As promised

Sad to say, my Spurs are going back to L.A.
No, I didn't mean that to rhyme. Instead of focusing on the sad news, I'm going to look for the silver lining. The Clippers can and will  be beaten. I caught the end of the Celtics and Cavaliers game. Am I the only one who remembers when the Celtics were a force to be reckoned with? Ah, Larry Bird, we miss you. But that's not what we're here to talk about.
New Horizons is set to become the 5th man-made object to leave the solar system. Pioneer 11 and 12, as well as Voyager 1 and 2 went before with a plaque or a golden disk to tell alien life forms 'We Are Here'. (Historically, announcing your presence is not a good idea.) New Horizons left without any such message for extraterrestrial life to discover. But it's not too late. Instead, we can program a message on New Horizons for ET to discover. It's a crowd funded message in a bottle.
My personal take on the plaques, disks, and binary codes for alien lifeforms to discover?
It's a long shot. Altruistic, with only the slightest chance of ever contacting an alien life civilization.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.
The extent of Human radio broadcasts is roughly 200 light years in diameter. We've been broadcasting radio waves since their invention by Marconi and encompassed this much of the galaxy.
Certainly puts things in perspective, doesn't it?
Assuming there is a civilization in our galactic neighborhood, it will take them at least that long to respond. That is assuming they are listening and have the means to respond.
Our robots will not be the first messengers to the stars. Our radio signals will be.
We're operating on a lot of assumptions here. Scientists believe there have been five, possibly six, mass extinctions on earth already. 
To me, life does happen. Millions of years of evolution resulting in one or two species coming out on top. One wonders what the dolphins, whales, and octopuses would have to say about our planet?
We are on the fifth or sixth attempt for space faring life to evolve. Assuming another civilization got off on the second or third go round at developing with a few million years of a head start, they most certainly would be beyond our current technological level.
But what if they weren't? Alien life forms that have only come around in the last couple of million years? They too could be just discovering radio waves and we wouldn't know it. Not for another century or two.
So we got to a technological level where we can start shouting out into the galaxy as well as sending tiny robots as messengers. That is quite an achievement, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
We're going to eventually get radio waves from another civilization. They will be disjointed and incoherent. We may not even recognize them as what they appear to be. Let's put the shoe on the other foot. What is another civilization going to make of the Marx Brothers or Hitler's Berlin Olympic games speech?
Like it or not, those will be our first emissaries.
Keplar 186-f is an exo-planet we think can harbor life. It is roughly 490 light years away. Okay, I'm armchair quarterbacking here... Assuming life is on the planet, as well as a civilization comparable to ours, they'll receive our first transmissions in about 400 years. Conversely, we might be getting a message from them in about the same time. That is assuming they are on a tech level similar to ours. If they're more advanced, it may be sooner.
We may not come in contact with ET in my lifetime, but we should keep talking, sending out signals to other species. There isn't going to be a real time interface, not in this millennium.
Remember: gazing up at the stars you are also looking into the past. It took uncounted millions of years for the light to reach earth. Imagine the light from our sun, traveling the cosmos. An alien race with a very large telescope and uncanny resolution would see dinosaurs and might assume the human race to be reptilian in origin.
Bottom line: We will discover life, but it will be by accident.

Many things to do, not enough time to do them in

Another week wrapped up with no sign of the cavalry coming. No rumor about some one applying for the posted position. The job isn't even closed yet. Looks like it's going to be the Mr. Bill show all the next week. Much like the 300 Spartans defending Thermopylae, I'll have a bit of help.
When the appliance truck comes on Tuesday, I'll round up a few friends with strong backs to receive the 80+ stoves and fridges. I have 5 stockers who will run stuff out for me and put it on the shelves. When those guys go home for the day, I call upon the actual workers in the department to fill spaces and take stuff out.
That doesn't mean I can breathe easy. Receiving stuff rapidly, accurately, and be in several places at once really takes a toll on a person. Things do not get put out in a timely fashion and my work piles up.
The days pass very quickly, often I don't stop for lunch. The department managers are always telling me how appreciative they are of the work I'm doing. They also buy me lunch. It's a nice touch, but eating a taco in between trucks doesn't quite carry the same weight. I'm burning out very quickly. Which leads me to another problem.
In a matter of weeks I'll be picking my daughter up from college. It will be a hard drive, but this time I won't be alone. My wife will be along to share the burden. Because of time restraints, we have to be back very quickly. The way I understand it is that my wife is currently in a long term assignment substituting position which pays X+50. A standard substitute gets paid X. If she's out for a day, then she loses her long term status and the subsequent loss of pay for the remainder of the school year. 
Sucks doesn't it?
Now they still haven't offered her the full time job, but here's my prediction: They will keep stringing her along as a long term sub and  not offer the full time job. Why? Because they can. The people who run the school district can cry innocent all they want, They've lost all credibility with me. Principles and superintendents can claim they don't know why this happens, but evidence suggests otherwise. It's the way of running business.
In retail there are two ways to get rid of someone you don't like. Marginalize them and make it so uncomfortable that they choose to leave. The other way is to overload them with work and the only reward is a nice pat on the head. In both ways the disaffected person chooses to leave on their own and the company gets none of that icky blame on them.
Stuff that in your taco.
Sorry for the rant, but I've had a rough week, (and a few beers.) On that front I've now added three bottles of orange mead to my stock.

