happy 4th of july!take some time today to read this excellent speech by rush limbaugh's father ...
our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor
Thursday, July 4, 2013
the fate of the signers
happy 4th of july!take some time today to read this excellent speech by rush limbaugh's father ...
our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
a letter from 'a freeman' - november 24, 1775
 |
| guardians of liberty |
The savage and brutal barbarity of our enemies, in burning Falmouth, is a full demonstration that there is not the least remains of virtue, wisdom, or humanity, in the British Court, and that they are fully determined, with fire and sword, to butcher and destroy, beggar and enslave, the whole American people. Therefore, we expect soon to break off all kind of connection with Britain, and form into a grand Republick of the American United Colonies; which will, by the blessing of Heaven, soon work out our salvation, and perpetuate the liberties, increase the wealth, the power, and the glory, of this western world.
Notwithstanding the many difficulties we have to encounter, and the rage of our merciless enemies, we have a glorious prospect before us, big with every thing good and great. The further we enter into the field of independence, our prospect will expand and brighten, and a complete Republick will soon complete our happiness. "Blindness seems to have happened to Britain, that the fullness of America might come in;" and we have every encouragement to "stand fast in the liberties wherewith Heaven has made us free." Persevere, ye guardians of liberty! May success be your constant attendant until the enemies of freedom are no more; and all future generations, as they successively tread the stage of time, and taste the joys of liberty, will rise up and call you blessed.
A FREEMAN. Cambridge, November 24, 1775.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
the first week's observances and food
i'm here in kuala lumpur on business, so most of my waking hours have been in meetings and day-to-day business. so, i'll focus on the hours outside of work.
food
i've gone out to lunch every day. my co-workers always ask me if i miss western food or if i want to eat western food. i quickly say no. i want to try pretty much anything that is not western.
the first day we ate a place called dragon-i. it was chinese. i was explaining to my team about the east side cafe where i grew up (orhpan annie's now) and how my family always ate mandarin chicken. of course they didn't understand what mandarin chicken is ... so i said it was a lot like sweet and sour chicken. then they understood. they ordered for me at dragon-i. we ate something very similar to sweet and sour chicken. we also ate a kailan bowl as well as a roasted duck plate. a lot of places here will bring the food in bowls and then everyone serves themselves the food on the plate. i loved the chicken, the kailan and the duck - it was really delicious. and of course we had dim-sum - always so tasty.
oh - chopsticks ... i was a bit nervous about the chopsticks, but i didn't want to be the wimpy american who couldn't eat with chopsticks. so i did my best. my team told me that if i could pick up a roasted nut, then i was good. i was able to pick up the roasted nut quite easily. i'm proud to say that i've not once requested silverware when there were chopsticks to be used :-)
the second day was a team builder day. so my team along with a sister team went out for lunch at a very nice restaurant located in the hotel at which i'm staying. it was a dim-sum spread with rice and salads. the conversation was really nice and we all got to know each other very well. for desert, they ordered me some durian pancake. durian is a local fruit - they call it the king of fruits. but apparently it has a very strong smell to it. i had heard rumors from my boss and other people to not try the durian. but i tried the durian pancake anyway. to me it tasted like a strong onion with a hint of mango. they all gave me strange looks when i told them it tasted and smelled like an onion.
after lunch, we did some team-building exercises: building legos, marshmellow tower and chinese pictionary. it was a lot of fun.
after work on the second day, i went for an hour-long walk around the central park. the walk was very nice and had spectacular views of the twin towers. one thing i thought was quite odd was seeing someone take a picture of a woman who was dressed in a full-body burqa - i mean, what's the point of taking a picture if you don't know who you're taking a picture of?
the third day's lunch was with my team's old team lead as well as the team's current team lead. she took us to this chinese place - i had some noodle dish and really enjoyed it.
then on the fourth day - friday - we all went to an indian restaurant. it was very delicious - we ate some fried cauliflower, shark meat and then some spicy lamb. the lamb was good, but too spicy for me. i ended up sweating for 10 minutes! there was also some flat bread to eat along with the meal.
yesterday was saturday - i was going to go to batu caves, but my ride fell through, so i stayed in the hotel catching up on my chess tactics. i couldn't go outside because of the very thick haze and smoke from all the fires in indonesia. i ate a full dinner on saturday at the hotel. i had hainanese chicken, cheese sticks and pistachio cheesecake.
then today - sunday - i went with a friend and her family to visit the genting highlands. we were going to go to malacca, but the smoke and haze is even worse down south. so we went up into the mountains. the road was steep and curvy. our first stop was at the chin swee temple. i really enjoyed walking around the temple and reading of the many levels of hell. we even walked up the pagoda half way before we decided we had enough climbing. after the temple, we headed on up to the top of the hill. when we got there, we walked around a bit, ate some brunch, then walked around some more and then decided we'd see enough. after that, we drove back down the hill a way to a mushroom farm. seeing how the chinese grow mushrooms was quite interesting. after that, we drove back down into the haze to visit batu caves. we climbed the 300 or so steps and walked around the massive limestone cave. it was pretty amazing. i liked the chinese temple better mainly because it was cleaner. batu caves was quite dirty. after batu caves, we went to central market and did some shopping. i got some gifts for my kids and wife. and then they drove me back to the hotel - i was very tired.
