It was necessary to drive my newish car to work this morning. I haven’t driven it for the better part of two weeks, so it was quite the event. My enthusiasm was tempered by the good natured ribbing I got from my coworkers.
“John, your daughter’s too young to drive. Why did you buy her a car already?”
“John, you’ve got a car just like my neighbor’s sixteen…
One of my last entries has prompted a small discussion about inherited genes. Maybe discussion is the wrong word… that is, if you can call two email messages a discussion (one for each participant). This led to my own musing. (When was the last time you used “muse” as a verb?) I feel that I provide an important service to my readers: pointing out the obvious. In that light…
Post plumbing woe life in the Kauffman household (version 2.2) continues. The fan is still blowing on a wall. What, don’t you have a fan blowing on your walls? A single sample of tile is resting in a large space where there used to be wet carpet. Four boxes of laminate, self adhesive tile are waiting patiently in our family room.
I have garnered just about as much respect from my previous…
I was waiting in the lobby of my office building, waiting for the elevator after riding into the office one cold Florida morning, when a complete stranger walked up to me and asked if I really rode my bike into work that morning. My nose is red, my eyes are watering, I’m wearing tights, bicycling gloves and a helmet, and oh yeah… I’m holding a bicycle.
“Why yes I did. I am…
No one has asked me where I get the entry titles from. This would be a surprise, but for the fact that this could be the least viewed page of all the internet. Hey, someone has to come in last. So where do they come from? I’m glad I asked. The are the first thing that comes to mind. Wether or not they have anything to do with the entry is of little consequence. Consider it a kind of…
There comes a time in the life of every home owner when you wonder if renting is really all that bad. We had one of those experiences this weekend. It started with a puddle. It grew to a small pond. It ended with a large check.
“Cheryl, we have a problem. I think our water heater has seen better days.”
“Why do you say that?”
“There’s a puddle of hot water…
There are several people who can attest to this fact. In my days on this pebble in the sky I’ve done many things to prove my point. I’ve broken bones, walls and doors – and that’s not even counting the things I’ve done to myself. I’ve embarrassed others and myself with bad hairstyles and ridiculous clothes. I’ve walked the valleys of depression and soared…
Here’s a neat little trick I learned this evening while emptying the waste basket in our spare bathroom. First, find yourself a sharp corner. A counter top corner with a squared off edge is ideal. Second, and this is the tricky part, line up the sharp corner with the space between any two ribs on the side of your torso. For the best results, pick two ribs close to your arm pit. Finally, with…
1. Introduce yourself.
“Hi, I’m with ADT Security Systems.”
2. Make the customer want to help you – make yourself out to be the victim. “My boss thinks there are not enough of our signs on your street, so he wanted me to come out in the cold to speak to you today about a free installation.”
3. Use Peer pressure.
“I was just coming from your…
“John, you didn’t ride your bike today.”
“No. There’s supposed to be a 70 percent chance of rain this afternoon. I don’t mind riding when it’s cold and I don’t mind riding when it’s wet, but cold and wet is a problem.”
You know where this story is going. It doesn’t have any rain or cold air. More importantly, it doesn’t…