Early Adopter

I was an early adopter of Twitter.

Twitter was founded in 2006, the same year I signed on. It didn't work all that well, and it didn't make much sense at the time, and we wondered why we were doing this and how it would ever really fit into our lives. My friend Pete invited me. We have proof, not that you need it.

That is all for now.

Thank you, Pete for your research. I just won an argument with my 22-year-old daughter, not that I needed to.

Yes, I am going insane now.

-G

Wow... Minnesota has an Austin. Hats off to you, MN

This has been a good weekend. Intense. But great.

Without Fox News, I may never have known about the the "huge leap" toward socialism...

Just drove through the birthplace of waterskiing.

Just drove through the birthplace of waterskiing.

Wisconsin weekend, here I come.

Thanks for calling HCC...This is Greg, may I help you?

now it's anything BUT quiet, as joel, amy, and the agwu walked in together and immediately started making demands.

it's quiet. i hear only two things (1) the peaceful hum of the dishwasher (2) my kitty cat purring

I said no to the brownie...once...no...twice. Then, they forced me.

Rappin' with Scotty Sanders

True Story

True Story -

I was running home from the gym tonight, down Main Street into Old Town Lewisville where the radar speed limit sign is.

No cars around.

As I approach, the "your speed" is vacillating between 21 and 22.

I am officially a stud.

True story . I was there.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

relationship work...hard but worth it

Lunch meeting in Rockwall. Not on a rock wall, but in Rockwall.

Awesome Biggest Loser Quote: "At the same time, I don't know how many cookies people ate against me."

Things i know that i wish i didn't. That is the theme for today.

dressed for this afternoon's temps on my walk to see dr louie. only off by 30 degrees or so. warming up now.

finally saw slumdog millionaire. loved it.

long day...time for sleep. now.

Kid#2 is getting us hooked on how i met your mother

yes, there are too many Chili's restaurants in the metroplex

sometimes, if you wait long enough, the other sock shows up.

and so our winter is not 100% over

KABOOM...It does the hard work for you

one extra cup of ruta maya today

Going to try to make up that hour this afternoon...zzz...

Untitled

recommended reading

This is the best blog I read today. Check it out.

Today is 4 weeks away from my first daughter's wedding. I'll write a bit more about that as the weeks go by. It hasn't yet been exactly what I expected. I'm not sure what I expected. I'm not even sure if I ever really thought about it until a few months ago.

Her mom and I are excited about this, even though almost every discussion and decision about it would not lead anyone to believe that. It's just that, well, you don't get any practice for this. Even watching others go through it doesn't really make it register.

Thank God she is marrying a great guy from a great family. We've known our future in-laws for over 21 years.

Enough for now. I'll write more later.

Don't forget to set your clock forward.

-G

Blogged with the Flock Browser

4 on foot, 5.25 on elliptical. good day.

Checking out and liking Flock.

oh, saturday!

hey guess what - 1 noodle bowl at pei wei is actually 2 servings...even though it is only in one bowl. isn't that awesome?

Friday, March 6, 2009

drug

I detest pharmaceutical advertising.

I think I am in the minority on this one, but let me tell you why I have grown to loathe it.

First off, I feel the same way about this as I do auto dealership advertising. If you wouldn't blow so much of your budget on advertising, you could charge less for your products. Of course where prescription drugs are concerned it's all about the insurance anyway, so who cares.

Now, on with the rant. The names of the prescription drugs are stupid. Seriously, someone sits around in a room somewhere and gets paid for making up new names. I think they are doing it around a Scrabble board. The names are ridiculous and made up. They have no meaning, except the meaning we assign them in our goofy culture.

The disclaimers on the commercials are a joke. I sometimes think I'd rather just stick with a weak bladder than have the list of more uncomfortable things that come with taking the pill. And that isn't even to mention the awkwardness of being forced to imagine the perils of a 4-plus hour erection.

Finally, there is something weird about advertising a product to me that I cannot access (legally) without relying on my doctor. These ads urge me to diagnose myself and tell my doctor what scrip to write. That is stupid. This is why healthcare reform is a huge challenge in this country. You are telling me to tell my doctor what pill I need rather than share the symptoms of whatever is bugging me and let him (the expert who knows me and knows medicine) decide upon a course of treatment. I've tried this, and guess what it doesn't work. I ask Dr. Mike for Vicodin every time I go to his office, and he always says no. Every. Time.

What is wrong with the old system of drug companies selling directly to the docs? I want my doctor to go to all the dinners and learn everything he can about the miracle of prescription drugs. That way, he'll have more options to consider when I visit him. I don't want to hear any more lists of bad things that will happen when I take a pill. And I don't want to learn new words. And I don't want to think about how frequently I have to urinate. And most of all, I don't want to watch that guy throw the football through the tire swing.

Stop.

Patrick. Lance. Can't you people do anything about this?

Over and out.