besides seeing all the neat attractions, i also really enjoyed hanging out with and talking to my friend and her family. she has two kids the same age as my two youngest. they treated me very nicely and even called me uncle. the youngest taught me a complex version of rock, paper, scissors. what made it so extremely difficult to win was the ever-changing rules. as soon as i would win, he would come up with a new weapon to play. he is a smart kid and it was very memorable playing chage ... that's charge without the 'r'.
and that was the first week in kl.
i have four more days here and then i fly back to houston. i miss my wife and kids.
food
i've gone out to lunch every day. my co-workers always ask me if i miss western food or if i want to eat western food. i quickly say no. i want to try pretty much anything that is not western.
the first day we ate a place called dragon-i. it was chinese. i was explaining to my team about the east side cafe where i grew up (orhpan annie's now) and how my family always ate mandarin chicken. of course they didn't understand what mandarin chicken is ... so i said it was a lot like sweet and sour chicken. then they understood. they ordered for me at dragon-i. we ate something very similar to sweet and sour chicken. we also ate a kailan bowl as well as a roasted duck plate. a lot of places here will bring the food in bowls and then everyone serves themselves the food on the plate. i loved the chicken, the kailan and the duck - it was really delicious. and of course we had dim-sum - always so tasty.
oh - chopsticks ... i was a bit nervous about the chopsticks, but i didn't want to be the wimpy american who couldn't eat with chopsticks. so i did my best. my team told me that if i could pick up a roasted nut, then i was good. i was able to pick up the roasted nut quite easily. i'm proud to say that i've not once requested silverware when there were chopsticks to be used :-)
the second day was a team builder day. so my team along with a sister team went out for lunch at a very nice restaurant located in the hotel at which i'm staying. it was a dim-sum spread with rice and salads. the conversation was really nice and we all got to know each other very well. for desert, they ordered me some durian pancake. durian is a local fruit - they call it the king of fruits. but apparently it has a very strong smell to it. i had heard rumors from my boss and other people to not try the durian. but i tried the durian pancake anyway. to me it tasted like a strong onion with a hint of mango. they all gave me strange looks when i told them it tasted and smelled like an onion.
after lunch, we did some team-building exercises: building legos, marshmellow tower and chinese pictionary. it was a lot of fun.
after work on the second day, i went for an hour-long walk around the central park. the walk was very nice and had spectacular views of the twin towers. one thing i thought was quite odd was seeing someone take a picture of a woman who was dressed in a full-body burqa - i mean, what's the point of taking a picture if you don't know who you're taking a picture of?
the third day's lunch was with my team's old team lead as well as the team's current team lead. she took us to this chinese place - i had some noodle dish and really enjoyed it.
then on the fourth day - friday - we all went to an indian restaurant. it was very delicious - we ate some fried cauliflower, shark meat and then some spicy lamb. the lamb was good, but too spicy for me. i ended up sweating for 10 minutes! there was also some flat bread to eat along with the meal.
yesterday was saturday - i was going to go to batu caves, but my ride fell through, so i stayed in the hotel catching up on my chess tactics. i couldn't go outside because of the very thick haze and smoke from all the fires in indonesia. i ate a full dinner on saturday at the hotel. i had hainanese chicken, cheese sticks and pistachio cheesecake.
then today - sunday - i went with a friend and her family to visit the genting highlands. we were going to go to malacca, but the smoke and haze is even worse down south. so we went up into the mountains. the road was steep and curvy. our first stop was at the chin swee temple. i really enjoyed walking around the temple and reading of the many levels of hell. we even walked up the pagoda half way before we decided we had enough climbing. after the temple, we headed on up to the top of the hill. when we got there, we walked around a bit, ate some brunch, then walked around some more and then decided we'd see enough. after that, we drove back down the hill a way to a mushroom farm. seeing how the chinese grow mushrooms was quite interesting. after that, we drove back down into the haze to visit batu caves. we climbed the 300 or so steps and walked around the massive limestone cave. it was pretty amazing. i liked the chinese temple better mainly because it was cleaner. batu caves was quite dirty. after batu caves, we went to central market and did some shopping. i got some gifts for my kids and wife. and then they drove me back to the hotel - i was very tired.
besides seeing all the neat attractions, i also really enjoyed hanging out with and talking to my friend and her family. she has two kids the same age as my two youngest. they treated me very nicely and even called me uncle. the youngest taught me a complex version of rock, paper, scissors. what made it so extremely difficult to win was the ever-changing rules. as soon as i would win, he would come up with a new weapon to play. he is a smart kid and it was very memorable playing chage ... that's charge without the 'r'.
and that was the first week in kl.
