Office Photo

Every few years the State Construction Office gets together for a group photo. We're all here this morning except for about a half-dozen people. We took the shots shortly after 0800. As it got down to 23 F last night, it was still quite chilly and below freezing.

As you can see, there's been a lot of folks who have been here for a good part of their careers. Within the next 5 years, there will be a lot of retirements and new faces. The transition is already starting with a couple of people in their 20's. Which is quite a change from our typical office age.

I don't know if I can put up with a bunch of young 'uns.

:-)

Double Overtime Loss

Very disappointing loss to Boston College. State just played sloppy at the end of regulation and in both overtimes. Both teams played hard defensive ball games. But it looked like State just had ball handling problems at the end. Also, State called timeouts during transitions from huge defensive plays that seemed to kill their momentum.

Here’s a little known tidbit.

After home games, fans can go to the Arena Club Restaurant and the coaches come up and give a recap of the game and answer questions. This isn’t very well known as it’s spread by word of mouth. Reporters are not allowed. This Q&A is for the fans only.

Frequently it’s Coach Sendek that comes up. Tonight, after such a frustrating loss, Coach Sendek came up to face the music.

We’re polite of course, but we still ask the hard questions. And you could tell when he came up, that Coach Sendek knew the fans were irritable. But, he does answer questions directly and openly. And yes, he was asked about the wisdom of calling those momentum killing timeouts.

I like NC State. We’re a blue collar type of school. Down to earth, working type of graduates. Herb just comes on up with the rest of us. No special entrance or big deal. Takes the podium, keeps his remarks brief, and takes questions. Then, he mingles with us – big shots and regular people alike.

Afterwards, he’s chatting with folks so JN and I head to the elevator. Just as the doors are about to close, Herb pops in and rides down with us. Cracking a couple of jokes with the folks on the elevator. Then it’s off to the parking lot.

NCSU and the ACC are big time sports schools. Here at State, the coaches are just one of us.

You’ll see the same type of attitude with our politicians. If you have pretensions, we’ll let you know in a hurry when you’re ‘putting on airs’ as we call it.

I like being from, and living in, North Carolina.

JN is annoying the hell out of me. Interrupting on purpose so I’ll quit blogging and cook hot dogs.

Grrrrrrr

Off to the kitchen.

Sunday Addendum

Watched Hotel Rwanda. A very sad but excellent film.

Doing laundry and house chores. Have to pack later as I'll be in the field all next week.

Answering machine is not working. The screen says no line detected. I'll need to figure out if the answering machine is defective or if the phone line to the machine is somehow not working.

Saturday

Got things to do.

Sitting here contemplating chores and listening to T Bone Burnett - Humans From Earth.

Things to do - in order - first lunch. Then taking the car to get the oil changed (Jiffy Lube coupon). Then, CrossRoads Ford for an alignment, tire rotation and balance. Then, meeting up with JN to go to the State - Boston College game.

(Note to self - Chip's girlfriend will be working at the RBC today - find and harass her.)

Do I have time to get a haircut?

Magic 8-Ball says - unlikely.

Hmmmm . . . Change of plans.

Get haircut today. Jiffy Lube tomorrow.

I'd better get a move on.

Last home game of the season. BC is ranked, what, 8th?

I hope the Pack can bounce back from Wednesday's humiliating loss.

Oh cool - RadioParadise is now playing More Than This by Roxie Music. Avalon is one of my favorite all time albums.

UNC Gives NCSU a Whipping

NCSU lost miserably to UNC last night. Carolina just out played the Wolfpack in every aspect of the game. There is plenty available from newspaper web sites, such as the Raleigh News and Observer, that detail the reasons for the domination by UNC. Personally, I’m at a loss to see how a team as good as State is can have such total meltdowns as the UNC game and the Seton Hall game.

Funny thing is, I still had a good time going to the game.

I sit with a really good group of people. They are always upbeat, have a positive outlook and they appreciate a good game. We even were acknowledging UNC’s excellent play. It’s nice to sit with people who know what they’re watching and who can enjoy a game played by kids – even when the home team loses.

How State plays is reflected in the office. Everybody was pretty quiet this morning. The State Construction Office, since it deals with construction, is overwhelmingly civil, mechanical, structural, and electrical engineers, and architects. Almost all of us graduated from State. There are a couple of Dookies (yep – Duke has an engineering school). And a couple of urban planner types from Carolina. After a State win, everybody is buoyant and happily analyzing the game. After a loss, especially one as dismal as last night, everybody is working quietly at their desks.

