We decided to spend some time away. The Christmas holiday is a perfect time to get away, fewer cars on the roads, lower occupancy at the hotels, and fewer people at the restaurants.
We've always wanted to visit Savannah. We haven't seen the ocean since moving to Georgia. We stayed in Hilton Head Island which is much more picturesque than Savannah. It's about an hour north of Savannah. Since we left on Saturday we thought we at least would stop in at Savannah before going on to Hilton Head.
In Savannah we saw a lot of construction and remodeling. It was raining and on our way to a restaurant we had to find cover in a temporary walkway surrounding of the reconstructed buildings. We drove around the historic district and saw buildings from the 1800s. Savannah was not burned during the Civil War.
The highlight was the brewery we fond along Bay street . Moon River Brewing Company is housed in a hotel built in 1821. We got some fresh German ale brewed on the spot. All ingredients are from Germany. The only thing from Georgia was the water. It was the color of gold wheat at harvest time but it's taste was as fresh as brewed yesterday. For the meal, I ordered the Black & Bleu. The Black and Blue is a burger made form Black Angus beef topped with beau cheese. Huge, piping hot, onion rings came as a side. All cooled down the gullet with the Savannah Fest Ale. Wow! I also tried a sample of the The Captains Porter. If you're in Savannah, check out Moon River Brewing Company and down a pint.
The Hotel Crown Plaza has a 10% occupancy. In spite of that they didn't give us any upgrades although we tried. They attempted to get us to pay another $30 or $50 for a poolside or oceanside view. A 50 dollar a night upgrade charge? Are you kidding me? We got our regularly priced $150 dollar night room for just $60! I'm not spending another $50 for an upgrade. I'm saving up for retirement. The Front Desk clerk told us that "after all these are deep discounted rates." (Ruth got them from www.priceline.com.) She gave us a room on the 3rd floor overlooking the air conditioners on the roof. So we drew the drapes and flicked on the TV.
...dave
My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. -Mark Twain
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
the door is closed
What's it like crashing to the ground from 100,000 feet? Terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.
The project has been halted.
The project budget was $100,000,000 for a single year. That's huge. But it has vanished into thin air. Most of it spent on consultants and contractors, on shore and off.
In one month alone 6.5 million dollars was given to a vendor for software development. And we never installed the software. We canceled the development. The person that wanted the software has left the company.
Of course I get paid even for failed projects. I get paid to draw boxes and lines. I get paid to meet with people. I get paid to get people to agree on ideas, directions, and well, diagrams with boxes and lines. It doesn't matter that the systems those diagrams represent never get installed.
I could argue it's all futile and ask: "What's the point?" and leave. But then, my checks would stop coming and I'd get kind of hungry.
I view the diagrams I've drawn and consensus building I've accomplished as my successful deliverables, regardless of the project result. If it's determined that there is no money to implement the beautiful pictures I create, I think the pictures themselves are still works of art. They hang on the hallway walls and conference rooms just the same.
This project is similar to many others I've been on. We start them, then stop them, then start them again, often under a different name. Like a car that can't get enough gas, we lunge forward, then lag and die out. We start up again, jump forward and within a few feet cough to a stop.
We have named our dog Stay. "Come Stay, come Stay, come Stay."
The contractors have left, others have moved off to other projects. And so all's quiet on this floor. The cubes are empty.
I sometimes hear phones ringing off in the distance. No one answers. An elevator bings but no one is there and the elevator descends empty to the lobby.
The only sound I hear is, my own typing at this keyboard. I'm working on another project but remain here on the top floor, alone with my coffee pot, pens and beautiful diagrams.
...dave
I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
The project has been halted.
The project budget was $100,000,000 for a single year. That's huge. But it has vanished into thin air. Most of it spent on consultants and contractors, on shore and off.
In one month alone 6.5 million dollars was given to a vendor for software development. And we never installed the software. We canceled the development. The person that wanted the software has left the company.
Of course I get paid even for failed projects. I get paid to draw boxes and lines. I get paid to meet with people. I get paid to get people to agree on ideas, directions, and well, diagrams with boxes and lines. It doesn't matter that the systems those diagrams represent never get installed.
I could argue it's all futile and ask: "What's the point?" and leave. But then, my checks would stop coming and I'd get kind of hungry.
I view the diagrams I've drawn and consensus building I've accomplished as my successful deliverables, regardless of the project result. If it's determined that there is no money to implement the beautiful pictures I create, I think the pictures themselves are still works of art. They hang on the hallway walls and conference rooms just the same.
