Have you ever met someone and felt like you would be friends forever?
Chances are you weren’t.
How about an entire group of people that you felt that connection with?
On Saturday I went to a reunion at a nearby park in Pleasant Grove. It wasn’t a high school or college reunion. It wasn’t a military reunion. It was a neighborhood reunion.
But, that’s not the strange part.
We left this neighborhood nearly 30 years ago.
But, that’s not the strange part.
This neighborhood isn’t in Pleasant Grove. It’s not even in Utah. It’s two states and 1000 miles away in Maple Valley, Washington.
Yeah, that’s the strange part.
There were over 50 people at our Pleasant Grove neighborhood park. Some drove 1000 miles from Washington to attend. Some, like us, lived less than 2 miles away.
Thirty years ago we lived in Maple Valley a suburb outside of Seattle. We lived there for nearly nearly 10 years. We built a house there. We raised our children for many years. We completed our first two adoptions there. And then life changed. I left my job at Microsoft and moved back to Utah. And we lost touch with the people from that neighborhood.
Enter Facebook. We reconnected with a few people. And they connected with a few people and before you knew it, lots of the people from “the old neighborhood” were back in touch with each other. . .kind of.
And by some strange coincidence, a lot of us had moved to Utah. And not just Utah, Pleasant Grove, Utah. We now live closer to some of those neighbors than we did back when we were in Washington. And while there were plenty of people I didn’t recognize, several of them stepped right out of my memories and we picked up right where we left off.
We are all much older and the kids we helped each other raise now have kids of their own. But, whatever magic that neighborhood held, it’s transcended time and space.
Yup. These are my tribe.
May you find a tribe that will maintain your membership over decades and hundreds of miles.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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Those who can – do. Those who can’t – teach.
(Spoken by someone who obviously could neither do nor teach.)
Did you ever see the movie “Deep Impact”? It was a 1998 movie about a bunch of astronauts trying to blow up a comet. You are probably thinking of “Armageddon.” Armageddon starred Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. Deep Impact starred Robert Duvall. Anyway, at one point in the movie Robert Duvall and team figured out a strategy to blow up the comet. He is talking to the base in Houston. The guy at base wants him to explain the plan. Robert Duvall says,
Look, we can do or we can teach. We can’t do both.
Of course, they solve the problem. They blow up the comet. But, they all die. (Sorry, spoiler alert.) Anyway, the point is that sometimes getting an update on a problem actually prevents the problem from getting fixed.
Several years ago I was working for a large telecommunication company. One morning as I was headed to work, the lights in our building went out. I got a notification that the lights were out, but not much else. The team was working on the problem. The client called me.
Rodney, I heard the lights went out in your building?
Yeah, I’m on my way in right now.
Well, what the was the issue?
I’m not sure yet. I’ll know more when I get there.
Are the turnstiles working?
I don’t know.
Well, can’t you find out?
Look! I’m driving. I could pull off the freeway and call. I’d probably have to pull one of the electricians out of a wiring closet where he is right now trying to fix the problem. Or, if you will wait 15 minutes, I’ll be at the building and can see for myself. What would you like me to do?
The client backed off and realized that the electricians could either do or they could teach, but they couldn’t do both.
The other day I came into work and there were two critical issues from the overnight team that our lead developer was working on. I used the Slack program to ask him for an update.
What’s the status on bug #15465?
I’m working on that right now.
What about the refresh issue with #16213?
I’m also working on that one right now.
Then I’ll shut up and stop distracting you.
You’re fine.
I wanted to know how the process was going. But any time Tom spent talking to me would be time he would NOT be working on our critical issues. He could do or he could teach. But, he couldn’t do both.
I’ve always found that the best teachers are those who are really good at doing.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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My daughter wanted me to rotate her tires. I’m impressed that she sees that as useful. I know I don’t rotate my own tires as often as I should. Rotating your tires helps you preserve the life of your tires. It also helps with handling. Ideally all four tires wear more evenly.
And, OF COURSE, I’m going to help her if she is being conscientious about routine maintenance. I have two floor jacks and a half dozen jack stands. The thing about rotating tires is it’s much easier if you can get all four wheels off the ground at the same time.
