Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

Junior Achievement City – BizTown

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Tuesday – 09 November 2021
Today, I had the opportunity to volunteer/chaperone for Team DiVa’s class, as they participated in the Junior Achievement City “BizTown.”

JA BizTown combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town. This popular program allows elementary school students to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for mayor. The program helps students connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.

There was an additional bonus: The girls had NO IDEA that I’d be there.

That was a definite #win.

Both ladies were the CEOs of their respective businesses:

I didn’t work with either of the ladies. I was assigned as a volunteer in City Hall. I worked with the Mayor (CEO), Town Treasurer (CFO), Attorney, Two Account Executives, and a DJ.

Twenty businesses were represented, ranging from retail, food services, utilities, a school district, news and television outlets, and even sports. Each business started the day by taking out a loan from one of the two banks; kids were then responsible for making sure that their businesses made money, paid payroll, created and/or paid invoices, and more. Businesses could also create ads to run on the radio or television – which created revenue for the media outlets and hopefully turned into awareness – and sales – for the business featured in the ad.

The morning opened with an opening meeting and remarks from the Mayor, along with speeches from a few of the business’ CEOs. Diana, gave one of the opening speeches.

Diana’s Opening CEO Speech

One of the things that I wasn’t aware of until the day was over: She didn’t have a script for her speech. (There WAS a script for her speech, but her volunteers didn’t tell her to bring it. *facepalm*) She ad-libbed her entire opening, based on things she heard from some of the CEOs who spoke before her! She was so calm and cool about it that I – and I’m sure no one else, aside from possibly the JA staff – had no idea that she was going completely off-the-cuff with her remarks.

After the speeches, it was off to the proverbial races!

At first, it was a little like herding cats – this was largely due to the amped-up energy of the kids, trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. (As volunteers, we were there to support and guide, not to do the jobs for them.) Some things were done “a little” out of order. Some things got overlooked, until someone realized that something was missing. But, after a while, they got the hang of things and the day, while hectic and a bit frenetic, moved along nicely.

The day ended with a closing meeting, during which Vanessa gave one of the CEO speeches.

Vanessa’s CEO Closing Speech

In all, it was a great event and I was glad to have been part of it. I was also incredibly proud of not only the ladies, but also of the City Hall employees and how well they did.

We Didn’t Start the Fire…

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Saturday – 30 May 2020
This has been a trying, frustrating, and mentally taxing week, to put it very mildly.

The fuse is lit…

In the space of less than seven (7) days, we’ve seen:

  • A White woman use her perceived privilege to call the police threaten Christian Cooper, a Black man.


    Picture (c) ABC News

    There’s a part of me that wants to grossly oversimplify this and call her “The Ultimate Karen,” but I don’t for two reasons:
    1. I have friends and family members whom I love and respect named “Karen,” and
    2. Her actions show an implicit and smug belief in the misconception that she could rely on her “privilege” to cause harm to a person of color and I don’t want a cute name to gloss over that.
  • We’ve also seen the death of an unarmed and handcuffed black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a police officer.

    Picture (c) The New York Times

    (New footage has shown that it was actually three officers, but the number doesn’t really matter.) Additionally, the subject of the investigation basically had a 48-hour free pass before being arrested and charged… with third-degree murder:

…a category of murder defined in the laws of three states in the United States: Florida, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.

Depending on the state, third-degree murder may include felony murder regardless of the underlying felony, felony murder only where the underlying felony is non-violent, or depraved-heart murder. It is punishable by a maximum of 40 years imprisonment in Florida (in the case of a violent career criminal) and Pennsylvania, and 25 years imprisonment in Minnesota.

source: Wikipedia


Third degree murder can be defined as homicide committed with the intention of causing bodily harm, but not necessarily death. It can be a killing that results from indifference or negligence or recklessness. Statutes defining third degree murder vary considerably from state to state. In California murders are classified into two- first degree and second degree.

Example of a State statute defining Third degree murder

Minn. Stat. § 609.195 MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE

(a) Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years.

(b) Whoever, without intent to cause death, proximately causes the death of a human being by, directly or indirectly, unlawfully selling, giving away, bartering, delivering, exchanging, distributing, or administering a controlled substance classified in schedule I or II, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $40,000, or both.

source: US Legal

It’s sad, no… that’s not strong enough. It’s disheartening to think – let alone SEE – that after 60 years of progress, this country only seems interested in not even maintaining a “status quo,” but in taking steps backwards. Leaps backwards in some cases.

