Tag Archives: weekend

General, Uncategorized

Recap of the Weekend

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I accomplished nearly everything on my list from Saturday.  Got some equipment for my shelf-hanging extravaganza, but didn’t finish it because the screws I had for mounting are too big.  Michelle has some smaller ones at her house that should work well.

Our Sunday-funday on the boat was time well-spent.  We dressed ourselves and the boat up in pirate regalia and tooled around Pewaukee Lake.  We actually might have spent more time anchored in the middle and swimming around in the water, but it never hurts to get a little exercise with your booze-crusin’.

Some buddies of one of our friends just happened to find us by luck out on the lake.  Michelle rode in with them on a tube when the day was done.  She looked pretty proficient out there (I admit I was a little concerned, what with the imbibing that happened throughout the day).

We finished up the evening hanging out at Lisskingard Palace on Dousman and ate some pizza from Toppers.  We caught a little bit of the ‘Miss Universe’ pageant, and I was floored by how young some of the contestants were.  Overall, it was a good day.

One byproduct of the weeeknd: I have an unusually large quantity of Corona in bottles in my fridge now, if anyone cares to stop by and enjoy them.  In addition, if you are Amish, would like to pretend to be Amish, or simply find the Amish intriguing (or good bakers), Michelle would love to share some very friendly bread with you.

That is all.

General, Uncategorized

Summer Posting

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I was starting to feel a creeping “link rot” sensation on the blog here, until I scoped out some of the other folks that I subscribe to.  Here in these northern climes, I think we tend to feel any extra time that’s available this time of year should be spent enjoying the outdoors while the days are long and the mercury is high.  Guilt = subsided.

Speaking of getting outdoors, I did have a chance to do that on the first legitimately warm weekend of the season.  Friday night, Schrubbe and I were at the Brewers’ only win of the weekend.  What a horrific homestand they had!  On one hand, it’s good to know they’re not going to tromp Manny Parra out there again on his next turn, but on the other: they’re not going to get through this season with 4 starters.  I really, REALLY hope he gets himself straightened out…

On Saturday, I got involved with WILS for the first time– I was a chaperone for one of the volunteer sites.  It was a good day.  They’ve got some really good kids involved there, and everybody did a great job.  I’d definitely be willing to volunteer again next summer…

In the evening on Saturday, Michelle and I met up with a group @ Taylor’s to see Praveen off to India.  He is moving back there for what is planned to be about a three-year stay.  It was a nice send-off.  We didn’t even make it to the after-bar and didn’t go to sleep until about 4 AM.

Eventually on Sunday, we did get out to enjoy the weather.  Michelle and I took a bike ride down on the lake front (where there were TONS of people just loafing along on the path; Michelle had to continuously ring her bell to warn the peds we were behind them), and we enjoyed some custard at the new Northpoint snack bar, now being operated by Bartolotta Restaurant Group.  I don’t really have any previous experience there to compare it to, but there were plenty of folks lined up, and the turtle sundae was tasty.

So, back to work on my third week in Oshkosh, then!  Everything’s going well, but I’m thinking I’m going to need to do even better making lists of stuff that I want to do on my lunches, in the evenings, etc.  But then again, it is summer and maybe I should just not feel guilty.  😉

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Friday Near 2:00 And All Is Well

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Sorry if you were thinking I might’ve had more to say about my new job this week– didn’t have complete access to my workstation for part of it, and was busy with reviewing procedures, etc., for the rest.

Overall, Oshkosh is just about the way I left it.  There’s a new building here, or a remodeled office there, but things seem to be largely where they were when I last lived and worked here.  I said to someone early in the week, “it’s almost like I dreamed the last two years, and when I woke up, Bobby was in the shower.”

It’s too early to say much about what my new job entails, or “how it’s going,” so to speak, because I haven’t been able to dig in that much yet.  However, I can tell that it’s going to be a lot different than my job has been for the last five years or so.  There are a lot of things I’ll need to learn, more stuff than I can think of that I will need to re-learn, and who knows what else that I can’t predict.  I think it’s going to be exciting and interesting, though.

The commute is OK.  Even after just a few days, I’ve calmed down a bit about the time “wasted” in the car.  I have a bunch of podcasts to listen to, I can try to catch up with some folks on the phone, and as long as I don’t freak out too much about what time I’m getting home, there is still enough of each evening to be productive.

