Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Are you looking for a little High School Football Action? Well you are going to have to look elsewhere as all of the Monongalia County teams have either not made the playoffs or lost in the first round of the playoffs ending all of their seasons. I was a wrestler anyways, a much better wrestler than I ever was a football player, so my heart is still with the local wrestling teams.

Michelle was down in Logan the last couple of days for a big Job Fair. She found out Wednesday Morning that they were going down, so her and the new recruiter they kind of stole from GMC were down there for the fair. Their company is growing and they about to expand into other professions since they are doing so well. I'm very proud of her.

NETL did name a new main director last week and he has started. One of the other directors brought him over to introduce him to me, I will say I have seen this director more times than our previous director and that was in his first two days. He's a young one, but we have some similar projects that we both worked on prior to even coming to NETL, so we know some of the same people.....and he knows GIS which is always a big plus. He kind of liked the fact I was mentored in GIS from the WV NRAC.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes back to the 1976-7 school year, back to a time when I was a 7th grader at Suncrest Junior High School and a guy with well, hair. Lots and lots of hair and this was after it was cut shorter in the back. I think I was a few pounds lighter during those years as well, and to run??? I could run forever and run like the wind. There was actually a 25 mile run walk here that summer and up until I started to cramp at the 17 mile mark, I was in 3rd place behind a WVU Cross Country All-American and the former All-American then turned coach. I was quick and swift in those years to say the least.

This picture (notice the stylish shirt) was in fact my seventh grade school picture. The funny thing is if you look at my 8th grade picture my hair was much shorter and much darker. Almost as if I were someone completely different, but alas, it were I in all my stunning dapperness.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Happy GIS Day

Today is a day that my profession sets aside to celebrate well, us and what we do. It is GIS Day and a day that one of these years I need to organize something locally.

GIS is stands for Geographical Informational Systems (or Science) and is a discipline that was invented by a man named Jack Dangermond when he started his company ESRI. I had the opportunity to not only hear him speak a couple years ago at the Federal Users Conference (which I have put in to return to in 2019 as well as going to the Mecca of GIS San Diego for 2019), but I happen to meet him one morning in front of the convention center in Washington DC. It was my honor to meet the innovator and inventor of a profession I have chosen to follow. I got to speak to him one on one for a few minutes, very down to earth guy for a multi-billionaire.

When I decided to go back to school years ago I had no idea what I wanted to do, that is until I saw the potential in this thing called GIS. Geospatially enabled databases and datasets that you can perform analysis on was just totally mind blowing to me. A friend of mine was majoring in it (ironic I'm the one who followed it through and work in it) and introduced me to the discipline. I saw a future, one that I had never known before working in the cut throat world of steel manufacturing and I went with it.

Best career decision I have ever made, I sold my self to it and committed to it in College and it has allowed me to do and see things that I never knew possible before. I owe a lot to this discipline.

Have yourselves a great day, time for me to go and be creative with ArcGIS.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well our long weekend (one day in my case) is over with, now it's time to get back at it and start doing what it is we love to do so much. Good reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been 20,071 days since I was born. I can honestly say I am a 20,000+ er and very happy I've made it this far.

* It has been 5,294 days since I graduated from WVU, it was the fulfillment of a dream for me.

* 3,895 days ago Michelle and I went out for the first time. Horrible horrible movie, without cheating can anyone name the movie we went to see.

* 3,119 days ago I proposed to Michelle, she accepted.

* It was 2,656 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I became husband and wife.

* I have now lived 282 days longer than my Dad did, I sometimes wonder how some things would have turned out if he were still here.

* I have 4,767 days to go until I retire, unless I keep doing what it is I love to do.

* The next Backyard brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 1,404 days away, unless we can somehow get matched up against them in a bowl game this season.

* There are 267 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Eighth Wedding Anniversary together, seems like only yesterday.

* There are 141 days until the next start of my favorite season, SPRING!!!!!

* 88 more days until Groundhog Day, wow are we really getting that close?

* 48 more days to go until my Goodbye 2018 Blog is posted, the blog that is my last blog of the year and recaps the previous year.

