Monday, June 25, 2007
Check out what's up with Darren
In case you haven't noticed the new blogroll item, check out the blog of my friend and amazing power lifter, Darren Mallette.
Darren is really cool not only because he's a top notch professional who knows his work inside and out. He's also really cool because he's a competing power lifter and "strong man" who beats guys who outweigh him by 150 lbs. That's amazing and illustrates the power of a superior intellect over a purely brawn-based strategy to winning strong man competitions. Rock on, Darren!
Darren is really cool not only because he's a top notch professional who knows his work inside and out. He's also really cool because he's a competing power lifter and "strong man" who beats guys who outweigh him by 150 lbs. That's amazing and illustrates the power of a superior intellect over a purely brawn-based strategy to winning strong man competitions. Rock on, Darren!
Labels: Experiences
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Ok, this just makes me mad!
I'm not saying that the federal government has to solve or salve every problem of the common man. But I do believe that the federal government should tackle problems that are far bigger and more societal in nature. Taking the "head in the sand" approach never made anything better for anyone. See below for the source of my current feelings of scorn:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15148655/the_secret_campaign_of_president_bushs_administration_to_deny_global_warming
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15148655/the_secret_campaign_of_president_bushs_administration_to_deny_global_warming
Labels: Thoughts
Now that's a back rub!
I took Katie Jo to the doctor and then to Walgreen's for a perscription. As we waited on the Rx, KJ took advantage of the opportunity to use the demo back rub station they installed near the pharmacy. For some reason, I thought she looked hilarious, so I snapped a photo of her:
Later in the week, she was playing with Anna Lynn and her friends Kaylee and Savanna. The conversation was also grin-inspiring:
Savanna: I'm the Queen of England.
Kaylee: Well, I'm the Queen of Sweden!
Anna Lynn: Oh yeah? Well, I'm the Empress of Japan.
Katie Jo: Ok, then I'm the Queen of Kentucky!
I just had to laugh!
Cheers,
-Kev
Labels: Kids
Friday, June 08, 2007
I Dreampt of Odysseus' Return...
A favorite passage from Robert Fitzgerald's translation of the Odyssey.
...
Now from his breast into his eyes the ache
of longing mounted, and he wept at last,
his dear wife, clear and faithful, in his arms,
longed for as the sunwarmed earth is longed for by a swimmer
spent in rough water where his ship went down
under Poseidon's blows, gale winds and tons of sea.
Few men can keep alive through a big surf
to crawl, clotted with brine, on kindly beaches
in joy, in joy, knowing the abyss behind:
and so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband,
her white arms round him pressed as though forever.
...
...
Now from his breast into his eyes the ache
of longing mounted, and he wept at last,
his dear wife, clear and faithful, in his arms,
longed for as the sunwarmed earth is longed for by a swimmer
spent in rough water where his ship went down
under Poseidon's blows, gale winds and tons of sea.
Few men can keep alive through a big surf
to crawl, clotted with brine, on kindly beaches
in joy, in joy, knowing the abyss behind:
and so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband,
her white arms round him pressed as though forever.
...
Labels: Experiences
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Like Greeks at the Gates of Troy
Odysseus is one of my heroes. He was a mighty warrior and a brave leader, but he was most famous among the Greeks for being their smartest warrior. Odysseus was the epitome of arete, the Greek honor code of excellence (of the same ilk as chivalry to the knights of late medieval Europe or bushido to the samurai of the Shogunate era) because he embodied not just the coarser aspects of warrior excellence but also the quieter virtues such as intelligence, self-restraint, creativity, loyalty, and wisdom.It was Odysseus who came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse. It was he alone who lived to hear the siren's song. And it was he defeated the cyclops through clever trickery, rather than strength at arms like Heracles would've.
So when I came to the grounds of the Orlando Civic Center, I'm not exactly sure why, but my
thoughts went to Odysseus. I felt, I dunno, maybe a sense of deja vu for what he must've felt, camped with the Greek armies at the gates of Troy. He didn't want to be there, but he went for loyalty to his people. Ithaca, his home, wasn't a huge or powerful kingdom. But it was respected and it did its part in the war against Troy. (There's my little island, Ithaca, in the picture on the right.) He knew through portents that it would be a long journey and a long time returning. And he served with excellence and intelligence. That's my goal.Cheers,
-kev
Labels: Experiences, Travel
Monday, June 04, 2007
Another TechEd
TechEd is Microsoft's largest conference of the year. This year it's in Orlando and has about 13,000 attendees. I'll be speaking on Wednesday afternoon on "SQL Server Performance Benchmarking & Monitoring". Doesn't that sound like the most interesting thing you've ever heard of? One of the things that I do indeed enjoy about TechEd is that I get to catch up with a number of friends who I only seem to see at the big conferences.There are times when I'm really excited about travel. It had better be, since it's such a big part of my job. Lately, though, it's all I can do to keep up the pace. I'm totally burnt out on travel. Every trip seems to leave me feeling more threadbare and drained.
Here's an illustration of what I mean. Look at this picture in the upper right corner. Can you tell where in the world I'm at? Hell no, you can't. No imagine seemingly endless days of that. Exhausting!
On the other hand, I did get to go to Montreal a couple weeks ago to meet up with my colleagues on the PASS board of directors. It's always good to see these folks and catch up. Of course, visiting time didn't last long because we had a lot of PASS business to conduct. But it was a nice visit, all things considered.Cheers,
-Kev
Labels: PASS, Thoughts, Travel