i have four more days here and then i fly back to houston. i miss my wife and kids.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
the way over
i got to bush intercontinental, checked in, got my boarding pass and walked to the gate. the goodbyes to my wife and the kids was a bit emotional, but we all survived. the security check wasn't so bad. this was my first time in janet napolitano's naked machine. then i headed for my gate and when i arrived, i found that the flight was going to be late - 90 minutes late. my layover in los angeles was only going to be for two hours - that's a problem.
i waited in the terminal. got my book out, read a bit, walked around, checked the flight status, read my book, walked around, checked the flight status, read book, walked, checked status, read, walk, check ...
the flight really was late. we boarded - i was in business class - my first time in the leather, comfortable seats with lots of leg room. i sat next to danny brassell phd - america's reading ambassador. i had never heard of this guy, but apparently he's pretty popular around the nation. he gave me a bookmark / business card. we talked about the book i was reading (the savior generals), the author of the book (victor davis hanson) and who he is. i think danny wrote the name of the author down. then we chatted about things; travel, hometowns, etc. then the flight took off and danny fell asleep while i read.
i get to los angeles and i need to get to the tom bradley international terminal. i hadn't been to lax since 1997. in hindsight, i could have and should have just walked from my landing terminal to tom bradley. but instead, i waited for the bus to pick me up and drive me over. the bus, which was supposed to come by every 10 minutes, didn't come by for over 20 minutes. when i finally get to tom bradley, i have about 20 mins before my flight to hong kong leaves. i get to the cathy pacific counter to check-in and they say that everything has been closed down - i can't get on the flight. even if they let me, the security check-point has closed - bummer. she gets me on the next day's flight out of lax. i'm in dis-belief and i walked around the fairly empty terminal in a daze. i call my wife, let her know what's going on. then i find a quite place to relax. i end up sleeping on a restaurant soft bench for the night.
i wake up around 6am local time, i get up and walk around. the terminal is pretty quiet. the other 50 or so people who also spent the night are starting to wake as well. some people came really prepared - they found a nice spot on the floor next to the windows overlooking the tarmac and then made a nice bed of blankets and bags and fell asleep. the morning goes by slowly. i found a spot and read my book. soon it is afternoon; i get some lunch at panda express. after lunch, i head down to the cathay pacific counter and see if i can get on standby for the 2pm flight. i get on, wait two hours and then come back to see if they will let me on. they do! they issue my boarding pass and i proceed to the security check. there is some more waiting outside the gate and then i'm finally on the plane.
the business class is full of quasi-cubicles with a seat that fully reclines. there is also a 15 inch computer screens built into the cubicle for watching movies and listening to music. the flight supplies a very nice set of head phones too. the flight is over 14 hours. during the flight, i read, listened to music (depeche mode's new album), watched two movies (argo and the hobbit), ate a full course meal, a full course breakfast and then i slept for a few hours.
the flight arrived in hong kong at around 5pm sunday local time. after i got off the plane, i had to go through another security check before they let me into the main hong kong terminal. i walked around a bit, checked the place out and then found a nice place to rest. i was able to connect to the wifi network and then talked to my family via tango (like facetime). then i dozed off for a few hours.
i woke up around 3 or 4am monday morning local time. i couldn't sleep anymore. got up, walked around some more, then charged my phone and read some more of my book. i went to my gate and waited some more. while i was there, i logged on to my work computer and made a couple of phone calls - one to my wife and kids and another to my parents. after a while, this lady comes and sits across from me and starts talking - it turns out she too missed a flight and now she was catching the same flight to kuala lumpur. she is from penang. nice lady, but her english was a bit rusty. the plane arrived, we got on and then 4 hours later at 12:30pm kuala lumpur time, i finally arrived.
i made my way off the plane, caught a tram to the main terminal, then made my way to immigration, had my passport stamped and then proceeded to the baggage claim. the people looked very different - even from hong kong. malaysia is a muslim country and so i saw lots of women dressed the the full body burka. i stopped at the currency exchange, then got my bag. from there, the mandarin oriental hotel 'limo' picked me up and took me to the hotel. the drive was about 45 minutes. i was amazed at all the construction going on - it was everywhere! the roads were nice, but that was expected as we stopped every 15 minutes to pass through a toll booth. the hotel is in the city center. as soon as i stepped out of the car, i had someone getting my luggage and escourting me to my room. check-in was in my room! i didn't have to go to the front desk. someone was waiting for me the moment i stepped out of the car; they escorted me to my room and let me in. the room was nice and clean.
i unpacked, showered and then logged on my my laptop to see if my team could receive me at work. then i walked to the office and met everyone. my host showed me around the office and went over safety protocols and then introduced me to many people who i've worked with before, but never met in person. it was fantastic finally putting a face to people i've worked with for so long. my head was spinning from the jet lag, but i survived those first four hours.
at around 6pm that evening, i logged off, went back to the hotel, called my family, talked a bit and then ordered room service for dinner. then i crashed for 3 hours, before getting back up for an 11pm meeting (with people in houston). i was so tired, i was able to get right back to sleep.
my first day in kl was over.
i waited in the terminal. got my book out, read a bit, walked around, checked the flight status, read my book, walked around, checked the flight status, read book, walked, checked status, read, walk, check ...