NCSU has 2 regular season games left. Saturday at home against Boston College and the following Saturday at Wake Forest.

It’s never easy in the ACC.

Not Much Going On

Friend, JN just arrived. We're going to grill a couple more of the Omaha Steaks my siblings sent me for my birthday. Those things are awesome.

(Thanks again y'all.)

Tomorrow night we'll be going to the NCSU - UNC game. It should be a great game. We'd better win.

State has only lost 1 home game this year. That was Seton Hall. Which we'll pretend didn't happen. I didn't see that game. My sister and brother-in-law were in town and I gave them the tickets. Maybe that's why we lost!

LOL

Just downloaded a photo for an earlier blog entry (Typical Week).

Other than that - just a quiet boring evening as usual.

Nice to have company.

As long as JN doesn't make me listen to too much ranting right wing radio.

:-)

Rain and Cold Saturday

After 3 days of unusual warm weather, it's turned cold with rain today.

Good day to just hang around the house and do nothing but watch the Olympics, the Nextel Race at Daytona, and NC State Basketball.

State just won at Virginia Tech by 6 points. Still way too close for comfort, but a win is a win. True to form, State had a 20 point lead in the second half and let VT get to within 2 late in the game. I don't even get frustrated watching them anymore. I guess I'm getting used to it.

Next game is against the Tar Heels (booooooo) - Wednesday night at 9 PM. Which means that the game won't be over till 11 PM. Which means I won't get home till after midnight.

Normally I give away the tickets for the week night games that start at 9 PM - but this is Carolina and I'll be there.

Teach your children their ABC's. Anybody But Carolina.

I also tried out the new vacuum this morning. It sucks.

LOL

This thing actually lifts up the carpet from the padding when on high speed! It has 3 speeds, which is different from any vacuum I've had before, and I've already found that keeping it on the lowest speed / vacuum is plenty to get the job done.

Other than some cleaning this morning, it's been a lazy do nothing day.

Kind of a nice break actually.

Typical Week

I'm in the field this week doing building assessments. Nothing great or unusual to report or to post photos of. This week we inspected mostly Department of Transportation compounds, 3 prisons, and various office buildings for DMV, Department of Agriculture, etc.

I've spent my evenings downloading and categorizing building photos and watching the Winter Olympics.

Looking forward to getting home tomorrow night.

UPS reports that my vacuum was delivered on Monday. I hope it's still on the front porch when I get home.

Napoleon Dynamite was on HBO last night. I'm glad I didn't waste any effort renting it from NetFlix. Wish I had the hour and a half back I spent watching it.

Administration Changes

My Department Director, SF, was appointed Chief Deputy Secretary for the Department of Administration this week. My boss, one of 4 Deputy Directors in the State Construction Office, did not want nor pursued the Director's job. The Deputy Director for Special Projects, GD, was appointed as the new SCO Director. I think he's a great choice for the job.

There are only a hundred or so positions that are policy / political positions appointed by the Governor. The Director of the State Construction Office is one of them. Obviously, Department Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries are appointed. SF's appointment is also an excellent choice as he has over 30 years experience and is a consummate administrator.

I've found in my 14 years in State Government that Governors tend to appoint career administrators to Deputy and Assistant Secretary positions. This ensures good continuity in government administration and policy.

I like working for NC State government. The people I've worked for and with have been hard working and dedicated professionals. I've been very fortunate in having had great jobs with both the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and now with the State Construction Office.

NC State Basketball

NC State play Florida State tonight at the RBC Center. I gave my tickets to a coworker who is taking his 12 year old son to his first ACC basketball game. He'll have a blast!

State let Georgia Tech hang around this weekend, as usual, and it finally came back to bite them. State clearly was the better team but just didn't put the hammer down and put Ga Tech away. Hopefully that will serve as a wake up call and State will dominate tonight's game.

Addendum 2/16 0615

Finally, NC State puts away the other team. State went on a tear in the last minutes of the first half and gained a 10+ point lead on Florida State at the half. Went on to win by 22 points. I guess the Georgia Tech loss drove home the point that in the ACC you have to take advantage when you get the chance.

I don't care how good any other conference is in any given year. Every year, every game in the ACC is tough. NC State has 4 games left. At Virginia Tech, UNC, Boston College, and at Wake Forest. NCSU is still in solid second place but anything can happen in the next 2 weeks.

Addendum 2/21

Uploaded the photo. Taken from an abandoned fire tower at a District Forestry Headquarters site. Nice View.

We Need to Put the Other Guys Away

NC State played at Miami last night. Won in double overtime.

