Crisp Weather Clears the Air

Ice on the pond water - yeah I emptied it already, but record breaking rainfalls have refilled it and cold weather has crusted it up. Yesterday it melted by mid day, today, in spite of a few degrees on the positive side the ice has remained all day.

I anticipate a slight warming trend for the week,and so I'll have to bring the pump out again and drain it yet again.

With the cold air comes increasing clarity. Remember P2 pursuit? (see projects list at the left, by the way, if you're wondering) Well, yet another interview, this one with an HR person for the number 3 company I've been talking to. No offer yet, and though the HR lady put on a brave face about some interviews still going on etc., I get the sense that the hiring director just found me, wanted to hire me almost without an interview and has told HR go ahead with it. So we talked about background stuff, I projected some platitudes and philosophical observances of the industry. We got onto salaries, benefits etc, and I even prodded a bit on holidays (the 3wks to start is fine with me) willingly receiving lack of negotiability, and options (extracted admission of negotiability). The latter is best reinforced by not pushing on the former, creating a sense of reasonableness.

Anyway, I'll take almost anything for the opportunity to work on this project which at least seems interesting with good growth opportunity. It may well turn out to be different, but with a good paycheck rolling in for a while, I can put up with almost anything and at worst I can continue looking from the comfort of a paying job.

Carpenter Bob Reports
I finished the hall table. A spiffy little number with three drawers and a tippy bin for hats and mitts etc. It's quite narrow, providing more clearance than the old one. Not sure if the colour is right - white sail - but for now we'll live with it. I think a more antiquey white might be better. We've considered distressing a bit, but I'm not sure I'm up for that look. Could sand into the wood then rub some stain in and clearcoat perhaps. We've painted our cherry mirror to match as well - it's looking pretty good. Let's see how it goes for now.

Other Project Wrap Up
Whew, some other projects could use an update. Lets scan thorugh the list.

P12 - I'm doing pretty good with avoiding procrastination. Getting things like this carpetry done is a good sign.

P11 - made contact with a chap who's father wrote home from the war and mentioned my famous great uncle somewhat. Nice fellow - perhaps rather on in years. But the notes have been fantastic. I've done lots of archival research and the results are mostly pretty dry. Seeing records of casual interactions is so interesting. What a great contact.

P8 - My SO made one of the worlds best dishes again. Morrocan lamb and sweet potato casserole. It's a lot like a tajine dish. Spinach, sweet potato, rich sauce with prunes and cranberries. A yummy concoction. We've noticed a new Ethiopian restaurant has opened another good food opportunity we hope.

P5 - Still working through Future Shock, by Alvin Toffler. It's an entertaining read from a stylistic point of view, a personality point of view (Toffler, and to an extent his generation), and a futurist point of view. To address each of these, the style is funny in that it's got a real grouchy old man undertone. "Things are changing, and I don't like it, dammit." The late 60's sensibility is funny. The shock at things which are so commonplace now is great, and the futurist read of these is quite enlightening. Comments about how there are rental car places at many airports, and even in Europe you can rent cars at some airports now, he exclaims. Similar comments about how there are many brands of things like shaving products and detergents is also entertaining.

The premise regarding brand proliferation was that there were getting to be so many consumer choices that just picking something was going to be a big chore in the future. Choosing a car, to paraphrase one rant, was getting to be something you might have to consider for a whole day. The number of options and models is amazing. Again, there was that undertone of "This is new, and I don't like it!"

So you can imagine the element of Toffler's personality being an entertaining one. He's got a bit of a Grandpa Simpson vibe going there. The futurist element is interesting, because during this era the 'year 2000' was so far in the future that it was still held up as a distant robot-maid and flying car era. So I read this sort of book explicitly for such perspectives. There are many of them, so I'll leave you to read and get the enjoyment of finding them. One future vision element was how school curricula was evoloving away from the old rigid teaching approaches. His extrapolation was that with this evolution, by 2000 children will be learning at home from big computer-controlled information databases. Insightful for 1969, but like most futurists, the fundamental element of the Internet that was missed is its characteristic grass-roots quality. Anyone who got close to forseeing its emergence foresaw it as a big government or corporately created and managed service. No one foresaw free, ubiquitous, massive and broadly heterogeneous (in terms of accuracy, quality, and content).

Just of half way through, but enjoying it in spite of it's quirky style. The author has a funny and slightly creepy way of injecting a bit of sexuality here and there. Rather than seeming broad-minded, edgey or jocular, it's got a bit of a dirty-old-man feel to how it shows up. As each topic is treated I find myself waiting for the slightly seedy mention of how new sexual proclivities fit in. Rarely more than a word or two, but entertaining none the less.

P13 - language study has been a bit lax. Looked at a bit of Japanese yesterday. I haven't lost the kana recognition (though katakana has probably weaked somewhat... damn that "so" and "n" differentiation) but the kanji learning still hasn't been addressed. Plus I need some good Furigana sources. Wish I could find a whole novel with furigana to decode.

P4 - My walking has been poor with all this rain. A few nice days, though crisp, so I've been out for a brief walk two days in a row. Today I even let myself have a do-nothing moment or two by popping into a Bridgehead for a pot of tea and to read a paper!

Wrap
Well, let's not get too wordy here. That's a wrap for today. Biggest issue remains P2 closure. If it' goes south now, it will be a big let down. All the signs of have been positive, and I should know by the end of the week, but we'll see. Fingers crossed, positive thinking.

Heck, that's my assignment for you, dear reader, for today. With every ounce of effort you can muster, try to wear a smile and be overtly positive for the rest of the day. That's some number less than 24 hours depending on when you read this. Can you do it? How often do you say something negative? Challenge yourself and see if you can make it. A few hours out of your life, is it really an insurmountable challenge? Let me know how it goes.