the pod bay door

.: I haven’t much time as I type, but wanted to let you know about the new look for the blog. On the advice of Mr Brad Grier, techno-wizard and all-around good person, I have upgraded to the Thesis theme, and plan to do further modifications, time permitting in the next few weeks. I believe this new look will help me get back into blogging on a more regular basis than recently.

.: I will begin by wishing my dear Mother, Loretta D Reichardt, the happiest of birthdays.  She came into the world on 31 Dec 1932, and it’s been damn good to have her around for 77 years.  So Mom, Happy Birthday, and may you have many more!

More than a few of those who follow this blog have noted that I do not post as regularly as I used to do.  I’ve given that a lot of thought in the past few months, and realized that the emergence of Facebook and Twitter had a lot, if not most to do with that.  I recall when Facebook was limited to educational institutions.  At that time, I had five or six FB friends, all but one from MPOW, the University of Alberta Libraries (UAL).  When Facebook exploded in the fall of 2006, the numbers began to rise.  When I began using Facebook in my work with engineering students, the number continued rising.  A few months ago, I started grouping my 840+ “friends” into categories.  At the moment, the number of categories I created stands at 26.  Facebook has been a fascinating ride – I have connected with people in entertainment, for example, who I never in a zillion years ever thought I would “meet” or interact with on any level whatsoever.  In that sense, it has been incredibly rewarding.  On a recent trip to Boston, I met seven people with whom I had become FB friends, and it was so satisfying to spend time with each of them, however briefly in some cases.

On the downside, Facebook can be overwhelming and overpowering.  I have “hidden” many people with whom I have friended (will this become a new word in the Teens?), as I do not know them well, and as such am not interested in their status updates.  At times I find myself turning away from the screen in the literal sense, choosing not to look at my Facebook page for short periods of time, just to get a break from the info overload.

But back on the plus side, like countless others, I’ve reconnected with friends with whom I had lost touch over the years, and in some cases, over three decades.  It has been rewarding on many levels to catch up with them after such long periods of time.  When the “reconnect” leads to an in-person reunion, it is truly a priceless moment in life.

.: I traveled more this year than any other in my life.  Most of the trips were initiated because of meetings or conferences related to my work as an engineering librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries.  In the following order, I went to these cities in 2009: 1) San Diego, 2) Boca Raton, 3) Winnipeg, 4) San Francisco, 5) Deerfield Beach FL, 6) New York, 7) Washington DC, 8) New York, 9) Winnipeg,  and 10) Minneapolis-Boston-Providence RI.  The trip to San Diego happened at the end of January, and was the first time in my life I’d been somewhere warm during winter.  It was surreal to step from the plane into 15C weather, with a light ocean breeze.  The trips to Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach were work-related; I had never been to Florida, and the first trip was in March, also when it was still snowy and cold in Edmonton, but quite the opposite in Boca Raton.  Next year I expect to return to Deerfield Beach, NYC twice, San Francisco, and hope to do the Mpls-Boston-Providence trip again as well.  If I attend my annual professional conference in June, I’ll be in New Orleans for the first time.

.: For the first time, my parents were here in Edmonton for Christmas.  They arrived on Dec 22, and it was great to have them here.  In addition to visiting various friends, we were joined by my brother Chris, who drove up on Dec 25 for the day.  That evening, we went to the Delta Inn for Christmas dinner.  Chris brought with him his new Gibson guitar, and on Boxing Day (Dec 26) we played a few tunes together for my folks.  We recorded these with my Flip camcorder, and I may upload one or two of them if the spirit moves me (and if Chris agrees!)  I am very, very grateful that my parents are still with us.  As noted earlier, Mom turned 77 today, and Dad had his 83rd birthday in September.  Both are doing well.

My father, Michael, has been painting on pieces of birchbark for a while now, and when I was in Winnipeg in November,  gave me a painting called Three Knots on Birch. I returned to Edmonton with it, and had it framed by Galatea Galleries on campus. On Dec 23, we picked up the framed painting, and Dad mounted it on the wall in my office at work.

.: Now we are at the end of another decade.  (Yes, the decade actually ends on 31 Dec 2010, but no one follows that rule.)  It was a decade that most may want to forget, one that may be remembered mostly for terrorism, a global economic meltdown created by greed and corporate fraud, and natural disasters.  I don’t know what we can expect in this decade (will we call it The Teens?), but my hope is that we will, as individuals, work hard to treat each other, and the planet, with respect and dignity.

In 1968, when I first saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, I did a quick calculation and realized that I would be 47 when we reached that year on the calendar.  It’s now nine years later, and I’m still kicking it at 56.  One of my over-used expressions of the past few years has been “I want my youth back”, and all too often I do wish I was young again and could do things all over, but differently.  We make choices, and we have to live with them.  In 1968 I did not believe that in 2009, let alone 1979, I would still be single and living alone, having never married.  I look around and I see many friends from my generation in the same situation, so I’m not alone, but that necessarily isn’t a comfort.  I wonder, will I die alone, without family around me?  But if so, will that matter in the end?

In June 2008, I crossed the line of eligibility to retire with full pension.  I know of some who, when they reach that point in their career, choose to bolt and do other things.  That was never my plan when I reached that point in my working life.  My job, my career, has been very rewarding for the most part, and I continue as an engineering librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries.  Recently all eligible staff (55 or older, 10 or more years of service) at the U of A were offered buy-out packages, which include 12-15 months salary.  It is very tempting, and I have been giving it some thought since it was announced.  But there are other issues to consider, and I hope to continue at the U of A for some time to come.  In six months, I will have completed payments on my mortgage, and am looking forward to the purchase of a new(er) car, and contracting renovations to my home when the mortgage is history.

