All posts by Howard Tayler

I saw the wrong movie!

Yesterday I went out and saw “Catwoman.” It was fun. Obviously it was no “Spiderman” (let alone “Spiderman 2”), but it was still fun. They did a good job developing the Catwoman mythos, and allowing her to be her own character, rather than someone whose identity really only gets developed in contrast to Batman.

When I got out of the theater there were lines everywhere. My first thought was “I hope these folks aren’t all going to see “Catwoman,” because most of ’em will be disappointed.” Not everybody likes comics the way I do, and I was predisposed to like the movie.

I needn’t have worried. They were all in line for “The Bourne Superemacy.” I had no idea that opened Friday.

I SAW THE WRONG MOVIE!!!

–Howard
(I will rectify this oversight at 11:10am today…)

Pioneer Day in Utah

Today, July 24th, is Pioneer Day in Utah. We celebrate with lots of waving of the American flag, fireworks, picnics, parades, and the rest of the stuff that people also associate with Independence Day.

This is ironic, because July 24th, 1847, marks the Mormons’ arrival at their destination OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES, which nation they had decided to LEAVE because of religious persecution, mob violence, and attempted genocide.

It’s nice to be back.

–Howard “now, let’s chase all the really WEIRD religions to the MOON!” Tayler

Long Day At The Office

I headed in “to work” this morning at about 6:45… just a quick 45-minute “commute” to the airport. Got checked in, no bags, and managed to start my day off right by getting upgraded to First Class. THAT made the trip out much more managable.

Landed, caught a cab, got shafted by the cabbie (as near as I can tell $45 from O’Hare to Schaumberg airport is “shafted” when the meter clearly reads $27 + $3.00 in tolls), and rolled on in to the hotel to present.

Before I presented, a guy whose name I forget (BAD Howard) saw the Schlock card affixed to my looks-like-all-other-Novell-issue-laptops-otherwise laptop, and said “wait a minute… YOU do Schlock Mercenary? I’ve been reading that for YEARS now and never put two-and-two together.”

As stated before, I have a policy: Schlock fans at Novell events get free sketches. I whipped out a Schlock for him, complete with actual ink and erasure-of-construction-lines, and then got started.

(someday this policy is going to be unmanagable, because there will be so many Schlock fans I won’t be able to keep up. On that day I should be able to retire the policy by not needing to work for Novell anymore, but I’m not holding my breath.)

I did my schtick. I’ve done better, I’ve done worse. This was a very interactive presentation, and that’s a good thing. I got lots of good feedback for engineering. I ran a few minutes over, and then made my escape to a waiting cab, which only cost me $32 (including the tip) to get me back to the airport.

I didn’t get the First Class upgrade on the way back. Oh well. Three hours of sitting and reading, mulling over my presentation, and how to overhaul it for my session in Waltham in two weeks…

The good news is that about halfway through the flight home I realized I was better. No more “malaise.” To prove it to myself I bounded up the stairs in the SLC airport parking garage. I was a little out-of-breath, and my legs were just starting to gripe, but that’s not “malaise.” That’s “fat guy needs more exercise.”

I got home at 8:00pm sharp. In more than just the literal “home” sense, it’s good to be back.

“Malaise” my shiny white hiney

Went to the doctor. He said that the cough didn’t sound bacterial (not wet enough), my O2 levels were fine, BP 113/73, temperature a little bit subnormal, and there was only the barest touch of a wheeze in my breathing.

Okay, so I’m not having heart troubles, pulmonary embolisms, pneumonia, or anything else serious

“Malaise.” That’s his diagnosis. More rest, lots of fluids, and vitamins.

I’m not a guy who WANTS to be sick, nor do I WANT to have a pile of antibiotics or other otics/istamines/oids/whatevers packed into me. I just want to not get light-headed after a flight of stairs, and to sleep through the night. “Malaise” sounds WAAAY too much like “hypochondria” for my tastes.

*sigh*

I’ll go to bed on time. I’ll drink lots of fluids. I’ll take my vitamins. And at 8:40am I’m flying to Chicago for a day-trip presentation (6.5 hours in the air, .9 hours in taxis, 1.6 hours commuting to the airport, all for 90 minutes of my “schtick”) and by gum, I’m going to FEEL GOOD DOING IT.

–Howard