The game never should have gone into overtime in the first place. State had a 15 point lead in the second half. Credit Miami to switching to a 4 guard quick lineup to make their comeback. State is not that fast. Defense is NC State’s strongest game, but we're slow and can’t play a full court press defense. Unbelievably good free throw shooting kept NC State in the game, but Miami forced the overtime. Then, Miami made a desperation shot at the buzzer to send the game into double overtime. Finally State put ‘em away 11 to 2 in the second overtime.

Whew!

NC State seems to thrive on close, close games. It goes back further than that, but staying in there in close games really seems to have started with the NC State at Duke game. NC State was in the game to the very end. Free throw shooting in the final minute lead to the Duke win, but State felt like they could have, possibly should have, won that game.

Ever since, NC State had been confident in close games, knowing they can win every time they go on the court.

(We’ll just pretend the Seton Hall game never happened.)

With a 15 point lead, I wish the Wolfpack could have put away Miami. On the other hand, State has been down by double digits (e.g. Maryland) and come back to win.

ACC basketball is a blast to watch. Duke is head and shoulders the best in the league. NC State is the solid second place team. But then you have Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and Florida State all contending for third place!

It’s any team’s opportunity to finish strong for third place (or second if State stumbles). Or, that same team could just as easily finish in eighth place.

Here’s the hard part. There is no way the NCAA will take 8 teams from the ACC. That means 1 or, more likely, 2 very very good ACC teams will be left out.

On the other hand, while the ACC only has 1 standout team (Duke) as opposed to the usual 2 or 3, the parity this year should be a compelling argument for taking 8 very solid teams.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Olympics

My favorite sports to watch are college football and basketball. Well behind college sports, I like to watch professional football and NASCAR. I really don’t care for professional basketball or baseball (although I really like attending minor league baseball – go figure.). Nothing wrong with pro sports, I’d just prefer to see the kids play where coaching and teaching is a huge factor.

Despite continuous discussions about how college revenue sports (i.e. football and basketball) are the farm teams for the pros, for the overwhelming part, the games are played by student athletes. For example; on a college football team, there may be 1 or 2 or even a few more players who are selected to play in the pros. But that leaves 85+ kids who earn their degrees and go on to regular lives and jobs. I really enjoy watching these kids having their chance to play a game for the fun of it. Not for the potential money.

I think that may be the same sort of preference when it comes to the Olympics. While there are some sports (ice hockey / basketball) and individual Olympic athletes (figure skating / skiing) who are high dollar professionals, for the (again) overwhelming part, the games are played by amateurs (relatively speaking).

I’m really looking forward to the Winter Olympics starting this weekend. Not just the US athletes, but watching all of the games and participants. I have noticed over the years that I prefer the Winter Games over the Summer Games. Possibly because there are fewer Winter Games events, thus I can actually keep up with what’s going on over the course of the fortnight.

Vacuum

Tuesday I ordered the Hoover bag less canister (S3765-040) from VacDepot.com. I decided I was too concerned with the 2 local merchant’s repair reports. The original model (S3755) may have had some bugs / problems when it first came out – but I figure by now, Hoover has those issues resolved with the updated model. And if it breaks – that’s what the warranty is for.

Much ado about nothing.

Besides – dirt is accumulating. I’ve got to vacuum the frickin’ house.

And Finally

Watched The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys and Victim. DLofAB was a pleasant surprise. Much better than I expected. Victim was also decent, if you keep in mind it’s a “message” movie from 1962 England. Dialogue / script is a bit stilted, but ahead of it’s time for 1962.

Super Bowl XL

Had a few people over to watch the game Sunday. Not exactly a Super Bowl Party; more of an excuse to get together and hang out. Nephew, wife, and child (ADH, MIH, EIH); friend JN, long time friend (CK) and his girlfriend (E), and a friend (BS) of JN’s. Eight people counting myself. Just the right size I think.

I fixed Low Country Boil – really easy to do. The recipe was for 8 but as I’ve found before, the recipe amounts are way too much. You could almost cut the amounts in half and still have plenty. Then again, we had chips and salsa beforehand so that affects how much people eat. ADH and MIH brought an ice cream cake since it was my birthday this weekend.

I’ve found a simpler recipe with just the sausage, corn and shrimp. I’m going to try it next time and have cold potato salad on the side instead of boiling potatoes in the stew (which I think gets too mushy). Now that I think of it, I’ll ask everybody to come out for the semi-final ACC tournament basketball games. That will be on a Saturday afternoon and we all won’t be up so late on a Sunday with having to go to work the next day. Heads up folks – mark your calendars for March 11.

