A Midsummer Night’s Blog Entry

Never really a big Bill Shakespeare fan but I thought it was a clever title.  Blasphemy, I know.   No I’m not going to write about the great works of Shakespeare.  I just feel this blog calling me and it’s July.  Now that we’ve covered my lame attempt at cleverness (even a word?  I digress).  There are lots of topics to cover since my last entry and  I feel a potpourri post coming on so I’m going to go with it.

The University of Nebraska goes to the Big Ten

There is a ton of analysis out there on this subject.  My take on this whole situation is that it is similar to a divorce.  I hate to use such a comparison.  It’s a divorce where both parties ended up stronger in the end. 

Texas maintained their perceived board room power over the Big XII conference and got to keep the dream of their precious Longhorn TV network alive.  Texas will because of this network and their stronghold on the Big XII have their coffers full of revenue provided they continue winning.

Nebraska will receive many benefits from this move.  On the academic front, Nebraska gets to join the Committee on Institutional Cooperation.  In short the CIC:

“Simply translated, the CIC connects people with resources and opportunities, enhancing
the distinctive strengths, assets and expertise of each member university. Connecting people with resources and opportunities is an equation with tangible results:
• It means that campus researchers are able to handle huge datasets thanks to high-speed network collaboration.
• It means that underrepresented students are exposed to the rewards of graduate education through summer research programs.
• It means that scholars, the university community and the public-at-large will have access to books preserved by mass digitization.
• It means that administrators, faculty, students and staff benefit from increased efficiency and value achieved through collaborative purchasing efforts.
• It means that top-notch faculty leaders can enhance their academic leadership skills and network with colleagues from across the consortium.
• It means that students can access specialized courses beyond the offerings of their home institutions via distance learning.”

-2009 CIC Annual Report

Membership expands Nebraska’s academic profile.  It opens up higher quality research opportunities for students. Expands professors and researchers ‘sandboxes’ to allow them to use more resources on their research.  This higher level research then in turn brings in more industry to the state of Nebraska.  All of this represents a windfall to the state that cannot be undersold.

On the athletic side, Nebraska enters into highly reputable conference where membership has been stable.  There have been reports that the Big XII wanted a commitment through 2016.  The Big Ten has commitments from it’s members far past that.  It’s BCS conference with an elite profile.  It has it’s own television Network whose revenue is shared amongst it’s members.  These revenues increase the profiles of all the member institutions.  When the top-to-bottom is stronger, it gives the commissioner a much stronger portfolio to negotiate a TV deal with the likes of ESPN/ABC, etc.  Reports have it that the projected yearly revenues in excess of $20 million.  That amounts remains to be seen.

On all fronts, I view this move in a very positive light.  Time will obviously tell but all signs point to great.

Half Marathon in Okoboji on the horizon

My second half-marathon will be this Saturday’s University of Okoboji Half Marathon.  I will be running this race with my wife.  This will be her first half.  She is really excited.  She is a competitive lass and I think this will end up like our first 5K together (ie her taking off and waiting for me at the finish).  Training has went well and we are very prepared.  I look for Saturday to be an awesome day.

Kids and Pools

What is it about a pool that causes kids to go insane?  I mean they go nuts if we say we are going there or if it’s a reward for some sort of behavior.  They do everything me and my wife say if a visit to the pool hangs in the balance.  It’s a great tool for us as parents but I cannot figure out what the magical hold it has over kids.  It’s not just my kids either.  Our friend’s kids are the same way.  It’s a pandemic.

Lebronnakah

What happened to a simple press release thanking the City of Cleveland and Cavalier ownership and stating your intention to go to Miami?  I wonder whose idea it was to contact a network about an hour long special.  I also wonder who in his representation signed off on this as a good idea.  ‘The Decision’ was the ultimate in narcissism and self promotion.  I wonder how this will play on Madison Ave.  Will this make it harder to market him?  Probably not.  Kobe Bryant has much worse haunting his past and he still makes millions in endorsements.  This whole thing rubbed me the wrong way.  I didn’t have to watch it.  I got a text message telling me where he decided to go.  I got to avoid this whole ridiculous ‘look at me’ circus.

