Thanksgiving is Over, Time for Christmas

Tomorrow is the last day of the Thanksgiving break. That means it is time to get all of the Christmas decorations put up in preparation for the great celebration at the end of the year. My wife and I made our finishing touches today and now we can focus on other activities during this festive season.

Normally I have all of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. This year I have identified what gifts I will be sending but am waiting as the gifts I am giving my children are perishable and I want them to arrive as close to the magic day as possible. I have a reminder on my calendar to make sure they are purchased online at the right time. For my grandchildren I am providing experiences and they have been purchased already. You have to love the Internet and the ease of ordering everything online including tickets to a Monster Truck show.

With the house decorated and gifts purchased or at least identified, I can focus on those other things that make this time of year special. My calendar is all set with my wife's office Christmas party as well as a few other festivities to attend. There is also a huge batch of Christmas movies cued up and ready to watch in the evenings. I also have my skis waxed and ready to go. Actually I skied every day during the Thanksgiving break so I probably need to wax them again.

Given the right preparation this can be a magical time of the year. Unfortunately a lot of people feel the stress associated with getting ready for Christmas. So my Christmas wish this year is that everyone can relax and focus on what is important. While some may emphasize the religious aspect of the season, one thing we can all agree upon is time spent with family. All the gifts, parties, music, and movies don't really matter.

Thanksgiving 2024

Thanksgiving is almost over and the uneaten turkey is sitting in the fridge waiting to be made into sandwiches over the next couple of days. I wanted to take a few moments and write about what I am thankful for. While it may seem like the world is in turmoil, there really is a lot going well and I would be remiss in not expressing thanks.

This blog is focused on technology and I am definitely thankful for all of the time-saving benefits technology provides. I like being able to instantly look up thing on the Internet. Want to know what stores remained opened on this holiday, simply pull out your smartphone and do an Internet search. Want to heat something up quickly, use that convenient microwave. I even enjoy centralized heating keeping me and my family warm as we gathered today.

That leads me to what I am truly thankful for, and that is my family. I got to spend this morning skiing with my youngest daughter who is a ski instructor. Fortunately she didn't have to work so we could take a number of runs together. My wife joined us and I am thankful for her. Later today my son and his family joined us for a wonderful feast. My parents and oldest daughter joined us as well. Then my youngest son joined us for a quick video call and shared his thanks with us along with his family. Yes, family is what I am most thankful for on this day of remembering what is important to each of us. 

I wish it was possible for my family to all be together on this special holiday but it wasn't. Fortunately technology filled the gap and those that couldn't gather physically could with a little help from technology. Hopefully you were able to spend time with those important to you today.

Is it too Early for Christmas Songs?

Halloween is over and our next major holiday in the United States is Thanksgiving. My daughters grew up saying that we need to respect the turkey and not get too excited about Christmas until after the giant eat-a-thon. Now they are changing their tunes and think it is fine to play Christmas music a little earlier.

The day after Halloween, the Disney resorts pulled down all their pumpkin decorations and re-themed their resorts for Christmas. On November first I started getting ads for Black-Friday specials and encouraged to start Christmas shopping. It seems that everyone is eager for the largest holiday of the year.

So is it too early for Christmas songs? My personal thought is I have to restrict how many times I hear certain songs that become popular at the end of the year. The most popular Christmas song is Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you." It turns out that it is also the most hated holiday song. I fall into the later category and want to limit how many times I hear it.

One advantage I see with starting the holiday song list early is it gives me time to learn more Christmas songs on my guitar. I generally take a few weeks to memorize one and if I wait until the month of December, I never really learn them. That being said, I have to like the songs I learn because I play them so many times.

So what do you think? Is it time to play those old familiar favorites or should we wait another month? Let me know your thoughts.

Sometimes You Gotta Get Outdoors

Next week is Thanksgiving and when getting outside becomes more difficult. With all of the technology in our lives, we can keep ourselves entertained while hibernating during the winter months. Unfortunately this may be bad for some. This is the time of the year when seasonal depression kicks in and being outside can help cure it in some instances.

My kids are among those that benefit from being outdoors. It is probably a good thing we spend a lot of the winter skiing as I don't know how else to embrace winter and enjoy being outside. My youngest daughter is noticeably happier after spending a cold winter day teaching little groms how ski. Last year with all of the road closures on the way to Alta because of avalanche danger, she had to find other ways to get outside and keep from getting down.

