The Colonel's Forum

Let me cut straight to it.  Tony de Movellan throws one helluva Christmas party.  It may be the only Christmas related thing I look forward to each year.  Technically, it's Ella's office Christmas party, but this thing is so far from any stereotypical office Christmas party that you wouldn't believe it.  Some people at this thing I only see once a year, but they're all Realtors so they all remember me!  Tony and his wife Barbara always pick a wonderful meal (roast pork this year) and buy a few cases of good Spanish wine.  Tony actually apologized to me this year because he forgot to specify the vintage and they gave him "this awful '05 stuff."  Yeah Tony - people were complaining all night about the junky Spanish wine you were serving.  He then proceeded to break out a bottle of the '04 for me to sample, which was significantly better, but lets keep in mind that the 5% of invitees in the "oenophile" category were happy regardless.   Bob and D...

I'm noticing a trend in Des Moines weather. URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 414 AM CST MON DEC 8 2008 ...WINTER STORM CONDITIONS LATE TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY TUESDAY... .LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAINS AND MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL MISSOURI AND THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. THE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A MODERATE TO HEAVY AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS CENTRAL IOWA. THE SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTHERN IOWA AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY MORNING. FARTHER SOUTH THE PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN AS RAIN BEFORE THE TRANSITION TO SNOW...WITH A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLE DURING THE TRANSITION. INCREASING NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCED VISIBILITY AND GREATLY HAMPER TRAVEL CONDITIONS LATER TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. EXPECT THE BLOWING SNOW TO CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS EVEN AFTER THE SNOW ENDS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. Sounds like another great week t...

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 610 AM CST WED DEC 3 2008 ...WINTER WEATHER EXPECTED TODAY... .A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL IOWA TODAY. SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER NORTHWEST IOWA AND WILL GRADUALLY INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES INTO CENTRAL IOWA THIS MORNING. SNOW WILL THEN INCREASE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA BY MID TO LATE MORNING. IN ADDITION... NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH CAUSING BLOWING SNOW. This is what I woke up to today. Obviously, I'm still working in Des Moines. It's actually a really nice town, but the weather here is awful. Thankfully there is a massive system of sky-walks downtown that connect all the major buildings. Most importantly, they connect the Marriott where I'm staying to the Principal offices where I work. Nice. The city of Lexington is after me again for yet another piece of fence that's apparently mine and is definitely falling down. We fixed o...

It's taken a while for it to sink in that we're finally getting a new President.  I know we have an election every 4 years, and I know that you're only allowed to serve 2 terms as President, but somehow I just expected Dick Cheney to define a new position of "Supreme Leader" or something like that to allow "W" to rule indefinitely.  All signs indicate this is not the case though, and that Barack Hussein Obama will be sworn in as our next President in January.  Even though I still don't know what Gore or Kerry would've done, I think I'll always regret having voted for "W" twice.  The tax breaks were nice, but was it worth it now that I have to take my shoes off every week at the airport? Oh yeah, and I'm tired of people not using his middle name.  We use middle names when we talk about our Presidents, and I think it's stupid to not use his just because it was (unfortunately) shared with Saddam.  The name Hussein is probably l...

I've started a new project this week, this time in Des Moines Iowa. Hey, it's better than Findlay, Ohio. The people here are great and there's even a [fancy] Marriott hotel downtown. Plus everything downtown is connected via skywalks so you can avoid the cold wind that rips through town. Ella and I recently completed our run on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our timing was great and the weather was excellent. Let me just say that road trips take on a whole new dimension in a Porsche Boxster. We took some hikes, saw some waterfalls and historic sites, and spent 3 days relaxing with the top down. It was wonderful. At Ella's request, we have also picked up a sister for Tobi at the Woodford Humane Society. We haven't named her yet, but she's an Australian Kelpie Shepherd mix. Looks like a miniature german shepherd. I'm still deciding how I feel about having two dogs, but I have to admit that I think it was a wise move. Tobi was getting tired of laying around...

