Saturday, July 28, 2007

Reflecting

I don't need to restate the facts involving yesterday's tragedy in Phoenix.

And I don't even need to provide hyperlinks this morning. All of the national (and even some international) media are covering the story.

For me, perhaps the most upsetting was seeing the video from ABC 15's chopper. Now, as all of us watch the video, we are aware we are hearing from the pilot the last moments of his life. And his last words apparently being "Oh, geez."

In an instant his life, together with three others, ended.

I won't waste space here waxing about the brevity of our earthly lives. Yet in the context of my entry from a few days ago, my professional risk now seems more agreeable to me. Why spend most of my days in jobs I dislike for one reason or another when I have the ability and the means to strike out on my own?

Whatever happens, I will have no regrets. Plus, given the stark reminder from yesterday, I am well aware I have no idea how much time I have left. Maybe I won't see the end of this day, or of this year. Or, I might be around for the next forty years. So for now I will close out this entry and life my life today.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Whaaaaaat?

In the "did I just hear what I think I heard?" category, I was listening to Sirius NFL radio yesterday afternoon and they aired Billy Martin giving Michael Vick's prepared statement to the public. As I was behind the wheel, I was not paying full attention to the audio, but the phrase "spring training" came from the mouth of Mr. Martin, Esq.

Huh?

Later on the NFL Network's Total Access program, they showed the text of the statement with the phrase "training camp" in brackets.

Hmmmm.

This morning, a quick Technorati search shows I indeed heard correctly. I think this guy is right on. As Vick has played football since the age of 8 or 9, there's just no way he would ever use the term "spring training. Just goes to show that a law degree and knowing one's way around a courtroom is no assurance of total accuracy. You would think Vick would have at least one lawyer on his team who is familiar with the NFL.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Catching up on some stuff

It's been a busy, and somewhat unusual, July. The biggest reason for this has to do with my decision to plunge into the Great American Dream.

That's right. I'm starting my own business.

Since I want to maintain my anonymity as it pertains to this blog, I will not go into any details about what I do for a living or what business I will be creating. And those details should not matter anyway as any new business endeavor has elements of risk, excitement, fear, and courage. Come to think of it, those descriptors could apply to any area of life that is new and worth having.

Let's just say I am now working harder now than I ever have before in my life. But I'm certain the end result will be worth all the sweat.

__________________________________

I took a break from my entrepreneur-oriented activities late last week and joined my daughter, her teachers, her classmates, and other parents in the Friday summer swimming time. What a blast! The school goes over to a nearby junior high, which has its own pool. With three diving boards, one of which is a high dive.

Little Geoana asked me to jump off the high dive. And I did.

This was not an act of courage, dear reader. You see, I grew up jumping off the high dive at the community pool just down the street from my house in Houston. And this high dive at the junior high was about the same height as the one from my childhood. However I haven't jumped off a high dive since moving away from Houston in my teenage years.

Turns out the experience of jumping from the high dive is really no different all these years later.

But in the eyes of my six-year-old daughter, the act of jumping off a high dive that to her must look higher than a five-story building, made me cool. For perhaps the first time since she developed her little attitude (all of you who are parents know whereof I speak), she
was very impressed with me.

Now the swimming was fun, but her awe made the effort even more worth it.

Even if my back did end up getting very sunburned. (Note for the future--have Geoana put the sunscreen on my back--she's up for the task!)

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

It coulda' been worse

I am by no means a grillmaster. But I do take pride in my creations that come forth from the combination of flame and gridiron.

And for today, the Fourth of July, custom almost demands that I cook something outside. This morning Geogal told me salmon was her meal of choice for today, so to defrost status the fish went.

Zero hour. Fish is ready. Cedar plank is very wet. Time to go live.

Start propane grill.

See grill go cool within a minute or two. Diagnosis: empty propane cylinder. No backup.

Plan B: Light charcoal grill.

Learn the hard way that Kingsford Match Light Charcoal will not exactly light easily if it's somewhat old. No lighter fluid on hand, either.

Try to coax fire from a pseudo-chimney setup of newspaper, cardboard, and dead leaves and twigs from the yard. No go.

Almost admit defeat. Go inside and set oven to 375.

Last ditch effort: Cover most of charcoal grill with lid, hoping that heat (from the few briquettes that lit) will make the difference.

A few minutes later--success! Glowing coals. Turn off oven.

The salmon ended up cooking well and tasting pretty good. Nice smoky flavor, for which I was hoping.

Yet, I can look at this with humor. Especially since we had no company for this meal. My wife and daughter tend to be very forgiving.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

July rolls around

It's going to be an interesting month for me. Staking out new territory. I will share more details in the near future.

But for right now, it's hot and lazy around here. So much so, that today I am entertaining thoughts about jumping the fence of the house across the street. It's empty. The new owners do not appear to have taken possession just yet. It has a swimming pool, albeit a very shallow one. I can see me and Geogal taking a cue from a "King of the Hill" episode and sneaking over for a swim.

But, the monsoon will begin soon. And NFL teams will head to camp around month's end. And maybe I will figure out a remedy for the Sunday afternoon blues.

Hello, Mister Homer..

Just too funny to not include in my blog.

I guess this week I'll need to darken the doorstep of a 7-Eleven, although they are actually not ubiquitous around here (Circle K has a much larger presence in Arizona).

And, I likely will not go see the movie. Rather, I'll just wait for the DVD.

____________________________

Regarding my question from Friday, the iPhone does have a camera. 2 megapixels. Gotta be better than what I have now. I still won't be getting one anytime soon. One article I read stated it will cost the user about $1,000 per year to own and operate. Of course, they might have been referring to just the first year, including the $500 or $600 that you plunked down to take possession...