The Mask - A decision made easier?

Nothing has changed. The choice offered by my employer remains the same today as it did a couple of weeks ago - get the flu shot or be prepared to wear a mask when asked to do so.

As I mentioned previously, I've chosen to not get the shot. So the choice moved to which mask to wear.

I think I've narrowed it down to two choices. A compelling argument can be made for either.

Finalist #1 - As my mother reminded me via her scanning of a 1971 photo, I too once uttered those famous words spoken by Michael Keaton's rendition of the dark knight: "I'm Batman". So by choosing this one, I can roll old school. Other upsides include a cool car and my own personal butler.

Finalist #2 - As I strolled West 44th Street in New York City last Saturday (future blog entry), the image of the Phantom's big mask jumped right out at me - along with the word "Phenomenal!". It was as if some sort of karma-like, coincidental decision was being offered to me from on-high. Benefits? A nice apparel upgrade from my well-worn suits to a tuxedo and some cool orchestral music to accompany my trips out of the office. A big glaring negative? I'd likely have to accept a sewer gondola over a rental car for my local transportation needs.

I still have a few weeks to go before the final decision is made. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions?

TMC

Miranda Lambert is tops. No lying!

Forget Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, or Kellie Pickler. They are mere pretenders. Instead, choose Miranda Lambert as a much stronger female force in country or Americana music. But a word to the wise - don't cross her. With songs like White Liar, Kerosene, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, she's likely to get downright ornery if she gets scorned.

Earlier this year, I heard an interview with her on a Jacksonville, FL radio station. She had a great quip about how she writes songs. To paraphrase, she said "Lyin', cheatin', drinkin' & the Lord. That's what country music is all about." Pretty hard to disagree with that generalization.

Plus, you automatically trump all other peers when you've got a bass player in your band with a spiked mohawk.

Here is the official video of her new single "White Liar" (sorry about the leading ad)...



...and here she is singing it on Letterman.



On top of all that, she tweets too!

Update: After posting Monday night, The Tennessean published this interview with Miranda by Peter Cooper on Tuesday.

TMC

Yes, its a double standard

My daughter's middle school dance team took about a month break following the wrap-up of football season. Wednesday was the team's first day to re-group and start practicing again. We were talking about the practice during dinner.

She was at an off-site education session yesterday and went back to the school after classes were done for the day. As is typical, all of the doors were locked from the outside. Her only option was to enter through a gym door where the boys' soccer players were leaving for a practice or a game. She was too embarrassed, however, to walk by all of them so my wife had to walk in with her.

With a bite of food still in his mouth, my son barked at her "What's the big deal? Why didn't you just walk on in the door?" I tried to hide my smirk but was unsuccessful.

She quickly snapped back "I didn't want to walk by all those boys. I was wearing my spandex dance clothes! Would you ... or Daddy (as I still failed to hide my snickering) ... want to just go walking by a bunch of girls and have them look at you?"

He looked at me. I looked at him. And we both said "well, yeah!"

TMC

The Week That Was

October 26 - Tickets purchased for a March 2010 John Prine show. I grimaced as my passed my credit card to the nice woman at the Ryman knowing I was paying for a show about 4-1/2 months early. But hey, its Prine, right?

October 27 - Tickets purchased for Billy Joe Shaver show on December 1 at the famed Exit/In. Truly, a country - yet alt-country - legend. (BJS trivia: Did you know Billy Joe wrote all but one track of Waylon Jennings' famed album Honky Tonk Heroes?) His ticket was not as expensive, not bought as far in advance, and will be in a much louder, more rowdy setting - a tri-fecta! Speaking of tri-fecta, next March I feel I will have hit my own personal songwriter legend tri-fecta - seeing Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, and John Prine perform LIVE all within six months of one another. Dagnab it, why was I asleep at the switch when Townes was alive...

October 29 - First Predators game of the season for me. And they won over the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks! Hoo-ah! The game was made doubly-cool by an evening out with a couple of friends - one of whom goes back to college years, now lives in Switzerland, and only gets to the states every 2 to 3 years. Fun reunion.

October 31 - My daughter carved her first jack o' lantern, and she did a mighty fine job I think.

The next day we had a hard time deciding if one of our cats feared he might be the next to be carved or was volunteering.

My daughter dressed as a pirate. (Though with that red head band, she looks like she could also have been Head Wound Harriet.) My son dressed as a "Caution: Wet Floor" sign. And his friend dressed as Jack the Jacked-Up Janitor. They're beyond the age & I'm beyond caring where I even begin to try to understand their minds and costume choices. I just walked a parentally-safe yet outside the "its not cool you're still following us around" distance behind them sucking down a couple of brews along the way. Ever tried "Trick or Beer" in your neighborhood? It actually works sometimes!

November 1 - First Titans game for me in at probably about 3 years. Got to watch if up from wayyyy up in the upper deck on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon. They also won just like the Preds a few days earlier - against the Jax Jaguars ending a very ugly 0-6 start to the season! I tailgated with a buddy of mine and his regular crew. Schaefer, PBR, Fat Tire, Mojitos, burgers, wings, and even freshly shucked oysters. Ahhhh....

