A Person, Artist, Software Engineer, Geologist.

This is a photo of our dog Boo that we lost a few years ago.  I very special dog that was full of wild instincts and action.  Kind of a guide for all of us. This is one of my better photos with looking down at her during a snowstorm, where the snow blurs where he stow stops and Boo begins. Enjoy

‘Tis the season for going somewhere and not doing a whole lot but hanging out with each other, friends and family.  So we are. This time it’s down to the panhandle of FL to see Bobbie’s sister and uncle (on the way back).  Rain and sun, which is par for the course for winter traveling, not to mention the damage from Michael which is all over the place (aka Mexico Beach). This trip also gives me some time for drawing and painting (more on that later).  BTW, a good book to read is “Art and Fear”.  This book could also apply to almost any subject where interest is high in youth but culture and peer pressure work to wean the subject from our lives, much to our loss.

If you have noticed that the last number of posts have included, yeah, included photo’s that (at least) I feel are quite nice.  I’ve been trying to start a collection of these photos and focused on taking pictures of items or monuments that are all around us (mostly under foot) that if we stop and see them, evoke emotion and maybe even a story. So to much ado, here is my latest photo.  During a walk this morning, I looked down and saw a single seedling trying to make a go in the lift point of a manhole cover.  That evoked a powerful though of how this seeding is doing what it can in a tough place.

Yes, I did retire from my last company.  If you use the definition of retire where it means that I'm financially independent and can do what I want.  The current term these days is F.I.R.E.  (Financially Independent, Retire Early) and its fits in my case, but the word denotes an end rather than a new beginning. In alternate term I could use is graduate and I would use that if I felt that I left an educational setting, but it felt more like an escape from a chicken house (you can read the reviews here: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Forcepoint-Reviews-E1262390.htm  Filter by most recent.  Note the 5 starts are a effort from management to prop up the ratings).  It now appears that the company maybe put up for sale by its parent, Raytheon.  The good times where over long ago.  So what other terms can I use? Leaving and becoming one of the F.I.R.E people, it feels like moving from chicken coup to free ranging it.  No fences and plenty...

Just a photo that I took last night, that just turned out better than I expected. Enjoy

It’s easy to get lost in your job.  You spend all day with people all day that are chosen for you and perform tasks that you may or may not feel are worthwhile efforts.  Anything that you do for most of your waking hours has got to take a toll on how you think, act and interact with the world.  But is it you? Perspective is hard to have when you only get to see one side of an issue.  Since I had left (thank goodness I was able to) the regular working life, I’ve been able to gain some “perspective” on work, my last position and what was occurring where I had worked. There are people that are self destructive, but have you seen this in a company?  It’s not so much the “company” but the people that make up the company, with each thinking they are doing the right thing, but each in their own way, chipping away are respect, trustworthiness, all the while moving further and further away from “success” and closer to a failure cliff. When I was making my own plan...

Just a dusting of snow this morning.  Just enough to allow for a few photographs. I’ll I’m working towards is one good photograph or drawing a day.  Not too much to ask, but enough to keep moving forward and making progress.  The past is past and the seasons keep coming and changing our lives from day to day. Enjoy

When I had a regular job (like 40/hr week, software engineering), my job was the over riding factor in my life.  It dictated when I got up, got home and what I did with most of my time.  So when I quit, my life changed quite a bit to say the least. Some people have a single over riding “thing” in their life.  Good for them, I do not.  But what I’ve found out is that I have a bunch of little things in my life that can change over time.  I have or had: Construction around the house (Bobbie tells me what to build) Hiking (local with Bobbie, myself or Friends) AT Hiking (This is NOT the same as local hiking and can involve longer distances 12+ / day) that does require driving a while to get to the next AT section). Fly Fishing (Some local for a a couple of hours or distance for most of the day). Video editing / creation (either in iMovie or Final Cut Pro). Drawing (mostly ink pen with watercolors). River Kayak / Tubing (summer time) Art movies (there ar...

OK, everything moves forward, but progress for progress sake may not be what is best. Take this photo of a new tail bridge at Rocky Fork State Park.  Which would you rather cross? For us the fact we are in the woods crossing a clear fishy stream matches with the old log built bridge.  It just kind of fits.  Yeah it can and will get washed out during very heavy rains, but it sure does fit the scene.  Hate to see it go, but the future is the new metal bridge way above the stream.  It will still be nice but the outdoors feeling will be diminished a bit.  It's nicer, it's safer and provides better footing, but adventure will be lost. Sigh, onward...

A new section of the AT starting tomorrow.  It’s Joe’s dream to section the complete trail and for the time being, I’m his wing man. Never been to the Shenandoah N.P. So this should be a treat.  5 days of sections and about 2/3rd of the N.P. Length.  It will be good to hike this and good to be done with it too.  Always gotta keep moving on. Seeing that this is north of us, the fall colors may have already started up there.  Looking forward to 1) seeing the colors and 2) being able to see “through” the trees for more views.  Also really liking hiking in the cooler weather.  I do much better when the temps are in the 60’s as it allows me to hike further with more enjoyment. Found this leaf (in the photo) last week.  Just represents how everything changes.  We may not notice it at the time, but change always happens.  Bring it on.  Not a big fan of nostalgia as you can tell.

Just some random photos of this fall thus far.  It's a mix of color, and disconnection.  Enjoy. Natural colors in nature.  No re-work on the photo! I liked this photo as there are steps to the house, but no walk way.  Kind of like, "come this way" but "find your own way". \ Just fun times at Trader Joe's.  Always fun shopping at Joe's. Just a "fixer upper" in a small town.  Don't you want to check it out?

If you : Develop software Have run through a number of PM processes to "Fix things" Nothing seems to work Then check out this article: Project management: A surefire way to kill your software product It may provide you with insight on what is occurring. Not that I've been there before or anything.

Yo, I've been working on my WordPress site. Take a look...

For leading, the operative word is "Lead".  Not push, force, scare, threat and the like.  People must choose to willingly follow the path that a leader puts forward.  This of course can range from being a zombie and just follow whatever... to being enthusiastic about the journey. In your workplace which are you? Employee's get a paycheck, security and healthcare.  Because of this management sometimes think that you should be happy at work.  (most of the time it the non-actual work items that make people unhappy at work, not the actual work they do). But there are other parties in the company that can undermine happiness at work.  One of these is HR.  The same HR department that literally is called "Human Resources" like it's for the employee is really mostly there to protect the company and NOT on the side of the employee.  A person can not serve two masters, the HR department servers the company.  If there is an issue between the emp...