And if you happen to have a pneumatic impact wrench, which I do, it’s really fast.
- Jack up car and put on jackstands
- Remove all the lug nuts (using the impact wrench)
- Move tires to new location
- Mount the tires and put the lug nuts back on (using a torque wrench NOT an impact wrench
- Put the car back on the ground
With my daughter helping I figured it would take about 15 minutes.
Nope.
First problem was that one of the lug nuts was stuck. Now, it takes a lot to get stuck to the point that an impact wrench has an issue. The wrench has three speeds. (No, they aren’t low, medium and high. They are three dots. A small dot. A medium sized dot. And a big dot.) I didn’t want her spinning the lugs too hard so I had it on the medium setting. But, one lug wouldn’t come off. The impact wrench just complained.
Okay. We moved up to the BIG DOT size.
Just keep it on there it will come off eventually.
She has a Nissan Ultima. It’s not like we are taking lugs off a semi. Sure enough eventually the lug nut started to move. And under great protest it came off. And showed that we had essentially sheered off the last 1/2 inch of threads on the lug. I’m gonna have to deal with that.
An important piece of information. She recently had new tires put on her car. . .at a dealership.
Okay, great. We move the tires around and figure we’ll put three back on and then fix the fourth one. And that’s when I realized what the problem was. She has nice chrome wheels. The lug nuts are short lug nuts. And it is difficult to get them into the holes in her wheels so they can be started on the lugs. Now I understood why the lug nut was stripped and forced. The tire shop had trouble getting it back on and at one point simply used the impact wrench to “force” it the rest of the way on. I hate to think what would have happened if she had a flat tire. There is no way my daughter was going to get that lug nut off using a tire iron.
How to get them back on? Even my daughter’s fingers weren’t small enough to fit them on. Finally, I put a piece of tape in my socket and then pressed the lug nut into the tape. That worked, but it was still a challenge. We torqued the lug nuts to 100 ft/lbs.
But, now we had the problem wheel. First step in replacing the lugs is to remove the rotor. That’s a big dinner plate sized piece of steel that your brakes grab. I pounded away for about 15 minutes before I finally loosened it enough to come off.
Auto repairs are a combination of brute force and a delicate touch. Getting the lug nuts on required a delicate touch. Getting old lugs out of a hub requires brute force. Once the rotor is off you just smack the offending lug with a big hammer and it shoots out the back.
In addition to the stripped one (thank you unnamed tire store!) there was a another lug that needed to be replace. I pounded them out and then we took a trip to the auto parts store and bought two new lugs and two new lug nuts. Back home you feed the new lug into the back of the hub and then put a lug nut on and turn it up to BIG DOT and literally “pull” the new lug into the hub.
My 15 minute tire rotation job took a trip to the parts store and about two hours. But, her tires are now rotated and if she gets a flat she’ll be able to change the tire.
I offered her the two old lugs.
You should keep these.
Okay. But, why?
Well, if anyone gives you grief about your dating you can say your Dad introduced you to two real studs.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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Have you ever seen dirty ice? I got some ice from our counter top ice maker. But, after I filled it with water before I took a drink I noticed that the melted ice made the water dirty. Like REALLY dirty. That was odd. I dumped it out and got some more ice just to double check.
Yup, after adding water as it started to melt, it turned the water dirty too. That was really weird. The ice didn’t LOOK dirty. And the water reservoir seemed clear. I dumped it into the sink just to be sure. As I started to get more water to refill the reservoir, I realized my mistake. It wasn’t the ice that was dirty. It was the water. The water coming out of my tap was the color of REALLY weak coffee.
Utah is in a drought. We’ve been praying for rain. Well, apparently God heard our prayers. He sent rain. He sent a LOT of rain into our mountains, specifically Battle Creek Canyon which feeds Pleasant Grove’s water supply. And all that rain seemed to overwhelm the one of the water supply systems.
Very soon we got a map and a message from the city telling us to not drink, cook or bathe in the water. 
We use a lot of water. Now what? It’s not even a boil order. You can’t boil out dirt.
The city is flushing the lines. In the mean time we need to use other water.
