Click the image for the full size image and you can see my system time (the time I checked the site)

Late night check  in
We left Little Rock around 6pm to head to Dallas for a little kid-free relaxation and some shopping.  Liz has been wanting to go to IKEA for a while to check out some stuff for the wedding and start getting ideas for the remodel of Hunter’s room.  I needed to go to the Micro Center to pick up a new power supply for my PC as my other was under powered.   I also wanted to hit up the recently discovered outlet mall up in Allen while we were nearby as I have been on a mission for quite some time to find a pair of shoes that actually feel good and look decently — you know, anything but those clown shoes the youngsters wear today.  But I digress.  We finally got out of Little Rock after a brief stint in traffic and headed out on the long, dark and relatively lonesome highway.

After a few quick stops for various reasons and a rather lengthy stop at a Dairy Queen in Hooks, TX, we arrived in Dallas around 11:15 — about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, surprisingly.  We pull into the Courtyard and there is a line of cars in the reception area — at 11:15pm.  I find a spot and hop out and upon entering the lobby, I see why there were so many cars.  There was some event going on in town and everyone (who all knew each other and lived in the same town) were driving separate cars.)  After waiting 20 minutes for the group to be checked in, I had another guy in front of me who was trying to pay for his girlfriends? room but she had already paid for two nights.  A small argument ensued with her (the girlfriend?) finally coming down to clear things up.  Luckily the night manager had come out of the back office and I was able to check in with relative ease.  As it was nearing midnight, I didn’t want to argue that our room was not as I had requested in the reservation, but it really made smoking a pain.  In any event, a pleasant and quiet night completed the long and winding trip that had begun nearly 6 hours ago.

That’s right, at 6:06PM Central Standard Time, join me on KUAR 89.1 FM as I discuss complex technologies and their uses in every day life, as well as what the future is bringing.  For those of you out of town, or out of the listening area, feel free to visit kuar.org to listen live online.  Immediately following the radio interview, I will travel to the Afterthought on Kavanaugh road to join in a panel discussion on the same topics.  Joining me on the panel is:

• Michael Douglas, Ph.D., Professor and Director at UAMS and BioVentures.
• Charley Jones, Director of Operations at the Little Rock National Airport.

I hope to see many of my readers there to support this project — this is my first on air gig and my first panel discussion.  If it goes well, I may participate again, or in a similar program.

To my readers and friends on Twitter:  I apologize for all the spam you have received over the last few weeks as I have worked to reskin my website.  Seems the plugin I was using to post twitter updates has gone rogue and was posting every revision and update to every page and post on the site.

I have removed the offending plugin and replaced it with another, so hopefully the new plugin will work and you won’t be spammed every time I find a punctuation or spelling error somewhere on the site.

Thanks

Hopefully, this site will be easier to manage and maintain so more content should be released sooner.  I am not quite done tweeking this site, so I’m sure you will see some things change or maybe even disappear in the not to distant future.  In the mean time, sit back and enjoy my content.

Late last year, I took part in a relatively new program called RedditGifts that I had discovered on one of my various news outlets I subscribe to.  The concept is much like a Secret Santa program that you have probably participated in at some point in your life, but with complete strangers across the world.  You fill out what you are interested in, and if you are ok with shipping internationally.  I said yes to the shipping and informed my santa that all I wanted was something unique from his or her location that I could never find here in Arkansas.   My recipient was a person in Switzerland who enjoys Sci-Fi movies — making my shopping easy.  Of course the $13 in oversees shipping was a bit steep, but it was ok as this was a pretty cool little program. Everything on my part was done, all there was to do then was wait to see what “santa” brought me, and here is really where the story begins.  The day before we left to Ohio for our Holiday Adventure, I received a notice in the mailbox saying I had a package waiting for me.  Not knowing what it was (and really forgetting about the Reddit exchange) I decided to wait until I returned from holiday to go to the Post Office and pick up my package.

Finally returning on January 3rd, I stop by the post office to pick up my package and was told that I had 2 waiting.  Boxes in hand, I get out to the car and proceed to take a gander at what was sent to me.  The first thing I noticed was the first box.  It said Israel Post all over it — something I wasn’t familiar with, but explained quite a lot in regards to my website analytics.  You see, while I was in Ohio, I checked my Analytics account and it showed someone in Israel looking at every one of my pages.  At first I was thinking it was a spammer or some bot indexing my site, but after receiving this box, I realized that the unknown visitor was my secret santa researching me — and boy was I glad he or she did!

The first box (the one with the Israel Post copy all over it) contained lots of snacks and some other knick knacks from the region, including some Dead Sea Mud Soap.  Only problem is I don’t speak a word of hebrew so translating will be a pain, but it’s ok.  The second box, and the only one from anywhere I knew, was from Amazon and contained a Israeli cookbook and strainer.

