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Barnacles

I tried to sleep in a bit today since I would be out late for Howard’s customer appreciation dinner, but I woke up close to my usual time to a loud, droning sound coming from across the house. I made my way to the kitchen and found the garbage disposal running after multiple days without power. Evidently somebody accidentally left the switch on when they turned on the sink light, and never turned it back off. The negligence meant the disposal had been running dry for over two hours, and left the house smelling of a burning motor.

Since I didn’t die in a house fire in my sleep, I got up and ready for work. I figured I would get there a little before eight after stopping at Starbucks for a holiday drink and cup. Then I ran into stop-and-go traffic after Conway. I was surprised that I didn’t see much traffic coming from the first couple ramps in Conway, and figured the big rush had come and gone from people trying to show up at seven. The eight o’clock traffic hadn’t hit yet, but surely somebody’s stupidity caused the slowdown ahead.

I arrived about ten after eight and tried to charge the car in the shop, but the power was out. Maggie showed up just as I was walking into the office, and we had a quiet morning inside without much foot traffic. I didn’t have much luck with anything I worked on, and after a while it was hard not to feel discouraged.

Maggie ended up taking the afternoon off, and I just ran to Sonic for a chili cheese coney. I also grabbed some fries from an inconceivably slow McDonald’s, then ate in the office by myself. I stayed until nearly four, then left to find a place to charge at the Embassy Suites. Maggie came out with a hotel key card she borrowed from David, and then I met her in the vendor hall. I saw Ben, but no one else that I really knew.

Randy eventually came around, but Kyle had to work the board meeting. Randy and I sat in on the whiskey tasting with his Conway crew, and then went down the hill to The Butcher Shop for dinner. Howard always throws a big party, and our room got progressively louder as the drinks flowed. Food took a while to show up, but we all ate, and I took Randy and Dustin back to the hotel before I headed home. Dustin was completely enamored with the Tesla, Full Self Driving, and Actually Smart Summon.

The Model Y handled the drive pretty well and only required minimum intervention. Summer was passed out when I got there, and Eaddie was just finishing up a shower. I cranked through my routine and hit the sack as quickly as I could.

Should’ve paid!

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It’s Not Wireless

I stopped for breakfast in Morrilton, and McDonald’s had me in and out so fast that I got to pass someone on the interstate twice. I was still the first one to the office by quite a bit, and I immediately dug into my Adobe licensing issue before Randy started sending me things to do. Maggie said she had to go to the transportation office to check out a pile of old junk, so she didn’t show up for a little while.

When lunch time came around, she and I went to a place called Sweet Poppas and had their fried chicken lunch special. I also got a drink and some cheddar peppers, which incredibly brought my lunch total to over $22. I couldn’t believe it. The food was good, but the portions were small, and the cheddar peppers came out with cold centers the first time around. Maggie’s chicken took forever to come out, so mine wasn’t exactly piping hot by the time we started eating.

The afternoon got wild when Kyle asked me to go to the high school to investigate an issue in the rack. Apparently the guys we paid to install the new VxRail forgot to plug in one of the iDRAC cables, so they couldn’t manage it remotely. It took me a while, but I finally found the right piece of equipment and the right port. There were a couple other cables that seemed poorly connected as well, so I don’t know what they were doing in there. Hopefully we can bring a lot of that stuff in-house.

I left straight from the high school and got home to run the dogs. We did our usual route through my parents’ yard to talk to Dad, then took a dip in the creek before making it home. Then I made a burrito for a quick dinner before spending some time cleaning up the kitchen and taking out the recycling. Eaddie and Eli did homework until pretty late, and Summer went to bed pretty early. I tried to take care of as much stuff as I could before I finally got to bed.

But I still forgot to clean the vacuum.

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Who’s the Boss

I got out super late today, yet still somehow showed up first. Summer wanted to take the Tesla, so I arrived white-knuckled after manually driving in. Jay came in and out while I was getting water, so he didn’t see me. Maggie predictably came in about half an hour late, and I don’t know if that’s just what she’s arranged, or if that needs adjusting. Randy and Kyle were at the Arkansas Conference of Technology, so I was “running the show.”

The morning was super quiet. I had a late coffee and helped Johnny with some more Google Cloud Directory Sync stuff. Lunch time came around and I just ran to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal to get the Mario Kart toy. I wasn’t super happy with the “pink gold” Peach I got, but what do you do? Someone went through the drive-through with a U-Haul trailer, and didn’t look jackknifed, but the truck was tilted up on its side somehow.

I got back to the office and had a long afternoon. I talked to Johnny some more, and eventually dug around in SCCM some more before taking off a few minutes early so I could get home to run the dogs before our parent meeting for Eaddie’s band trip.