How do you capture memories?

In the days following our Rock and Worship road show experience, we had a couple of different people either ask if we had more pictures or say ‘I can’t wait to see the pictures.’  Well we didn’t take a whole lot of pictures save a few with our phones.  Those phone pictures do not take the greatest photos.  The are usually blurry, out of focus, or the lighting just isn’t great.  Looking back at my phone they were just that low quality.  The most frustrating thing is that the camera that does take great shots was in my wife’s purse an arm’s length away.  Granted I have great, lasting memories of the show.  I think if I were honest I don’t know if I wanted to be snapping photos.  I was drinking in the moment.  If I start taking pictures, I end up not paying attention to the moments but more ‘getting the shot.’  My focus changes from enjoying the experience to trying to get a great picture.  Now, I do think it is possible to do both.  In fact I think that is the way it’s supposed to be.  Photos are great way to provide something tangible to the moment in our memory.  Something that can be shown years down the road when our memory isn’t so good.  So these experiences can live on and not get lost in the shuffle.  I just can’t bridge the gap.  Seems foreign to me to experience and capture at the same time.  It seems apparent to me that it will have to be a learned behavior.  On the drive home, I made a promise to myself to just put the camera in my hand when I attend events like this.  Maybe just maybe, I’ll experience the serendipity where I experience and capture a moment all at once.  So I ask how is it done?  How is that gap bridged?  I will be trying to learn how but does anyone out there have any tips for me?

Who finds whom?

I’ve heard a lot of people end their salvation stories with, ‘…and that is when I found God.’  One of my favorite songs, ‘You found me’ starts with the words, ‘I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad.’  Hearing this stuff really has me thinking and pondering who finds whom?

So which is it?  Do we find him or does he find us?  I know the natural response is that we find God because he is all knowing.  God’s omnipotence means that he knows where we are and where we are going to be.   So we aren’t lost in a location sense.  This regular guy’s opinion is that we are lost because we take our eyes off of him or believe we can walk without him.  Jesus talked in parables chasing after the lost sheep.  The lost sheep doesn’t know it’s lost.  The sheep is wandering off chasing some bright and shiny object.  The shepherd sees the sheep wander off and has to go in pursuit to recover his property.  Cross the streams, climb the rocks, and cut through the brush to bring his sheep back to the fold.

I may be way off but this is why I believe the God finds us.  He sees wherever we are at.  He crosses the streams, climbs the rocks, and cuts through the brush to bring us back with him.  The sheep may realize that it’s in danger and my try to find its way home or run further away.  Ultimately the shepherd finds the sheep and brings it home.  No matter what we do he brings us home.  So in my mind he finds us.  What do you think?

Week 1: Firing from the hip…

We’re going to go bullets for the first blog post of twenty-o-ten.  I’ve made a resolution to be better at expressing ideas that bounce around this noggin of mine.  I don’t want to lose these thoughts so I resolved to express myself once a week.  We’ll see how it goes because I’ve never been a resolution guy. 

So here we go….

Mark McGwire – You were  one of my heroes when I was younger.  I begged my parents to take me to an Oakland A’s game when I was in sixth grade to see you and Canseco play.  While what you did was technically not against the rules back then, it was wrong.  I am glad you are finally talking about this.  I have no doubt you took your cues from Major League Baseball as they wanted to see how this panned out.  I think you could have diffused a lot of this if you came out in the forefront and be the first to admit and discuss this.

 

 

 

Pete Carroll – Pretty big jump with some pretty big repercussions on the coaching carousel.  He leaves a pretty big seat on that carousel.  Granted there looms the big possibility of some NCAA sanctions on the horizon for the Men of Troy.  I think those gathering clouds affect the potential prospects to take that job.  Let’s look for Chris Petersen of Boise to become a player in this.

 

Huskers – Wow did three weeks off do them some good.  Drubbed the Arizona Wildcats 33-0 with a previously unseen offensive explosion.  The Arizona defensive staff looked dumbfounded.  I don’t blame them though.  If anyone watched film of us down the stretch, our playcalling was bland at best.  This game will do wonders for them this off-season. 

