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fifteen minutes of learning
Friday, September 1 2017
In the remote workplace since some time back in August (when I was in Uganda), we in the IT Department have reserved a half hour at 6:00pm on Fridays for "learning," well, actually for talking about new things we were supposed to have learned. That's a little late in the day for me, since I often like to sneak out early on Fridays for a restaurant meal with the wife (and perhaps friends). Though I used to be secretive about this, I've become completely open about it in recent weeks. So today when Brittany wanted to delay the learning meeting (the first one I'd ever be attending), I made it clear that I had a hard departure time of 6:30pm (that's 3:30pm Pacific Time), adding that "my wife already hates me" (Cameron chimed in with a "you and me both") and that sneaking out early is the one bone I throw her. We ended up having the meeting 15 minutes late, meaning I only had fifteen minutes. Nicole quickly talked about learning of the additional "stars" available in GMail. And then I shared my screen and shown what I learned about WordPress's database, and how it pulls off its apparent goal of being a generic one (using wp_postmeta to allow an unlimited number of virtual columns in the wp_post table). In showing all this, though, the thing that stood out (for Brittany and Nicole at least) was the tool I was using. It was Tableform, the database visualizer I started work on in 2006 and have been improving over the years (though in recent times it has fallen into neglect). My colleagues were impressed by how visual everything is and that it looked so much better than PHPMyAdmin. I reminded them that this was the tool Johnathan Skinner (aka "Meerkat") had tried to discourage me from using early in my employment at The Organization.
The reason I needed to sneak out early was that Gretchen had set up a dinner date with Carrie and Michæ at the Garden Café. It was cool enough that we ate inside. I had the portobello tacos with red cabbage, which were fine, but they were a bit simple for my tastes. As I pointed out to Gretchen on the drive back home, I've grown accustomed to the complexity of the sandwiches I've been making myself, which have "every [flavor] note in the orchestra."
Dinner conversation was surprisingly low on Trump content, and it didn't have much Houston flooding (aftermath of Hurricane Harvey) content either. Michæl is happy with a new job he has teaching sculpture to students at SUNY New Paltz, though he doesn't know much more than the students when it comes to welding.
Before saying goodbye, we let Penny the Dog out to run around in the field adjacent to the parking lot at the end of Old Forge Road. She got really excited when I began to play with her, and covered me with smells that Ramona and (to a lesser degree) Neville would try to interpret later.
On the drive home, Gretchen and I stopped for lemons, Cheerios, and orange juice at the new Hannaford that has taken the place of Hurley Ridge Market. The transformation happened much more quickly than I'd expected, perhaps because they changed as little as possible. There's been some painting to give the supermarket touches and swaths of Hannaford's signature color (a sort of maroon), and all the checkout machines and associated conveyor belts are brand new. But most of the products are in the same places where they used to be.
Back at the house, I did my usual drinking alone routine, augmented with marijuana puffed from a brand new copper pipe bowl. (I couldn't find the one I usually use, which is made of brass fittings.) Nicole noted I was online and had me help her with a vexing SFTP issue. Due to my intoxication, I wasn't working at 100%, but I managed to point Nicole in the direction of the solution. It was actual work in the remote workplace, and it was happening at midnight on a Friday night. That's why I don't feel bad for sneaking out to grab dinner with the wifey.
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http://asecular.com/blog.php?170901 feedback
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