Have You Missed Me?

Image by alvi2047 via Flickr

I usually try to post something on this blog every day or two.  My last post was done on Sunday, but it was a Music Monday post, so I almost don't count it,  It is not that I have been exceptionally busy the last few days, though things are pretty hectic at the office right now.  I have been more than a bit under the weather.

It all started on Sunday.  My son decided at the last minute that he wanted to go to the Bowie Baysox game.  My brother in law had offered to buy tickets, so off we went.  As is usually my custom, I had a few large (24oz) draft beers while enjoying the game.

After the game, I went home, had dinner, and took a little nap on the couch.  When I woke up after my little siesta I had the worst headache.  I really did not have that much beer to have such a horrible headache but I chalked it up to the beer anyway.  I also had chills resulting a shakes.   I went to bed early that night.

Monday morning, I woke up and got ready for work.  I felt kind of achy and alternated between sweating and having chills, so I took my temperature.  It was 101.  Being the macho guy that I am, I thought I would be OK and headed off to work. Besides, I have a ton of projects on my plate write now.  I was wrong.  I felt worse as the day progressed and left the office about 1pm.  When I got home my temperature had risen to 103.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, I felt like shit, my head hurt, my body ached, and my balls ached.  The boys don't like it when your temperature gets too high.  I called out sick, made a doctor's appointment, and headed back to bed.  Shortly before my doctor's appointment, my temperature was 104.4.  I thought I was going to die.  He basically chalked it up to the flu, gave me some Tamiflu, and sent me off with an admonition about getting the flu shot.

I have to say that the fever this week has left me somewhat delusional.  I would lay in bed listening to the TV with my eyes closed, and some strange images would appear in my mind's eye.  I really can't describe them other than to say they had nothing to do with what I was listening to.  I also have been convinced for the past few days that Jack Black had died. Thanks to Al Gore's Amazing Internet I verified that was not true.

I still had a 102 fever when I woke up this morning, but today is the best I have felt all week.  I am feeling a little more "normal" each day.  Fortunately, it is the weekend and I have two more days to rest and regain my strength.

Music Monday-Johnny Cash "Hurt"

I have never heard the original Nine Inch Nails version of this song.  I almost feel there is no need to after listening to the Johnny Cash version.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Thank You President Obama

Do you remember last week when Barack Obama essentially mocked those who were holding tax protests across the country?  He thinks we should be thanking him for the tax cuts that he says he delivered on as promised on the campaign trail.

I decided that I would do a little comparison of my taxes for the last two years.  After all, I want to be fair to the President.  If his tax cuts for "95% of working Americans" has benefited me in any appreciable way, I should be willing to share that with you folks here.

In 2009, I saw my income rise by 5.2%.  This increase was not thanks to anything that Obama had put into place.  I switched jobs in May of 2008, and my rise in income was strictly due to the job switch.  In fact, due to the economy, my new employer did not give any pay raises in 2009.  I should add that I am well below the threshold of $250000 per year that the administration is using to define the rich.  In fact, I am well below the six figure salary threshold.

On the tax side of the equation, my tax burden increased by 3.1% over the prior year.  After taking into consideration all of my eligible deductions and any tax credits, my taxable income increased by 2.6%.  The net effect of comparing 2009 vs 2008, is that I saw my effective federal tax rate fall from 5.58% in 2008 to 5.47% in 2009, a decline of 0.11%.

Since my tax rate declined by 0.11%, I guess you could say that I benefited from the tax cuts.  My share worked out to about an extra $1.49 per week for my family.  The Obama tax cuts were part of his massive stimulus package.  I wonder how much my extra $1.49 helped stimulate the economy last year?

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This Blog is NOT Carbon Neutral

Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.  I celebrated by burning fossil fuels on the Beltway for about 3.5 hours during my commute to and from the office today.  Normally I only spend about 2 hours on the Beltway, but today was special.  This evening, I plan to celebrate a little more by promising to Save Water and Drink Wine instead.