Do YOU have enough water to take care of your family for a day or two? We’ve been storing water in old two liter bottles. It’s part of our food storage. And now we have two liter bottles next to each sink.
The city hopes to have it cleared up by morning. But, if they don’t, we’ll keep using the bottles.
The real question is should we keep praying for rain?
I think so. We are still in a drought, of course.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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Don’t worry, whether you believe the Bible or not, there’s sure to be something in this post to offend you.
Ever argue religion with someone?
My brother and I grew up playing board games. We’d get a new game, he’d go read the rules and I’d play with the pieces. When he knew enough of the rules for us to start, he’d explain it to me and we’d begin playing. At some point he’d do something that he hadn’t explained. When I complained he’d say,
“Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. . “
and then he pull out the rulebook and show me the rule.
And that was the point. Well, two points, actually. First, brothers cannot be trusted. But, second and more important, when in doubt consult the rule book. That’s what it’s for.
So, back to the Bible. It’s the ultimate rulebook if you are a Christian. But, if you’ve ever tried to consult it, you know that it’s not that easy.
For example:
Are God and Jesus Christ the same person?
Seems simple enough. And if you look at The Gospel of John Chapter 1 verse 1 it’s pretty clear.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
“The Word is another name for Jesus Christ. So, clearly if Jesus was with God and WAS God, they are the same.
But, if we go to The Gospel of Luke Chapter 3 verse 22, we read,
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou are my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
Clearly if God was in Heaven and Jesus was in the River Jordan and they were having a conversation, they can’t be the same person.
Which one is right?
In Ephesians Chapter 2 versus 8 and 9 it says,
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Clearly we are saved by grace and not by works.
And yet, in the Epistle of James Chapter 2 verse 17 says
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead
Okay, so clearly we need works to be saved. Or do we?
The Church of England is also called the Anglican Church. It was started by Henry VIII (the guy with all the wives.) And it was started because he wanted to divorce his wife for committing the sin of failing to give him a son. But, Henry and Catherine were Catholics as most of Europe was. The king asked the Pope to grant him a divorce. Catherine was Henry’s sister-in-law. She married his brother who then died. There’s a verse in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 25:5 that says,
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.
So, the Pope had a pretty solid scriptural backing for denying the annulment. In fact, he’d issued a special decree to allow the marriage in the first place because despite the scripture in Deuteronomy it was considered weird to marry your sister-in-law. (As for the annulment, yes, Henry wanted an annulment even though they had a daughter with Catherine, but he was king and it’s best to not ask too many questions.)
Add in the fact that Catherine didn’t want a divorce (or an annulment) and the additional fact that her brother the King of France had military control over the Pope’s house at the vatican, and the Pope had OTHER reasons to not grant the divorce.
So, Henry decides the best way to get his divorce was to form his own Church with him at the head of it and then he could do what he liked. But, he also had scripture on his side. Leviticus Chapter 20 verse 21 says,
If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
Clearly, the Bible goes both ways on the question of marrying your sister-in-law along with a lot of other pretty fundamental questions.
What’s the point?
The point is that if you want to read the Bible, you should read the Bible. If you don’t want to, you should not. And if someone disagrees with your interpretation of the Bible (faith/works, Nature of God, nature of Sin) just say, “Of course, I’m reading it wrong. So are YOU!”
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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There once lived a king and queen. While they were happy with each other, they were not able to have any children. They decided to adopt twin boys from a distant country. The boys mother was very poor and the boys, mere babies, had fallen ill. With no money for medicine or doctors, the loving birth mother made the painful decision to allow her sons to be adopted. She knew they would grow up with every opportunity as sons of the king.
Although they were twins, the boys, Alrich and Barden had very different dispositions. Both were natural athletes. As they grew, they competed in feats of strength and running races. Barden was fast, but Alrich was persistent. At the age of five they were running a mile. By the age of nine they were two of the fastest boys in the kingdom. As young men they would run all day.
In races, Barden came out ahead, but as they grew, Alrich developed incredible strength. He had his natural ability, but he also diligently devoted time to improving himself. He often invited Barden to join him as he exercised. But Barden was more interested in playing with his friends. And after all, was he not the fastest runner in the kingdom?