I think everybody had a good time. CK and E were rooting for Seattle and disappointed with the outcome. I was leaning towards Pittsburgh since Bill Cowher played for NC State – but I didn’t really have a strong favorite.

EIH (4 years old) had a blast since she was getting attention all to herself from all the adults in the house. It was obvious that we were all gathered together for the sole purpose of entertaining her and playing with her. Good food, ice cream, people to play hide and seek with and to chase her around the house! LOL What a great age and life!

I was so preoccupied with cooking and stuff that I completely forgot to take photos. Maybe CK will send me some photos when he reads this. (Addendum - Thanks CK)
JN and I met up in Raleigh for the NCSU vs. Maryland game at 1400. Close, exciting game. State let Maryland keep hanging around and almost regretted it. NC State tried to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but was unsuccessful and we won the game anyway.

Hurried back to the house for the Super Bowl gathering and everybody all arrived about the same time.

I get up at 0530 everyday, including weekends. By the time the game was over, I was really tired so I went to bed. I can sleep though just about anything. I must have fallen right to sleep as I don’t remember hearing anything after I went to my bedroom, closed the door, and got into bed.

Thanks to all for making the long drive out to Moncure. I had a great time.

Other Stuff

My brother, sister, sister-in-law and brother-in-law sent me a package from Omaha Steaks for my birthday. What a cool gift! I’ve always wanted to try those. Thanks guys! I can’t wait to cook one of the steaks. Probably tonight.

My vacuum cleaner died last week. Got on line, picked out the one I want (Hoover S3755) and decided to see if I could buy it locally. Saturday, very early I went to WalMart in Sanford. Then to Lowes in Sanford. Then to WalMart in Cary, Lowes in Cary, Home Depot in Cary, Target in Cary, Best Buy in Cary. Best Buy had the biggest selection thus far but still not the one I wanted. Then to Cary Towne Center Mall to Sears. Penny’s and Belks. By then I’d been looking since 0700 and it was just after noon. Every place I went seemed to have the same core of models with maybe the odd item here and there. Sears and Best Buy had the biggest selection by far.

I decided to give up for the day. I’ve got one more place I can look – if no luck, I’ll order the cleaner on line.

Stopped by Lens Crafters and got my glasses adjusted while I was at the Mall. Then I stopped at the place where I get my hair cut. Since it was Saturday at 1300 – the place was full and there was a one to one and a half hour wait.

By then - it's official. Bill is annoyed. Getting nothing accomplished.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home and got the shopping done for the Super Bowl gathering. Went home and tidied up the house a bit and that was it for the day.

Addendum

Grilled first Omaha Steak. It was was awsome!

Thanks again to my siblings.

Called Cary Sew N Vac - they said they quit carrying Hoover models years ago due to quality control issues. I dismissed that as griping.

Then - I called Capital Vacuum - They carry Hoover vacuums but said they specifically quit selling the model I wanted because they got so many back in for repairs!

So - now I've got two bad reports for the Hoover I thought I wanted. But - the on line reviews (such as epinions) rave about the model I think I want.

What to do?

NC State Wins a Close One

NC State vs. Virginia game was a nail biter. Worn out by the game and then I still had the long drive back home. When I got home, I watched the second half of the Duke at Boston College game which also went down to the wire.

Getting all fired up and excited by the games made it hard to fall asleep. So I picked up a book I’ve been trying to finish and finally made my way to the end of it.

There are a lot of books that everybody knows about but few have actually read. How many people have actually read Moby Dick, War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, Finnegans Wake, The Fountainhead or any other 'classics'? I’ve actually slogged my way through those, and, unfortunately squandered a lot of time on Ayn Rand. When I say squandered, that’s not to dismiss her philosophy (a lot of which I agree with) – it’s simply that her writing ability was just awful.

Here’s my all time favorite example – just about everyone can toss off the cliché “Machiavellian” – but who has actually read The Prince?

The book I finally finished is The Man in the High Castle. Won all sorts of awards when it was published in 1962. Cult classic; a favorite of the sophomoric literati.

The book has a very good premise, but well written prose it’s not. Actually, it’s mediocre for most of the book until you get to the end where it completely falls apart and just plain sucks.

I usually pass along books after I’ve read them. But, I don’t want to inflict this one on anyone. I think I’ll just toss it.

FYI - I use BookFinder.com. BookFinder.com seems to be more straightforward and less clutter than Amazon.

Happy Birthday

Boze - Happy Groundhog Day