Let me show you baby, I'm a talented boy

Any news is good news

2009-11-11T00:50:23Z

Good news! I got promoted. Technically, this is a move back to my original position with the company - and to make a long story short, when the company started to go down with the economy two years ago, I moved to operations...in effect, a demotion... to help keep the local office afloat (and myself employed). A few things have changed since I last had this job, but pretty much everything is for the better. I haven't had this much fun at work in four years. My batteries have really been recharged and I think it reflects in the work I've been putting out recently.

The downside is that I was promoted officially a couple of weeks ago...and unofficially about a month ago. See how long the update has been forthcoming? Yeah, I've been working some crazy hours. In fact, I should be working right now, but I cut part of dinner short to squeeze in some room. Since I haven't had much time for posts/comments, it may seem like I haven't been around, but I have been making an attempt to catch up on everyone else's posts at least every other day. I hope all is well, and I'm glad some recent problems have resolved themselves.

Anyway, despite my current preoccupation with my occupation, somehow my brain keeps drifting towards food. This is due to a lot of factors - Top Chef and Next Iron Chef are in current seasons on TV right now, the holidays are upcoming, and I'm way overdue on a recipe reformulation for theferrett for Olive and Artichoke couscous. I'd liken it to writer's block... I know most of what I want to do there but I'm just dying on the seasoning. It's not the only recipe that's been stuck in my mind, though; other than a near constant craving for boiled peanuts, my brain has been cobbling together some kind of grilled greek portabello steak recipe. I'm thinking a bella mushroom cap cleaned out, filled with a sauteed spinach, onion, garlic, tomato, and pine nut mixture, and then covered with feta and olive slices before throwing on top of an open grill. I've literally been seeing this in my sleep. I guess that means I need to make it and try it out....even if November is admittedly a terrible time to get the coal-fired grill going. If it works out reasonably well I will post a recipe.

Splitting the Atom - The Nukes Post

2009-09-09T14:54:52Z

I think if fusion power comes in our near future, perhaps even my lifetime, it would be one of the greatest world-changing events to ever happen. Unfortunately, tokamak has been in existence for more than fifty years with no appreciable success in solving our energy problems. There is a push to construct a larger fusion reactor, called the ITER, by around 2018, but this is still an experimental reactor that has some heavy criticisms to overcome: it may not produce net energy, it uses difficult to acquire deuterium and tritium, and it's VERY expensive. Cold fusion had its heyday in the late 80's and early 90's, and despite continued research coming from that realm of nuclear science, it appears that all signs toward nuclear energy created from cold fusion were premature and possibly fabricated. Polywell Fusion may well end up being the key to the success of fusion, but it is at least still six years away from commercial viability, and possibly could take even longer than that. (There's some dispute on whether Polywell Plasma Fusion is truly fusion or actually fission since Boron is split into Helium atoms...but I am neither qualified enough nor invested enough to actually care. It wouldn't function like the fission processes we know today.)

I could make this a long post about bashing wind and solar processes, but it doesn't serve me here and I explicitly don't want the reader to miss the forest for the trees. Wind, solar, tidal, hydro, and geothermal energy processes all work to some degree or other, but they don't work well - at least not well enough that we can afford to abandon burning fossil fuels. Very quickly I'll say this:

1. Solar is great at peak times, but our poor storage capabilities at the moment prevent solar from being our single power supply source. Orbital solar transfer (basically put large collectors above our atmosphere and beam power down to Earth by microwave) is dodgy and the microwave transmissions will undoubtedly have huge objections. Solar is the power of the future, but we cannot transition out of fossil fuels on this alone TODAY.
2. Did you know that Wind has a higher fatality rate per watt-hour produced than most renewable energies (only rooftop solar topping it by a long shot)? It's about 7 times higher than nuclear power, and I'm not excluding any notable events you might have heard of. Plus, Wind raises the temperature in areas where it is prevalent, kills migratory birds (and would kill oh-so-many more if we installed it throughout our Midwest like we'd need to for our power demands), and in the propeller format most commony observed is terribly inefficient. (EDIT NOTE: It's been pointed out to me that Wind power fatality rates per Twh have fallen as cumulative generation has increased. It actually was 10 times higher than nuclear before, and is now about 4 times higher than nuclear now.)
3. Our water aquifers are already stretched to the limit without compounding that problem by reducing water flow for Hydro power. Expect to see hydro power dams completely fall off the map in the next 30 years barring some drastic improvements in desalination. If the choice comes down to power or drinking water, drinking water is going to win (though this is a fallacious argument...if we lose the one, we'll lose the other).
4. Tidal. Eh, not sure what to say here. It works, but we don't know how well, and we don't know what the consequences are to marine life by putting large turbines under water. We can't shut down a coal plant over this.
5. Geothermal is great for heating your water and lowering your air conditioner and heater bills, but has not been shown to be viable on a large scale. This is a complementary technology, not a solution.