And I am tired of seeing men, yes Black men in particular – who have not resisted arrest, who have not acted in threatening manner, whose apparent only “crime” in many (but not all) cases was the color of their skin – die at the hands of those sworn to uphold the law… and then be summarily dismissed as “thugs” and “animals.”

The Powder Keg Explodes

Not surprisingly, in the wake of these events, protests have sprung up across the country. Some peaceful, some far less so. But, what are people to do when, for decades, they have been systemically and consistently ignored when they try to work within the channels that are supposed to be the gateways to their voices being heard?

Let me be very clear: I am not advocating violence and/or the destruction of property, but I do understand the emotional eruption and need for some kind of outlet. This is not the first time that we’ve seen this kind of reaction boil over in the wake of injustice. Unfortunately, I am sure that it won’t be the last time, either.

Taking a Deep Breath

What I would like to know is: How we can come together, not as Black or White, Native, Hispanic or Asian, but as Americans? Is that even possible? It that an aspiration that everyone – or anyone, for that matter – still hope to achieve?

I hope so.

…because now, I have to figure out a way to talk about this with my kids. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to, because I love the innocence that being young affords them. By the same token, they need to know – even if at a very basic level – that there are people in the world who would harm them just because of the color of their skin or, due to some misguided notion, simply because they think they can.

As an aside, I had a team meeting yesterday in which the subject of the protests in Minneapolis came up. One of my coworkers – and his family – lives less than five minutes from the area where the protests were happening. He’s not Black, but he is a person of color.

This is not just a news story for him; it’s very real and VERY close.

My team and I, after making sure that he and his family were safe, discussed what was happening and what led to people’s reaction. I appreciated their candor and was able to provide a perspective that none of them had. It may not have been much, in the grand scheme of things, but I like to think that I helped them consider a viewpoint outside their own.

Parting Thoughts as the Smoke Clears

Here are some things (the bold text contains links) I’ve found or been shown over the past few days that I feel are worth seeing/watching:

Be well. Stay strong. Stay safe.

Memorial Day 2019

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Monday – 27 May 2019
Today is Memorial Day in the U.S.

Here are a couple more tidbits of Food for Thought for the day, with a big tip of the hat to my cousin, Vivicca Whitsett, for pointing them out:

 

Vote

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Monday – 08 October 2018
Today is the holiday-formerly-known-as-Columbus-Day Indigenous Peoples Day.
There are just under 30 days until midterm elections in the United States.
There are 325.7 million people in the United States.
There were 245.5 registered voters in the United States, as of November 2016.
Are you one of them?

If you are not registered, there’s still time.
Do you need assistance to get to a registration location? Ask a family or friend to take you or to go with you to register, as well.

I don’t care political affiliation you claim.
I don’t care for whom you vote.
What I care about is you using your right to vote to make your voice heard.

Register. Vote.

“If the future’s looking dark, we’re the ones who have to shine…”

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Saturday – 30 June 2018

Today was a “Divide and Conquer” kind of day. Sara took Team DiVa to their swim class, while I represented the family at Salt Lake’s “Families Belong Together” rally.

I got there a too late to march with the other event-goers, but I was there. It would be good if our elected officials actually listened to – and acted upon – Vox Populi, and not just to the talking heads of their respective parties.

That brings up a side note: I’ve recently noticed a fair number of posts going around that say something to the effect of “Neither religion nor politics have ever been a reason to turn my back on a friend.” Isn’t part of the reason that we choose people to be in our circles because they not only share some of our views and perspectives… but also because the have differing ones, as well? What happened to the ability to “agree to disagree?” Or even the seemingly simple ability to have discourse without it devolving into arguments or outrage?

It seems to me
As well make our own few circles ’round the block
We’ve lost our senses
For the higher-level static of talk
“Dog Years,” by Rush (from the album Test For Echo)

After that, I headed to Koko Kitchen to pick up some lunch. I love that place and don’t get there nearly often enough. Back in the car and on to Watchtower Cafe to pick up some liquid motivation. I chatted with Tui a bit about next week’s Salt Lake Gaming Con (Are you going?!) and some of the goings-on there. I’m looking forward to attending.

Back in the driver’s seat and (finally) headed home. Sara and the girls were working on an assemble-and-paint model of the solar system. When they’d finished, Diana and I talked about the planets and their orbits… which turned into us asking our Echo about the orbital periods (new phrase for D) of the various planets.

