LF 220 31
Good quality of work today. Many necessary things completed, which will make the next week much easier. JotD completed, and tomorrow's identified.

Best wishes sent to the LM team, and safe journeys home, where ever that may be.

Helped Lisa pack for tomorrow.

RH 219 30
A little delay in getting into work, as I had dog duty this morning. Clear and cold, but not much wind.

LF 219 29
Clear, cold and beautiful this morning. Dragged a bit getting out of bed, but still managed. Many meetings today.

Experiential Management Lesson #42: Meeting = Zero Productivity
Just something from my personal experience. Very rarely (almost never) is a meeting a productive event in a business. For the most part, it is dry talk, driven by ego wanting to hear itself, giving updates on things - all of which can be done more effectively, clearly and concisely through an e-mailed status report. the math is simple: 10 people at $75 an hour (perhaps a bit generous in this economy) for 1 hour = $750. I had 5 hours of meetings last Monday, 4 yesterday and 3 today. And your typical managers think that surfing the web is a big issue for lost productivity.

Work tonight on the third primary, Red and the Lark's Intro to Thrak. For Lark's, I worked at 60, focusing on the first 4 bars, especially bars 1 and 3. This pattern, at least the way it was shown to me, highlights weaknesses in my pinkie and how I place my fingertips on the strings when fretting. Also worked on the end of the Lark's Intro, as I never really got that far when we worked on it in Boston.

RH 218 28
Snowy start to the morning. The repairs done last night to the snowblower had no effect (the auger is not engaging at all), so the driveway was shoveled by hand. Roads reasonable, so the drive was uneventful.

LF 218 27
In a bit late to work today, as the Jeep was due for a checkup before the trip to Vermont. Nothing out of the ordinary at work today, but a constant action.

JotD complete, a small but necessary one. Also, the snowblower is back to working order (I broke a shearing pin on the auger in the last snow storm). Lisa is very happy having a working snow blower, as am I. If the weather doeswhatit is supposed to, I will be working from home tomorrow. I love having broadband, but it means I don't get snow days any more.

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday: on the drive home, at 5:13 PM, I felt the the very clear and substantial presence of something. It was tangible, and I have a suspicion what it was, but experiencing it in the car, driving, is a completely alien experience. Perhaps Los Molinos reaching out to me. Perhaps, just my imagination.

A few things attended to for work, one item cannot be completed until tomorrow night, after plenty of people are notified. DGM notifies me that my CD order will shi[ tomorrow. Yippee!

Now to bed.

RH 220 26
Cold, cold, cold. Even the dog, who is usually a fan of this weather wasn't too happy going out this morning. In, attended to a few necessities, then sitting. More items completed. I need to reset the list of tasks for the day. Fortunately, not many meetings today, so I'll be able to get some of the more time-intensive things out of the way. Big Time Trio filling the morning, now moving to more ambient fare.

Lunch, and a quick birthday cheesecake for one of the new office companions. Now, I'm heading for a meeting in a carb coma.

ready to go. I'm not getting much accomplished in this carb funk. Perhaps the bracing New England air will help.

Home, dinner (cooked by Lisa), some last minute work that comes up. Finally, JotD, followed by American Chopper, and bed.

RH 221

A quick report on the day: clear and cold, and getting colder. Snow coming in and for the next few days. A visit with my sister and her daughters today - a trip to the Cosmic Omelette and the Lutz Children's Museum. Then, a nap for Lisa, some more cleaning and shopping for me. JotD complete, tomorrow's hasn't appeared yet. Dinner (a sort of chicken cordon bleu with garlic cheddar rather than bleu, and prosciutto rather than ham) and Ozzy, and the Mythbusters (rowboat waterskiing!). After this, making beverage for the morning and cleanup. Reading diaries, journal, and now to bed.

LF 219
Later rise this morning, followed by a sitting. Good wishes sent out to all, especially those in Los Molinos. Juice and a bar for breakfast, then on to chores. JotD completed, saw my JotD for tomorrow. Lunch (leftover sausage and some salad), then attending to an issue with a server at work, helping the on-call person on my team work through the issues. Now, late afternoon, finish a few more things, and then to the in-laws to help my father-in-law set up his DSL.

