Archive for January, 2008

Sad Family event

January 30th, 2008 Comments(2)

Like many families these days, mine has many members either related by?blood,?marriage or incredible friendship.? This week our family was met with tragic news-the passing of my brothers’ and sister’s father.? He’d been sick, diagnosed with cancer just a few?weeks ago, and now he’s gone.? Though I’ve only met him once,?Ma had been?married to him, and my brothers and sister have lost their dad.? I consider this a sad family event despite my not?knowing him.? I know how hard it is to lose a parent.? It hurts….a lot.??The finality of the situation, the resolutions after to change since life is so short.? My heart goes out to those that loved him and hope that they can hold on to the good memories.?

His obituary can be found here: http://www.edhathaway.com/blog/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=1

Orlando 2008

January 16th, 2008 Comments(1)

I’m preparing to leave for what I’ve been fortunate enough to attend for the past couple of years - Lotusphere in Orlando, FL.

Starting Sunday, January 20, the Epcot area hotels of the Dolphin and Swan will be all things Lotus for five days. Thousands of customers and I’m not even sure how many IBMers (mostly Loti) descend on Disney to be one with the products, engineers, sales people and whomever else may attend. It’s a great week, busy as hell…we start early and end late nearly every day but our customers LOVE it. That’s the important part-that those that pay for us to have a nice standard of living are happy.

I’m assigned to registration-basically checking people in or directing them to where to check in. I anticipate it will be busy the first couple of days, then quiet as people have their badges and ’stuff’ and will focus on the lectures, labs and product showcase. I’ll spend my non-assigned work hours attending sessions and with my customer. I also hope to meet up with colleagues I haven’t seen in a while and see other customers that I have worked with in the past. Overall, I know I’ll be exhausted when I’m done….I always am. I have a window seat on the return flight, which should help prop my head up for my three hour nap.

More Fat = More Smarts?

January 16th, 2008 Comments(1)

A recent study (WHO pays for these things anyway!?) has found that ‘curvier’ women are smarter than their skinnier counterparts. If this is really true, I must be a freaking GENIUS! I kinda wonder what happens when the ‘curvier’ women lose weight?

Link to the article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/earlyshow/health/main3493928.shtml

Living the IKEA way

January 11th, 2008 Comments(0)

I’ve been through my local IKEA store bunches of times, and have marveled at the precision that they are able to put the displays together.? They make a 700 sf apartment look like a palace with all their modular furniture, nifty gadets and storage units.? Have you though, ever thought of living like that?? I mean, in the IKEA apartment - not one that looks like it.?

Well, it seems that a man in Paramus, NJ has and is doing just that for a week while his NYC apartment is fumigated for pests (Ewwww).? The thing that would bother me is people ‘touching’ your stuff.? Again, ewwwww.? And not being able to sleep in late. Oh yeah, did I mention that the toilets, TVs and sinks, are? fake and don’t work.? I guess he’s using the employee locker room for these kinds of things.? So, IKEA agreed to let him live there for a week, which he’s pretty happy about, but not so much for his wife.? She’s with relatives in NY.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/08/living.ikea.ap/

Where would YOU like to be if you have a heart attack?

January 09th, 2008 Comments(0)

I found this reading the newpaper last week, and was a little surprised by the results of the study, until I realized that most patients are alone in their hospital room for long periods of time, but you’re surrounded by hundreds of people in a casino or airport.? From the article:

A recent study shows that?you have a better chance of surviving a heart attack if you have it in an airport or a casino, rather than a hospital.?

It seems that all too often patients fail to receive life-saving defibrillation within the crucial two minutes when in hospital.

Those chances of surviving that heart attack are 50% in an airport or casino compared to 34% if your heart attack takes place at a U.S. hospital.

So, I guess it might be healthier to be in a casino (except for the 2nd hand smoke, lots of free alcohol, sleep deprivation and of course, losing hard earned cash) or an airport if you’re think you’re going to have the Big one!?

Let the Voting Begin

January 08th, 2008 Comments(2)

Now that 2008 is here, all the work the Presidential candidates have done in the last year will now render success for two candidates.?

Iowa last week was a bit of a surprise to me, but I’ve never been there, so maybe?I shouldn’t have been.? I have however, lived in NH through many primary seasons.? Through the extra mail, the random polling calls, the oodles of political signs posted everywhere, and the endless TV ads.? And, I miss it.? Here in Texas, even though the state is huge, there aren’t a whole lot of electoral votes, and the candidates don’t spend a fraction of their time here compared to NH.? It?s a shame really, because now I only learn about them through the news stations.? Whether or not it’s ‘Fair and Balanced’ or not, they all slat, and they all give their opinion of the truth.?

Anyway, early polling results today in NH indicate a record turnout…for which I’m proud.? I’m thinking that too many years of voter apathy got those that didn’t take the time to leverage their privilege to vote a group of people in the White House that they didn’t like - and they have no one to blame but themselves.?

So, who will it be, and will they go all the way to the end?? We’ll know soon enough!?
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