James Woosley’s Blog

Okay, so yesterday’s post wasn’t the best start to the whole “40 days” thing. But I’ve got a good one tonight!

In September it was announced that a group of investors including Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wanted to build a racing complex in South Alabama. At first, I was excited. It sounded like NASCAR was going to be close enough that I could spend a weekend at the races and sleep in my own bed every night.

Then I heard that one of the proposed locations is in Pritchard/Saraland. Now I was a little concerned because Saraland is home. But, it’s still pretty cool.

Then I saw the map on their website: AlabamaMotorsportsPark.com.

FLASH: There is now only one site plan remaining on their web page…the one in Baldwin county is gone, and the Pritchard site stands alone. I only noticed that in the last few minutes…could the announcement be eminent?

I could tell they used Google maps (or at least the same satellite photos) to describe the site. I searched out my house, then compared the pictures. Want to see the map?

My house is a mere 6000 feet from the center of the track. Let’s get ready to rumble!

This is exciting news for our area, and I’m still excited about it. But what will it mean for my neighborhood? What will the noise be like? What will the traffic be like? Will this raise or lower my home’s value? Will I dread the roar of the engines over 100 nights a year (as is proposed)?

I feel bad for my dear Adult Bible Fellowship leaders (read Sunday School teachers) who literally live across the street from the facility. They sacrificed for years in a very small house, and then later built their custom dream home which they designed and built themselves. They sadly may be all but forced to move. I pray the best for them and others too close to it, as I wonder if maybe we’re too close to it too.

On top of that, our church is within thousands of feet of the proposed entrance to the complex.

So we sit and wait for the final results and construction to start. I didn’t know there was only one site left when I started this post. I’d expect the announcement is tomorrow.

BONUS: It’s been the buzz now for a few weeks around town, and last Sunday I heard a rumor that Dale Jr. is building a home somewhere out on Celeste Road (I-65 exit 15 and go west) to include helicopter pad. It’s just a rumor, but I haven’t seen anything else on the internet about it, so maybe this is a scoop for me.

[I guess all those years of journalism in high school and college don’t fade the desire to get the scoop! Still, it’s just a rumor and even if it’s true, I don’t exactly expect to be Junior’s new best friend.]

Okay, so there’s slightly more than 40 days until Christmas. But it’s coming fast, and I want to share with the world!

So I’m pledging to make 40 posts to the blog before Christmas. It might not be everyday, but I’ll be posting much more often than I have been.

What can you expect?

• Lots of Cool Tools and Tips
• Financial Info and FPU Updates
• Messages and Observations of Faith
• Family and Friend Updates

And as an added bonus, this one doesn’t count toward the total! Look for the 40 starting soon!

My latest assignment at work was to lead our CMMI certification efforts. Today we wrapped up the appraisal and were granted the Maturity Level 3 rating for CMMI v1.2 for Development.

Okay, perhaps a little background is needed:

1) I’m a Manager for a major consulting company and have worked there for the past 5+ years (my entire post-USAF career).

2) In January, I was hired to lead the certification effort for a new software development facility. There were fewer than 40 employees at the time, and there are currently more than 100.

3) CMMI stands for Capability Maturity Model Integrated. It’s basically an industry recognized set of standards and practices for software development. You can learn more and see all the copyright and trademark signs at the Software Engineering Institute website.

Okay, so back to the story. In less than 10 months, we developed more than 250 pages of documentation and gathered about 2000 pieces of evidence for review this past week. It was grueling and exhausting, but we did it. (BTW, most organizations take 2-3 years to do what we did).

I’m proud of the fact that we were successful, and that we’re one of the very first organizations to be certified under the new v1.2 guidelines. But I’m most proud of the fact that we didn’t just do it for the marketing fodder or to check it off of a corporate goal checklist.

We dug into our processes and automated them whenever possible. We streamlined what our other development centers have done, and even what other entities within our company have done. We passed with flying colors, and while there’s room for improvement, there’s always room for improvement (it is a continuous improvement model).

What’s bugging me now is that the project has come to an end and I feel a bit like my purpose has come to an end. I’ve fulfilled my agreement and delivered what was expected. It’s a big deal, and I’m happy about that. But I’m dealing with the “what now?” part of the equation.

