Happy New Year 2022! Be Happy and Safe as the New Year Begins!

I said it last year and I have said it since, it is hard to believe that the year is coming to an end. As we say good-bye to 2021 and welcome in 2022, it makes for a good time to reflect on the past year. I found 2021 to be a busy filled year. We were able to do a lot of camping and we also did some traveling. I expect us to do even more camping in 2022. We already have some locations booked as the year is about to begin. We went to weddings, attended sporting events, and really things were feeling rather normal. Continuing to wear masks at work and in stores, but it was starting to feel better. 

The past few weeks as we close in on the end of 2021, we see cases start to increase. We are seeing sporting and theater events being canceled or postponed, so I can only hope that everything is not canceled as we start 2022 and look to continued feel of getting back to normal.

For now, I reflect on the past year and look forward to 2022. I hope you have had a rewarding 2021 and that 2022 treats you well. Stay safe and Happy New Year!

Contract Dispute Resolved on December 19 Between YouTube TV and Disney Restores Order and ESPN is Back! #YouTubeTV #YTTV #espn #Disney #Contract

 

That did not take long! Disney and YouTube TV resolved their contract dispute in record time. Last week I posted a notice (Disney and YouTube TV Removes Disney Channels) about losing Disney channels which included all ESPN channels and by later in the day on Sunday, December 19, the contract was renewed and channels started appearing.

It is really not surprising how fast the contract was restored. Bowl games happening and everything sports, it has a big draw and as Reddit posts suggested, people were leaving in droves because of the loss. I was upset, but I also thought as indicated in the post last week (see Disney post), I thought it would be resolved within a week or two at the most. I had not plans to jump ship the day after all of my channels disappeared. There were many on Reddit though that did jump ship and were downright nasty in their comments back to YouTube TV about the contract disputes.

We have not heard the details of contract, but YouTube TV did give us a $15 discount for this month because of the problems. I am hopeful that YouTube TV stayed true to their demands and did not give into Disney with the increased prices. I am sure the information will come out in time as to the extent of the contract. YouTube TV has promised that there will not be any price increases after multiple increases the past couple of years.

For now, I am happy to have my channels returned and happy with a $15 refund for this month. Note, for other YouTube TV subscribers, if you have not gone into your settings to add the channels back, you will need to do so before you will see them. Because the channels were taken away when the contract expired, the channels have to be added back to your grid if you are like me and have edited your favorites.

Thank you YouTube TV for working out the deal with Disney to return our channels. For me, I do not care about the kids channels, but I am very happy to have back the ESPN channels and ABC.

Happy TV watching...

Merry Christmas! Our Mantel and Tree to Start Christmas Eve and Wish you the Best Christmas 2021! #ChristmasEve #Christmas #Holiday

Merry Christmas! Have a very Merry Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family and friends. Stay safe and check in with your loved ones, friends, and neighbors.

Our Christmas Eve will include a visit to Lawrence to see my mom and drop off some food. Then a quiet evening at home eating dinner, wrapping in last minute gifts, and spending time with Carrie and Oliver. Christmas Day will include time with family where I will see Joan, Eddie, Erin, and Greg going between homes to celebrate the day. I will call each of my siblings and of course my mother to wish a Merry Christmas.

I am also looking forward to a week and a few days of of work. Nice break from the work schedule and a time to regroup and prepare for 2022.

Stay safe and enjoy your time this holiday season!

Disney and YouTube TV Dispute Removes All Disney Channels from YouTube TV Effective Saturday, December 18 #YouTubeTV #YTTV #Disney #Dispute

Just when I think everything is smooth with my television watching, more contract disputes are announced earlier this week by YouTube TV and Disney. Earlier this week, Disney was warning of loss of Disney channels and at the same time YouTube TV was warning of loss of Disney channels. The agreement was due to expire on Friday, December 17. As Friday approached and expired, I still had all of the affected channels, so I thought perfect, they got it figured out. Then about 11 Saturday morning, I read the update from YouTube TV via Twitter that they did not come to terms with Disney for the channels.

Members, we worked hard to avoid this but were unable to reach a fair deal with Disney. We regret to share that as of December 17, all Disney-owned channels are unavailable on YouTube TV. While Disney content remains off our platform, we’ll decrease our price by $15/month.

— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) December 18, 2021

The channels that are removed include local ABC station, ABC News Live, The Disney Channel, FX, ESPN (all versions), and many others. As noted in the above tweet from YouTube TV, while the contract is being disputed, the cost of YouTube TV goes down $15/month.

YouTube TV recently resolved another contract dispute that had been going on for months between Roku and YouTube TV. Roku and YouTube had been disputing for months to the point where Roku had removed YouTube app (and YouTube TV) from the the Roku store. Earlier this year (January 2021), contract disputes between YouTube TV and Bally Sports caused us to lose our regional sports network (see January 2021 post) and it does not appear that contract will ever be renewed with Bally Sports going a different direction to the streaming market. 

The crazy things is that I already subscribe to Disney+, ESPN+, and many other streaming services, yet, I cannot watch any of the Disney channels live with this recent contract dispute between YouTube TV and Disney. No telling how long this dispute will last. Unlike the Bally Sports contract negotiations, I think this will be a short time where the two sides do not come to terms. With fifteen plus channels gone from YouTube TV which includes all of the sports stations, I see this not taking long to resolve. How long is relative though, as parent company Google has stated many times that they do not intend to raise prices for YouTube TV customers after various price increases the past few years, so I appreciate their holding fast to not pay more for Disney channels if it is going to cause a price increase for us the customers. We could be without the channels for a few weeks but hopefully it does not mean months.

Yes, I have thought about changing providers. We really enjoy the features of YouTube TV and the unlimited DVR capabilities, so I am not interested in leaving at this time. Depending on how long this goes on, I might look at other options for live television, but there is no way I would go back to cable or satellite. The contract disputes are an old foe of television watching. I recall when we were Cox customers for television, they fought contract disputes too where at times service would be lost to channels while they worked through the contracts. It seems that for YouTube TV this is a regular occurrence and it is getting old.