To be honest, I was only expecting a little dodad, but this really made my day, no the entire season for me.  That one kind soul from another land, having never met me, took the time to research my interests and pick out gifts, that while small, really highlighted his (or her) country.  <username> if you are reading this, thank you so much.  I haven’t had time to go back to Reddit and thank you personally yet, but I will.  I hope we can stay in touch and you never know, if you are ever in the USA, you have a friend here, and I hope if I’m ever in the middle east, I will be able to call upon you for some great info and sight seeing spots.

So overall, I truly believe this was one of my better holidays…not just because I received lots of cool stuff, but because of the thought, the time, and the energy spent in making sure that the gifts bought matched the person receiving them.  I will defiantly participate in this program again next year, and hopefully will have a similar, if not better experience than I had this year.

In my last post, I left you at Ikea with my brother and his wife.  Well, after spending next to nothing on a bunch of neat stuff for the house, we said our goodbyes to Seth who was on his way back to Ft. Campbell.  We went on to Frisch’s for a quick lunch.  Good stuff, but not what it used to be, imo.  So now it was our turn to head to the Outlet Malls.  I’m really wishing that I would have gone the day prior with my brother as it was ass cold.  I mean, even for my polar bear self, it was cold.  Hunter, Chloe and I went one way, while Liz went another.  The plan was to meet up somewhere in the middle.  Evidently, the three of us can cover the mall 2 and a half times in the time it takes Liz to cover two stores as we were stuck walking around endlessly while we waited for her to finish up.So an hour or so later we finally leave, headed back to Dayton for one final night with the family.  But we didn’t even make it half way when I noticed that I was not in possession of my phone.  I was positive I had it when I left the mall, but it was nowhere to be seen.  I pulled over at the next exit and searched the car as best as I could, but to no avail.  So we decided it had fallen out at the mall and turned around to look around in the parking lot as I knew I had it before I got in the car.  Of course, the phone wasn’t there and I was certain my phone was gone for good.  I decided the only option was to go to the nearest Best Buy and purchase a new device, but I was worried sick that since it was New Years Day, everything would be closed.

Luckily, Best Buy was open and I made a quick stop to check out their selection of phones.  In typical Deke luck, my upgrade doesn’t kick in for another 2 months and all the phones worth buying were $700 or so.  So much for that idea.  We had back to Dad’s where I called my carrier and informed them my phone was lost.  I started the process of an insurance claim when my Step Mom walked in and told me to check the car again.  I was convinced it was not there as I looked carefully in the daylight and couldn’t find it.  But, I thought, what the hell.  What do I have to lose?  I went back to the car and slid the drivers seat front and back a few times when my phone flew out from between the seat and the seat belt latch — somewhere that in this car is next to impossible to see.

I’ve lost my mind, i was starting to think as I secured my phone.  The second time I’ve lost tech this week — the first being my tablet as I put it on the dashboard of the car at 11pm and forgot it was there and freaked out.  In my defense, the case is black, it was dark, and I never put my tablet there.  Anyway, we stay at Dad’s until around 9 when we depart for the house.  We agreed to come by before we left town, which, after a good nights sleep and a relatively smooth packing process, we did.  Visiting one last time with Dad before we headed home, we finally left around noon.

We left around noon primarily because it was starting to snow and we didn’t want to be caught up in it.  The drive to Cincinnati was relatively easy, with only minor problems caused by the snow.  Cincy to Louisville was pretty smooth, was just a few rough spots where the wind and snow were issues.  Luckily we came through when we did, because not much later a 40 something car pile up took place where we were no more than an hour previous.  Stopping in Louisville for a quick trip to a Barns and Noble to get Hunter a book he had been looking for all week and no bookstore in Dayton seemed to have.  We decided then to hit up hobby lobby so Liz could get some craft crap and then Best Buy so I could by my replacement 360.

By the time we left Louisville, it was 4:45pm and getting dark.  We quickly hit the road on the way to Nashville where we were to stay the night and leave out early in the morning.  A few miles outside of Louisville the weather turned to shit.  The wind picked up and the snow started blowing.  People were sliding off the road left and right.  What normally would be an hour and a half drive turned out to be 4 hours as we pulled into Bowling Green around 9pm.  Stopping here was our best bet as we knew the Microtel is a good place to stay and had a TV compatible with the new 360 I bought earlier — Netflix is nice in a hotel.

