I'm Gellin'

   Shameless plug here, but I love my Dr. Scholl's shoes!
   I like working at O-State sporting events, but as one of the behind-the-scenes personnel, I'm often there long before the first fan arrives and until the last fan is gone.  It calls for several hours on my feet and, especially during football games, many miles of walking around the venue, doing my best to ensure things go smoothly for the fans.  Afterwards, I'm usually pretty tired.
   A few years ago I was so tired and achy after some football games (the ones where my workday lasted 14+ hours) that I could barely walk to my car.  I learned quickly that good insoles were essential.  Then a year or so ago I found some Dr. Scholl's shoes at reasonable prices.  To my surprise, they weren't just comfortable, but sturdy as well.  And they are made with the Dr. Scholl's insoles as part of the shoe.
   Today I bought some insoles to go inside my already-comfy shoes.  With the heat we've had lately, tomorrow is going to be tough enough to deal with.  Might as well make sure I can "stand" it for the duration.

My Dream for Today

If I had a million dollars, I'd:
get my dishwasher fixed,
get the electrical problems in the house fixed,
get a lawnmower and mow and mow and mow,
get the car fixed,
get the dryer fixed,
get the house's siding fixed,
rent a truck to haul off the junk that needs to go,
get caught up on all my bills,
pay off the house, or at least get it ready to sell,
find a doctor who will actually listen to and help my wife with her numerous ills,
find a doctor who will actually listen to and help my daughter with her ills,
make sure my family members have the things they need,
and throw a party for all my friends who have stood by me during these troubling times.

And if there was anything left, I'd probably give most of it away to those who need it.

Maybe I dream too much.  But without dreamers, where would the world be?

Information, Please

   I'm going to teach C# at OSU-Tulsa this Fall semester.  If you, dear reader, know a C# developer, or a company with a C# shop, who would be willing to give me some "real world" info, I'd really appreciate it.
   I'm not looking for proprietary code or anything like that.  Just some basic information like:

• "We develop X number of apps for Y number of clients", or 
• "We have X number of C# developers, but we also focus on this other language as well", or 
• "We usually take on Z number of college students as interns during the summer"

   It would be nice to introduce things that are currently happening, because my goal is to make this class a dynamic process and, hopefully, more meaningful to my students.

   This idea may go up like a lead balloon.  But, as "Mythbusters" showed, when done right, a lead balloon can indeed fly.

You Know What's Cool? Not This Summer!

   The heat won today.  All during this heat wave it's been chipping away at me and I finally reached a point where all I wanted to do was lie down in front of a fan and do nothing.  And so I did.  And I fell asleep.
   It felt so good.

   The mountain of chores waited for me, as I knew it would.  But I needed the time to at least partially recharge myself. 
   I do the best I can, but once in awhile I have to take care of me.  You can call me selfish if you wish.

Victim of the Summer Heat

   The heat wave took another victim today.  I guess it's been so hot that the glue finally gave out on my car's passenger side mirror.  The whole assembly will cost about $80 (which I doubt includes installation), or for about $42 I can get a new piece of glass installed (the whole assembly is in good shape - just the glass mirror fell out). 
   The only option I can afford at this point is to go old school and actually look over my shoulder before changing lanes.  Probably a good skill to brush up on anyway.  By example, I'll be showing my kids a safe way to drive.  Not sure if it's still taught in driver's ed any more.  But I'm old enough to remember when most cars didn't have side mirrors, and we were taught to use the one mounted inside the car, then look over our shoulders to check the blind spots.
   I'm looking forward to this new challenge, although I'll also be saving up to get the thing fixed.

A Refreshing Salad

   The other night it was too hot to cook, so I made a nice fresh salad.  I bought lettuce at the store, but the tomatoes, peppers (I used Anaheim peppers), onion, and garlic were all locally-grown and came from the Farmers Market.  I love tomatoes that don't taste like cardboard!  Same for the other produce!
   The peppers had a little kick to them, but when combined with the Italian dressing (I was too lazy to mix olive oil, vinegar, and spices that night), were even more awesome.
   I might do the same thing tonight.  If I do, though, I might mix my own dressing.  On the other hand, I may chop up everything but the lettuce and have a nice fresh salsa.  Mmmmmm....!

August Usually Gets Hotter...

...and I'm not looking forward to that trend.
   Maybe, instead of this being the month where Mother Nature turns up the heat, she'll decide to cool things down a bit.  From the temperature right now though (it's 110 as I write this), I think we're in for another hot and dry month.
   Soon enough, however, Autumn will arrive and things will cool down a bit.  As with most things, we just have to be patient.