DSL up and running, and AIM account set up, so that if he feels obliged, he can AIM Lisa and I.

LF 219
In a little late, as I had to run my wife's badge in, as she had left it on the dining room table. Also ordered Cha Cha, The Plague and the SB Box Set. Buzzing through the morning, many small things being dealt with. The basis for two major projects being attended to.

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Work volume constant today. Now, in the afternoon, beginning to fade a bit (probably too many carbs at lunch again), attempting to keep up a level of productivity. Noticed how loud the air system in the office is. Time to bring out something to compete with it.

Easy ride home, and to dinner with Lisa at the local Thai restaurant. Some light reading and then to bed.

RH 220
Clear and cold. A later start to the day today, but head slightly clearer.

Packing for my office move. I decided, with a little help from some friends in another building and the facilities person who handles such things, that moving now would be better than moving later. This building is where our manufacturing operations were. That (manufacturing) has been closed down, so the word on the street is that the company would like to rent or sell this building. Either way, when it happens, it will happen quickly, and our move will be less orderly, and more like "OK! Everybody out of the pool!" So, I am trying to be proactive.

Four hour turnaround from the time I started packing to when I was done unpacking and cleaning (desks and shelving are now Hellboy clean). The office is about the same size as my old one, but the ceiling is higher, and the wall and door that face the hall are glass, and the offices across the hall face outward, and are all glass, Thus, much more ambient light. Also the fluorescent lighting is reflective, rather than direct, so it's much less harsh. Additionally, the people here have a great work attitude. All in all, a much healthier place to be, in many ways.

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Lots done today. Drafted objectives for the next year. Now to my least favorite part: writing my review. I don't know what it is about the employee review process that bugs me the most, but I know it bugs me. I don't like singing my own praises, which might come as a surprise to anyone who has met my ego. I think this relates to yesterdays observation about being average. I think I'm doing really good things, but once it has been put to paper, I feel like a total wanker.

Long day complete, but feeling like I accomplished something. Now, to drive home in the snow.

Spellcheck offers the following alternatives to "Hellboy" : "Hellion", "Hellebore", "Hellhole". Feel free to pick the appropriate one...

LF 220
Clear and cold. Got an early start on the morning (up at 0530) to get in and take care of an item that needed doing. Sitting, with good wishes to the LM team. I know of a few people going, L1 and L2, and wish them the best.

Long day again. More late meetings, and I can feel "it" approaching. Hard to quell. I'm struggling with some things at work (and I know, I'm fortunate to have work, so why should I complain). I've been here for 6 years, an eternity in I.T. I've had 7 different managers in the past 2 years. I feel I've been doing work at one or two grade levels above where I am now, but I've had no-one around long enough to make that case. I'm in a new team where I'm supposed to be acting as a team leader, but I haven't had an opportunity to do that, because my new manager is doing all that work. So, I'm frustrated.

But, here's the thing: this stress and frustration is entirely of my own creation. I create it out of some sense that I'm actually doing as well as I think I am; that I am somehow a "cut above the rest"; that I am special. The fact is, I'm not. I'm fairly average, perhaps slightly above. This applies to work, home, family, guitar, school, all of it. Do not be mistaken: this is not a judgement, this is an observation.

RH 219
Slow getting up this morning, but still managed it. I think I have an ideal time that my body recognizes it is time to get up. Unfortunately, this is about 90 minutes later than I need to get up to go to work. Forgot to take anything out of the freezer for dinner, and did not take the time to make juice this morning.

Workload still heavy this morning, but doesn't have the same degree of being on the edge as yesterday. There's a feeling you get when you've pushed our car just to it's limit as you go around the corner; that feeling that it could let go at any moment. That's how I felt yesterday.

More things accomplished, but now I'm beginning to fade. Too many carbs at lunch. Filling out some forms for MCC. If I get out early enough, I'll run them up and see if I can get admitted and registered for the Music Harmony/Ear Training I class.

