T-30 : Serendipitous Moments

I'm just reading an article about Michael Jordan in ESPN Magazine.  It's talking about his best friend, George Koehler.  The story goes that when Michael first landed in Chicago in 1984 there was nobody at the airport to pick him up.  George, a young limo driver, noticed and gave him a ride.  They've been together ever since.

I think George took advantage of what I'd call a serendipitous moment.  I think the fact that they've been friends now for almost 30 years shows that George didn't have ulterior motives.  More than that, I look at what he did and want to emulate that attitude in my life.  In fact, I made a note to myself just the other day that I want to create more of these moments.

As a tech guy there are often times when acquaintances will catch me in passing and mention something like, "I've been meaning to ask you...".  At times it's frustrating.  That's most likely my fault.  I need to move from a "glass-half-empty" attitude to one in which I actually go in search of folks who might be prompted to ask me something based on my appearance in their sphere.  Perhaps this is another name for active networking.  Regardless, it's one of my new goals.

By the way, have you been meaning to ask me anything?

T-31 : Building Detours

When I walk across campus -- especially in cold weather -- I like to duck through buildings to stay warm and dry.  The aridity is not usually a problem in the Idaho desert.  A couple of the buildings on campus recently had connecting skywalks installed.  I'd seen them before in Spokane and Salt Lake City and heard of them in Minneapolis.  When I spent a day in Manhattan recently my brother-in-law and I did as much internal walking as we could given that it was cool and misty.  Do you live/work in a campus or downtown-type setting where you like dodging in one door and out another in order to keep that body temperature regulated?

T-32 : Seasonal Complaints

There's a lot of weather out there today!  I understand the Salt Lake airport has already received 8 inches of snow; which is 3 more than the previous one-day total set back in 1980.  We haven't had quite that much up here sans lake effect.  We have had enough, though, that it seems like a quick return to Winter; especially after we had a couple of days of above-freezing weather and were starting to see some meltage.  At any rate, I enjoy the variety.  I enjoy the seasons.  I like to say that my ideal year would be 3 months of each season.  In truth, though, I probably wouldn't enjoy that level of exactness.  It's just the spontaneity of each storm or dry spell that keeps things interesting.  What I really don't enjoy -- though I usually get a kick out of -- is how folks will complain that the weather is too ___________.  I want to help them realize that it's in the complaining that it becomes worse.  Weather is like lemons.  Let's make lemonade every day out of whatever comes our way!

T-34 : Top MPG

Why exaggerate?  It seems that often when people are talking about the mileage their vehicle gets they'll use a number that it got once when they were going downhill with the wind at their back as an average.  "My car gets 42 miles per gallon", they'll say.  Why do they do that?  It irritates me.

T-35 : Love Lack

I grew up not getting much practice at saying, "I love you".  As a consequence, I still have a difficult time saying it.  I'll often even retort to an "I love you" from Tara with a "ditto" or a "me, too" or some other feeblishly humorous attempt at a retort.  I'm more comfortable making light of situations than I am engaging in the amorous moment, I suppose.  Part of my problem is that I see too many trite "I love you"s said that aren't really backed up with meaning.  Somewhere in all of this is some balance.  I need to say it a little more often, with feeling.  Which side of the love scale are you on; a little too heavy, a little too light, or just right?

T-36 : Screeching Wheelchair

Today on campus a motorized scooter / wheelchair zoomed past me at what seemed like faster than "walking speed".  I grinned when I saw him fishtailing, seemingly on purpose, in the snowy crosswalk.  Then I almost laughed out loud when I saw him hit the brakes and actually screech his tires to a stop when a car passed in front of him in the parking lot.  In fairness, I think it would have been his fault!  Anyway, we all have handicaps.  I can't say for sure what was going through this guy's head or whether my perception of his speed, spins, or stops was consistent with the truth.  I can say, though, that we should all be certain not to take advantage of other people giving us the benefit of the doubt with any disability.

T-37 : Wireless Weavings

I'm reading a book right now that's set in Ireland about 100 years ago.  They've referred multiple times to "the wireless".  In this context they mean a radio that could receive over-the-air broadcast transmissions.  I can only imagine how novel a concept it was for them in that day.  The concept of "wireless" has changed over the years.  As a child I first remember wireless telephones that allowed us to talk while moving from room to room without any cord.  Now the word "wireless" seems to always be tied to Internet transmissions.  Most homes seem to have a "wireless router" that magically creates Wi-Fi so that they can connect to the Internet through their laptop, tablet, or other device.  Wireless has come a long way, baby.  What will it mean in 20 years?