cobob

Business Travel

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:35:29 GMT

It took 15 min to get from the front door at Denver International, check a bag, to get though security and get to my gate. Last night there was some kind of security issue involving TSA that locked down most of the airport, according to the morning TV news. For 6:30 am on a Tues. morning, concourse C is pretty deserted.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

I'm at Waters Edge on Westbrook,CT for the week.

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:12:23 GMT

The Colorado - California Connection

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:21:00 GMT

California and Colorado connect in the middle of our home and family (by "our" I mean my partner and myself,) so I feel driven to jump up on my soapbox.

Recently, the voters of CA effected my life because of the way they effected my partner's life. The two of us have different views on what Prop 8 means and what effect it will have in the long run for California and the rest of the (sometimes not so) United States. I love his passion about how the vote effects his friends and other Californians and I think it hurts him that the people of his "home state" would even consider putting such a bigoted proposition on the ballot (though they are not the first,) let alone voting to approve it. That passion makes it difficult for us to discuss. Like anyone else, gay or straight, I don't like seeing my partner being hurt by the actions of others. It frustrates me that I seem powerless to lessen his pain.

Now, a little history. In 1992 there was a similar polarizing issue on the Colorado ballot:

Colorado Amendment 2.

Neither the state of Colorado, through any of its branches or departments, nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions, municipalities or school districts, shall enact, adopt or enforce any statute, regulation, ordinance or policy whereby homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships shall constitute or otherwise be the basis of, or entitle any person or class of persons to have or claim any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination. This Section of the Constitution shall be in all respects self-executing.

Amendment 2 prevented any laws banning discrimination against gays, and would nullified gay rights laws in Aspen, Denver, and Boulder. Despite polling showing it would fail, Amendment 2 passed.

On May 20, 1996, the United States Supreme Court struck down Amendment 2. Romer v. Evans is the foundational decision in favor of gay and lesbian civil rights.

Justice Kennedy's decision stated, in part:

"…the amendment imposes a special disability upon those persons alone. Homosexuals are forbidden the safeguards that others enjoy or may seek without constrain …Its sheer breadth is so discontinuous with the reasons offered for it that the amendment seems inexplicable by anything but animus toward the class that it affects; it lacks a rational relationship to legitimate state interests."

In Lawrence v. Texas, Romer v. Evans was the primary decision used to strike down the sodomy laws in Texas and other states. It struck down Bowers v. Hardwick.

It is my sincere hope that the California Courts, and that any and all Federal Courts will follow the legal precedents established in Romer v. Evans that, "California Proposition 8 imposes a special disability upon those persons alone. Homosexuals are forbidden the safeguards that others enjoy or may seek without constrain …Its sheer breadth is so discontinuous with the reasons offered for it that the amendment seems inexplicable by anything but animus toward the class that it affects; it lacks a rational relationship to legitimate state interests."

I also hope that the courts consider California's Constitution, Section 4, which states:

"Free exercise and enjoyment of religion without discrimination or preference are guaranteed. This liberty of conscience does not excuse acts that are licentious (author: lacking legal or moral restraints) or inconsistent with the peace or safety of the State. The Legislature shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

I question whether some of the actions taken by organized religions within the State of California may actually violate Section 4 of the California Constitution.

I'd like to see all people take a stand for fairness. If LDS (and other) church members from inside and outside California can interfere in a state ballot measure (use money to fund manipulative advertising and blatant lies,) I see no problem with people outside California supporting a stand against bigotry and attempts to codify that bigotry into a state constitution.

You can do that on Sat 11/15 at 11:30 in Denver:
http://www.myspace.com/427990852
For information on what you can do in your area, see:
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/

Page 56 Meme

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:44:29 GMT

Page 56 Meme

* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

"This is the book that has shape us and will continue to shape us."(7)

The bible is

"the constitution of the Christian world",(8) "the ground of the world in which
Christians live",(9) "the primary collection of ancient documents with which
Christians are to be are to be in continuing dialogue. This continuing conversion
is definitive and constitutive of Christian identity. If the dialogue ceases or
becomes faint, then we cease to be Christian and become something else."(10)

"To be Christian means to live within the world created by the Bible. We are to
listen to it well and let its central stories shape our vision of God, our
identity, and our sense of what faithfulness to God means. It is to shape our
imagination, that part of our psyches in which our foundational images of reality
and life resides.

(from: "Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church - Reclaiming the
Spirit of Jesus," Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, John Garratt Publishing,
Victoria Australia, 4th Printing, Nov. 2007)

That's was the book next to the laptop. If you are interested in the politics and power of sex and church's use and misuse of power, this book pretty much lays it out there.