At this point, I can definitely say that the pace in Oshkosh is more my style than Milwaukee ever was– around here, there is enough staff to deal with everything on a day-to-day basis, people are pretty much up to speed on what everyone else is doing, and the students feel calmer as well.  I guess it mostly comes down to time: in Oshkosh, there’s enough of it to get things done, and also explain to one another what’s going on.  In Milwaukee, it always felt like I was just keeping my head above water, and there were a lot of guessing games about who was doing what and when and for what reason.

Anyway, I need to jet for my late errand-running lunch and then get primed up for a camp weekend in the Kettle Moraine.  Here’s hoping the weather holds out.

General, Uncategorized

Slow Week

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So it’s been a wacky few days.  My laptop’s death kind of threw me for a loop and I was shopping around for a good deal on a new one over the last weekend.  Work has been nuts.  Got some excitement on all fronts, though.

I did find an OK replacement laptop at a decent price with my discount from work.  I’ve liked the ThinkPads that I had, and I stuck with Lenovo when buying a new one.  I’m sure I’ll be happy enough with it.  One thing I DEFINITELY wanted to do this time is get a brand new machine, instead of muddling around with a used one.  I STILL have a bad taste in my mouth from a really poor ebay experience like 4 years ago…

Lorch also came into town last weekend and crashed at Casa del Bocko for a couple nights.  He had to fly out of Mitchell at the crack of dawn on Saturday because he was shooting for a documentary on the Honor Flight.  It’s a really cool program, and all three of us (me, Lorch, Michelle) all agreed we wished we could’ve gotten our grandfathers signed up when they were around.  So hey– if you know or are related to a WWII or Korean War vet, check it out.  Seriously.

Anyway, it was nice to hang out with Lorchie and watch the Brewers together.  We had some beers at The Harp, and we grabbed a pizza at BBC.  We talked about getting ready for attending Wordy’s wedding this summer.  I am looking forward to the vacation, for sure.

So, later in the week here, I got a call back from my old boss up in Oshkosh.  She had a good reason to call, as I had been in there on 4/23 for an interview.  I got offered a job as the Assistant Director for Operations back at the old UWO FAO.  It’s a really good professional opportunity, so I took it.  I didn’t say much about it to many people as I decided to apply and go through this process, for a variety of reasons:

  1. It was the least qualified I felt going in to an interview in quite a while,
  2. I knew I’d have to field a lot of questions about my plans for the future, as I just moved down to Milwaukee about two years ago, and I didn’t feel like addressing those until a new job was a sure thing,
  3. I thought I might jinx it.

So, it turned out well.  Here are the answers to some of those commonly asked questions that immediately come to everyone’s mind:

  1. Yes, Michelle and I are doing just fine.  I think we’re really good, in fact.
  2. Having stated #1, no I’m not in a big hurry to move back to Oshkosh.
  3. Having stated #2, yes that means I’ll be commuting for a while.
  4. Having stated #3, yes I’m OK with that.
  5. Having stated #4, yes I’ve thought about what it will cost.
  6. See #4.
  7. This doesn’t mean that I’m “giving up” on any creative aspirations that I’ve had related to my English degree.  It just means that I’ve recognized that I have a strong base of knowledge and experience in this area, and I might as well use it to my advantage.  It’s a stable, well-paying vocation for the time being.  I can work on other things in my free time.
  8. I’ll be starting there June 1.

Anyway, I appreciate your interest, and I look forward to speaking with you soon.  I’m going to do the books for the month and finish watching this ball game…

General, The Singularity, Uncategorized

The Scope of Computers, circa 1967

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A somewhat interesting read that I had today on the Modern Mechanix blog— the article was originally published in Playboy in October 1967.

Later on this evening, Michelle and I are headed to Riptide for dinner.  Lent may be over, but that doesn’t mean we can’t love a seafood Friday…

Hope your weekend is swell.

General, Hollywood, The Singularity, Uncategorized

Quick-Moving Saturday

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This day just flew by me before I really realized what had happened.  Ended up being out a little late on Friday after all the baseball excitement, so I got a late start.  Lots to be done around the house, and I also watched a movie that Brian lent to me.  Eagle Eye was OK, but it could have been quite a bit better.  Another interesting take on a Skynet-type problem that wouldn’t actually ever happen.  But like I said, it wasn’t awful.

