Road Trip!

Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer has arrived. For me, that means 4 entire days off from work(s) and a road trip up to Red Oak, Iowa for my nephew's birthday. And for the first time in a long, long time that I have not checked out a book on CD for the car. Instead, I have 3 eBooks and 3 mp3 audiobooks loaded onto my Nexus 7 and I'm ready to plug it into the car and go.

I'm still trying to come down from my eBook addiction, but I'm not doing a very good job of it. I blame Lee Child, as I was recently introduced to the Jack Reacher novels.

Memorial Day is also a sad time, it means football is still about 4 months off. That's scary.

In an effort to fight off football withdrawal, I've been working on a reading list of football books for the library. It's a lot of work, but friends don't let friends watch hockey.

I think it would be a little unfair to add all the books on my list to the Man Vs Nonfiction project, so I'm going to add just one:

Keep your Eye Off the Ball, by Pat Kirwan.

Pat Kirwan just so happens to be a well respected NFL analyst for CBS and spent some time coaching in the NFL. I'm very excited to crack this one open this weekend. He starts off talking about filling out a roster for a football game like you would at a baseball game . . . You have my full and complete attention Mr. Kirwan.

The NFL Draft and a Death in the Family

This past weekend was great . . . then it was awful.

The 2013 NFL draft kicked off last Thursday night and went through Saturday evening. 7 glorious rounds of bliss. The NFL Draft means something very special to me. It combines my love of football with my love of spreadsheets.

When I was a kid my brother and I would sit in front of the TV with a pad of paper and a pencil. Why? I don't know, I think statistics and tracking things was soothing for me, even back then. Of course this weekend it was my laptop for tracking and my tablet for researching.

And what do I do with this great spreadsheet? Do I submit it to ESPN? Show it off to all my friends and family? Print it off and hang it on my wall? No. I store it away in a obscure folder on my laptop, never to be heard from again.

And after the 7th round was over, with the Tight End from South Carolina going to Indy with the last pick, I settled down onto my couch, picked up my Xbox controller, and was consumed by terror.

After 6 long years, my Xbox 360, my faithful companion, displayed the tell-tale sign of failure, the Red Ring of Death. I did what I could to nurse it back, but alas, my Xbox is dead. I'm sad, but when I think about it, 6 years is a long time for a piece of hardware to last. Especially one that has been used as heavily as mine has.

But I can;t be too upset, I've had plenty of books to read.

I've been on a e-Book tear as of late, reading The Gate Thief by OSC and a couple of 3-book series. My non-fiction project has been brought to a serious halt. I blame the library's new e-book interface that makes it way too easy to check out. I'll get back on the horse soon, just as soon as I finish the China Mieville book, Kraken. . . and then the non e-book (non e-Book? Is there a better word here? Real Book? Solid Book? Actual Book?) Ted Kosmatka book, Prophet of Bones, that I have on hold.

When I do return to the non-fiction area I think it's time to alter my selection process. Plus, I'm pretty sure there have been some additions to the stacks I need to account for.

Pay it Forward

Snow storms are getting rare in Missouri. To the point where even the threat of 2 inches will shut down schools and cause runs on bread and milk. So when 'Winter Storm Q,' by the way, naming winter storms is dumb . . . unless you name them all Victor Fries or Robert Drake, I'd be OK with that, anyway, when Q came along and dropped 11 inches on Columbia, this town went post-apocalyptic. I kept waiting to see Denzel Washington stroll by to shoot some cats . . . Book of Eli? Anyone? I liked it . . .

11 inches followed by ice is one thing, but the fact that it came down so incredibly fast is what threw everyone for a loop. This was compete madness. My attempt to pick my daughter up from daycare was foiled by my arch-nemesis, Gravity. Snow covered hills, great for sledding, not so great for front wheel drive.

My decision was this: turn around, get home, and assess the situation further. After a slow and treacherous drive in whiteout conditions I finally made it to the entrance to my neighborhood. Foiled again! Curse you gravity! To get to my street you have to go down a hill and back up.

You remember  the Wii Fit Ski Jump Game? Imagine that, only instead of jumping at the end and it being awesome, instead you just get stuck with spinning tires and that burning rubber smell. Not nearly as fun. Add to the awesomeness the complete jerk that, when he got his giant white van stuck, in the middle of the road, at the bottom of the hill, decided to just leave it and walk home. Thanks dude.

So, since everyone was at a stand-still and no one was going anywhere for a while, I pulled my car to the curb (out of the way, see? Are you paying attention white vanny jerk-guy?) and started hoofing it home. 2, maybe 3 blocks, not a bad walk even with snow and sleet. My wife joined me on foot as she was 3 cars down.

So there we were. At home, out of the mess. No cars, no little girl. Not cool.

The babysitter said everything was fine on her end and, worst case scenario, Emma could spend the night there. Reassured, it was time to suit up. I put on my sweatpants, the jeans my wife won't let me wear in public, Bass Pro hoodie, and the boots I use when I'm Santa. Let's do this. On a mission, we set out with our trusty snow shovels, ice scrappers, and a bag of ice melt with the sole intention of getting at least 1 of our cars to the house. On the way we meet up with our neighbors who are headed down the hill to help.

I love the fact that so many people were out to help. Random people, no last names, just Toms, Robs, and Adams appearing out of nowhere to lend a hand. We cleared at least 15 cars, digging them out, getting them unstuck, helping them get out of the middle of the road, getting them around the white van (jerk) and pushing them up the hill. One of those cars we got up the hill was my wife's. After doing this for 3 hours, we all needed a break.

