Your Life Lessons - It will change

Change is always constant.

Our life's journey is exactly that, a bunch of changes.

Some changes are obvious, your hair begins to thin or grey, you are distracted a bit more, or remembering a current event is a bit foggy.

I personally like change.  Living in New England guarantees me change every three months as the seasons change. From the long days of summer, to the crisp autumn leaves, winter is especially great when we have those snowy days and then, spring, the world around me bursts alive.  

Some changes are welcomed and some are downright unfortunate.  Yet, both pass with time.  I remind certain folks about me that everyday you awake, is your day; make the most of it. 

Whatever is bothering you today - understand it will change.  I heard something cute, look at the change today and ask yourself, what will I think of it in five years?  

Get out and enjoy your day!

Happy August 1st!

Can you believe it - seven months have gone by. We are past the "hump" of the year. Summer is ticking by. Five months left of the first decade of this new millenium. Ten years ago.... we were faced with whether or not all the computers in the world would come to a standstill at the stroke of midnight. Here are some other interesting events that happened.
Money and Finance
The Euro was established which ended the multiple currencies used by countries in Europe. The Dow closes for the first time over 10,000. Bill Gates becomes our first One-hundred billionaire. The ExxonMobil merger is completed making it the largest company on the planet. The Roth IRA is introduced to the US Tax Code. Federal spending was $1,700 billion and the debt was $5,900 billion (hmm?) and you need $17 in 1999 to buy what $1 purchased in 1913.
Entertainment and Sports
Napster debuts it's downloading music service and we all know that it began the lawsuit mania. Turin, Italy gets to host the 2006 Olympics; Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France. Tori Murden is first woman to row across the Atlantic in 81 days, Hicham El Guerrouj runs the fastest mile at 3:43.13 in Rome and Prescot and Elson set the endurance record at 233 days plus for a hot air balloon ride.
Technology and Science
Microsoft launches Windows 98, Apple brings the first iBook to the market place, China makes huge restrictions on internet cafes. NASA launches lots of satelites and loses the Mars Orbital. Pluto has scientist wonder about it's orbit. Médecins Sans Frontièrs or Doctors Without Borders receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
World News
Yelstin resigns and Putin steps up; the world population exceeds 6 billion people; the Scottish Parliament is opened by Queen Elizabeth; Nanvut becomes the third territory in Canada; peace agreement is reached in Northern Ireland; Nelson Mandela steps down as the first black president of South Africa; Helen Clark becomes the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand; George W. Bush seeks the Republican nomination for President of US.
Personal Notes
My youngest niece and nephew were not born yet; my business had just celebrated its first year of success; my youngest brother was in preparation of moving his family to PA; my volunteer work with the Friends was picking up momentum, and my first cat was alive.

Some thoughts... there were many tradegies during the year, Mother Nature threw her weight around with tornados, avalanches, earthquakes, tsunamis; there were wars waging in many places, specific individuals waged their own wars against society. We lost so many people - my thoughts still go to those that remain. If I missed an event you remember, let me know. There was plenty of stuff going on that didn't make the news. Why don't you take a moment to look back and appreciate those folks that were with you then.... Life is a Journey not the Destination. Enjoy Today - Happy August 1st.

A Dig

Today I had lunch with a long time friend of mine, Bob. We go back quite a long time, he's a brilliant CS guy with an amazing wife, (hi Pat) and great daughters. Bob is one of my first clients where we have done the entire assignment paper free several years ago. It's great to continue to use the technology when both of us knew the main frame as the "answer" back some decades ago.

Like many brilliant folk, you love what you do and do what you love. Yet you have many, many interesting hobbies and interests. One of Bob's is to go on archaeological digs right here in CT. He's found lots of indian heads or flint heads, shards of pottery and even a large pot from about 1800. There are some real scientific methods to doing the dig. After a brief discussion, I may be able to volunteer on a new dig that is going on not too far from here. I just love a new adventure!

Watch here in the futre for some update,

by the way Bob------ Happy Birthday again!

Made the press!

With my move this past summer, my edition of our state wide newsletter was lost in the shuffle. Through a good friend, Marian Amodeo, Director of the Lucy Robbins Welles Library, I received a copy yesterday.