So, it's 2009, we have an administration that wants to reduce carbon emissions, and our remaining power choices are coal, gas, and nuclear fission (and trash, but it doesn't work well unless in a uniformly homogeneous stream and so just clouds the issue). Coal and Gas do a great job of solving our energy needs but totally fail regarding their production of greenhouse gases. As ironic as I find it considering my stance in the past, right now Nuclear Fission is our best hope for safe, clean power.

One of the scienceblogs, Built on Facts, has put up a list of all the reasons why we should choose nuclear fission. I have attempted to pull out the list and add to it a few key points that I think the author might've missed.

It's reliable. It works anywhere we want it to be.
It's safe. Modern reactors can't become Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. In the presence of a cooling failure the nuclear process stops and the rods are automatically removed. No worries about Homer being asleep at the control station.
It's cheap. It's not the cheapest, and there are hidden costs, but if the choice is pay more for fixing environmental problems associated with fossil fuels or pay more for nuclear power, the higher hidden costs may well be unavoidable.
It's environmentally friendly. Think I'm crazy? How much waste goes into the air in a nuclear facility? Into the water? People complain about "nuclear waste" but they really don't know what that is. I'll tell you what it is - 96 parts fuel still waiting to be used, 1 part precious metals like platinum, and 3 part radioactive byproducts. That's not waste, it's still an energy source. In fact, we have so much "waste" already mined and stored in our country that we could run enough modern nuclear reactors for current demand for over 100 years.
It's environmentally friendly part 2. Yes, radioactive materials produced from nuclear fission initially carry lethal amounts of rads. What most people don't know is that in a short period of time (depending on rate of processing) that radioactivity is almost completely gone and storage then becomes easy. Also, once fully processed, the volume of radioactive material is several orders of magnitude smaller than what most people believe about our nuclear waste. In France, the volume of radioactive waste produced per year is about 100 cubic meters per facility per year. This is a total of 5900 cubic meters per year, or a 3 dimensional object that is roughly 18 meters by 18 meters by 18 meters in size, and for those of us stuck in the land of customary systems, 60 feet x 60 feet x 60 feet.
It's politically convenient. Are you tired of sending billions of dollars to countries that at times are actively hostile to the US and our way of life? I know I am.

I'd like to paraphrase something the original author Matt Springer said regarding opposition to Nuclear fission. Our modern way of life requires lots and lots of energy to sustain us. Opposition to nuclear power...isn't pro-environment. It's anti-human. Yes, I like conservation, and I practice it (turning off lights - though Lissa complains I don't do this enough, disconnecting charger units when not in use, favoring smaller watt bulbs and more energy efficient appliances, etc.). Conservation is important and we should all be practicing it; however, I'm in no mood to suddenly collapse our American culture by equally distributing energy resources or eliminating all power choices besides just solar and wind. That isn't pro-environment. It's anti-American.

Thank you for taking the time to read down this far, and I hope you will check out all of the links. If you were only going to read one link today, though, please make it this one: a list of all the reasons why we should choose nuclear fission.

Fantasy Football League 2 - Fear My Hamster

2009-09-05T11:30:48Z

On Thursday, my company held our annual office football draft. Due to some workplace defections and selective attrition, we've cut the league down to 8 teams. Since you have so many fewer people playing, it makes more sense to have more starters and more spaces on each team. In this case, the league requires starting 2 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 WR/RB, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF, and 6 bench slots. Much like the first draft, I had a crummy draft position of 7th out of 8 teams. I don't think I can emphasize enough how good this team was at draft time. We'll see if that carries through to the end of the season. Scoring for this league is also performance oriented, except QB's get penalized for taking sacks and get bonus rewards for exceeding 300, 350, and 400 yards. Drafted players, by round:

1. Matt Forte
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Chris Johnson
4. Frank Gore
5. Ronnie Brown
6. Antonio Gates
7. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
8. Chad Ochocinco
9. Lee Evans
10. Darren McFadden
11. Matt Hasselbeck
12. Donald Driver
13. Bernard Berrian
14. Domenik Hixon
15. Brett Favre
16. Nate Kaeding
17. San Diego Chargers DEF

Fantasy Football League 1 - The Paper Tigers

2009-09-05T11:29:31Z

For those that love to obsess over fantasy football, it's that time of year again. The time to make inappropriate offensive comments about your friends and for grown men to play a complicated game of "Gotta Catch 'Em All!" The first week of September is the final week of millions of people claming that "OMFSM, I really did draft the best group of real players for my imaginary team in the whole wide world". I feel like I should be including lots of !'s, 1's, and ONE's in this.

