Geeks meet Hilary

I was invited last weekend to speak to a group of entrepreneurs leaving established companies and going out on their own in business. They needed someone to talk about health insurance.

What they didn't tell me was that these were I T (guys mostly) so you can imagine the clash when I showed up looking a lot like Hilary Clinton in my best pantsuit and makeup to talk to an group of 20-30 something males in alternative styles or at least very casual, baggy, shorts and t shirts.

As I "infiltrated" their small table discussions I realized that these hyper intellect types may not be the most socially well adjusted members of our culture but they may rule it someday if they don't already...a least from behind the scenes on their little laptops.

I decided to jump right in and try and engage some of them, it took a while esp with them snickering politely as I asked them to explain some of the acronyms they were using but all in all they were pretty good eggs and polite once you get their attention!

One 20 something was saying that he couldn't stand the concept of a CD because you actually had to store, go get, and "play" it to hear music. I realized then that we are starting to "live" in the context of a 14x11 inch glowing screen.

Computers are no longer a tool, they are a place we live, learn, relate, and listen to music.

That box is too small for me....yet here I am talking to you in it?!

Do we live here now?

Butchering the weather

I'm a shopper and when I was planning Rod's birthday this year and wanted to BBQ good steak and I couldn't resist the bargain of buying top sirloin, uncut.
I figured how hard can it be to chop it up into some steaks myself...I mean my family butchered their own beef, (not a good memory by the way), surely I could cut some up.

What I didn't figure on was how overwhelming getting a big 10 lb hunk of bloody beef out on the counter and trying to cut it up with dull knives would be.
You can't just start chopping it up you know, you have to cut it just the right way so it falls into steaks and not stringy ropes of tough beef.

But worst of all was the sickening site of that much blood and muscle in my kitchen. I lost may appetite for the two days I was working on it. I told my kids I felt like a cannibal in his kitchen chopping up the latest victim! Normally I would have enlisted Rod but I was determined to do all I could for his birthday myself, I mean who wants to do all the work for their own birthday!
Now I know why butchers have jobs and get paid to do this stuff. I don't know how they have any appetite to eat when they get home at night....maybe you get used to it?
I cut off one steak and tried marinading it and cooking it the next day to see how tender it was....not bad but the marinade was iffy. I learned a lot by asking people and finally came up with a good "rub" of salt, pepper, and GRANULATED garlic. It turned out yummy.

Good thing the food was good because the weather was over 100 and the AC broke that morning. Puts a whole new spin to the expresssion "we had a HOT time" The AC is fixed now of course and we haven't had a hot day since. ..which proves my theory that I can control hot weather.

What I do is make a GALLON of ice tea and buy a LARGE watermelon. (smaller amounts do not work because the weather gods know you can eat and drink those amounts before they ferment in your frig.) Somebody out there must have bought some BIG melons during that hot weather for it to be only 68 degrees on Labor Day today.

Rod and I LIKE hot weather but if you don't, I have just shared with you a time tested way to cool things off. It may only work in Oregon however.