Connecting with Old Friends

Too many ways to connect with people these days. I am inspired that my old college roommate, Zuke, found my wife on Facebook. And, who knew that he blogs pretty regularly. When you get stationed overseas you get lots of opportunities to see things and he is clearly taking advantage of the opportunity.

I just finished a Dassault Systemes conference and met up with a bunch of people that I have worked with for the past 8 years. Always good to catch up with people. Some of my friends there have been customers that I have worked with for almost that whole time.

It is also about good relationships with people that will endure.

Out on the Water

With Nannie and Pop out on Lake Marion, a perfect day to be on the water.

Ready for the Water

She is all cleaned up and ready for the water in '09. If you see us on Lake Marion or on the rivers or harbor around Charleston, give us a wave.

Some Alabama Jokes

In front of National Signing Day for football recruits, here is a list that I saw at blog.al.com today:

YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE FAN WHEN.....
1. You let your 14-year-old daughter smoke at the dinner table in front of her kids.
2. The Blue Book value of your truck goes up and down depending on how much gas is in it.
3. You've been married three times and still have the same in-laws.
4. You think a woman who is "out of your league" bowls on a different night.
5. You wonder how service stations keep their rest-rooms so clean.
6. Someone in your family died right after saying, "Hey, y'all, watch this."
7. You think Dom Perignon is a Mafia leader.
8. Your wife's hairdo was once ruined by a ceiling fan.
9. Your junior prom offered day care.
10. You think the last words of the "Star-Spangled Banner" are "Gentlemen, start your engines."
11. You lit a match in the bathroom and your house exploded right off its wheels.
12. The Halloween pumpkin on your porch has more teeth than your spouse.
13. You have to go outside to get something from the fridge.
14. One of your kids was born on a pool table.
15. You need one more hole punched in your card to get a freebie at the House of Tattoos.
16. You can't get married to your sweetheart because there's a law against it.

And a joke:

A first grade teacher explains to her class that she is an Alabama fan. She asks her students to raise their hands if they are Alabama fans too. Not really knowing what an Alabama fan was, but wanting to be liked by their teacher, their hands fly into the air.

There is, however, one exception. A little girl named Jane has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different. "Because I'm not an Alabama fan" she reports. "Then, " asks the teacher, "what are you?" "I'm a proud Auburn Fan" the girl said! The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red.

She asks Jane, "Why are you an Auburn Fan?" "Well, my Dad and Mom are Auburn fans, so I'm an Auburn fan, too, " she responds. The teacher is angry now. "That's no reason, " she says loudly. "What if your Mom was a moron, and your dad was an idiot. What would you be then?" Jane smiles and says, "Then we'd be Alabama fans"

Presidential Inauguration 2009

History is unfolding. We thought about going, but too much trouble to get there and be there, plus I am supposed to be working today. Our kids may not quite understand the history yet, but in many years they may remember what they were doing today. Our kids happen to have a school vacation today for a teacher workday.

What Obama's presidency shows that America is making it to the promised land dreamed by MLK. Obama shows that you can achieve the top and not let "the man" keep you down. No more excuses; the obstacles may still be there, but they can be overcome.

The excitement now is the hope that he brings to turn the country in a different direction that leads to more peace and more justice.

Thoughts of the night

I enjoyed my flight back home last night. On a typical Thursday night, the airport and flights are crowded because all of us idiots traveling for business have convinced ourselves that being home on Friday makes traveling 4 days ok. As usual, rain moves through the NY area for an hour in the afternoon and backed up most flights out of Newark. Then, you have a lot of uninformed, holiday travelers that are not accustomed to things and get frustrated. Like the gate agent is hiding planes and making people wait for their flight for fun so they can watch people get upset...

Landing about an hour and a half late, I was ready to be home. But, traffic still slows things down. Except for one guy zigzagging in and out of traffic. After midnight, do you really need to have the bluetooth in your ear? Then, he almost causes an accident slamming the brakes in the left lane to cut in front of me to make a right turn. At midnight... Are we that sad that we can't slow down enough at midnight to take out the ear piece and not be racing to be first...

New Blog Look

I was checking out a few blogs to pass the time in a hotel room one working night in NJ and I came across the pyzam site. The orange of the Auburn orange-and-blue needed a change, and this look also describes us well. We swap between an Auburn flag and a US flag on the front of our house depending on our mood. During football season, the Auburn flag stays out there more often. I do not like to leave the US flag out at night, because we do not shine a light on it.