the flight really was late. we boarded - i was in business class - my first time in the leather, comfortable seats with lots of leg room. i sat next to danny brassell phd - america's reading ambassador. i had never heard of this guy, but apparently he's pretty popular around the nation. he gave me a bookmark / business card. we talked about the book i was reading (the savior generals), the author of the book (victor davis hanson) and who he is. i think danny wrote the name of the author down. then we chatted about things; travel, hometowns, etc. then the flight took off and danny fell asleep while i read.
i get to los angeles and i need to get to the tom bradley international terminal. i hadn't been to lax since 1997. in hindsight, i could have and should have just walked from my landing terminal to tom bradley. but instead, i waited for the bus to pick me up and drive me over. the bus, which was supposed to come by every 10 minutes, didn't come by for over 20 minutes. when i finally get to tom bradley, i have about 20 mins before my flight to hong kong leaves. i get to the cathy pacific counter to check-in and they say that everything has been closed down - i can't get on the flight. even if they let me, the security check-point has closed - bummer. she gets me on the next day's flight out of lax. i'm in dis-belief and i walked around the fairly empty terminal in a daze. i call my wife, let her know what's going on. then i find a quite place to relax. i end up sleeping on a restaurant soft bench for the night.
i wake up around 6am local time, i get up and walk around. the terminal is pretty quiet. the other 50 or so people who also spent the night are starting to wake as well. some people came really prepared - they found a nice spot on the floor next to the windows overlooking the tarmac and then made a nice bed of blankets and bags and fell asleep. the morning goes by slowly. i found a spot and read my book. soon it is afternoon; i get some lunch at panda express. after lunch, i head down to the cathay pacific counter and see if i can get on standby for the 2pm flight. i get on, wait two hours and then come back to see if they will let me on. they do! they issue my boarding pass and i proceed to the security check. there is some more waiting outside the gate and then i'm finally on the plane.
the business class is full of quasi-cubicles with a seat that fully reclines. there is also a 15 inch computer screens built into the cubicle for watching movies and listening to music. the flight supplies a very nice set of head phones too. the flight is over 14 hours. during the flight, i read, listened to music (depeche mode's new album), watched two movies (argo and the hobbit), ate a full course meal, a full course breakfast and then i slept for a few hours.
the flight arrived in hong kong at around 5pm sunday local time. after i got off the plane, i had to go through another security check before they let me into the main hong kong terminal. i walked around a bit, checked the place out and then found a nice place to rest. i was able to connect to the wifi network and then talked to my family via tango (like facetime). then i dozed off for a few hours.
i woke up around 3 or 4am monday morning local time. i couldn't sleep anymore. got up, walked around some more, then charged my phone and read some more of my book. i went to my gate and waited some more. while i was there, i logged on to my work computer and made a couple of phone calls - one to my wife and kids and another to my parents. after a while, this lady comes and sits across from me and starts talking - it turns out she too missed a flight and now she was catching the same flight to kuala lumpur. she is from penang. nice lady, but her english was a bit rusty. the plane arrived, we got on and then 4 hours later at 12:30pm kuala lumpur time, i finally arrived.
i made my way off the plane, caught a tram to the main terminal, then made my way to immigration, had my passport stamped and then proceeded to the baggage claim. the people looked very different - even from hong kong. malaysia is a muslim country and so i saw lots of women dressed the the full body burka. i stopped at the currency exchange, then got my bag. from there, the mandarin oriental hotel 'limo' picked me up and took me to the hotel. the drive was about 45 minutes. i was amazed at all the construction going on - it was everywhere! the roads were nice, but that was expected as we stopped every 15 minutes to pass through a toll booth. the hotel is in the city center. as soon as i stepped out of the car, i had someone getting my luggage and escourting me to my room. check-in was in my room! i didn't have to go to the front desk. someone was waiting for me the moment i stepped out of the car; they escorted me to my room and let me in. the room was nice and clean.
i unpacked, showered and then logged on my my laptop to see if my team could receive me at work. then i walked to the office and met everyone. my host showed me around the office and went over safety protocols and then introduced me to many people who i've worked with before, but never met in person. it was fantastic finally putting a face to people i've worked with for so long. my head was spinning from the jet lag, but i survived those first four hours.
at around 6pm that evening, i logged off, went back to the hotel, called my family, talked a bit and then ordered room service for dinner. then i crashed for 3 hours, before getting back up for an 11pm meeting (with people in houston). i was so tired, i was able to get right back to sleep.
my first day in kl was over.