It's finally starting to cool down here in Lexington, and the leaves are starting to turn. Fall has always been my favorite season, and here in Lexington there is much to enjoy. We've started tailgating for UK football games again, which is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. UK is on the lower end of the SEC spectrum, but last year they beat LSU so you never know what might happen. Fall also means racing season at Keeneland. This is another excellent way to spend an afternoon. We've got family and friends coming into town every weekend. As an added bonus this fall, Ella and I have purchased a roadster. After much searching, many test drives, and a lot of patience, we found the perfect road-trip car. Pictured here is our "new-to-us" Porsche Boxster. Yes, it's as fun as it looks. We bought it with 9,000 miles on it, and we plan to put a great many more on it. The first trip we've planned is a run on the blue ridge parkway after our Keenel...

This is the Marine Corps' AH-1W "Super Cobra" attack helicopter. It's an impressive piece of hardware. It carries all kinds of weapons, and is typically used for close air support. My cousin Tim tells me "everything we do is based on supporting the Marine on the ground with a gun." In the next 30 days, the Marine Corps will hand Tim the keys to one of these bad boys and teach him how to do just that. Between now and then, Tim gets to attend SERE training. That's Survive, Escape, Resist, Escape training. Sounds like not a lot of fun, but compared with other things he's done, I'm sure he'll do fine. I attended Tim's winging ceremony this weekend and it was a real eye opener into the life of a Naval Aviator. In short, I am amazed at what these guys do, and so far they've only been in training helicopters. They learn the basics of flight in a T-34 airplane, then they fly the "mighty sea ranger" bell trainer helicopters...

OK, so it's been a while since I've posted here. Like you people don't have better things to do. Frankly, I have little if anything to report. I've been bored out of my skull for about a month now. Nothing new at work, nothing new at home. We've got about 6 projects that should kick off any day now, but that's been the case for two months. I'm officially an HP employee now. The only change that affects me so far is that the HP travel policy does not allow anyone to fly business class, ever. Looks like I won't be returning to Europe any time soon. I got in a minor car accident that could've been a major one. Ella sold a couple more houses. The two major presidential candidates are still lying to us, and lying about each other. The "decider" is still making awful decisions. August 16th marked a full TWO YEARS that the homeland security threat level has been at "orange" for airports. I'm off to Pensacola today for ...

Nothing to report on the job front. Our merger is supposed to be complete in the coming weeks, but I'm not sure if I'll even notice a difference. I'm still hoping to get out to San Diego. Frank is optimistic we'll start a project out there in the coming weeks as well. After the Amsterdam trip got canceled, I'm not keeping my hopes up. Ella and I toured some downtown lofts this week. It was great to see how downtown Lexington is growing. Some of the places even reminded me of old town Chicago. Of course, Lexington downtown doesn't even have a grocery store, let alone a Red Head Piano Bar, so I don't see myself plunking down $300K to move down there anytime soon. Got to visit my cousins last week who are back from Jakarta, Indonesia where they spent the past two years. They are quite happy to be home and will be returning to school this fall. They range in age from 7-15 so it was quite an adventure for them spending two years over there. My cousin Ev...

It's been in the 90s here for a few weeks now and I'm pretty much done with the heat. All the landscaping we did seemed like a good idea until now we have to water it several times a week so it doesn't all die from the heat. Went to Ikea a few weeks back and picked up a new rail-light system for the kitchen. Ikea is a great store. We even had dinner there - Swedish meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce, of course. At $4.99/plate, we may be dining there more often. Ella went to her 2nd Buffet concert of the summer this weekend. Drove to Chicago with 3 girlfriends to see it. Kris and I went to the Horseshoe casino in southern Indiana last night and cleaned up at the craps table. It was Kris' first time playing craps, and it was great little road trip. Boston and Styx are in concert there tonight. Can't say I'm missing much there. Last week, for the 2nd time in my life, I missed a flight. I checked in on time, but the security line at San Jose air...

This is arguably one of the most important news stories in recent memory and I doubt it will get the press coverage it deserves. It's not the kind of catchy McNews that CNN can easily dilute into a 30 second spot. It requires an understanding of how our government works and how we've handled "police actions" and "armed conflicts." A bipartisan committee led by Jim Baker and Warren Christopher has concluded that we don't have an effective policy that specifies how the President and Congress need to work together when the President determines that we need to engage in an armed conflict somewhere . History buffs will recall that the last time Congress declared war was June 5, 1942, when we declared war against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. Since then we have had a lot of cases where the President just sent troops to go fight somewhere: Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm (Iraq I), Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Iraqi Freedom (Iraq II), Panama, Grenada, Kos...