Let me get more to the point of the title of this blog post. Over the weekend, I was visiting several other blogs in the blogging networks that I belong to.  I came across at least a dozen blogs that proudly proclaimed that their blog was carbon neutral.   Each of them also had a button similar to this one:

Essentially, the button leads to a website that promises to plant a tree if you register your blog with them.  The planting of the tree is supposed to offset carbon emissions of your blog.  I considered registering for a moment or two, but only because I like the idea of planting trees.  I like trees.  However, I decided against it because I find the whole idea of carbon offsets to be a bit suspicious at best and reprehensible at worst.

The idea of buying carbon offsets to compensate for your carbon footprint has been compared to the old Catholic Church practice of selling indulgences for the forgiveness of sins.  Al "I invented the internet" Gore emits a hell of a lot of carbon, but proudly proclaims that he purchases offsets to neutralize those emissions.  What he doesn't tell us is that he purchases them from a company that he helped found.

Instead, I kind of like the program that I read about in the Daily Caller today.  They have launched the Daily Caller Offset-Offset program.  For a small donation, they will help you to offset the offsets purchased by your liberal environmentalist friend. For example, if they buy an offset to neutralize their carbon, the Daily Caller will start a tire fire to offset that offset.  To close out this Earth Day post, here is the late great George Carlin expressing his views on the environmentalists and their desire to "Save the Planet."

Big Deck

I think every guy dreams of having a big deck.  You gotta feel sorry for a guy who feels inadequate because his deck just is too small. There is nothing better than hanging out with your buddies, having a beer, while sitting on a big deck, and looking at Uranus.  This is so freaking hilarious.

Iranian Missiles Could Reach USA by 2015

Image via Wikipedia

The Defense Department released an unclassified report yesterday regarding the Iranian military capabilities.  Their report stated that Iran could be capable of producing a long range missile that could reach the United States by 2015.  It is also estimated that Iran could be capable of developing a nuclear weapon in the next 3-5 years.  If that is not a sobering thought, then I don't know what is.

Now, I am not enamored with the idea of us ever having to use a nuclear weapon again.  However, having lived through the Cold War, I do like the idea of having the deterrent available to us.  When past presidents had to deal with the Soviet Union and the nuclear arms race, each side knew the other was capable of wiping the other off the map.  Despite our philosophies being polar opposites, neither side wanted a holocaust. 

I don't think we can say the same thing about the Iranian government.  With the Iranian regime, we are dealing with an ideology that believes that they will receive their reward in heaven by fighting the infidels of the west and Israel.  Their mindset is not like any other we have dealt with in the past.

The idea of reducing nuclear weapon stockpiles in and of itself is not necessarily a bad idea.  Reagan and others negotiated with the Soviets to reduce arms.  Our dealings with the Iranians, and the North Koreans for that matter, have shown time and time again that negotiations are futile.  Obama himself said that the threat of a nuclear attack has gone up.  Based on that alone, now is not the time to cut funding on missile defense or our nuclear deterrent.

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You Gotta See This

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Incendia Health. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have worn glasses now since about the 4th grade.  Since I am in my late 40's, that has been close to 40 years.  Without my specs, I can see about 6 inches in front of my face.  Growing up and being active in sports, I could not tell you the number of times I broke my glasses while playing sports.  I tried contacts for a couple of years, but they did not work for me.  Let's face it.  If you have poor vision, you are always going to have some difficulties. 

The folks at Abbott Medical Optics, Inc (AMO) sponsored their iLASIK Video Contest at GottaSeeThisNow.com.  Contestants submitted videos in three different categories:

1. My contacts are getting in the way of a my good time
2. My favorite sport or activity would be so much cooler with better vision
3. You Should See Life After The iLASIK® Procedure

The videos explain some of the problems of poor vision and the benefits of corrective surgery.  I have included one of the winners below, but you can check out all of the videos at iLASIK Video Contest.  You can also register to win eye care products.