This project is similar to many others I've been on. We start them, then stop them, then start them again, often under a different name. Like a car that can't get enough gas, we lunge forward, then lag and die out. We start up again, jump forward and within a few feet cough to a stop.
We have named our dog Stay. "Come Stay, come Stay, come Stay."
The contractors have left, others have moved off to other projects. And so all's quiet on this floor. The cubes are empty.
I sometimes hear phones ringing off in the distance. No one answers. An elevator bings but no one is there and the elevator descends empty to the lobby.
The only sound I hear is, my own typing at this keyboard. I'm working on another project but remain here on the top floor, alone with my coffee pot, pens and beautiful diagrams.
...dave
I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
moleskine business card hack
Whenever I meet someone, I want to give them a business card. But putting them in the wallet makes them dog eared. So I put a few slices into the stiff first page of my Moleskine and then slip in two corners of my moo cards (business cards from flickr.com) and voila.
...dave
Life is like a grammar lesson. You find the past perfect and the present tense.
Theoretically Related Posts
...dave
Life is like a grammar lesson. You find the past perfect and the present tense.
Theoretically Related Posts
Friday, November 23, 2007
black friday
So here's the thing: I wanted to get a real good deal on a 42" LCD HDTV. All the stores open at crazy times, 5:00 a.m. for example. So I decided I'd rather pay extra and sleep in.
And yet, I could save a great deal of cash, $600 if I could just get up early. My body woke me at 4:00. So I got up, got dressed, and drove to the store. It's about 30 minutes away. Highway 75 was empty. I could actually count the headlights behind me and the taillights in front of me. There were only six cars behind me and eight cars in front of me. It was as if I was the only guy on the road. Highway 75 is a five line Interstate.
If I could get there by the time the doors opened, I could slip in, grab what I wanted, pay, and slip out again. When I drove into the parking lot it looked like a baseball game. A thick line wrapped around the building, down it's side, and back into the darkness. The store's foyer was packed with people. It was 35 degrees outside. Cars were bumper to bumper in the parking lot. I'm not sure why. Maybe some were hoping to drive into the store?
There must have been 200 people waiting to get in. It was 4:55 a.m. Are these people crazy?
I had shaved, dressed, and drove for 30 minutes for this? There is no way. I drove through the crazy drivers in the parking lot idling for the charge and drove back out again.
I drove home alone. No one existed on the highways, roads, or streets. The lights were all green.
I drove up my driveway, put it in park, and walked into my house. I pealed off my clothes, climbed into bed, and dreamt about being richer.
...dave
Why grab possessions like thieves, or divide them like socialists when you can ignore them like wise men? - Author: Natalie Clifford Barney
And yet, I could save a great deal of cash, $600 if I could just get up early. My body woke me at 4:00. So I got up, got dressed, and drove to the store. It's about 30 minutes away. Highway 75 was empty. I could actually count the headlights behind me and the taillights in front of me. There were only six cars behind me and eight cars in front of me. It was as if I was the only guy on the road. Highway 75 is a five line Interstate.
If I could get there by the time the doors opened, I could slip in, grab what I wanted, pay, and slip out again. When I drove into the parking lot it looked like a baseball game. A thick line wrapped around the building, down it's side, and back into the darkness. The store's foyer was packed with people. It was 35 degrees outside. Cars were bumper to bumper in the parking lot. I'm not sure why. Maybe some were hoping to drive into the store?
There must have been 200 people waiting to get in. It was 4:55 a.m. Are these people crazy?
I had shaved, dressed, and drove for 30 minutes for this? There is no way. I drove through the crazy drivers in the parking lot idling for the charge and drove back out again.
I drove home alone. No one existed on the highways, roads, or streets. The lights were all green.
I drove up my driveway, put it in park, and walked into my house. I pealed off my clothes, climbed into bed, and dreamt about being richer.
...dave
Why grab possessions like thieves, or divide them like socialists when you can ignore them like wise men? - Author: Natalie Clifford Barney
Friday, November 16, 2007
sweat pants
Ink and wash. After the sketch and after the journaling I decided to wash with watercolor pencils. I've never used these before but decided to give it a try.
I bought only grey watercolor pencils. I only wanted to color the contours of the pant material to give it depth. I then washed over it with pure water. I'm pleased with the result. The pants even have that soft, comfortable look that only sweat pants have. It came out looking fairly real.
And so that's all I know about color pencils.