As the year and the decade end together, I choose to focus on the positives.  I am grateful and blessed to be working and living in a great city in perhaps the best and safest country in the world (yes, despite the frigid winter temperatures and the snow!).  My career at the UAL is great for so many reasons, not the least of which is having a Starbucks and a satellite branch of Edmonton Public Library across the floor from my office!  I work with great colleagues, some of whom are also good friends, and the atmosphere in mpow is always positive and inspiring.  I have a large extended family that care about me and with whom I am always in touch, and I have the best group of friends anyone could want at any time, a blessing that is truly priceless.

So I’m glad you had a nice birthday Mom, and 2009 – shut the door on the way out, ok?  Good riddance.

.: Tonight while watching the one game playoff between the Twins and the Tigers, I was stunned after the bottom of the 10th inning as I watched the Sportsnet announcer advise viewers on the Prairies that Sportsnet West was switching from the baseball game to a hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames. The announcer said viewers could switch to Sportsnet East (which requires a subscription, of course) to continue watching the game. Problem is that Shaw Cable doesn’t carry Sportsnet East, so even if I had wanted to immediately subscribe to that channel, I couldn’t.

I sent the following note to the jerks at Sportsnet a few minutes ago:

————–

Just wanted to say how incredibly disappointed I was that Sportsnet West chose to drop the Twins/Tigers game after the 10th inning. I live in Edmonton. Your announcer told us we could switch over to Sportsnet East to watch the game. Shaw doesn’t carry Sportsnet East in Edmonton. So we had no broadcast of an incredibly exciting game.

For whatever reasons you chose to do this, or was forced contractually to do this, it was a bush league, amateur move of the lowest order. It reminded me of the Heidi football game in 1968 (look it up on Wikipedia).

It’s no wonder Canadian cable networks continue to look so provincial and amateur compared to their American counterparts. A one-game playoff to decide a divisional championship, and you choose to stop broadcasting it in extra innings. Unbelievable. Such a juvenile decision gives me as a viewer no confidence in your management’s abilities to make informed decisions that serve your viewers in the best possible way.

If I could offer one suggestion, it would be to grow up. How can you consider your operation to be major league when you clearly can’t even cover Major League Baseball?

Thanks for ruining my baseball viewing tonight.

Sincerely,
Randy Reichardt

.: It is my 56th birthday today. I was born at 01h06 CDT on 28 June 1953. It has been a nice day, pleasant and sunny, and I have received numerous birthday wishes from friends via my Facebook site. With the end of June comes the halfway point of the 4-month summer break. I plan to be in town for most of the remainder of it, with the glaring exception of a 10-day trip to NYC in late July, ostensibly to see 4 Steely Dan shows, but also to hang out with friends as well.

Birthdays are special days, a time to consider and review one’s life, and to give thanks for what matters.  To me this means a loving and supportive family, amazing friends, a great job and work environment, and the good fortune to be living in a great city in the perhaps the best country in the world.  I am generally healthy, which is also a blessing.  So to all who read this small blog, my thanks for your interest and where appropriate, your friendship and support.

With much love,

Randy

I scored 91/100. Not bad. Maybe I will move there someday soon.

DO YOU BELONG IN NYC?
Yes, but sometimes you wish there were a better option.
You do love New York, and you fit in here better than you have anywhere else. You’re committed to the city, and you take advantage of all of its amazing food, culture, nightlife and arts. But you have nagging doubts about this relationship. Spend your whole life here? Not sure about that. Sometimes you wonder about that farm in your fantasies or even just a smaller city. But in reality, you know there’s nowhere better. Click here for suggestions about how to really enjoy NYC.

Do you belong in New York City?

.: After returning from NYC on 11 May, I had three days in Edmonton before I flew on the redeye to Toronto on the night of Thursday, 14 May 2009.  The redeye left Edmonton at 00h25 MDT, and arrived in Toronto at about 06h00 EDT.  So even though the flight was 3.5 hours, the time difference told me I had flown for the entire night.  I tried dozing off on the plane, which was an Airbus 321, large and roomy, but I couldn’t do it.  So I plugged my laptop into the outlet in the seat in front of me and watch two eps of Law and Order: CI.  The flight was actually quite pleasant, and the route through the horrid Toronto International Airport wasn’t as bad as I expected.  (Not so on the way back, however.)  What I found strange about the outlets on the back of the seats was this: the plane has three seats on either side of the aisle.  On the left side of the plane, the window and centre seats have an outlet in front of them, but not the aisle seat.  On the right side of the plane, the aisle and centre seats have outlets, but not the window seat.  This made (and makes) no sense to me whatsoever.  Maybe it’s a technical issue.

In Deerfield Beach, it was about 30C and very breezy.  My hotel room was huge, with a bedroom separate from the living room, two tvs, two bathrooms, with a view of the pool and the ocean.  The meeting went well, but there was no time to get to the beach and into the water.  We had dinner a couple very nice restaurants, and on Sunday the 17th, were treated to a ride on a yacht down the Intracoastal Waterway.  I switched planes in Toronto to catch a flight to Fort Lauderdale, to attend meetings with a library advisory board in Deerfield Beach, at the behest of CRC Press. I shot some video of the trip with my Flip Mino HD camcorder, and also took a few pictures.

I’ll be on the road again in two weeks, in Washington DC for my annual library conference.  Then in July, it’s back to NYC for a few Steely Dan shows.  More on that later.