This is the state of my television viewing as of today. Do not be surprised if I am grouchy while this dispute continues, but I am hopeful both parties will resolve this and I will have my sports channels back in my YouTube TV guide.

Fun Weekend Spent at Zona Rosa Shopping, Eating, and Having Fun Preparing for Christmas

We did something new this year by spending the evening in Kansas City this past Friday night. We ate dinner, had fun, and then on Saturday, we went shopping. This is our annual time to buy gifts, maybe a road trip, and then finding within a set budget to buy gifts for Greg and Erin. We mix it up where one year we had to buy our gifts from a certain amount at a certain store. Another year we decided candy would be the gift we would give one another (we had a lot of candy that year). One of my favorites was we decided we would get gifts for one another from the PX Store at Fort Riley and again keeping a small budget, we had to get all of our gifts for one another from the PX. It was so fun!

I took off work on Friday so we could get into Kansas City in the early afternoon. We went straight to Duluth Trading Company in Kansas City. I have been wearing Duluth Trading Co. underpants for a number of years and this was our first time to visit the store. Trying out some new items to wear and we bought Carrie a new winter coat while we were there. 

We then had to make a stop at Bass Pro Shop as some of us had never been there or it had been a long time since we had been to one of their stores. We looked at camping items and tested out some nice chairs they had we could certainly use for camping. We ended up buying candy. In fact, we got some mints that Brenda had told us about that she said she cannot stop eating. Now I am hooked on them and probably going to finish off the bag.

Before heading to the hotel, we decided we should get some apps for a late lunch. We headed to 54th Street Grill & Bar. First time we had been there and it was really good. The bar tender must have had a long day as he was not very talkative, or friendly, but the food was really good. We each got a few apps and it was so much food, we were afraid we would not be able to eat later that night for our 7 pm reservations. 

Deciding it was time to head to the hotel, we got to the hotel to have a few drinks, one of us took a nap, and prepared for the evening. For dinner Friday night, we had made reservations for Cascone’s Italian Restaurant. It was packed and even though we had reservations, we had to wait. It was fun people watching as we waited.

The drinks were really good. I had one of their specials and then Sangria before we ordered a bottle of wine to share with the table. The apps were good here too. For dinner, I got Lobster Ravioli and it was delicious! Finally, to finish off the evening, we each got desserts. Yes, this is after I said earlier we were not sure following apps earlier in the afternoon if we would be hungry for dinner, well, we were hungry and no sign we had any issues other than a few did not finish their dinner or dessert. But it was worth it! I got a cannoli for my dessert which was perfect as it was small and easy to eat.

Following dinner, we went back to the hotel where we played games and stayed up to about midnight. Decided it was time to head to bed as we had a long day planned for Saturday with shopping.

Saturday was a fun day! We were in Kansas City to visit Zona Rosa for shopping. Each person had selected three stores they would want to have Christmas gifts from that the other couple would be selecting. With a limit of $50 (approximately) total gifts could be purchased from the three stores selected or all from one of the stores. Whatever worked out best during the search. 

I had been to Zona Rosa in the past, but never spent the day there. Carrie and I had been there a few times to eat at an Indian restaurant, but never spent the day. It was a fun day and the weather was perfect! 

Following shopping, we went to Brew Top Pub and Patio where we had a late lunch, a few drinks, and watch the Missouri vs. Kansas game (KU dominated). Following the late lunch, we headed back home.

A short two day trip, but it was so fun. I spent most of Sunday catching up on sleep and watching football. I realized as I was preparing to write about our shopping weekend that I did not take any pictures of our trip. I had planned to take pictures of at least our food or of us out and about, but no, I did not take any pictures.

Oliver and I spent most of Sunday sleeping as we were both exhausted. Oliver spent Friday night at my Mom’s and Dina came over to spend the night too. So I know they had fun!

Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you later.

A Year of Regular Posts to My Web Site and Planning to Keep Posting Another Year... Thanks for Visiting and Following!

Back in November 2020 right before Thanksgiving that year, I started to blog on a regular basis. I planned out to do a blog at least once a week ranging on a variety of topics. Sometimes just me updating what I did the previous week, but trying to post on a regular schedule. Prior to this planned weekly posting, I would do very infrequent and sometimes not post for a few months. 

I have been able to keep my commitment to post on a weekly basis. My day to post is Sunday each week. At times I do one post and other weeks I will do multiple. It all depends on what happened that week or what I want to share for the week. I do also try and post an update on holidays and have those post on the day of the holiday (i.e. Thursday). 

This has been a fun process. Only a few times did I struggle with what to post or trying to get it written and done before the day was over on a Sunday. Often times, I write whatever I plan to post early in the week and schedule the posting to publish early in the morning on Sunday morning. 

My plan is to continue posting at least once a week for another year. I enjoy it and while some have wondered why, I enjoy the process and thinking through what to post. Typically I post what we did on a vacation along with pictures, but I usually do not post where we are going ahead of time or that we will be gone... only the summary of the trip and pictures after we are back.

I appreciate my regular followers and those that comment on posts. Of course my other goal is to have regular visitors to my site (https://www.haverty.net/) and doing a regular post each week drives traffic to the site. I have had the web site https://www.haverty.net for a long time and it is good to say I average approximately 2,500 visitors each month to my site. I would like to see that increase and the only way to increase traffic is to post more each week.

There is an option on the page to subscribe to posts so that you can get the updates in your email. This can be found on the right side of the page in a section called follow.it. Simply enter your email address and click Subscribe. It is an easy way to get updates each week that I post to the site. 

So, I appreciate your visiting my site, or subscribing through follow.it. Watch for my updates for another year and know that I truly enjoy doing these weekly posts. Thank you for visiting and following.

