The weekend is coming to an end. About an hour from now I will drive to Camp Eden Wood and pick up Thomas. I have not done nearly as much as I wanted to do, but I have done a few things I could not possibly do while taking care of him. Not the least of these is getting plenty of sleep.
And a couple hours after Tom gets home mia_mcdavid will return as well. I suppose she is somewhere around Madison now. I am really looking forward to that.
This morning I went to a workshop on conversational Irish. I was in the session for absolute beginners, for which I certainly qualify. The workshop was put on by Gaeltacht Minnesota, the local Irish language organization. It was very interesting and extremely well done. I hope to learn more Irish in the coming year, although scheduling constraints are going to limit me at least for a while.
I had thought about working on some projects after getting home, but after lunch I found the call of a nap to be irresistable. Got up about 4:30, after which James and I went to a pleasant supper at Church. We browsed at the local Barnes & Noble after that, then went home.
Tool Raider is a store in Bloomington (MN), almost across the street from Woodcraft, where I frequently shop for woodworking tools and supplies. I noticed Tool Raider after a visit today to Woodcraft, and decided to stop in. They sell both new and used tools, including woodworking tools. The new ones are distinctly inferior to Woodcraft’s, but the used tools merited some attention. There were lots of power tools, which I ignored, but a few hand tools got my attention. I left the store with my wallet $20 lighter, and two bit braces (drills), a chisel, and a gouge in my hands. $10 was devoted to one brace from Millers Falls. I had a good feeling about it, but was not enough of an expert to be sure it was what I hoped it was. But I figured $10 was an OK price anyway–It was in very good condition.
I got home and checked a web site about Millers Falls braces. Sure enough, this was one of their “Lion” braces, comparable to the Stanley Bell braces–among the best braces ever made. Nothing like it is made today. I don’t think Tool Raider realized what they had set out on the shelf for $10.
…. because I have taken Tom to the Respite camp for the weekend.
[From someone’s Chinese Friend]
“If Adam and Eve were Chinese, we would still be in Paradise living the good life. Why, you might ask? Because they would have eaten the snake instead of the damn apple.”
mia_mcdavid is going to the Chicago suburbs for Windycon. Back when we lived in Chicagoland we went to every Windycon from 1978 (Mia’s first con!) through 1997, but we have not been back since we moved to Minnesota. And this time it is just Mia. The logistics for both of us going are far more complicated and less secure than for just one. Also, there are thing I want to do here, such as resting.
The weather is really nice today, which is another reason to stay behind. I got in a bike ride this afternoon, but the real payoff is for Tom. This is a respite weekend for us–he will be away. We had two options for this, and he going to the one that has more outdoors activities, and that he likes better. However, this was only possible because I will be able to take him there and pick him up on Sunday.
Yet another problem on the same classroom computers I dealt with yesterday. Straightforward, but tedious–I had to a make a change individually to each workstation in the room–immediately. The whole class was being held up. Again, not really my job, but I was the first person my boss could reach. Several senior people were present. It went OK. I left the classroom with a piece of cake and a round of applause.
…. from a project risk assessment document here at work, dealing with an issue that is quite controversial in the systems development world.
4.6.5 Mitigation Strategy
The […] project manager will assemble all project stakeholders, tie them to their chairs, and force them to listen to very loud Rap music until an agreement is reached..
Late yesterday, and again this morning, I was asked to do some software installation and configuration on a classroom full of computers. Emergency, top priority…. and somebody should have thought of it weeks ago. So both times I changed my plans and got it done. Better organization would certainly make for a smoother work environment. OTOH, if everything were perfectly organized I might be out of a job.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 