Over the past few years, I have read with interest Time Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year. Most years I have found that I agreed that most of the people on the list deserve to be there. It has also been interesting to see the names of people who have been on the list more than once, such as Hillary Clinton, President Ob …
I just started David McCullogh's new book on the Wright Brothers. When I was in fifth grade I did a specialty report on them though I can't say I remember much about it. I do remember though my mother coming to class that day and sitting in the back while I nervously gave my presentation. The book is filled with a number of quotes from brother …
It's quite a large volume of fluid. To put it in perspective, that's four of those big 2 liter bottles of soda. Not that I drink much soda but the amount is significant. And that's precisely the quantity of liquid they drained out of my stomach last Wednesday. I know...I can't believe it either. I watched as a catheter, that was inserted into my …
Something that can make a defining difference in one's life is drive. Drive might not make one happy, but it helps make one be the best that they can be and enhances the prospect of success (and happiness). I didn't have much drive when I was coming up and there were a number of disappointments and failures along the way. At some point, however, I' …
Last night was David Letterman’s last show. I wasn't a big David Letterman fan over the years but I was quite impressed with the recognition, accolades and respect given to him during the last few weeks’ countdown to the final show. I watched some of the last shows with interest -- he certainly had everyone who is someone in the chair for a la …
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward, and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of VTOL (vertical takeoff and l …
As a fifteen year old boy, my son could spend literally all day in front of that game console. It calls his name. Truth be told, there has been more than one conflict in our house in an effort to limit the amount of time he spends engaged with that machine. A few days ago, Eric turned the machine off, packed up the games (no easy feat), and mo …
In discussing the internet with our kids, as parents, we try to warn them about all the dangers of the internet. I have never really found myself talking about the good aspects about the internet and social media. This past week I experienced one of the best characteristics of the internet. I came to learn that it has truly made the world a smaller …
A friend is down in Tampa cleaning out the aparment of an elderly lady. She is in her mid-90s and is in an assisted living facility. He is her advisor and the named executor of her estate. He said it is a rather depressing job to clean up decades of her stuff. I asked him how she is doing. Pretty well, he said, the only thing she cares about i …
I've been very active most of my life and have suffered fractures, ligament issues, hyperextensions, bruises, sprains, etc. I've usually bounced back from these injuries in a relatively short time feeding my body with the right nutrients and careful excercise that have always brought me back to 100%. This time it's quite different. It's reeeaalll …
Did you ever notice in old black-and-white photographs how short the old people are? My mother was under 5 feet tall and my father just over 5 feet. Thus, it was grounds for rejoicing when I continued to grow into my 20s to my Apogee of 5 feet 9 3/4 inches. Now, however, approximately a half a century later I have receded to 5'7". It's not s …
I recently received an email from an art gallery which, for some reason, keeps me on its email list. The email announced the birth of a second child to one of the gallery. The email was replete with pictures of the happy family and newborn baby. I was reminded of a friend who told me that he got his wife to go to baseball games by talking about …
Just read today that Barack Obama gave Shell Oil the OK to drill for oil in the Arctic. The idea is, not much going on down there and vast reserves of oil and natural gas. How can this be a good thing? How can our government be so out of touch with the natural world? How can they not know the planet is connected? Shell has not shown itself to be re …
So, what do you think? Did Tom Brady deserve to be suspended? If so, how do you feel about 4 games? Did the Patriots deserve the $1 million fine? And how does Tom Brady’s four game “deflategate” suspension compare to the NFL’s initial two game suspension of Ray Rice for beating his soon to be wife? I have a lot of questions today.
I had one of “those” nights the other night. We’ve all had them. As time ticks away my eyes wouldn’t close. I saw 2:00 a.m. pass by and then 3:00 pass by. And, as time continued to tick by, my anxiety about being well rested for my early morning court appearance grew steadily. What do you do when you can’t sleep?