I know it seems a bit silly for a 30 year old to be talking about growing old, but I am, and I've been reminded of this be several recent events. First, I attended the 30th birthday of a good friend here in Lexington, which reminded me that I've already celebrated my 30th. Second, we're making plans for Mardi Gras next year where we will celebrate another friend's 30th and for a cruise that will take place during Ella's 30th. Tonight I was watching Cream perform "In a White Room" during a 2005 concert at the Royal Albert hall and I was thinking "why are all the rockers that I like so old?" It looked like some kind of geriatric hoe-down on stage. Neil Young, Willie Nelson, BB King, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan - these guys are all older than dirt. I was waiting for Clapton to ask "where's my apple sauce?" I offered my cousin some grape Nehi and Everclear today for the anniversary of her 29th birthday (I won't say which anniversary)...

I got a new computer. Actually , EDS has leased a new computer which I get to use, but whatever. It's a Dell D430 and it's easily the nicest laptop I've ever had. It's an ultra-light which is great for taking on business trips, and it's screaming fast. Now if only it were an apple instead of a Windows machine... My best friend Joe is buying a house . The details are not finalized, but it'll most likely be a town home on the northeast side of Indianapolis. I couldn't be happier for the guy. I'm going to Amsterdam . Apparently we do a lot of work for ABN AMRO - a big Dutch bank. It's a 8-9 week project and I'm really looking forward to it. This week they banned smoking in the Netherlands with the exception of marijuana. Seriously. Hopefully I'll get to fly over there on KLM - a proper airline. I get to fly over there business class too. EDS may be one of the last companies that still allows its employees to fly business class on ...

Ella and I are sitting in Hernando's Hideaway (the gazebo on our deck) this evening, listening to the 2 hours of New Orleans music that plays on Sirius channel 70 every Saturday night. We decided that we could come up with a pretty good list of things that one ought to do if one were seeking a slice of Americana. Here it is: Spend a Mardi Gras weekend in New Orleans, to include: Thursday night at the Rock-n-Bowl and Kermit Ruffins at Vaughan's , Friday plantation tour and an airboat ride on the bayou, Saturday parades and an evening at the Tropical Isle . Spend a Spring Saturday at Keeneland - ideally Bluegrass stakes weekend. Start the day with a tour of Woodford Reserve distillery, one of the better producers of "America's Native Spirit." Spend a Friday night on Broadway in Nashville. Spend a Saturday night in Chicago at Buddy Guy's and the Redhead Piano Bar Visit Phillip's harborplace crab house in Baltimore with some friends. Order stea...

It's quite possible that the most beautiful country song ever recorded was Willie Nelson's version of "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain." It's a tune that Fred Rose wrote in 1945, but no one had ever heard of it until Willie recorded it in 1975. Sometimes good songwriting skills just aren't enough - it takes a certain voice to deliver the message. Ask John Sumners or his wife Lisa - they know. This is part of the reason I absolutely despise American Idol. A good 90% of that show is a combination of awful songs performed by awful singers who have no sense of the true meaning of the lyrics. It certainly appeals to 15 year old girls and a frightening number of women my age, but it's just not a talent competition. It's a popularity contest which confirms to the world that Americans have no taste, as if there was room for doubt. On the latest season, they featured Niel Diamond as a guest artist. I know this because my wife will record all the episode...

Well, I have to say it was a successful memorial day weekend in Indianapolis. I took a first timer this year and I have to say I was very excited to see the crowds getting bigger rather than smaller at the speedway. Hopefully the new drivers and the merger of IRL and Champ Car will continue to improve the popularity of the sport. Plus it makes Saturday night on Georgetown road all that much more interesting. Three women started the race, but only one finished though, and it wasn't the one everyone wanted (Danica Patrick). Jim Nabors was back to sing "Back Home in Indiana" and I have to say I shed a tear. There is something to be said for tradition. There were over 400 military on hand too, which was great to see, and we certainly showed our appreciation. Today I'm off to NYC to begin wrapping up this latest project. I'm doing it as a one day trip, which means trusting that Delta won't leave me stranded in NY tonight. I'm also sporting a brand new D...

