. Her name was Lael, and she will forever have a place reserved in my memories for that simple peck on the lips. Yes, I also remember her last name, but I will hold onto that one myself. She may or may not remember me, and that's okay.

The day was dedicated to rest, and I did get plenty in an attempt to catch up from the previous week and prepare for a shortened week that would be properly adjusted to make me feel like I worked a full week.

1/16 - BOOM!

Today started with a tornado warning and a major thunderstorm. I levitated to the alarm and then had to deal with the dog that is afraid of her own damn shadow.

Although, during the storm, I put on an old favorite that I greatly recommend: "The Survivors". This stars Walter Matthau, Robin Williams, and Jerry Reed. You are unaware of how funny each of these people are in their own way (well, we knew Robin was funny) until you see them working together. I bet it did not score well with critics or on the Tomato meter, but it is a wonderful, good-time film. Do yourself a favor and go enjoy it.

I am also happy to note that my beloved Buccaneers beat the Eagles. I have a love/hate relationship with football, and mostly because the league is slowly killing all their players with these Thursday games. Truly, leave it to Sunday and Monday and stop this nonsense. I think the NFL did not like getting upstaged by the high school teams on Friday night and the college games on Saturday. Not only that, the NFL has a free minor league with all the colleges that are state funded, and people donate to the school, but only to the sports programs. That shit has to stop. When you donate to a university, the funds should be spread across the various departments and not just the athletics.

In making it a full day, I did finish Only Murders in the Building. Another recommendation, and I will say absolutely nothing, but only that I absolutely loved it.

Then, at some point, the day came to a bitter end when I laid down a moment to think and was deeply asleep.

1/15 - Saturday

A mere three hours after completing the tasks from Friday, it is up and at it all again. I had to remove SQL, which is like killing the Hydra - you remove one part only find two more pieces that have be removed. I am not sure I even got it all, but the next vulnerability report will let me know one way or another.

Otherwise, the Saturday test, being what I originally asked for, worked as expected. Services were stopped, scan swept through, services were restarted, and there was much rejoicing.

Today was a day of chili. A nice refreshing walk to the grocers, the purchase of beans and peppers, and then the filling of the crockpot. You know, I wish I had been given the knowledge of the crockpot when I was in college. I cannot tell you how many meals I make with a crockpot, and how much it would have saved me long, long ago in time and money. Maybe someone said something, but all I could think of was my mother's pressure cooker and the horrors that emerged from it.

There was a very long nap and then podcast editing. There may have been something else, but it is long disappeared into the ether.

1/14 - Friday?

So far, this is the longest day of the year for me. A long workday, with an additional load of responsibility put upon me - which is a good thing.

Then there was the upgrade that I had to do. This started around 6pm and went until close to 3am. Two hours to back up databases, a half hour to figure out why the upgrades were not going, and then the remainder to run the upgrades in three phases. This kind of fun should be illegal.

However, I did take in the latest season of Cobra Kai - yes, the whole season. It is loaded with nostalgia and incredibly well written. If you even liked the original Karate Kid movie (and honestly, who didn't? come on... you know you did), then I can say that this series is even better. Everything about it works. Someone took their fan fiction and fine-tuned it just right.

I did, however, get in the second big walk of the week (year), so there is that.

More Mystery Science Theatre 3000, which was good. That show keeps my spirits up in a way I cannot describe, but if Chicken Soup is supposed to be good for the soul, then MST3K is better for the rest of you. Laughter is indeed the best medicine.

1/13 - Thursday

I was supposed to get an update on my post-surgery recovery today, but I received an early text telling me it was a no go.

Given the rampant spread of Omicron like herpes at a 70s orgy in SoHo, it is no surprise that there is more sand in the gears of society. I had a bracket put in my neck (not sure if I have mentioned this or not, but be aware that I will repeat myself, because I am wont to do that without knowing it). Needless to say, the healing process has been moving at a glacial speed - well, glacial in the sense of what it was over forty to fifty years ago - I would think the glaciers are melting and moving faster now than they were then.

So, an appointment cancelled and no follow up has been scheduled as of the writing of this (it is Sunday, and I am way behind in my doing this, but I am determined). I can only hope the surgeon and family are all good.

Speaking of the Covid, there was a ruling by the Supreme Court about not upholding vaccine mandates. What is really sad is that something as helpful as a vaccine is something that divides people. It's stupid. The data shows that it saves lives, and yet there are those that are hellbent to tell you not to get it. If you don't want the vaccine, fine - but shut the fuck up - we don't need your falsified scientific reasoning or want to hear your justification. You have your reason, and it is yours alone - keep it to yourself.