...dave
When I fly I always fly first class. Not the whole way but just 'til they kick me out. -Pauly Shore
I bought only grey watercolor pencils. I only wanted to color the contours of the pant material to give it depth. I then washed over it with pure water. I'm pleased with the result. The pants even have that soft, comfortable look that only sweat pants have. It came out looking fairly real.
And so that's all I know about color pencils.
...dave
When I fly I always fly first class. Not the whole way but just 'til they kick me out. -Pauly Shore
Thursday, November 15, 2007
breakfast
Sometimes I get up at 5:00 a.m. I don't know why my body does this to me. I just take advantage and have breakfast at home.
This morning I had bite-sized shredded wheat. There were a few squares left over after so I decided to draw my bowl, spoon and the cereal.
It's strange this drawing phase I'm going through. When I draw I lose track of time. In just a few minutes it was time to rush off to work. I leave at 6:18. No earlier. No later.
I like sketching facing pages like this. It gives me a chance to do an initial sketch and then enhance it the next day. Or if I don't get a chance to to sketch a day, the next day I can catch up.
I really like the combination of sketching and journaling. Words and images appeal to me somehow. I'm not sure why.
I've done a few washes over the ink but always come back to pure black and white. I'm sort of a binary kind of guy I guess. Maybe it's somehow connected to my tech background?
I'll post a wash tomorrow to give an idea of what appeals to me if I I'm not feeling strictly binary.
Until tomorrow.
...dave
If you're supposed to live each day as if it was your last, when are you supposed to do laundry?
This morning I had bite-sized shredded wheat. There were a few squares left over after so I decided to draw my bowl, spoon and the cereal.
It's strange this drawing phase I'm going through. When I draw I lose track of time. In just a few minutes it was time to rush off to work. I leave at 6:18. No earlier. No later.
I like sketching facing pages like this. It gives me a chance to do an initial sketch and then enhance it the next day. Or if I don't get a chance to to sketch a day, the next day I can catch up.
I really like the combination of sketching and journaling. Words and images appeal to me somehow. I'm not sure why.
I've done a few washes over the ink but always come back to pure black and white. I'm sort of a binary kind of guy I guess. Maybe it's somehow connected to my tech background?
I'll post a wash tomorrow to give an idea of what appeals to me if I I'm not feeling strictly binary.
Until tomorrow.
...dave
If you're supposed to live each day as if it was your last, when are you supposed to do laundry?
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Remotes
Why does my remote have 40 buttons on it? 40! What are they all for? I use only four buttons.
The problem I have is that while watching TV in the dark I can't find MUTE, or FAST-FORWARD so I keep hitting the wrong button. They are very close together. They are very small. I need to select them with a pencil point. I use my fingernail. It would be helpful if the buttons lit up at night.
My TV remove has glow-in-the-dark buttons. If I put it under the light before turning it off, it's easy to see the buttons. I wish my satellite remote was like that.
And the buttons have inconsistent shapes. They are not all raised. Some are indented, some are rocker style, others are flat. Why?
If they were all the same size and shape my fingers could count the bumps as they glide across them. But now they scrape along, hit a dip, and press the change channel. Rats, how do I go back? Where's the previous-station button? I can't find it in the dark. I turn on the light and press another button. It doesn't work. Instead it pauses the show. So now I'm paused at a show I don't want to watch.
If they can send a man to the moon, build a space station 220 miles from earth, and take pictures of the Titanic 12,500 feet underwater, why can't they design a simple remote?
Mine would have four buttons.
I think I'll go outside and do something that doesn't require a remote.
...dave
Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards. - Fred Hoyle
The problem I have is that while watching TV in the dark I can't find MUTE, or FAST-FORWARD so I keep hitting the wrong button. They are very close together. They are very small. I need to select them with a pencil point. I use my fingernail. It would be helpful if the buttons lit up at night.
My TV remove has glow-in-the-dark buttons. If I put it under the light before turning it off, it's easy to see the buttons. I wish my satellite remote was like that.
And the buttons have inconsistent shapes. They are not all raised. Some are indented, some are rocker style, others are flat. Why?
If they were all the same size and shape my fingers could count the bumps as they glide across them. But now they scrape along, hit a dip, and press the change channel. Rats, how do I go back? Where's the previous-station button? I can't find it in the dark. I turn on the light and press another button. It doesn't work. Instead it pauses the show. So now I'm paused at a show I don't want to watch.
If they can send a man to the moon, build a space station 220 miles from earth, and take pictures of the Titanic 12,500 feet underwater, why can't they design a simple remote?
Mine would have four buttons.
I think I'll go outside and do something that doesn't require a remote.
...dave
Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards. - Fred Hoyle
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