Adios, T.O.

bed

So whatcha gonna do now, LaFleur?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

walk

Since I have taken on the role my wife lovingly describes as the "Crazy Walking Man of Lewisville," I have been able to view drivers with more objectivity. I get to watch them closely, as I am only moving about 4 mph. I have some observations. This is far from a scientific study. It is just a list of what I see. For reference, I walk at varying times of day, through the neighborhood, down Main Street, and across the worst intersections in my town. Here is what I see:

• People look like they are not paying very much attention to their driving while they are driving.
• More women than men are talking on cell phones while driving. A lot more. Like there is no contest...not even close.
• There are lots of vehicles that are quite large with room for more than 4 people, but almost all of them are occupied by one person. It is weird.
  
• If there is a mom and a teen in a car, more often than not, the mom appears to be upset and ranting.
  
• If there is a dad and a teen in a car, the dad seems to be in a separate vehicle and another world.
• If there is a man and woman in a car, the woman is talking and the man is driving silently.
• If there are three or four men in a car, all of them seem to be paying attention to the driving.
• Most people are nice and try to give me the right of way as I cross...or at least they try not to hit me UNLESS they are turning into the Wal*Mart / McDonalds parking lot. Then they appear to be on an unstoppable mission and I'm merely in the way.
• Most people drive too fast.
  
• People seem more distracted at evening rush hour than they do at morning rush hour.

I would like to organize my life to be primarily contained within a 2-mile radius of my house. But this will never happen, unless I have some kind of accident or something.

Y'all be careful out there and watch out for the pedestrians. Thank you and goodnight.

I wish there was a way to raise a kid without ever having to tell her no. :(

i am having a hard time getting it all done today

my wife just encouraged us not be "evil people hyped up on brownies."

Monday, March 2, 2009

work

Welcome to the land of the sweeping generalization. This will be about my observations and a couple of ideas I am working out in my head. Feel free to weigh in. It's more fun when you do.

Regarding work ethic (I don't know what else to call it), I think my father's generation missed something big. I also think that my children's generation is missing something big.

My father's generation valued a long-term career with one company. Our nation's broken healthcare insurance system is based on this notion. You went to work for a company making next to nothing, and you were glad to do it. You got promotions and raises, and if they told you to move to Chicago, you did it. And you didn't ask your elementary-aged children if it was OK. You did what you needed to do. You progressed. You got the house, etc.. etc.. etc... you know how this goes. You defined yourself by your job or your role. "I'm a salesman." Or, "I'm with General Electric." Or whatever. Your company was a big deal to you.

My children's generation doesn't seem to think of work the same way. They seem to see work as a means to an end, with the end being getting enough money to get by. Long-term stability is no longer important. If things don't go well, they quit. Move on. Find something else. They don't seem to want to get ahead. "Get ahead of what?" they ask. They don't particularly like being told what to do. They know they can get an equally low paying job somewhere else anytime they want to. You get the picture.

I told you I was going to make generalizations. So don't start in on me about that. I'm sure you are the exception and the special one to whom the rules were never intended to apply.

My thought is that my parents' generation made the mistake of asking work to fill a place in their lives that it could not adequately fill. Some sort of satisfaction / longing kind of thing, as if work could make the loneliness disappear or make them feel like less of a failure. On the other hand, I see my kids making a different mistake. They seem to be saying that work is somehow only a necessary evil, and they have no problem criticizing or even demonizing it.They are looking for all kinds of other things to make them important. It all seems very sad to me.

I think we are missing something about the decency and importance of work. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I sense that there is another way. Some way for work ethic to fit better into the framework of our spiritual lives. Not the extremes I've presented here. Something else.

I don't have the answer. I've looked at work from both of these sides and maybe a couple of others. I'm interested in what you think. Just don't tell us how you are the exception. I'm sick of that crap and you should be too.

Have a good one.
-G (as in GReggo or Gary)

Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife Dixie, and happy birthday to my beautiful home Texas.

Sunday March 1, 2009

trying again

The constant influx of new and improved technology has caused me to reorder my private and public worlds over and over again. At times, this beats me down. I feel inadequate, and I feel like I am missing something or that I will miss something if I don't really watch it. As I have explored other blogging avenues and all that kind of stuff, my good ol' Xanga has pretty much fallen to the wayside.

This is no surprise to you. Many who have read these rants have long since abandoned them to pursue things that help you make your way in the world. I don't blame you.

I'm thinking that I will try again, at least for a season. No promises. I have enough guilt triggers, thanks. I'm simply letting you in on my plan.

My plan is to create blog entries here and let them find their way to facebook, blogger, yada. Sort of like back to basics. I hope my writing improves, and I hope that I can say things that I want to say. I hope you will consider them. I'm not offended if you don't. I "follow" hundreds of blogs. I miss lots of stuff. I don't need to explain any of this any further. You get it.

Since this is my "I'm going to start blogging more" entry, I don't have to actually have content. So you're welcome.

Next time. Next time.

Later,
-G