I have a friend. No, really. Look, I’m not going to continue until you stop laughing. That’s better. We will call my friend Jonathan (because that’s his name). Jonathan is about my age, around 6’ 6” tall, has a deep booming voice, a big beaming smile, and is an all-round good guy. Admittedly, he does have a penchant for blowing his shofar in his friends’ ears when they least expect it, but we all have our little foibles (some of mine are quite large, although I try not to boast).
Jonathan has been going through some trying times since shortly after I met him a couple of years ago. His elderly mother, who he looks after, suffers from poor health and dementia. She’s taken to hiding things and then claiming that people are sneaking into the house and stealing them. An operation on Jonathan’s neck earlier this year went badly and will require a lot of rehabilitation in the coming months. And, just the other day, a homicidal deer flung itself in front of his car, writing off the machine and almost killing the man.
Not surprisingly, all of this has brought Jonathan down low. Thus, for several months now, I’ve commenced each day by sending him a short text explaining why that day is the “Best Day Ever.”
A slap in the face with a wet kipper
Of course, lady luck is not averse to slapping anyone in the face with a wet kipper, as it were. We all have to take our turn, and mine came a few days ago as I pen these words. “Oh dear,” I thought to myself (or words to that effect), “color me surprised.” There’s no need for us to go into details here. We all have our ups and downs. Suffice it to say that things went pear-shaped for a couple of days, during which I had to remind myself why each day is the “Best Day Ever.”
But “it’s all good,” as they say. At the time of this writing, I’m preparing to fly out to Silicon Valley to speak at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) where I’ll be presenting two papers: Crossfade & Scroll-Back Effects, Switch Bounce, Metastability & More… and AI Apocalypse: Is it Time to be Scared Yet? I’m really looking forward to presenting my papers, meeting up with old friends, and networking like a champion. It’s going to be the Best Week Ever!
Another fine cheese…
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, and biographer. In his spare time, he was a literary and art critic. As Gilbert once noted, “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”
The reason I mention this is that, in addition to being outrageously handsome, a trendsetter, and a leader of fashion, I’m also one of the finest technical writers of my generation (according to my mother), and I continue to mature like a fine cheese (according to the blurb on the back cover of my most recent book).
I don’t think it’s fair of me to hide my light under bushel, so — In addition to my technical writing and consulting activities — I’ve decided to post my cogitations, ruminations, and rambling musings on my new Cool Beans Blog (the one you are currently reading). If you see anything you find interesting, it would be great if you could share your thoughts with the rest of us in the comments.
Good luck Max!
https://gph.is/13CBaoc
Thanks Matt — I’m currently having a lot of fun 🙂
Max,
All the best
Thanks Aubrey — and thanks also for checking all my postings with your eagle-eye 🙂
Max— you always brighten up my day! You are just like a ray of sunshine—- that’s why your mom called you ‘Sonny’
Thanks for the kind words Steve — my mom always used to tell me I was special, and I foolishly took it to be a complement (my dad always said I was beautiful when I was asleep, and I thought he meant that as a complement also … it was only years later when I thought, “hang on a minute…” LOL)
I’ve often asked myself: “Whom is it that gets to classify happenings as either bad or good (or any specific point on the continuum in between)?” In my case, the answer is: “That would be me, and I can find good in many places where others may not.”
I must admit that I feel fortunate and blessed to have an optimistic outlook on life and a happy disposition — I can generally extract some fun out of most situations that fall my way — but I think that’s also because I’ve always lived in countries like England and America — there are so many people out there that never had the chances I’ve enjoyed (OK, now I’m sad)
If it’s any consolation, I’ve been wet-kippered in the face a couple of times. My advice is to design/build something nifty. (That’s what I’ve been doing.) You’ve seen, done, and tinkered with an awful lot of things over the years. I’ll bet there’s a cool piece of whiz-bang in there somewhere you can call your own.
Hi Ron — I like the idea of designing and building something nifty — the only problem is that all my creations take vast amounts of time and effort — no one would be willing to pay me for them (in many cases I’d have to pay people to take them away LOL)
You made me immediately think of the fish dance skit from an old Monty Python episode. Nicely done.
Old words of wisdom: when life gives you lemons, you take those lemons and shove them down someone’s $%&!!*# throat!
Making people think of the fish dance skit from an old Monty Python episode when they read my articles is a skill — not many writers can do that LOL
Best blog ever!
You are very discerning LOL Please share with everyone at Publitek and also tell all your friends 😎
That Deer cost be $6200 for my car repair. I now have a beef with Santa because after I hit it it definitely was a “flying reindeer. lol
Are you sure it isn’t Santa who has a beef with you? (also, is “beef” appropriate when we are talking about low-flying deer?)