Friday, June 14, 2013
waiting for a full day of travel
my flight from houston leaves for los angeles at 9:30pm; which will begin a 26 hour and 4 minute journey to the opposite side of the world. it's 6:00pm here on a friday night, while it is 7:00am there on a saturday morning.
i've got my bags all packed; i've got two books ready to read - my goal is to have them read by the time i come back - 1 book for the trip over and 1 book for the trip back. the first book is the savior generals - the latest from victor davis hanson. the other book is david mccullough's 1776. i'll (hopefully) post a book report on them when i return. i've got one other book i need to report on - peak performers by charles garfield.
while i'm in kl, i've got a full schedule of meetings and one-on-one and all the various teams and groups ... pretty much everyone in the company that works over there. i've been working with some of these people for years, and i'll finally get to meet them in person.
i'm staying at a really nice hotel: the mandarin oriental.
handling jet lag should be interesting. i'll get into my hotel around 12pm sunday afternoon, but my body will feel like it's 11pm saturday night. i've been told that when i get to the hotel, to NOT take a nap or anything like that - rather, i should start walking around. the hotel is right by a large park and a large mall - so i was told to go walk around the mall. i figure if i can stay awake until around 7:30pm sunday kl time, then i have a chance at beating the jet lag fairly quick.
while i'll be plenty busy with meetings all day, reading email at night as well as having evening meetings with houston people, i still plan on keeping up with my chess goals. i will have all day saturday and sunday next week as well. i'm behind on my 52 game quest this year, so i'll be trying to get several (at least 10) games in (30 5 time).
i'm a little leery of going outside the city for sight-seeing. the one thing that really interests me are the batu caves and it is just north of where i'll be staying for the two weeks.
well, that's about all for now ... just dumping some thoughts for now. next post (hopefully) will be when i get to kl.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Brooks GTX 2013
It's always amazing the feel the difference between the feel of an old shoe and a new shoe. The new pair feel as light as a feather and are very comfortable.
These days, I walk 4 miles every morning with my wife. We usually can get up and walk for an hour every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. When our schedule allows, we are able to get 4 miles in on a Saturday and / or Sunday.
Other days, when I'm feeling really good, I'll run 4 miles ... I'll run at a very good clip for 60 seconds, then walk for 60 seconds.
One final word about the shoes ... I was a bit disappointed that they only had one option for 'color'. I'm not a huge fan of the green accents. I liked the orangish-red accents from last year's model. I am glad they keep them in black ... I don't like white running shoes.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Second-Shower Phobia
Do you fear the second shower? You've already showered in the morning. You've shaved; you've washed and combed your hair; applied deodorant and you're ready to go for the day.
Then during the course of the day, you become sweaty because of the humidity or because you had to run from a rabid dog or you had to change a tire or your exercise workout occurred at night.
Now you're home again and face a dilemma: do you shower again or wait until morning? You might argue that the sweat has cleansed your body and when it dries you are actually clean! Or that you didn't sweat THAT much and that the shower can wait until morning. Or you're just too lazy to undress, shower and get out clean clothes. Perhaps you live in Arizona and since your house number is even, you can only shower on even-numbered days. Whatever the excuse, you fear the second shower. You're a second shower phobia.
I'm here to help you overcome this fear of the second shower.
STEP 1: Lift your right arm all the way above your head so that the armpit is fully exposed. Then have a friend sniff in the general vicinity of the armpit. The friend should promptly pass out. Be sure to place pillows around the area so your friend doesn't break a neck.
STEP 2: Sit down on a towel and then proceed to lick your leg. It should taste like a pretzel. An alternative method is to have your dog (if you own one) smell your legs. If he licks them, then there's a good chance you taste like salted pork.
STEP 3: Once your friend has regained consciousness, have him or her smell your hair. He or she should still be dazed and confused when he or she awakes, so compliance shouldn't be an issue. Again, be sure pillows are near by as he or she will faint at the smell of your greasy hair.
STEP 4: Take all your clothes off and place them in a pile. Then sniff the pile like you would a bouquet of roses. Be sure a barf bucket is close by because you may toss your cookies. Dry heaves will soon follow.
If none of these steps have convinced you to shower (thus effectively making you overcome your second shower phobia) then proceed to the next step. If you no longer fear the second shower after step 4, then proceed directly to the nearest bathroom and commence cleaning.
STEP 5: Place your back to a wall in your home. Or if you have a hardwood floor, lay down on the hardwood floor. Now attempt to get up. You should notice that there is so much grime on your body that it is actually sticking to hard surfaces - you are basically a giant piece of masking tape. If you are normal, this should gross you out and cause you to jump right into the shower.
If none of these steps help you, then you have far greater issues to deal with. You need to address these issues by attending a simple hygiene course at the local community college. Alternatively, you can elect to be a full-time street bum.
Then during the course of the day, you become sweaty because of the humidity or because you had to run from a rabid dog or you had to change a tire or your exercise workout occurred at night.
Now you're home again and face a dilemma: do you shower again or wait until morning? You might argue that the sweat has cleansed your body and when it dries you are actually clean! Or that you didn't sweat THAT much and that the shower can wait until morning. Or you're just too lazy to undress, shower and get out clean clothes. Perhaps you live in Arizona and since your house number is even, you can only shower on even-numbered days. Whatever the excuse, you fear the second shower. You're a second shower phobia.
I'm here to help you overcome this fear of the second shower.
