buckle-up

This time last year we spent a wonderful week in the Gothic capital of Leipzig, Germany. The occasion was the pan-European HPE user group meeting for everyone in the HPE NonStop community and the support it had received from Germany and beyond was good to see. It was also a chance for us to explore the city of Goethe (where he studied law at the local university), visit Porsche factory (Panamera and Macan) and yes, tour a railway station that had been turned into a mall! However, this year our experience with the annual pan-European event for HPE NonStop users took us to the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. We spent a week in the U.K. at a time when every conversation seemed to center not on the NonStop computer but rather, BREXIT. Safe to say, the conversations that took place were energetic, with passionate advocates on both sides of the exit argument. Not sure how accurate our sample was, but Margo and I left Edinburgh with the distinct impression that Scotland, as a country, was a...

At this time of year the weather is highly unpredictable. However, of late there have been some amazing sunsets that I was able to capture on film as I was standing on our main floor deck having fired up the grill for the first time. April is Colorado’s second snowiest month of the year – March is the snowiest – and we have been watching the thermometer climb and fall on a regular basis. It may very well be spring, but there are times where we just aren’t quite sure what to make of it. On the other hand, there is a growing sense that summer isn’t too far away. Around these parts there are a lot of farmers heading for the fields and there are tractors rumbling down lanes everywhere you turn.  Grilling time is always a fun time and we have been entertaining a number of guests these past couple of weeks. Neighbors who spent the winter in Ohio have returned to Colorado while others who wintered in Arizona and Southern California are just now heading back – should see them shor...

The opportunity to catch up with good friends and former business colleagues meant that Margo and I made a quick dash to Munich, Germany, where we tackled a little bit of business and we had the whole of Munich to explore. My first trip to Munich was back in early December, 1981, and as best as I can recall, it has been a place I have returned to every couple of years. There was a time when I worked for Nixdorf Computers during the period where they manufactured their own IBM Plug Compatible Mainframes (PCMs) and this endeavor just happened to be centered in Munich. The division was called Compatible Information Systems (CIS) as I recall, although locale Nixdorf folks were often heard explaining that CIS stood for Compatible Information (to) Siemens. On arrival into Munich’s old airport, I was often greeted with snow and this was pretty much the case this time, too – snow fell a couple of times while we walked the city.   It is hard not to be impressed with the old tow...

When did the mighty BMW M4 become a grand tourer and when did the even more magnificent BMW i8 become a supercar? Given how the i8 stole the show in the Mission Impossible movie when Tom Cruise’s character said “wait till you see the car!” It was his only comment as he unloaded munitions and transportation from an air transport plane. On the other hand, trying to squeeze each and every car into a recognizable category these days when crossovers cover so much territory is becoming next to impossible. Do we really need cars like the BMW X6 M or the even rounder and more unsightly Mercedes Benz GLC Coupe? The world of cars has gone mad, I tell you. With snow falling here in Windsor, Colorado, (as unexpected as it is these days given how it still is winter) it’s time, once again, to explore the topic of which five cars to keep. Well, at least for the next year or so and it is timely as once again, Margo and I find we have five cars in the garage, storage and on the driveway. Spread ...

Back in Colorado for just two weeks, it’s proving hard to comprehend that we just spent three months down under. Australia holds a special place in both of our hearts, but this time, Margo and I found it tough handling Colorado’s wintery welcome after so much time under the blazing Aussie sun! As we flew out of Denver, all those months ago, the view from our plane was sunny and quite breathtaking despite what we knew were the conditions on the ground: Bring on the sunshine and warmth! Then again, this trip to sunny down under was always going to be about optimizing our time and, faced with the potential of having to make three separate trips to Australia, it was enough reason to combine potentially many flights into a single trip. As for timing, knowing full well that we would be away over the Thanksgiving Weekend, Christmas and then New Year’s Eve, it only seemed fair to squeeze in time with my family while focused on business, for the most part. However, to respond to numero...