General ranting

Ok – so the flight to Sedona was awesome, the trip was awesome, the flight home was perhaps the best I have ever had, and the US got absolutely stomped in the Ryder Cup.  Now I need to get a few items off my chest:

• Raising a child is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, without question, and by far the most rewarding.  The idea that people write their children off because it is too much work doesn’t just secure them a special place in hell – it makes them disgusting, horrible human beings that should not be associated with.
• Easily the most important part of running my own business is the potential it has to allow me to employ a bunch of really smart people and treat them well.  I simply cannot BELIEVE how many people don’t get the importance of this in life.
• Java is robust and mature.  LAMP is not.  That is the END of that conversation.  Use what you want, and shut up about it.
• Offshore development is not stealing jobs from Americans.  It is taking commodotized jobs and moving them to where they belong – like making TV’s, etc.  If your job is being sent to India, or Russia, or China, it’s because you have not been paying attention.  Upgrade your skills, work harder, and – again – shut up about it.
• MS SQL is not a “toy” – it is a serious tool that works well in virtually any case.  If you haven’t created a multi-million row database in MS SQL, and are saying it is a toy, you don’t know what you are talking about.  See posts above about shutting up.
• Getting your shit together health-wise turns out to feel good and make you live longer.  It really isn’t something you should be congratulated for.  Like not going to jail, not beating your kids, and not stealing from people, it’s just something you SHOULD do.  Being unhealthy and fat, on the other hand, is something that society should be making people feel bad about.  The whole “big and beautiful” movement is just plain wrong.
• I really want to learn to become a highly skilled chef, and learn how to play the piano.  Yes – at 40.
• I hope my girlfriend understands how much I appreciate everything she does for me and my daughter.  Not from reading this – but from how I treat her.
• If Sydney ends up as happy an adult as I am right now, I will die a happy man.

That’s it.  Need to sleep now.