Shame on you gas guzzling hypocrite (Downtown Denver)

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 07:15:09 GMT

I'm not a very good blogger. I go months without posting anything, but when I have something to say and don't know who I should say it to, it goes into a blog.

Fair warning: [Open Rant Mode]

So, for the third time in the last couple of months, some bone head with the best of intentions plasters my truck windshield with a two page, poor quality photocopy about supporting terrorism, being a damn Republican Bush/Chaney supporter, and driving gas guzzling polluting vehicles. Now there were a bunch of statements that could offend just about anyone on these two pages. Lots of anti-Arab bullsh_t and the typical half thought out ramblings that some public school educations produce. The part that really pissed me off was being called a Republican!! I might buy into being called a Libertarian. Now, I'm going to "assume" that this individual is just ignorant, but 1) My vehicle is a 1-ton dually 4 door Ranch Truck, NOT an SUV. 2) It doesn't burn gas, it's diesel. Right now its using 80/20 bio-diesel (I was up in "tree hugging Boulder, CO " for work, so I put $100 worth in the tank.) 3) Diesel engines produce more particulates, but less CO, NO and NO2 than gasoline engines. 4) My 6 cylinder Cummins gets 22-23 miles per gallon of diesel. As far as their waste paper, I put it in the compost bin with the kitchen scraps and the chicken shit from the poultry house.

Oh yeah, this individual may want to rethink accusing a Vet from the 1st Gulf War of supporting terrorism. I spent 12 years defending the Constitution and free speech, but this person's "free speech" is inaccurate and libelous.

Red and Black All Over

Mon, 05 May 2008 05:44:10 GMT

DSCF0052.JPG
Originally uploaded by cobob

This many Red Shirts and Black Hats....add liberal amounts of various flavors of alcohol....food and flames, well that is a recipe for all kinds of ECV fun. If you want to know more about it, ask mudcub or cobob.

Someone wanted to know ....

Thu, 01 May 2008 03:22:40 GMT

Your LJ Slut Stats!
Out of your 15 friends, percentages you have:
met		66.66%
hugged		60%
dated		13.33%
kissed		40%
seen shirtless		46.66%
seen naked		13.33%
had net sex		0%
made out with		13.33%
had oral sex		13.33%
fucked		13.33%
Get your LJ Slut Stats!

Goodbye Old Friend

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:30:32 GMT

0201081208.jpg
Originally uploaded by cobob

Today is one of those days that just sucks. I had to do something for all the right reasons, but that doesn't help the lump in my throat or the grief in my heart. Mickey, my ex's dog, started going downhill in November. His eyes went cloudy and his hearing seemed to be going. He seemed to have problems standing up and walking. Sometimes his hind legs seemed to give out and he'd fall on the floor. He started walking into walls, people, ... everything. He started having problems with propreception (the sense of knowing where your limbs and muscles are.) All in all, these are signs of some type of neurological problem. Last night, he stepped in his dog dish and broke one of his nails right out of the bone in his paw. He was bleeding everywhere and the bone in his paw was broken,. He didn't even feel it. I got the bleeding stopped, but decided it was time. I got up this morning and called the Denver Dumb Friends League and made an appointment. I could barely talk. I drove Mickey down to Denver. We stopped at Sonic and he had a couple of cheese burgers ... I couldn't eat. We got to the DDLF and I thought I was doing OK. Someone asked me what was wrong with him, and I said he was old and sick. Then I lost it.

I have no problem bringing the cattle to auction, but dogs are different for me. I'm one of those people who allow dogs to become part of my family. He was one of my "kids." And he was the second one I lost this year. Today just sucked. I'm such a mess.

Nudges...

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:07:53 GMT

Well, according to LJ, it has been 13 weeks since I moved anything from my brain to my keyboard regarding LJ. And, someone sent me a nudge.

Hey, I must be busy and in a good mood, because I generally rant on LJ. Work is a challenge. That is good and bad. I enjoy the technical challenges and hate the personal/political "issues."

My boss sent me an instant message this morning wishing me a "Happy Birthday." I guess I should be surprised that I have made it to 46. Considering all the stupid stuff I did over the years and the number of broken bones and parts (that are now coming back to haunt me,) I guess I'm pretty lucky.

Bad news is I'm single again....good news is that we are friends and the break was for good reasons. Too much distance and I think we like each other too much for one of us to try and "change" the other. Like that would ever work!