So now its off Thursday through Sunday to Newark NJ with a side trip or two to New York City. The toughness of Newark and the bright lights/big city of NYC always intimidates this too much country rube. But I enjoy my limited time in the city each time I go. Hopefully, I'll return with some pics, some stories, some tweets, and some bloggable moments.

TMC

Who is that masked man?

I work for a healthcare company. More specifically, I work in the corporate office of a healthcare company. An edict from on high recently went out to the employees of our hospitals. Each employee must either get a seasonal flu shot or wear a mask their full shift during the duration of flu season.

The intent of the policy is understandable. Our company is taking those extra steps to minimize the risk of passing along the flu to our patients and to our co-workers - a very noble goal in my opinion.

What wasn't made clear at the time was how folks at HQ were affected by this directive. Even though we aren't in a patient care setting full-time, many of us do visit hospitals for multiple-day stays as part of our jobs.

Today, any ambiguity was made clear. If a corporate employee is expected to visit a hospital between now and next spring, he/she too is expected to either get the shot or plan to wear a mask while on premises.

Right or wrong, I've chosen not to get the shot in the past. Honestly, I hadn't really planned to do so this year either. I'm not sure if I've been lucky or good, but I've never had the flu - not regular, bird, swine, chimney, cuckoo's nest, or any other variety.

I do, however, expect I'll be in several hospitals over the next 4 or 5 months. Also, I respect corporate directives and highly support the wonderful jobs our caregivers provide in our multiple facilities. So I'll wear the mask.

But my goodness, the choices - they're almost too numerous to mention! Fortunately, my next visit to one isn't likely to happen until the first week of December. So I have plenty of time to choose. Here's kind of a short list from which I hope to make my final decision.

Option #1 - The Darth
Pro: The most protective
Con: Results in most head sweat

Option #2 - The Lone Ranger
Pro: Hero of yesteryear
Con: Covers wrong part of face and just a bitttttt too gay for present year

Option #3 - The Phantom
Pro: Classiest
Con: May be mistakenly used as a bed pan

Option #4 - The Elephant Man
Pro: Readily available via use of eco-friendly shopping bags or hotel room pillow cases
Con: Would likely land me on Homeland Security watch list

Option #5 - Da Tut
Pro: Get my bling on
Con: One of a kind masks worn by a dead teenage king have a high reserve price on ebay

Option #6 - The Obamassiah
Pro: I'm a victim and pretty sure I'm entitled to this one
Con: Are you kidding me? Too numerous to mention thank you very much.

Option #7 - The Dark Knight
Pro #1: Also includes Robin mask for subordinate co-worker
Pro #2: I can climb outside walls of hospital buildings with a bat grappling hook if anyone confronts me about my mask
Con: Frequent guano breaks

Option #8 - The RoboCop
Pro: Stainless steel can be easily cleaned of germs
Con: Buff pec plate accessory costs a lot extra

Option #9 - The Lechter
Pro: My yapping mouth stays shut much to delight of co-workers
Con: Likely out of season by December and makes it difficult to dine in hospital cafeteria

Any recommendations or alternate suggestions?

TMC

The Last e-Sensory Frontier

The rapid advances in technology - particularly the last 25 years - has had a remarkable impact on our lives. Good or bad - advances for end users has incorporated more and more of our basic senses.

• Seeing- With wide-screen color monitors, YouTube, JPGs, Amazon's Kindle, laser and ink jet printers, etc. most of the technololgy advances have incorporated first and foremost our visual senses.

• Hearing - Arguably, one of the most controversial aspects of new technologies is the advancements in digital audio. MP3s, Digital Rights Management, Napster, podcasts, etc. all have had and continue to have an impact on the legal availability and portability of digital sounds.

• Touch - Many applications now incorporate touch technologies. Airline check-in kiosks and restaurant server seating and order stations are just two solutions made easier by touch-screen monitors.

• Vocal - As vocal recognition and recording software has improved, the adoption of vocal-related technologies has expanded. Many emerging songwriters and bands now record demos and sometime full album releases by recording songs on a laptop or iMac. Bluetooth devices for cell phones have transformed the stereotyped label for folks who talk to themselves from insane to just downright annoying.

But what sense is missing? Smell! No smell technologies on the web? What sense does that make? (OK, bad pun - it won't happen again...at least in this entry.) Imagine how useful it would be with digitized smells...or troubling.

• Restaurants, bakeries, and florists could incorporate digital smell files into their on-line menus and product offerings.

• Perfume companies could expand the role of those annoying mall spritzers by having a whole catalog of on-line sample scents to click and sniff. Or maybe Yankee Candle - I'm sure they would charge at least 99 cents per clicked sniff though as nothing in their stores are free.

• Google Maps could incorporate smells emanating from nearby landfills or hog farms when you start exploring choices for out-of-town hotels, a new apartment, or a parcel of land for a business.

