Work Random Pictures

Individuals in the pictures are: Tim, Dana, and Cleo. Cleo is the little one. Pictures were taken on the day of the Christmas party for the kids of Hyperion employees.

Not a "New Year Resolution" list...

Here is a list of items that I consider to be a "life" list. A list of things that I plan to accomplish or desire to accomplish in my life. Some of them are "actionable" at this time, while others are "future" based.

Not a fan of New Year Resolutions... absolutely no reason to wait for a day to arrive to start!

Skills

Learn to fly an airplane

Learn to ride a motorcycle

Learn a martial art

Learn to play a guitar

Vanity / Health

6 pack abs

Great cholesterol levels (either with medicine or ideally without)

Run a mile in under 10 min

Relationship

A relationship that makes me want to scream out loud with love and happiness

Spend at least a couple of hours a work doing volunteer work

Merry Christmas

Call me "Handyman Tim"

With a little help from the internet, I have repaired my treadmill. Amazing!!

The tread roller at the backend of the machine, had a screw pull thru the plastic cover. Therefore the roller was not attached to the machine anymore... a big problem. I attempted a couple of "in house" fixes but the plastic cover just wasn't going to work.

Jumped on the internet, within 10 minutes had the replacement part order. Delivery took place late last week and the reconstruction of the machine was accomplished successfully last night.

Fountain Update/Location

Still in the garage, next to the garbage can.

Wow, is it dark outside

Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.

I was just sitting at work and felt it was late. Later than normal for me to be at work. I then saw that it was only 5 pm and got back to work.

An hour later, I realize that today is the shortest day. I guess I noticed that fact without actually realizing it...

Left Handed Presidents

Had this topic come up the other day. Did you know that the last 4 out of 6 Presidents were left handed?
Here is the complete list of left handed Presidents:

• James A. Garfield
• Herbert Hoover
• Harry S. Truman
• Gerald Ford
• Ronald Reagan
• George Bush
• Bill Clinton

Sandy Engle

Bainbridge Township - Sandra Joann Drake Engle, 57, passed on Thursday, December 16, 2004, at the Hospice at Home, The Meadows, Buchanan.

A memorial service will be held 2-5 pm Tuesday, Dec. 21st at the Van Buren Country Intermediate School District's Tech Center, 250 South Street, Lawrence, MI 49064.

A graduate of Central Michigan University, Sandra earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Journalism and Library Science. She retired from the Dowagiac Union Schools were she taught for 28 years. Sandra served as K-6, K-4, 5-8 and 7-8 librarian. As library department chair for seven years, she either led, or co-chaired, the annual community book fair held at Southwestern Michigan College for many years. A Junior Great Books advisor at Central Junior High, she was also a mentor in the at-risk program. Upon retirement, Engle received recognition for being the president of the Dowagiac Education Association for 21 years and 28 years as an association leader in a variety of local, regional, state and national positions.

Engle was appointed to the Michigan Dept. of Education, Office of Professional Preparation and Certification Library Media Advisory Committee on Standards and Testing for 1997-1999. She also served on the school's district-wide professional development and school improvement committees and wrote publicity articles for the district for many years.

She was a member of the Michigan Association of Media in Education and the American Library Association. She also served on the Dowagiac United Way Board of Directors for two years and on the LINK Teen Crisis Intervention Center board in St. Joseph for a year. Engle is a past secretary of the Sister Lakes PTO and was active in the Sister Lakes Athletic Association.

Before beginning teaching, she was a staff writer for the Herald Palladium newspaper, wrote for the Southwest Michigan Tourist Council and was director of public relations for Bronte Champagne and Wine Company.

Survivors include her husband of 35 years, Bryce; two daughters - Tristan Engle-Maney (Michael) of Wilmington, DE, and Meghan Engle of San Francisco, CA; father Charles William Drake (Barb) of Greenville, OH; stepsisters Shannon Fleak of Delphos, OH and Denise Drake of Las Vegas, NV; and stepbrothers Charles Drake of Pique, OH and John David Drake of Cridesville, OH. Preceding her death was her mother, Eleanor.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the University of Chicago in care of Dr. James Mastrianni, CJD Research Project, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, the Hospice at Home, Inc., 4017 Chamberlain, Buchanan, MI 49107, or the Dowagiac Education Association Scholarship Fund, in care of Patricia Nawrocki, 575 Invicta Drive, Niles, MI 49120.

Sad Day

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. --from a headstone in Ireland

Bill Cosby at the Flint Center.

Internet Onsale Info
Onsale to General Public:
Sat, 11/13/04 12:00 PM

Internet Presale Info
Presale:
Start: Thu, 11/11/04 12:00 PM
End: Fri, 11/12/04 10:00 PM

Current Top 10 Artists on my ipod

Here is the current top 10 artists based on # of songs played on my ipod. Included is an indicator on whether or not the artist's position has changed since I last reported a top 10.