The dogs took off full-tilt to my parents’ house to see Dad, and then we went around the basin trail to take a dip in the creek. We got back home and they got some hot dogs, and I ate some of the lasagna that Summer made yesterday. Then Summer and I headed to the high school band room to meet up with Eaddie and the other students and parents that were going on the trip.

Dan seemed to be the one running the show, so he talked to us about the trip and some expectations. Summer and I were really just along for the ride on account of our flexibility. That went on for a while, and then the three of us came home and went to bed.

Shopfree!

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Turn it On

I really left for work a little early today, which meant that I got to work right on time, which meant that I was the first person in the building. Luckily I had the alarm code ready. Jay was the next one in, nearly ten minutes later. I didn’t really get into anything at all before Johnny called for some help with GCDS. I talked to him for a while, and then Randy wanted me to ride with him to all of the elementary campuses to check on some printers. I think he just wanted company, because all we really did was turn printers on. Literally press the power buttons and walk away.

We went to lunch at Larry’s Pizza, where we had good salads, good pizza, and no service. I wish I hadn’t left a tip at the front counter when we paid, because I got all of my own refills, though it really appeared as though we were supposed to get table service. Otherwise it was a surprisingly good experience for how quiet the restaurant was. The buffet bar was also super tiny, but they kept it well stocked somehow.

We continued turning printers on and chatting with various people in the district for a while, and then came back to the office where I worked with Johnny some more. I lost track of the time and Maggie had to alert us to quitting time, so I ran home to deliver some beer to Travis before I could take the dogs out for a run.

Summer was making a lasagna dinner that Eaddie requested, but I was still stuffed from pizza. I took the dogs to my parents’ house where Julie stopped in for a bit, then we went in a short loop around the block instead of going all the way through the basin trail. It was well after dark by then, so we came back to my parents’ house for some more water before making it home.

Eaddie brought Eli over for dinner, and Summer and I chatted with them for a bit before making it to bed.

Get creative!

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ReServed

I didn’t sleep very late today because I wanted to get to the other house to move some stuff. Eaddie left for church while Summer was out with the dogs, and then Summer left for the gym. I started feeling sick to the stomach, possibly due to one too many bites of ice cream last night, and then when I finally took a shower, I had a pretty rough anxiety attack that hit me out of nowhere. It left my head spinning for much of the afternoon.

I eventually had an energy drink and then took the dogs out for an early run. We visited Mom, and then went around past the basin trail. The dogs chased after some kids, then after some squirrels, then took a dunk in the creek before we finally made our way back home.

Summer had started to do a bit of work from home, but then we got up and went to the old house to pick up some big, heavy stuff. We loaded all of my big rack-mount servers and some switches into the back of the Model Y, and I aired up the tires on the Fiero. While we were there, my old neighbor Stanley stopped to say hello and asked about the Fiero. He had a friend that he said would probably be interested, so I gave him my number.

We were just barely on the way home when I got a call from the friend, Tommy. He said he was a 69 year old, retired engineer from GM, and that he used to have a 1985 pace car that he bought his wife, which had been stolen. He said his wife would be tickled, and I liked that it could go to someone who could work on it as a labor of love.

Summer and I unloaded the car when we got home, and then we went to McDonald’s for $1 McNuggets. I ran back inside for a deal on fries, and then we stopped by Wendy’s to pick up some fries for her. That ended up taking forever, which was in stark contrast to how things were back in the early 2000s. Wendy’s used to be the king of drive-through speed, and McDonald’s simply operated. Now, McDonald’s had everything automated and staff interactions minimized, so they churned people through in no time.

We ate at home, then went out with the dogs for a while. Eaddie had been gone all day doing homework and whatever else. When she got home, she chatted with Summer for a while, then came to check in with me before bed. I was pleased to be in bed by ten.

Now I almost have to get another car.

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I’ve Got No Strings

Eaddie left early this morning for her orchestra rehearsal and concert. Summer and I got up pretty early as well, and headed to Conway early for a movie, shopping, and food before the concert. We ended up barely getting there in time for Venom: The Last Dance, so I missed a few previews waiting in line for popcorn. I thought the plot was pretty contrived, and they tried to pack a lot into it, but overall it was fun. It was definitely the weakest of the three. We ran to the lube to drop off someone’s jacket, then came back to Bargain Hunt to see what they had. It wasn’t much, so all I got were some dog treats.

We made it across town and ended up at Skinny J’s for lunch. I thought Randy said they were closing down the Conway location, but maybe I was confused. Or maybe I wasn’t, because we were basically the only people in the restaurant. It was a late lunch though. We ate quickly and then made it to the Conway High School to see Eaddie’s concert.