Today I spent some time with my youngest son. This morning he felt rather down and so we headed outside for a walk to the donut shop. If that doesn't cheer you up, I don't know what will. Unfortunately he still wasn't his jovial self and so we put on jackets this afternoon and headed outside. We walked to a nearby park and played a round of disc golf. I'm not sure if my comedic skills brightened his day or just being outside did the trick. Afterwards he felt much better and we all enjoyed being around him more.

I know you would expect different advice from someone that used to work for a major video game company. After all, shouldn't I be telling you to play the latest and greatest game as it will make you feel better? Nope, the reality is that we all need sunshine. It is tougher to get in the winter but no less important. When you feel yourself getting down on a cold winter day, put down the donut and hot chocolate, put on a nice-warm jacket, and spend sometime outside. Remember there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. 

Thankful for Technology

I have had a nearly perfect Thanksgiving today and so I thought I would post some thoughts about the technology I am thankful for right now. After all, I do try to focus that in this blog on technology.

My oldest daughter and my youngest son are both in Ohio celebrating this special holiday. We would have liked them to join us in Utah but that just is not possible because of work schedules and the cost of travel. While my middle two children joined us with family and friends, my oldest and youngest joined in on the celebration with a video call. Furthermore it didn't cost any money for the call. Think back 30 years ago when you counted minutes for long-distance phone calls because every one cost money. The ability to make video calls is one thing I am very thankful for.

This morning I got to head up to Alta and go skiing with my family here in Utah. We had the luxury of riding on high-speed detachable quad chairlifts. When I first started skiing, everything was slow-fixed-grip chairlifts. The new lifts whisk you to the top of the mountain in about a quarter of the time of the old ones. On cold days I would turn into a popsicle long before reaching the top. Now I hardly spend any time at all and that is perfect for when I am skiing with my grandchildren who hate riding the lifts but love skiing.

In thinking about this post, I thought about some of the bad things associated with technology. There are computer viruses, identity theft, and other woes we did not have to worry about 20 years ago. Fortunately the conveniences technology provides greatly outweighs the problems. If it was the other way around, we would stop using it. So life moves on and while it may not necessarily get easier, technology at least makes it more efficient and for that I am thankful.

Opening Day at Alta

Today is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and it is fitting that I should post about one thing I am thankful for: opening day at Alta ski resort. This morning my wife and I awoke at 7am and quickly got ready so we could head up for the morning celebration. We arrived at 8am and I quickly got ready. I left my wife in the warm car while I stood in the cold line and saved us places close to the front. Eventually my wife joined me followed shortly by our youngest daughter who is a ski instructor at the resort. Today is her day off and so she got to ski with us.

So what does opening day have to do with computers and technology? As usual, not a single thing. Well there is the point I could make about how we got 3 inches of fresh snow this morning and I could have looked up that information on the Internet before getting in the car. The funny thing though is that I would have made the trip anyways. While it is the first day of lift-serviced skiing, it is my 16th day this season and so I had a really good idea of what the conditions would be like. I didn't need to waste my time looking them up.

Hopefully you too have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. Perhaps your item is even much more meaningful than mine. I sure hope so as there are many things I am thankful for. I just chose to list this one today.

Thanksgiving 2020

Today is Thanksgiving and I thought I would write a quick note. Normally I would be heading to bed early today so I could catch a flight to Japan tomorrow morning. Fortunately I just have to wake up early so I can go skiing. COVID-19 is keeping me from traveling and I can't say that I miss it much. Instead of having to be somewhere in person, I will attend my annual meetings virtually and I am truly thankful for that. Before this year, that was thought to be impossible.

For some, this has been a tragic year and it is tough to find things to be thankful for. I do miss a lot of things that we can't do because of the global pandemic but I also see a number of little things that are worth celebrating. Hopefully you can see them to. Happy Thanksgiving 2020!

Things I am Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Generally I don't take the time to write in my blog on Thanksgiving but today I find myself with a bit of extra time by myself. My married kids are spending time with their in-laws and so I find myself alone on this peaceful Thursday. I thought I would write about some of the things I am thankful for. Naturally I am thankful for family and friends but I wanted to highlight some of the technologies that make our lives better.