The first of two for-money drafts I did this year was on Tuesday. It is a 12 person league, and we carry a very small 14 player team. Scoring is performance-oriented, which means that how players play in terms of yards gained has a slightly greater or at least equal effect to scoring touchdowns. We are required to play 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 WR/TE, 1 K, 1 DEF, and there are 6 bench slots. I drafted from the 9th spot out of the 12 teams - not the easiest of places to be. Here was how I drafted, by round:

1. Steve Slaton
2. Randy Moss
3. Darren McFadden
4. Donovan McNabb
5. Marshawn Lynch
6. Roy Williams
7. Donald Brown
8. Dallas Clark
9. James Davis
10. Matt Hasselbeck
11. Chris Henry
12. Earl Bennett
13. Nate Kaeding
14. New England Patriots DEF

Well that's odd

2009-07-30T17:59:34Z

Out of curiosity, am I the only person that's getting an icon of two guys on a beach when I click "Friends Page" at the top of my page, or select http://wyrrlen.livejournal.com/friends ? I tried other user names to see if I could see their friend lists, and I could, so I'm somewhat perplexed as to what is happening.

EDIT TO UPDATE: And then suddenly, after a few times of clicking refresh, my friends page is back. Bizarre.

Health Care (prompted by The Ferrett)

2009-07-28T14:59:01Z

I made the following comment to theferrett earlier today:

I think your premise is right, but I'd rather you went with a different conclusion to your argument. Namely, we already have bureaucrats now, so Let's work to remove bureaucrats from our health care! I often have said that I'm a supporter of single-payer insurance, but the more I look at it, the more I realize that this is not what I really mean.

I'm a big supporter of universal health care. I see that as everyone having equal access to health care that they can afford. I do like at least one layer of bureaucracy in the concept of a Health Care Insurance Exchange where individuals could purchase care competitively. However, the truth is to have health care that is universal and affordable, we have to remove costs. The socialized system being proposed in congress now doesn't do that.

I think we have to bring in Tort reform as just an opener - that's the mandatory barrier to starting universal health care. Past that, I think we have to go back to a point where patients understand and are responsible for cost (though this is a gray area for emergency care - it needs to be tread carefully). We have to decouple insurance from business...take away the opportunity to lose coveragibility because of a pre-existing condition when you switch jobs. Insurance that was personable would also force third party insurers to be accountable - if you don't like their insurance plan you can leave and go to someone else (not be forced to stay with it because it's what your employer wants).

Other things to consider:
- Having a current tax benefit, I'm ambivalent about losing the tax credit of medical insurance BUT I see the argument for its benefit and I think it may ultimately be the way to go. If there's no tax benefit to purchasing insurance through your employer it can help to decouple your job from your insurance.
- Through a central insurance exchange, push for standardized billing codes/procedures and medical record procedures
- Change our anti-smoking regulations from a sin tax to a prevention program. A sin tax creates a government dependency on keeping people smoking. Similarly, change regulations in the food and beverage industry to discourage High Fructose Corn Syrup and promote healthier choices for American's diet. Basically, look at all related segments of our "health" and stop rewarding B while hoping we'll get A. Create the right incentives.
- Promote HSAs. HSAs change the way insurance works so that most of the choice in health care transfers to the patient, but in the case of an emergency condition like your appendicitis you'd still have catastrophic coverage. I've listed this near the bottom but I think this is one of the best ways to improve most people's health care.
- Consider changing insurance from a profit business to a non-profit. Right now, insurance companies are ultimately creating revenues and profits by limiting access to care. Very few innovations are left that are internal to the business (computer record keeping v. paper, automated phone service, and the like...those ships have already sailed for controlling an insurer's cost), so the pressure is now on to lower the costs of the insured - and that amounts to ultimately preventing individuals from getting care. While in some cases this may be the right thing (ie., preventing you from getting an ultrasound every time you have indigestion), ultimately the current profit model is working directly against the idea of health care as we see it as individuals.

And that's kind of where I am on things right now - what I've called single payer in the past... What I really mean to say there is: centralized billing standards and medical recording, coupled with universal access to insurance. I think it's insanity that there are dozens of different systems for each different insurance business, and a doctor's office has to have a separate billing procedure, billing code, and bill rate for each of them. Simplify that through an exchange to make it the same and you would drastically reduce not just insurer's overhead but doctor's offices' overhead as well.

