• Kicking back

    It’s been a productive day thus far, and it’s time for a little ‘thank me very much.’ There is a red metallic cylinder sitting on my desk that is looking awfully good right now. It’s really not appropriate for the office, but it’s just too tempting to ignore. It’s not really good for me, but when did that ever stop me? The door to my office is closed, to hide from my coworkers. The top popped open and a little bit of air escaped. Oh, it smells so good.

    Hold on for just a second. I’m going to toss a few swallows back, Oh yeah, that really hits the spot. I’m going to bring one of those foil packages of Teddy Grahams more often.

    What? Were you expecting something else?

  • Is there a blog jinx?

    At the risk of tempting the technology gods perched upon their silicone throne, I have news of comfort and joy to share. I may have unexpected reason to renew my faith in my preferred computer maker. As of June 18, 2004, Apple has expanded their iBook repair program to include (possibly) my iBook. I didn’t even know I had The Qualifying Logic Board Problem.

    At some point the glow of free repairs may dim, leaving behind the tarnish of a computer that broke when it shouldn’t have. Until that time I’ll revel in my temporary luster. There’ll be plenty of time for cynicism later.

  • Political silver spoons

    Someone said something to me that I could not let go. I was making my way through an otherwise ordinary Monday when someone I know approached me and broached the topic of politics. Not knowing my political persuasion, this person launched into a rant, complaining that the presumptive Democratic nominee for president was not a “man of the people.” My interests piqued, I asked this person why he thought this way. This person replied that the presumptive Democratic nominee was “an out of touch, rich yankee who benefited from all the perks associated with growing up with wealth and influence.”

    Holy glass houses Batman! Did he just throw a rock?

    I was dumbfounded. Through the mid-90’s the current Republican president was the poster-child for underachievers anonymous, floated through life on his father’s name, found mediocre success (at best) in his private business ventures, was elected to two political offices having done nothing to distinguish himself in life (other than purchase a baseball team with the proceeds of a stock sale under questionable circumstances) – with the help of his father’s political contacts and with a platform which (in part) essentially stated “you can trust me because I’m not any smarter than you are.” Now let me get this straight, the Democratic nominee is a creature of influence? Which one is the pot and which one is the kettle in this story?

    What was this person’s reaction to my rebuttal? “I’m not impressed by three purple hearts. They were giving those things away like sunscreen at the George Hamilton fan club.”

    Actually, it was a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. Texas National Guard? Ring any bells? Personally, I wouldn’t vote for a guy for any of these reasons. I was just having too much fun deflating this person’s rant.

    I hear glass breaking.