Did some laundry while I was watching this evening’s Brewers game.  MediaPortal is totally worth the trouble on my TV box if for no other reason than the DVR features– being able to pause the live game while I was running up and down the stairs changing loads was nice.  If there were:

  • a browser extension, in order to use hulu and netflix within MP, and
  • a decent music library included

… it would pretty much rock.  I might try Boxee for Windows to see how that works out.  The thing I would like best is to do all the video watching that I need to on computer, WITH the remote.  Having to plug in a keyboard or mouse is a pain.  Ah well, minor thing.

I would like to sneak in my blog-o-riffic birthday salutations to my mom, right under the wire here ON her birthday, 4/11.  Love you, Mom– hope it was a good day…

If I miss all of ya on Sunday, have a happy Easter.

General, Uncategorized

Weathered the Weather

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The weekend didn’t quite turn out as we planned, thanks in part to Saturday’s snow storm.  We made it to Sunburst on Friday evening (a day early, as it turned out), and had a good time skiing for a few hours.  It’s not a bad little hill they’ve got up there, although we could tell on Friday that most of the snow was man-made.  Jason Hill said that he had a successful evening of remembering HOW to ski, too, so the trip served its purpose.  Now if only we can get enough people together to go up to Rib Mountain next month…

Saturday morning, we were greeted by a blanket of fresh snow that we hadn’t quite been expecting; I read the forecast the night before, and didn’t quite realize that the storm would be lasting through most of the day.  Consequently, Michelle and I had to cancel our plans to head up to Oshkosh for Dave’s birthday celebration.  Fortunately, he is going to be in town on Tuesday (actual day of birth), and we’re planning to meet up with him and his brother for dinner.

Michelle was tentatively planning to go in to work to make up a few hours that she missed earlier in the week because of a class, and I met up with some friends for the Lakefront Brewery tour.  A handful of new pictures in the Milwaukee gallery are from that excursion.  Later that night, Michelle and I stayed in and got a nice specialty pizza from Pizza Shuttle.

On Sunday, I was at Pulaski High School for a few hours for College Goal Sunday.  The event was a success, but it wasn’t the best-organized thing I’ve ever participated in.  I ended up spending about three and a half hours of my day there, where I was only productive for about 90 minutes or so.  I guess that’s one of the things you put up with when the whole thing is done on a volunteer basis…

Had to do some laundry to get ready for the work week; right now, I’m thinking of getting to bed by 10 so I can be good and rested when the alarm goes off at 5:15.  These weekends sure cruise by in a hurry.

General, Hollywood, Uncategorized

Some Worthwhile Consumables and Weekend Notes

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I finally listened to episode #368 of This American Life, “Who Do You Think You Are?” on my way in and for the first half hour or so of my work day.  About half the show was excerpts from a series that Studs Terkel, a recently deceased, longtime Chicago radio man hosted in the 1970s called “Hard Times.”  He did interviews with ordinarily American citizens about their experiences from the Great Depression.  It was fantastic to hear these unique perspectives of witnessed history.  Listening to a piece like this makes me think about how valuable the mass media archives of the 20th century could potentially be as the future rolls on.

And I guess that I’m thinking about it relative to photography in a sense: sure, we have photographs from as far back as the mid-19th century, and it is amazing to look into the faces of the people who lived at those times.  But what still photos lack (a clear idea of what the people who lived in those times THOUGHT about them), sound recordings and motion pictures of the 20th century have in spades.  As generations of people pass on and memory continues to fade, we retain an ability that no era in the past could boast: we can engage those past generations in conversation through recordings.  Pretty amazing stuff, if you think about it.

And speaking of voices from the past informing the events of the present, an interesting little piece here from New Scientist about how the worldwide economic doldrums we find ourselves in were predicted (with computer assistance) in 1972.