Am I defective in some part of my DNA that I can’t really enjoy this? Do I enjoy the struggle so much that I can’t truly welcome the victory? Am I normal in that? Or am I just a boring person who doesn’t know how to celebrate anything?

I guess a lot of it come from defining myself too much by what I do. That’s something us guys tend to do more than women. I’m in that grey area between missions. I need a goal to accomplish now, a mountain to climb, a race to win…

It’ll come soon enough, and then I’ll be looking forward to that accomplishment. Maybe I can remember all of this when I’m in the mess on that one, just trying to survive the rough spots that kill so many projects.

No matter what the project or the outcome, remember the following:

• Celebrate and enjoy the spoils of victory.
• Mourn the losses and share your scars and the stories that go with them.
• And in all things, give glory to God by doing your best with the talents He has given you!

No, it’s not a typo. I don’t do that sourt of thing on porpoise.

Tin is the traditional gift to give your spouse on your 10th wedding anniversary. Ten years ago today, my lovely bride Heather said “I do” and became my wife. Sorry dear, but the modern gift is diamonds, and well, you got the minivan last weekend so diamonds are out!

She is the first and only true love of my life. We met in high school in 1989, started dating in April of 1990, and after a four year breakup during college, we got back together in the last days of 1995. We were engaged in May of 1996, and married in September.

I can’t think of anyone outside of my family that I’ve known for longer and still know well today.

The funny thing is that almost no one is reading this blog. It’s almost like I’m simply writing a journal about my life and stuff I think about. She hasn’t commented on my Valentine’s Day message yet. I wonder when or if she’ll ever read this. Maybe on our 20th?

I love you, Heather. Always have, always will.

Your husband,

James

I present tonight three stories of three fathers…one real, one fictional and one me.

1) Mr. Ford — There’s a Ford minivan commercial out now that I noticed a few weeks ago. It appears that the family is out enjoying their vacation, winding through the roads on a long trip. Then the twist.

Dad gets out, hugs the kids, and they get back in the van with Mom. He thanks her for being allowed to participate in their lives.

On one hand, this is nice. Despite divorce, both parents are able to put their differences aside for the kids and take a family vacation.

On the other hand, it’s sad. Divorce has torn apart so many families that it’s now “normal” enough to be featured in a commercial. The twist isn’t that they’re divorced…the twist is that they still get along.

Good or bad? Both in my book.

2) Mr. Biological — A man in New Mexico is in a legal battle to win custody of his biological son, who was adopted out by the biological mother but didn’t tell dad about it. The adoption agency didn’t try to contact him either. He found out two months after the adoption and immediately sought custody.

See the story at FoxNews.com.

The courts have battled back and forth in the case for more than two years now.

As an adoptive father, this case is scary. Because our adoption was international, there’s almost no chance we’d face this kind of fight.

I admire this man’s determination to raise his son. But at some point, the damage to the child is going to be significant.

What we need in custody cases like this is a fast-track court process. And once a child is over a certain age, say 6-12 months, there are no more appeals. For the good of the children, the court’s ruling must stand. Additional motions should be able to be filed and precedents set, but only in the interest of future cases.

I’m not a lawyer and I’m sure there are problems with what I’m proposing. But shouldn’t the spirit of the law include what’s best for the children? Easier said than done, but those are my thoughts tonight.

3) Mr. Hickey — Sometimes being a good dad sucks. Literally.

I was playing with Ian last Friday night and we were having a great time. Then he found a suction cup and I stuck it on my forehead. He tried to pull it off with one hand but couldn’t. Two hands on the sides of the cup did it. I stuck it on his head and it didn’t stay there long (I have more forehead). So I kept putting it on me and he kept pulling it off. I even tried to pull it off once, and once was enough. The force of my pulling on the center of the cup left a nice red hickey in the center of my forehead larger than a quarter.

I noticed it two hours later when I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Normally I’d get mad about doing something so stupid, but this time I just giggled. Silly, eh?

A pastor at church on Sunday thought I’d been hit by a golf ball. People at work jokingly asked if I changed religions or had been hit by a contentious co-worker.

Nope. Just the mark of a good dad.

Well, good for a few minutes of playtime on a Friday night.

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For more on fatherhood and the importance of fathers in our nation, please visit Ed Litton’s Blog.