I am still in a U.S. Southern State, speaking at and attending a conference of my professional association. I have kept in touch by phone with my partner. He and my sister who is staying with him are fine — they didn’t even lose power (amazing, considering how bad our power company is.)

The recent severe storm has come and gone. I am grateful that our preparedness actions paid off. The trees in the old-growth forest behind our house are still standing, though from what I hear, are now mostly leafless. I am very happy that I had a tree trimming company strategically thin branches and remove dead limbs from the trees in our forest in May, so when the storms of June and October occurred, wind could blow through them more easily and not be blown down.

I have checked in with many members of my family who live in the storm-ravaged areas of New York. Our family network has confirmed that everyone is okay, though some of them have suffered property damage. But all-in-all, it could have been worse and we are grateful that it was not.

Meanwhile, down here at the conference, I have been booted and wearing leather…
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On a recent airline flight, I was seated at a window and two other guys were next to me in the middle and aisle. These guys knew each other, which was easy to tell by their familiar form of speaking with one another.

As the plane was loading and took off, they continued chatting. They asked me a few questions about routine stuff. I politely answered questions like, “where are you going? What will you be doing?,” and so forth.

Then their conversation turned to sports.

They seemed to know the names of every player on every team, how each player was doing, and were making predictions about various upcoming football games.

They tried to draw me into their conversation with some casual questions like, “do you think Quarterback [name] on [team] has a chance?”

A chance of what? I haven’t a clue.

I smiled and said, “I don’t know.” I was hoping that they would sense my disinterest and move on, or just talk with each other and not try to involve me.

Then one of the guys asked, “what was the rushing yardage of [football player]?” As if I knew (or cared) about such statistics — even if the player were on the team from my home location.

I ignored that one, and was pleased that we were interrupted by an announcement over the P.A. system.

But that guy wouldn’t give up. He asked me again, “didn’t [player] have better rushing last year than this year so far?”

I finally had it. I turned to them, smiled, and said, “I’m sorry, guys, but I don’t follow football and don’t know the answers to your questions.”

They didn’t get it. They just kept going. “Okay, but tell me, what do you think about Quarterback [name] on [team]?

I replied and said, “Guys, I told you, I don’t know. I don’t care about football.”

Man, it was like I said that I didn’t care about The Bible or God. They got upset. “What do you mean that you don’t care? All guys care about this stuff. It’s important!”

I wasn’t going to argue with them. I just kept quiet. But they persisted with some more questions and comments to try to draw me into the conversation.

I decided that it was best not to make a scene. By then, the announcement was made that we could use portable electronic devices, so since I am smartphone-less, I did the next-best thing. I pulled out my Bose Quietcomfort headphones and connected an iPod to it, turned up the volume, reclined the seat, shut my eyes, and listened to some of my favorite tunes.

Bose headsets are great, but they do not block all sound completely. For hours and hours I could hear these guys blathering about football non-stop. The entire five-hour flight, that’s all they did. I never got a nap. But I listened to over 60 of my favorite tunes!

Arrrggghhh… such is life of a non-sports fan.

Life is short: take a hint.

Recently, I traveled to a conference and went through four airports along the way — my home airport, Philadephia, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, then back to my home airport.

Throughout my travels, everyone — I mean everyone — had some sort of smart phone and was fiddling with it to check email and use various applications.

They would hold it up in front of them and walk along, bumping into pillars, posts, and other people. They would be so engrossed in their devices that they didn’t hear announcements for when the flight was loading. Some used it to hold up some type of bar code image at the gate — sorta like an electronic boarding pass. Some refused to turn it off when instructed by airline attendants before takeoff.

Honestly, I am surprised that they let me into an airport without one. Even as I went through Security, a TSA Guy asked me, “where’s your smartphone?” as if not having one was a crime.

I truly feel as if I am the last remaining man who works in a professional position (and could afford one) who does not have one of those devices.

I recognize that these devices provide convenience, and can offer quick access to information-on-demand. I used to have a Blackberry when I was required to have one by a former employer. I know what these devices can do.

Why don’t I have one?

Two major reasons and a minor one:

1. I learned that my time “off-the-net” or what I call “disconnected time” is critical for my mental health. I need “down time” without distractions. Such “time off” allows me to concentrate on what is important — driving a 5,000-pound death machine (a vehicle); my partner, family, and friends to whom I give undivided attention when I am with them; and my sanity. I really don’t need to know the news as it happens. I can find out when it is convenient to me, not the other way around.

