Journal : OpenRoadWorks

It took awhile to write this post because it’s the hardest thing I’ve yet to do. Ruby found her peace passing with her family at a pet hospital on July 17, 2015.

Road work supervisor This blog goes in fits and starts. Just ended a fit, ready for another start.

Life's a journey and not a destination. Or something like that said by someone around 1920 .

Today is the last snow of the season (hopefully). Then, it's time for flowers.

Famous drinks often have disputed or mysterious origins (a few colorful histories of other drinks  here , here , and here ). The Manhattan cocktail fits this bill and is a classic cocktail any bartender should master.

Walt with his mouse friend, from his tribute museum at Hollywood Studios Walt Disney's quotes have followed him through the decades, even if he never said some of them . One of the most famous: " It started with a mouse... "

It's that time again - it's Ruby Tuesday.

It's that time of year again, when office productivity diminishes and bracket techniques are perfected . It's March Madness .

Waiting makes me uncomfortable. Those dead minutes before the start of something make me fidgety in a funny sort of way.

Cinderella released on Friday so we had to see the film in theaters .

It's almost Cherry Blossom season again in DC. Too bad it's going to be late .

A Fiat 500, befitting of this occasion 810 days ago, I posted the 400th entry on this blog . Today marks the next century milestone - 500 posts.

Walt Disney statue at the center of the Magic Kingdom I'm starting a new weekly series on Walt Disney , as I progress on my current writing project .

The weather has turned, for the better. Snow is melting, and Spring is coming (did time have anything to do with it?)

Time is relative - witness daylight savings time .

A few days without a blog post - I'm off the wagon again.

Well, it happened again. Another snow day.

Here's a catch-up post from a lag in blogging.

No surprise that the never-ending winter offered its next round of precipitation, rain then sleet then freezing. Which meant Ice Capades for Ruby.

Funny, it sounded like rain outside - on a clear sky morning. How does that work?

This used to be our doorbell until... It's Sunday, so I'm free to think random thoughts. The typical reaction is OK, then...

What makes a party? I'm answering this question as part of a product design challenge.

Remember that proper Italian supper from last month? I had occasion to make peppered beef, or peposo again to finally share the recipe.

Once upon a time, I lived in Santa Monica and listened to Britpop .

So many thoughts in my head, so few ideas stirring a blog post. So I thought about hot pot .

M&M's of a Ruby quality What happens when you put two things together that you really love? Ruby bites.

I was one of the 43 million people that watched the Oscars on Sunday night. I was trying to figure out what ultimately drives selection of the Best Picture. It was Birdman , but it should have been The Grand Budapest Hotel by my calculations.

A movie trilogy almost as long as the books This cold, never-ending winter has provided a wealth of time indoors. We have filled it admirably with Peter Jackson's movie trilogy of " The Lord of the Rings ".

Dusk coming in a Maldives lagoon I blog for a reason, and it's not fame or fortune.

Why does the crab always head towards the pole? When I'm stuck and looking for some inspiration, I ask the question, "why", and I get unstuck.

Remember how I was California Dreamin' ? It's gotten even colder.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, celebrated en masse across Asia. It's the year of the sheep/ram/goat .

To sell in today's world requires an elevator pitch . You've basically got 30 seconds , about the time of a standard TV ad.

On July 17, 1955 , Disneyland opened with an hour-long television broadcast debuting the park . Ronald Reagan and Art Linkletter were hosts, and it was a big deal .

From the podium of the West Wing Press Briefing Room It's President's Day in the US, a day to celebrate past presidents back to George Washington , the country's first president. After all, the date was originally set to commemorate his birthday.

All roads lead to Rome . An idiomatic expression that has less relevance for today's Classics-agnostic culture , but when the center of the western world was Rome, every road did actually lead there from the provinces.

Valentine's Day - it's time for flowers , chocolates , and, yes, poetry.

Today's high temperature is 25 degrees F/-4 degrees C. It's this kind of weather that caused me to go west in my youth.

Plain talk, not plane talk... In college, I won an award for "verbose vernacular". These days, I've retired from using big words.

Quiet time on an airplane is one of the last bastions left for every day meditation. I took advantage of my flight time this week to have a think from the window seat.

Ruby stays with grandma and grandpa when we travel. That makes her happy for all the fatty food she'll get but sad that we are away. Now that we are back, it doesn't take her long to get comfy for bedtime.

From beach wedding to barren cupboard - that's what really happens on a homecoming.

Love on the beach is stronger than rain, at least this weekend.

From cold and grey... You know how I said it was cold earlier this week? I went and did something about it.

Anyone can write anywhere with the proper tools. These are my tools.

Cat Stevens (er Yusuf Islam ) was on regular rotation in my high school art class, thanks to our teacher's affinity for his music.  One of his songs came to mind during this week's full moon .

Snow tracks It's not quite Barrow, Alaska , but winter has carried on this year (and on and on).

We have a dog, and her name is Ruby.

Seattle Seahawks colors at the bar did not result in victory Sunday was the Super Bowl , the reigning champion of US sporting events (and national TV ratings). The 49th playing (or XLIX for the purists) turned out to be the most-watched TV show in US television history at over 114.4 million households, according to Nielsen .

Winter is starting to drag in the US. Which is why I've started dreaming of Maldives .

Merriam-Webster defines habit as a " usual way of behaving: something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way ." Basically something that someone already does, almost without impulse. This must be why habits are hard to make and keep.

Opportunity presents itself in a myriad of ways, although not always as we expect. More often, it is uncertain and looks like work.

A little midnight snow never hurt anyone Perhaps it's too late for cogent writing, but I'm going to try anyways.

I'm not a morning person, but I wish I was. Being alert in the morning makes it easier to do a daily stand-up .

Shovel, deer tracks, shadows, and 1 inch of snow It snowed last night. Nowhere near the dramatic predictions of winter storm Juno , but it snowed regardless. Which meant shoveling.