STEP 1: Lift your right arm all the way above your head so that the armpit is fully exposed. Then have a friend sniff in the general vicinity of the armpit. The friend should promptly pass out. Be sure to place pillows around the area so your friend doesn't break a neck.
STEP 2: Sit down on a towel and then proceed to lick your leg. It should taste like a pretzel. An alternative method is to have your dog (if you own one) smell your legs. If he licks them, then there's a good chance you taste like salted pork.
STEP 3: Once your friend has regained consciousness, have him or her smell your hair. He or she should still be dazed and confused when he or she awakes, so compliance shouldn't be an issue. Again, be sure pillows are near by as he or she will faint at the smell of your greasy hair.
STEP 4: Take all your clothes off and place them in a pile. Then sniff the pile like you would a bouquet of roses. Be sure a barf bucket is close by because you may toss your cookies. Dry heaves will soon follow.
If none of these steps have convinced you to shower (thus effectively making you overcome your second shower phobia) then proceed to the next step. If you no longer fear the second shower after step 4, then proceed directly to the nearest bathroom and commence cleaning.
STEP 5: Place your back to a wall in your home. Or if you have a hardwood floor, lay down on the hardwood floor. Now attempt to get up. You should notice that there is so much grime on your body that it is actually sticking to hard surfaces - you are basically a giant piece of masking tape. If you are normal, this should gross you out and cause you to jump right into the shower.
If none of these steps help you, then you have far greater issues to deal with. You need to address these issues by attending a simple hygiene course at the local community college. Alternatively, you can elect to be a full-time street bum.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
the kind of help mothers need
this morning, while driving into work, i decided to listen to some rolling stones.
one of the songs i played over and over again was mother's little helper. if you're not familiar with this song, it's quite catchy and has a really good message. go ahead and take a listen:
now for some analysis.
- the "mother's helper" is really just an escape from the pressures of daily life - drugs.
- today, mothers might not use drugs to escape so much - they turn to wine, a tv show, books or other things.
but i want to take one more step back ... why is there pressure? is there a way to prevent the pressure in the first place?
let me jump right to it: mothers (and people in general) are too busy. and to what end? what are you trying to achieve?
a recent post over at becoming minimalist, discussed four ways minimalism can improve parenting. number two in that list was, "it reminds you to guard the calendar and say 'no' to a lot of things"
he went on to explain, "Parents sometimes feel that we have to take our kids to every activity and enroll them in every sport. But, in case you've forgotten, you can’t do everything. We have to learn to say “no” to many good things so we can say “yes” to the things that are more important to us at that time. Manage your calendar well. You are the gatekeeper."
i submit that the kind of help mother's need today is an eraser ... and then use it liberally on your calendar. furthermore, take the time to decide what is really important in your life and focus on that. else they (you) might end up like the mother in the "mother's little helper" song ...
life's just much to hard today
i hear every mother say
the pursuit of happiness just seems a bore
and if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
no more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
they just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day
one of the songs i played over and over again was mother's little helper. if you're not familiar with this song, it's quite catchy and has a really good message. go ahead and take a listen:
now for some analysis.
- the "mother's helper" is really just an escape from the pressures of daily life - drugs.
- today, mothers might not use drugs to escape so much - they turn to wine, a tv show, books or other things.
but i want to take one more step back ... why is there pressure? is there a way to prevent the pressure in the first place?
let me jump right to it: mothers (and people in general) are too busy. and to what end? what are you trying to achieve?
a recent post over at becoming minimalist, discussed four ways minimalism can improve parenting. number two in that list was, "it reminds you to guard the calendar and say 'no' to a lot of things"
he went on to explain, "Parents sometimes feel that we have to take our kids to every activity and enroll them in every sport. But, in case you've forgotten, you can’t do everything. We have to learn to say “no” to many good things so we can say “yes” to the things that are more important to us at that time. Manage your calendar well. You are the gatekeeper."
i submit that the kind of help mother's need today is an eraser ... and then use it liberally on your calendar. furthermore, take the time to decide what is really important in your life and focus on that. else they (you) might end up like the mother in the "mother's little helper" song ...
life's just much to hard today
i hear every mother say
the pursuit of happiness just seems a bore
and if you take more of those, you will get an overdose
no more running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
they just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
the minimalism movement
I don’t recall how many years in a row we did that, but I do remember three of the movies we watched: The Mission, The Last Emperor and Empire of the Sun. Mission and Empire of the Sun had a profound impact on me as a kid. But one visual from Empire has remained with me to this day.
After Jamie and the POWs leave the air field prisoner camp and hike days and days, they arrive at a sports stadium. It is filled with cars, pianos, golf clubs, dressers and lots and lots of statues … . The visual was stunning – here are these starved-to-death British citizens, who just a few years ago “had it all”, then it was taken away and now here all of it sits – theirs for the re-taking. But they don’t need it. They need water; they need food. If ever there was a poster for the ‘why’ of Minimalism movement, this would be it.
