Alerts

If you take the word “merry” and trace its roots, you might find it implies not only joy and happiness but it also alludes to being a bit tipsy or drunk. I, for one, have no problem with that at all — and so I wish you all the Merriest of Christmases!

May the New Year bring us all better fortunes and more love than the year we are leaving behind. Let’s all make an honest attempt to be even just slightly better than the person we have been and contribute to the betterment of our world one by one.

Commit an act of random kindness. Offer a smile and a helping hand to somebody you don’t even know. Make a point to be nice whenever you’re feeling grumpy. Remember that we’re all in this together.

Cheers and peace to you all.

I don’t live in Los Angeles County – in fact I don’t even live in California – but it’s hard not to get a little bit interested in their seasonal wildfires. They seem to be very frequent and create significant media buzz. These fires scorch hundreds of thousands of acres of forest land in Califormia each year. (more…)

Throughout my youth, I have had a delusion of immortality – a naive denial of the brevity of life. I doubt that this is at all uncommon. In fact, it’s probably how the majority of us humans exist.

To slow down and think about how brief life is, for us and for all beings, is not a natural thing in youth. But it is something that eventually finds its way into our conscience and plays on our minds more frequently. (more…)

My stinky old Clarks

I have a very comfortable and well broken in pair of Clarks loafers. They are my favorite shoes but there is one problem: they stink.

It started with the original insoles. When they wore out I replaced them with a pair of fancy “support” insoles. These were made of a sort of foam … and they caused my feet to sweat. These shoes are leather and have no ventilation holes.

So I chucked out the foam soles and replaced them with Dr. Scholl’s regular old insoles. These worked well for a few weeks. Now my Clarks are getting a little stinky again.

It’s time for another new pair of Dr. Scholl’s insoles, I guess.

You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!

- “Dr. Evil” in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery 1997

We may not be able to put lasers on the heads of sharks yet but Northrop Grumman has just announced the for-real availability of a lasar weapon called FIRESTRIKE(TM).

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