Blogging in the Shower
Where do you blog? When do you blog?

I was thinking about this the other day. Well, sort of. Here’s the thing:

..... Oh

..... wait

.....

..... I did this before, didn't I?


Never mind.....

TV Musings
Now Playing: "Once Upon a Mattress" soundtrack
On the radio the other day, a few of the chat-jockeys were talking. One mentioned that Mandy Patinkin is coming back to TV.

"That's great!" said the other. "He's the best actor out there, in my opinion."

When informed that the show was going to be "yet another cop show" he was dismayed.

So, what is it about "cop shows?" These days, if it's a drama, it's a cop show or it's a medical show. Many of the most watched are a combination -- see "CSI" and its variants. And even the pure medical shows have been getting fewer and farther between. By the way, "cop show" is really an oversimplification for the genre, because the shows about lawyers throwing the bad guys behind bars are really the same thing.

So, if Mandy is getting back into TV, it's a pretty good bet he's doing a "cop show."

Why cop shows? Do we want to feel that there are people out there protecting us? Probably. The state of the entertainment and political world is the constant instillation of fear into the masses. Cop shows perpetuate that -- "Look at the crazy people there are in the world, Mildred!" -- and then tell us not to worry -- "Darn good thing we have Gil Grissom out there catching them, Arnold!"

Still, I think it's not quite so simple. We have a view that "drama" happens more in those high-stress professions -- doctors have to deal with emergency situations, policemen have to risk their lives to serve and protect -- those realities lend themselves well to drama.

My office doesn't really provide the setting for drama. Oh, sure, anyone could concoct a soap opera in just about any work environment. The thing is, it would be no more "true" than it would be in a police precinct, and we don't have crooks to chase here in software development.

I was thinking back on "thirtysomething" -- it was a a fine drama that took the normal life of married parents and extrapolated into situations which are closer to home. But to maintain interest, conflict had to be more constant than happens in normal life, and eventually, the show would have had to become a soap opera to keep going, I think. I think this sort of formula could work again, for a while.

So, enough musing on this topic for now. What do you think, dear reader?

Silly programming things
Now Playing: "Say, Say, Say"
Mike did it to me. With this little piece of arcana:

dir /a /s /-p /o:gen >filelisting.txt

All of a sudden I feel like programming again.

It's weird how things trigger in our minds.

Whoever is reading this -- Have a great weekend.

==============

And Now Playing: "Consider Yourself!"

Christmas Music
Now Playing: Mannheim Steamroller's "Deck the Halls"
Anyone who knows me well knows I love Christmas music.

This year I didn't start listening to it until after we returned from "The Lake" -- so I made it until August.

Funny thing is that in this current job I really need Christmas music in August.

My job gets very intense and stressful a couple of times a year -- and August is one of those times.

The serenity of "Agnus Dei" or "Breath of Heaven", the energy of "Emmanuel" or "Angels We Have Heard on High", the hopeful joy of "Hope for Resolution", the exaltation of "Joy to the World" -- it is all a comfort when struggling with the demands of budgets, politics, and demanding schedules.

And when I'm about to send kids off to college, it's great to have something to look forward to; "Til the Season Comes Round Again" and "Christmas Lullaby [I Will Lead You Home]" put me in the right frame of mind to say "goodbye, but only for a time."

Explaining my absence
Why do I feel the need to explain why I haven't been blogging for a while? To what end? For whom?

No -- I'll resist the urge.

Anticipation
Mood:  energetic
I've had so many things which have been fun to anticipate this summer!

• The boys' return from college.
• Sarah's graduation.
• Leah's graduation.
• The trip to Yosemite.
• The Lake.
• And now, this weekend, the visit from Paul!

I am so excited!

I wish I had a way to forgo sleep for about 5 days straight!

Cooking
What meals can I cook?