After a nap, some hot chocolate, and a couple of coughing fits to get all the exhaust fumes out of my lungs, it was time to get back at it. It was almost 6 at this point, and luckily, someone who will not be named called that van in and had it towed . . . that helped out immensely. A few more cleared cars and I was able to get my car back home.

With both cars back we discussed how we should get Emma back home. Now, I have 2 feelings about this. 1. I want my daughter home safe and sound. 2. I don't want to get stranded on the road somewhere with her in the back seat. Our babysitter assured us it was no problem to have her spend the night. She also mentioned her street was a mess with abandoned cars littered everywhere. So we decided that leaving her there was best.

I don't feel bad about leaving her there. She was safe, she spends over 8 hours there every day during the week, and getting stuck with her would be awful. That being said, I also feel horrible about it. You would think a night without kids would be a lively affair, but no, we did nothing that night. Nothing but send text messages back and forth to the babysitter to see how she was doing. then a somber march to bed at 9 o'clock.

Emma did just fine. When Friday morning came I went off to work while my wife prepared to go get her. I got a text that she had picked Emma up. When we asked how much we owed the babysitter for watching her overnight she said not to worry about it, pay it forward. Her neighbors cleared off her driveway because they know she has 4 kids of her own and her husband was away on business. Sometimes, people are just awesome.

Sure enough, a half hour after the text, I got the call. She was stuck in the middle of our babysitter's road. Luckily, she was able to get into the driveway and our good friends Leigh and Michael that live right down the road from the babysitter's were able to get there in his 4-wheel-drive and give them a lift home. So now, everyone is home, and we only down one car.

Pay it Forward. I'd like to say we paid it forward plenty by helping out all those cars down and back up the hill. But I don't think Pay it Forward has a 1-to-1 cost. It's more of a way of doing things. Something I need to incorporate more.

And, of course, I should get a book on it too.

After a simple catalog search, I'd like you to meet selection #19: 1,000 Mitzvahs by Linda Cohen. Mitzvah is a Hebrew word meaning an act of human kindness.

Stay safe out there folks, and remember to avoid the white vans that life puts in your way.

wooden boxes, magic clouds, and minor apocalypses

2012 was not the end of the world, *and there was much rejoicing*, but for me, 2013 sure does feel like the apocalypse (albeit a minor one).

Work is absolutely crazy . . . we'll leave it at that.

Throw on top of that a little flu/plague infestation, a garage door revolt, and a leaky basement. needless to say it's been a little stressful.

In times like this, the best solution to stress is a nice distraction by a good book. And while my instincts are pulling me towards Tolkien or Orson Scott Card, I'm looking at you The Lost Gate, this time I've decided to take a different route. I've checked out Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I've never read Atlas Shrugged, I tried to listen to the audiobook last Fall as my wife and I made the trek to Western Nebraska, sadly, she nixed that plan after about 20 miles.

A little Fiction vacation is just what I need. But I'm not totally abstaining from Non-Fiction.

I've made 2 selections for the Non-Fiction quest:
First, Children's Furniture Projects by Jeff Miller. I do not have the skill or patience to make my daughter a toy chest, but I can at least make photocopies of the plans for one, it's the thought that counts right?

Also, Management Strategies for the Cloud Revolution, by Charles Babcock. I teach two classes at the library, one about using Android devices and the other about current mobile technologies. In both of these classes I mention cloud storage and I don't think I'm explaining it in a way that they are able to understand it, hopefully this will help with that.

The gift that keeps on giving

The holidays are over, The Sickness has run amok through my household and everyone is finally on the up and up, and college bowl season is officially done after that truly awful national championship game. That means it's back to the grindstone! And I'm pretty excited about my next selection: Guide to Missouri Vegetable Gardening by James A. Fizzell. 

I orginally got this book for my wife, but after reading it I am so pumped for starting a garden I can hardly wait till Spring. I have a tiller on the way and I am going to go nuts!

And I feel fine. . .

Twas the week before Christmas and no one was gloom, even though soon we would all meet our doom.

10 years ago, I was working at a Wal-Mart in Moscow, Idaho. Oddly enough, working the overnight shift in the receiving department was not as glamorous as it sounds. But it did provide me with the opportunity to witness a very witty discussion about 2012, the Mayan calendar, and the end of the world.

One gentleman commented he would take a bunch of sleeping pills when he went to bed December 20th, so he could sleep through the end of the world. Another said he would spend his remaining years collecting guns and ammo. I simply smiled and went about my work.

Seasonable for most of the week, then a slight chance of DOOM!

I don't put much stock in the Mayan's calendar, but I am a big fan of post-apocalyptic scenarios, especially if they involve removing the heads the risen dead or helping a gasoline rich community fend off mohawk wielding bandits.

So, imagine my delight when fate led my next random book selection to the shelf populated with self-defense. Meet Selection #16: Self-Defense: Steps for Survival by Katy Mattingly.

No, I will not be taking photos of me trying out the moves they illustrate.

I've only thumbed through it, but I have not found the bandit or zombie sections yet, I'm sure it's in there.

Failure is not an option . . . wait, nevermind, yes it is

I have failed. I have read zero non-fiction in almost a month. Forget, non-fiction, aside from some Elder Strolls blog posts I've hardly read anything at all.

But it's all good. When you are attempting a project as large as this, failure should not be feared. In fact, failure should be expected and welcomed. Bad things happen if you worry about failing and you actually fail. There is that instinct to just throw your hands up and give up. But if you anticipate failing, I think you are much better to deal with it when it actually happens.

Because I knew this would happen, I am much more willing to dust myself and get back to it. . . not now of course, that would just be silly. I'm in survival mode at this point. Hunker down, survive Christmas, re-assess the situation when the New Year's confetti clears.