I also have a side project: Rehab the house of a previous Ex. He had to move for work, and his house needs some work to get it rental ready. I had a little ADD attack and really wanted to get working on it, and skipped a step. I really needed one of the Tyvek "bunny suits" with the hood BEFORE I started priming the second floor with a spray gun.

0105082126.jpg
Originally uploaded by cobob

Innovation without change...what?

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:15:06 GMT

[First the apology... I get beat on at work for something dumb and I take it out on LJ. Maybe someone feels the same way]

I work for a company that wants you to "Know you are special!" They want people to "stop talking and start doing." They want me to innovate. Some of "them" also don't want me to change the way things are being done today. "Don't rock the boat!" Innovation without change...is it even possible? Sounds more like a daydream or a pipe dream (no, they weren't smoking anything.) If they had been, at least there would be some excuse. Is this like good thoughts and intentions without good deeds?

I keep thinking of the tag line I use in my work email. Some people complain it is too long. I really wish they would read it rather than complain about the length.

"The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word because the eyes of others have no data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them....A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesman and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do."

Considering that it was published in 1841 by Ralph Waldo Emerson in "Self Reliance and Other Essays," I amazed that it maintains its relevance. Maybe it is even more relevant today. It isn't the desire or intent...it is the action. Do something different....something unexpected. Do something that is outside your "orbit."

Even though Samuel Johnson is often given credit for saying "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" in 1775, the real quote is much older:

"Hell is full of good intentions and desires." -- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153)

I guess Albert Schweitzer may have had it right:

"Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but to accept his lot calmly, even if they roll a few stones upon it."

But damn...I hate it when they throw the rocks at me.
http://www.davidandgoliathtees.com/games/throwrocks.html

4Q2007

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 04:13:14 GMT

Well, for anyone out there in "Corporate America," it is definitely the "Fourth Quarter." I have friends whose jobs have evaporated. One was given a great performance appraisal and a raise, only to have his employment terminated due to "performance issues." More like his former employer's failure to perform financially.

Another friend had one third of his company close. It happened to be the third in which he worked. His former employer merged with another company and rather than picking the best of the bunch, they just took the smaller of the merging companies and dumped anyone who was redundant.

Sometimes I wonder about about the people running the show and what were they thinking! The job of every publicly traded company is to "increase their shareholder value." The problem is that most of the management team sees value as share price...not innovation, earnings per share, the people, the processes, the technologies, and the intellectual capital that are their true business value.

I'm not sure I can place the blame on management. Many times, I can't understand the investors or the analysts. Google is all intellectual capital. What do they really "make?" What is the final product or component? They are a meta-data provider. The content they deliver via their search engine isn't the data you requested. It is a collection of paths that may or may not bring you to the data for which you are searching. And based on your serch criteria they provide the requester with targeted advertising in the form of "sponsored links."

People are betting big on the possibilities. In the meantime, I'm more than a little concerned that some of the management team fail to realize that much of their "corporate value" is in their people, methods, and processes, not in their technology. If you don't believe that, take a look at the Fortune 50 and how they guard and protect
their intellectual capital. Now , look at many of the patent filings from these companies over the past five or so years. Many of those patents are "business method patents" or "process patents." While people may be 50% - 60% of the operating cost these people are 100% of the innovation. To date, I can't recall seeing process or method file a patent application for a new method,process, or technology.

Integrating Work and Life

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 15:49:35 GMT

Where I work (high tech computer geek,) we used to have "work life balance." I guess management decided that wasn't working for them or for the employees. I work in the global economy and business needs follow the sun. So there are times when I'm up at midnight working with Bangalore, India or 3 AM with Brno, Czech Republic. Given how work seems to mesh with life, management decided to drop the concept of "balance" and adopt "Work life integration."

I've been avoiding the use of a "crackberry" for about 3 years now...I was worried that it would allow work to intrude on my life outside of work. Guess I need to reevaluate that. Given the new view, I have new life outside of work....I guess I just get to adjust the percentages of effort I supply to various tasks while I multi-task through my work-life integration.

If this thread sparks some interest you might want to check out information on Linda's Stones thesis on Continuous Partial Attention
http://continuouspartialattention.jot.com/WikiHome

First Post

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:16:38 GMT

Well....missing Geoff and work is a mess. Folks at work booked over the top of my lunch and out past 5:00 pm. I get 30 min from 3:00-3:30 pm if no one puts something there. The weekend was great. Had a friend visiting and didn't really think about work, except booking a trip to Phoenix tomorrow. Geoff convinced me to open he account on LJ, so I guess I might as well post something.

Anyhow, here is what Geoff and I were looking at last Sat: