Family and FriendsThe Sunshine State

A little sunshine ain't so bad

My wife, my friends, my coworkers… just about everyone who knows me thinks its strange that I don’t like sunny days. Frankly, I think everyone else is a little strange for not yearning for a little more variety. At the same time, I must consider the odds. Either everyone I know is strange, or it’s me. It don’t look too good friends. I must admit that today was a nice day…
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Family and FriendsGenealogy

Gentlemen, start your wet-vacs!

Yeah, I’m sure you want to read a letter I’m sending to a stranger in Vermont. Although, if you’ve been reading for a while and you’re still coming back, maybe you won’t mind so much. I wonder if I’m overdoing the “complete stranger bit?” — 2/17/2008 Dear (concealed), If I were you I’d be wondering who I am. I’m pretty sure you have…
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Genealogy

Me, me... scared little me

First of all, I want to get one thing straight. I don’t mean this as a woe is me entry. Besides a few chronic worries, life has been good. All right, now that I’ve got the disclaimer out of the way… the last 24 hours have been interesting, but for reasons that no one but me is fully aware. You could read that sentence and conclude (or at least suspect) that I’ve taken my…
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Important Stuff

Ask the scientist

In recent debates concerning a new energy bill in Congress, southeastern legislators argued against provisions requiring a certain percentage of electricity come from renewable resources by a future date. What was their objection? If I recall, part of their objection was that there are fewer renewable resources in the southeastern U.S., compared to other regions. Maybe someone should have asked…
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Family and Friends

Six month review

There’s a Judge in this Judicial Circuit I think might be a few bricks shy of a wall (the ones on the bottom… that make it stable). I can’t tell you why due to agency policy about discussing work in public forums. It says I can’t. But imagine my surprise when I looked at the original order of comitment for my mother (when she was shipped off to the state hospital) and saw a…
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Kitchen Sink

Error in judgement (updated below)

The new headache script is a caffeine/acetaminophen/barbiturate cocktail. While it’s not perfect, it seems to round off the sharp edges. However, knowing it’s got caffeine in it, and having taken one this morning (when I woke up with the warning signs of a long day), I’m beginning to wonder if it was wise to drink coffee too. Can you say: “Up-up and away?” I…
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Kitchen Sink

Report claims 16.4% of all Xbox 360 consoles will fail

I’m not a big gamer, but I’m also not a big fan of Microsoft (which I think is akin to being a Yankees fan, or rooting for the wolf in fairy tales… “Hasta la vista RED… Muah ha haa!”) However, even I was a bit surprised by this article from Macworld: A new report from independent warranty provider SquareTrade has found that the failure rate of an Xbox 360 is not…
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Important Stuff

How long can you go without a drink?

It may not be a good time to move to the southwest. Lake Mead Could Be Within a Few Years of Going Dry, Study Finds – New York Times: Lake Mead, the vast reservoir for the Colorado River water that sustains the fast-growing cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas, could lose water faster than previously thought and run dry within 13 years, according to a new study by scientists at the Scripps…
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