Football Week 1 - I have to remember
Every year I forget this:

Offenses aren't as ready for the first game of the season as defenses are.

Yep, the Vikings lost.

Oh yeah, and smarter coaches have their teams more ready than the other kind.

And yes, the Vikings lost.

Will I regret taking Daunte with my first pick?

I have to have hope.

Happy Birthday, Lucas
Mood:  celebratory
Lucas turns 20 today!

Happy Birthday, son!

Have a great day, and night!

Long week
Now Playing: nothing -- I should remedy that
What a week.

Monday started with a 7:00 AM meeting. Tuesday with a 6:00 AM meeting. Wednesday was 11.5 hours straight of work. Thursday - crazy frustrating. Today -- I was supposed to leave before noon -- didn't happen.

Tomorrow I move Sarah and Adam to college. So it's really time to write a congratulatory, yet melancholy entry. But I have no ergs of creativity left.

Is creativity measured in ergs?

I probably couldn't remember what an "erg" is if I tried.

And trying seems like too much work.

Shoot, rambling is more work than I want to do.

How many ergs does it take to ramble?

I don't know -- counting them would be too much work.

And it would ruin my train of thought -- or something.

TGIF.

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.