Next time cut the pieces smaller for easier removal

Today was spent doing two things: fighting bureaucracy and bottling elderberry mead. Guess which one was less stressful?
My daughter now has a passport coming her way. They hoops we had to jump through! Showing up two hours early just to barely get in.
They allow thirty-five applicants once a week. We were number 28. Imagine if I got there at 5 A.M. I could have been one of the first ten people! I was halfway through filling out the correct form when I was told to leave the room. I couldn't fill out (or stand!) in the same room as these 'civil servants'. 
I should of gotten a medal for not removing their breathing privileges. The amount of restraint I showed was truly awe inspiring. I don't think a jury of my peers would have convicted me.
The elderberry posed a different problem. Both readings I took indicated it was .01 percent too high. A quick Google search confirmed that it might be because of the high sugar content in the fruit.
Usually I do my bottling outside where I have access to the garage of brewing supplies and tools. I also don't make a mess in the kitchen. Quicker than you can say 'pour some sugar on me', the flies descended upon my brewing and bottling endeavors. (Didn't they make a cheesy sci-fi movie about that?)
Faster than I thought possible, I ferried the mead indoors. Bottle cleaning and sterilization continued outdoors, but the insects didn't want any part of that. Few people do. The result?

Me: 23, bugs: 0

Twenty bottles with three 'samplers' (the orange caps) You can notice the difference between the top and the bottom row. Yeah, sorry about that. It will clear up on the rack as it ages. No worries.
The lovely wife designed labels for all the mead being created. I can't remember everything.
Let's see... There's Lady Jane's Time Out (prickly pear), Mellow-meady (Orange), and Sweet Child O' Mine (Elderberry). We haven't come up with a name for the dry mead. I'm leaning towards, 'Wannabe Champagne', but I'm taking suggestions.
And finally:

Ahh, lunch

You see a truck. I see the weekend.
We're getting close to the Pluto fly-by. I'll post more about that next time.

a semi-wasted day

Not all news is good tidings. I don't like to gloss over what happens and at at the same time not depress everyone or bore them to tears. So a mix of good stuff and not-so-good stuff happened this weekend.
We cleaned and put things away so well that we can't find stuff. Saturday morning we were going to get my daughters passport renewed. In order to do that we have to turn in the old one. My wife saw it last two weeks ago when we were making a photocopy of daughter number two's passport. That means we were up until 3:30 in the morning looking for it. Both of us had been up for 22 hours and reluctantly admitted defeat. We will look again all this week and try again for next Saturday. That's the only time the office is open and they only take the first thirty-five applicants. (Update: I found them under a stack of papers.)
The government really doesn't want us going anywhere, do they? Of course there is a completely logical explanation, but it doesn't pass the smell test on why they insist on making things harder for me.
After several successful batches of beer, I finally worked up the nerve to make one from scratch. The recipe I followed had more ingredients and I spent a little more than I wanted to spend, but it was within tolerance. My budget can take an extra five dollar cost, but not all the time.
The process went well right up to the end. I made the mistake of leaving the batch unattended for a few seconds. Unfortunately that's all it took.

A tub of beer. Not as much fun as it sounds.

Silently berating myself, I proceeded to clean up the mess I'd created. No one to blame but myself. 
With a few hours of daylight left, I decided to take my frustrations out by mowing the lawn.
I'm still in a bit of a funk about that. Whenever bad things happen, I try and look for the silver lining. I ask myself if there is anything good coming out of this situation?
I still have a couple of the ingredients. They'll keep until I try this again in a few weeks. The most expensive stuff went down the drain. No way around that. Perhaps I can buy one or two things at a time to spread the cost out. This hobby is teaching me new ways to be patient.
The house smells of freshly baked bread and chocolate. Five loaves of banana bread, six artisan bread, four blueberry lemon pound cakes (come get yours, Kim!), and one tray of fudge brownies for sale. My wife may correct me on the exact amount, but that's what wives are for. Musketeer number two is part way through her fundraising efforts. Last I checked she was $700.00 toward a $1,700 goal. She needs to have the remaining grand by the end of the month. We're getting her to the doctor for her shots for the trip. This is for a church mission trip to Haiti, June 25th through July 4th. If anyone reading this feels they can make a donation towards my daughter's trip, let me know. 