The Summer 2008 Edition of FOCL Point - page 8 and 9 is a brief description from the awards ceremony, a couple of paragraphs on my award and a picture. It was a great time, first to be recognized for the service to our own Friends group and second to enjoy and give thanks to the other Friends that make libraries in Connecticut such a special place and lastly was that so many family and friends were able to be with me that day.

New Computer

Last Year was a big year with lots that I came into and accomplished......... except for getting a new computer.

So last week I completed my order with Dell - Monday night at 6pmEST. The Sales Guy - Alan - was okay, but he didn't remember an 8" floppy, a 5 1/4" floppy, and as to the 3.5" floppy - he said he had some recollections about it. Ouch - I've been around programing from my first computer experience at Hillcrest Jr High (1968)- where you had wires with plugs into a board and slap that board into a slot and power up the computer to have it do two or three transactions. Then it was the Main Frame at UCONN (1978) - with more than 700 IBM cards - color coded and bound together. I could get the computer to do a bunch of stuff, provided I fed them into the machine and waited and prayed I did not have a card punched incorrectly!

Fast forward - 2008 - I'm in my office, with 130 GB hard Drive, 1 GB of memory, 256m video display with two screens (that's only one of the three computers I use for the business) - and I feel like I'm back to 1978! Forty-eight seconds to open an application. I'll never get any work accomplished without a new solution. I work with about ten windows open at all times; of course business stuff that can be 3 or 4 ; spreadsheet or two; Word docs; database; email; Explorer with several pages open.

This week, Alan, the guy at Dell, assisted me with my purchase of a new computer. He said it would be 3-5 days for build and 3-5 days to ship. Short side 6 days - long side 10 ten days. So sometime next week - okay. If you ever ordered something from Dell, you know their customer communication system is amazing. By the time you hang up, the system begins to whirl, email after email - order received, build begun, boxed, ready for shipment, shipped, in transit, ...... then ding-dong the door bell rings - it's the FedEx guy bringing four boxes of equipment! Remember I said it was 6pm on Monday - and at 3:00pm on Thursday - it was here. Mind you the longest part of this little adventure for my new baby was the time it spent with the FedEx guy.

New twist - Dell does not include simple one-page glossy instruction on how to plug in the machine. Its on the machine - but how do you plug in the machine attach the #%$@#$% cables to it? No color coded map of anything. I get Alan on the phone - he gets the technical support - which sends me to the Dell site (mind you, you wouldn't have found it if you tried) the "Quick Reference Guide" - 76 pages long! Yet it is exactly what I needed.

Without too much trouble - I get my new machine up and running. Now I'm in the process of reloading various pieces of software. There is a new Wizard that didn't come with my previous Dell - a transfer wizard that enables (so they say) to transfer your data files via a serial cable. I'll let you know how that works.

By the way - now with an extra computer in the office - I needed an additional desk! Gotta love the Technology!

......... a decade's events

..... one decade ago, Where were you? Can you remember what you were doing December 1998?

This time of year, I generally feel like reminising to prior memories, some to laugh at , some to cry at, and all those emotions inbetween, the two bookends of life. Taking time to reflect, to be thankful for all that was given to you, for those people that have crossed your path and stayed and for those who are now gone. Have you taken the time to say thank you to yourself? Have you taken the time to feel thankful for all that you have had?

Over the next several days..... I'll reminise, and remember right here.

Ten years ago I had just started my firm. Only a couple of months old, getting a computer, and assorted office machines; then building my desk; the cleaning out of the second bedroom for the office. Wow... lots has happened between then and now. It's hard to believe that so much time has gone by.

Ten years ago my oldest niece was only six and I only had six nieces & nephews. Clinton was President and heading for impeachment; the Dow Jones was hovering about 9,000 pts - we were in a bull market; Star Wars 1 was going to be released some time soon, there were 14 named hurricans - most memorible was Mitch who caused more than 9000 deaths in Central America ending in Florida.......... take a deep breath.....

... stop by and read along --- thank you to all that have stopped by.......... Happy Holidays...... Merry Christmas............ see you with a few more memories