I arrived with the presidents of the Nashville IASA Chapter to B. B. Kings in downtown Nashville.  At first, my observations made me doubt that this was a good venue for an IT meeting, but as I found the reserved spacious room in the rear of the building with tables, chairs, and a buffet, my opinion quickly switched from doubt to excitement.  I knew the event was going to be

spectacular.  Although the food was good, I didn’t get much of it because I tried to talk to everyone as they arrived.

The Nashville chapter has had two previous meetings, but this was to be their “kick-off” event and I was honored to be a part of it.

My presentation seemed to be well received by the audience and that was confirmed by some of the feedback directed my way.  It was a very enjoyable experience and I will remember it for a long time.

I have been asked to speak at the International Association of Software Architects (IASA)  Nashville Chapter.  I met the chapter’s president at IASA’s first annual IT Architect Regional Conference in Atlanta.

I am to speak on the Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) program in which I was a recent participant.  What it is, where to find out more, how to participate, was it worth it… I need to answer all of these questions and more.

So I am sitting in my living room on Saturday preparing my presentation for Monday’s event.  I have known about this since September or October, but I always put off the actual making of the presentation until the last minute.  This is partly because I am a procrastinator at heart, but mainly because I always present better when the presentation was a fresh creation.  I have in mind what I want to say, when each slide appears, because it was want I wanted to say when I created the slide.

I guess I should get to it.

It is getting close to tax season and that means it is getting close to upgrades to the Jeep.  This year I have two upgrades in mind.

Upgrade #1 - I am going to sell my existing Winch to a friend and replace it with…The Warn 9.5ti Thermometric Self Recovery Winch.

9500 lbs. of pulling capacity packed into a massive aluminum die-cast body. [Straight from the catalog]

Upgrade #2 - Viair X’treme Duty Onboard Air System

100% Duty Cycle, 2.68 CFM with dual compressors.

I can’t wait to get it all installed and prepped for this year’s Moab Trip!

I worked out this morning for the first time in 3 weeks.  I quit working out because I started having trouble with my knee and feared I tore my meniscus.  After several doctor appointments and an MRI, I learned I have arthritis in my knee.

Now that the inflammation has been reduced, I resumed my workout routine with P90X.

This morning was Chest and Shoulders.

It’s January and it is snowing in Georgia.  For a SECOND time this year!

It snowed earlier in the week at night.  Daniel and I got out and threw snowballs at each other.  Daniel had never seen snow before and he loved it.  Unfortunately for that day, the snow only lasted for about 20 minutes until it gave way to light hail and eventually sleet followed by rain.

Yesterday was a big difference.  It snowed for hours.  It was daylight and Daniel and I had the opportunity to play in it until the cold and wetness became unbearable (at least for us southerners).  We lasted a solid hour-and-a-half before I called it quits.

Daniel definitely loves snow, but what five-year-old wouldn’t?