I understand that in order to have universal coverage that is affordable it will ultimately require mandatory insurance coverage. My solution there is to make Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) the opt-out method. At least with a universal health insurance exchange, patients would still be able to select their level of care and their insurer. This is where I think socialized health care doesn't compare to our current system - If I wanted different insurance I'd be stuck with the government plan regardless. Now, the key is still to keep health care cost lowered, so that I don't lose choice based on availability/affordability either. There's no easy solution, unfortunately. I'm sure people will disagree with me on details even if they agree on the overall idea that insurance needs to change.

And just as quickly, the beard was gone

2009-06-26T15:26:03Z

So...it turned out to not work so well as a good luck charm, and I mostly shaved the beard off. I've now changed over to the "evil alternate universe" look and kept a goatee. It's...interesting for sure. Mostly in that it has all the frustrations of a beard but twice the maintenance. I may be a little harsh to my facial hair - I haven't gotten rid of the goatee yet, so it can't be that bad. Lissa seems to particularly like it, so we shall see if it sticks around.

In not so surprising other news, I think I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by current events in politics. Cap and Trade and the issues with the Inspector Generals have really been chafing at me, and it's been frustrating to find little common opinion on the topics with my liberal friends. The recent insanity of Mark Sanford - I mean, holy cow, did that really happen? - has helped eased tensions somewhat, but I have a feeling I'll duck most political conversations in the near future to keep myself out of trouble.

Work is still a grind, life's been busy, and I need to post more. I hope all is well with you, too.

Playoff beard

2009-04-24T14:24:56Z

So...about a week ago I decided to start growing a beard for the Stanley Cup playoffs. This would be my first beard ever. It's now just a hair shorter than long enough to obviously be a beard, and I've discovered that my genetics have played a cruel joke by making much of the hairs on my chin blond and red. The hair on top of my head is dark brown. I do not understand this at all.

I may take pictures of this exercise in superstition, but I'm at least going to wait until I get to the point where my beard is actually making me look even younger than I look without it (For reference, that's subtract 10 years for without a beard, and subtract 15 years or so for with a beard. Gah!).

Also, it does finally stop itching after about four or five days. Thank goodness.

Random thought on button fly jeans

2009-04-23T18:13:19Z

I know I'm tremendously guilty of not posting enough. I know I whimper and complain about my lack of posting every time I post. I may well just make these first two sentences a static header for me.

I've discovered that the benefit of button-fly jeans is entirely on the removal side. Sure, it takes a lot of finger fumbling to work the five or six buttons into place to hold your jeans together, and that's kind of a pain. A "normal" pair of jeans requires two simple motions: a zip up and a single button close held close for you already by the zipper. However, a well-worn pair of button fly jeans appears to be the most efficient way to quickly open your pants as a single sideways pull at the top of the pants tends to pull apart every button at once. All of that tedious prep time for a half-second faster quick removal may seem pretty silly, but I can think of at least one example where it makes a world of difference.

Variations of the story start with an eternally long conference call, a large coke from lunch, and continuous input requested from upper management. Then again, I think my bladder may just be trying to force the flight reaction my brain already has when my team collectively sets aside reason. Button-fly jeans for either reason are a sweet relief.

Okay, I'll be honest; Now I can think of two examples.

Why twitter doesn't really work right

2009-02-05T18:15:52Z

dexeron has written a nice summary of many things that are wrong with Twitter, and what ends up making it fail as a communication tool.

I like my friends that have Twitter, but I have to guiltily admit that I also imagine the other side of the conversation to always be the most embarassing and inappropriate of possible responses.

Quick Meganism

2009-01-06T02:16:26Z

I've been very busy, and it's late tonight and the girls are still up, so this will be quick. Tonight I got this ten second burst from Megan about our dog Dizzy:

"I don't think Dizzy is going to get any presents this year because she doesn't believe in Santa Clause. (Pause) Because she's a dog."

...and then as I was typing that out, apparently Dizzy got into some kind of mess that led to this conversation:

Rob: Um, I think there's something hanging off the back of Dizzy.
Lissa: Uh oh.
Megan: Is it black?
Rob: (wtf?) Um...no.
Megan: Is it brown?
Rob: Well, kinda.
Megan: It's poop.
(Rob and Lissa burst into laughter)

This kid is a nut.