Good wishes sent to Los Molinos, and to Mr. Crafty, who we want to stay in the U.S. Read CG's diary entry from yesterday a couple times.

LF 218
Non-stop since 0730 this morning at work. Feedback on the documents I've written coming in, updates being made. Trying to get ahead of a couple tasks; they aren't complicated, just time consumng and necessary. Useful for fine-tuning a couple processes, and for testing my attention.

No let up all day, and ended the work day with three hours of telephone conferences. The whole day felt like a scramble. Small completionsmove me incrementally forward.

Home, and making dinner (roasted chicken breasts, roasted broccoli (closer!) and fresh banana-strawberry-kiwi-cantalope juice). Still deciding if fruit juice in the AM or PM is better (with vegetable as the alternate). Made friends with the guitar again: first, second and third primaries - fifteen minutes each; Red, Driving Force (80), Third Relation (66), Flying Home (84). Catch up on diaries & the journal, then to bed.

RH 219
Another early rise, for a weekend (0730), and a sitting. JotD visualization, and then out in the light snow to do some shopping for the week. Plenty of veggies for salads, and fruits for juicing. Morning juice of tomato-carrot-celery, with a shot of hot sauce (no vodka). Some kitchen cleaning and rearranging, after installing the new microwave. Checking the town protocol for disposal of the old one. Electronics disposal is in May (and I have a lot to dispose of, mostly from the previous owners), and I'd hate to wait that long to get this beast out of the house. Though it has served well, and with honors, for the past 11 years, its time has come.

The remainder of the day spent cleaning, and getting more of the house in order, while watching the Patriots game. Not a heart-stopper this week. JotD completed, keeping a sense of my right hand throughout.

Dinner of roasted pork chops with Zapp seasoning, roasted broccoli and some Shiraz. Broccoli getting closer to it's final form. Some balance in spicing and amount of olive oil remains. Now, off to bed.

Rise early (for a Saturday), take care of the dog. It is still cold, but temperatures on the rise, and little or no wind. The up-side to this weather, is that it shows that my work on insulating the space where the pipes froze last month was successful. After attending to the dog, sitting. Good contact with my body this morning, and good wishes sent out. Some people that have been out of my wishes lately suddenly appeared, and were greeted. Wishes for safe travel sent out to those on the way to Los Molinos. After sitting, my wife and I go for breakfast at the Cosmic Omelette (the dog wouldn't let her sleep, despite my efforts to the contrary. He would not be denied).

A day of cleaning and running errands. A new pet food store with more natural foods for the pets. If they like the food, this will be the new place for provisioning them. First juice with the new juicer (apple-banana-strawberry). Easy and tasty. Reviews an AT for Musicians class being offered this spring at the local Community College. 1100 to 1230 Saturdays; this would make me late to the YGP meetigs, but I have a feeling it may be worth it.

More cleaning in the afternon, then a nap, as a headache attacked me, without provocation. After napping, dinner (roasted chicken with seasoning from the trip to Tucson; asparagus), then some computing, posing older journal entries from my work PC to the home PC, reading diaries, and now to bed.

Brrr. -11 over night, -1 when I got up to go to work. Wind chill brings it to somewhere around Antarctica. Supposed to get up to a searing 23 degrees tomorrow.

RH 222
Dreams last night: A work related dream (the first in a long time) and a separate GC Course related dream. The course dream was really an "arriving at a course" dream. I was working in the kitchen and had brought all the materials and ingredients for the course with me in half-barrels cut from 55-gallon chemical drums. We were waiting for a third person to arrive, who when he did, had more luggage than another person and I, and that included the food.

Busy morning, but not to the same degree as yesterday. Much writing of procedures. The ceiling in my office, in honor of the cold and snow, has sprung a leak over my desk. Fortunately, the leak is away from the computers and my seat.

LH 223
Snow again this morning and much colder. It will be like this for a few days (near and below zero until the weekend). Back to the 30's for Saturday. Like summer in International Falls.

Good sitting this morning. I can still keep some contact with the limb of the hour while doing this. Afterwards, a sense of my body as a whole, and the feeling of some height.