A few years ago, I looked into the possibility of getting laser correction surgery.  At the time, I was told that they could probably correct my distance vision but that I would probably need reading glasses for reading and using the computer.  AMO is a leader in leader in vision correction surgery, and a sponsor of this post.  Visit them to learn more about vision correction.

Submit entry

Contest details

Music Monday-Brad Paisley "I'm Gonna Miss Her"

I was in the mood for something a little lighthearted this week for Music Monday.  Sometimes us guys just need to go out and have a little manly diversion.  For some guys it's golf, and for others it's fishing.  Unfortunately, our better halves don't always understand. 

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

News Briefs-4/18/10

Under normal circumstances, it would be proper and appropriate for the POTUS, Barack Obama, to attend the funeral service of the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, after Kaczynski died in an airplane crash.  However, with the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has grounded transatlantic flights for the past few days, it is prudent that the administration has decided not to attend.  As much as I disagree with Obama and his policies, I would not want to see Air Force One involved in a disaster because of the volcanic ash.  I mean seriously, could you ever imagine Joe Biden as president if anything were to happen to Obama.  On a serious note, an old friend of mine has been stuck in the UK for the past four days because of the eruption.  Todd, I hope you make it home safely and soon.

Speaking of the President, at first I thought I would just let it go by without mentioning it, but I just can't do it.  On April 15th, as there were rallies across the country regarding the nation's tax policy and the ever increasing spending by the administration, Barack Obama showed the disdain he had for the American people that disagree with him.  He essentially mocks those in the Tea Party movement by saying he is amused at the protests and he would think that they would be thanking him.  What a fucking arrogant asshole!  Sorry, I guess that makes me a racist.  George W. Bush was not without his faults, but I don't think you once heard him mock or dismiss the citizens that disagreed with his policies.  IMHO Bush is a much bigger man that Obama would ever hope to be.

On a somewhat lighter note, former escort Ashley Dupre appears on the cover of the May issue of Playboy magazine.  Within the pages is a nude pictorial and interview.  Should we even care?  If you have forgotten about Ashley, she is the escort who was involved with Elliot Spitzer, thus ending his political career.  As a Libertarian, I have no real issue with Ashley's former vocation, or with Spitzer's involvement with her.  I usually take the position that I am more concerned with dealing with my own sins rather than the sins of others.  However, Spitzer set himself up as a holier than thou reformer, and when you set yourself up above everyone else, you have farther to fall.  He got what he deserved.  One other thing, Ashley was an aspiring singer, and blames the scandal for derailing her singing career.  That wasn't it.  I heard a couple of her songs, and she just could not sing.

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Find Your Ideal Studio Apartment

It has been quite a while since I have had to search in earnest for a place to live. My wife and I have been married for nearly 19 years, and we have lived in the same townhouse in Bowie, MD the entire time.

There are a number of reasons why somebody might need to search for Studio Apartments For Rent. For instance, about 6 years ago, the company I worked for eliminated my position and I was out of work. There were very few opportunities locally in the field that I was in, so I did a lot of interviews with companies out of state.

Our thought at the time would be that I would rent an apartment until we could get our home sold and everyone ready to move with me.  Fortunately, I was able to eventually find employment in the area and we were able to stay.  If I hadn't, a website like MyStudioApartments.com would have come in handy.

The website allows you to search for apartments nationwide by a number of factors.  You can search by city, county, school district, or proximity to colleges.  You can then sort the resorts by relevance or price.  They also allow you to review floor plans and amenities.  My search for apartments near Bowie, yielded over 300 results.  A lot to choose from.

So, if you are in the market for a new apartment any where in the US, I recommend checking out MyStudioApartments.com.  It can get you a good head start in your search.  While there you can also get info government initiatives such as the Fair Housing Initiative.

This post is a sponsored post through Payperpost.com.  For more information you can read the disclosure statement at the bottom of this webpage.

A Musical Interlude to Taxes

In honor on Tax Day, here are a couple of my favorite songs on taxes.  First up is Robert Cray and his "1040 Blues."

And of course, "Taxman" by the Beatles. I really like the video put together on this one.