1. Van Morrison +0
2. Bruce Hornsby + 1
3. Grateful Dead - 1
4. Ryan Adams +3
5. Joe Jackson - 1
6. The Wallflowers - 1
7. The White Stripes *
8. Smashing Pumpkins - 2
9. 10,000 Maniacs *
10. Jackson Browne *

* means the artist is appearing in the top 10 for the first time.

Quick Update on Backyard work

Arriving home from my week in Stamford CT late last night, I was curious if my backyard was done.

The backyard gate and lighting on the redwood screens are done. The lights look great, nice effect. Will look even better once the vines are in place and growing up the screens.

The last piece that is needed to be finished is the fountain. It is still sitting in my garage.

These Are Days

Has to be one of my top 10 songs.

These Are Days by 10,000 Maniacs

These are
These are days you'll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You'll know it's true
That you you are blessed and lucky
It's true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you

These are days you'll remember
When May is rushing over you
With desire to be part of the miracles
You see in every hour
You'll know it's true
That you are blessed and lucky
It's true that you are touched
By something that will grow and bloom in you

These are days
These are the days you might fill
With laughter until you break
These days you might feel
A shaft of light
Make its way across your face
And when you do
You'll know how it was meant to be
See the signs and know their meaning
You'll know how it was meant to be
Hear the signs and know they're speaking
To you, to you

Fun/Interesting Things for Julian and Joan (The J&J Event Reminder)

Jerry Seinfeld at the Flint Center.

Tickets go on sale 12/10. The show is on March 4th.

Quote of the Day

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
-- Sir Winston Churchill

Complete Hornsby 11/24/04 Palace of Fine Arts Show

Here is the entire Bruce Hornsby show from 11/24/04 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

It will be interesting to see how well my DSL high speed connection does as well as just how many people will download the show.

Link to the show

Bruce Hornsby
Palace of Fine Arts
San Francisco, Ca.
11/24/04

Disc 1
Classical Snippet*
How Far Am I From Canaan*
Night on the Town*
Lost In The Snow*
Gonna Be Some Changes Made
Resting Place
Big Stick
Jacob's Ladder>
I Put a Spell on You
Mandolin Rain (w/ quote from Row Jimmy Row)

Disc 2

Hooray for Tom*
Fortunate Son*>
Comfortably Numb>
Fortunate Son
The Way It Is(in F#, request was for all black keys)
Boo Radley
Spider Fingers(w/ quick Rambler's Hornpipe quote)
Standard in B flat>
End of the Innocence
See The Same Way
Valley Road (w/ quote of Aerosmith's Rag Doll)

Disc 3

Encores:
King of the Hill>
First There is a Mountain>
Mystery Train
Nobody There(tune he wrote for Willie Nelson)

*Solo (or started Solo)

recorded and posted by Art Cube

Makes Me Happy

Sliding 5 feet in my socks on the hardwood floors.

My Company's New Place

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Hyperion moved its headquarters. I am on the fourth floor of the building on the left. The complex used to be the HQ for 3Com before they pulled up and moved to the East coast.

The thing I like the most is the stairs. Going up and down four flights of stairs on a daily basis at least a few times will help with my overall general fitness.

My commute time is maybe about 3 minutes faster. The prior building is maybe 1.5 miles from the new place.

btw: I don't plan to take advantage of the $5000 program to purchase an energy efficent car.

New Car for Tim?

Here is a new program at Tim's company, Hyperion Solutions...

Hyperion Solutions Corp. is offering its employees $5,000 toward the purchase of fuel-efficient cars, the business-performance-management software vendor said Monday.
Under its "Drive clean to drive change" program, Hyperion will reimburse employees $5,000 when they purchase a vehicle that gets 45 miles per gallon of gasoline or better. That standard is achievable by fuel-efficient cars that use hybrid, diesel, and electric motors, the company says.

Hyperion aims to provide the $5,000 reimbursement to as many as 200 employees per year. Employees who have been with Hyperion for one year or longer are eligible on a first-come, first-served basis. Employees can get the reimbursement for one fuel-efficient vehicle every four years.

Switching from a car that gets 20 mpg to one that gets 45 mpg can reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by as much as three tons per person per year, Hyperion says. Many scientists suspect that rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a primary cause of global warming.

Based in Santa Clara, Calif.--the heart of Silicon Valley, which is notorious for its crowded highways--Hyperion employs approximately 2,500 people in 20 countries

Backyard Project Update

Quick update on the backyard project.

I am guessing it is 1 to 2 days of work still left.

Grass, lighting, fountain installation, and gate are all that is left. The landscape dudes will be at my place on Friday to try to finish all of these items.

The backyard is looking great. I can already tell and feel that it will be comfortable and peaceful place to hang out.

If all goes well, I might have the final pictures on the site on Saturday.