I am at the point where if people don't want the vaccine, then fine. If it means that traffic could dwindle down and that there a lot less assholes in the world, then so be it. I will continue to wear a mask and keep my distance from others. It is not out of fear, but out of common sense. Being someone from Florida, I equate Covid to lightning. I am not afraid of it: I just have a rather high respect for it. I do not go outside in the midst of a thunderstorm, and I do not go to crowded places without a mask during a pandemic. So, when I hear someone blathering about their apprehensions and derisiveness to the vaccine, I merely shrug and walk away. I don't need to win an argument, as Charles Darwin will settle it for us all.

And those that are saying, "well, we are going to get it anyway, so why not get it and get over it?" That's really dumb logic. Does anyone go out of their way to get the flu every year, just because it's popular and all the kiddies are getting it and spreading it at school? I don't want it. The long-term effects are possible and scary. I like to cook, and if I lose my sense of taste, that would be tragic to me. And long-term respiratory issues... who wants that? So, going back to the lightning analogy, I will do my best to not get struck by lightning or getting Covid - and sadly, I have a better chance of getting the Covid than getting struck by lightning because of the intransigent stupidity of others.

1/12 - The Hump - what hump

Did I mention that I was back on my Mystery Science Theater 3000 kick? It really is the best way to get through the workday.

Sadly, it was just another day and if there was something, I have moved so far past it, that it really is a blur. I try to make notes where I can, but alas, it is just not happening.

I did finish a book called "The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here". It was quite informative and basically lets us know we are all seriously fucked. Maybe not totally, if our scientists can come up with some Deus Ex Machina technologies in the next twenty to thirty years. I did wonder if we could put people on ice for a couple of hundred years and. at the same time, start getting people to stop procreating as much.

The problem is that there are too many of us, and the resources are getting limited, and colonization on other planets is not an option. There are no key resources like breathable air and easily accessible water - which are pre-requisites for making food. We have dreamt through Science Fiction for a long time now that we would get our shit together and be wondering the stars, but we have dropped our collective research into weapons and other stupid shit that will one day become crude oil for the next Earthbound species some billion years from now.

George Carlin stated it properly in saying that protecting the Earth is not the big picture, it is saving humans. The damage we are doing to Earth directly affects us - our food chain, our air, our water, our, well, everything. And at this pace, we will drive ourselves to extinction, and I would recommend Uber over a cab, since the price will be agreed upon ahead of time.

And after we are gone, millions of years later, the Earth will digest, consume, breakdown, and grind to dust every last scrap of shit we have produced. Archaeologists of the future - if such a thing will exist - will study our civilizations and hopefully some of the data will be preserved and understood by that future species, and maybe, just maybe, they will not make the same mistakes.

It could be some other being from light years away will find a way to traverse the universe and discover our little blue dot - the Vikings of the universe (Side note: Columbus did not discover America, he never set foot on what know as America - sure he was on an island that is part of the North America continental plate, but as for anyone "discovering" America from across the ocean, it would go to the Vikings. The real truth is that the indigenous people of America have the real claim, and everyone else should honestly just shut the fuck up and stop trying to claim who discovered what, when there were people already living, breathing, and existing on the "discovered" land. Okay, side note and rant over.)

The first species to be able to traverse the galaxy, whether at speeds greater than light, or able to use stasis to sleep the long journeys, will be the true dominant species. I just hope they do not think that humans taste like "garguthans" - which would be their equivalent of chicken.

But, right, the book. I recommend it, and we can all learn a thing or three from it.

1/11 - The Tuesday Blues

Again, we cross into another day that drones on like the static the sound men try to pump out of the speakers before a large concert.

As I get further past the previous days, my memory gets hazy. But I did take my first walk of the year (only 11 days late). Yet it was well before the Chinese New Year. I finished the book "Battle for the Big Top" and I am learning that the intricate pieces of moving and set up a circus was somewhat divvied up, but there was still someone pulling their respective strings.

James Bailey is going to be the linchpin to all of this, as he was the micromanager that struggled with all the details, and probably had the ulcers to prove it.

I think I was also someone's hero at work today fixing an issue that I should not have, since it was from my previous position. I just cannot put the cape away so easily.

I have also rekindled my daily love of listening to MST3K in the background whilst working. Music is good, but laughter is the better medicine, on most days at least.