2. “Only a dollar a day” for the cost of a monthly data package doesn’t wash with me. With taxes, fees, and related expenses, I can put that US$400 per year to much better use. Okay, call me cheap. I prefer to be called frugal. Further, if these kids who are participating in all the “occupy”-this-and-that location are so against “corporate greed,” then they should live by the words they preach, and not make rich companies richer by paying the monthly ransom for the data packages on these devices.

3. The minor reason that I don’t have a smartphone is that I am not that important. I do not work in a job that requires continued connectivity back to the office or from emergency alerts. At the times in my life when I was required to have a smart phone, it was because I had micromanagers as bosses who demanded almost instantaneous responses wherever I was. I am extremely thankful that my current boss, the owner of my company, is not a micromanager. When he wants to reach me, he sends an email and waits for my reply, or if it is more urgent, he calls me on the phone. Wow — a phone call. Who woulda thunk?

Oh well, such is life of a Dinosaur who remains on a first-name basis with Julius Caesar.

Life is short: enjoy peace and cost-savings.

I truly enjoy public speaking. It is as much of an art as a science, getting important points out, emphasizing information that is critical to the audience, while making adjustments on the fly as needed based on a reading of the audience’s information needs and interests.

Travel for events like this once was common for me to do — 70 or so times each year to some 50 or so cities and towns across America. These days, I don’t travel nearly as much as I once did, which actually I appreciate since traveling 35 weeks/year was grueling.

I am in Las Vegas, Nevada. I spoke at a major conference plenary session for some 3,000 people. Whew! Largest audience I have had in a long, long time. They were attentive and interested. I got a lot of very good questions at the end, with many follow-ups individually afterwords.

You can’t see it, but I am wearing a pair of Lucchese goatskin dress cowboy boots. Very comfortable and good-looking and go well with a suit. While I am not fond of the suit-and-tie situation, it’s a requirement. So I say, “I clean up well” LOL!

I am pleased that at least it is quiet in my hotel room. Last time I was here, I got physically sick because I couldn’t get any sleep for all the drunks slamming doors and wandering down the hall talking loudly. When I checked in for this conference, I made it clear that I wanted a quiet room, and fortunately, was accommodated.

I’ve been busy from daybreak to long after sunset, with various meetings, discussions with colleagues, and greeting people I have known for many, many years. I’m not the late-night party and socializing sort, nor do I gamble in the casino. Nonetheless, there is plenty to keep me busy-busy-busy!

One more full day of conferencing, then I’m outta here. But I’m glad what brought me here went well. I look forward, though, to return to the arms of my man back home.

Life is short: love what you do!

I flew home yesterday from Seattle and had to change planes in Chicago. I looked at what guys had on their feet.

I know going through security is a pain-in-the-butt; however, it is so routine now — all you have to do is slip off your boots (or if you must wear them, shoes) and run them through the x-ray. But so many men (and youngsters in their teens and 20s) do not want to do that, so they wear the most awful crap on their feet. I saw more guys wearing flip-flops at the airport than I have seen wear those things on a beach. Ugggghhh! And it was cold, too. Wearing crappy footwear like that must be uncomfortable.

Oh well, I wore my cowboy boots, took them off before security, and got two “nice boots” comments from other guys when I was putting them back on after security. I doubt anyone looks at a guy wearing flip-flops and says, “nice feet.” (LOL!)

Life is short: wear boots!

I had a long but productive week in the Seattle area. I had a chance to speak, to lead, to facilitate, to write, and to learn. I enjoyed seeing some of my long-term colleagues and friends who have made me more of the person and professional I am.

After a rather dull day yesterday, I became energized again by meeting a friend and her partner for dinner. This friend did a lot for me. She picked me up from my conference location in Outer Slobbovia, took me to dinner at a really nice restaurant, then brought me to a hotel where she made a reservation for me. The hotel is very close to the airport, so my departure for my early flight will be simple and uncomplicated with traffic delays.

My friend and I caught up on each other’s lives, then began to “talk shop.” She picked my brain and I picked hers. At the end of a lively conversation about geeky stuff, my friend surprised me by saying that her boss authorized her to pay for our dinner. How nice! (Her boss is someone I also have known for a long, long time.)

I am glad to end the week on such a high note, but man, I am tired and I really miss my man. Time to head home, snuggle close, and get reacquainted with the man who means the world to me.

Life is short: enjoy life where you are and make the best of it.