It's good to have Roger back

2008-12-05T21:33:52Z

Apparently, Roger Ebert gave a review for a movie I didn't even know existed: eXpelled with Ben Stein. eXpelled is a movie about Intelligent Design and how the scientific community is censoring them. I'd recommend this as a must-read review regarding the topic, regardless of whether you believe in Intelligent Design as science or not. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/12/win_ben_steins_mind.html

As an aside, I'd really be interested in talking to someone that has an argument for how ID is science. Too often I hear that ID is persecuted, and that we should teach controversy, but no one has ever been able to explain to me how the scientific method applies. The door is open if someone would like to help enlighten me.

(A small thank you to Mr. Bergen's beloved for helping me stumble upon this.)

Well, you're damned if you do and...

2008-12-05T16:50:47Z

I was thinking today that it sucks to make a pandora's box-type of choice - one where the consequences of taking an action may end up far outweighing the good of taking that action. When stuck in a situation where the consequences of taking the action or not might be close to the same, I'm left with the feeling of never knowing if it was better to take the action or not take the action because once the moment has passed I'm going to tend to regret not doing the other thing anyway.

But as I sat here and thought about it, it occurred to me that I run into a lot of these unwinnable situations. Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe the problem is not at the moment of the decision, but rather that I didn't work more or think harder about the decision before I had to make it. Maybe I'm letting myself fall into these traps, when an easier path was always available to me that I just couldn't see.

Despite the fact that I went ahead and acted today, and already regret making that decision, it was a good feeling to start working out how not to get myself in these predicaments in the first place. There's plenty for me to ponder for today.

Thank you Early Voters!

2008-11-04T15:21:14Z

I think that I may well be in love with the nearly 2.6 million people that voted early in NC. Thanks to you, it took me fourteen minutes to vote from the time I parked my car in the parking lot to the time I got the kids buckled back in and started the car. Yes, fourteen minutes with two wild kids (though they did really good today). Fourteen. Early voters, you guys rock.

Thanks.

Time to vote tomorrow

2008-11-03T19:17:21Z

Lissa and I talked about voting early a few weeks back, but ultimately we decided that we wanted to do it on Election day when we had the kids, so that we could make the attempt to impart the importance of voting and elections with them. It sounds kind of silly as I say it now, but I do feel strongly about giving them a chance to see what voting is all about.

I listened to a few members of my friendslist discuss the importance of understanding judicial elections and local candidates, so I did my best to research all the way to the bottom of the card. Unfortunately, for my county I found this very difficult to do. I could find no candidate information other than local address for either Soil and Water Conservation Superintendent. I'm not even clear which one is the incumbent, though each party has claimed one of the two candidates on their pull cards. There are five candidates for Board of Education on the ballot, but apparently in early October the first candidate listed asked to be removed from the ballots (he was not in time to be taken off the ballot). The GOP endorses two of the remaining four while the Dems endorse another one. Again, there is no information other than address about any of the candidates, save that at least in this case the local Educator's Assoc. endorsed the two republican candidates and the newspaper revealed the democrat candidate has multiple felonies for driving on a suspended license. So, I'm going to go with the educator's endorsement here, and my apologies to the gentleman (who also has the very unfortunate last name of Rape) that did not go with a political party for not discovering more about him.

Last but not least, there was no immediate information to be found about my district judge, so I'm voting for the incumbent. It appears that there are no appreciable complaints about the justice system in this county, and given that, I'm not inclined to rock the boat by bringing in someone new.

Overall, on the ballot I voted for 11 Republicans and 18 Democrats, making this the most moderate ballot I've ever cast. Incidentally, I also felt like I was the most informed on downticket races than I've ever been at election time as well. Hopefully the lines tomorrow won't be too long for us, but I do hope that everyone who wants to participate turns out and casts their vote.

I wish future self would travel back to give me football scores

2008-10-10T18:40:08Z

It seems at times that it is more challenging for me to write a post on livejournal than it is to do any other daily task that I have...and I have no idea why that is the case.

If my day could be summed up in two songs, they would be: Realize and I'm Yours. Coming up soon is our seventh anniversary for megansmommy and I. I don't think anyone ever tells you things like, you know what, changing your life to be in a committed marriage is really hard to sustain....and it is at all times an exhausting and amazing experience to raise kids (that will make that first item even more difficult)...and there is no single guidebook to how you can traverse through the challenges of intimacy, trust, parenting, friendship, work, and everything else without getting bumped and bruised along the way.

Okay, so maybe Dr. Seuss told me everything I needed to know, but it's difficult to realize what it means to get left in a lurch or stuck in a slump when your only a few years into this world. So today is not quite the day, but I'm close to having escaped the waiting place. Boom bands are playing for me on Monday; when I can tell Lissa that we've made it seven years.