Progress Update for One Month Mark of Bike Riding and Exercise... A Starting Over Approach

When I posted back on October 31 that I was starting my exercise routine again (see post), I posted the total workouts I had done as I started that process. I plan to do monthly updates each month to show my progress. At the end of October as I was starting a regular routine, I was at 275 total workouts. I planned to ride three times a week. I did not meet that goal exactly, but I did manage to get a workout in at least once a week and usually more than once a week, but it depended on what was happening that particular week.

As of today, December 5, 2021, I have 290 workouts. I averaged about ten minute rides for my workouts during this time. I am still battling the fatigue of getting back into biking and struggling with my backside hurting from the seat, but it is getting better. I know the more I ride the better it will get. For the first month, I was keeping my rides anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes. This past week, I have started doing longer rides at 20 minute workouts. I plan to stay in 20 minute range for a few weeks before expanding out to longer rides.

Started November at 275 workouts... A month later, I am at 290 workouts.

It feels good to be back on the bike and getting some type of routine going in terms of exercise. My plan for early morning workouts did not go very well as I struggled to get up those extra 30 - 40 minutes early to get on the bike, so I decided for now, as long as I am riding, doing so after work will be enough for me. I make sure that during the week when I get home from work, I do not do anything else, but go straight to change and get on the bike. That helps to not cause loss of focus on doing the ride. Sometimes other evening events interfere, but I am working through trying to plan for those so I can change days or get up early and workout.

My long-term goal is to work in a jog for my workouts giving me four days a week to exercise. That will likely not happen again until sometime in the spring at this point. I am happy to report that after a year of owning the Peloton Bike (see post from November 15, 2020) I am back to using the bike and plan to make it my routine moving forward. Regardless of whether we are traveling, tired, etc., I plan to keep some form of exercise in my weekly habit. Once the habit stops, it is so difficult to get it started again and I do not want to restart this process of becoming accustom to the bike in the future.

Until next month with another update from my exercise, have a great workout and see you on the virtual trails of Peloton!

Follow up on Thanksgiving Day Turkey Breast Cooking Plus Oliver Not Feeling Great During the Holiday

For Thanksgiving this year, we did turkey breasts on the grill. We decided not to do fully turkey, but only the breasts. We did salt, pepper, some other seasoning, and then butter over the top. We were debating on whether to put them breast up or down. We thought we had them breast up as we thought they would cook better that way, but then after I posted the picture to the left on Twitter, a friend commented how they were breast down. Possibly thinking they were whole turkeys, but I am sure they were breast up. 

I cooked them on indirect heat using the convEGGtor at 325 degrees sitting on a rack. The turkey breasts were around 7 lbs, so we figured it would be about two hours to cook. Got the rest of it set up and going without too much trouble and let them sit in the BGE cooking away while we got ready for the day.

After a little over two hours, they were looking really good. I rotated them a few times to get even cook throughout. Using thermometer that I monitor remotely with my Apple Watch and iPhone, I was able to watch their progression to completion while watching parades and getting ready for the day. I have to say, these two turkey breasts probably turned out the best I have ever done in terms of appearance for how they look. Nice golden brown overall which I have not had happen with previous turkey cooks regardless of whether they were whole turkeys or just the turkey breasts. I believe this is the second year in a row where we did turkey breasts and these turned out really good in appearance.

I did have some issues having them cook evenly which is why I was rotating them to move the one in front to the back and then later reversed. The internal temp was high for one bird or in one part, but not to the target temp of 165 in another portion. So, I probably left them on a bit long which meant they were a little dry, but that is what gravy is for to help with dryness. 

We have one turkey breast remaining which we will do one weekend as a treat. It is back in the freezer waiting for the next time we cook and do some favorites of Thanksgiving Day food.

I did have my little dog, Oliver, out helping me with the cooking. He was not feeling well the days leading up to Thanksgiving and then he got a little worse going into the weekend from that Thursday. In fact, we were planning to take him to the vet first thing Monday morning to have him checked over. In the picture to the right, this is Oliver enjoying the sun, but you can see he is not feeling the best. I think on Thanksgiving Day he was not eating and not a lot of energy.

As we went into Saturday and Sunday, he went over 24 hours without eating anything. We had tried doing this to him the Tuesday or Wednesday of that week, but he did this on his own. It helped and by Saturday/Sunday he was back to himself. He was eating, running around the house, and not having any issues. We were so happy to have our Oliver back to "normal". We decided we would play it by ear for the vet Monday morning and he was doing great, so we did not take him into see the vet. He has been good ever since which we are grateful happened.

Overall, we had a fantastic Thanksgiving. The weather was beautiful, ate a lot of wonderful food, and we had a good day talking with family. Plus there was sports, so that was fun too!

Attending Arkansas Game in Kansas City T-Mobile Center Tuesday Night and Even Watched some KSU Basketball that Night Too

T-Mobile Center Holiday Classic
Kansas State vs. Illinois

This past Tuesday, I had the chance to go to the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. Eddie knew that the Arkansas Razorbacks were playing in the tournament and wanted to go watch them if the Hogs could make it to the championship game on Tuesday night. On Monday night, Arkansas played the Kansas State Wildcats. The Hogs were able to advance to the championship game Tuesday night with a victory over the Wildcats. So, he got us tickets and we were set for the Tuesday night games.

This would be my first time at the T-Mobile Center (formally the "Sprint Center") and it did not disappoint. It is a fun environment and while there were not a lot of fans in attendance to the games, the space seems like it would have no issues handling the crowds. Even the parking was pretty simple. I had been to the College Basketball Experience many years ago, but I had never been in the T-Mobile Center. So, I was excited to have the opportunity to go to the game. We got into Kansas City in time to see a little bit of the first half of the KSU vs. Ill game.