As has been noted over and over again on the minimalism blogs, the movement is not about getting rid of stuff and living on less; rather it is about thinking about what joy and happiness means to you. In my lifetime, happiness has meant having it all: the fancy car, the nice house, nice clothes, the pool ... all that. But what we have learned and are still learning is that having possessions does not bring happiness. Consumerism and all the gorging that goes with it only leaves people broke and empty inside.
Minimalism forces you to ask what it is that make you happy? What are your priorities in life? What should you spend your money and time on? Do you really need all those possessions to achieve that goal of lasting happiness?
Living on less strips away all the irrelevant and unimportant and leaves only the truly valuable and worthwhile.
James Allen said, "The man who shrinks from self-crucifixion can never accomplish the object upon which his heart is set ... the sole and supreme use of suffering is to purify; to burn out all that is useless and impure"
And when all the useless has been burnt out, the pure gold - the pure joy is left.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Excel Links
But some sites are good for the advice repeatedly and I'd like to list those as part of my Tech Tuesday series.
1. Chandoo.org
2. MREXCEL.COM
3. Ozgrid.com
4. Peltiertech.com
And if you don't find what you're looking for at those sites, always Google ... and if you don't find it then ... well, you may not be able to even do it at all.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Yard of the Month
This muse was from six years ago, when we lived in a home that had a quarter of an acre back yard.
This morning I mowed our yard ... it is a HUGE yard and takes me over two hours to finish. I'm not big into yard work. I do the minimum and spend the rest of my time combing the hair on my chest and back.
This week, our neighbors down the street received the "Yard of the Month" prize. Their reward: A sign posted on the front lawn that says, "Yard of the Month" I don't know if they receive prize money for this or not. The main reason they do the YOTM stuff is to encourage people to keep their yards nice.
What kind of people pursue these accolades? Perhaps it is the lady of the house that pushes the man to work so hard. Mrs. Gibson down the street must have shoved poor Hal into a corner and threatened him.
"You listen and you listen well chump! I want that prize! You better pull through this month or else!"
Hal would melt to the floor sucking his thumb.
Every morning when I go out for my jog, I see Hal out there slaving away. A couple of weeks ago, he was up at 5:30 in the morning planting red tulips! I waved to the poor fella. He took one look at me and vomited all over the flowers (I had my shirt off). Tough luck. I was about 50 paces from Hal's house when I heard Mrs. Gibson.
"What in the Sam-hell are you doin' boy?! Get the hose and start cleaning this up! I want these tulips planted YESTERDAY!"
The car door slams and Mrs. Gibson peels out of the driveway and passes me going 45mph in a 35 zone. Poor Hal.
Then last week while I was mowing, I saw ol Hal out there mowing and trimming his yard too. It was a hot and humid day. I stopped several times to drink water. One time I saw that Hal had stop to rest too. The poor chap ... Mrs. Gibson came storming out the front door hollering at Hal. This time she had a whip. She snapped that thing over Hal's head and he jumped five feet in the air. In a split second, he had thrown down his lemonade, put his hat on and started the lawn mower. Mrs. Gibson was screaming at the top of her lungs, while Hal was criss-crossing across his velvet yard looking behind him every other second. It was a sad sight.
I hope for Hal's sake he wins the Yard of the Month next time.
This morning I mowed our yard ... it is a HUGE yard and takes me over two hours to finish. I'm not big into yard work. I do the minimum and spend the rest of my time combing the hair on my chest and back.
This week, our neighbors down the street received the "Yard of the Month" prize. Their reward: A sign posted on the front lawn that says, "Yard of the Month" I don't know if they receive prize money for this or not. The main reason they do the YOTM stuff is to encourage people to keep their yards nice.
What kind of people pursue these accolades? Perhaps it is the lady of the house that pushes the man to work so hard. Mrs. Gibson down the street must have shoved poor Hal into a corner and threatened him.
"You listen and you listen well chump! I want that prize! You better pull through this month or else!"
Hal would melt to the floor sucking his thumb.
Every morning when I go out for my jog, I see Hal out there slaving away. A couple of weeks ago, he was up at 5:30 in the morning planting red tulips! I waved to the poor fella. He took one look at me and vomited all over the flowers (I had my shirt off). Tough luck. I was about 50 paces from Hal's house when I heard Mrs. Gibson.
"What in the Sam-hell are you doin' boy?! Get the hose and start cleaning this up! I want these tulips planted YESTERDAY!"
The car door slams and Mrs. Gibson peels out of the driveway and passes me going 45mph in a 35 zone. Poor Hal.
Then last week while I was mowing, I saw ol Hal out there mowing and trimming his yard too. It was a hot and humid day. I stopped several times to drink water. One time I saw that Hal had stop to rest too. The poor chap ... Mrs. Gibson came storming out the front door hollering at Hal. This time she had a whip. She snapped that thing over Hal's head and he jumped five feet in the air. In a split second, he had thrown down his lemonade, put his hat on and started the lawn mower. Mrs. Gibson was screaming at the top of her lungs, while Hal was criss-crossing across his velvet yard looking behind him every other second. It was a sad sight.