We all enjoyed some downtime and then headed to one of the local libraries and parks. I was thwarted in my attempt to acquire delicious confections from C. Kay Cummings (Curses, foiled again!), as they closed about 20 minutes before we got there. *shakes fist* I poked my head into Dr. Volt’s Comic Connection, but decided that I didn’t need anything today. From there, it was off to dinner.

Post-dinner, I “needed” to stop at one of the local Michael’s. I picked up some props and accessories for Action Figure Theatre. (What?! I put “needed” in quotes. Get off my case!) It’s fun when I go to an arts and crafts store and go to check out with miniatures, because I often get an odd look, raised eyebrow, or even a direct “What are you making with these?” When I explain how they will be put to use, the quizzical expressions usually turn into wide, surprised smiles or laughter. Totally worth it.

One of the books I picked up at the library was a “How to Draw Animals” book for the girls. V picked it up first, but D was the first one to actually put it to use. In the half-ish hour she had before bed for free time, she busted out nine or ten pictures. And, they were good. Really good, especially for first shots. V, not to be outdone, drew a quick picture right before bedtime, which was also very good.

Later? Who knows….? Possibly a movie. Possibly some Overwatch or some other game.

Stray Toasters

  • Today’s rally reminded me of something my father gave me years ago. And gave me an idea. We’ll see where this goes.
  • I listened to a lot of Prince yesterday. I regret nothing.
  • Bruce Banner could have used one of these: The Belt That Protects Against Gamma Radiation
  • Tin Machine
  • Salt Lake City’s fireworks laws have been recently updated/amended. There’s a period of a few days around July Fourth and Pioneer Day that are designated as legal to shoot off fireworks. Someone needs to tell the people a couple streets over.  *grblsnrkx*
  • I didn’t realize how anxious and excited I am for City of Titans to (finally) drop until talking with a friend about some of my old City of Heroes and City of Villains characters last night.

.eof

Back on the block

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Saturday- 24 February 2018

I’ve been (somewhat) trying to write a post for a month now. Seriously. There have been fits and starts, but no finished product… until now. It’s strange to think that this is my first blog post (on here, at least) this year. But, here it is.

Today has been a good day. It snowed last night. It’s as if Mother Nature finally decided to remind people that “Yes, this is still Winter and I still have a few tricks up my sleeve,” and do it all in one week:

Oh, y’all wanted to call me out for not giving you any snow this winter?

BLAOW!

How ya like me now?

Said snow contributed to our decision to not venture out to Team DiVa’s swim class and, thus, gave all of us some prime sleeping-in time. Selah.

Next up: Ballet class for the ladies. Sara and I had supplemental breakfast and coffee while the girls were in class. From there, we headed down to Draper to catch an encore presentation of Mary and the Witches’ Flower. We’d wanted to see this a month ago, but it sold out rather quickly. Eagle-eyed Sara saw something a couple of weeks ago which noted another showing; we decided to make a family movie adventure out of it. The movie was quite cute and had a couple of take-away lessons. Even more importantly: Team DiVa liked it.

Next, back home for a hot minute so I could get my car and head off to record “a very special episode…” of Geekshow Podcast with Jay Whitaker (1, 2), Kiki Furia, Kari Keone, Dr. Paul White, and Stephan Watson, with Kerry Jackson as our host and moderator. The episode was about Black Panther and will be out Monday. NOTE: It’s heavily spoiler-laden and not exactly safe for work. You have been warned.

Now, I just need to finish this morning’s greatly-belated Instagram #morningcoffee post and all will be well with the world.

Stray Toasters

Out.

Saturday Night Musings

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Saturday – 28 January 2017
Happy Chinese New Year!

Another week comes to a close. Between being sick earlier in the week, having a vmware host decide to go on break – and take a few servers with it – in the middle of a workday, and the political shenanigans that have been going on here in the U.S., I can honestly say that I’m glad to have it in the rear-view mirror (or back-up camera, for some of you).

This isn’t to say that the week hasn’t been without its bright spots. Thankfully, there have been a few.

Stray Toasters

And that’s all for now.

Namaste.

Life in Black, White, and Blue

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Thursday – 07 July 2016
I usually denote Thursdays as being “No Bad News Thursday.” Today is not one of them. The news – and social media – are full of nothing but bad news today.

Quite frankly, it’s been wearying. A heavy, ponderous weight that even Atlas would be hard pressed to bear.

