I read a press release today where the CEO was talking about taking his company “to the next level.” I think the phrase is easily in the Top Ten Most Overused Phrases list.

There is no such thing as the “next level.” It implies some sort of finite boundary between where something is and where something could be. Truth is, there is no magic word which can teleport something to “the next level.” People, companies, and things get to this so-called next level through one thing and one thing only: work. They WORK to get there.

Those silly words serve to distract the focus from the work that is needed to actually get some place. It reinforces that ficticious, invisible barrier blocking a goal.

I’d love to see it disappear entirely from business vernacular (and take “touch base” with it).

I found a copy of the FBI Bulletin warning of suspicious almanac readers. It’s from Cryptome, one of my favorite websites.

Check out this section:
Investigation has revealed that terrorist operatives may rely on almanacs to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning. Almanacs, available both in print and online, provide comprehensive information on a variety of topics, including government, geography, vital statistics, the economy, health matters, science and technology, weather trends, and tourism. Information commonly found in almanacs that may be exploited for terrorist use includes profiles of U.S. cities and states and information on geographic and structural features such as waterways, bridges, dams, reservoirs, tunnels, buildings, and landmarks. This information is often accompanied by photographs and maps.

Now, substitute “internet” for “almanac.” See where this might be going?

The office environment has been a see-saw of extremes. Yesterday, the office was baking, with temperatures reaching 78 degrees. My mind was in a funk, it was so stuffy. Today, we’ve swung to the other extreme, with a chilly 65 degrees. Whee.

I was ready to taunt those foolish people who wore shorts yesterday, as I knew a front would be passing through which would lay waste to our warm weather. It turned out that they were the most comfortable in the oven we call an office. Today, the smart people are wearing coats.

Tell me again why don’t I work from home?

I’ve got an important topic which has been brewing in my head. I could have written about it weeks ago but for some strange reason, I couldn’t seem to fit it into blog format.

As I drove to work this morning, I thought the topic might make the basis of a novel. I’d been thinking over the holidays that I’d like to expand my writing professionally by writing a book. Being married to an editor has given me a window into the work involved in publishing. Still, if its something I feel compelled to write and it is a story that needs to be told, I don’t see how I can go wrong. If no one reads it but me, it will have been worth my while.

I’ll try to summarize my thoughts in a later post, once I focus on what I’m really trying to say.

Sorry for the teaser. I’m really bad about that, huh?
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Another broken thingy is my weather station. It’s performed beautifully this afternoon as a strong cold front has moved through. Only problem is it didn’t count a drop of those buckets of rain we got today.

I’ve got to hike back onto the roof to see why the rain gauge is still thirsty.

There’s nothing more maddening than something that breaks only *part* of the time, and for no apparent reason. That’s the case with Apache::Gallery. I installed it over the weekend in what seemed to be a success. Come to find out that a lot of JPEGs are only being served halfway. They’re literally cut in two.

I’ve shelved it for now, too frustrated to troubleshoot it. And this was the script that was going to make my picture-posting easier? Blech.

Life becomes much easier once you get comfortable with being average.

I’m wrapping up a busy but fun-filled vacation. Lots of projects got done, lots more were left waiting. Why is it that whenever there is time to do things, there are always too many things to do?

My family spent the past two days getting acquainted with something we hadn’t experienced in a while: exercise. The past two mornings were spent walking around Lake Johnson with Hallie riding along in a backpack. While I’d ordinarily feel beat after such a trip, especially after being a slug for so long, I felt energized. The warm weather we’ve had this weekend has been fantastic.

And speaking of weather, I did manage to get my weather station online. For stats updated every 15 minutes, click on this link. Eventually, I’ll have this populating a MySQL database and maybe add some graphs. So many project, so little time.

Work tomorrow is going to be a shock to my system, I’ve been away so long.

The forecast (from NWS, not my Weather station):

PARTLY CLOUDY TO SUNNY SKIES ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND HIGHS WILL BE AS MUCH AS TWENTY DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE DATE. LOW TO MID 70S ARE FORECAST FOR THE AFTERNOON WITH SIXTIES IN THE MOUNTAINS. SIMILAR TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST FOR SUNDAY.

We’re headed to Lake Johnson for a lap around the lake and maybe to feed the ducks. A chance to escape winter for a weekend!