The disappointing, yet predictable outcome from the primary season (which is over, Hillary), is that these now infamous "working-class white voters" are racist. Of the Democrats surveyed leaving the polls in Kentucky yesterday who said that race was a factor in their decision (1 in 5), 90% of them voted for Hillary. Way to go Kentucky! Congratulations on confirming to the rest of the World that a great number of our citizens have not yet joined the 21st century! Way to vote for a sneaky, phony white woman, funded by special interests who's lived in Washington for 16 years now over an honest, intelligent black man who's a Washington outsider, who won't accept special interest money and might bring legitimate change to America. Let me summarize Hillary's strategy with these working-class white voters - "Lie." Tell unionized labor that you're going to save their jobs. Tell them you're going to cancel NAFTA because it's shipping American...

It stands for get out the vote. I learned that last week when I volunteered a day of my time to work for Barack Obama, the man I believe is the best choice for President. Spending a day working for a campaign was interesting. I made some phone calls and did some data entry for them, but what was more interesting was watching the real campaign workers in action. These were certainly some passionate volunteers who really believe that they have the ability to affect Senator Obama's showing in the Kentucky Democratic Primary today. I hope they are right. What really gets me is how many media outlets are comparing Kentucky with West Virginia. Yes, we both have coal mines, Appalachian poverty and, statistically, poor dental hygiene . Take a look at the Daily Show excerpt from West Virginia's primary day. Now, they can probably find some people like that in Kentucky, but those people moved here from West Virginia. Sadly, I think the march of Robo-Hillary will continue. I wond...

Attended an Indian engagement ceremony between my brother-in-law and his soon to be bride. Way cool. Ella got to wear a Sari - even cooler. Got to stay at the 4 seasons hotel in Atlanta while attending #1 above - highly civilized I'm still in between projects at work, which also means I'm bored out of my mind Hillary Clinton's KY Derby pick (the only filly in the field) broke both ankles and had to be put down after the race. By the end of this year, it appears I'll be working for Hewlett-Packard . My mom again secured Indy500 race tickets. I think this will be the 14th year that Joe and I have attended together. We had an outstanding crawfish boil thanks largely to the work of our chefs - Dennis and Diana Charles. In addition to the crawfish (80 lbs.) we had BBQ shrimp, alligator, and a gi-normous pot of jambalaya. We also killed a keg of Abita Amber. Life is good.

That's what they called the orientation sessions at my first consulting job back in 2000. They had some senior partner teach us how to shake hands and smile at our clients. He told us to wear clothes made from synthetic fibers because they look more expensive than natural fibers. Let's just say this guy wasn't exactly in touch with reality. He was pretty much just teaching us how to not make our new employer look bad when we were out on an "engagement" - what us consultants call a project. I've moved around to three different consulting organizations since then, and I can confirm that consulting is a funny business. Companies hire us to tell them things they should already know, and to solve problems that they should be able to solve on their own. We charge high hourly rates, and we charge our clients for our travel expenses as well, both of which are standard practices across this industry. Still, consulting in the US is a multi-billion dollar a year i...

Mrs. Brann and I just returned from a week on St. John, which is quite possibly the most beautiful 20 square miles of beach front property in the US. Spring has been slow in coming to the Bluegrass this year, so the weather down there was a nice change of pace. Most of St. John is a national park , and I can't think of a better way to put our tax dollars to work than maintaining some of the finest beaches in the world. There is even an underwater snorkeling trail, and I can now say from experience that it will take your breath away. Upon our return, we were able to lose some money during opening weekend at Keeneland. It was cold and overcast, but this just solidified my long standing theory that there is no such thing as a bad day at the races. We even got to meet up with Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Branic Esq., who were visiting from the Circle City. Sunday I was able to talk them into a trip to Woodford Reserve distillery, my spiritual home (HAHAHA!!!), and I think it's safe t...

1) Today, Ford finalized the deal to sell both Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors. The irony of an Indian company owning these two icons of British industry amuses me. Heck, H.R.H. queen Elizabeth II was Queen of India when she ascended to the throne in 1953. 2) I bought a new roof this week. It cost over twice as much as my new big screen, and it's not nearly as entertaining to watch. My crazy realtor wife though seems to think that a functioning roof is an important feature of a home. Whatever. 3) I learned that I might as well skip the Kentucky primary elections. I wanted to change my party affiliation to "other" but because Kentucky has closed primaries, that wouldn't do my any good. Right now I'm registered as a Republican, and the deadline to switch to Democrat and still vote in the primaries was December 31st of last year. Oops. So I can show up and vote for John McCain. Whoop dee do. 4) Leave it to the students at Butler Univers...