I hope for Hal's sake he wins the Yard of the Month next time.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
april nature
we had quite a nice walk today
found a very cool turtle (three-toed box turtle)
enjoyed some beautiful and fragrant flowers (lantana & night-blooming jessamine)
tasted a handful of wild dewberries
found a very cool turtle (three-toed box turtle)
enjoyed some beautiful and fragrant flowers (lantana & night-blooming jessamine)
tasted a handful of wild dewberries
Friday, April 26, 2013
Writing Initiative
Somewhere along the way, I lost the time to write. Life gets busy. I used to keep a journal religiously, but now it gets updated every so often. I still intend to keep a regular personal journal, but I also feel the need to write more outside of my journal.
Today I was inspired by zen habits to write more - why you should write daily
Thinking about this a bit more, I feel motivated to write about some topics I have opinions on as well as to let out the inner muse in me. I think it will also help me in my work and personal life as I think things through.
So, I'm going to try this and see how it works ... I have very low expectations, but we'll see.
Mondays will be Musings (see past musings here)
Tuesdays will be Tech - I'll write about some aspect of technology that is cool; opine about something I've read at wired or tech dirt or wherever; maybe even talk about something I'm doing at work.
Wednesdays will be Whatever I want to talk about.
Thursday will be Thankful For day.
Friday will be Fantasy; where I fantasize about what I would change in the world if I were supreme dictator. Sometimes it might be a true self-inquiry about what it is I would or could change in my life.
I'm not sure I'll write so much on Saturdays or Sundays.
Of course I'll continue to blog about other stuff (minimalism, diet and exercise, what I'm reading, book reports, etc). And I'll continue my photography series.
Today I was inspired by zen habits to write more - why you should write daily
Thinking about this a bit more, I feel motivated to write about some topics I have opinions on as well as to let out the inner muse in me. I think it will also help me in my work and personal life as I think things through.
So, I'm going to try this and see how it works ... I have very low expectations, but we'll see.
Mondays will be Musings (see past musings here)
Tuesdays will be Tech - I'll write about some aspect of technology that is cool; opine about something I've read at wired or tech dirt or wherever; maybe even talk about something I'm doing at work.
Wednesdays will be Whatever I want to talk about.
Thursday will be Thankful For day.
Friday will be Fantasy; where I fantasize about what I would change in the world if I were supreme dictator. Sometimes it might be a true self-inquiry about what it is I would or could change in my life.
I'm not sure I'll write so much on Saturdays or Sundays.
Of course I'll continue to blog about other stuff (minimalism, diet and exercise, what I'm reading, book reports, etc). And I'll continue my photography series.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
trees removed in last 4 years on boylston street
google maps shows a nice quiet boylston streen with lots of young-looking trees.
boston.com (the big picture) shows a similar view with no trees.
according to this article, those trees died a few year ago (supposedly between 2009 when the google image was taken and 2010 when the article was posted).
the last picture below shows at least some trees are still alive - you can see the branches.
Friday, April 5, 2013
New Report on Brisk Walking ... just as good (even better) than running
I was a big runner up to about 4 years ago. The goal was to run a marathon, but a persistent stress fracture forced me to reconsider the amout of running I did. I later found out that my back is so whacked that it was causing mis-alignment of my hips and therefore the cause of my constant right foot/ankle/knee pain.
Over the last two years, I've turned to hour-long (4 mile) walks and I've found that I really enjoy them and the pain is non-existent.
This year, my wife and I have started a habit of getting up at 4:45am 3 times a week to go on a 4 mile walk with the dog. We love our time walking. This is an activity that we both can do well into our retirement.
Half Sigma / Lion of the Blogosphere is always good at pointing every time a person dies at a marathon race. And, yes, taken in isolation, most people think a death at a marathon race is very rare. But think about this: when was the last time you remember someone dying in football, baseball or basketball? Cycling? The only example I can recall is Len Bias. Whereas, if you google 'marathon deaths', you get quite a few articles and examples.
Anyway - the whole point of the post was to point out another study that bolsters the opinion that walking is better than running. And by "better" I mean it is good for you and sustainable. You get all the benefits of running without the stress on your body and heart.
Link: Brisk Walking Equals Running for Heart Health: Study
Over the last two years, I've turned to hour-long (4 mile) walks and I've found that I really enjoy them and the pain is non-existent.
This year, my wife and I have started a habit of getting up at 4:45am 3 times a week to go on a 4 mile walk with the dog. We love our time walking. This is an activity that we both can do well into our retirement.
Half Sigma / Lion of the Blogosphere is always good at pointing every time a person dies at a marathon race. And, yes, taken in isolation, most people think a death at a marathon race is very rare. But think about this: when was the last time you remember someone dying in football, baseball or basketball? Cycling? The only example I can recall is Len Bias. Whereas, if you google 'marathon deaths', you get quite a few articles and examples.
Anyway - the whole point of the post was to point out another study that bolsters the opinion that walking is better than running. And by "better" I mean it is good for you and sustainable. You get all the benefits of running without the stress on your body and heart.
Link: Brisk Walking Equals Running for Heart Health: Study
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
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