On the way to Kansas City for the game, we called T-Bo to let him know we were going to see his Hogs. There was some woo pig sooie said a few times during the call. Our seats were great as the pictures show although as Greg said, I am not sure there is a bad seat in the house. They did not have the upper tier open for public seating, but there were a lot of open seats. The Arkansas crowd was strong with chants, cheering, and yelling during the game. I know Arkansas travels well, so it was fun to see them at the game. We connected with some Arkansas fans that were around us which was fun. The couple in front of us had a  daughter attending Arkansas but they were from Kansas City. The couple in back of us I believe were also from Arkansas but living in KC area.

We were able to watch a fun game. Neither team started off great, but it went down to the wire which made it fun. Cincinnati played a tough game.

T-Mobile Center Holiday Classic
Cincinnati vs. Arkansas

Fun night in Kansas City. Although, we did not get anything to eat at the game. Waffle House was mentioned at some point, so we tried to go there on our way home, but it was take out only. What? For Waffles? No thanks. So, we ended up not eating anything, but had a great time. We saw a good game, the Hogs won, and we made some good memories. 

It was a good way to lead into the holiday weekend and to be able to participate in Feast Week of Tournaments. Such a fun time of year and some really good games. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oliver and Dina
Thanksgiving 2011

Dina and Oliver on Thanksgiving 2011. He was so little. What a fun time of year with Thanksgiving. The good food, the beautiful weather, and connecting with family. I look forward to Thanksgiving each year and while some of that has to do with the great food, I enjoy everything about Thanksgiving. The time leading up to the holiday when the trees are changing and dropping leaves. Even the change in weather as it gets colder and frost starts occur overnight. Soon, we will have our first snow fall. No, I am not ready for snow...

I will spend this Thanksgiving with Eddie, Joan, Greg, Erin, and Carrie. We will eat a lot and then possibly play games or certainly there will be some football watching and basketball watching taking place. I will talk to my mom and siblings on the phone throughout the day. We might even see if we can do a Zoom call to connect with everyone, but sometimes that proves to be a difficult task, so maybe just phone calls.

Kansas plays basketball on Thanksgiving Day at 1:30 pm, so I know I will be talking to my sister Dina following the game, but likely before too. I know that I will watch for her half-time report on FaceBook she posts each game and we will connect afterwards. I will conference in my Mom on the call to discuss the game. I think this will only be the second game my Mom will be able to watch as the others have all been on ESPN+.

At some point during the day, I will have spoken to all of my family. I will hear what they are doing on Thanksgiving Day and what they are eating. Maybe even share information regarding what wine or beer they are enjoying during the day. 

I am grateful for my family being healthy. I look forward to the day when we can be together once again on Thanksgiving Day as we used to do not many years ago.

Jerry Ready to Eat and Drink
Thanksgiving 2009

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Day! I know I will be like Jerry, pictured to the right, where I will be ready to eat, drink, and be jolly on Thanksgiving Day 2021.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Working Out, Washburn Sports, Chiefs, Lawn Care, and Other Odds and Ends

My workout routine worked for about a week and then I stopped being motivated to get up early to ride the bike. This past week, I did not ride once and have today (Sunday) to get back on track. The previous two weeks, I was able to get up at 6 am and ride the bike. Tuesday and Thursday this week, my alarm was set, but I could not get up to start my ride. 

I plan to change it again this week and go back to working out in the evening instead of trying to so first thing during the week. I will revert to riding Tuesday and Thursday in the evening after work and I believe that will help me to stick to the plan. More on my progress in another week or two as I post a full monthly update for how it is going.

Yesterday, Washburn played in the first-round of the NCAA tournament. We had a fantastic season with some huge wins and great memories. Washburn lost yesterday 30 - 14 in the first-round. The season will go down as one of the greats in my memory. We now turn our focus to basketball. We actually missed the first home Washburn game yesterday as we were out at Johnny's Tavern to watch the Washburn game. I followed along on the basketball game and we won 90 - 47 over Baker.

This afternoon we have the Chiefs playing Dallas. We sit in first place in the AFC West. Not too bad after the first few weeks where no one was sure what was happening with our Chiefs. I am looking forward to the game and for a win over the Cowboys. Let's GO Chiefs!

Thanksgiving is this next week and it is one of my favorite holidays. I love the food and I cannot wait. This time of year is also when everyone is out doing their leaves. Our lawn, patio, driveway, and curbs were packed with leaves. I was going to do them, but they got out of hand, so I reached out to business I thought had shut down, but they continue to do lawn work and more importantly clearing leaves. On Tuesday, I called Green Boys LawnCare, Inc. and asked if they could add us to the schedule. They told me with all the wind, recent rain, etc., it might be a little bit before they could get to us. They got to us the next day. Yard, driveway, curbside, and back yard looked great... well, until the next day. More wind and now can hardly tell they were at our house. I told them when we spoke, it will probably be a two or three time visit for our house to clean leaves. So trees, now is the time to drop your leaves and prepare for winter.

Short work week, so enjoy your Sunday and a few days of work. Until next time...

Washburn Ichabods Win Final Regular Season Game and Headed to Playoffs... Plus, KU Beats First Big 12 Foe Since 2008 and Chiefs Tonight!

We had a fun day on Saturday, November 13, 2021 for the last regular season home football game for Washburn. We had a crowded corner which was fun. Carrie made breakfast and a mid-game snack. Erin made some breakfast snacks and Joan brought delicious items too. Javier was supposed to be up for this last regular season game, but because of flight issues, he decided he would not make it as he did not want to drive. 

It was a cold day although the day started off not too bad when we all arrived a little before 11 am. The sky was clear and the sun helped keep the temperature where it was enjoyable. About noon though the clouds moved in and a little breeze kicked up which made it a rather cold day to be watching football. 

Washburn won the game 38 - 28 and we all stayed until the very end. Matt showed up and watched the game with us at the fence. It was a fun day! Even though it was cold, it was worth it to see our Ichabods go to 9 - 2 on the season. It has been a fun season and hoping to see us play again.

