Wellbeing

I first knew something might be wrong when I noticed my toes were purple

“There are signs all over, you just have to know how to read them.” That was a line in a movie I saw once. I have no idea which movie it was, who was in it, or how long ago I saw it. Come to think of it, I don’t really know if it fits this entry. Let’s find out together, shall we? If you’ve done any reading on this site in the last twenty-four hours, you know that I…
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Wellbeing

Why couldn’t I have just played racquetball or something?

Find the nearest, most convenient cement slab in your backyard. Place a basketball pole and goal at one end, a table in the middle, and a basketball at the other end. Pick up the basketball and take a shot. When you miss, practice following your shot (with your body, not just with your eyes). The table in the middle serves as an obstacle, much like other people do when you are actually playing…
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Family and Friends

Snow job

On the second day of our week’s end, we carefully crafted a day with a special event as its centerpiece. An area mall was to have snow, and we planned to travel twenty miles to see it. In the grand tradition of Saint Walt (the patron saint of tourism based economies) we Floridians manufacture what Mother Nature does not provide. As is often the case in December, the elements have denied us…
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Current EventsSports

The Urban league

If ESPN sources can be believed, the Urban era at the University of Florida has begun. Where were you when you first heard the news? I was sitting in court. I got a voice mail message from one of my coworkers on my cell phone while I was sitting in a hearing. Thinking it was an important call, I stepped outside to retrieve the message. As it turned out, it was an important call. Now the inevitable…
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Kitchen Sink

Weekend eve

On this weekend eve I am conflicted. There is the obvious, inherent “goodness” that surrounds the end of the workweek. It doesn’t take a minimum wage job slinging hash at the local fast-frozen-and-fried joint to appreciate a Friday. My problem lies in what hazards lay in my path to the Fair Labor Standard’s promised land. I could put a name to this hazard, but I would…
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AppleComputerKitchen Sink

Where once there was something,

My mind is a blank slate. I had opened up my trusty PowerBook and launched my word processor of choice. I was just about to start typing a magnificent entry, when Software Update worked it’s weekly magic. For the 95% of the world that is not familiar with the Mac OS (we members of the Kauffman Clan hold no grudge against you – only pity), Software Update is a piece of Apple magic that…
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Family and Friends

Moments

Dim light from a child’s nightlight washes the room in an orange glow. You stand still; your gaze fixed on a small, stuffed Snoopy. Your infant son is in your arms; his head turned sideways, breathing restfully into your shoulder. The crown of his head rests in the cranny between your lip and nose, his sparse hair provoking the slightest tickle. You smell the scent common to everyone of his…
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Kitchen Sink

Expiration

It’s a noun that means “the last emission of breath,” or “the act or process of releasing air from the lungs through the nose or mouth.” But that’s not important right now. More importantly, you probably already knew that. Most importantly, I’m interested in the fourth definition offered by Merriam and Webster: “the date after which a product should…
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Coffee

Mugged

Do you know someone who has a disgusting coffee mug? Don’t we all know someone who refuses to take their mug home to wash it? Are there offices at work you are afraid to enter, for fear that you will be sucked into the dark coffee ring of oblivion? Well I think it’s high time the coffee makers of America step up and take some responsibility. They got us into this mess with their…
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Family and Friends

A sound in the night

My wife and children were fast asleep. I was enjoying a rare moment of peace when I heard a loud squeaking noise. It sounded suspiciously like a non-traditional entrance to our home being jimmied open. If I hadn’t just gone to the bathroom, I fear I may have left a damp spot on our new couch. However, since the tank was dry (so to speak), I quickly got a hold of myself and went off to…
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