Happy mid-winter Saturday;

“I’m thrilled that I never ordered myself a nose ring.” ~ Yours truly; now that I am dealing with a cold and all its bitter aspects.

This past week I’ve been ‘slogging’ about. Several days it was to bed near seven and then up around seven the next morning. I did manage to even grab an afternoon nap. Never did lose my thirst for coffee though.

Lemonade from the lemon – I mentioned my early-to-bed scenarios this past week; they helped. Thursday morning I woke up at 2:30 AM, wringing wet. I suspect that I had crossed over some sort of hurdle. Anyway, I got up and went downstairs. To pass the time I turned the TV went on.

Let me point out that for Christmas I received a ROKU system. Let me also say that Marcia hates to explore anything new – and, gaining use of the ROKU requires exploration. Hence, when Marcia is in the room she’d just as soon watch some “Paid Program” as discover a hidden treasure on ROKU.

So here I was at 2:30 and Marcia upstairs sound asleep, and hence ”Let the search begin” became my marching order.

Some rooting around found me on their “The Scene” channel where I spotted the video section of WIRED magazine. More scrolling, and then a title grabbed me; Teen Technorati.

Click!

When I finally turned the TV off it was approaching 5:00AM.

For two hours I followed 40 teenagers pursue their ambition for something called the Thiel Fellowship prize – 20 winners receive $100K each along with bunches of mentoring. Oh, by the way, to be eligible each contestant has to quit school, be under the age of twenty, and be organized enough to bring an idea of theirs to life.

For two hours I sat mesmerized feeling like a second grader amongst a room full of astrophysicists. The Fellowship prize put forth by the Peter Thiel foundation is as much coveted as it is controversial—building on Thiel’s philosophy of Mark Twain’s; “I have Never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

My whole outlook for the future of our country improved, not due to the blather uttered by any politician that very same day, but by these kids: A 16-year old winner well underway in developing a cure for cancer (he was interning at a lab when he was thirteen), or a young lady working to eradicate SIDS. Or the nineteen year old developing miniaturization for space vehicles. And so it went. It was an extraordinary night last Thursday. That it was.

Sirens blaring – It’s been a bit of a struggle keeping our desired Condo project moving forward. As we’ve discovered through experiences in Canada, keeping the necessary worker-bees on track can sometimes be a challenge.

Our carpeting is now a week late.

Our plumbing is over a week late. So, when I got confirmation that the plumber would be at the condo right after lunch I ran over with a full box of Kleenex in hand.

An hour later I heard the grinder make short work of dismantling the old bathroom sink/vanity.  Eventually the grinding stopped and the bathroom door opened. A pair of gloves and his assistant and I began to carry shards of stuff to the dumpster.

I was on our second dumpster trek when I noticed a far distant shrieking noise. lots of voices in the lobby, and soon sirens coming nearer.

With the naïve look of a condo ‘newbe’ I stepped into the hallway. There I had to yell to hear myself speak – the main alarm was pulsating non-stop. Two large fire engines ground to a halt and five firemen and one woman, complete with oxygen tanks and breaker bars, started up the walkway. The lead guy took one look at the LED display and, “where’s #1?” Whoops!

Fine grinding dust and a well-maintained sensor becomes a toxic brew as far as triggering an alarm. So, all’s well that ends well. For the duration of condo work we now have the alarm set in test mode whenever there is activity in the place.

Live and learn.

Fini – This evening it’s our neighborhood Progressive Dinner. This means I WILL make time for an afternoon nap. Claritin WILL be in my system. And, on Marcia’s instructions, I WILL NOT partake in a party-after-the-party activities. Yes ma’am.

Stay safe and be well, make it a great week.

Cheers.

Dirk