Pope in the US

I read the USA Today while eating dinner by myself while I am a road warrior. Maybe that is a perk, but I would rather be at home.

In any case, I find articles in USA Today with a bit of slant. And, I wonder how much the USA Today staff/editors understand about the pope. One of the commandments is like "Thou shalt not use the Lord's name in vain." We teach our kids not to use God's name except when speaking to him or about him, but not in an expression. I was amused to find the following quote in the USA Today on page 3A when a mother and daughter were describing their opportunity to see the Pope in Washington, DC

Her daughter Marisa snapped a picture of the pope waving in her direction. "Oh my God, I'm jittery," she said.

First, the Pope is a title like the President and should be capitalized and second, USA Today couldn't find a better quote. And third, amid all of the talk of global warming and reducing carbon emissions, they find a mother to quote after she flew with 3 daughters from Clearwater, FL just to see the Pope in his "popemobile." The USA Today has put popemobile around quotes each time, like it is a surprise and needs to be explained in each article.

Just a little amusement that I received today while away for work. Thanks, USA Today ...

Auburn wins 17-10 over Alabama

Here is the first video I have seen after the win. The video about the state trooper dog biting Auburn's Powers is making the rounds too.

Next Hand

Six in a row for Auburn over Alabama... Way to go Auburn! Fight on you Orange and Blue. What a sloppy game like most rivalry games, but the right team won.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

5 hours until game time

I bet that the Auburn campus is energized. 5 hours until kickoff... The trash talk is louder than ever from the Bama side. I think that they may be desperate particularly after the losses to MSU and ULM. If Auburn will just run the ball down the throat of Bama, then I think that they have a good chance to win. If Auburn puts the ball in the hands of Brandon Cox, then I won't be as confident.

But first - we go to a friend's house to root with them for Florida against Florida State. The big games start at 5 PM ET tonight. I would like to watch USC (that is South Carolina here) vs. Clemson but it is at the wrong time - maybe during commercials I will get a peek.

War Eagle! Go Tigers!!!

Football Loss is a Catastrophe

I think that someone or a group of the Bama Nation is taking a loss at a football game a bit too seriously... But, it is being written off as part of the emotion leading up to the Iron Bowl. Along with his "what it is it is" comment re: whether DJ Hall was suspended the whole game or just a half game, he isn't going to get any PR jobs. But, I think that he is trying the Coach Bellichek path of speaking. From Coach Nick Saban of the University of Alabama on the loss to University Louisiana-Monroe:

Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event. It may be 9-11, which sort of changed the spirit of America relative to catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, and that was a catastrophic event.

Iron Bowl Song

I have been poking around YouTube this afternoon. I found the 1989 Alabama Auburn game and I almost cried pointing out to my son where I was sitting.

While listening to this song that my wife said was "pretty catchy", my daughter started singing along with "Roll Tide." It hurt me to write that. She is close to being sent to her bed without dinner. That phrase is not allowed in this house until after the game is over in 5 days.

Iron Bowl 2007 is coming

The trash talking is at a fever pitch and made a lot more even since Alabama lost to La. Monroe (I don't even know where that school is). Before, it was all about Saban winning and Tubberville should leave town and go to Texas A&M; now the tone has changed . Comments like: Shula beat ULM 41-7 and Saban couldn't win. Starting to sound a bit nervous...

Looking for things to keep me excited over here away from the talk in SC, I came across this inspirational video on YouTube. Enjoy...

Being Five blog

I came across this blog in Blogs of Note. I think that they are or will be a hit...

Bama Loses to La. Monroe

True Auburn fans root for Auburn and any team playing Alabama. When Auburn is off the week before the Iron Bowl at Auburn, what better can happen than Alabama to lose with Saban the Savior to UL Monroe? Yeah, Satan might be able to use that game as a rally cry against Auburn, but I think that the home field advantage at Auburn playing at 7 PM CT will make Auburn an almost impossible place for Alabama to win next week.

I am a realist; Auburn could lose. Coach Tubberville and the QB Brandon Cox can still have lack of execution to kill the game for Auburn. But, I think that Auburn's defense will step up and lead the offense in the right direction.

My wife isn't letting me call or text my in-laws about the game. She says that I would be a poor sport, but if you can't trash talk a bit before the Auburn-Alabama game, when can you? Maybe my niece will get a text and be able to pass it on for me ...