I think, when I got married, there really weren't any. Now, like many men, I am the designated grill chef. I make a pretty juicy hamburger, a fine steak (as long a you don't ask for "well done" -- you just shouldn't do that to a good piece of meat), and several varieties of chicken -- and I can even whip up a barbeque sauce which goes really well over a cut-up fryer. In fact, the grilled salmon I've done has been pretty good.

But, additionally, I've had to learn to cook meals over the years, and though I don't do it often any more, I have a decent repertoire:

• "Dad's Macaroni and Cheese" -- while not gourmet, the kids like it, and it has a secret ingredient.
• Spaghetti and Meatballs -- with the emphasis on the meatballs. Again, secret ingredients -- some of which come from my mother, but I've enhanced this over the years.
• Baked Chicken -- one of the first things I learned to cook as a married man. And if you're baking a chicken, baking potatoes to go with it is practically required.
• Scalloped Potatoes - the kids may not remember, but I used to construct these when Sherry was doing a ham. Hers are still better, but I can do it.
• Grilled Sandwiches -- a "father's meal" if ever there was one. My specialty is grilled peanut butter, though I make a mean grilled ham and three-cheese sandwich, if we have three cheeses available!
• "Orange Julius" and Popcorn. A traditional movie-night meal. The "Julius" is, of course, not really the trademarked drink, but close enough that the name has stuck.
• . . .
• and ???

Is that it? I remember learning several others -- from Teriaki Steak to Sweet and Sour Chicken, but I haven't done them in so long!

Perhaps this is something I should revive -- helping out with meals. I'll have to think about this.

Accomplishments
I am not a "handy" guy.

So, when I set aside time to build something -- as I did this past weekend -- I know I'm going to have a challenge.

Well, this time, things went very smoothly. On a project such as this, I often have at least one point at which I realize I've done something very sub-optimally [that mean's "stupid"]. At that point, I have to decide if I can back up and do it right, or if I just have to live with it.

This time, I was building shelves in the basement. I had done shelf-building once before, so I had a bit of experience to draw on, and I think it helped. I only had one minor situation where I needed to undo something and try it differently, and one other plan that did not go quite as envisioned because I forgot to take some ductwork into account.

So, the ultimate result was a very sturdy, very useful set of shelves. Design to purchase of materials to building to clean-up -- it was MY project. And it worked!

It is really satisfying to do something like this -- to accomplish, in a short period of time, a task with a tangible, useful result.

And the sore muscles I get when I'm done? A gentle reminder that, perhaps, our bodies were meant to work a little each day -- not just sit at a desk. I wonder if I will remember that lesson?

Yosemite Photos
I have a small photo on-line album covering the Yosemite trip. Digital pictures are huge (I would like to find a way to reduce the size of these, since they consume ALL my website space), so be sure to have a high-speed connection if you view the bigger pictures. They are worth it!

https://www.angelfire.com/mn/stevewill/yosemite_2005/

Random thoughts
Now Playing: "Curious Thing" by Amy Grant
Topic: Random
I'm listening to "King Tut" by Steve Martin as I type this. Retro-funny!

I'll cover Yosemite in another entry, I think. I wish I had a tool which easily re-sized these huge, beautiful digital pictures we took.

Tomorrow is Day 1 of vacation, and Day 1 of "Operation: Clean Sweep - Basement."

The latest Magic set can be used on-line today! I will try to play some tonight!

I stayed up too late last night -- playing Magic: Online and watching "The Princess Bride."

How do you get the job of "movie reviewer"? I think that's my new dream job.

Have I said that before?

I think if I close my eyes, I will fall asleep on my keyboard. Time for some more caffeine?

I need to find "Don't Worry, Be Happy" for my song collection.

Coldplay's latest CD has already topped 1.5 Million copies -- is the recording industry really in trouble from music downloads?

And now I'm listening to Steve Martin's "Banjo" bit -- again, so funny! "You just can't sing a depressing song while playing the banjo. You just can't go (singing) 'Oh Death, and Grief, and Sorrow, and Murder.'"

Hearing this always makes me want to get a CD of banjo music. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is so fun! But Martin only does a piece of it.