And each one has been the best, except for those ones that weren't. I've always said that I'd rather be lucky than good, and while I've been working hard to add good to my resume, luck has held out to date in giving me two beautiful daughters, a wife that loves me despite pulling way more than her share of the load, and a safe home. There is this bad economy thing floating around outside my world, but I hadn't noticed because I've been taking the time recently to stop and enjoy the moment.

These moments are good. Thanks for leaving your whole life almost eight years ago to come marry me, Lis. I love you.

Public Service announcement on registering to vote

2008-09-15T20:00:13Z

If you are not currently registered to vote and would like to be, declare yourself will give you the current requirements for being a registered voter in each state, and a link to how to register.

Fantasy football draft results

2008-08-28T19:48:23Z

In the league of annual pocket fleecing, I once again suffered through an interminably long football draft for my fantasy team. I was just about as unfortunate as possible in getting the ninth pick out of a twelve team draft, but I still think I managed to do all right with it. Though, some measure of my fantasy success revolves around two former NFC North players looking like their old selves while playing for the New York Jets. I can safely say this is the first time I've ever had a reason to cheer for the J-E-T-S, and I think I'll be all right if it turns out to be my last. Anyway, here's what a guy can do when trying to make a game out of the 9th pick (Start: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 WR/TE, 1 DEF, 1 K Bench: 6 slots)

1. Frank Gore, SF - Yes, he's had injury concerns in the past and his quarterback is questionable, but his hands and running ability couldn't be passed on at this spot.
2. Terrell Owens, DAL - Here's hoping he keeps his head together for another year.
3. Thomas Jones, NYJ - Will the Chicago Bears' Thomas Jones please stand up?
4. Santonio Holmes, PIT - I passed on Anquan Boldin for this pick, but I've had Boldin for four years straight and I'm done with that.
5. Jonathan Stewart, CAR - Did you see that Redskins game the other night? WOW.
6. Dwayne Bowe, KC - He may have no receiving or quarterback support, but that was true last year and he almost had 1,000 yards.
7. Brett Favre, NYJ - Please play like last year and not two years ago. Thanks.
8. Vikings D/ST, MIN - Someone picked the Bears before the Vikes. Only one of these two has looked like last year's defense so far.
9. Aaron Rodgers, GB - Thought I might want to handcuff Favr....what do you mean they play on different teams now?
10. Ray Rice, BAL - In Cam Cameron we trust. In McGahee's condition and knee we do not.
11. Bryant Johnson, SF - Ride on the Martz-train - oooh ahhhh eeeeh ahhhh oooooh ahhh.
12. Jerious Norwood, ATL - Maybe he'll pan out, but this is really just drop fodder for my kicker's bye week.
13. Reggie Williams, JAX - Ditto.
14. Shayne Graham, CIN - Mamas, don't let your babies pick a K and DEF with the same bye week. Dang, that sucks, but he was the best kicker available. I really wanted Josh Brown - a slight step down but on a different off-week. That's what I get for picking him last, I suppose.

Hello LJ, how are you?

2008-08-26T14:31:03Z

I had a fun five minutes on my nearly hour-long commute this morning as Beck came on the air to discuss his new album. I found myself really enjoying his new song Modern Guilt as he talked about his music and place in it over the past fifteen years. It was a good listen, and a wonderful reminder of something I tend to forget when I think of Beck: I actually do like him. I will readily admit that I gave away Mellow Gold a long time ago, and have never bought another Beck album. I have on occasion actually mistaken a Beck song for a Ween song. I also have been known to more often than not skip ahead to something else if any of Beck's songs come on the radio. I can't explain why I don't much care to listen to the music...there are little cues that can tend to rub me the wrong way - like the distortion of his voice in the mic or a weird or unnecessary electronic beat thrown in with his guitar. Sometimes, either due to laziness or actual forced effort, I push past and find myself singing along to Beercan, and having fun doing it.

So...still not posting with any regularity. I'm really not sure how to fix this other than just force myself to type about things I'm purposefully avoiding. Mostly, that's the stuff in my life relating to distracted attention and depression - two topics I'm not all that keen on just laying out in the open. I keep telling myself I'll talk about it more once I figure out a way to create a healthy discussion, but I struggle with not wanting to sound like the person plagued with dark thoughts. I really want to be the person that overcomes and copes with life despite the depression. Most days I'm more than fairly functional, and I think that story is more interesting and compelling than the days when I have a hard time even getting up.