Barden’s cavalier attitude soon led to the feeling that whatever Barden wanted he should have. Despite being son of the king, Alrich worked hard to provide for himself. His strength was often sought after by farmers and builders. His disposition was always friendly, never familiar. But, when he committed to a task he devoted himself until it was complete. He gained a reputation for hard work, and above all honest work.
Barden laughed at Alrich’s example. He was sone of the king and yet he worked in the dirt with his hands. He spent hours under the hot sun and received commoners wages as a result. Barden had much bigger ambitions. He received an share of his father and mother’s wealth and immediately spent it on a horse. He didn’t buy a strong horse. He didn’t buy a young horse. He bought a pretty horse. And he took great pleasure in riding the horse hard around the countryside.
Alrich looked at Barden’s horse longingly, as he walked back and forth to the day’s job site.
Barden found that taking care of a horse was more work than he was willing to accept. He neglected the horse. He didn’t comb it down after a hard ride. He piled fresh hay on top of moldy hay. Eventually the horse died. Barden was very upset. “I must have a horse to ride!” He convinced a neighbor that the son of the king should ride and not walk. And promised the neighbor if he’d sell him a horse, Braden would pay him over time.
Braden took no better care of the second horse than he did of the first. Soon it too was very ill. The neighbor took the horse and nursed it back to health. “Where is my horse?” Braden asked him. “When you pay me the original cost of the horse, plus the cost of nursing him back to health, then you can have the horse again.” This seemed like a lot of work to Braden, so he found someone else to sell him a horse on credit.
Braden found that not having money made it difficult for him to support his lifestyle. So, he went to work. But, soon his old habits returned and he found that it was quicker to sell his employers items and keep the money for himself. He was soon caught and dismissed. But, he was the son of the king and quickly found another job. Where, sadly he repeated the actions from before.
Alrich watched his brother with growing frustration. He was the older brother, if only by half an hour. And yet, he could do nothing to steer his younger brother into more productive habits. He tried talking to his brother, but Braden simply laughed. After all, Alrich was slaving all day under the hot sun for a few pennies, while he, Braden could, in a single day, get a months worth of wages.
Eventually, despite being the king’s son, Braden was called to account for his actions. People all throughout the capital city came forward to describe how Braden had cheated, or lied, or stolen from them. After years of mild punishments, Braden was devastated that he was sentenced to prison. Too late, he begged to be given another chance. But, he had used up all his chanced in the days, months and years of his wayward living.
It was with sadness that Alrich saw his brother in jail. How many times had he attempted to save him? How often had he invited him to turn away from his misdeeds. Alrich, despite having done all he could, still felt a profound sadness as his brother was led away.
But, as heartbroken as Alrich was, there was another who was even more despondent. Another who had also worked very hard to help Braden make good and just choices.
The king had to sentence his own son. And it broke his heart.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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There were once two brothers who raced chariots. The two brothers were highly competitive. They constantly races their teams again each other. Each brother had three teams. Their teams were evenly matched. They would first race their best teams. Then, on the next day they would race their second best teams. And then on the last day they would race their third teams. The winner was the brother who won the most races over the three days.
One day a man visited the younger brother,
I can help you win every time over your brother.
That doesn’t seem possible.
The Seattle Mariners baseball team has not been to the playoffs in twenty years. It is the longest streak among professional sports leagues. The other teams with long droughts are:
- NFL – Jets: 11 years
- NHL – Sabres: 11 years
- NBA – Kings: 16 years
The Mariners haven’t been to the playoffs since 2001. That year they won 116 games, a record. But, they failed to reach the World Series. In fact, they remain the only MLB team to never reach the World Series. It’s unlikely the World Series drought will end this year, but with 27 games left, they are currently tied for the top playoff spot. There’s a 99% chance they will make the playoffs. One of the strongest parts of Seattle’s team is their starting pitching. They brought in a pitcher named Robbie Ray who won the Cy Young award last year. And then, at the trade deadline they added another ace pitcher. They have two of the best pitchers in the league. Their third best pitcher is pretty good as well. Even their rookie pitchers are good. But, the top two are in a class by themselves.