The night was capped off as I was watching the Kansas Jayhawks play that went into overtime and they won. First time they have beat a Big 12 opponent since October 4, 2008 at Iowa State (see KC Star article). They have come close a few times through the years to beat another Big 12 foe, but it has not happened since 2008. Wow! That helped to top off the Saturday of football.

Sunday late afternoon and I am preparing to watch the Kansas City Chiefs this evening. Go Chiefs!

Just heard from Greg, and I see it on Twitter, Washburn will play in Super Region III playoffs. So great! 

WE ARE HEADING TO THE PLAYOFFS!!! #GoBods pic.twitter.com/ouOI0UKuAO

— Washburn Football (@IchabodFTBL) November 14, 2021

Happy Veterans Day! #VeteransDay

To all veterans of all branches: Thank you for sacrifice, your bravery, and the example you set for us all. In short, thank you for your service! To all those who have served, and those who continue to serve… Happy Veterans Day!

Be sure to thank a veteran today and always.

New CIO for Washburn University as of October 2021

Many of you already know, but I have a new job at Washburn University. As of October 2021, I am the Chief Information Officer (CIO). In July 2021, our CIO announced he would be leaving Washburn to return to the east coast to work. I asked about being interim CIO and in the middle of July it was announced that I would be the interim CIO for Information Technology Services (ITS). 

I learned a lot in the few months while I was interim CIO. I wanted to make sure that by being interim CIO that I could still apply for the CIO position and I was told that was not an issue. So, I started working on updating my resume. Carrie put me in touch with a company she had heard great things from others about helping with their resume, so I reached out to Grammar Chic, Inc to start the process.

I already had some vacation scheduled at the end of July, so by the time I was able to connect with Grammar Chic to discuss my resume, I was on vacation and already doing the interim CIO stent. I had sent them copies of my resume which I had been using for for whole career and I thought it was good. After going through the process with Grammar Chic, my resume was completely reformed and it is so much better! I would highly recommend Grammar Chic to help with your resume and cover letter.

I could not be more excited then to be the CIO for Washburn University. I am learning new things everyday and dealing with new challenges each day too. On October 5, 2021, I was announced to the campus as the new CIO.

While I do not post a lot about work on my blog, I wanted to post an update to document and share the news with those I have not been able to talk to about my recent career change. I want to thank my family and friends who helped me with this change along with the encouragement. I would also like to thank the ITS staff I work with and those that gave me advice on the process. 

Yesterday, Carrie helped me clean out my old office in Bennett Computer Center to throw out old items and move paperwork to my new office. While I had been working out of Morgan Hall room 215B since the first part of August, I am now completely out of Bennett Computer Center and it feels good to be done with the move. Carrie is encouraging me to have my new office painted, we are buying pictures for the new office, and once it is painted, we will go back to hang the newly acquired art work. 

I do plan to keep at least an annual update to this space on my job and progress. I look forward to providing my expertise and passion for Washburn University in this new role. I could not be more grateful for the opportunity.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! Have a happy and safe Halloween. 

What do you do to celebrate Halloween? Carrie and I used to sit on our driveway/patio, drink wine, and hand out candy. I saw a lot of pictures the past few days of friends attending Halloween parties. Some really good costumes! I do not recall the last time I dressed up on a costume, but I know it was over five years ago. I hope everyone has a great Halloween and the candy is handed out freely and all delicious.

Happy Halloween everyone!

The Workout Starts Now and I Plan to Stick to a Regular Schedule for Exercise

I previously stated that I would start up exercise again after our latest camping trip (see No Exercise), so the time has come to start my journey to become motivated and start a workout process once again. The last time I worked out was November to the end of June. I completely stopped riding our bike, walking, or basically doing anything, so now the motivation needs to kick in so I can start working out on a regular basis. 

My plan is simple, start out slow. Bike riding 10 - 15 minutes the first few weeks as I build up what I lost in stamina from riding November 2020 - June 2021. I know that when I rode for only a week back in August, I struggled to ride for the two or three days I had planned which ultimately had me giving up and not riding since that date. My plan this time is to only do 10 - 15 minutes in beginning classes once again 2 to 3 times per week. 

I would also like to add in walking/jogging at least once a week although that might be difficult as the winter months are approaching, but we will see. The walking/jogging is to give me motivation to take our dog, Oliver, on walks. He loves it when I used to jog regularly (see Jogging Posts) as he would get excited when I would simply put on my tennis shoes. If I can just start the regular bike riding, I will be happy and keep it going throughout the year even when busy with other items.

To be able to keep the bike riding motivation continuing, I plan to ride during the week before work. My plan is to get up at 6 am on Tuesday and Thursday to ride the bike. As I become more used to riding, I might need to extend this out to earlier, but right now, I plan on 6 am twice a week to get up and ride. The third day of riding will be on either Saturday or Sunday depending on what is happening. I prefer Sunday and hope to take part in "Sundays with Love" on Peloton.

Looking at my current stats from Peloton, I did 275 activities with most of them being riding the bike, but I hope in a year I can double that amount. I did really good for a few months and then it is so easy to just stop and very difficult to get back into the swing of exercise.

I plan to update here at least once a month on my status and looking for my family and friends to call me out if I miss a monthly update or you know I am not doing the rides. I do enjoy riding, and running, so I look forward to the process and getting back into the swing of the mindset for exercise.

What do you do for exercise and how do you keep yourself motivated to keep working out each week? Post a comment and I would like to discuss further.

Our Second Trip to Eisenhower State Park Was So Fun… We Want to Do It Again and Soon!

We want to go camping again! We went on our recent camping trip to Melvern Lake in Lebo, KS. We were planning to take our little dog, Oliver, but as the days approached, he was not doing great, so we decided to leave him behind. In hindsight, it was best that we did as the first night was chilly and then our last night camping it poured down rain with a lot of lightening and thunder; Oliver would have freaked out and not had anywhere to go within the tent, so it is best he did not go.