My best depression fighter continues to be my family, and that's affected some choices we've been making recently. I more or less turned down an exciting job offer (more or less means I wouldn't agree to travel requirements) to re-enter the government advocacy field because it was going to take me away from Lissa and the kids for at least a few months to a year at first, and then possibly have me away from all of them with little or no notice. I just couldn't accept that. I need to keep working, and need to get back to doing something I love doing, but not at the expense of dance recitals, play dates, pool outings, and piggy-back rides. I don't want to miss the days where Megan's teachers tell me she's so advanced in her fine motor skills that they've begun displaying her artwork on the wall for themselves. I don't want to miss watching Emily do the "toddler-run" to fly into Lissa's arms. You couldn't pay me enough to live my life away from our family.

wyrrlen @ 2008-07-08T15:26:00

2008-07-08T19:37:07Z

Sometimes I get bummed at how bad I've gotten with posting to my livejournal. Sometimes I don't want to post just another "I'm bummed" post....because I don't want to create this impression that nothing's ever going well in my world. Generally, everything has been really good for a long time. Even with bad work stuff, my life has generally been on a high the past year at least.

We've gotten settled into the house pretty well. We're very nearly financially stable. I have great people that I work with that I see a lot, and even better people that I call friends that I see rarely if ever. The kids continue to amaze me at every turn; they're getting so big, and are so smart, and they love Lissa and I so much.

I'm just really busy a lot of the time. My head is always cloudy - Lissa thinks my ADD is getting worse than it used to be, and that plays a part in it. It takes me a long time to get things done. I'm still working on that issue, but not sure if I'm ready to throw medicine at it yet.

I have been throwing new medicine at my allergies: Zeramyst or somesuch. I've never - EVER - been a fan of nasal sprays, but I can't argue with both its simplicity (about a quarter-spray of what I'm used to) and its effectiveness.

See, I'm proving to myself that I can post, even if about inane stuff. Maybe I'll get around to writing about why I finally decided to vote for Obama or something really crazy like posting recipes of good things we've made recently. We shall see. (PLEASE BRAIN, DO NOT LET ME GO 3+ WEEKS WITHOUT POSTING AGAIN. I'll let you go back to your shiny distractions and you can continue to let the rest of the body be controlled by the stomach).

A good time to catch up

2008-06-16T18:31:38Z

I figure that since I've been averaging about a post a month recently, pretty much all of the day to day events I enjoy or dread have been left off the average update. So, I thought I'd at least recalibrate thanks to a little nudge from

trillian42.

1. First Name: Rob

2. Age: 30

3. Location: Charlotte, NC

4. Occupation: Heh. Um, okay - subject to change is an understatement here. So I'll jump forward just slightly and say Consultant. More to come?

5. Kids: Two - Megan is almost 4 and Emily just turned 2 yesterday. Bounce houses and waterslides were involved.

6. Brothers/Sisters: One older sister. She's 36 and lives close to my parents. I think she suffers greatly from bad decisions in her life, and I wish there was a way for me to make her life better.

7. Pets: Dizzy the dalmatian, at the spry age of 14. She's really changed from mature dog to old dog in the past year; I don't think we've got a lot of time left.

8. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life: Working on getting my next job has been a huge time and energy investment. We've also been spending a lot of time in trying to get our finances together right now while gas prices have been high and everything seems to cost too much. Getting Megan to start dance.

9. Where and for what did you go to school?: BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina and MS in Engineering Management from the University of North Carolina - Charlotte.

10. Parents?: My parents are both still working and live in Columbia, SC. Dad's had some genetic health issues catch up with him recently, but Doctors and medications have kept his life normal. Lissa's Mom lives in our neighborhood while Lissa's Dad lives in Virginia beach. Both retired.

11. Who are some of your closest friends? I don't know who's a close friend anymore, really. I'd love to say Witt, Jonathan, Tim, Alan, and James....they're all good friends, but as the daily grind of my life has kept us from each other by schedule and proximity, I'm willing to bet that I fall short of best friend on each of their lists. Which can easily lead me to depressed thoughts for weeks at a time. I'm almost ready to promote my ex-boss and current cellmate Brian up to close friend status, but some card games and sports may be in order first.

12. Significant other(s)?: Lissa and I will hit our seven year anniversary this fall. I think we've really hit our stride in the past year to two years. More love, more trust, more stability, more...er, extracurricular activities.

Travelin' Man

2008-05-24T04:54:06Z

I'm off to the beach for a week, and I hope to be really back when I get back.

