The approaching wave
Within a few days, a tremendous amount of work is headed my way. It is forseeable. I am bracing for it. I am preparing for it. But preparation will only make it less damaging, not reduce its size.

Fortunately, it is important work. I would be dreading it much more if the result of weathering the onslaught was meaningless.

Blacklisting
So, Whoopi Goldberg gets dismissed as spokesperson for SlimFast because of an (admittedly) off-color remark about the President. Apparently SlimFast customers are upset.

I certainly expect, then, that those same customers are demanding the removal of that associate of the President who told a distinguished elected official to, well, perform that impossible sexual act.

I mean, fair is fair.

Oh yes, the level of discourse and bipartisanship has certainly reached a new level, as promised by Candidate Bush in 2004. And, I'm sure his re-writers of history could even convince Fox News watchers this is exactly what he meant.

Singleness, or at least Single Parenting-ness, ends soon
Sherry has been gone since Friday morning. Tomorrow night she'll be back, if things go as planned.

I have had several days of single parenting. This has not been the difficult chore it used to be, when the kids were all pre-teens. But there is still all the typical grown-up stuff to do. Stuff which I am used to sharing (or leaving almost entirely to Sherry, like the laundry) and I will be glad to share it again.

And, ahhh, to have that friend to talk to at the end of the day. Someone to listen to, smile with, gaze at, sit with - this I miss. I think it's pretty clear, I am someone who was always meant to be married.

So, one more evening of gaming, and chores. And then I'm part of a couple again.

It definitely suits me.

There must be a name for this....

Psychologists must have a name for severe frustration brought about by technology....

We are so dependent on technology these days.

Especially the part of "we" which includes me. And "dependent" as it relates to leisure. So this is no serious matter, in the grand scheme of things. But...

My Cable Internet has been so flaky lately. It will just drop out, intermittently. This would be no big problem for most folks. An annoyance for sure, but it would not cost them real dollars.

Me, I play "Magic Online." So, I dole out $13.07 to play in a draft tournament, I choose my cards, and then, just before my first match is to begin, the Cable Internet drops!

It's been weeks of this now, and the cable repair person should show up Wednesday. Let's hope they can make it all better now.

That's enough whining.

Happy Birthday, Dad!
Yep, it's the birthday of Dr. Walter E. S. Will! I've already called to wish him a good one.

My night last night was filled with "Magic Online." I'm really beginning to understand how people get so addicted to this game. I met a guy online last night who owned some real cards, but had never used them. It's so EASY to play when there are hundreds of people looking for a game at almost any time!

I did work around the house already this morning, so I think I'll be gaming a good portion of today. I'm somewhat tempted to go to Jimmy Jam's (a game/comic store) because today they are having some comic book artists do sketches as a benefit for the library. But I probably won't. It's a hot and humid day.

Hmmm -- looks like I don't have anything pithy, profound, political or poetic to say today.

I think it's because I really want to get to some gaming!

Everyone


Everyone thinks about it.

You know they do.

No one talks about it,

But they think about it.

What if you just spoke up?

What if you said something?

How bad could it be?

So why not say something?

They all think about it, after all.

Everyone knows they do.

But then again,

Since everyone thinks about it,

Why bother saying anything?



You think that's what everyone thinks?

And now, a little free advertising for
the blog of Michael C Hacker, a gentleman, scholar, and friend.

Politics and Comics
One of my daily routines is to go to a set of comic strip sites. I have a group of comics which do not appear in my local paper, but which I find amusing and/or thought-provoking. Some of these are available for free. Others I pay a nominal fee ($10/yr) to be able to view.

One site which I include in my "comics" list is a calendar site. This particular calendar is the "365 Stupidest Things Ever Said" site. Most of the time, it's just silly little things. I'll bet the first version of this calendar was really hilaroious, but this is the n-th year of it, and they run out of big names to quote saying stupid things.

Except they can go back to "W" from time to time.

Here is today's:

On Being a Good Patriot

And so, in my State of the?my State of the Union?or State?my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation?I asked Americans to give 4,000 years?4,000 hours over the next?the rest of your life?of service to America.

(President George W. Bush, on his community service initiative)

After the recent death of "The Great Communicator" it is striking to see the leader of the free world be so utterly inarticulate.

A muse, or just peer pressure?

A few days ago, my good friend Michael Hacker started blogging. And now, here I am, following his lead, or bowing to his peer pressure (not really -- he didn't even hint that others should do the same), or perhaps inspired by the blogging muse.

I looked for several sites which would support free blogs, and found that this old lycos/angelfire site, which has been the home of my family web page for years, has a simple blog feature.

I wonder: Will I really use this?

I wonder even more: Will anyone read it?

Well, time will tell. I know I have often thought of recording ideas, expressing opinions, and even writing bits of fiction which I can share with a few friends. The potential for immediacy and honesty in a blog is very tempting.

And so, with those few thoughts, and a couple of attempts at html tags, I begin my blog. If you are here to read it, welcome!