We went out mid-afternoon on Thursday, October 21. Greg and Erin were meeting us after Erin finished with work, so Carrie and I got the tent set up, ready to make dinner, etc. and we were ready for the weekend. While we took some firewood as did Greg and Erin, we went through all of it the first night. 

Although it was chilly the first night, it was a perfect night. We used the Firedisc to cook supper where we made fried rice along with Bulgogi. It was our first attempt at doing fried rice let alone Bulgogi, but it was really good! We ate late and by headlamp and cell phones as the moon was not out yet when we were eating. 

The moon did come out after we finished eating and we were sitting around the fire pit. The moon had a ring around it that stuck around for a few hours while we sat and admired the moon. We tried to take pictures of the moon, but it did not give it justice to what we were seeing. It was a cold evening, so the fire felt really good. Great first night at our camp site!

The second day (Friday), we all slept late and so we ended up not evening doing breakfast. Joan and Eddie came out to join us for lunch and be around the fire pit. We did chili in the Firedisc which was our first time doing that with the Firedisc. Carrie had read some sites and blogs and it came out great! It was a fun afternoon/evening sitting around talking, eating, and chatting.

The third day (Saturday), we did cook breakfast and once again on the Firedisc. Potatoes, sausage, cheese, eggs, and wrapped up in a tortilla. Carrie said she would change some things on it, but I thought it was pretty dang good to start the day. We spent the day once again relaxing and playing some games. I could not have asked for a more comfortable day just chilling and not doing anything. 

Saturday night around 2 am, the storm that had been forecast hit our area. We had heavy rain, lightening, thunder, and strong winds. The storms woke me up as the tent was going back and forth. I could hear the rain pounding on the south side of the tent and a little water came in under the flap for the vent. We only had one hook come up down and it was on the south side near the vent, so a small table we had in the tent dumped contents. Overall, no major issues and then did great through the heavy storm. Another reason glad our dog, Oliver, was not with us as there would have been no where he could have gone to “get away” from the sounds.

Sunday morning was low key as we knew we had to head out. Had a light breakfast before we started picking up and getting ready to head out. 

We love this spot as it was our second visit to this same camp site (see Melvern Lake). We plan to go back and maybe check out some other areas of the State Park for camping… but why change from a place we love?

Below is Instagram post Carrie did from our camping weekend.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carrie H. (@carrieloulou)

 

Have you camped at Eisenhower State Park? Where is your favorite location to campus at this State Park or any Kansas State Park? I would love to hear from you in the comments.

October 16 Washburn Faced Off Against Northwest Missouri State University and We Won!

On Saturday, October 16 I went to a tailgate for Washburn University vs Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU). It was any normal Saturday and the third such tailgate of the season I had attended. Previous years, we would put up a good fight to lose to NWMSU whether at home or on the road. Not this day! This day, Washburn came away with a huge win! It will be one of those games that I remember forever. I have been attending Washburn football games for many years going way back to Javier and I first coming across tailgating and football on the Washburn campus one weekend some fifteen years (or so) ago. I have been going ever since.

Greg and I went to the game as Carrie was out of town with her Mom and sister-in-law, Erin, for a girls weekend. Greg and I got to the tailgate right about the time it was starting. It seemed like a lighter crowd than normal, but I supposed that was partially because of other football games going on at the same time or that afternoon. The weather was amazing! 60-70s for the temp and nice and sunny. We hung out for a while in the alumni tent where we had a hotdog and a few drinks before making it back to our tailgate spot by the flag pole. 

We saw a few of our friends at the game, but it was sparse in our corner for this game. To end the first quarter the score was zero to zero. I recall Greg and I talking and saying hey that is not bad at all to be tied at zero after a quarter of football. Sometime in the third quarter my father-in-law, Eddie, showed up to watch the game. He had been out playing golf on the beautiful morning, so it was good to have him at the game to watch this game with us. The second quarter finished up and we were up 3 - 0 at the half. Again, not bad at all considering who we were facing in this matchup. 

The third quarter was suddenly upon us and NWMSU scored a touchdown which put us down 7 - 3 but we came right back and scored a touchdown ourselves late in the third quarter. Again, we were all going crazy in the stands with high-fives and screaming. We were into the fourth quarter and we were feeling pretty good but knew it was nowhere close to being over. Sometime during the fourth quarter, our friend Matt showed up. He only lives block away from campus and he had been following on the radio. He said he had to get over to watch the game in-person, so we had four fans in our corner following and cheering for the Ichabods. 

Once again, late in the fourth quarter,  scores a a touchdown putting us up 17 - 14 with 48 seconds on the clock. We were all going crazy screaming, high-fiving, and there might have been some hugging, but again, we all knew it was nowhere close to being over. NWMSU turned it over on downs and punted back to Washburn with just a few seconds on the clock. Washburn being backed up to our own goal and only a few seconds decided to do a safety so we not have a chance of giving excellent field advantage to NWMSU. So, now the score is 17 - 16 with 5 seconds remaining on the clock. Washburn Football kicks the ball and NWMSU tries some trickery but to no avail and Washburn comes away with a huge win of 17 - 16 over NWMSU.

Our tailgate neighbor, John, who always has a huge spread for his tailgate, multiple tents, satellite TV, and is so friendly was over in our spot a few times during the game high-fiving and telling us this was the time we are going to beat NWMSU. As the final seconds ticked off of the clock, John was over in our area telling us he was going to rush the field when it ended and we won. Sure enough, as the clock ticked away to the end of the game, John moved inside of the stadium and was poised ready to run down the hill. There might have been some talk about taking down the goal posts, but his friends as well as us just laughed at him. If there ever was a good time to take down the goal posts at Yager Stadium, this was likely that time, but then what would we do with he goal posts? Where would we take them? Instead, we watched John rush down the hill following the 17 - 16 win and hug coaches, players, and possibly other fans. When he came back up the hill, he high-fived, hugged, and yelled celebration of the huge win. 