 

Wearing Jerseys in Public – I had a facebook status update that besmirched grown men wearing jerseys in public.  I referred to going Kroger to pick up some groceries on a Thursday as opposed to actually wearing it to the game.  I gave a pass to those who wore them while in the stadium.  Here is another example of why one shouldn’t wear a jersey in public.

 

Resolutions – Now I know I just said that I’m resolving to write in this more, but do resolutions really work?  I don’t think so.  Resolutions come off as a half-hearted attempt to commit to something.  If you really want a change, you need to commit to that change and let nothing stand in the way your desired change.  I may be on a soapbox here but it’s what I’ve learned in my short time on this ball. 

 

Harry Reid – Why does he get a pass for what he said about Obama?  If it were a Republican or Conservative that said the same things there would be a firestorm.  A firestorm that would ultimately lead to a resignation in shame.

 

 

Have a great new year.  Hopefully we will see more frequent observations this year.

Me and my Coffee Habit

(Jeff Kubina – Flickr)

Hello, my name is JoeMama and I’m a coffee addict…(Hello Joe says the room)

I absolutely love a good cup of coffee.  I wouldn’t consider myself a coffee snob at all.  I’ve drank coffee from just about every locale: truck stop, my kitchen, coffee shop big and small, from a coffee single, and I’ve even eaten instant coffee straight out of the jar.  What can I say I love this stuff.  To me there is nothing better than walking out to the dock very early in the morning when the water is like glass, sip my coffee, and say hello to the sunrise.

I digress.  I’ll get to the point.  There isn’t a coffee maker in my office area and I’m surrounded by non-drinkers.  So when I need my fix, I’m left to suffer.  We do have a near-boiling water tap nearby and I’ve used it along with some coffee singles.  It’s okay but I need more.  Better flavor.  So the current debate I’ve got bouncing around in my head is the following three options

1. Coffee Maker
2. French Press
3. Thermos

So lets do what any good engineer would do and weigh the pros and cons scientifically.   Let’s take a look at what I need and then balance them against. 

What I need – good coffee, not a lot of volume necessarily (32 oz max), and easily to clean/maintain (since it’s in my office.

Now to the pros/cons

Coffee Maker –

Pros:  Makes a good coffee with whatever volume you need.

Cons:  uses electricity, have to make sure you watch the burner so you don’t scorch, you have to ditch the filter everyday,

French Press

Pros:  Makes great coffee with limited amount of volume,  uses no electricity, easy to maintain (just dump and rinse)

Cons:  Need certain size grind on your coffee, Need boiling water to make this happen.

Thermos

Pros:  Takes a finite amount of coffee anywhere, get a good thermos and you get a piping hot cup anytime anywhere.  Pour and enjoy.

Cons:  You have to brew ahead of time, another item to lug back and forth to work.

The verdict….

I need a good, warm cup of tasty java.  I always am rushing out the door for work so I think that rules out brewing ahead of time.  My schedule varies from day to day.  Sometimes a ton of meetings.  Sometimes not.  This means I don’t have time to babysit a coffee maker.  This is a sure bet that I’ll scorch a pot and end up having to scrape it.  Looks like I’m going to give a run with the French press.  Am I crazy?

THE WINNER

It’s Alive!!!

Sometimes I have something I want to say with more than 140 characters.  I’m still learning how to use these sets of tools.  Twitter, Facebook, and Blogspot are a great way to communicate and they all have their place.  I guess I’m sorting out how I’m going to use them all.  Each has their great points.  I’m bringing this old bird back from the dead.  I know a few months ago I said I was going to 86 this thing but as time moved on it became apparent that I needed more than 140 characters to get out my thoughts.

I’ve messed around with how I’m going to format this.  Largely I think I’ve been chasing my tail.  My original thought for this blog was a catch all of thoughts, feelings on whatever trips my trigger.  It could be spiritual, sports, work, family, whatever.  I tried to make this blog like others but I’ve gotta make this one MINE.  In essence this blog is going to be about nothing from here on out. 

Whether I have one reader or a thousand, I’m going to stick to the original concept.  So I’m going to proceed to bore you all to death from here on out.