I find it absolutely amazing how much one can learn from a conversation unlooked for and unexpected. It is, perhaps, how I learn the most about myself, though I am still unsure of my destination. That, I think, will come with time and probably from a source I do not yet understand.

The days are warm here in this place I call home. Sometimes they are even stifling and summer has barely begun. Some rain would be nice, too instead of just the constant heat and humidity.

I found something quite unusual or perhaps unexpected, anyway. An old friend from years ago whom I think about from time to time, someone who I didn't think ever thought about me anymore let alone still considered me a friend was kind enough to place a link on her Blog to my Blog. (This Blog is like to that Blog said the first Blog, but in this place not in that place.) Yes, that is a silly line modified from a Hobbit riddle. In any case, I was surprised and stunned. To be completely honest, I really didn't think she liked me well enough to call me an acquaintance, let alone a friend. Will wonders never cease? (I certainly hope not.)

I participated in Taekwondo class this evening for the first time in about two weeks. The sweat was so thick in my DoBok that I could wring it out and still have plenty to spare. Alas that we were in the air conditioned room instead of the gym. It would have been even hotter. Yet, it was still very much enjoyable. I taught, I learned and generally speaking, enjoyed both. A young gentleman with ADHD was in class as well, my group, no less, but he seems to have come a long way since last summer. Although he still had difficulty paying attention 100% of the time, he did do much better on the form than I expected and when he asked questions, they were generally about the form instead of some completely and totally unrelated topic. I wonder if he is taking medication or if the Taekwondo has actually helped or some combination thereof.

My supervisor continues to get under my skin from time to time but he also seems to trust me a bit further than he used to. Whether that is because he has no choice or because I have somehow shown merit in his eyes, I do not know. Perhaps it does not matter. Perhaps good things will come to pass in the fullness of time there, too. I know not and I'm not holding my breath. ;-)

My new UPS continues to be a pest. When I acquired it last Sunday and plugged it in, it indicated that it only had 2% of its battery charged. I allowed it to charge for quite some time (10+ hours) and that improved to 100% but the duration of battery life remained under 7 minutes. Considering I really don't have that much plugged into it (at the moment, only my computer and monitor), it should have close to 60 minutes of backup time. I contacted Tech Support and they replied that I should test and see how long it would really run. In actuality, it ran for about 24 minutes, but that's still a lot less than I expected and even after recharging it from being completely drained, it still only thinks it has 6:53 minutes of charge. *sigh* Oh well. It looks like another trip to Best Buy for a replacement unless Tech Support has any other ideas up their collective sleeves. (Hmm, the Sleeve Collective is an interesting idea. "We are Sleeves. Your arms will be covered. Resistance is futile." Okay, never mind. That's just silly. Pants Collective: Now that could be amusing. Of course, sexual innuendo is almost always funnier than just straight silliness.)

Ah, but speaking of humor, a friend of mine sent this joke to me today and I thought it well worth my time to place it here since most of my readers will at least get it even if the don't laugh their collective asses off like I did. (Hmm, The Ass Collective. Nah, never mind.) On with the humor:

A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in an Armani suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the shepherd, "If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?"

The shepherd looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing flock and calmly answers, "Sure. Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.
The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.
He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulas.
He uploads all of this data via an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the shepherd and says, "You have exactly 1586 sheep."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my sheep." says the shepherd.
He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the shepherd says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"
"You're a consultant." says the shepherd. "Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the shepherd. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked; and you don't know shit about my business...

" ... Now give me back my dog."