Here are some highlights of what I did last week on a business trip to New York city: Developed and delivered a sales presentation with a team of colleagues Won some new business for EDS Got to experience commuting from White Plains to NYC - not something I'd do on a daily basis, let me tell you that. Got "Delta'd" - my return flight was canceled for no apparent reason at all, though Delta blames the weather so that they don't have to compensate anyone Took a $106 cab ride to Jersey City, NJ, the location of the nearest hotel with an available room (a lot of people got Delta'd at Laguardia that day) Spent the night in charming Jersey City. If you're thinking about taking a vacation there, consider Gary, IN instead. Wrote a complaint letter to Delta and got a "sorry about your luck" in response. On the up side, I may get to spend a good portion of the spring traveling to NYC, which would be an interesting change of pace. I'm tired of being ...

George is in the jungle knockin’ on the door come to get your children wants to have a war Brownie's in the outhouse Katrina on the line government's a disaster but George, he says it’s fine Come on, lord you’d better run, be a long dark night before this thing is done The above lyrics are the opening to John Fogerty's "Long Dark Night," one of many great songs on his "Revival" album. I highly recommend it. I also just picked up: 1) Porter Wagoner - Wagonmaster 2) Gloria Estefan - 90 Milas 3) Willie Nelson - Moment of Forever 4) Bruce Springsteen - Magic 5) Blind Boys of Alabama - Down in New Orleans 6) Mark Knopfler - Kill to get Crimson I also broke down and got a big screen TV - should get it home this week. It's a plasma, so you can't lay it on its side. Who knew? Mostly I'm looking forward to watching Dirty Jobs in high definition. I love that show. Oh, the TV is a 50" model from Samsung. In the coming days, we will h...

This is my last day out here in San Francisco, and on my walk to work this morning I found myself reflecting on what a great town this is. This is a city that works. If functions well, especially for a city of this size. With such a diverse population, it's hard to think of San Francisco as a true "American" city, since we're really not all that diverse. San Francisco feels more like the hybrid of a major financial center and a mid-size European city. The tip of the SF peninsula is a collection of micro-neighborhoods that often overlap. There's Chinatown, hippietown, yuppietown, old money on Nob Hill, the Castro and the Mission... a place for everyone. You can walk around town or take public transit - no real need for a car. Sure, the homeless people smell awful and they annoy you, but that's a small price to pay. The locals eat well here and live healthy lifestyles. Real estate prices and salaries are ridiculously high. The city council just passed a...

Mr. Obama’s triumphs [2/12/08] capped a week in which he went undefeated in states across the country, in many cases by big margins, over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. And his strength on Tuesday sliced across nearly every major demographic line, with one element standing out: in Virginia and Maryland, according to surveys of voters leaving the polls, he beat Mrs. Clinton among women. (emphasis added)

I bought a new pair of shoes this weekend. That's not particularly noteworthy, except that I noticed an interesting characteristic about them this morning. What I realized is that my choice of shoes was actually influenced by al Quaeda. Seriously. I bought a pair of slip on dress shoes because I have to take my shoes off twice a week for the TSA, because some Muslim extremists hijacked some planes back in 2001. Upon further investigation though, there's a bit more to it than that. When you travel as much as I do, you notice the small things. For example, the PA system at Lexington airport (formerly and more appropriately known as Bluegrass Field) tells me every Monday and Thursday that "The Homeland Security threat level has been raised to orange, please be aware of the increased threat." In contrast, at ATL, CVG, and SFO, the PA says "The Homeland Security threat level is orange." There are a couple small differences there, but enough to get me curi...

As January comes to a close, it's still much the same routine each week for me. Do laundry and pack Sunday night. Monday morning wake up at 4:45AM to get frisked by the TSA and then deal with ComAir, the worst regional airline in the business. Delta has been upgrading me to first class the past few weeks though, so that makes the 4 hours from Cincinnati to San Francisco a bit more tolerable. Three nights in San Francisco, then fly home on Thursday. Three day weekends with Ella and our friends, then repeat. Ella is having a stellar start to the year, with 3 or 4 real estate deals in the works. I am happy to report that she is no longer president of the Parrothead club, although I myself have picked up the presidency for our neighborhood association. Apparently showing up to two consecutive meetings qualifies me for that position. We're wrapping up our work at PG&E, which is a good thing because I'm pretty much done flying to California every week. Our projects no...