We head out down the road for a quick meal at the Outback and return to the hotel and quickly fall asleep.  The plan was to get up around 7 or 8 and drive back to Little Rock, arriving around 2pm.  Luck had other plans.  Remember back in July at my brother’s wedding when I mentioned that our battery died?  Right.  Same battery, same situation.  Except this time it was much, much worse.  This time, the roadside assistance tech ran some diagnostics on the car and determined that the car was pulling directly from the alternator because the battery was fried.  He said that the next time we turn the car off, we will need another jump.  I asked him where the nearest walmart was and quickly made my way over there after thanking the tech and getting a jump.  I pick the battery I need and take it to the desk and asked how long it would be before they could put the battery in and was told 2 hours because there were a few oil changes in front of me.  This was unacceptable.  I asked why they couldn’t quickly change the battery in between oil changes and she said it was not policy.  I relented and had her put me on the list.  I walked outside and called area stores for prices and install times and was better off staying put.  About that time, a tech came outside and was looking at the car next to me and I asked him what was needed to change the battery.  He told me what I needed and showed me where they were and I picked up what I needed and the battery, checked out and proceeded back to the car.

And as I arrive, a tech is walking to my car to change the battery and told me that everyone would have to get out and he would have to take it into the bay.  I said that wasn’t cool, and asked if he could show me how to change the battery myself, which he did.  30 minutes later (it took a while to get the battery re-secured) we were on the road again — this time with renewed determination to make it home as soon as humanly possible.  Arriving home around 7pm — yes, that’s 5 hours later than planned — we quickly unloaded the car and crashed…having little energy left after such an “entertaining” day.

After a pretty uneventful, yet late (and long) drive to Ohio, and after going to my clients office and planning a full network move, we finally make it back to Jon’s (hereinafter referred to as “the house”) and settle in for the night.  Chloe sleeps all night, as does Hunter, so we all slept fairly well.  And then the sun came out and Chloe woke up.  Stupid biological clocks.  Up at dawn with nothing to do but wait for my client to call — he is notorious for waking up extremely (like after noon) late, we head over to a local Perkins for breakfast.  Naturally, half way through the meal, my client calls — surprisingly early, I know.  We agree to meet within the hour and hang up.

An hour or so later, I am dropped of at my client’s new office and begin getting the new spaces set up for the move.  This was the easy part, as I would later find out.  Finishing up the preliminary tasks, we head to the old office where the demolition of the current network is scheduled to begin.  I start the process of determining what is attached to what, and begin to disconnect the computers.  Crawling under the table to unplug wires, I had to disturb what can only be described as a small family of dust bunnies to reach my goal.

A few hours later, all the PC’s are disconnected and packed, ready to be moved.  and I finish the day on a high note.  I send a message to Liz to come and pick me up and I go over the next day’s business with the client and soon depart.  Evidently Liz had been shopping because the car was full of shopping bags and barely enough room to put my bag and myself.  We head to Dad’s and spend the rest of the evening there before we head back to the house and call it a night.

The next day is relatively uneventful, with not so much as a hiccup in the daily routine — breakfast, work, Dad’s, the house, sleep.  It isn’t until Friday that the fun truly begins.  The idea was to finish up with the client, then hang out with Dad most of the day.  However, due to some scheduling conflicts that didn’t materialize as planned.  My brother was in town visiting and I got done at the clients at close to the same time he got finished shopping at the Outlet Mall in Cincinnati.  We meet up at Dad’s house and spend the evening catching up.

Saturday was spent hanging out and generally taking it easy.  We had planned on taking Hunter to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, but after loading the car up and heading to the museum, we discovered it was closed.  Hunter, of course, wasn’t too happy, but understood.  We decided to make the most of it and go to one of my childhood favorites — Graeters Ice Cream.  Having our fill, we headed back to Dad’s to plan the evening. My sister, in town from Arkansas as well, had a creative idea to take a photo that was taken of the family back in 1992 and retake the photo in 2011 since everyone was in town — a rarity in our family.  The plan was put in motion and we all met up at the Front Street Lofts at 7 and find the elevator lift and take a few shots.

Of course, nothing works as planned, as Jon was late getting off work and didn’t show up until around 8pm.  All of us were taking practice shots and getting ready for the final cut — all of us except Liz who stayed in the car with Chloe.  Luckily, she had no objection to this, as I thought before I went out for a smoke.  After Jon arrived and everyone was ready, we took the final shot and disbanded.  Unfortunately, that was the last (and only) time I saw Nik on the entire trip.  Oh well.  We all left and went to my Aunt and Uncle’s for a new years party — or what was supposed to be.  By the time we arrived, the crowd had already dwindled to people we didn’t know and a few of the other aunts and uncles.  No cousins.

Bummed, we decided to head back to the house and ring in the new year with Jon, Emily, Seth, Nicole, Liz, Hunter, Chloe and myself indulging in New Years Eve revelry.  The ball drops and everyone soon leaves as they are tired, and we were as well.  The next day is shopping — finally.  The only hitch – I still had to get paid for my work.  And of course, my client didn’t want to wake up until around 11 — 2 hours after we had planned on heading to Ikea and the Outlet Malls.  We head down to the client’s new office and I go over things one last time and receive compensation and say my goodbyes.  We meet up with Seth and head south to Ikea.

Find out what happens during our shopping excursion and the trials and tribulations of driving in January in the next installment of the Holiday Adventures series.