Would you buy a used document from this man?

It's common to have reorganizations at the start of a new fiscal year, a chance fix what isn't working or so fine-tune things that are working pretty well. For us, it was the latter. We learned that our group has moved out of engineering and now reports into the sales organization. (Technically, it's part of professional services, which is part of sales.) Overall, I think that it will be a good move, giving us more flexibility in dealing directly with the issues that a particular customer is facing. It's also a bit disorienting. This is the first time in my high-tech career that I have not worked in an engineering organization.

In the short term, nothing changes. I have another trip coming up. In the words of David Bromberg, "Another cup of sour coffee, one more piece of cardboard pie."

I took yesterday afternoon off so that we could tend to some business at our lawyer's. Afterwards, we visited with my father. He was in a somber mood. One of his hearing aids had to be sent to the factory, so he wasn't able to hear the conversation well. A good friend of his, and the only friend his age, is in hospice care and won't last long. Living a long time is good, but it comes with the risk that you may outlive all of your friends.

Sandra and I drove in to the camp at dusk. There was some ice on the hill, but one of the four wheels always managed to find purchase and keep us moving. We let Marley out and he ran beside, in back, and in front of us the rest of the way. The lake is solidly frozen, but there were puddles on top of the ice. There were lights on at two camps across the cove. We were tempted to walk over and visit, but it was getting late.

Studies show again that cell phone use doesn't cause brain damage, but I'm not sure about the reverse. This looks like a torture device for your cell phone, but it's worse. It lets you convert images and sound on your phone into presentations. Not only are you in sales, but you're an übergeek to boot.

Next month is Marley's 10th birthday. Maybe he'd like one of these.

CBC Prince Edward Island - 25 working at P.E.I. sandwich factory

How to make a sandwich in Canada: CBC Prince Edward Island - 25 working at P.E.I. sandwich factory

Locked and loaded to the next level

Yesterday was filled with conference calls from 9AM to 6PM, with just a brief respite at 1:30. One of the calls was a meeting with our new management team. The news was good, that the company will be investing in our group, which means new projects and likely some hiring. It's easy to lose sight of the good news when you hear executives talk about teeing up initiatives and other such silly biztalk.

A former professor of mine is an editor at the Massachusetts Review, a fact that I think is pretty much unrelated to the poem that begins Please help me get this pig, dear Lord, into my truck.

I didn't realize that Phyllis Schafly was still bringing her own brand of wisdom to the public forum. Not only does she was she one of the earliest to rise to the defense of Tom Delay, but she also believes that real men won't go to college unless they can play football. That sound you hear is the popping of the veins in her forehead when she reads about Boyz Night.

Geoff Gallop resigned this week as premier of Western Australia so that he could be treated for major depression. Some people hailed the decision as a courageous move, helping to bring greater awareness of this illness. Others were concerned that some might take this to mean that you have to give up your life's work if you become depressed. And, still others said, "Woo hoo. Now we can dig for uranium."

Another from the "I work hard, but this isn't hard work file." My favorite quote is, "It doesn't happen very often."

Someone put the refrigerator in reverse

A strong wind is pushing a thick fog across the snow and ice. We're getting reports from the New York City that bridges are closed because of the high winds. Temperatures are in the mid-50s and headed higher. No serious cold or wintry precipitation is in the forecast.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, "You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us." G'bye, Jack.

With digital music, it's easy to develop custom playlists. The playlist might include music from a particular genre, such as blues or hip-hop or tuva. Today I had a hankering for Caravan, the Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol masterpiece. I have eight versions of it, including Ellington, Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, and Dick Dale. There are a lot more out there, although I'll probably skip the Ferrante and Teicher version.

Someone gives you $100,000 . You a.) save some and give the rest to the kids and grandkids, b.) do something unexpected and perhaps life-changing, or c.) check to see what the others are doing before you decide.

Kids have Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys. We have The Island of the Unwanted Documents.

Why Google has a market capitalization at the same level as IBM's[1]

An error message from Gmail, Google's web-based mail server:

Server Error

Gmail is temporarily unavailable. Cross your fingers and try again in a few minutes. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

[1]