 There is a ranch not too far from my house with this amazing field of bluebonnets. So before they all go away for the year, I pulled over to the side of the road and snapped a few pictures. That is my beat up Dodge in the background and the wagon in front is a direct ancestor of my current mode of transportation.
With all the rain we've been having these last few weeks, it's not surprising that my herb garden has run amok. Does anyone need cilantro or oregano? My rosemary is threatening to become a tree, rather than a shrub. It could use a trim as well. 
My Spurs are playing the Clippers in game 1 of the finals tonight. Some of you may not care for that and that is your right. I keep my peace when friends get excited about hockey/baseball/football season. This is my time to get all fanboy, so I ask the same consideration of you. My other vice, Game of Thrones, is also on tonight. The guy who invented the VCR must have felt the same way. We all owe him a debt of gratitude.

Leader of the whatever

The saying goes something like, 'There are those who seek out leadership and there are those it is thrust upon.'
The first category draws the power hungry and the glory seekers, despite the fact that these people are not very good at leading others. We've all run into the incompetent fools and wonder how the hell did they get there? There must of been some quality in the character makeup that said; 'this person can lead others and get results.'
I've seen plenty of those people. Every job I've ever worked has had at least one person who couldn't lead a flock of lemmings. The job manager title (and corresponding pay.) us what attracts them. Never mind that they're actually no good at it. Politicians fall into this category exclusively.
In my travels I have met people who lead and they are actually suited to it. Store manager, office manager, construction manager, kitchen manager. They all had one thing in common: they were running the show for someone else. Also, it came as no surprise that many of these people struck out on their own.
One fellow I knew ran a department in our store without actually being promoted to the department manager position. He became dissatisfied, justifiably so, that he was doing the work and not getting the pay/promotion/appreciation. He's now restoring classic cars and running his own shop in South Carolina. He came back into town and visited us schleps in the garden center. After the bro hugs and back slaps, he told me that he works half the week, shops the auto auctions for things to restore and generally enjoys himself.
The view does change when you are the lead dog.

Now the people with leadership thrust upon them, and I definitely identify with this category, are a lot more common than you think.
These are the people who don't panic in stressful situations. Yes, we get scared, but we have to a certain extent mastered our fear. The firefighter who runs into a burning building. The policeman who faces death and danger. You can only train for that to a certain extent. A lot of that has to come from inside, from who you are and the makeup of your character.
When the chips are down, who is the person you turn to? Who's your go-to person? Who's the person who can get things done? 
Those people fit my definition of a leader. They don't do it for power or the prestige. Most of us couldn't care less how many initials come after their name.
It's called respect and it is earned in deeds, leading from the front by example. 

Tartan up Y'all

Every so often it's good to get out of town. It doesn't have to be far and it breaks up the routine. Today the wife and I made a short trip to the little town of Helotes. You can think of it like a suburb, but not really. San Antonio's explosive growth has swallowed up small towns. If a town wasn't incorporated, it got annexed by the bigger city, but that's a story for another blog post.
The reason we went out to this community on the west side of town was the San Antonio Highland Games and Celtic Festival. On the drive over, the sky opened up. Some poor sucker who forgot his raincoat was out in a field directing traffic. I wouldn't have traded places with that guy for anything. So we're parking in a field that is swiftly turning into a lake or creek. We thought it was prudent to wait out the rain in the relative safety of the car. As the puddles increased and tributaries formed, I wondered if the car would be in the same spot we left it in. Heck, I hoped we could get the car out of the mud when we wanted to go home.
Before we get to the pictures, I have to preface this. These men actually go to the gym and train for this. I couldn't do this stuff half as well as they did. It's harder than it looks.

Nothing stops these men

 Did I mention it was still raining? 
The first event we walked up to was a stone toss. At least that's what I think they call it. Think shot put, but with a stone the size and weight of a bowling ball.

Head... Rock, Rock... Head

I easily identified who was in the rock throwing competition by the tell tale streaks of mud on their necks.

That's gonna leave a mark

In a profound sense of irony, each participant toweled off their hands and the stone they were about to throw with a soaking wet towel. This was to get most of the mud off, but the rock was slick enough to begin with. Oh yeah, see that rail road tie by the guys foot in the last picture? You can't go past it or outside the marked off area or your throw won't be counted, just like a shot put. Which brings me to my buddy who I came out to see.