The Cure are still not my favorite band, in case I failed to mention that in the past. On the podcast we will be discussing one of their albums...Defibrillator? Dis ingenuine? Transubstantiation? Something like that. Much like the static of my day, it drones, but I can find a few elements here that are noteworthy.

1/10 - Monday Monday

The chains of work drag me down into its murky depths. I have tried to remember if there was anything really significant from this day, but blanks are being drawn, and blanks are being shot (well, not around here, I still need to make an appointment with a goat that can kick the kids out of me).

1/9 - Podcasting

The recording went very well, and there was much laughter, and fun to be had by all. Which is how it should be.

The laundry was done. (Don't get too excited by that.)

And trying to finish "Only Murders in the Building"... speaking of Podcasts. Two more to go.

I did finish the "Meet Mr. Mulliner" book, and like the rest of the books by P.G. Wodehouse, they are an absolute delight and funny.

Example: A man is trying to get this girl to marry him, but she likes this other man that seem tough, rugged, and more of a man of the world. He claims to have fended off sharks with a pocketknife. When the original man presses the woman about how preposterous that sounded, she said, "well, it's true... he showed me the pocketknife."

To me... that's funny.

1/8 - Saturday and what should be a day off

Cute idea. It rarely pans out that way. Rarely.

The day started with cleaning the kitchen and then dealing with an issue at work.

This has been an issue since early November when the security team ratcheted up their scanning to eleven (and I really do hate to use a Spinal Tap reference with these officious twats - well, honestly, there is only one in that group that meets that criteria, and that person is the one running the show - the rest probably have the strongest eye sockets this side of the Mississippi due to all the eye rolling they must do). Needless to say, they turned up the heat on their scans, and I understand it, I get it, and it all makes sense. It's the attitude that gets thrown back when you stand at the base of the Ivory Tower with some constructive criticism - and it pours down like molten lead.

So, trying to play nice, I inquired if my affected (effected/affected?? it's too early for this fucking homonym game) servers could be scanned a different time and that would give me an opportunity to stop my services that were getting thoroughly buggered. What I got was a bunch nonsense about how the vendor needs to fix this, because this department has done nothing wrong or will accept any culpability in crashing my environment.

Side note: this happened on two consecutive Thursdays, so I was awaiting the issue with all sorts of monitoring tools on the morning of Thanksgiving (it was a Thursday problem). It was after this I presented my workaround by asking for a different scan time.

Being kind of the new guy on the team, the best I was told was to move the server to manual, which is the same as "don't scan the server", which was not my intent. Sadly, it took others on my team to also raise the red flags concerning these deep colonoscopy scans before anyone took it seriously. Finally, in December, a "new" type of scan was made available for Saturday mornings - which, with this server environment, is the ONLY window I have for doing any maintenance. It's cool. I am good with that.

Lest we forget that both Christmas and New Year's Day fell on Saturdays, so I absolutely put that nonsense off until this day. I scheduled the "new" scan that was supposed to be less intrusive for this Saturday and prepared myself for the worse... and the worse came, as expected.

In the end, I am going back to my original plan. I have a script that stops the service that was getting killed, it waits, and then restarts sometime after the scan passes through. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a case of what happens when you drive a spike into one foot and try to move - you go around in a lot of painful circles.

Oh yeah, then I rebuilt the network at my dentist's office for five hours. An hour job, or so I presumed, turned into a day of fun.

1/7 - Friday

Back to work and doing my research for the podcast.

I think there was something I needed to make mention of to fill this empty white space, but I really do not have much.

"The Penultimate Supper"

1/6 - that day after the 5th

Thursday, you say. Thursday.

Oh yes, Thursday (if I say Thursday enough times, I should eventually jolt something loose).

I made a round trip to Fort Myers and stopped at the Ringling Museum on the way back. Why? It beat sitting in traffic, and I took some pretty cool night photos in the gardens. I also had a nice walk to decompress the madness of being on the phone with all sorts of issues. Everyone had issues, and there is not much I can do whilst riding along in a northernly direction doing seventy-eight on seventy-five. There is a lot of exasperation and sighing, followed by a slew of cursing, but that doesn't fix anything. Sorry folks.

But the grounds are almost magical and creepy after hours. And the lower amount of people in the museums make it feel like it is yours. Although, no one is there to appreciate your best captions.

I do not know what it is about museums, but even when you see the same painting fifty times, it is on that fifty-first time you see something new or learn something new about the work. I am not art aficionado, but some works do stand out and speak to me.

Not much more to report, other than becoming a Costco member. I think the membership will earn itself back at the gas pump. We shall see.