The kids did great, but then Eaddie wanted to race over to UCA to see Eli play in a low brass concert. Summer had to check her out with the teacher though, so I ran Eaddie a few blocks away and then came back for Summer. We eventually got back over to UCA for a charge, and watched the tail end of that concert, which was much less formal anyway.

After all the concerts were over, Eli came with us and we went to Old Navy for some more shopping. The kids wanted ice cream after that, so I took everyone to MarketPlace Grill. They said it would be a 20 minute wait, but it didn’t take nearly that long to get a seat. Our server was super talkative and kept asking the kids questions about stuff, and then talking about her family life.

The food was probably more miss than hit, with super stale chips and cold food. I remembered having the same problem with the chips last time, so it’s probably time for a review. We ate and then headed home in the rain, stopping first in Morrilton for some beer and to plant a promo sign in front of that carwash. Then we dropped the kids off at Eaddie’s car at the high school and headed home. The girls were super pooped and crashed immediately while I played with the dogs a bit and then tried to minimize distractions before bed.

All run and no stop.

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Garaged

My hand hasn’t been hurting too bad, and it didn’t start bleeding again until I was out of the shower and trying to put my hair up. That put me behind getting to work, so I burned through the battery trying to make that time up. Randy was the only one there when I got there, and he was fine with me pulling into the shop bay to charge, so I more than made up for what I burned to get there.

School was out, and most of the administration was out as well, so Randy figured we would probably cut out a little early. We chatted for a while in the office, and I tinkered a little bit, but didn’t get too deep into anything. We Maggie said NextStep was taking people to Topgolf, but then Randy said he and Jim were meeting Hunter and Corey at BJ’s Market Cafe, and I wanted to meet up with those guys. About that time, Ben texted about lunch and I invited him to join us. Maggie just went to Topgolf by herself because she wanted to meet with the vendor.

I tried having Google Duplex(?) make a reservation for us, but that didn’t work and I just called myself. When the time came, Jay decided he was going to go, and Ben said he had a +1 with him. Unfortunately, he misunderstood the location that I didn’t clarify, and he ended up at Skinny J’s instead and never made it to us.

The catfish dinner was pretty decent, and it was nice to meet the old director and network admin. I didn’t have much to add to the conversation, and Hunter seemed mostly sour on the district for good reason. We finished up there and went back to the office for a little while before Randy cut us loose.

Traffic ground to a full stop twice on the way home, but I made it. Summer was home early due to the weather, but it was only barely sprinkling when I got there, so I took the dogs out for a quick, early run. We stopped just long enough to see Dad, then made it around the basin and back home.

After a while, Summer and I decided to leave for dinner, but she didn’t know what she wanted to eat. I activated FSD as we left the house, and decided to just let the car go and see where we ended up. It drove north over the Phoenix bridge, past Tech, and around the old gymnastics building. As we drove by IHOP, Summer decided that was what she wanted.

The food was good, but the service was better. We ate, and then left in some heavier rain. She went to bed, and I wasn’t long behind her. I saw Eaddie briefly as she came in from her rehearsal day in Conway, and we’ll head that way tomorrow for her concert.

SLZZZZZP

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Sliced

I got out really early today, and it seemed to make a huge difference in traffic. The guys were outside talking, but I went in because it was chilly out. Most of my day was pretty scattered, but quiet. I started with a cup of oatmeal, and the morning went by reasonably quickly. We took a late lunch, and I went to BJ’s Market Cafe with Jim and Maggie, where they had us in and out within minutes. They were like Old South, but bigger, and possibly even more packed. I had the “beef tips” which mostly reminded me of rice and roast beef that had been in the slow cooker too long.

The afternoon dragged on a bit, and Johnny called right at the end of the day to gripe about Lamar. I finally got out of there and made my way home after coming to a dead stop right out of Little Rock. Summer was in bed with a bad back, so I took the dogs out for another record-breaking run. They did 2.3 miles at a 9.5mph pace with a top speed of 21.2mph. We stopped at a house along the way home because it looked like they had a water hose running into their yard and all down the neighbor’s yard. They didn’t answer the door, so I went to find their neighbor, who had already texted the lady but hadn’t gotten a response. Hopefully they were just draining their pool, because the back gate was padlocked so I couldn’t get back there to turn a faucet off. The dogs and I finally got home and I gave them treats before making myself a burrito for dinner.

Kevin came over with Mathai to get his laptop. Then after they left, I ended up slicing a huge gash on the right side of my right hand as I tried to swat a fly off of an open can of refried beans. Blood gushed everywhere for a moment, and I called Eaddie for some help as I leaked life fluid into the sink. She brought alcohol, bandages, and even helped clean up the blood splatter all over the floor.

Once I got my hand cleaned up and bandaged, we sat in the dining room and talked for quite a while about growing up and her future plans. It was a great moment, and eventually I had to make a mad dash to get to bed late.