If they do make the playoffs they will play in the Wild Card round. It’s a best-of-three series. In other words, whichever team wins two out of three games wins the series. Seattle will likely pitch their best pitcher in game 1, their second best pitcher in game 2 and their third best pitcher if there is a game 3. Obviously the team they are playing will do the same thing. Each team trying to win each game.
But, what if there was a way to win the series? I don’t know if it would work, but the ancient brothers and their chariots offer a method.
That doesn’t seem possible?
Your teams and your brother’s teams are evenly matched, right?
Yes. They are nearly identical. Each race is very close.
On the first day, you normally run your best team, correct?
Yes, of course.
The next time you compete, run your third best team on the first day.
But, against my brother’s best team they will surely lose.
Yes. And then, on the second day when your brother is running is second best team, that day race your best team. Your best will beat his middle team, will they not?
Yes. Easily.
Then, on the last day run your second best team against your brother’s worst team. Once again you will win, and winning two out of three you will be the champion.
Baseball is not a horserace. And there is no guarantee that Seattle’s best pitcher would win against another team’s second best pitcher.
But, it would be fun to see them try it.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
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LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I’d like that done by Friday.
I had a meeting earlier this week with my boss. We were going over a series of reports that needed to be defined. There were 33 in all. Each report has a similar format
- Description
- Pre-condition
- Post-condition
- Acceptance criteria
And, of course, they need to be defined as well. Wednesday to Friday is a tight schedule. Thursday was full of meetings. I tried to work through some of the issues. But, it’s all new features. It takes some research as well. I was pretty stressed Thursday night. Friday, I jumped back into working on my issues. Still doing research. And watching the clock and getting more and more stressed.
After lunch I finally realized it just wasn’t going to get done today. I approached my boss about it.
Say, can we do that report review on Tuesday?
What do you mean?
The 33 reports. I’m working on them, but I’m not going to be able to complete it today.
But, we talked about next Friday.
My friends suggested that I I no longer needed to be stressed, right?
No. It just means I have an entire nother week to stress about it.
But, I also have chance to get it done.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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The most dangerous man of the twentieth century died this week.
Mikhail Gorbachev passed away this week
It wasn’t Hitler. He was certainly a dangerous man. He single-handedly plunged the world into a global war. Millions died in the war, and he was responsible for millions of deaths in The Holocaust. But, despite his best (or worst) efforts he was not able to destroy the world.
It wasn’t Stalin. He was a horrible man. Despite being an ally of America in the second world war, Stalin murdered nine million of his own people. Despite his murderous reign, the Soviet Union survived.
The Soviet Union did not survive the most dangerous man of the twentieth century. In fact he was singularly responsible for the destruction of the USSR. But, that was not what made him so dangerous.
What made him so dangerous was what he didn’t do. He chose to not destroy the world. And he absolutely could have.
Mikhail Gorbachev was elected leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. His counterpart on the world stage was Ronald Reagan, elected president of the United States in 1980 and reelected in 1984 partly on his rhetoric labeling the Soviet Union the “Evil Empire.” During a mic check at one point he joked, “I’ve outlawed the Soviet Union. We begin bombing in five minutes.”
Gorbachev and Reagan were sitting on stockpiles of tens of thousands of nuclear weapons. Enough to destroy the world multiple times over.
And Reagan was building. He was building weapons and he was building a missile defense system. A system called “Star Wars.” His critics claimed it would never work. But, it didn’t matter. I’m not even sure Reagan thought it would work. It wasn’t important that it worked. What was important was that Gorbachev was afraid it might work. And he knew the Soviet Union couldn’t compete with the US. Reagan set out to outspend the Soviets. And he didn’t care if it ever worked.
Gorbachev realized he had two choices. He could lose or he could lose. He could only choose how. When faced with certain defeat what would you do? Hitler killed himself after setting the world on fire. Stalin bent half the world to his will. Japan started sending their planes and the pilots into allied ships to die a fiery kamikaze death.
Gorbachev approached the Americans with a completely unexpected offer. He would agree to completely destroy the nuclear stockpiles of the Soviet Union. If the Americans would also destroy their stockpiles. And abandon the Star Wars initiative.
