Cadillac CT6

Cadillac has officially unveiled the CT6, this car looks interesting, It features a longer wheel base and a new chassis and lightweight materials in the body to bring it with a weight closer to the smaller CTS than a short wheel base  BMW 7 series where this car compares favorably.

I have to admit that Cadillac has been impressing me the last few years with cars that are well executed and innovative and yes. High standards of fit and finish.

I you haven’t been paying attention, its easy to think that this is a recent change on the Wreath and Crest’s part, but actually this all started more than a decade ago with the introduction of the 2000 STS.

Surface 3

Microsoft has announced a new addition to the Surface line, the Surface 3, now this device borrows heavily form the Surface Pro 3 line and rightly so. The Surface Pro 3 for all intents and purposes is a hit for Microsoft.

While the Surface 2 and the Surface RT before it, didn’t do much to generate sales or revenues for the company, the Surface Pro 3 has actually made a profit for Redmond and does generate some excitement for the device.

I predict this one will sell in bigger numbers that the Pro 3 thanks to a great form factor and value and very attractive price.

It also seems that the door for Apple to undermine the Surface Pro 3’s momentum with an “iPad Pro” has just closed a little more.

So far the Surface team seems to be fleshing out and rebalancing the Surface line nicely.

My Return

After a long absence, I’ve decided to give it another go.

That’s another return at Blogging, I spent the winter busy with a job and the usual seasonal challenges, Winter and the kids and family during winter. The moody people and other factors.

The year didn’t launch very smoothly and I found myself putting out way many fires that I didn’t always feel where part of my job description.

Anyway, just posting and trying to warm up my blogging chops.

New Tech Toy

As I prepare to drink my coffee, I’ve decided to devote some thought to what Microsoft might reveal to the public on Tuesday.

It will almost certainly be a new surface mini in the 8 inch screen range, now I’m pretty interested in this as I’ve been thinking of getting something that’s smaller and would serve my tablet consumption needs better.

A larger surface pro would help flesh out the product line and might appeal to the buyer who wants something bigger and until now hasn’t really found this in anything out side of a Samsung product.

I still think that a 10.6 tablet size is just about perfect for me, big enough to do some productive work for an hour or two while on the go, and yet small enough to still be used comfortably in tablet form.

I still find the idea of a powerful and thin notebook class tablet very appealing though. This is turning into a small niche market that will specifically address people such as myself.

With the surface line being addressed, I’m happy to see Microsoft  expand it’s lineup and continue to show commitment to the product line.

I’m excited to see what they do tomorrow.

Blogging Away

Sitting down in a local coffee shop and trying to enjoy s hot cop of coffee can sometimes be a challenge after all, its a public place and anybody’s welcome who’s interested in purchasing something to drink.

I for one was surrounded one day by a group of bikers, not the leather vested and tattooed type the kind that rides the very expensive two wheeled chain driven, human powered and very expensive made bicycle that when I was a kid I called my Schwinn.

They usually show up on the weekend all around the same time and then congregate and discuss their upcoming ride and the challenges it will present to them.

No I don’t mind this as I’ve gotten used to them and the clicking of their special shoes  and very  aerodynamic safety helmets.

Unless….I’m trying to post to my blog as I was trying to do this particular morning. One of the riders even seemed to take a fancy to my tablet computer I use as my daily driver.

I finally decided I had enough and pulled out my noise cancelling in ears, a must for anyone trying to do any kind of work in a regularly noisy area.

After turning on my favorite Bose headphones and moving a few seats over and away form the group they seemed to take notice of me and my annoyance to their presence and all of the them got up and departed to begin their ride.

Now in reality, I’m here quite a bit and I cross paths with these weekend Tour de France types all the time, they recognize me and I of course know them as well.

It’s because of this that I believe they decided to show me a little courtesy and leave me in peace, and I appreciate it.

Blogging this particular morning was something  of a challenge for me. I was just  sitting and trying to decide what to write when this group of individuals gave me something to blog about.

I’ll probably just sit here the next time and let them talk away until they’re ready to go.

Being Happy No Matter What

Waking up in the morning represents to me an opportunity.

The chance to be greatful  for what I have , it’s the little things that can make life so enjoyable.