The last time we had beaten NWMSU, home or away, was back in 2004 I believe I heard mentioned. We did all of this with a backup quarterback as Mitch Schurig had gone out in the very first play of the game. Kellen Simoncic came into the game and did an excellent job of leading us to a win. Our whole team played well that day and it was exactly what we needed to knock of a 5 - 0 (at the time) powerhouse of NWMSU. It will go down as one of my all-time favorite memories of Washburn Football.

Next, we have homecoming on October 30 and then only one more home game on November 13. Who knows, at 5 - 2 on the season, we could see the postseason… but that is a bit early to speculate at this time. Until then, we will enjoy the games and keep cheering on our Washburn Ichabod Football team. Go Bods!

Where Has October Gone and What is Next?

Is it hard for others to believe we are in the middle of October? It seems like a blur the past year and half and it only keeps going faster through the days and months. Before long it will be 2022 and I will be talking about it being hard to believe we are half-way through 2022. Wow! I know time seems to speed up as I get older, but I could use it slowing down just a little. 

Speaking of things going by fast, baseball season is nearing an end. The regular season ended just two weeks ago and we are into the playoffs. I am having fun watching the games although I really do not have a dog in the fight, but enjoy watching the games. Of course football season is chugging right along. Not anywhere near where I thought the Chiefs would be at this point in the season (2 - 3) so we need to be careful or we might end up missing out on the playoffs. The start of practices started for college basketball and here before long we will have the first games of the 2021-2022 season. I cannot wait!

We are preparing for another camping trip. Like our first time we went back in April, this will be a chilly camping trip. We are excited and looking forward to a few days outside. We are planning to take Oliver, but with it being 39 degrees on Saturday morning when I am writing this update, I am a little concerned it might be too cold for Oliver. We will have him in a sweater and fires going every night, but he has been shivering just about every time we let him outside here the past week or so and today is the coldest it has been thus far. So, we will see how he does on our camping adventure. Carrie and I cannot wait to get out there to camp and relax. We are taking lawn games to play during the day and look forward to just relaxing for a few days. 

Overall, a relaxing weekend and I am looking forward to a lazy Sunday with football, naps, and grilling in the evening for dinner. Oh, I do have to mow Sunday morning. Our yard is doing great after over seeding a few weeks ago. The bare spots in our yard are now covered with nice green grass. Keeping the watering going and hopefully through the winter months and the grass will still be in the yard. In the spring, I plan to work on the flower beds in our front yard to get them looking presentable. There is always something to be done.

The end of October, Carrie and I are hoping to connect with a friend for dinner and then pop into Lawrence another weekend to meet my Uncle and Aunt for dinner that we have not seen in a long-time. We are also trying to line up a time for Javier to come visit us in November for Washburn football and hanging out, so hopefully a lot more to write about as October ends and November gets started. There I go again putting us into November and making the months fly by…

Until the next time, have a great week!

Fun Weekend with Sports, Nice Weather, and More Sports

We started off the weekend by attending a Washburn volleyball game Friday night. Washburn volleyball team is ranked #1 in the country and has a seven game winning streak. The first two sets were fast winning by a huge margin. The third set we lost a bit of focus and lost but came right back and won the last set to win the match. Carrie and I went to the game and had a great time. Only six home games remain on the regular season, so hoping we can make it to a few more before the regular season ends. Washburn volleyball plays again this evening, but we are headed to the Washburn football game, so likely will not make it to the volleyball game tonight.

Saturday, we had talked about a few of us going to the tailgate and game. When it came time to leave for the tailgate (around 11 am) others decided they were going to skip as it was going to be hot. I took a few chairs and a tent earlier in the day as I took the car for work. So, when I went at 11, I only took a cooler. I saw fellow fans and hung out at the spot. The game started and I got a notice on my phone of activity at our front door. I also got a notice that Carrie was leaving the house, so I checked our Ring app and I could see Carrie leaving with a cooler. I thought, well, that is kind of odd. I could then see her heading my way on Find My app and eventually Carrie and Greg came walking up. It was pretty cool! They came and joined me for the game. 

It was supposed to be hot (low 90s) but it turned out to be really nice. A breeze that was blowing and overcast, so it helped with the heat. We had a good time and talked with our neighbor, John, about combining our tailgate spots in the future as both of us are struggling to get others to join our spots. I told him I was certainly open to doing so. Washburn won 23-20 in overtime. It was a strolling end to the game.  We hung out a while after the game before eventually cleaning up and heading home. 

Carrie and I thought about going to another volleyball as they were playing at 6 again Saturday night, but we both decided we were tired after doing the tailgate and game. We had a fun day and I am looking forward to Chiefs playing tonight. 

Normally at this time of year, I would be on the road back from Helena, Arkansas from the King Biscuit Blues Festival, but with it being canceled this year, missing out on the festival, seeing friends, and the travel to/from Helena. I miss seeing all of our family and friends for the King Biscuit Blues Festival, but hopefully we will be back in a year. It has been fun seeing family and friends post memories from past festivals, but I cannot wait to get down there again. 

Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you later…

No Exercise Happening Around Here… Time to Get Focused

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I was getting back on the bike after taking a long break from early July? Well, that getting back biking and working out only happened for about a week (see Back to Bike Riding from August 15) never happened. I rode the bike for exactly one week (three days a week) and then never got back on it. Part of this was simply because I did not have time, but the other was that I had no motivation to get on the bike again. After spending November to June biking weekly, I dropped off cold and having a difficult time to get back on the bike let alone exercise. 

The new plan is that here in about two weeks, I am going to start biking again. I plan to get up early and bike in the mornings. The good thing is that Carrie is going to do so with me so she can do Yoga. I think having one another getting up will help motivate. I am hopefully that it will take me long to get back in biking form. When I tried it for that week back in August, I was so sore I could barely walk, so that did not help with the motivation either.