Beyond that, had an enjoyable and somewhat productive weekend.  Michelle and I went to see Quantum of Solace on Saturday.  Not usually a movie she’d be interested in, but we had a good time at the last Bond.  I thought it was good, but I agree with most of the critics I’ve read that Casino Royale was better.  The review I saw in The Onion tried to parallel the 2nd Daniel Craig-Bond flick with The Dark Knight, both being the first sequel in a largely-reimagined franchise.  I dunno if that’s a fair comparison, in part because Batman has such a long, rich body of source material to work from: the Joker is a well-established and defined character; James Bond is up against a new villian every time out.  So anyway, Bond was good; not great, but good.

Michelle was on pins and needles through most of the movie.  She hasn’t watched a lot of action films, so when she DOES see one, it is literally a heart-pounding thrill ride.  It’s fun for everybody.  After we left the theater, we talked about some other movies like this one that she might try, and we agreed that action flicks with lots of explosions, chases, fights, and general debauchery are a great reason to have a bigger TV.

OK, well, the kids are starting to back up in the office.  Best get to it…

"Roll Your Own", General, Uncategorized

Weekend Update: Special Monday-Mid-Morning-Bocko Edition Without Any Political Commentary

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Well that’s a mouthful.

Weekend flew by for me– Friday night, Michelle and I went over to The House On Dousman for Justin’s birthday observation.  It was a nice time; Marcia & Todd made an unexpected appearance, so it was cool to talk with them for the first time since they got hitched.  There were libations aplenty, and Michelle made cake.  We couldn’t stay really late, because she had to get up early to judge a cheer competition.

On Saturday, I had some plans to work on a little computer biz at my house, but I got an call from the Poquettes who needed backup on a short babysitting gig– Kilian and Harper had some overlapping zoo classes, so I met up with them there and watched Abe for an hour or so.  He’s a very low-maintenence baby; took him about 20 minutes to fall asleep, then I just milled around the zoo for a while until Amanda called to say Harper’s class was done.  The zoo trip worked to my advantage, as I was able to miss the majority of the Badgers’ drubbing at the hands of Iowa.

Later in the evening on Saturday, we met up with Michelle’s friend Amisha and her (relatively new) financee, Ajay.  I hadn’t met him before.  We had a good time at Vox on Prospect, where the atmosphere is pretty smokey, but also quiet enough to talk.  They also have movies going in the background all the time there.  For me, it’s a good way to keep time at the bar without looking at your watch: “We’ve been here for Princess Bride and half of Team America? Shit, it’s gotta be pretty late…”

On Sunday, I got around to working on some of that computer stuff and did laundry.  I was pretty happy to note that I was just about able to migrate my home server over to a new machine without having to call Joe every five minutes with questions.  There are a couple things that are still left to do, but I was glad to have been able to install the new system, import all the old user accounts & various server settings without incident.

I wanted to head over to Grandma’s house to help out with yard work, but I ran out of time.  Now it looks like it’s going to rain the rest of today, but it’s supposed to be nice on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Maybe by Wednesday, the leaves would be dry enough over there and I could give it another shot.

General, Uncategorized

Things That Are True

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So I have 2 days left on my vacation, then it’s back to the real world and really working.  A good thing that I can think of about going back: I did have to get caught up on all the little piddly shit that was sitting around on my desk before the vaykay started, so I’ll pretty much have a clean start on Wednesday.

But anyway– there are a few things that I’ve figured out over the last several days (some more serious than others):

  1. I could do very well with about a month off from work.  However, the week has shown me that I can get things accomplished if really put forth some effort.
  2. If I just wrote out everything that I have to talk about from those years being a kid in E.R., it would be an extensive memoir.  Who would have ever thought a person could say that about that place?  Certainly not me when I was living there…
  3. Having a maid would be great.  The number of household chores that pile up in a house of just one person is amazing.
  4. Even when you buy Oakley frames for your prescription glasses, they don’t include the hard case.  No joking.
  5. I haven’t watched a football game from start to finish since last year.  I know this is going to sound nuts, but I got so used to watching tons of baseball over the summer, a football game seems REEEALLY LONG.  I think the key comparison is the way the sports are televised.  The NFL, being such a TV-driven enterprise, has very frequent TV commercial breaks, and halftime takes a while…  It’s just a different sort of sport, I guess.
  6. Speaking of football, beating Charlie Frye means nothing.  Yes, there were a lot fewer penalties this week, but against that Seattle team, all you had to do was not shoot yourself in the foot.  Possibly losing two more defensive players isn’t good for the banged-up Packers…