Tremble before my beard

Now each tartan represents a clan, much like a coat of arms. This makes him easy to spot in a crowd, much like Samuel Jackson and his purple lightsaber. 

Float like a butterfly

Sting like a bee

Now it is my understanding the winner of a round can request the next stone/object being tossed be heavier. I'm having sympathy hernias just watching them.
Now I didn't want to be accused to staring too closely, but I was wondering if any of the competitors wore some kind of abdominal belt for support or injury protection. It makes sense doesn't it?
Next up: the caber toss. Not capers, that's something else entirely.

Difficulty level: Hardass

The log is slimy wet as well

The object is to pick up this... tree trunk, carry it a few steps, and toss it end over end. Muddy field. Soaking wet twelve foot pole. Poor visibility. Good chance of injury. What could possibly go wrong?
In a side note: most of them are wearing cleats, not that it does them any good. Most of the competitors couldn't get a grip on the telephone pole. A lot of times they lost control and had to get out from under falling wood. The first person to succeed in lifting, carrying, and tossing it end over end was this guy:

Yes, he's rubbing wood

My power comes from my beard

This is the son of my friend. I almost want to say he made it look easy, but the twenty guys who failed before him tell me different. All told, only two guys successfully tossed the caber. Oh, and the winner requested a bigger stick. Insert joke here.
Thankfully about this time the rain tapered off. Not that it would of stopped these guys. You could almost smell the testosterone.
For a brief time this afternoon, I considered letting my beard come in full. In winter a beard is a handy thing. An extra layer of insulation. A Texas summer not so much. Perhaps this is why the Highland Games are held before the heat gets too bad.
I should mention there was also overpriced food, music, dancers and artisans of exceptional quality. I didn't get pictures of those, just men and women getting their plaid on.

He's got this

We're gonna need a bigger caber

Magic Beans

Beans, beans the musical fruit... No wait a second. Not those beans. Today was International Table Top Game Day. A manufactured event to be sure, but what wonderful results.
Even as I sit writing this, I recognize the dysfunctional system the event is supposed to combat. Are you confused by that last sentence? Allow me to explain.
My daughter is laying on the couch with her notebook in her lap. My youngest is watching TV. My wife is reading her iPhone and I'm typing on the keyboard with my back to my family. We're in the same room, but we might as well be miles apart. What a lonely life to lead.
Today my family volunteered to play and run some board games at a place called Magic Beans Cafe, and I'm glad we did. 
Imagine this: A small coffee house with snacks and several shelves worth of board games you are invited to play. The decor is reminiscent of a tavern from Game of Thrones. Instead of watching a computer screen, we are all facing one another and participating in a favorite game or a new one you may never have heard of before. Imagination and creativity rule the day. I made some new friends and reconnected with old ones.
Today I built a town and completed some quests, then I rescued monkeys and finally I took a silly cruise around the galaxy. In between those achievements there was friendly small talk over coffee and sandwiches. In short, we had a blast.

Munchkins playing Munchkin.

My one regret is I didn't get a picture of how crowded it was. This picture with the two youngsters was taken early in the day before the main crowd arrived. The parking lot got full quickly. A good thing there was an open field next to the strip center. That filled up as well. A quick estimate of people there would be in the 60 to 75 range. Tables were full, people were playing and it was almost standing room only.
With that many people present, con funk rules applied. I can't speak for everybody there, but I'm glad I brushed my teeth and used deodorant.
We have a strong gaming community here in San Antonio, and few places to actually hang out and do fun stuff like what Magic Beans is offering.
Let me run down your excuses for you.
'I haven't owned a board game since I was in the 6th grade.'
Magic Beans has a well stocked library of games to play.
'But I don't know how to play.'
There are always people there who can teach you a game. In fact, tables are often reserved for regular players. In fact a large chalk board covers a portion of one of the walls indicating when game sessions will be held.
They've only been open about a month and a half, so cut them a bit of slack about their web page not being chock full of stuff. I suspect it won't be that way for long.
There's more information on their Facebook page. Check it out. 

