After a Long Time

There’s a slow, slow train comin’ up around the bend
~Bob Dylan, Duluth, MN. 
 

On a slow boat to China.

~Frank Loesser, New York City, NY.

After a significant period of time away from the blog, we have returned to writing.  We know of people with several younglings still at home who pump out more blog posts, so the gauntlet has already been thrown and we have fallen short. (Note: Although there have been some rumors that we were consumed with pursuing opportunities in the luxury chicken diaper business, such rumors are false). 

Back in the day, on his old blog, Engineer R was much more consistent with pumping out posts. It wasn't necessarily that he had more time then, but rather that he had a more reliable paycheck and didn't have to do the double-dutch with a duo of distracting dogs.

As it would obviously be impossible to relate all that has happened since the last installment, we will forebear with trying to formally catch readers up on what transpired and proceed from where we currently stand.

First, a general thought for the day:

"If one desires to remain in one's job for any significant length of time, missing 40% of your scheduled meetings with clients usually will not bode favorably in any regard when your on-the-job performance comes into question before upper-level administration. They will act swiftly and succinctly in removing you from your duties. Your self-inflicted predicament will be exacerbated by writing explosive epistles in response to their decisions."

That is a quote from Effective Tools for Being an Effective Playground Aide, written by Jorgia Loois. We have found this to be an apropos quotation as of late.

On a completely unrelated note, Engineer R has successfully defended his dissertation. We will not entertain you with the details of the dissertation or the defense thereof, but anyone desiring to read it can contact Engineer R and he will send you a digital copy. He can also try to procure a bound hard copy for the cost of $20 if you are really, really, really desperate. In fact, Engineer R has already had someone request an exclusive copy from which they* can borrow and promulgate important passages they do not know anything about! Very Exciting! He was thrilled to hear of this reader's enthusiasm for his work.

In line with his successful defense, Engineer R can now begin his full-time job. Due to a number of security protocols stemming from the classified nature of his work, he is unable to disclose where he works or who he works for. Furthermore, in answer to several inquiries on the matter, no, he cannot give away his keypass to the plutonium storage facility. He is only allowed to take three guests a year and he has already used up his allotment. A spot for the year 2019 can be held for a small fee (no personal checks please).

Engineer J recently began a job working in the medical industry. She too is unable to disclose the details of her job, as doing such would violate hippo privacy law. Who knows why we're so concerned about preserving these hippos' privacy, but I guess it's always a good idea to avoid angering the largest artiodactyl (even-toed ungulate) on the planet.

This hippo is skeptical of any promises of privacy.
He is pretty sure the giraffes just leaked his banking information.

We will attempt to be more consistent about posting regularly now that we are doing "real life" again. As always though, one's intentions may not be matched by one's actual actions.

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*Yes, as the grammar police persons will note, this should be "he or she," not the plural pronoun "they." Modern English has come to accept this usage of "they," however, and we here find it to be usefully vague. We can solace in the fact that there exists no sentences in this post which end in prepositions, which should make the Latin purists pleased.