I need a slice of heaven....

It has been a while since my lovely wife and I have gotten the chance to depart the land that time forgot and once again travel to the land of milk and honey (or wine and more wine as the case may be).

The last time that we got to go out to Napa Valley was in 2006, but we were smart (or it may just have been the wine talking) we signed up for a number of clubs that praise be, would ship wine to us on a regular basis. Now that sounds like a pretty good deal for everyone involved; the wineries got to sell wine, UPS got to ship it to me, the state got tax money for doing pretty much nothing and I got wine. Happy people all around.

Alas however the state saw that everyone was was happy and decided to intervene to protect everyone involved from ourselves. Somehow it was decided that we could not have wine shipped to us by the big bad wineries of California, but instead we should support the indigenous wineries of my home state.

Now I think that I forgot to mention that I live in the Midwest, Ohio to be exact and I know that there are wineries in the state, but I choose not to drink their wine. Okay, call me a snob, but really, it is my money, shouldn't I be able to spend it the way that I see fit? The last time that I looked, prohibition had been repealed, so drinking is legal. It's not like I am ordering coke from Columbia or anything. I just want to have a glass of wine that I like.

This situation made me do something that I really don't like to do because of the inherent futility of the act....write my congressman. Actually I went to www.freethegrapes.org and sent my representatives a form letter. Did it do any good? Well I did get some nice letters back from a couple of them saying that they were aware that this was an issue, but, sorry for my luck, there wasn't anything that they could do. Big surprise there!

If you find yourself in the same predicament that I am in, go to the web site above and let your congressmen and senators know what you think. It may not do any good, but it may make you feel better...or not.

To Brighten you day and show you what you are missing, I will leave you with some pictures from our last trip...enjoy!

Microsoft....How about some warning?!?

I like Microsoft as a company....yeah I know the big bad corporate dragon that goes around scarfing up small companies and makes bad Operating Systems (see 98ME and maybe even Vista), but I like them. Maybe a better way of putting that is that I like what they have done for the computer industry in terms of standardization and if you read my first blog you know that I am in the IT field so in a way, Microsoft puts food on my table.

What I don't like about Microsoft however is their total lack of understanding of how computer education works. Okay let me explain...My current position is as a Technical Trainer for Microsoft products; as I was preparing to teach a class that I have taught many times in the past I am informed that the company that I work for can no longer order the books for the class I am about to teach. Thinking that this is just a little over site by the person that orders the books I start to do a little digging and find out that Microsoft has gone to a new version of the book without really telling anyone. Now this is a pretty normal occurrence with courseware, as the classes are taught the instructors report back some of the problems with the books and Microsoft or one of their minions fixes the problem and when they get enough changes made, a new version is released...no big deal. However in the case the change that was made was going from one version of a product to a completely different version that has little resemblance to its former self (in other words the book are NOT interchangeable). So I am sure that by the end of the class when the students fill out their evaluations of my teaching prowess (or lack thereof) this will turn into my fault somehow.

I know that in the field I have chosen change is going to happen, but if you are going to ruin my day and make it harder for me to do my job...at least let me know so I can stock up on anti-depressants and alcohol.

Okay I am sure that none of you really care about this, but I now feel better and maybe...just maybe someone on the in the education division at Microsoft will read this...proclaim me as an education visionary...make changes to the way Microsoft creates classes...velvet ropes would open....and monkeys will fly out of my butt....

Starting Out.....

Greetings....let me introduce myself, I am a 46 year old IT professional who likes to cook, play golf and mess around with computers (okay so I play games, but I do work on computers most of the day). I have a wonderful wife that puts up with most of my nonsense (because I cook) and kids who like me when they need to go places or need money, but still are my pride and joy (well my pride).

This blog will contain the occasional pearls of wisdom on computer topics, recipes or really whatever is on my mind at any given time...think of it as ranting d'jour.

It is Friday here and the land that time forgot so that means that in about an hour the drinking lamp will be lit. I have recently acquired a taste for good Tequila, no not that stuff you drink in college that you get to get trashed on the weekend, but 100% agave Tequila...you know, the good stuff.

Having hurt myself years ago with way too many shots of some unknown brand it took me a number of years before I could face anything that remotely smacked of Tequila, but happily someone introduced me to Patron silver and that opened up a new appreciation for a friends to the south who toil in the hot sun to make such a fine product. Since that time I have found others that are just as nice, but unfortunately are just as expensive as Patron (remember...2 kids...no money). The search continued until I found Jose Cuervo Tradicional, a nice inexpensive reposado Tequila that you can drink without having to worry about breaking the bank or hunched over the toilet praying for divine intervention to end it all.

Well I guess that's enough for a first post, if anyone has any other Tequilas that they like pass them along I am always ready to try something new...Until next time then.....