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Busy, buzzy day. Lots happening, and some sense of forward motion. Got two procedures updated. Now they need to be tested and verified so that I can train the team on them. Rotation of limbs keeping me centered, though a bout with intentional cluelessness almost derailed me at lunch. Fortunately, I had a sympathizer on the team who described the intentionally clueless person as a "geezer mountain man".

LF 224
Struggle to get out of bed this morning, but a small victory in being able to do it. Shower and off to work.

Brief sitting with good contact with the body, once in the office. A few things intruded, but were managed.

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1550 LF Good contact with the limbs through the morning, lost through the early afternoon. Longer day again today. More meetings being scheduled for 1600 and later. Grrr.

RH 225
Warmer weather this morning, still cloudy. Apparently, the real cold returns tonight, worse than last week. Really looking forward to it, especially for the sake of the pipes.

Dreams last night revolved around some TV that I had been watching before bed (Monster House, Monster Garage). The ending of Monster Garage in my dream was not nearly as happy as the show's. Still have some neck and shoulder pain when I wake. These are related.

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Brief sitting, and again, a sense of my body "heating up", to the point where I am starting to sweat. Not as many things pulled my mind away this morning, and had a clear sense of an area of my left arm between the shoulder and elbow. Still have that sense now.

Active morning, with a number of small things accomplished. Aggregated together, they are more significant. Meetings set up to aid in completing other tasks for the week. Sent an e-mail to RR regarding boredom and applying GC principals to every day life. Lisa had her car towed to the garage, as it is no longer starting. More vehicular fun.

Killer 3 hour phone conference/training. All life has drained out of me into a puddle on the carpet of my office. Perhaps it will be there tomorrow to leap back into my desiccated body. Perhaps not.

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Walked out of work into a frigid windstorm. The cold is back. Scrounging in the fridge for dinner, clearing out leftovers (unused portions, for PatrickS). Mindless TV, then to bed.

Rise early to deal with the snow, and with the results of the outage yesterday. Everything appears to be wrking correctly, no harm done. Whew. I have a good headache and sore throat from yesterday. Not sure why, but it may have been the dust.

Morning spent with documentation and assembling the latest disaster recovery kit for the servers we support. A monthly task to keep this tool up-to-date, just in case something like what happened this weekend, happens again. We've been very close to having to do this on three occasions. Fortunately, my team has always been ready.

Rise at an early hour (for a Sunday, at least), as the cat decided he wantedto get into the attic. He couldn't actually open the door, but he kept trying. And trying. And trying.

Some things done this morning: more laundry, sifting through the book collection and identifiying what can be tradedin at the Dollar Book Store (mostly romance novels - Nora Roberts, Jane Feather and the like - and some Star Wars novels - these are really romance novels for guys). Upstairs cleaned, cat litter done as well.

Ordered parts for the food processor: juicer and citrus squeezer. More dietary fun.

Possible opportunity this semester for an "Alexander Technique for Musicians" class at MCC. It's saturdays, so I'd have to guide it around the YGP schedule.

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A routine change at work has led to all the servers I support in the local data center being unavailable. Not good, going into Monday. We may not have any e-mail or application services for three divisions.

Waitning for news, watching Mythbusters (a single bullet through the window or fuselage of an airplane at cruising altitude does not cause catastrophic decompression). Soon to bed, to be in early. It may snow, so a work day at home may be in the cards for me.

Looks like no Patriots-Rams or Patriots-Packers rematches this year. Hope it's Philly, since they haven't been to the big game in a long time. Looking forward to a Patriots-Giants Super Bowl some day. It would be nice for a Boston team to beat New York *sometime*. And no, the Jets don't count.

Rise at a comfortable hour, and crank through a morning of errands. Mostly successful, one item not available at any of 4 locations I looked. Still, pretty good for the morning. Work this morning, and some things for this afternoon have kept me from the YGP meeting. All correspondence had pointed to this project starting again in February, after the LM course. We now plan for February 7th to begin the next phase. Review and certain practice will be necessary to participate honorably. I also think the added load of work in Boston with Victor will have to be limited, so that I can give the needed attention to this project.