Before I go further, I want to state the following:

  • This may not be pleasant for some to read. I refuse to apologize for that.
  • If you have something you would care to address about something I have written, do so.
  • I have friends and family members – black and white – in law enforcement and military. I respect the job that they do. It is no small undertaking to go to work and not know, with absolute certainty, that it won’t be the last time you come home. The last time you see your family. The last time you kiss your spouse. The last time you hug your kids. The last time… for everything. Yet, they suit up, walk out the door, and put their lives on the line to protect the peace and safety we hold dear. Every day.
  • There are problems with our system. The words “The land of the free and the home of the brave” appear to mean different things for different people. That’s ironic and unfortunate in a country that was founded on the principle that “All men are created equal.” Yes, that was by mid-18th Century standards, but the meaning and the intent were clear… even if it took another 100+ years to (mostly) fulfill that promise/premise.

With those things stated, let’s begin.

I am a man in my mid-40s.
I am a Black man in my mid-40s.
I am a Black man in my mid-40s, with a wife and two children.
I am a Black man in my mid-40s, with a White wife and two biracial children.
I am a Black man in my mid-40s, with a White wife and two biracial children, living in America.

These are truths and the facts of my life.

I woke this morning to learn that another Black male had been killed by a member of their local police department. This occurred less than forty-eight (48) hours after another man, hundreds of miles away, suffered the same fate. There names were: Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. To borrow a line from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine:

“No, they’re not just names. We must remember that.”

These were men. Men with lives and families. Men who were promised, by the founding fathers of this country, the right to “…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This is a promise that failed them. Lives and liberty cut short. The pursuit of happiness unfulfilled.

I do not live in either location where these tragedies happened and the only “eyewitnesses” I have are the video footage from bystanders of the incidents and the news media. According to what I’ve read and seen, both of these men were minding their respective business – one selling CDs outside a neighborhood store, one on his way home from the grocery store.

As I stated above, I have family and friends who wear the uniforms of peacekeepers. They chose to undertake a job that puts them at risk. The essence of their jobs can be distilled to this: They put themselves in harm’s way – on a daily basis – so that we can feel safe. So that we can be safe.

That’s not my job. Distilled to its essence, my job is to push buttons and see to it that computers work. It could also be extrapolated that my “other job,” that of parent and caregiver, is to ensure that my children have a safe and loving environment in which they can grow and flourish.

As a Black man in America, I am subject to a level of suspicion and scrutiny that my friends who are not “persons of color” are not. Yet for a difference that is, literally, skin deep, that scrutiny can often be taken to the level of “guilty until proven innocent,” a gross perversion of the law. My mother and mother-in-law had a “conversation” on social media earlier today, during which my mother expressed the following sentiment at one point:

Rob is my first born…I love him more than words can express. I continually pray for his safety/well-being.

When I read that, it nearly brought me to tears. My mother worries – genuinely worries – about me and forces beyond our control. Because, she too watches the news and sees the too-often unnecessary deaths of men my age and/or younger. Snuffed out for no apparent reason beyond the abusive use of power.

Any loss of life, especially for senseless reasons, is heinous. Just because I am Black, does that mean that my life, hopes, and dreams are worth less than someone else’s? No. But, looking at the news and social media today, I’d be hard pressed to find proof to bear that out. According to this article and this article, as of July 5th, since the beginning of 2016, at least 532 people have been killed by the police and as of this morning, 136 of those were Black. For the record, July 7th is the 188th day of the year. That means that a Black person has been killed almost daily by police since the year began. The Guardian provides an interactive database of statistics of “People killed by the police in the US” that can be found here.

Going by the Guardian’s count, 261 white people were killed by police — the highest total out of any racial group. But data also shows that black people and Native Americans are being killed at higher rates than any other group. – ThinkProgress

Let me note that I in no way mean to diminish their deaths or the deaths of anyone of any other ethnic background. I sympathize for their families and loved ones. But, theirs isn’t my paradigm.

I spent a portion of this afternoon talking with a friend who works as civilian support staff for a police department. She said that she feels like:

…I’m caught between defending the good cops and defending “offenders” to the not so good cops.

and

I’ve found myself realizing that we haven’t progressed as a society, and these shootings are not isolated incidents. It scares the hell out of me. And I don’t know where to start to fix/help.

What needs to happen? Change. What form should that change take? I don’t know. But, I would love to see the hatred and fear that separate us and seem to be driving us farther apart transformed into something that can strengthen and forge us into something far better than we’ve seen in far too long. And I would like to see accountability levied against those who wield their power as a divine right rather than as civil servants and defenders of the law.