We live in a marvelous time with a lot of modern conveniences such as refrigerators and microwaves. When I first started spending time on my boat in California almost 10 years ago, I didn't have a lot of these modern conveniences. In fact, my fridge didn't really work that well and I often had food spoil over the weekend. I have since fixed that. I also didn't have a microwave. I do now and use it every morning I stay on the boat. That is how I cook my oatmeal. I also use it to heat up water to clean my breakfast dishes. These are wonderful technological devices that make my life a lot easier.

I am thankful for computers. While they may actually complicate our lives, they do make certain things a lot easier. Connect one to the Internet and you have an infinite source of information. Of course, not all of it can be believed but if you know where to look you can find out anything.

I am thankful for smartphones with cameras. I don't know how we survived in the days before mobile phones. Then they added cameras and now I can take pictures of the beautiful mountain scenes I have experienced every day this week as I have ventured out to do some backcountry skiing. I get to brag a little bit as I send the pictures to my friends back in the Bay Area. I also appreciate being able to look up driving directions and answers to important questions such as if my flight is still on time.

Finally I am thankful for jet planes. Without them I would have to leave the mountains that I love and live full-time in the Bay Area for work. I tell people that the Bay Area is a great place if you are into shopping and good restaurants. It is horrible if you like spending time outside in the mountains. Locals there claim they have mountains but those are really just hills with very limited access. If you like rock climbing and skiing, you have to drive somewhere else or catch a plane.

Yes, there is a lot to be thankful for. Hopefully you are reading this after Thanksgiving and had the time to create your own list of things you are thankful for.

Chromebook Update

About a month ago I wrote about a new Chromebook that a company sent me for free. Since then it has been in my family room, next to the kitchen. I have to say that it has been used non-stop by the family. It really only has one purpose: a web browser and it does it very well.

I came home from California before Thanksgiving and needed to look something up. I opened the screen and saw that my wife had used the Chromebook to look up a recipe for Polenta. I found that fitting as that is what I said it would get used for last month. The family also uses it for a number of other things as well. I used it to help figure out what tires to put on my wife's Jeep Wrangler. Throughout the Thanksgiving break, we used the device whenever anyone had a question that nobody else could answer. Need to know how late a store is open? Just do a quick Internet search and look it up.

Yesterday my youngest son grabbed the Chromebook and did some quick Christmas shopping. When he finished, he remarked that the device makes a great addition to the family room and thinks it makes a great family computer. Of course he wouldn't want to give up his laptop with all its capabilities but having a device for everyone to use to do quick look ups is very convenient.

I closed last month's review of the device stating that I probably wouldn't spend money on one because I prefer my laptop. After having used it for a while, I have changed my opinion and think the device is well worth the $200 price. I would also suggest that if you are looking for an inexpensive family gift to consider one. Especially if you need to replace the family computer that is really only used to search the web.

A Dreary Bay-Area Day

Last night I rode back to my sailboat from my office just before the rain started. I managed to put my bike away and then the sky opened slightly with a heavy mist coating everything. I just buttoned up the boat and pulled out my guitar for several hours of practice.

The rain falling on the boat deck has a very comforting sound, making it easy to fall asleep. This morning I woke up to the same sounds of rain around me. I altered my usual routine to make sure I stayed as dry as possible by staying inside the boat. Then at the last minute, I got my bike out of the boat, vacuumed the cabin, and rode off to work. I arrived less than 15 minutes later and very pleased with the high-quality rain gear I purchased several years ago.

Once at the office, I spent more time on an exercise bike looking out the window at the rain soaking everything outside. Fortunately I could look at the miserable weather from the comfort of the company gym and didn't have to try and go anywhere on my bicycle.

Now I am at the San Francisco airport getting ready to catch my flight back to Salt Lake and am pleasantly surprised that my projected departure is still on time. I also find myself in front of a large window looking out at the poor baggage handlers having to do duty in the elements outside. It does not look pleasant.

It is days like this that make you want to curl up with a good book or jot down your thoughts on a computer. When I look at the technology involved in keeping me from having to live in the outside elements I have found something to be thankful for. That is important during this time of the year.