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Brief afternoon sitting, sending good wishes out to the team. Better contact this week.

Afternoon spent finishing up some tasks, getting other cleaning done. After Lisa's nap, we go to Bar-B-Que. Mmmmmmmm. Buffalo.

The Patriots are enough to kill a man. 17-14, and a last second advance by McNair and the Titans barely averted.

Clear and cold today. Brief sitting, distracted by thinking about what I would write in this journal.
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A few accomplishments today so far: some responsibilities transferred, some tasks completed. The week is quietly winding its way Dow. A suggestion from my wife regarding some home improvements doesn't sit well with me. It's not that I don't trust the person she's suggesting; I'd just like to do some things myself.
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Sleepy after lunch. 3:30 meeting means I don't leave here until at least 4:30. I really don't want to be here that long.
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Left at 2:30 to get home for 3:30 and the teleconference. Good thing, as the meeting was over an hour. Meet the new team, same as the old team.

Rise, later than normal, feeling mildly off center. Body off from last night's server issues. Brief sitting and shower. Both help immensely.

Spent the morning making the bad server good again. Breathing often to keep the stress & startle reactions to a minimum. Things go smoothly, and are complete in about the time frame we predicted. No surprises.

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Hellish day. Breathing was optional the whole time. Complete attention lapse left me locked outside the house, with the dog, and no coat. Fortunately, a neighbor was walking his dog, and let me use the phone. We had a good conversation while waiting for my wife. He works at WWUH, and is a Jazz fan. We talked a little GC, and he related an RF story from the late 80's from RF and TW were promoting albums, and they came to interview at WHUS. Very entertaining. He also knows the director at the Little Theater in Manchester (where Tony Levin played a few years ago). I suggested it might be a good place for the CGT to play.

RH

Early jump on the day, brought on by a server crash. This, at least, had me out of bed earlier than usual, and into work earlier. Perhaps I'll be able to swing out earlier as well.

Cold, cold, cold. This week will be like real winter, with temperatures nearing 0 F, without the wind. Hopefully, my repairs and insulation will keep the pipes from freezing this time. Last night was a full (or nearly full) moon. With the snow on the ground, it was like someone had left all the lights on.

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personal items deleted

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Home in time to go to the Bar-B-Que that was missed because of the sudden mini-blizzard yesterday. Tasty stuff, including buffalo. A late day set of irrational irritations are finally fading. Trying to recognize them, and ask them to leave. An unexpected, but welcome, visitor. Tea & conversation.

Now to bed.

Rise at a slightly later time, but this does not cause me to hurry in any way. I choose to perform my sitting at my desk after getting into work. Much more clear contact with my body today, and less chatter. No repeats of people or situations in any particular body part, though some things still bubble to the surface. They are filed away, and are asked not to distract me further.

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Extra parts for my car that should have been ordered in November have been ordered. Everything I need to send for re-application to RPI for my masters is done. I now wait for the staff to decide what else I need to take to complete the degree. Perhaps I will take the MCC course in the meantime and set myself up for the Fall semester at RPI. Taking any classes will likely preclude any residential GC courses this year.

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1350 RH

Lost contact with my limbs after 9:30 this morning. I realized this as I was updating the journal.

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1515 LF
Lost it again.

Readmitted to RPI. Two classes beyond the seminar course need to be taken to fulfill the requirements. Not as good as I would have hoped, but still better than it could have been. I need to plan this out with my advisor: can I take classes this spring and summer, and do the seminar, normally a year-long course, and be done my August, or should I tackle it in the fall and Spring of 2005. Obviously, I'd like to see it done this year.

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Server crash on the way home, fix and clean-up once I arrive at home. Now, ready for dinner. Sudden snowstorm (complete white-out) deails dinner plans. Soup on the couch instead of a new bar-b-que place. News that I can't act on my plan for getting the Masters done this year, so I will be starting again in the fall, rather than the spring.

Even more rain, damp, chill, bleah. Unfortunately, I can't stay home and work inside.