The Taxman Commeth

Image by jeku arce via Flickr

Tomorrow is tax day.  Wouldn't it be great if:

1. April 15th was just another spring day
2. You could keep your entire paycheck with no taxes withheld
3. Taxes would be simple and fair
4. Taxes were based on how much you spend, not how much you earn
5. You didn't have to worry about an IRS audit
6. All tax loopholes were eliminated
7. Businesses wouldn't have to pass on taxes by hiding it in the price you pay
8. People that do not report income pay their fair share
9. You receive a prebate to help pay for necessities up to the poverty level

All of these things could be a reality if we would only pass the FairTax.  You can check out what the FairTax could do for you by visiting their FairTax calculator.  This country was founded in part because of a tax revolt, it is time for a new revolution.

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Senator Cardin vs Spirit Airlines

Image via Wikipedia

A day or so ago, Spirit Airlines announced that they were going to start charging passengers for carry on bags.  Today, one of my Senators (I use the term my Senator only in that he is from my state, I did not vote for him), Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced legislation with Mary Landrieu of the Lousianna Purchase that would prohibit airlines from charging for carry on bags.  The Senators argue that many passengers carry life essential items in their carry on bags and should not have to pay to bring those items on board.

Ever since the airlines started charging passengers for checked baggage, more and more people are using carry on bags in lieu of checking bags. As such, it is harder and harder to find space in the overhead compartments of the aircraft.  This is the logic that Spirit is using in implementing this new policy.  Personally I have always tried to pack light and bring a carry on bag rather than checking a bag.

I agree with Senator Landrieu that people should not have to pay a fee to carry on items that are vital to their personal health and well being.  In addition, I would not want to have to pay for bringing a carry on bag aboard.  Having said that, I am not sure how I feel about the Senate taking up this type of legislation.  Is this really what we want our federal government involved in?  I usually prefer to let people vote with their wallets and let the marketplace decide the outcome. A case in point would be to look at the success of Southwest Airlines and their no bag fees compared to all the other airlines. The market can work.    

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Music Monday-Kenny Chesney "Who You'd Be Today"

Today was a tough day.  Today was the day they buried my old friend David.  David had a full life, but he passed away too soon.  He was only 48. I was trying to figure out what song to post today for Music Monday.  First I thought about "Funeral for a Friend" by Elton John, but it really wasn't my thing.  Then I thought about posting something by Prince, since David was on to Prince before he became popular.  Instead, I decided on Kenny Chesney's "Who You'd Be Today."

While all the lyrics of the song do not necessarily apply to my old friend, several do and I have included the pertinent lyrics below.  It might not be David's style of music, but it is how I feel today.

Sunny days seem to hurt the most
Wear the pain like a heavy coat
I feel you everywhere I go
I see your smile, I see your face
I hear you laughing in the rain
Still can't believe you're gone

It ain't fair you died too young
Like a story that had just begun
The death tore the pages all away
God knows how I miss you
All the hell that I've been through
Just knowing no one could take your place
 
Sunny days seem to hurt the most
I wear the pain like a heavy coat
The only thing that gives me hope
Is I know I'll see you again someday

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Win a Hybrid Automobile with Giant Food and General Mills

I confess, I am not the "greenest" guy around. If you have been a regular reader here you might have come to the conclusion that I am anti-environment based on my stands on global warming and cap & trade type legislation.  That would actually be a faulty conclusion.  It is just that I would rather see people rewarded for positive behaviors rather than punished for using energy.

As I said, I am not the "greenest" guy around.  I do, however, try to do what I can.  My recycling bin tends to be a little fuller each week when I take it out to the curb with the rest of the garbage.  For a while, we were using CFL bulbs, but to be honest, the brand we were buying at BJ's has not been in stock lately, so we have switched back to the old fashioned bulbs of late.  We have accumulated several reusable grocery bags, and I try to remember to take them with me when I go to do my weekly shopping at the local Giant store.  They give me a nickle back for every reusable bag I bring in.  See, that is the reward thing I was talking about.