Being nostalgic makes it hard to be productive

2008-04-09T20:17:48Z

Ack, one day I will remember not to kill my post as I'm just about to make it. I think we need to turn this into a bad joke: Expect Rob to eat his well thought out, heartfelt post at least once before each bi-weekly or longer post. I feel so livejournal stupid right now it's not even funny.

Someone please point me to the icon that most represents ineptness. I need to add it to my list.

I'm suffering a terrible disease of nostalgia right now. I want to blame it on the catch-all fact that I've turned 30 recently, but I don't know if that's what I can attribute this feeling to. I've been thinking about a lot of people, all clustered in these unique stages of my life, that I don't have any kind of contact with anymore. And the shame is that many times, none of those people ever had contact with anyone I do interact with now. So, once they start to slip away....they're just gone out of my life. No powers of google-fu, or my creation of a facebook, or this livejournal, or anything else has so far helped me bring them back into my circle.

And I'm scared that maybe it's because I can't handle having the size friend's circle I want to have. I'm about five years overdue on an email back to Leigh. I managed to track down Jonathan Megginson and drag him back into my life - and for what? - I didn't email enough and I lost him to the ether again. Natalie deserves a really good, long-written email that is five months behind and will probably push further than that. I've not exactly been the poster child for upholding my end of the relationship. But I want this - I may not have ever shown it, or said it, but there are a lot of people that stay in my thoughts...that I wish were more represented in my life.

I haven't been really good about putting the personal stamp of my touch on things. Not here in livejournal, not in email, through the phone, or in letters. So, if I want this I need to make changes. Life is busy, but (albeit a bit longer after being eaten by my elite posting skills) this post only took a few minutes. I need to get away from the screen of work and life being too busy. Yeah, it f'ing is, but that's no excuse for good friends.

Lj-friends, all of you, I think about you and keep you in my thoughts. Even when I don't post and I don't comment, I try to keep track and wonder how you're doing. Yates, I really wonder how you're doing man. Nyssa, did I read it right that you're engaged? Dare I say I haven't sad congrats? Shame on me for that. Everyone, don't think you're not important. You are very important, and dear. Thanks for reading this.

3-2-1 day

2008-03-21T18:00:16Z

Okay, so it's not as glamorous as Pi day. I'm a bit behind. Perhaps I should add an....'of course'...to that.

Birthday!

Okay guys, apparently I am the most clueless and gullible person on the planet. You would not have to try hard to get one over on me. At least, that's what I've come to realize after megansmommy and chioubacca teamed up to get me out of the house so my birthday could become the surprise variety. It was really awesome to see a lot of old friends like Yoni and Aaron, and I'd just been lamenting a few weeks earlier that it had been a long time since I'd gotten to see pi216 or wattage. The whole thing was really cool though, and save for a little intrafamily flap, I think everyone had a great time.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Yes, it's tax time again. You know, for the first time in my life, we will actually be paying federal taxes back. I guess it came as somewhat of an initial shock to me, but considering our housing mess last year we didn't have quite the deductions we've had in the past. In all, I think it's going to be about $2k that we'll pay, which after the initial shock of payment, wasn't all that bad. For the record, it didn't diminish my love for doing our taxes just because we have to pay this time. Sometime in the next week I'll get to do two more sets of taxes, and then it'll be a whole year before 2nd Christmas comes again.

Man, I love crunching numbers.

Anything else?

Well, I think a lot of my day to day rotuines have been fairly mundane recently. However, it's pretty easy for things to be mundane when the kids are doing well, life with Lissa is like a dream, and our house is really coming together. I don't think my stress levels have been this low in years. It feels good - I'd like to keep that up, okay?

It must be because I turned 30, but I've been feeling very nostalgic at times now. Lissa and I have both been talking about our pasts and falling out of touch with friends. It wasn't my new year's resolution, but I'm thinking that belatedly I want to try to reach out and get back in touch with my favorite people from high school and college. I've been VERY tempted to get a facebook and myspace pages. I think it would be fun, but the tradeoff will be giving up a bit of the internet anonymity I've cultivated. Then again, who am I kidding? It's hard to have any anonymity when there's only one Wyrrlen out there in the world. So I guess I should just go ahead and do it.

Higher Ground

2008-03-04T14:47:56Z

I'm still alive...it's just been a crazy month with work, and I'm starting to suffer burnout. Great updates won't come today, but three weeks ago I did have an amazing surprise 30th birthday party that I'll want to tell you more about. Soon.

Also, Emily has said her first fully enunciated five-word sentence: "Thank you my sweet Daddy." *melts*

Pony, anyone?