* There are 41 more shopping days left until Christmas. It might be time to start shopping and organizing.

* My next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 18 more days. I've lost count as to how many that will be, but I can start getting a lot of Senior Citizen Discounts at a number of restaurants.

* I have written 5,440 blogs in my 14 full years now of writing this little piece of my life on the internet.

* No Drone flights this weekend, I'm slacking on that aspect of my flight time. I'm running out of season to fly. I'm such a slacker.

* I'm starting to think of some new innovative ways to present Geospatial data at work, did you know tomorrow is GIS Day?

* I don't think Peanut likes this colder weather and shorter days, her Meowtside time is greatly diminished, or should I say non-existent, but she is getting complacent about it.

* My next big trip will be this January as I travel to St Louis to transition to and get re-certified for RTI to work 2019.  Michelle is once again go with me this year after not making it last year.

* Have I ever once mentioned on this blog about my feelings for that ugly white stuff that falls from the sky when the weather gets cold? I hate snow.

* I'm STILL converting some old VHS tapes to Digital Format for Trish. I really need to get back on this as I am such a procrastinator.

* Have yourselves a great day.

* Hi ho hi ho

A Real Day Off

Do you believe it, after working 42 of the last 43 days, with the one day off when I had computer problems and I took off to go to Amish Country, I finally get to enjoy a day off and a day to myself. It's a Federal Holiday for us, Veterans Day even though yesterday was Veterans day, so we celebrate the Holiday on Monday.

Not working for RTI today, which I have got both of my segments pretty much worked down to next to nothing, Trying to get people who either are never home or have summer homes that they are not at this time of the year. I'll go out tomorrow night to do a couple of interviews, but that is probably pretty much the end of my quarter unless they want me to keep going out and knocking on doors.

I didn't make it to Jim and Chris's auction Saturday night, but Michelle said that may be one of their best auctions to date. It was standing room only and it ran late, in other words the money was still flowing and they had merchandise. Always good for an Auctioneer.

Not sure what I am going to do with my day, finances and a few small things, but other than that the day is pretty much mine to enjoy......I Hope.

Have yourselves a great day.

Veterans Day

I am fortunate that tomorrow I get to extend my weekend by one day, but the reason for that extended weekend is actually because of today.

Today we honor and thank all Veterans and all active Military who have either served or are currently serving our Nation in the armed services as we celebrate Veterans Day.

I have a nephew Moke who served and did a tour in Iraq and my brother Jonathan has a daughter Sarah (my niece) who is currently serving has done three tours, I think two in Afghanistan and one in Iraq or the other way around. I thank both of them for their service and everyone else who ever dared to put on one of the uniforms and serve to protect us.

A little tidbit of information for you, since my Grandfather fought in WWI. The Great War (World War I as we know it), officially ended 100 years ago today on November 11, 1918. It was originally celebrated as Armistice Day but was changed to Veterans Day in 1954.

Have yourselves a great day today and thank a Veteran.

Hi ho hi ho

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit on a quiet Saturday morning, still in disbelief after watching last nights WVU Basketball game where they blew a big lead and lost the season opener 99-94 to Buffalo. This team still has a long way to go, that's for sure but I have faith in Huggs.

If you aren't busy this evening, Jim and Chris are having their annual Christmas Auction at the Cassville Firehall. The Auction starts at 6:00 PM and their will be a number of bargains that one can seek and find. I know Michelle is going over this afternoon to help.

I'm out in the field once again at my segment I travel to. I'm trying to get closer to closing this segment up so I can concentrate on my local segment and finalize it. It's going to be cold and rainy, so this should be a fun one.

WVU Football plays at home at noon today as they host TCU. I'm just hoping that our guys don't lose focus and are concentrating on the task at hand, we really need this game and TCU is a very tough opponent to beat.

Sam's Club had a clock that I have liked for a few years on discount, I've almost bought their Seiko Melodies in Motion Clock over the past few years, but never did it. They lowered the price $20 on it so I jumped on it yesterday as they seemed to be selling out of them. I didn't wanting to be kicking myself in the future because I missed my window of opportunity.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho