I almost didn't make it to celebrate this year.

In the past, my birthday hasn't been a very big deal. I mean, as an adult, celebrating birthdays just never seemed like the thing to do in our family. In fact, I recall hearing about how one of my sisters threatened to walk out of a restaurant when her co-workers were going to bring out a cake and sing Happy Birthday to her. And, I, myself, once threatened a Joe's Crab Shack waiter with a broken arm if he tried to get me to stand up and sing on my birthday. It's just how I roll.

Or, what's that in your pocket?

It's not quite the "birthday" of the mouse, but...

MedicineBall

Originally uploaded by Network Geek
Or, how the Network Geek plans to look good naked.

Over the past couple years, I've written a number of posts about wifi.

I mean, I remember when wifi was a real novelty. In fact, we've rather gone through a cycle with wireless, from free to pay to free again. Well, mostly free. Free for some. Mostly. In any case, there's so much wifi around these days that I think we sort of take for granted that, sooner or later, we'll find a wifi connection and be able to use it.

Lately, I've been very concerned with my own discipline and how that relates to creative output.

It seems to me that I have increasingly lost the ability to focus on creative tasks for long periods of time, which, of course, is somewhat detrimental to actually producing a finished product. In short, my skills of concentration have gotten soft. It may be due, in part, to the nature of my work, which often draws me in several directions at once. Or, it may simply be a part of my nature that I used to have under better control. Regardless, concentration is, I think, the key.

Aftermath03
Originally uploaded by Network Geek
I should give you all a little update on the barely controlled chaos that was Thanksgiving Day at my house.

MarkFloodPublicity

Originally uploaded by Network Geek
I had lunch with my very-soon-to-be-very-famous artist friend Mark Flood today.

I love stories and today is the National Day of Listening.

One of the hardest things to explain to geeks on a helpdesk is that the everything they do is about people. It's not about systems or networks or computers, but, rather, the people who use them. It's amazing to me how many people don't seem to get that. And, for me, people are about stories. The story of someone's life can be a fascinating thing, if we just take the time to listen.

I'm so behind, I think I'm catching up to myself!