I’m pretty sure I’ve learned this lesson before.

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Just a Little PXE Dust

I had a rough start this morning, but things eventually worked out. I had to get out of bed just after I had gotten in it because Stilgar was barking at something. When I got outside, Muad’Dib had shredded my newer grill’s cover trying to get to a foil pan that had fallen behind it. I ended up beating him for it, and he ran off behind the outhouse for the night. He was back on the porch for breakfast with Summer in the morning though.

I got to work and the guys were chatting outside as usual. I went in to test PXE booting, and wouldn’t you know it, adding IP helpers completely fixed the issue. I don’t know why the DHCP policy didn’t work, since I’d used that successfully before and all things pointed to it being a different issue, but I had an image booted in no time.

Maggie and Randy were both somewhere else in the district all day, so Maggie turned the lights off and left me alone in the dark for nearly the entire day. I ended up going to Arby’s for lunch when I couldn’t get a response from Randy, but then he called to say they were going to Hogg’s Meat Market just after I got back to the office.

At one point, Gary came in and started cussin’ about Maggie, trying to tell me that it was her job to go to all of the buildings and do inventory. I wasn’t going to roll over on that, and told him that “we” had always delegated that to building techs since they were the ones that had to deploy and verify inventory for any areas for which they were responsible. He didn’t like that answer at all, and told me that this wasn’t wherever I came from. He didn’t stick around long after that.

Randy came in near the end of the day saying he heard that I had pissed Gary off, so I shared my side of the story. He appreciated that I backed Maggie and stood up to the old man, and we chatted while I continued to work on SCCM stuff. At the end of the day, he mentioned something about getting home after dark, so I brought up my struggles with 13-hour work days. I raised my question about cutting our lunch hour down to 30 minutes again, and he said he would be okay with it as long as he could get permission for the department. In reality, there didn’t seem to be a policy in place anywhere, and they were only taking a full hour lunch “because that’s how they’d always done it.” He also suggested working remotely for one day a week, and I told him I’d rather try and ask forgiveness for doing something like that as-needed, rather than be shot down for asking permission to set that as a weekly schedule.

I eventually got out of there, and Ben called as I was making my way home. He asked about the job, and we chatted for a little while up until I got off the interstate. When I got to the house, Eaddie and her friend Autumn were there doing homework, and Summer was coming home from work a little later. Dad had already come by the house and taken the dogs for a walk, but I took them out for a faster run. I think they beat their record with a 20.6mph top speed and a pace of 9.2mph for 2.1 miles. We visited Dad, then went around the basin which had surprisingly already drained most of the way back down. They did well enough for hot dogs when we got home, and then Eaddie left to take Autumn home. Summer was along shortly after that, and I worked on Kevin’s computer a little more until bedtime.

So are we skipping the moon and taking Doge straight to Mars now?

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Breakfixst

I didn’t sleep great last night, and it stormed for most of it. I woke up groggy, but made it out of the house early enough to take the drive a little easier. Surprisingly, Maggie beat me to the office and started talking about breakfast shortly after I got there. I made coffee, and when Kyle and Randy came in, she took orders from everyone and went to get food from BJ’s. I had a western omelette with hashbrowns and biscuits, and it was pretty good. I ate way slower than everyone else since I was trying to work at the same time.

I didn’t really get hungry until late in the afternoon, so I didn’t take a lunch. I just kept chugging away at SCCM, trying to fix PXE booting all day. I asked Randy if I could take off an hour early since I didn’t eat, and he just said not to make a habit of it after Javier had been taking advantage. I made it home quickly, and it had dried up, so I wanted to take the dogs out on a good run.

Summer had been home much of the day since the washes were rained out. She was working in her office when I came and left. I took the dogs to my parents’ house to sniff around the yard, then went to the basin trail, which was mostly flooded into one giant pond.

I let the dogs splash around a little bit, and then we chased off a big flock of geese. Stilgar was whining because he wanted to chase them so badly, but I knew he’d never come back. He could have so much more fun if he’d just have better recall, but he won’t listen. We ended up going out further, crossing 12th, and visiting Sequoyah Park. Then we made it around to the Boulevard before swinging back through the roundabout. It was nearly a five mile run at an 8.5mph average, so they got home hungry. I actually ran out of poop bags and had to come home to get a new roll after Stilgar left a big pile at someone’s house. Embassingly, the lady pulled up to check her male as I was looking around the yard to find it, but she told me she didn’t care and not to worry about it.

We got home for some hot dogs, I ate some leftover pizza, and then Summer and I sat down to chat for a bit before I opened up a couple more Vine packages. They keep coming out with “neon” signs that I love. I wrapped things up early after that, and actually managed to get to bed really early.

Silly goose.