A Tough Thanksgiving

This has been a very tough Thanksgiving this year. It started with . . . never mind. This is the time of the year that I should really be focusing on what I am thankful for instead of worrying about what went wrong. So here is a small representation of things I am thankful for right now:

1. I'm thankful that the mountains got 14 inches of news snow the day before Thanksgiving. I love to ski but I also know that we have had a couple of really bad winters and the Great Salt Lake is getting smaller. I hope we will have a few months of unnaturally wet weather that continues to fill the lake so I can sail my boat more in the summer. Extra powder in the mountains is always nice.
2. I'm thankful that I got to spend the week with my family that loves to have as much fun as I do.
3. I'm thankful that even though the ski resorts in Utah are not yet open (Snowbird opens tomorrow) I still got to ski every day. Sure I had to hike up the hill, but I have the correct equipment that makes it more fun than a chore.
4. I'm thankful for a fun job in technology that pays me to do what most others consider play. About the only job cooler than mine would be an astronaut and those are very difficult to get.
5. Finally, I'm thankful that even though I had a busy week, I got everything done that needed to be completed and can look forward to a wonderful Christmas season.

Hopefully you have lot's to be thankful for and are looking forward to one of the most pleasant times of the year. Now pray for more snow.

Waiting for the Storm

I am in California today but my family is back in Utah. There is supposed to be a huge storm rolling in this evening. The National Weather Service has been predicting this storm since Sunday and been using terms like "a significant storm like we haven't seen for several years." I'm not sure if that means it is a once-in-a-decade storm or once-in-a-century storm. Or if it just means "a really big storm."

The storm has been getting so much attention that my son was told not to come to one of his University classes today, to give him extra time to get home before the storm hits. It is only a 30 to 40 minute drive for him, but several of his classmates will be driving many hours to get home for the Thanksgiving break.

I have a keen interest in this storm because I will be flying home tomorrow and don't want to be stranded here in the San Francisco area. The Internet has been very helpful in keeping me abreast of the weather situation. While you may be tempted to look at www.weather.com, the best weather site is really www.weather.gov. It gives you all sorts of weather and travel advisories that are very useful.

While it is nice to get weather forecasts, there is a lot to be said for simply looking out a window. Unfortunately I am over 500 miles away and looking out a window isn't an option. If only there was a camera in the Salt Lake area that is connected to the Internet. More importantly I need one looking outside. Traffic cameras are a pretty good resource and you can get to a huge list of them for the Salt Lake area by going to www.utahcommuterlink.com. The site has a map showing all of the traffic cameras in the area and it is really easy to click around Salt Lake and see where it is snowing and where it is dry.

Finally, I want check and see how air traffic is backing up. Sometimes I fly Delta and sometimes I fly Southwest. Both carriers have websites where I can go to see if specific flights are delayed. Southwest's is a little easier to use because it will allow me to select flights between two cities without having to know the flight number. Delta requires knowing the flight number, which isn't too difficult to get. A more general place to go for getting an idea about delays across the country is the FAA's site. It shows a map of the United States with the major airports represented by a colored dot. Green dots show that most flights are on-time, orange dots may have weather or other delays greater than 15 minutes, and red dots indicate delays of an hour or more. Moving your mouse over the cities brings up a balloon with information as to why the airport may be experiencing delays.

I talked to my wife earlier and she said that the news is telling people to avoid travel if they can. It will be interesting to see if the storm really hits with the fury that has been predicted. When it does, I should be able to see it from the comfort of Sunny California.

Bad TV Reception

It is tough watching TV this evening. On the sailboat I don't have cable or satellite and have to pull my television signals from the airwaves.

When I set up my HD television, I was surprised at how many stations I could get. On a good day, I can receive about 75 channels. Tonight I am getting 4. There are a number of factors that contribute to good television reception. I would expect to have great reception this evening and then I remembered I walked down a steep ramp to get to the boat. That means it is low tide and I am sitting about 8 feet lower than usual. Antenna height is probably the biggest factor for good television reception.

When I look at today's tide tables, I can see that low tide was at 5:48 pm (or 17:45 as it is listed on the table) and that it was 0.9 feet below the average low tide. No wonder the ramp down to the boat seemed so steep. Now I just need to figure out a way to get my antenna higher in the air. If only I had a large pole connected to the boat with a rope on top that I could use to raise and lower my antenna . . .