So I have been taking Elyce out for driving lessons every Saturday recently. With the whole shut-downing of things since COVID came about, it put a wrench in our plans to sign her up and take driving lessons with a 3rd party. That was the plan. Things, obviously, have changed.
So we go out in my car every Saturday for an hour or so. We started in a parking lot – where I just had her NOT using the accelerator and getting a feel for braking/coasting/turning. Then we went to parking and maneuvering around a parking lot (empty casino lot – shut down due to The Rona). Then driving around being-built neighborhoods in the area (empty streets) … to “drive me to Lowes”. Yesterday, she drove on the main street here in town – 55 mph. Umph.
Her ‘driving school’ started today, finally. But it is all on-line. “Virtual”. Friday she gets her permit and will start her 100 hour driving log to eventually get her license.
I’m happy. I’m sad. Here we are at another crossroads of parenting that kind of makes me sad. Reminds me of when I took her to her first day of school so many years back. I didn’t think being a dad would make me sad when we hit milestones like this. You always see other parents so happy when their kids grow up and move on. Really proud and happy to see both Elyce and Gavin growing, learning. I just wish this lasted a lot longer – that somehow time could just chill a bit.
Twenty years ago, fatherhood was something very far from what I wanted. Today – it’s just time I treasure.
To add to the world-wide calaminity of the COVID19 Pandemic of 2020, we now have worldwide demonstrations. Realizing there is no ‘good time’ for having a demonstration on matters that we are dealing with [or have failed to] throughout history, it just seems like the picture below [from Paris, today] are so twistedly bad under the grip of a 100-year pandemic. The clash of these two events in the world’s history just shows you how messed up 2020 has been. And we’re not even halfway through.
With all of the commercials on during this pandamic, you hear a lot of “during difficult times like these”, or “We’re all in this together”. Piano music background is typically in the mix.
Here’s a new one: “We’re Making Toilet Paper as fast as we can”.
Who knew that in 2020 we’d be seeing Old Navy spotlight masks for sale …
I think the thing that is really sad for me to see when I’m out and about is seeing little girls wearing masks – kids, for that matter. I don’t know … just seems like such a sad thing to see. Still hard to accept that this is what it has come to.
Dumped more into AMZN late March … earnings today, will be on sale in am. Sweeping recent gains from travel stocks that tanked 45 days ago with COVID and will be dumping into AMZN in the am. 10 more shares while on sale …
Every news article is just depressing to read, frankly.
It is weird, because just a month ago, my news ‘dashboard’ was always filled with -what now seems- as trivial BS news articles. To remember what it was like to check my newsfeed back then is just odd. The past few weeks has just been COVID. All of it.
With all of this COVID Scare, the market has been thrashed over the past 2 weeks. A month ago, a day +/- 100 would envoke emotion (elation/fear). Today, the new norm is a fluctuation of 500 – 2000 points. It’s crazy – and people have been panicking. Panic is the word – the lever, the ‘GO’.
“A market downturn doesn’t bother us. It is an opportunity to increase our ownership of great companies with great management at good prices.” — Warren Buffett
“You make most of your money in a bear market, you just don’t realize it at the time.” — Shelby Cullom Davis
This is literally a once-in-a-lifetime market. Tomorrow, I get my annual bonus. I have been waiting for this, doing due diligence over the past 2 weeks. I will be increasing my MSFT and AMZN holdings bigly, as well as adding some additional tickers to my portfolio – relative to travel and hospitality.
Hell – practically everything is on sale right – a BOGO event, if you will.
The kids haven’t worn diapers in a few years – but maybe it’s coming for me. I’d be happy to share my bodily fluids for the effort, in case any one is reading this when I start wearing them.
Posted: December 5th, 2019
Categories: crime
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Hmm. I do remember Windows 7 being a thing – but not quite like this. We didn’t have a party … wasn’t invited to one. Had either been a possibility in our limited social circles, I can’t say I would have participated.
So … I travel weekly. Today I find myself in Clovis NM.
When I got settled this evening, fired up the laptop and arrived and the splash screen, below is one of the segments of the sign-in page of Hilton. I think I’ll stay in the room tonight.
Posted: June 12th, 2019
Categories: travel
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So – I travel a lot. Like 2-3 nights a week are in a hotel. Fortunately, my company is pretty good about taking care of me with this – I can stay in some nice hotels and have a per diem that is solid. We work hard, should be taken care of.
But 2 things that have been to mind recently that have made a difference considerably when traveling …
1 – Remember (and use) this IP address: 8.8.8.8. If you are using different hotels (sometimes under the same banner, ie Hilton), this address will reset any cookies that you had in your system and send you to the sign-in page if you are using the hotel’s wifi. Through the years, I have gotten hung-up consistently because the sign-in page I am trying to contact to sign in that night is still hung up on the prior night’s/visit’s stay in another city. Try 8.8.8.8 – it works well.
2 – Really only applies if you are a cord-cutter (we recently ended our 20 year contract with DirecTV and use the Firestick for HULU, Netflix, etc (it’s amazing … did my due diligence on this vs Roku, etc). Carry an extra streaming device in your bag! It’s like bringing your TV with you. You see, when I’m in a non-home city or from hotel to hotel – every market and TV and remote is different. Sometimes it is so fustrating to fumble around to find the ‘guide’ or channel you want … this is just plainly awesome. Plug it in, connect, BOOM! Your channels are right there and you have your handy voice-activated remote. Can’t say just how awesome this has been for me …
One thing I have realized since leaving my prior employer is just how we are perceived in the world. They (DG) serve the under-priveleged, rural areas of the populace; thereby -by association, it seems- they and their leaders are perceived the same: Less Than.
I will say my 10 years there was ‘interesting’ – it was tough at times, great at others. I had incredible times to work with some of the best minds in retail; however, I mention the company name to people I work with now, and I can see the grimace. It’s unfortunate. To some extent, my most valuable time in my career (operations/leadership/growth/execution/vision) feels like the most damaging (cheap/little-league/tacky). 16k stores can’t be wrong, but it always feels that way now.
As an outsider to them looking in, it’s very easy to join that train of thought.
Ultimately what matters is breadth of knowledge and passion. These are things no one can teach. Don’t judge – learn to appreciate and collect wisdom and different perspectives from unlikely sources. You will be surprised, I promise.
Just my thought for the day that I wanted to put out there …
Dad died on the 6th of January. Not unexpected, but certainly grounding. Miss you. Dad.
Lenny Cohn – a good friend from high school died in January, too.
Today, Troy texted me to let me know Chris Bowie died. A very good friend who was such a character and one that I will always remember with such a smile.
All of these deaths … it’s crazy. Crazy eye-opening.
I remember my marriage day with many people around – many people now gone. It was a day in time where many families and friends were around. That day in time was our day – not Tina’s and mine, but a day when we were all together. And now, some are gone forever. How cool it would be to go back and hug people a little harder. Dad, Travis, Grandma Suina … who else? It is now a blur.
In many years, there will be a day like that for people not around now. Don’t really know my point here – but every day counts, I guess. Every day we are together … counts.
We are alive right now and share these days together. History is full of snippets of times and days. This is our time together. As Jim Morrison said – no one gets out alive.
… And this is why we are just about to complete the Cord-Cutting process.
We got 1 Gig speeds a few months back, an Eero mesh system about a month back, I rewired a few outlets around the house to prepare for Rokus, Ethernet, etc. Only step left is our media server setup, a receiver to purchase, some speakers for ceiling surround and patios. Then, just software packages – which I’ve already filtered.
Cutting the Cord gets less expensive/more competitive monthly. My satellite goes the other way.
