Sometimes, I share the most boring stuff, which book I just finished reading, which movie we just saw, which TV series/season I just finished. Other times, I wear my heart on my sleeve, writing about feelings, friends, work, etc., and it seems i tend to knock it out of the park on those occasions (go figure). I really need to try to get into writing a major thought down once a day, and post … [Read more...]
Friendship
March 22, 2013 By
Friendship. It comes in so many different ways. You may have worked with them, or known of them while working at the same office, but may not have had a whole lot of interaction with them at the time. Then, something happens, one or both of you lose your jobs (at different times), and somehow, reconnect, giving each other support and encouragement during that difficult period of joblessness. … [Read more...]
Software Engineering class
March 16, 2013 By
FSM (finite state machine), DFD (data flow diagram), PND (petri-net diagram), lions, tigers, bears, oh my. My head is swimming. Actually, I am getting most of this, and have been using some of these methods during my career (partially or otherwise), but, NOT consistently. Need to work on that! My class team of four met after class - 3 of us understand the term project, and are making good … [Read more...]
Phase One of Scenic Ridge Development Effort
March 12, 2013 By
In the Fall of 2006, I purchased a "Woodland Scenics" model railroad kit called "Scenic Ridge". This kit is N-Scale (they also have 2 HO-Scale kits). The kit has many, many components in it, but basically can be put into two categories: Various foam pieces and landscaping materials such as grasses, rocks, and bushes. The layout, when completed, will be 3 feet by 6 feet in size. After … [Read more...]
Computer Programmer vs. Software Engineer
March 4, 2013 By
Last week, I posted a short entry on my blog about “computer programmers”, “software developers”, and “software engineers”. One of my friends (and, myself, many years ago), thought “aren’t they the same thing?” [If you don’t like to read long winded articles, please skip this one]. Here is a quick generalization, with which you should take with a grain of salt, since the lines do blur, and … [Read more...]
Life at USPS
March 1, 2013 By
A colleague created an enhancement, and it was put in UAT (User Acceptance Testing) Environment yesterday, and he then left for vacation for a week - oh, and it's scheduled to go into production this Sunday. He asked me to "test" it since the end users didn't really know "how" to test it according to him. Anyway, I tested it this morning, and the enhancement causes an email notification to be … [Read more...]
2nd class at Saint Thomas: Software Engineering
March 1, 2013 By
First session of SEIS 610 Software Engineering was 2 weeks ago. I was immedaitely impressed by our instructor (C. Lai). He put up easy to read slides, and spoke toward them, not reading them word for word. He spoke for the entire 6-1/2 hour class, giving us instruction on the term's group project, and the first 2 assignments, as well as enlightening the class about a "new" (read: different) … [Read more...]
Thoughts: My Mom’s Visitation
January 21, 2013 By
Well, I am so amazed by the kindness of my friends at Unisys who dropped by tonight at my mom's visitation. Thank you, Deb Russell for coming by (totally unexpected - it was so very good to see you again - a few minutes after you left, the rest of the Unisys gang dropped by, I'm sorry you missed them). A big thank you (so much) to Tina Gondoly Goocher, for bringing my very good friend, former … [Read more...]
My mother has passed away
January 17, 2013 By
My mother, Evelyn J. Williams (née Mullins), born in 1924, passed away an hour or so ago, January 17, 2013. She grew up during the great depression, graduated from high school in the early 1940's, immediately went to work, contributing toward the war effort (WW II). Continuing to work after the war ended, she met a man by the name of Darwin Williams - they met at a "tip toppers" club for tall … [Read more...]
Mom: Evelyn J. Williams
January 16, 2013 By
I got word a week before Christmas that my mom was taken to Saint John's Hospital (Detroit). I went out there first weekend in January to see her. She looked so exhausted and frail. She knew I was there, but she was too tired to hold a conversation with me. They moved her back to her nursing home a couple of days later, under Hospice care. My cousin, Lisa called me a day or so later, saying … [Read more...]
Giving/Charity
December 23, 2012 By
You know, I have a good life, and always have I guess, never wanting for anything. I've had (to me) a successful career, I had a good marriage many years ago (which for various reasons ended), I've had my ups and downs with relationships since then. I've helped raise 3 boys over the last 12 yrs (on, off and on) who weren't my kids, with some good results and not so good results. I confess, for … [Read more...]
Visio of Dover Basement – post construction mods
December 21, 2012 By
This is what the Dover basement could have turned out to be. In this diagram, I decreased the size of the project room (by 2-1/2 feet on the right), increased the size of the bedroom (by adding that same amount to the left). I then moved the door of the storage room to be next to the bedroom window, allowing the bed to be placed in the southeast corner. Not sure whether I like the project … [Read more...]
1st class at Saint Thomas: Technical Comm.
December 21, 2012 By
Well, let's just say, I wasn't impressed with our instructor. She never seemed prepared, either didn't show us the agenda for each day long class, or showed it in the middle of the day (as an afterthought). She read directly from her powerpoint slides, word for word, instead of parapharsing the points or even (heaven forbid), expanding on them. I did get a chance to do three oral … [Read more...]
Reece’s first semester at U/Eau Claire
December 21, 2012 By
Well, this is my first post regarding Reece. He just got back home last night from Eau Claire (safely, after a "blizzard" hit the midwest earlier in the day). He informed me when he got home: "I got mostly all A's, but I didn't do 'so hot' in my Comp Sci class ('intro programming')". This wasn't the first time he's indicated he wasn't getting it, since I had sent him a pair of "beginning" … [Read more...]
Introducing Lailah…
December 17, 2012 By
This is my way of introducing Lailah to Brian's world. You could say, this is her "coming out" party. She is the cutest thing since sliced bread. … [Read more...]