April 22nd is Earth Day.  Usually, I do not do anything special to commemorate Earth Day.  I am not any  more environmentally aware or active.  However, this year, I plan to take advantage of a promotion that Giant will be running in conjunction with General Mills for Earth Day.  For the two weeks of April 16-29, any time you purchase five participating General Mills items, use a reusable grocery bag, and use your Giant loyalty card, you will be entered to win a new 2010 Hybrid automobile.

How simple is that?  I probably do about 90% of my grocery shopping at Giant as it is.  I already try to use the reusable bags, and General Mills has such a wide variety of products to choose from that buying five items on one grocery trip should be simple.  I will probably pick up some Green Giant veggies, Yoplait yogurt, Pillsbury dough products, and Wanchai Ferry frozen entrees.  There will be different qualifying items each week of the promotion, or you can simply enter without a purchase in the store.

For telling you about this promotion, I will be receiving a $20 gift card courtesy of General Mills and Giant Food stores through MyBlogSpark.com.  In addition, they have made an addition $20 gift card available to readers of this blog.  To qualify, leave a comment about what you are doing for the environment or what General Mills products you would buy to qualify to win a new hybrid vehicle.

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Perfection

Remember when Barack Obama stuck his foot in his mouth regarding his bowling and the Special Olympics?

As I have mentioned before, I am the father of a special needs child. Not only that, I have had two nephews that have participated in the Special Olympics.  One of which is a voracious bowler, and a helluva good one at that.  I remember thinking that I would love to put my Special Olympics bowler up against the President.

Today, my nephew did something amazing.  He bowled a perfect game.  300.  12 strikes in a row without a miss.  He has had some awesome games before.  It is not unusual for him to break 200.  I think his highest score ever before today was a 279.

Congratulations, Big Man on your perfect game.  You achieved something the President never will, perfection.  Maybe he should invite you down to give him a few pointers.

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My Newest Hero

There are a lot of reasons to respect and admire our military personnel.  Their bravery, their sacrifice, and most of all, their discipline.  Here is a case in point.

Here is the US Navy's Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral Robert Willard being questioned by Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA.)  During the questioning, Congressman Johnson expresses concern that Guam could become so overpopulated that it could possibly capsize.

Now it would be too easy to mock Congressman Johnson for that statement.  I do not intend to do that.  He is suffering from hepatitis, and the statement could be due to the effects of the disease or his medication.  Though perhaps we should be concerned if the medication is impairing his ability to perform his duties.

I want to praise Admiral Willard for his discipline and demeanor. He does not show the least bit of shock after hearing the Congressman's concerns. He maintains a totally even keel. Now that is military discipline at its finest.

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Half of Americans Pay No Income Tax

Image by alancleaver_2000 via Flickr

Tomorrow, when you are traveling to work, take a look at the person in the car next to you.  There is a pretty good chance the person next to you isn't paying any federal income tax.  The Tax Policy Center projects that nearly 47% of Americans will pay no income tax.  Sadly, I am not among them, and I am far from one of the evil rich.

The left is fond of saying that the filthy rich need to pay their fair share of taxes.  The study shows that the top 10% of wage earners are paying 71% of the federal taxes.    Those same 10% of wage earners earn only 48% of the total income.

Now, I am not saying there shouldn't be a progressive income tax.  The rich can afford to pay a higher share.  However, there is something inherently unfair, to use the left's terminology, about having nearly half of the population paying nothing.  In fact, the study shows that the bottom 40% actually end up making a profit. I always thought that was called welfare.

Washington Nationals Home Opener

There were two things that I learned from the Washington Nationals home opener yesterday.  First; with the Nationals losing 11-1 the season is off to a rousing start.  Their poor spring training has flowed right into the start of the regular season.  Sure it is a long season, but a blowout to start the season isn't encouraging.

The second thing that I learned, as you can see in the ceremonial first pitch below, is that Barack Obama hasn't been working on his arm during his time in office.


Compare that with his pitch in the 2009 All Star Game.


