**Author’s note: if you don’t care for politics or the politics of the author, don’t read this entry (or the next one either).
The assault weapons ban, passed in 1994 (under a Democratic legislature and President), is expiring this year. A flurry of lobbyists, law enforcement professionals, and the Brady family, descended upon Washington to urge lawmakers to extend the bill. The…
My favorite news item yesterday was a report that the manufacturers of anti-depressants had research findings which suggested their product could increase suicidal thoughts and actions in children, but kept it to themselves in order to make their product more marketable. The news story (N.P.R. – 9/8/2004) claimed that it was “well known” that drug companies did not share all of…
Today I went back to the dentist, and I’m here to tell you that it was the worst dental experience of my life. In order to make such a strong statement; surely I must have had extensive work done? Root canal, gum surgery, multiple wisdom tooth extractions? No, it was just a routine cleaning.
Back in the day, I recall dental professionals using a simple metal pick to remove build up along the…
There are a bevy of storm products out there to make your hurricane experience more enjoyable, and there’s nothing like two close calls in the span of three weeks to put a little slack in those purse strings and loosen the crease in those wallets! Yesterday, your roaming blog correspondent walked into a 3M storm-window shop (it happened to be right next door to my daughter’s…
I return to work after a four day layoff something less than refreshed. There are now two storms down, with one possibly to go. A slight relaxation deficit, combined with a computer system failure, conspires to make this a very long morning. It’s a classic story, really. Who among you haven’t sat idly at work while everything around you refused to cooperate? Who hasn’t wished…
Our last reminders of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Frances are sitting in a large pile at the end of our driveway. After one false start, I was awarded an extra day off from work to deal with these reminders which were previously scattered about our yard. Spending half of the morning reminiscing in the yard was a really great time. Armed with a rake, a pair of gloves, two trashcans and one daughter…
If you are visiting our home in the near future and someone offers you a chocolate-chocolate chip cookie, just say no. You see there was an incident at our home, an incident filled with disappointment, tragedy and loss. It had little to do with the hurricane and everything to do with my ineptitude in the kitchen.
It began with a party planned at my office. There are several individuals in my…
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Frances is still making its presence felt in Dunedin, Florida. Despite a whole heck of a lot of rain and some gusty wind, we’ve gotten off light. The electricity has been out at my in-law’s place. Power has been intermittent at my parent’s house. Yet, we’ve had power throughout the storm. The storm has left our property relatively untouched, other…
This evening we had a steady stream of electricity into the house. This is only remarkable due to the weather, and the fact that my parents and some friends did not. We got a call asking us if our power was out. It wasn’t. Naturally, Cheryl became concerned that our power might go out sometime in the next 24 hours. A light bulb went on in that part of Cheryl’s brain responsible for…
The doctor wanted to see us again in two months. As we were leaving, the receptionist offered us the date of October 29th. Her two-tone hairstyle and youthful detachment lent an “I won’t be working here much longer” air to her demeanor. I asked if she had something on November 5th. She dutifully advised me that two months would be October 29th. I said I wanted November 5th. The…