Watchdog

One of the wonderful traits of Canaan Dogs is that they make excellent watchdogs. They are willing (and eager) to alert you to anything that they perceive as being out-of-the-ordinary. And they have the intelligence to spot things as being out of order that even you don't recognize as being amiss. Saga excels at this job.

She perches on the back of the chair by the window, like a cat (or like Snoopy pretending to be a vulture) and keeps an eye out of the window looking for the nefarious evildoers.

Villains of world, beware! Saga is on the chair! She will see you, you villainous little squirrels; she sees you, you evil milkman (yes, one of my neighbors gets their milk delivered); she sees you you rotten little paper-boy. And she knows you're all up to no-good. You can't get away with it!

Give it up and repent your wicked ways or she'll tell Daddy exactly what you're up to! You've Been Warned! The watchdog is on the case. (Oh! She sounds like a superhero: The Watchdog... I'll have to go out and buy her a mask and a cape!)

Wherever you are today, I hope that you're well protected and having a great day!

Don Bergquist - January 29, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Who Says Computers Aren't Fun!?

I'd like to thank Microsoft for a truly entertaining weekend!

Saturday morning I was working on getting more of my photographs uploaded to my sharing site. This was clearly a waste of my time and Microsoft was probably trying to encourage me to go out into the cold and snowy day and do something more productive - so they probably intentionally made Visa such a piece of crap that it stopped working in the middle of my file transfer!

First I started getting errors on the machine that I could no longer transfer to my photo sharing site. Then it told me I could no longer access the internet at all. Having my work laptop still set-up (because I'd worked from home on Friday) I jumped onto it and verified that the internet connection was still working and that the website I was trying to reach was still working. Once this was done, I spent a good portion of the rest of Saturday morning examining the hardware under the guidance of my internet provider, I finally decided it must be the software.

The number of hits I got on the internet regarding Vista problems was staggering! I did finally find a large number that discussed my problem exactly. So. It was Vista. Who says Vista isn't good software. I've had hours of fun installing and reinstalling it. I have fun with it even when it isn't working! (Which given the proportion of time it is working to the time it isn't is a good thing!)

So, I am trying to get the system working again! Fun Fun Fun! I'm so glad Microsoft forced the computer manufacturers to stop allowing us to buy their working operating system in favor of Vista! Perhaps this new system they are working for will be better - Like the relationship between XP and ME...

Well, I suppose that it will be a while before I get the newest picture up to the web... Ah! Fun times - reinstalling Vista!

Wherever you are today, I hope that you are having a great day!

Don Bergquist - January 26, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Chinese New Year

Twenty-Three (Again)

It's time for my annual homage to the woman who went a long way to make me who I am today; a strong-willed, competitive, pain-in-the-keister, who nevertheless has a tight circle of friends.

Perhaps it was because of these traits (some would probably say in spite of them) my mom had a tight circle of friends who were like siblings to her. We even called some of them Aunt and Uncle and were extremely close to them. This was just how it was.

But let's face it. Mother was competitive in everything. Those of you who knew her will remember the Church Carnivals. I remember her as always either being active in or directing the activities of the church carnival. Then, this one year when she stepped aside from the chair and someone else stepped in.

I can't remember the reason she stepped aside, but it was not pretty. She tried to hide it, but it was clear to those of us who knew her that she disapproved of her successor. And with reason. Some of the contracts the church entered into that year were pretty questionable. The games, always had been cobbled together by the members of the church; the fishing pond, the duck pluck, the wheel of fortune, other such innocent and innocuous games were replaced by a shooting gallery, a rigged basketball shoot, and other carny games that were provided by a carnival company. The spirit of the carnival had changed and the feeling of it was ruined. Mom had been right, she probably could have done better.

Today would have been my mother's twenty-third birthday. (It's odd being twice your mother's age, but there it is!) Happy birthday, Mom!

Wherever you are today, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Don Bergquist - January 25, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

That’s A Lot Of People!

I had considered being in Washington DC today. True story! I had considered it for exactly .333… microseconds. The predictions have always been “…millions of people…” that is all I needed to hear. I don’t care if it is history; it’s too many people in too small a space.

One of the morning newscasts this morning was illustrating how packed the National Mall will be during the inauguration today. Apparently the number of people expected means that each person will have approximately the amount of space taken-up by a single sheet of a newspaper. The number of people varies, but if you imagine standing on a sheet of newspaper: Open it up so that it is twice the size of the front page and you have the “best case” scenario for how much room you’re likely to have today on the Mall. Fold it so that just the front page is showing and that is the “worst case” scenario!

Interestingly, the demonstration I saw wasn’t done the way I would have done it. The newspapers were laid with the folds side-to-side when the people stood on them. That is just and odd way to do it. The page (laid that way) is taller than it is wide, but the people in the demonstration stood with their shoulders at the open edge and the folded edge. They would have had more room if they stood with their shoulders at the top and the bottom rather than at the sides. But admittedly, not that much more room and it is still, by any description, packed in!

I feel for my friends in the District of Columbia today… Traffic there is never particularly “good,” but today it is going to be downright ugly! I hope that everyone who is in the city for the inauguration has a good time without incident. I hope all of you who live in DC are not too put out by a large percentage of the remainder of us joining you!

Wherever you are today, (especially if it is in DC) I hope you have a peaceful and lovely day!

Don Bergquist – January 20, 2009 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Martin Luther King Day

Happy birthday to my cousin, Leona

Happy birthday to my cousin, Stan

Happy birthday to my niece, Sarah

Happy birthday to my cousin, Henry

Happy birthday to my uncle, Harvey

Happy anniversary to my aunt Judy and uncle Gene

A Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend!

I had some of my friends over for my monthly game night. It was fun! I spent the morning getting ready for the gathering, the evening playing games, and Sunday getting the dishes done, doing laundry, and doing some work on my Photographic Albums online.

I have started the 2009 gallery at my photographic website. So far, it has only the calendar separators (taken from the 2009 Bergquist Family Calendar) and the January Post Card, but it will grow. I have been pretty busy at work recently so I haven't gotten out to take any pictures this week, but at least the gallery is set-up and ready for it when I do.

With the time that I have been spending working and the limited amount of time I have been spending doing anything interesting, I've decided that I will be posting only once a week again... and when I get the moral indignation and need to rant. Other than that, I think weekly updates will be all I will be posting for a while.

Wherever you are, I hope that you have a great day!

Don Bergquist - December 12, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado,

Happy birthday to my cousin, Joan

Woops!

It's been the big story of the day... I have seen this story on all three of the local newscasts I saw yesterday and the ABC Morning news picked it up this morning as well, so I figured: "Why not?" Have you seen the story? Some unfortunate guy moons Vail resort for fifteen minutes after slipping off the ski lift. Unfortunately, there was a camera and a photographer around to document it.

Perhaps this wasn't exactly the point, but the guy must be glad that he listened to his mother when she advised him to wear clean shorts! Ya just never know when you're going to board a ski lift and have it remove your trousers for you! If you haven't seen this story (repeatedly) you can go out to The Smoking Gun website to read the story.

This morning, on ABC there was an additional bit of the story shared by the news. The guy who took the... uh... revealing photos was an employee of the resort. He has been suspended (apparently) while the resort sorts out what he was doing releasing such embarrassing photos. What was the guy thinking?

I mean he had to know that it wouldn't end well if he intentionally spread what his employer would find embarrassing pictures. As the old song says:

"C'est la vie", say the old folks

It goes to slow you never can tell

Wherever you are today, I hope all your exposure is positive and that you're wearing clean shorts... just in case!

Don Bergquist - January 07, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Happy birthday to my aunt, Elaine

Yule Blog - Epiphany

e⋅piph⋅a⋅ny
Pronunciation: [i-pif-uh-nee]
–noun, plural -nies.
1.     (initial capital letter) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.
2.     an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.
3.     a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
4.     a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

I was once asked why there are twelve days of Christmas. I explained to the person asking the question that it was twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany. That was the origin of the twelve days. When I was young, it was on January sixth that we took down the Christmas decorations.

They went up the Friday after Thanksgiving, and they came down on Epiphany. The first time I can remember seeing Christmas decorations up beyond that point was when I moved to Tampa. They stayed up... and stayed up... and stayed up... eventually, I asked someone.

In mid-February, I was told, they would be re-used for the big Gasparilla Day festival. The garlands and lights became a celebration of a mythical pirate who purportedly sacked Tampa in the nineteenth century and kidnapped and killed the mayor.

Hm... an interesting thing to use Christmas decorations to celebrate. Though, the way that the celebration of Christmas is evolving of late, I suppose it isn't that far off the mark.

Wherever you are today, I hope that your Christmas season has been a joyous one!