UGly game

Maybe Tubberville was right. Maybe the Auburn Tigers were tired from not having a bye week. At least in this game, Tubberville didn't lose the game for the team. The team seemed to not have the energy and emotion that Georgia brought.

I wonder how concerned Richt might be for his job at UGA. He orchestrates the full-team celebration with their first touchdown in Jacksonville at the World's Largest Cocktail Party and then helps the Blackout idea. Richt is doing what he needs to do as a coach to give his players the confidence and best chance to win.

Tubberville continues to keep Brandon Cox the quarterback. Brandon is the quarterback who shows no emotion after throwing some very dumb interceptions and making very slow choices on the field. Maybe Tubberville is thinking about Texas A&M, but it surely isn't going to be because Satan (was that a mispelling?) is across the state at UAT. It might be that he isn't able to get a quarterback to get Auburn to the top and convince the poll voters that he has a consistent team.

Auburn needs another Jason Campbell to go along with the rest of the team which should be very good next year and more senior.

Only the Iron Bowl remains and both AU and UA are out of the polls. Auburn getting to the other hand in wins is a pretty big deal and the game is in Auburn this year. The RVs will start showing up to tailgate by this time next week. Brandon, please show up for one more game. You played a great game at Florida and LSU and you only lost because of coaching mistakes at LSU. Please, let's not feed Satan (my keyboard won't spell that name any other way) and make their egos any bigger.

War Eagle!

Auburn fans loyal even if unhappy

My wife and I are very loyal Auburn fans. Even in the midst of the now-called "rebuilding" with young players, I will still wear my AU cap in public and when I travel. I will be loyal, but that loyalty doesn't mean that I sit by and be happy if things could be better. We were very unhappy with how the team played and how they were coached.

Brandon Cox appears to have not added any capabilities to his game since last season. His play in the Miss State game was not of a six-year senior. Brandon shouldn't have ended the game the way that he did. He shouldn't have thrown the final play to win the game on 4th down by floating a ball across the middle while falling backwards and throwing off of his back foot. Coach Tubberville (CTT) is supposed to use the team to the best of its abilities. After Brandon's poor games with Kansas State and South Florida, Tubberville should have been working hard to get the freshman quarterback ready for the game. Brandon just doesn't seem to recognize the defense and doesn't have the vision and speed to not telegraph his passes.

Either Burns wasn't ready or the coaches didn't get him prepared except for the "change up" option plays for Cox. That mistake is on CTT. Calling what is going on bad or being unhappy doesn't mean that I am disloyal to Auburn. The national media didn't expect this year to be a rebuilding year based on the pre-season ranking. CTT is now talking rebuilding, but he didn't start that way.

We live in a democratic society with mostly-free speech. We are expected to make some noise if we are unhappy. Brandon shouldn't be happy with his play at the end of the game and he shouldn't be surprised by the crowd's response. The booing was a result of fans caring about the game. If they were unconcerned, then they wouldn't cheer or boo. Just like being unhappy with Bush about the direction of the war in Iraq doesn't mean that I am any less patriotic, wanting change and being vocal is not any less loyal to Auburn. When something isn't working, please change course (Bush and Tubberville).

In Seattle both weeks the last 2 weeks, I saw other Auburn fans still wearing their colors like me. All the way across the coast, I can still say "War Eagle!" proudly and we can still talk about mistakes. And, we are still loyal Auburn. Go Tigers! (Florida fans are now popping up everywhere, too.)

Email posting worked

My post from ATL airport worked, but it stayed in draft. One adjustment to the settings and I can fix that. We departed another hour later than adjusted at that point; so 3 hours late overall. It is always very nice to be home and sleep in your own bed and see your family again. Then, we get ready to do it all over again. But, not this week. This week, I will work from home.

Humberto at ATL

Here is my try at blogging away from a BlackBerry. I am sitting in ATL airport for a couple of extra hours like a lot of people tonight.

Humberto didn't stay here long, but it was evidently turbulent enough to stop everything for a while. But, the airport is much more crowded than last week at the same time. Somehow, the people could get here, but the planes to take them somewhere else aren't ready. The logistical challenges of keeping up with the planes, crews, and passengers when this "irregular operations" take place is pretty extraordinary. The system automatically rebooks you according to some magic formula.

If software wasn't there, then the system couldn't work. When software works, then you can scale better to plan these scenarios.

What a difference a week makes. And if I had happened to book the earlier flight home, then I probably wouldn't make it home tonight because that flight was canceled.

Oh, 2 hours late and they have just pushed the flight departure out another half hour. I love flying...