My Week that Was - December 21

I saw this Tuesday. 12/17/24 dwm

Saturday morning after breakfast I had some shopping to do. These were gifts for colleagues at work, so I wanted to find something fun or that would help around the office without spending much money. I was also hunting down things to give my wife on Christmas.

 I know the places she likes, so I made a trek from one shop to the next, coming out with gift cards at each one. While that seems like a short cut, it's the best of both worlds, she'll get to shop after-Christmas sales and get more for the dollar. 

 That afternoon I watched the Wisconsin Badger men's basketball team hold off the Butler Bulldogs to break a three-game losing streak. The Milwaukee Bucks tipped off their game before the Badgers finished, so I picked up their game in the semi-final round of the NBA in-season tournament. The Bucks advanced to the championship Tuesday.

 

 The Packers played in Seattle Sunday night. They got off to a great start with a 14 - 0 lead in the first quarter and reached the half with a 20 - 3 lead. The teams traded field goals in the third quarter and Seattle lost its starting quarterback, Geno Smith, to injury. It was 23 - 6 with 15-minutes to play. The Packers talked about the importance of getting off to a good start, they did it Sunday and it seemed Seattle never got on track after that.

After a Josh Jacobs fumble at the 45-yard line in Packer territory, it took less than 90-seconds for Seattle to get their first touchdown and cut the lead to ten with 11-minutes to play. The fumble gave the Seahawks hope and they forced a punt after three plays by Green Bay, taking over at their own 32. The Packer defense shut down Seattle and got the ball back with 9:32 to play.

 

The Packers turned over Seattle one-more time, picking off a pass with 5 minutes to play, linebacker Edgerrin Cooper returned it to the Seahawk 27 yard line.  Jordan Love connected with Romeo Dobbs on a 22-yard touchdown to put the game on ice. It's a big win for Green Bay, they are 10 - 4 with the Saints coming to Lambeau Monday night.

 

Are we there yet? 12/17/24 dwm

On the way to work Tuesday, I stopped at Kwik Trip to grab a Diet Dew/Mt. Dew beverage to start the day. On the way to the car, a Red Bull delivery truck caught my eye.

 

It looked like a bright green jacket. Then I saw a really big mouth, it was a human-size dinosaur! It made me smile. We don't have car pool lanes around Madison, but the Red Bull driver is ready when we do.

 

The third Tuesday usually finds me on our east campus. That was good this time because their resident's Reader Theater was sharing it's performance of  "Christmastime with the Peanuts Gang." It was a wonderful show.

 

The second day of the new database went better than day one, but there is still a lot of learning to do. I learned some of our data expected to seamlessly transition will take more work. 

 

One holiday tradition that's developed in the office involves a lot of time on the phone. My goal is to contact all the donors who qualify for the Oak Society or higher before the year ends. Over the past three weeks I've called more than 250 donors.

 

Thursday brought the first snow of the season. By Friday morning, we had 3 to 4 inches but it ended overnight so crews had an opportunity to get ahead of the traffic. It wasn't a bother and when the sun came up, it was a lot prettier than it two days earlier.

Giving blood. 12/20/2024 dwm

 It was time to visit the Red Cross Friday. Early in the week I received an email that I would see new technology during the screening process.

 

 There was an automatic blood pressure monitor, a temperature 'ray gun,' and an over-sized thumb ring that measured my hemoglobin.

 

 These measurements are non-invasive, so there is no finger prick to get the drop of blood to test and no thermometer to hold under the tongue.

 

 It seemed to work, even though it took longer than the old way. I suspect the process will get better.

 

As far as being non-invasive, that's a nice thought, but until they can get the blood without a needle this whole process will invade a vein.

That was my week, thanks for reading, and have a happy holiday!