Turkey Day '08

Ah yes - Thanksgiving...a day in which Americans eat way too much and then complain about all of the food they've eaten.

At least, to many 'observers' that is exactly what it is. And to be fair, there are a lot of people who treat it just so. In reality, it is much more than that. Oh sure, we Americans can come off as being arrogant, self-righteous, etc., etc....and we do at times. But then again, we are also a very generous people. When disasters strike all over the world, who gives time, money, food, clothes, man-power, and other things to help out? Americans. Not that I'm trying to belittle other countries, as there are several other countries that help out too, but by and large it's America that gives the most. Literally billions and billions of dollars each year. And yet, we're still perceived as selfish, arrogant, self-righteous, etc. by many other countries, even our "allies".

But I digress...

For me and my family, we of course try and get together and not only enjoy each others' company (yes, it's true - I like my family...at least, most of the time), but we also thank God for all that He has done for our family - we are truly blessed. Not necessarily monetarily speaking (seems like I'm the most 'fluid' of the family), but money isn't everything. And those who think it is need to get their priorities straight - no wonder you're having problems in your life.

But I digress...again...

It's my opinion that everyone has something to be thankful for. We tend to focus on the current negatives that we are experiencing, but I am willing to bet that if one really, really thought about it, they could find one thing to be thankful. To loosely quote "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (the original BBC series, though it's probably in the book as well, though I don't know for certain because i haven't read it yet [it's on my list...I swear], but I digress once again...) because I can't remember the real quote, "If you're trapped under a rock with absolutely no hope of rescue and your life hasn't been all that wonderful, just be thankful that your miserable life is about to end."

So you see, there is always something to be thankful about.

Veteran's Day '08

This will not be a long post, but I did want to put something up in honor of Veteran's Day.

If you didn't know, I am a supporter of our men and women in uniform. Unlike other countries (Russia, for example), we do not have mandatory military service - we have a 100% voluntary military (yes, occasionally we have a draft, but we've not had a draft for more than 30 years). The men and women who are currently in our military are there because they volunteered to be there.

So 'hats off' to those who serve. Know that you are appreciated by at least one red-blooded American (though take my word for it, there are a lot of us). Thank-you for your service.

Sorry Miss Hcatty...

Well, ok...so I missed an entire month. Guess Miss Hcatty's 'mandate' that I post at least 5 words a month has been broken. Oops. Oh well, like she's one to complain about me not posting (Hello, Kettle? It's Pot...)...

I'm sure I could find a plausible (and true) excuse for not posting last month, but what does it matter? It's not like it would be something 'exciting' like we had a tornado that knocked-out power for 31 days (which we didn't). I mean, if it were something absolutely impossible like Sandra Bullock showing up on my front door insisting that she take me away for a 31-day 'vacation', that would be one thing.

But of course, it's nothing even remotely like that.

So no excuses here...for now anyway.

*****

I'm down in Arcata, CA for my last scheduled start-up this year. Things are not going well. I show up on Wednesday, expecting (well, hoping, really) for them to be ready for me and of course they weren't. They should have been done by end of day, but they weren't. They should have been done by Noon on Thursday, but they weren't. They should have been done by end of day Thursday, but they weren't.

I finally got to start the stuff I needed to do Friday, mid-morning. Unfortunately, we discovered that our Operator Interface Terminal (OIT) "touchscreen" was 'dead'. So I jump on the phone right away to get a replacement - and managed to scramble one up to be delivered the next day, Saturday (today). Then in the afternoon, I discovered that some of the components used in our control panel are the wrong type and aren't working. So once again I scramble to get replacements shipped out for delivery the next day (today).

Unfortunately, although the parts DID arrive today, they were the wrong parts, so I can't finish what I need to do to get things up and running until I get the right parts, which probably won't happen until Tuesday, unless I can find a local distributor with sufficient stock that I can pick up on Monday.

Which is unlikely.

So, instead of being able to leave Tuesday morning to head back home, I will most likely be delayed at least two days. Of course, the upside is that if I do get delayed and don't head back home until Thursday, I won't go into the office on Friday.

I'd still rather be heading home on Tuesday...

*****

STARTUP UPDATE...

Sadly, the parts I was waiting for didn't arrive Tuesday...the UPS plane broke-down in Dallas-Fort Worth. Still, they were shipped "overnight, early morning" delivery - you'd think they would have more than ONE FREAKIN' PLANE in D-FW...

Apparently not.

So they didn't arrive until yesterday (Wednesday) morning, which means I couldn't finish up what I needed to do until yesterday, which means that my departure was delayed again.

THEN I couldn't do any of the testing I needed to do because for some reason the guys working on the ducting didn't want to have the possibility of being sucked-up through the system (we have some really big fans on this project). That and there were some problems last night. But finally got to 'finish' testing today (we delayed the duct workers so I could test), but I still need to run and test when they are finished with the duct work. Which was supposed to be today, but probably won't be until end of day Friday, which means that my departure got delayed...yet again.

I should be headed home Saturday...