TheDaver.net

Fie! A pox on the author of this blog. As said author, I’ve let you, the faithful reader (assuming there is such a thing) down, allowed thedaver.net to decay into just another backwater of the internet swamp…stagnant, stale, even fusty (a great word if ever one existed.)

However, a new dawn is breaking. I hereby resolve to get back on my feet…er, keyboard…and do thedaver.net justice. I must warn you, however, there is precious little material to work with at the moment. Work! It’s all work, all day, every day. Yea, though the summer has ended I walk through the valley of Photoshop, Adobe Premiere and Apple Final Cut Pro, and I fear all marketing material. (Sorry, a touch blasphemous, methinks.) Point is, not much going on right now except the rush to get things done. What makes it all so difficult is the fact I really don’t have a clue how to do what I’m supposed to do. Thankfully I am surrounded by people much better than myself, people who do the heavy lifting.

But! I haven’t quit thinking, for goodness sakes. Here are some thoughts to share, to hold you over until I can really sink my teeth into a topic.

- I was given a book lately, “Chasing Daylight.” It’s about seizing your “divine moment” and living the life of danger and adventure that God calls us all to. After reading page 46, the single worst page of writing I’ve read in many years, I’ve decided I would rather eat shards of glass than continue reading this book. Maybe I’m just in a bad mood.

- I’ve been watching the political election/convention drama. Here’s an obvious fact: Both parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, are a bunch of liars, swindlers, fabulists, deceivers, shysters, and much worse. The candidates, the advisers, the strategists…they all comprise a cabal, specializing in the craft of making noise favorable to themselves and harmful to the other, the truth be damned. Aided by their enablers, MSNBC for the left and Fox News for the right, the political/media machine has begun it’s assault upon the good people of this country in earnest, acting smart but excelling in the asinine. God help us, and please pass the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones.

- Sarah Palin was pretty awesome, however.

- Favorite moment of the Olympics: The German weightlifter who won the gold medal and held up a picture of his recently deceased wife. Watch the drama here.

- Olympic sport I enjoyed the most while understanding it the least: Field Hockey.

- If you like to read, and I know you do, and you like the craft of writing, you might like this guy. I read every article he writes.

- Hurricanes are bad, bad things (well, not intrinsically bad, they just create bad situations.) But, when a hurricane causes a family you know to evacuate and come stay with you, and a friend of that family comes along and makes everyone homemade gumbo…well, that’s a good thing. And it was.

- It’s nigh impossible to find a lovely rent house on the edge of the city with country views and a couple of acres of wooded land and a stream and a fence and a landlord who allows pets…all for $800/month. Really, it’s just not happening.

That’s all for now. Please don’t give up thedaver.net just yet. I’ll try to redeem myself.

Man, am I tired.  I’ve been keeping late nights (never asleep before midnight) and early mornings (typically up at 6:45 a.m.)  Averaging about 5 1/2 hours per night…pretty rough on a kid who likes his sleep.

Over the years my job in the summer has shifted quite a bit.  I spend much more time in the office (booo!), much less time with kids (boooo! boooo!) and much more time talking to parents about their little prides and joys (eeehhhh.)  Basically, I’ve become the vice-principal of camp.  If a kid acts up, I usually deal with it.  If little Johnny punches little Billy in the face because Billy took Johnny’s Kooky Pen, I’m called in.  If Suzie refused to clean her bunk area and throws a hissy because Sally made fun of her hat which is painted purple and has pieces of trash glued to it, I’m the fixer.

I’m not the first line of defense: that would be the cabin counselors, followed by the “top staff.”  But more often than not I get the call, the nod, the invite into the madness that is 7-year old boy social dynamics, or, worst of all, the hideous, murky, unfathomable miasma of 13-year old girls and their parallel, twilight zone universe.  Weird thing is, though, I kindof like it.  I like sitting down with little Billy or Suzie and trying to understand them, hearing them out.  Usually the misbehavior is brought on by some twisted tale involving invaded personal space, touched toys, bad looks, whispers, cutting in line and farty noises.  Sometimes, though, you get the truly sad stories, stories of neglect and anger and wrecked homes and moms and dads who hate each other.  Breaks my heart at times, but also puts me in a position to say some kind words and try to help.

Beyond being the vice-principal, I’m busy with lots of other stuff.  It is probably all too boring to lay out, so I’ll pass.  It’s hard to stay caught up on the news, but I try.  Here is what’s been happening lately, and some thoughts:

• Tim Russert died.  I liked him.  He was about the only political news guy I could stand, and seemed like a really nice guy.
• The country of Zimbabwe is descending into chaos due to rigged elections.  The story of Africa continues.
• 800 or more people died in a ferry accident in the Philippines.  What’s to say?  Tragedies, by definition, are tragic.
• George Carlin died.  And…?
• Gas prices continues to soar.  It stinks, but it is what it is.  Oil (gasoline) is “non-renewable” and we’re bound to run out someday.  (Still, over $5/gallon for diesel?  Ouch!)
  
