NOTE: This was a very hard article to write, as it required revealing some vulnerabilities, which I hate doing. But I've come to realize that GOOD writing, the kind of writing that changes people, is about being willing to be vulnerable. This morning I had a reminder of something I felt needs sharing. I was driving to work and about 5 miles from home, I realized that I had not kissed my wife goodbye. I turned around and went home, and gave her a kiss godbye before heading back to work. It ...

Thanks to new restrictions on possible solicitation at some area food markets/grocery stores, I was worried that I might not find a bell ringer out during a convenient time this holiday season.  Apparently some grocery stores are more interested in being Grinches than they are in being good neighbors, at least in my opinion. In any case, I was able to find a bell ringer out today and made a donation to the kettle.  I was happy to do so as I am 100% certain that when I drop cash into...

I'm at work tonite, putting in the last few hours for my work week, knocking out some tasks that were better and more easily tackled during hours when the bulk of the user community wouldn't be here with demands on my time, or needs for the systems/applications that were going to be affected by the work that I needed to get done.  Most of the work is done, now I'm just left with a few minor tasks to knock off before I can claim complete victory.  Yay me, in a little while, hopefully ...

Sometimes the best laid plans go to ... well, you get the idea. A famous Market of restaurants that hails out of the Boston area lost my business for quite a while thanks to being completely and totally unprepared for doing business today (Thanksgiving, the day that I'm typing this article) after we (my kids and I) had called the day prior to confirm that they'd be open and what their hours for the day would be. We planned to go to my kid's grandparents (their mother's parents) and ta...

A Farewell To Dubai   By Pranay Gupte (Published in The Hindu, India’s national newspaper, November 26, 2010)   Perhaps it was the good feeling generated by the visit this week to the United Arab Emirates by the septuagenarian President Pratibha Patil of India, or perhaps it’s the fact that the octogenarian Queen Elizabeth II – whose country, Britain, formerly governed the Gulf region – arrived as a supplicant just as Mrs. Patil left with a bagf...

More fun! The insurance company that covers my mobile home sent me a check to cover the costs of the fire related damages (from the neighbors home that burned, my home had some damaged vinyl siding from the heat of the fire), less the deductible and the depreciation since the policy is a cash value policy.  Anyway, the claim was processed pretty quickly, the appraiser came out quickly and checked the situation, and the claims handler did a great job getting the claim check sent out ...

I started to just put this article in as a place holder, as I knew I was going to be pretty wiped out when I got home (as I am now), and had thought of this earlier today when I didn't have the time to put in an article.  As it turns out, I have some time and even though I'm feeling nigh on exhausted, I think I can finish my thought in a reasonable manner so I'm going for it... The article title is in regards to the training that I've been in over the last several days.  One the fir...

Traffic was much better today.  Of course not having any rain falling from the sky helped quite a bit there. Thankfully the traffic last night, but for a five to ten minute delay right near the end of the trip I had to take.  Everything worked out and I (and my daughter) got to the show right on time.  By the time we were parked and enterring the venue and lined up at one of the merchandise booths it was almost time for the opening act to take the stage.  Shortly after we ...

Argh, the traffic this a.m. was a complete and total pain in nether-regions.  Because the sky was falling in little droplets of water apparently most of the drivers in the region experienced amnesia and completely forgot how to drive.  A commute that was supposed to have taken me about 20 minutes at worst wound up taking over an hour of incredibly frustrating snail's paced driving, all while my lifetime traffic monitoring GPS and local radio stations seemed completely oblivious of any ...

First, a moment of silence in honor of Moderateman.  While he may have asked for nothing, I still think he deserves it, and find the news of his passing sad.  I hope his passing means his Earthly pains have been lifted, as I know he was burdened by same, but I'm saddened that he left behind a loved one that I know will miss him terribly. -- Now, while I have an instant to type out a few quick words, I must admit to proving my own incompetence over the last 24 hours.  I bough...

Hello Everyone!  I've been away for so long and I'm sorry about that.  It has been a crazy past couple months.  My husband and I are just getting adapted to our new job, and things are just now starting to settle down enough for me to have some spare time.  I have so much to tell you all about, but I don't even know where to start or what you will be interested in hearing.   We lived in Arizona from August to October and it was fabulous!  I loved it there so much...

I’m trying to get some hobbies. I’ve focused on my job for so long that I haven’t really developed a sort of “normal” life. There is no home life. Only work at office and work from home. But this sabbatical I’m on has been helpful. Today my boys and I explored the woods around our house and saw a lot of deer. I’ve been researching a bit on deer habitat and it’s really interesting to find out how deer live.  Since learning more about “Deer beds” I’ve been able to spot them all over the ...

The pup heads back to the vet today to get a follow-up check after being spayed a few weeks back.  After that, she gets to go to the doggy boutique to get trimmed and beautified.  Most importantly is trimming the fur around the hind quarters which should help her keep from getting herself soiled. Tomorrow I'll be taking the kitten back to the vet for her second check-up and additional shots and such.  I must admit to being a bit tempted to get the cat declawed after she scratch...

On another site that I frequent I had noted that I'd be making a donation to Fisher House (see http://www.fisherhouse.org/fisherhouse.html  for more information about Fisher House if you are not familiar with them) and just a few minutes ago I hit the submit button to do just that. As I'm sitting here with the NFL network on in the background and saw the scroll at the bottom of the screen mentioning USO ( http://www.uso.org ), I also sent off a donation to that organization. Both of ...

I'm waiting impatiently for my order of Call of Duty: Black Ops to come.  I knew it wouldn't be here today, and most likely it won't be here tomorrow either, as I ordered it from Best Buy (I had some gift cards to use up) and they don't promise "release day delivery" like some other vendors do.  Oh well, I'm not that rushed to get the package, but then again, well, I would like to get on my Xbox 360 and play it with some friends. Hopefully the game is good enough and my friends will...