• A whole new realm of world-traveling, time-wasting e-mail could be sent to offices around the globe. The subject line of "you have to read this" could have a renaissance as "FW: FW: FW: you have to smell this. Its hilarious".

• Alongside your Outlook inbox, calendar, tasks, and personal folders, you could have a folder titled Scent Items.

What do you think? Drop me an e-smell to let me know your thoughts - or a comment here will be fine as well.

TMC

Chicago is Our Kind of Town

With apologies to da Chairman, Frank Sinatra...

My daughter & I arrived in Chicago this past Saturday morning and were greeted by a rainbow signifying a promise of good times. Rain was still in the area, but it wasn't enough to deter us from our walk to the hotel and then off in search of Giordano's pizza near Jackson and LaSalle.

Fortunately, the rain faded away & we were back in business as we wiped our mouths from traces of deep-dish style pepperoni and mozzarella. After being puzzled about where to catch the #29 bus, we opted for the Red Line subway and headed to Navy Pier. We rode the giant ferris wheel and Wave Swinger. (Note to self: don't let yourself be talked into riding the swings ever again when the temps are below 50 degrees lest you want to leave more skin on the aluminum seats.)

The view from the ground...

... and the view from above.

After a bus ride back to the hotel, we cleaned up a bit and headed right back out to the Blue Man Group. This show has been around for many years. It took me until a couple of years ago to finally see it in Las Vegas. We saw basically the same show in Chicago I saw in Vegas, but I'd go see it again tomorrow if I could. Its that funny.

Sunday, we opted for an hour of worship at First United Methodist Church - better known around town as The Chicago Temple. Why "temple"? I don't really know. I guess only the Methodists and the Jewish community there know why. The church was founded in 1831, and the current building of the church has quite the inspiring sanctuary view.

After church, we headed to the Sears Tower...err... Willis Tower. Specifically, we were headed to the famous Skydeck on the 103rd Floor and the newly-opened and soon-to-be-famous The Ledge.

I really thought I'd have a bad case of vertigo as I stepped out on the ledge and looked almost 1,400 feet below, but it really wasn't that bad. Maybe it was the cardiac arrest I was experiencing while watching my daughter fearlessly step out and then smile at the camera.

It was then time for the main attraction - at least from my daughter's viewpoint. The American Girl Store. Michigan Avenue. The Magnificent Mile. Unfortunately, this was also one of those "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" moments. I guess that means Roman dads were also committed to scurrying around with their little Roman girls looking at overpriced doll clothing and accessories such as the American Girl Painted Horse and Chariot combo.

The store, however, does have a sense of humor I suppose. For instance, the majority of the American Girl inventory is made in China. Also, the picture below revealed a bit of comedic duality for me. Perhaps the inference is all you'll have left in your pocket when you leave the store is petty cash. Or perhaps the intent is to say with laughter that you must be joking if you think all you'll spend in the store is petty cash.

Following shopping, dining, and dessert, we caught a bus to Millennium Park to see it lit at night. Specifically, we wanted to see Cloud Gate - or as its known by the locals "The Bean". The skyline of Chicago was wonderfully reflected in the bean, but it made it difficult for me to capture a clear picture. So I'll use this one to illustrate.

Monday, we spent the majority of our final day at the Shedd Aquarium. The aquarium was on our itinerary for a couple of reasons. One, they had dolphins, beluga whales, and sharks - 3 things my daughter wanted to see. Two, admission was free as part of the aquarium's community week...or at least that's what was published on their website and tweeted many times in the days leading up to our trip. When we arrived, we were told the free admission only covered some of the basic tanks. To see dolphins, beluga whales, and sharks, I had to pay after all. For a non-profit, eco-conscious, kid-friendly organization, this policy is called creative marketing. In a for-profit venture, it would be called the ol' bait-and-switch.

I forked over the fee, and we had a wonderful time touring the facility. The tank with the dolphins and beluga whales has a spectacular panoramic window view of Lake Michigan. And once we took a break for lunch, we took advantage of the spectacular skyline view for another photo op.

After we had enough of fish, mammals, and reptiles, we headed for the hotel to claim our bags and head for the airport. We then realized we had just enough time to run back to Millennium Park for another look at The Bean in the daytime & were very glad we did.

For all the coolness of the changing colors on 3 sides of the twin towers at the park, the inner side of each tower introduces a bit of a creepy side. The faces of about 1,000 Chicagoans have their faces shown on the towers periodically. To be honest, as creepy as it was I was quite surprised the faces had not been replaced by images of President Obama, his cabinet members, and Jeremiah Wright. But I'm just sayin...

In the end, I made the right decision in taking my girl to the big city. For all the big stuff we did, she was equally puffed up about having the opportunity to ride a plane, train, subway, and city bus - all in the same weekend; try Chicago style deep-dish pizza; stay on the 18th floor of a Hampton Inn; tip a bellman; etc. And for me, watching her enjoy it and then fall asleep quickly at night while smiling makes me think I should try to make this an annual event.

TMC