• Barack Obama and John McCain are starting to go at it.  Please, wake me up when it’s over.  I know there’s a need for politicians, but does the process have to be so…sad?
• Roger Federer is on his way to winning Wimbledon again.  I love Roger Federer.  Really.  I do.
  
• The Celtics won the NBA championship.  And, in more exciting news, a man from Chicopee, Massachussets, won the annual World Rock, Paper, Scissors championship.  Rock beats scissors every time.

I’m sure there is more going on, but this is about all I can manage.  As I said, I’m very tired.

I’ll admit it, I sometimes watch cable news. Almost all of it I find ridiculous; there is hardly any “news” to be found, only partisan sniping, rudeness, argument and pretension (Why do I watch? Good question.) But I did like Tim Russert. He always struck me as a really good guy, above all else. He also seemed to be level-headed, respectful of his guests, very knowledgeable, and, most of all, happy. Plus, he was almost always smiling. I really liked that about him.

Tim Russert died the other day, June 13th, suddenly, and has left behind a stunned community of viewers, co-workers and others who knew him. I’ve spent a little time reading and watching what others are saying about him, usually said through strained voice and teary eyes, and I can’t help but be truly impressed by the fact that not one person, not one, has had anything remotely negative to say. Everyone who knew him genuinely seems to have respected, admired and loved him. You get the sense that Mr. Russert was a force of humble personality, unaffected enthusiasm and true passion. I’ve been impressed by how effusive the praise has been, and I’ve wished, more than once, that I had more of the qualities he seemed to possess. Probably the best quote I’ve heard about him was “he was the best Tim Russert he could have been.” That’s pretty high praise.

I know this is a pretty random topic, but as you get older perhaps you tend to sit up and pay more attention when someone public dies before their time. As I said, I liked Tim Russert and I’m sad he’s gone.

Read more about Tim Russert .

I want to write something but I don’t know what. So, I’ll just throw out some random comments.

There is a group called “Code Pink” protesting a Marine recruiting center in Berkeley, California. I’ve been keeping up with the story for a while. It’s official now, though. They are crazy.

I want to live closer to my friends in Dallas, but I also want to keep living in the country. Moving to Dallas would, I’m sure, shorten my life.

Sometimes I want to quit my job, sell all of my stuff and just head out the door. Sometimes I don’t. Nothing stopping me, though. Mmmmm…….

I bet Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are tired. Not as tired as I am, though, of hearing about their race for the nomination.

Speaking of politics, if the Democrats win the White House and Bill O’Reilly were to suddenly be cancelled, would Keith Olbermann cease to exist?

Why is it that, at a time like this, when my job is making me exhausted, I can’t sleep? I get home, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, and just lay there watching infomercials and “Planet of the Apes.”

Technology is great, but I think I hate it. We have recently added IP phones to our office, which means modifying all of DNS records, and our MX records for email, and our internet provider, who is using multiple T1 lines to accommodate our IP phones and dedicated lines for data amongst our three distinct office sites. Of course, our VPN settings have changed as well, although supposedly we won’t need them with our dedicated lines. We might use DSL as a backup in case the T1 QOS isn’t met. And I hardly need to mention that our internet gateway settings have changed since our internet access is now routed remotely. We also need to add new A records to our DNS settings, because we’ve also mover our website host server. This means a whole new IP number for DNS record with Network Solutions, which, of course, trickles down to everthing website related. Hopefully our nameserver update has propagated by now….I’m so glad I got into the summer camp business. (I don’t know what any of this means, by the way.

I’ve grown to really like sushi. And, I’ve learned to eat with chopsticks. Except rice. That’s crazy talk.

My 25th high school reunion is coming up this summer. I don’t think it’s possible that I could care less. I hated high school (except wrestling.) Scariest wrestler of all time:

Ok, that’s it. I have to get back to work.

OK, I know. It’s lame to just copy and paste something you find on the internet. What can I say? It’s late and I just feel like taking the easy way out.  Some of these are pretty good, however.
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1. A bicycle can’t stand alone because it is two-tired.

2. What’s the definition of a will? It’s a dead giveaway.

3. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In democracy it’s your vote that counts; In feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.

6. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

7. If you don’t pay your exorcist you get repossessed.

8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I’ll show you A-flat minor.

10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

11. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

12. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

13. You feel stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.

14. Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

15. He often broke into song because he couldn’t find the key.

16. Every calendar’s days are numbered.

17. A lot of money is tainted. ‘Taint yours and ‘taint mine.

18. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

21. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison was a small medium at
large.

22. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

23. When you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.

24. Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.

25. When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she’d dye.

26. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

27. Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

28. Acupuncture is a jab well done.

29. Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.