Don Bergquist - January 06, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Epiphany

Yule Blog - Back To Work

Well, the holidays are now well and truly behind us.

The last of the decorations have been boxed up and returned to the storeroom; the last of the packaging has been discarded; the Thank You notes have all been sent out. It is time to return to the real work-a-day world. Okay, sure, the Christmas season officially ends tomorrow, but what the heck... I do have to get back to the office.

Saga and I spent our long holiday weekend having a nice, sedate, quiet time of it at home. I got a few projects done and have had a nice break. It is a bit cold and icy this morning, but the day is supposed to shape-up nicely.

The walk with Saga in her park this morning was bracing and I've had four days to fully recharge my batteries. It is time to wrap up this entry and head out to the office. The roads are bound to be crowded with people trying to get back to work after the holidays!

Wherever you are, I hope that you're having a good day and that your holidays were safe and happy!

Don Bergquist - January 05, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Yule Blog - A Good Day To Read

It is a good day to spend inside reading.

The snow started yesterday afternoon and was still falling when Saga and I went out for our walk this morning. Luckily, it is a light and fluffy snow, not a sloppy wet one. I was able to easily sweep it off the walk and the deck even though it was a few inches deep.

I have to finish the book I am reading for my book club. (I am really not enjoying it... it is about the history of Afghanistan and the lives of some women who lived through it. It is called A Thousand Splendid Suns. I would NOT recommend it. If I can finish it today I can start in on something I would enjoy. Perhaps I will re-read something that I have read before... Foucault's Pendulum or perhaps something light and humerous... Something by Carl Hiaasen perhaps. Something not so thoroughly depressing.

Wherever you are today, I hope you're enjoying a relaxing day at home.

Don Bergquist - January 04, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Yule Blog - Errands

There is a front building-up to the west. I have a few more things to get done before the snow starts falling... I really need to get Saga to the Dog Wash... she is going to hate me, but I have been putting it off because she hates it.

It can wait no longer. She really needs a bath. I have to go to the bank too... I had more errands yesterday than I had time. Of course, had I buckled down and just gotten to them, I could have gotten them done, but then what would I have to do today?

I really should get moving though, they are predicting snow by sundown.

Wherever you are today, I wish you a productive day.

Don Bergquist - January 03, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Yule Blog - Recovery

Well, yesterday was a bit quiet at the Bergquist home.

What did I expect? Staying out until all hours. Sure, it was a really good time, but I am no longer a teenager. I cannot stay out all night as I once did without paying the price.

And the price was lethargy. Yesterday was a day to just sort-of chill out and not do much of anything. Luckily, I have decided to take today off as well. I have a number of things I want to get done at home so I have started a list of things that need to be done by Sunday morning.

The first thing on my list for today is grocery shopping. Not an exciting thing to contemplate, but I have been putting it off because the parking lot at the supermarket has been packed every time I went past. (Probably with the cars of people who had put off the last-minute shopping for the holiday meals.) So if I want to eat today, I need to get myself to the store.

So, that is it... groceries, laundry, housework... Nothing exciting on my end. But occasionally, that is a good thing.

Wherever you are today, I hope that your day is a good one!

Don Bergquist - January 02, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Yule Blog - New Year's Day

The year has come in lovely and spring-like here in Denver. Saga and I went for our morning walk in her park a bit late this morning, but then I have a justification! About the time I would normally have been getting up and getting ready for a Thursday at the office, I was with friends, playing cards.

What a wonderful party! My friends had invited me over to ring-in the new year and the crowd was festive, the wine was flowing, the evening was... long! I was thinking about it, it was the first party given by my friends (this particular set) that I have been in town for in a few years... I have missed hanging-out with my friends!

We toasted in the year; listened to music; danced; talked books, news, and other topics; and watched the children setting off fireworks at midnight. It was a heck of a party. When I finally got home this morning, Saga was ready to go for a walk - and why not? It was about the time I would have walked her before heading off to work.

I then headed upstairs, turned off the radio (which had automatically cycled on at 04:45am) and crawled into bed. Today is going to be fairly low-key. It is a lovely day so Saga and I will be spending some time in the park. I may even head off and take a bike ride! Who know... the year is starting out beautifully.

Wherever you are today, I wish you a wonderful start to your new year!

Don Bergquist - January 01, 2009 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA

Don't forget to write "2009" on checks today!

New Year's Day