Be well.
Treat yourself – and others – well.
And let’s find a way to come together and show the world that we are better than this.

Namaste.

Serious Question about NC House Bill 2…

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Monday – 02 May 2016
Something came to mind a few minutes ago and I am trying to wrap my head around the legal shadings surrounding it.

Let me back up and say that I think that NC HB 2 is one of the more idiotic, bigoted and offensive laws that I’ve heard of being proposed, let alone one that has actually been enacted. So, if you’re a fan of this law, you might want to ignore the rest of this post.

In broad terms – and according to the letter of the law – users of public single-sex, multiple occupancy restrooms must use the bathroom that matches their birth gender identity, correct?

I have two 4yo daughters, who I am not about to make – or allow, really – go into a public restroom by themselves. Multiple reasons. But, if I take them into the men’s room, am I in violation of the law?

I was talking this out with my friend, Chris, who pointed out the following:

Chris
Tricky. THEY would be the ones in violation of the law.
I think it has an exception for kids under a certain age, but I don’t know what age that is.

Rob
Right, but there’s the whole issue of them being not of age, so wouldn’t responsibility/culpability fall back on me?

Chris
You know, I’m not sure how that works. If they’re 12 and burn down the school, you’re not criminally responsible, but you might be on the hook for civil financial penalties.

That being said, there is an exception for: To accompany a person needing assistance

For me, that’s part of the problem: The girls are fully capable of going without assistance, for the most part; they are, however, too young to go unaccompanied. And, for example, on nights when Sara works and I take them out to dinner, they have to go to the men’s room to use the bathroom.

Chris responded to that with:

And yeah, I see nothing in the law specifying an age. Now if you tried to take them into the ladies room, I think they’d be more likely to try to enforce it than vice versa. But it seems to me that, technically, they don’t NEED assistance and so they would be in violation if you took them into a men’s room. Probably no judge would uphold it, but it would be a hassle for sure.

So, if I were to bring the girls to visit their grandparents in NC and we were to go out and I wound up having to take them to the restroom, would I have to worry about someone getting their dander up and trying to drag me to court – or even jail – because I had to take them to the “wrong” bathroom?

Food for thought.

And, I welcome any serious discourse on the matter, especially from anyone who lives in NC.

Thursday Night Something-or-other

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Thursday – 11 February 2016
Today was supposed to be #NoBadNewsThursday. It started that way. About a hour-and-a-half into it, however… not so much. One of the servers at work decided to try a new trick:

  • It was powered on.
  • It could see – and transmit to – the network.
  • NOTHING on the network could see it or any of the traffic it generated.

And, to make things even more interesting: This was tied to a production (as in “manufacturing”) system. So, it was “kind of” important.

To quote Dr. Sam Beckett: “Oh, boy…”

I – and a couple of network engineers – troubleshot it for about an hour before we came to the inescapable conclusion that it was not a network problem. Digging into things a little further, I saw that it was pending a reboot. That didn’t solve things. Next up: Check its updates queue. There were a few sitting there that needed to be run. So I let ’em fly. Reboot 2: Electric Boogaloo. Nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. It started rolling back the updates. (That’s usually not a good sign.) I checked update error messages when it came back up and saw that they failed because the hard disk was full. As in “Zero. Bytes. Free.” There was a good bit of cursing on my part, to be honest. Then it was a dive into the storage array and VM systems to make space appear. Then present it to the server. That all worked. Then I tried the updates again. Lo and behold, they all went through with no problems. (There may or may not have been a few “Amens” and “Thank yous” that went up at this point.) And, almost automagically, networking traffic all worked again. I verified with one of the network guys and an end user that all was right with the world again… and it was. Selah.

Part of getting through the day included being taken to lunch by networking vendors. It was not only a good change of pace, but it brought my day back from the Precipice of Doom.

After work, I picked up Team DiVa from daycare. Home. Dinner and dessert. They even got in almost 20 minutes of Disney Infinity playtime before it was time to start bedtime prep. Selah.

Carve Away the Stone
I’ve made halting steps at getting back to the gym. Last night, I considered going… then I opted out, because it was damned cold outside. I did, however, still manage to get in a bit of a workout, courtesy of my dumbbells, Swiss ball, and a couple of suggestions from YouTube. Was it quite the same workout I would have gotten at the gym, no. But, I wasn’t just sitting on my duff doing nothing, either. I’ll call that a win.

Stray Toasters

Alright, that’s it for now. I think I’m going to catch up on a show or two before calling it a night.

Namaste.

Day Thirteen

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Tuesday (with a little Wednesday thrown in…) – 13 January 2014
Day 13: Perform a mind dump of everything you’re worried about. From the leaky dishwasher to your family member’s poor health — get it all out. Dwight D. Eisenhower did it, and it significantly helped him manage his stress. Just as your body needs to…cleanse itself of waste, so does your mind every once in a while. Getting all your stressors on paper may alleviate some of that pressure. Use David Allen’s GTD trigger list to help you out.

With apologies to Monty Python, “I’m so worried about…”

  • Being a good husband and dad.
  • Keeping in touch with my family – here and “back home.”
  • Making time for friends.
  • Making time for me.
  • Staying on top of my health.
  • Whether or not I’ll be able to fit some travel in this year.
  • Projects around the house, now that I don’t have the Train Room as an excuse.
  • Becoming more aware of and informed about issues in the community.
  • What the Hell is still “not as right as it could be” with my car?!
  • Keeping all of the balls that I’m juggling for work in the air.
    • This one isn’t horrible, but there’s just been a lot going on over the past two weeks.
  • A proposed project (that’s actually kind of up my alley) – I just want it to go well.
  • Cleaning up my queue of work requests.
  • Managing to get – and do well in – upcoming training.
  • “…the baggage retrieval system they’ve got at Heathrow.”

Namaste.

Twenty-one minutes and thirty-eight seconds about Ferguson, Missouri

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Monday – 18 August 2014
There has been A LOT said about the situation in Ferguson, MO on the air – and on social media – over the past week. I actually think that far too much of it has been the reporting equivalent of static. I’ve intentionally stayed rather absent and quiet about it, trying to glean facts from all of the information/sensationalization.

The bottom line for me is:

  • I am sorry for the senseless loss of Michael Brown’s life.
  • It is wrong for a young man – of ANY race – to be killed for simply being suspected of committing a crime.
  • It’s sad and disheartening that in an age where we (as a society) pat ourselves on the back for being so educated and enlightened, far too many people are still judged simply for their skin color. Or their religious beliefs. Or, even something as mundane as the clothes that they are wearing or patterns of speech.
  • It’s telling when some of the best coverage of the news comes from a news satire show, be it The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

That said, listen to what Mr. Oliver has to say about the Ferguson, MO debacle and tell me that he doesn’t make sense.

And then listen to this and tell me if it rings true about the state of the media in America, if not the world, today.

Be good to each other. We’re all we have.

Namaste.

So many things…

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Monday – 20 May 2013
So, it’s been slightly longer than I’d intended since the last non-Team DiVa post. Time somehow manages to just slip away.

It’s been a good couple of weeks, for the most part. Home life has been good and, aside from spending far too many Saturdays in the office – it’s the best opportunity for server maintenance in a couple of cases – work’s been good. This past weekend was something of an exception since the maintenance that I requested and called back to verify on fell through. The service company shipped the wrong part AND didn’t review the error report I sent. Monkeys.

After the failed maintenance window, I headed back home. Sara! and I, thanks to the help of our friends, Dave and Angy, managed to put another nail in the coffin of a landscaping project that’s been long talked about and a tad slow to come to fruition: We got rid of the shrubs in the front yard. Dave and Angy brought over a stump grinder and, after about 75 minutes, the stumps of the shrubs were turned into mulch.

The girls have been doing well, for the most part; Diana had a brief bout of some food not agreeing with her over the weekend, but seems to back to her usual form again.

Reeling by on Celluloid
Over the past two weeks, I’ve seen four movies:

Four very different, but very entertaining movies. So let’s dive in:

  • The Cabin in the Woods
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    This movie was made between the time that Chris Hemsworth got on Hollywood’s radar as George Kirk in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek and was bulking up to play the God of Thunder in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor.I was recommended to watch this by a coworker. The only thing that he told me about it was that it was a horror movie. Okay, fair enough. Or so I thought.

    Yes, this was a horror movie, but it’s also something… else. Something different. The first few scenes of the movie don’t, at first, give you a sense of what’s to come. I was quite confused when the movie started — to the point of wondering if I had the right disc in the player. Just as the confusion was peaking, the opening credits came on-screen. But it still left a little bit of a disjointed feeling.

    The rest of the movie was entertaining. And strange. Very strange. But, I have to say that the strangeness only added to the movie’s appeal.
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  • Star Trek Into Darkness
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    As just about anyone who knows me is aware: I’m a Star Trek fan and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is one of my all-time favorite movies. I think that it’s not just a great Star Trek movie, but a great movie in general. In fact, I usually refer to it as “…a great movie, with Star Trek trappings,” because it’s so well-done. When  rumors first started appearing that Into Darkness was possibly going to feature a variation on that story, I was pretty much ready to line up and tell the ticket seller, “Take my money!”Then, word broke that it wasn’t going to be a take on the original ST II. Okay. Fine. I can live with that. When I started watching the trailers, I caught hints of something else. Something familiar. But I was a little hesitant to think that Mr. Abrams and company would pull that particular trigger. Why? A couple of reasons:

    1) As much as I’m a fan of Star Trek: TOS, I’m an even bigger fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And the inkling that I was getting was something that was first seen on DS9.

    2) Abrams’ movies have reset the timeline, effectively, meaning that everything I knew about [REDACTED] never happened… or at least never existed in the way I knew.

    So, I went into the movie with as open a mind as my Trek-loving self could allow. Turns out, I could allow a lot. Abrams did a good job of expanding upon the story he started in the first movie. This movie was very upfront about showing young Captain Kirk’s penchant for flouting – or just outright ignoring – regulations. And, it was no less upfront about showing the consequences of those actions.

    We were then introduced to the movie’s antagonist, John Harrison. A man who is not what he originally appears to be; there’s something about him that just rang a little “off.”

    And, with that, the chase was on. Abrams took viewers on an action-packed, explosion-filled ride.

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  • Crazy, Stupid, Love
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    This was another coworker recommendation. To be honest, I didn’t have an interest in this movie when it was out and wouldn’t have given it a second thought had he not suggested it. Having watched it, I must admit: It was a lot of fun. More so than I would have expected.Steve Carell portrays a Cal Weaver, a man who finds that his wife wants a divorce. He accepts it, as best he can, and tries to get on with his life.

    Enter Jacob, a young man who seems to have it all and seems to have no problem meeting attractive young ladies. Jacob then becomes Cal’s mentor and the two begin a journey to get Cal back in the proverbial game.

    Bittersweet hilarity ensues.
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  • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
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    I never read The Hobbit nor the Lord of the Rings Trilogy growing up. I own the Trilogy; it was given to me as a gift a few years ago, but I haven’t made the time to read them. So, when this movie was announced, I was interested in seeing it, but had no idea what to expect.It was a beautifully rendered film. Peter Jackson once again brought the world of Middle Earth to lush life. Again, having not read the books, I was surprised to see some familiar faces in the film.
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And there you have it.

Stray Toasters

  • I’ve been reading and listening to The Sword of Truth series. One of the recent books focused not on the usual characters, but on a couple of supporting characters. It was set basically between a couple of books that I’d already read; it was a little disconcerting to try and figure out the sequence/time frame. It also took me until about two-thirds of the way through the book to really warm to the new characters. But it wasn’t a necessarily “bad” book. I’m just glad to be back with characters I’ve been reading about for the prior six books.
  • By way of Sara!: 100 Films | 100 Behind the Scenes Photos
  • Looks like we’ll be getting a new Blink ‘Clix. Finally.
  • Pixel art from obscure video games
  • Bans on Same-Sex Marriages Can Take a Psychological Toll
  • One of my coworkers’ sons did a report on The Battle of Antietam for school. He not only did a report, but he made a stop-motion LEGO video to go along with it. I just saw this video and was duly impressed by it. I asked how old he was, just for reference. He’s 14.

Namaste.

M-11

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Monday – 11 March 2013
It’s been a while.

Yesterday, we “sprang forward” into Daylight Saving Time. “Saving.” Not “Savings.” The night/morning, already made short by the leap forward in time, was made even more short by the fact that I had to go into work – at 5:30 AM – for a maintenance window. Yee. Hah.

After getting back home, Sara!, Team DiVa and I had a few friends over for brunch. It was additionally nice, as we hadn’t seen a few people in some time. Sara fixed her famous – at least it’s famous around our house – coffee cake, along with muffins and egg casserole. There was fruit. And bacon. And juice. And coffee. And merriment. And frolicking. (Hey, there were kids. They frolicked. Go figure.)

Today was a pretty decent day. Even though I had a good night’s sleep last night, I was pretty beat this morning. Fortunately, there was coffee to offset the possibility of shambling through the day.

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Tonight, Sara! and I outlined and redefined plans for the front and back yards. Nothing too major, but a few nice changes. After that, we started building the frame for the ceiling in the train room closet. We took a break to watch Castle, but it wasn’t on. So, we caught up on Later… with Jools Holland. The first episode we watched was… lacking. We fast forwarded through most of it. Fortunately, the second episode made up for it.

Stray Toasters

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Batter up!

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Thursday  – 28 February 2013
A new NBN Thursday is here. So far, it’s not bad.
It’s also the end of February.

This morning, Diana was up a bit before Vanessa. In order to let Vanessa sleep a bit longer, brought her into our room. This appeased Diana… somewhat. So, I did what any father would do, I broke out the iPad and let her read/play with the Barnyard Dance book/app. This worked for a few minutes. Then, I switched over to Moo, Baa, La La La. That satisfied her for a little while, as well. Long enough for Vanessa to wake up and decide that she was ready to start the day.

Last night, Sara! and I watched Moneyball:

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The characters were well-developed, not just cardboard cut-out caricatures. The dialogue was believable and realistic, not just a bunch of baseball-related cliches. The story also managed to show a bit of the off-the-field life of Pitt’s character, Billy Beane, and his journey from all-star golden boy in high school to a MLB player to general manager of the Oakland A’s.

All told, it was a good film.  Sara! enjoyed it… though she qualified it by saying that it still wasn’t enough to make her like baseball.

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Chew on This – Food for Thought – Black History Month
I didn’t get as many days filled in as I had hoped, but I could not let the month end without an entry:

  • Daniel Hale Williams, Surgeon

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    Daniel Hale Williams III was born on January 18, 1856, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, to Sarah Price Williams and Daniel Hale Williams II. The couple had several children, with the elder Daniel H. Williams inheriting a barber business. He also worked with the Equal Rights League, a black civil rights organization active during the Reconstruction era.

    After the elder Williams died, a 10-year-old Daniel was sent to live in Baltimore, Maryland, with family friends. He became a shoemaker’s apprentice but disliked the work and decided to return to his family, who had moved to Illinois. Like his father, he took up barbering, but ultimately decided he wanted to pursue his education. He worked as an apprentice with Dr. Henry Palmer, a highly accomplished surgeon, and then completed further training at Chicago Medical College.

    Williams set up his own practice in Chicago’s Southside and taught anatomy at his alma mater, also becoming the first African-American physician to work for the city’s street railway system. Williams—who was called Dr. Dan by patients—also adopted sterilization procedures for his office informed by the recent findings on germ transmission and prevention from Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister.

    Due to the discrimination of the day, African-American citizens were still barred from being admitted to hospitals and black doctors were refused staff positions. Firmly believing this needed to change, in May 1891, Williams opened Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses, the nation’s first hospital with a nursing and intern program that had a racially integrated staff. The facility, where Williams worked as a surgeon, was publicly championed by famed abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass.

    In 1893, Williams continued to make history when he operated on James Cornish, a man with a severe stab wound to his chest who was brought to Provident. Without the benefits of a blood transfusion or modern surgical procedures, Williams successfully sutured Cornish’s pericardium (the membranous sac enclosing the heart), becoming the first person to perform open-heart surgery. Cornish lived for many years after the operation.

    In 1894, Williams moved to Washington, D.C., where he was appointed the chief surgeon of the Freedmen’s Hospital, which provided care for formerly enslaved African Americans. The facility had fallen into deep neglect and had a high mortality rate. Williams worked diligently on revitalization, improving surgical procedures, increasing institutional specialization, allowing public viewing of surgeries, launching ambulance services and adding a multiracial staff, continuing to provide opportunities for black physicians and nursing students.

    And in 1895, he co-founded the National Medical Association, a professional organization for black medical practitioners, as an alternative to the American Medical Association, which didn’t allow African-American membership.

    Williams left Freedmen’s Hospital in 1898. He married Alice Johnson, and the newlyweds moved to Chicago, where Williams returned to his work at Provident. Soon after the turn of the century, he worked at Cook County Hospital and later at St. Luke’s, a large medical institution with ample resources.

    Beginning in 1899, Williams also made annual trips to Nashville, Tennessee, where he was a voluntary visiting clinical professor at Meharry Medical College for more than two decades. He became a charter member of the American College of Surgeons in 1913.

    Daniel Hale Williams experienced a debilitating stroke in 1926 and died five years later, on August 4, 1931, in Idlewild, Michigan.

    Today, Williams’s work as a pioneering physician and advocate for an African-American presence in medicine continues to be honored by educational institutions worldwide.

Stray Toasters

Namaste.