Almost

When someone I know complains about their job in a Facebook post, it comes as no surprise that a co-worker or boss sees the post. The internet is rife with people getting fired (ahem, told not to come back.) to a job that they totally disrespect the boss or the position. And you know what? If you don't like the company or store, you shouldn't be there. It is not cool to insult the boss behind his back. On Facebook? In a public forum? Please, save everyone some time and shoot yourself in the foot.
I am grateful to Lowe's for hiring me after being unemployed for so long. There are criticisms and compliments on the tip of my tongue when I talk about my employers. The people are genuinely nice. I'm proud to know them and consider many of them friends.
Last I checked, no one gets to be the CEO as their first job. Even Gorden Ramsey started off as a dishwasher or busboy. I'll admit, I don't know what his first job in a restaurant was. Earlier in the week, I saw an older video of him assisting another chef. There's no shame in that. A dishwasher becomes a prep chef, a prep chef becomes a head chef. That's the way things work.
The reason I'm on this tangent is that I almost came close to breaking one of my rules. I'm not mad at anyone, but I am upset that I was put in a tight situation through outside forces. My managers realize that and I told them I wasn't blaming them. This is one of the times I have to bite the bullet and do the job. Personal distaste doesn't figure into it. Whining about it does no good.
A couple of years ago, one of my crew had a heart attack. Since it was him and me, I took over his shifts and covered what needed to be done. That's what I do for friends.
There was another department manager who I did not get along with. It was a personality clash. We simply pushed each other's buttons. However, when she went into the hospital to have surgery, I did the paperwork for her department. That is what I do for someone I don't care for. At the time I was trying for professional decency.
We all have encountered people that we do not get along with. The trick is to act professionally, take the high road, and not let it become personal. If you behave in a calm, professional manner while others are being assholes. Karma and nature have ways of correcting the balance. If you are lucky, you'll get to watch the asshole get their just reward.

Time off for good behavior

So far this week has been like the Chinese curse, 'May you live in interesting times.' 
Holy crap on a cracker, I didn't ask for this. My department manager had a hernia operation. He was out for two weeks, but got so restless he came back to work a bit sooner than he should have. He's hobbling around on a cane I lent him. Needless to say he can't lift anything. During my day I can witness him getting in and out of the forklift with a painful grimace on his face. To sum it up, his ego is writing checks his body can't cash.
In the same week, a refrigerator fell on the assistant manager, don't ask me how, I wasn't there when it happened. Bruises stretching the length of her arms and torso. She can't lift her arms or do much either.
Then two of the receivers got into a shouting match. One got transferred to pro services and the other is no longer with Lowe's.
So guess who that leaves to handle stuff?
Tuesday I worked straight through with no lunch. The manager had a case of guilty conscience and bought me Sonic while I was handling trucks. Seriously, I had four trucks waiting to unload like a conga line. That was until about 2 PM. The remainder of the day was processing all the paperwork and inventory on those trucks. That was on top of the local traffic and Fed Ex/UPS.
Wednesday: wash, rinse, repeat. Today looks like more of the same. Over time here I come.
They posted the jobs as available, now who in their right mind wants them?
Yesterday the manager was begging me, begging me, to stay late. 
Methinks I'm racking up some serious karma right now because I'm saving their collective butts.
And I'm still not allowed to drive a forklift. 
Part of me knows that it's ego talking when I say they can't function without me, but I'm the only one who is operating at 125% capacity.
Normally I don't vent about working in the Clark Kent job, but this week I think I've earned the right to complain about it.

So, April

Now that my taxes are done, I can enjoy the rest of April. I see the San Antonio Highland games are coming up the 11th and 12th. I promised the wife and kids I'd take them. Besides a good friend and his sons are competing in the games. One doesn't have to be Scottish to enjoy the festivities and it looks like a good way to spend the weekend. Besides, I promised my friend a bottle of mead and this seems like a good place to deliver it. Men in kilts tossing cabers, throwing hammers, and my mead: What could possibly go wrong? Which reminds me, I better bring an ice chest.
Also Saturday, April 11th is International Tabletop Day. I'm volunteering to run a board game or two at Magic Beans Gaming Cafe. I'll be running my Robo Rally game and my wife suggested I bring along Munchkins. It's been a while since I played Munchkins and I might need a refresher game to bring me up to speed. This is put your money where your mouth is time. Sure I like playing video and computer games occasionally. Call me old school if you want, but I like playing board games just as much, if not more. Some of my best memories involve playing Risk with my Dad, Boggle with my entire family. Even now my kids will beg for a family game night involving Hands and Feet, which is a variation on Canasta.
About two years ago, I played a game called Settlers of Catan and I had way too much fun. At the end of the evening I didn't want to stop playing. We all had to pack up and go home. The business we were meeting at was closing, and I wanted to keep playing! that's how addictive it was. In fact, you can play online for free.
These types of games appeal to me so much more than the first person shooter games we see out there because there's a lot of imagination involved. I suppose I aught to purchase the game, but I never got around to it. Perhaps it's time.