Two clear moments where certain people/tasks came to mind at specific points during my sitting this morning. Made a note of each, to check in with tomorrow. Also, noted a significant rise in body temperature during the sitting.

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RH Wet drive in, but no ice to deal with. Some parts of the state got cold enough for ice and freezing rain. Fortunately, none on my drive. I am endlessly amazed by people's inability to drive in bad weather, especially in SUV's. They assume invincibility, and then go cruising at speeds they wouldn't on a clear day.

TonyG's Native of the Rain now playing.

I have a new manager as of today. This makes my 6th or 7th in 2 years. Fortunately, I've been pretty autonomous, so the change doesn't really affect what I do day-to-day. Perhaps this heralds a new stability for my work-life. A thank-you note sent out for the two members of the team who have moved on. Genuine and heart-felt, as it is a great loss not to have them on the team any longer. In the end, this is better for everyone, professionally and economically.

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Information gathered regarding the Masters. I'll have to re-apply, and it will be up to the department head to decide if all I need to do is this last class, or if I will need to take any other courses to meet the degree requirements. Also, sent a couple questions to MarkB about the pick stamp. I might have a resource available to do the stamping.

More rain, damp, chill, bleah. Plenty to encourage inside work on the house. Late rise (it is the weekend, after all).

More pets at sitting, but less insistent this time. Sitting still a bit scattered, but better than yesterday.

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A few little things to get for the laundry room shelving, and then time to get to it. Two put in, and then it's time for lunch. After lunch (at the Cosmic Omelette), Lisa goes to read and take a nap, and I finish the shelving. 5 shelves total, all Closet Maid wire shelving. Visually, this type of shelving tends to dissapear when installed against a light background, since it's white wire. Lisa wanted cabinets, but I think they'll make the space feel too crowded, and will limit the storage options. A number of things put away, and gotten up of the floor. Incremental changes.

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A late shower, and reading. Some ideas for book cases and some detail possibilities for the living room. Watched a couple episodes of the the American Chopper Build-Off (Indian Larry rules!), and then to bed.

Rain, damp, chill, bleah. I've waited more than the customary minute, Mr. Clemens. It still hasn't changed.

Sitting this morning was very scattered. Very difficult to make contact with anyone. Might have had to do with both cats and the dog trying to crawl into my lap, but I can't be sure.

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A day of unhurried errands, collecting more items for small projects. A grey, rainy day contributes to the lethargy, but things still manage to get done. Reviewing more dietary reading, pursuing a more healthy tack for the year. Reviewing GC course possibilities for this year, and some other items that need to be completed (like my Master's). Also, floated the idea of taking a music theory course at the local community college.

Woke this morning to snow. More than an inch on the ground by the time I left for work, but it should be gone by noon, as the temperatures will hit the 40's again. It's supposed to be 50 this weekend.

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RH
Interesting dreams this week. Several dealing with performance in some fashion, but not GC course related. One where I was working in a friends shop, and some frustration was expressed, loudly and verbosely. Remarkably, it wasn't laced with invective or obscenities.

Very interesting sitting this morning. It felt cluttered, for lack of a better description. I was able to observe the places in the process where my mind would leave the sitting, and go elsewhere. Today it was at specific body parts that certain people or situations would leap to mind and take me down that path.

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Found a tool to help clean the excess crap that Word puts into its HTML. Now I just need a good clean page building tool, so I don't have to bother with the Borg tools. Also, reviewing the accomplishments of the past year. Really, the past 6 months, since this team was formed. The trick is translating some of what I do day-to-day into an objective.

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Back from lunch, and a quick run for a part I needed to complete a task at home. Some quick IM with NancyV.

Now, since it's slow, packing up and heading home.

Still warmer than normal, with some sun. Late September or Early March weather. Not something my wife or dog are complaining about. Good sitting this morning, some energy gained. A few of the small items on the task list completed, with one left off, awaiting a part. A trip to the used book emporium brings some good finds. A trip to the new book emporium brings some as well.

A nap in the afternoon, followed by more mundane tasks (laundry). Some energy remains, and will be banked. Tomorrow is the first work day of the year. I'll need it.