Why get upset about a job that doesn’t pay enough instead of looking at it as a place holder that helps bring me income while I plan other things and put them into place.

I appreciate my children who bring as much happiness into my life as stress. My wife who’s taught me to grow through happiness and confrontation.

I’m happy about a cool spring day that lets me take in nature and the sounds around me.

I love my not so new car that takes me where I want to go.

I’m happy about the people I work with, I always learn something new form them, even when under stress and it helps me grow.

It’s too easy to wake up with discontent and anger, and then follow it with blame on something or someone.

The key to life is yours, attitude and vision is all that can stand in the way.

 

Life vs. Money

Money is such an interesting thing, its very much like the force from Star Wars, it surrounds us and binds us, it’s the glue that we use to stick so many things together.

It becomes quite a major issue when passion and money aren’t one and the same. I’ve watched Bill Gates and Steve Jobs give speeches on why passion is the driver to get where you want to go and eventually money follows.

But what does one do when you make money and your passion are very separate things?

I’ve struggled with this over the years, working for money in employment that for the most part left me with a feeling of indifference to what I did, doing it well enough to earn my keep but really not caring deep down inside one way or the other .

I’ve struggled with trying to bridge the two worlds, My passions lie elsewhere and with time a realization comes that I should stop trying to guarantee myself an absolute ability to know what I have to do and just build a path that merges the two.

Being a heavy left brain thinker can have very negative effects on someone who needs to see a clear and defined path to where I want to be, yet trusting in a part of myself not so clearly defined is something new and interesting…. but terrifying.

I’ll keep doing the blind walk thing anyway, it seems to be working.

 

 

No summer please

Up and early this morning going through my usual routine, cup of coffee,  dressed and waiting for the kids to wake up.

Its a cool morning and I’ve decided to stand out side and enjoy a moment with nature. I’ve realized that even with summer and all its activities around the corner that I would skip it if I had the choice.

Summer to me represents bored kids, standing in line for rides I’d prefer not to be on, and my children complaining  that they’re bored and don’t know what to do.

It’s an engine temperature gage edging upwards and making me more uncomfortable about a possible visit to my mechanic.

Why is it that in winter we want summer and then can’t wait for the cooler weather to arrive? it’s s the polar opposite  of the two conditions that we really want.

In the same way that you want something sweet after a salty meal, it makes you experience life and you feel alive while doing so.

I guess that its really just important to observe what’s happening around you, it will all change eventually anyway.

 

 

Jimmy Buffet Nervana

Sitting and listening to music while blogging is almost a level of perfection to me, Several years ago a was working at a local retail shop when I happened to befriend the manager of the store.

I walked into her office and I noticed her playing jimmy buffet on her radio. She looked up and smiled asking me if “I Was a parrot head”.

At  the time didn’t understand what she was trying to imply, she smiled again and simply asked if ” I was a fan of Jimmy Buffet”; I replied that I wasn’t though I did know who he was.

That was many years ago, not only did I realize I blew a prefect chance to get to know my admittedly pretty female manager and find some common ground with her. But I would latter on in life come to appreciate Jimmy Buffet and his music, or more realistically the type of life or mind set that he was always promoting.

Middle age has brought a strong desire in me to simplify and demystify things in life that I’ve allowed to achieve  a stature of over importance and priority.

My children are important and my need for balance and sanity.

 

The rest of it is really destined for a garage sale.

 

life and illusion

It seems that on days when I find myself in situations that I find of questionable value and dubious situations I seem to go from one extreme or the other.     I ask myself why I’m I putting up with this situation or something seems hopeless and not worth the energy required to hold it together. And then some point later I seem to have small revelations..

I don’t call it god or universe on my higher self. Just little streams or thoughts that seem to pop up and point out the obvious.

This life we live isn’t ultimately real, its an illusion or physical manifestation designed  to create experiences and a response on a higher level.

I sometimes forget this, and its also obvious that some people will never have this kind of realization, but when it does happen I find myself feeling lighter and happier.

 

The world we live in is ugly and beautiful and everything in between, better than anything Disney could create and in a fashion that keeps us heavily immersed in its complications and pettiness .

It just takes some moment of silence and reflection to realize that its just really just a trip or ride.