Reagan refused. But, it was a completely unexpected offer. And Americans were able to build on Gorbachev’s openness. Gorbachev and Reagan met in Reykjavík, Iceland. In his book, Perestroika, Gorbachev talked about that meeting.
I knew after meeting President Reagan that the cause was lost. He told me, ‘We must figure out how to solve our differences.’ I thought that he would do the same as previous American presidents and offer concessions. But, with his next sentence I knew we had lost. He said, ‘For if we do not, my grandchildren will bury your grandchildren.’
Gorbachev was in control of one of the most powerful nations in the world. And he was facing certain defeat. He could go out in fire and take the world with him. Likely what Hitler would have tried to do. Or perhaps Japanese emperor Hirohito. Instead, Gorbachev opted to lose, but to do it in a way that would save the world. He set the stage for dismantling the Soviet Union. He voluntarily gave up power.
It would take several years for the Berlin Wall to fall and the Soviet satellites including Ukraine to establish their independence. But, if it were not for Mikhail Gorbachev, the end would have been much different. And in fact, had he chosen to, he literally could have destroyed the world. And had he been less of a man than he was, who knows what would have happened?
Take a moment to think kindly of the most dangerous man of the twentieth century. Rest in peace, Mr Gorbachev.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
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LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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“I don’t want to be known as the guy who can get stuff out of the database.”
– Wally
It’s said that no good deed goes unpunished. It sounds like one of those “backward” sayings where the real meaning is exposed in what sounds like the opposite meaning. That’s not what this is. It means just that. If you do good things you are likely to be punished for it.
Keep that in mind if you are thinking of doing something nice.
One of my favorite old movies is a Paul Newman movie called “Absence of Malice.” The Paul Newman character makes an anonymous $10,000 donation to a politician’s campaign. Later, when the prosecutor is trying to prove corruption, he asks the Newman character,
“Why did you make the donation anonymously?”
Newman’s response is a perfect.
“Because I wanted to remain ANONYMOUS!”
He goes on to say he didn’t want people hounding him for money. The ironic part of the scene is that he knew the prosecutor was watching and would find out he’d made the donation. Newman wasn’t crooked, but the politician was. The point is that if you are known for giving people money (a good deed,) more people will ask you for money (the punishment.)
But, if you are okay with the punishment, then it sometimes works out.
A couple of months ago I helped fix my daughter’s friend’s car. This young lady was newly married. And her dad and I had been friends years earlier. My daughter asked me if it would be okay if she told her friend I would help replace her starter. (A good deed.) Naturally, I said yes. People who know about cars have been very generous to me over the years. The least I can do is pay it forward.
She needed a new starter installed. That’s not a tough job to do. I loaded up my tools, drove to her work parking lot where the car was stuck and had it replaced in about an hour. In doing so, I became the guy who knows how to get stuff out of the database.
She reached out to me yesterday. Her car wouldn’t start. She was grocery shopping and it just quit on her. She wanted to know if I had any suggestions. (The punishment.)
I like to work on cars, but I have a fear. Maybe it’s an irrational fear. But, I fear I won’t be able to fix it. Or, I’ll make it worse. Or, what if I do it wrong and it causes a safety issue? These fears are largely unfounded. Sure, there have been things I couldn’t fix. But, I’m good enough to not make things worse.
I gave my daughter’s friend some suggestions. I suspected it could be a bad battery or a bad alternator. I told her how to check for either one. And suggested she get it tested. The car did manage to start after sitting for several hours. That’s a possible sign of a bad battery.
Today she told me that they tested the battery and it showed 10 volts. It should be showing 12.2. And then, she had the alternator tested and that checked out fine. I gave her some advice on getting a new battery. Personally I always get one with a three year warranty. I’ve had two of them go bad in the second year. I saved the original receipt and just like that I got a new $200 battery with a new three year warranty.
I don’t think she’ll have me install the battery. Getting to my house and matching up schedules would be a bit of work. But, she will confidently go somewhere and get the battery replaced without worrying that either she’s being taken advantage of, or she’s replacing the wrong part.
Yeah, I don’t really mind being known as the guy who knows how to get stuff out of the database.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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