UGH. I used to be such a "good" photographer when I was much younger and/or when I had better eyesight. I rely too much on the camera to focus for me these days and/or to set the exposure for me. … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2016
BigB’s B-day dinner with Lailah
July 29, 2016 By
Had an awesome b-day dinner with Lailah (and her GMR) at the Mediterranean Cruise in Burnsville tonight. Some of you may know this place - there is live belly dancing. The belly dancer came over after a few dances and asked Lailah if she wanted to dance on the "stage" with her. To her credit, she got up and danced (three other girls a few yrs older than her, also were invited, so it was a pretty … [Read more...]
Flag burning…
July 29, 2016 By
I was born in 1959. Making me 9 years old in 1968, during the time of the riots happening across the country, the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the beginning of the Vietnam war protests (which means I was 12-13 in 1971-72). Being nine yours old, a kid of that age is still quite innocent, and not at all knowledgable or caring about anything happening outside his … [Read more...]
Homeless people or others asking for handouts, downtown
July 28, 2016 By
Setting: Rick and I met for lunch after the interview, eating at Andreas pizza in the skyway - a fav eatery close by to where I worked at Wells Fargo during 2011/2012. We then got out of the skyway and walked outside for a bit, enjoying the fresh air - more so me, than Rick (not sure if he really likes fresh air or not - lol) We then went to downtown B&N, and actually also went to downtown … [Read more...]
Getting ready for the Thrivent interview
July 28, 2016 By
Why is it that I find myself ready thirty minutes before I actually have to leave? Been getting myself ready now for oh, going on forty or so years - I should know how long it takes to "get ready". Then, I usually arrive thirty minutes early, having to sit in the car, twiddling my thumbs. Super cautious, I guess. High noon at the OK (Thrivent) Corral. (yes, I'll be wearing my suit coat.) … [Read more...]
Lailah’s new dolls – and creepiness
July 27, 2016 By
I bought a new doll for Lailah a month or so ago. Gave it to her when she was here, a couple of times ago. She immediately tells me "...She's 'creepy', GranPa..." I ask her what she means, thinking it's because of the thing sticking out the doll's head. "No, GranPa, her glasses are creepy!" And, asks me "...can we get rid of her glasses?..." Yup, of course. They were attached with small permanent … [Read more...]
Lailah, ice cream, and having kids of my own
July 27, 2016 By
This short video from a year ago always makes me laugh. She is always so crazy. I think back about my own childhood - and I truly don't have any good memories of growing up - not sure whether this is because I have a truly bad memory, or if I actually didn't have any "fun" as a child with my parents. I think of the two of them, my mom was pretty stiff, and rigid in her ways (no spilling of ice … [Read more...]
“What’s the best part about blogging?”
July 26, 2016 By
I stole the following from a fellow blogger, but it certainly applies here as well: People always ask me what the best part of blogging is and I say 'my followers!' Thanks everyone, for putting up with my ranting, my craziness, my political nonsense, as well as the postings of <mumble, mumble, thousands> of Lailah stories/photos/videos these last couple / few (OK, several) years. Thanks … [Read more...]
Third Trivent Financial interview scheduled for Thursday
July 26, 2016 By
Thrivent Financial job update: Three weeks ago, initial 15-20 min phone "get to know you" interview with director in Appleton, WI. Last week, three person video conference interview with mgr (WI), team lead (MPLS) and a non-team tech (WI). Not sure if mgr is the mgr of the team I would be on, or mgr of other teams. Got the impression they were mgr of other team(s), but could be mistaken. Call … [Read more...]
New credit/debit card – surprise!
July 26, 2016 By
My local bank recently sent a letter indicating they were replacing my old debit card with a new "chip" card and offered me a choice of either their default (boring) design, or I could upload a photo to use in it's place. I think it came out really good (this picture of the card is fuzzy in some areas since I used photoshop to remove the numbers/dates, as well as the "chip" that was growing out … [Read more...]
Voting for a third party candidate or not voting at all
July 25, 2016 By
Below (way below) is an article about voting for a third party... If I can find my voice (I.e., the words) in the next week or so, I'll chime in as well with my own thoughts regarding how voting for a third party doesn't accomplish anything, other than to help elect that person whom you least like. Yes, you may think that both candidates suck, and both might be unworthy of holding the most … [Read more...]
Inspired to get myself a new business card
July 25, 2016 By
I think I just might have to get me a new business card...Something like: Brian S. Williams Armchair Model Railroader Talented Paint-Nite Painter Opinionated FaceBook Blogger Complete Amateur Photographer AKA Lailah's GranPaBrian. Thanks goes to Susan Hipkins DeBow for the inspiration! … [Read more...]
The Mac-Mini FROZE UP – first time ever
July 22, 2016 By
Wow. I was on the Apple Mac-Mini just now, had edited a Lailah video, and was also working on the blog, when the screen just froze. Actually, I was in Adobe "Premiere" elements, and the app was "rendering" the video (whatever that means), which is a CPU intensive process, I guess, because the fan always goes on, and the CPU goes to 100%. I let it sit for 20-30 minutes to see if letting the … [Read more...]
Thrivent Interview
July 21, 2016 By
"Exciting" day for me. Face to face interview at Thrivent Financial, with a panel of three. Two of the three were in Appleton, Wi, so we used video conferencing to include them. The guy in the room with me is the team lead. One of the people in WI was the manager, and the other person in WI was just a techie type, but not on the team that I would be on. Overall, I think the interview went great. … [Read more...]
Rick’s birthday party at Nancy’s
July 21, 2016 By
Hello there. I see you're back with us now. It seems one of my recent stories has a following. I've written a couple of stories the last few days, and the one I thought that would have generated the most "likes" (because of the "hook" used, of Lailah dropping by, after stealing GMR's car) only received a couple of "likes". Whereas, the other story of my dinner with Rick and his friends received … [Read more...]
Paint nite
July 20, 2016 By
Photos of my completed art were just posted to an album, along with photos of two examples painted by our instructor (a very young woman, she must have been in her early to mid twenties - but, she really knew her stuff, knew how to teach painting, and also to make it fun for the "trainees"). Had a great time. This was my third paint nite - should do it more often … [Read more...]
Women, bullies and internet trolling
July 20, 2016 By
There's "trending news" today about some so-called "internet journalist" (i.e., IDIOT) who is now permanently banned from Twitter for inciting his followers to troll a movie actress. Here's one woman's (abbreviated) response why she agreed with Twitter's action: "Women...are often at the receiving end of some of the most heinous of misogynistic trolling - and while we dismiss trolls as, well, … [Read more...]
Dinner with Nancy and Lois, before seeing South Pacific
July 20, 2016 By
Hi there. This is story #2 from this past Saturday night. Story #1 was my encounter with a stranger in the parking lot before dinner at "The old spaghetti factory". Once I figured out how to pay for parking (had to download an app) and actually paid it, I walked across the street to the restaurant. I was still a bit early, and this place has a huge lobby with lots of elegant seating, so I took … [Read more...]
Blogging about Lailah vs. re-watching “Better Call Saul”
July 18, 2016 By
Blogging about Lailah is so much better than re-watching S1 of "Better call Saul" (before moving onto S2). I'm pretty sure I left some good Lailah stuff out (with tonight's Lailah post) - that's what happens when you're an old fart and your brain has become cold pasta, and the Lailah encounter that you're trying to remember happened two days ago. Next time, I think, I'll use one of those fancy, … [Read more...]