And just for old time sake, here is an example of what a ceremonial first pitch should look like.

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Music Monday-Bonnie Raitt "I Can't Make You Love Me"

When I was in high school, I used to play guitar and write songs. I also played high school football. So, while I was not necessarily very good at any of those activities, I always took offense at the "dumb jock" stereotype.

When I did come up with a song, they tended to be love songs, and most often they were either about breaking up or unrequited love.  My Music Monday choice today is Bonnie Raitt performing "I Can't Make You Love Me."   This particular song, was co-written by former NFL defensive lineman, Mike Reid.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

That Didn't Last Long

Image via Wikipedia

Last week, I posted about a recent Trip to the Grocery Store.  In the post, I talked about how my local grocery store had made the decision to remove all of the cart corrals from the parking lot.  Instead, a clerk would walk customers out to the cars and help them load the groceries into the car.  At the time, this was my concluding comment about the policy:

Personally, I like the idea. I am all for  actually adding customer service to the shopping experience, but I wonder about the practicality of it. That will require a lot of extra labor costs. I also wonder how they will handle it during their busiest hours or during a snow scare. It would be hard to keep up with all those customers.

I did not have to wait very long to find out.  This morning, I needed to pick up a few things at the store.  I probably got there a little before 10:00 am.  It was not very busy.  Very few people in checkout lines.  Even though I used the self checkout, there is usually somebody there to help bag the groceries.  There was none.  In fact, they didn't even have bags on the checkout that I used so I had to grab them off of another checkout.

I wheeled my cart out of the store, and lo and behold, there was nobody to walk me to my car to load the groceries.  It is not that I needed help.  I am perfectly capable of loading my own groceries into my car. The problem is the fact that after loading my car, I had no place to put my cart, so I left it in the parking space adjacent to where I parked. 

I suppose that makes me a bit of a jerk, but I was not the only one.  There was already several other stray shopping carts littering the parking lot.  I am not surprised that this is the result.  I predicted it in my previous post.  What does surprise me is that it happened so quickly after the new policy went into place.  Usually after a major remodel, it takes several weeks before these new customer service initiatives fade away, not a few days. 

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TGIF

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Thank God It's Friday.  A lot of people are claiming this at the end of the work week.  It is always nice to have the weekend and the end of the work week.  I am particularly happy that the week is over, because it has been a brutal week for me.  Not so much because of the work week, but just a bunch of stuff that has happened to people close to me.

It all started on Sunday when I was chatting with a friend of mine on Facebook.  We had a pretty good chat going along catching up on what was going on in each of our lives.  By the time our chat was over, however, I discovered that he and his wife had separated and were probably headed for divorce.  That was the first of the bad news for the week.

Then I received a message from my mother on Twitter.  They had to rush my uncle to the hospital where they found what appeared to be a mass on his brain.  It turns out he had some bleeding in the brain and thought that he might have a cracked skull from a fall that occurred during the snowstorms.  I realized tonight that I have been remiss in checking on how he is doing because I have been so occupied with the sudden passing of my friend David Mills that I posted about a couple days ago.

On Thursday night, I updated my Facebook status to pay tribute to folks with cancer.  Another old high school friend happened to be on Facebook at the time.  She replied to my status and informed me that she was getting ready to undergo cancer treatment.

Finally today at work, they had to evacuate the building due to some fumes in the building.  After waiting outside for over an hour, they announced that it would be another two hours before they would consider letting people back in the building.  I had to leave to take my son to his psychiatrist appointment, so I called it an early day.  At the end of the appointment, his doctor informed us he was moving to another office.  Now we have to decide whether to choose another doctor in the practice or go to an office that is less convenient.

I suppose it is appropriate that a week like this week happens to end on Good Friday, the day of Christ's crucifixion.  A day when things looked bleakest for those who called themselves disciples of Jesus.  Then there was renewal when on Sunday morning it was discovered that Jesus had risen from the grave.  In this Easter season, I hope that all my friends and family will find peace, comfort and renewal.  

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