To help me stay motivated once this starts, I plan to start writing about my progress here on this site. If nothing else, if I know I need to write an update at least once a month on my progress, that will give me a goal to strive to so I can get back into shape. It is so easy to just stop and it takes a lot of determination to get it going again… it can be difficult. Let’s Go!

YouTube TV May Drop Channels — Come On! Every Few Months It is a Battle!

While watching television Monday night, I see a Commerical go across my YouTube TV saying how YouTube TV might take away my channels. The advertisement directed me to https://youneedchannels.com/ to send tweets, or chat with Google, or switch providers, so that I will not lose my channels. This is crazy! Every few months, regardless of provider, we are either on the verge of losing channels or losing channels (see MLB and Sinclair post) about how YouTube TV subscribers lost Royals games, but it is not just sports, it seems we are constantly on the verge of losing what we have available to watch. It is not just YouTube TV, but I see this across the board from other providers and people ranting about how they are going to lose their channels. 

In the recent update, it sounds as though we might lose NBC channels which includes a multitude of other channels including Bravo, Golf Channel, USA, etc., so it could be a huge segment of our channels that might disappear. YouTube TV did tell us through an email that if the channels do disappear, they will reduce our monthly bill by $10 to make up for the number of channels that disappear. 

Updated note from September 30 from YouTube TV is that nothing has changed. We do still have the NBC channels, but negotiations are still in progress, so who knows what will happen.

On Saturday, we received a note that NBC and YouTube TV came to terms and we will keep NBC. Thank goodness! Still, we go through this process and it needs to stop.

Oliver Turned Ten Back in June and September 24 it is Ten Years with Our Family

Sometimes it takes FaceBook to pop up a reminder to remind us how old our little puppy is in our family. Is that bad? For some reason, both Carrie and I were thinking that he was 11 this year. Until a memory showed up on FaceBook earlier this week to remind us that we brought little Oliver into our family ten years ago to the day. Although he was born in June 2011, we for some reason had been thinking the past year or two he was older. We celebrate his birthday in June and also celebrate his joining our family in September.

I thought it was time to provide backstory of how Oliver became a part of our lives. Some already know this story, but use it as an excuse to post pictures and story of our little dog. On June 7, 2011 we had to put our dear cat, Sidney, to rest (see Sidney Our Friend). Carrie and I were both so sad even though we knew the time was fast approaching as he was old and could barely get around the house. He was having problems with going to the bathroom and not himself the weeks leading up to the decision to put him down. We had watched his body and character change over the previous months and in consulting with our vet, we made the difficult decision to put him down. We were so sad and decided we would not get a pet for a long time.

Then along came a Washburn Alumni fun run with friends in September 2011. We finished the run and our friends Shayne and Autumn asked if we wanted to stop by a local pet store to look at dogs. Of course we said sure and went with them to look at dogs. Lesson learned on that one and only go to a pet store if looking for a pet not just to look. We looked at a few dogs through the window and eventually we saw a little long legged dog with black and white fur playing, or trying to play, with his brothers and sisters. His little bottom up in the air as he was chewing on a toy, seeing him run around, and having the time of his life. Carrie said I think we need to see that one right there. 

We took him to a little space where we could hold and play with the little guy. The next thing I knew, Carrie was holding him and saying how we need to take him home. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she held the little puppy. We later found out that his name before we had him was Trooper II. So we still refer to him sometimes as little Trooper. Carrie crying and telling me I need to hold Trooper II, I picked him up and looked back at Carrie and had tears going down my face. He was perfect!

Some how it was only Carrie and I that came away purchasing a pet. Shayne and Autumn had the idea to look at dogs, but they managed to walk away without a new member of their family. Granted, we had to wait until the next day to pick up Trooper II. We did buy supplies so we could be ready for him when he came home and we Discovered the Moment to buy Trooper II and all of the supplies. 

The next day we brought Trooper II home and named him Oliver. For the first few years we had him, we would buy him toys just about every time we went to the pet store for food or came across something we thought it would like. He had so many toys that we had two bins where we kept his toys. We recently weeded out his toys and down to one bin. We donated his toys to friends with dogs and Human Shelter for dogs looking for a home. 

Oliver was my first dog to buy and have to train from as a little puppy. Other dogs that had been in my life were bought and trained by my parents or siblings with dogs they had acquired through the years. Having a new little puppy as so fun but also exhausting. Getting up multiple times through the night to take him out to go to the bathroom, get him acquainted with going outside, and making sure he was not chewing through the furniture. We bought gates so we could keep him in one room to keep an eye on him. 

Some of my favorite memories of Oliver was setting up a webcam so we could “watch” him while we were at work. I set it up so my parents could watch too. In the early years of Oliver being with our family, we kept him in his kennel during the day. We could not trust him in the house to not get into things or cause a mess, so I set up a webcam that broadcast with a private link so we could keep an eye on him during the day or when we were away. I recall when Carrie or I would get home from work, my parents would usually be calling at the same time as they were watching “Oliver Cam” to see his reaction as we returned home. I have some voice messages from my Dad when he would be on the phone watching Oliver and saying he knows we are home as he can see him getting excited.

To this day, Oliver still loves his kennel. We allow him full roam of the house, but his kennel is his safe spot. He goes there when the weather is bad or he is scared. He goes there when we are leaving for work. We leave the door open on it all the time but he still goes there to sometimes sleep or just wait for us to leave the house. One of our favorite things he does is that when we are leaving he goes to his kennel and we sometimes forget things so we come back and he will be in the middle of the family room looking at the garage door as if he is busted he is not in his kennel. He will quickly run back to his kennel as if to say he is a good boy. It makes us laugh each time.

           

A few photos of Oliver through the years. We love our boy so much and so happy he is part of our lives. He is the best dog in the world even if he is a little testy when taking him on walks, he is the best.

Happy joining our family anniversary, Oliver, and I look forward to celebrating with you again next year. We love you!