One of the biggest fears one has as a lowly small town official is getting oneself quoted for something that gets picked up state wide, or, perish the thought, nation wide.  Nothing good ever comes of such notoriety from elected officials in sleepy little New England villages.  It ty… Read full post »

Go Out With A Bang.  Whimpering is for Pussies.

(This is Slim Pickens riding the bomb in Dr. Strangelove for you young folks.)

If you do not remember the Watergate hearings you likely clicked on this post by mistake or have a parent around my age.  Either way/… Read full post »

A recent blog post seems to be sniffing around the difficulty that is the ongoing development of internet communities such as this one.  Personalities clash.  Typical societal constraints of having to actually look at the object of your wrath in the eye as you utter whatever it is that come… Read full post »

I saw a Verizon ad twice last night.  The first time had me incredulous.  The second time around my head exploded.

This Verizon ad was showing some telephone command center widget that had a screen, internet access, and a telephone while a modern day version of Jane Jetson… Read full post »

As the four or so readers who caught this missive about flying back from Disney know, I absolutely adore my 11 year old daughter.  Going through a divorce, I have been seeking to look after her emotional well being, at times to the detriment of other, equally as important relationships… Read full post »

The on-line news features did it to me again.  An article titled “You Won’t Believe What Lady Gaga Wore” got me to click on the link.  Who needs to worry about health care matters when some C list wannabee comes up with some odd costume to garner the attention her singing… Read full post »

There's scant reason for a socially liberal, fiscally conservative hawk from the northeast to stick around the Republican Party these days as it continues down its path to becoming a regional party of angry, southern white males.

 There's no future in that particular specialization, and nic… Read full post »

The college tour in April 2007 with number two son started out by driving through a Nor’Easter south from Massachusetts before touching down somewhere on Route 81 in Virginia 12 hours later.  After a night in some $60 a night motel, we got up, had a quick breakfast and made the colleg/… Read full post »

 W had to lose the gut.  He couldn't decide what to do with it, and he was the deciderer, goddamnit!

 ***

Should I wear the gut in or out today?

That happens to be a question most men ask themselves quite frequently.  Study after study shows we&rs/… Read full post »

Lay Back and Take It.  They Don't Even Buy You Dinner First.

 As oftentimes opined on this blog of late, turning 50 permanently stains your medical records in the eyes of those tasked with looking after your health.  Their eyes bug out of their head when they see that you… Read full post »

Another mindless internet blurb struck my attention like a shiny object to an ADD-addled teen who forgot to take his meds.  Someone commissioned a study to determine our fitness personality types.  There's five they developed. 

These alleged “findings” happened to h… Read full post »

An annual Harris Poll of 2,681 US adults listed the following top 15 favorite TV dads:

1. Cliff Huxtable of "The Cosby Show"

2. Ward Cleaver of "Leave It to Beaver"

3. Jim Anderson of "Father Knows Best"

4. Andy Taylor of "The Andy Griffith Show"

5. Ozzie Nelson of "The… Read full post »

In an earlier post I chronicled being with my son in the building next door to where the Virginia Tech shootings were taking place back in April 2007.   The event did not really upset us.  We both felt safe and sound during the whole thing.  It was somewhat surreal, actu… Read full post »

Compuserve did it again with yet another useless article to titillate.  This time it is about 50 great places to have sex.  Divorcing and 50, having sex is great regardless of the location as long as I am not doing it alone. 

 I do feel a little like Rip Van Winkle,… Read full post »

Relaxing can get old at times ... or so I am told. 

The vacation mentioned in this previous submission played out a little like being at summer camp.  We all waited around on the dock before heading out on what was a 2 ½ boat ride to our/… Read full post »

A year long effort at losing weight through exercise, food moderation, and, well, smoking again, has yielded great results.  The results have been so good, a few people who have not seen me in a while have looked at me with rather alarmed looks and asked me if I am sick.… Read full post »

My daughter came home from the second day of school announcing she had no homework.  After a gymnastics activity and in the process of powering down before bed watching the Disney Channel, I get hit with, “Dad, there’s a math problem the teacher gave us.  She was able to figure… Read full post »

I created a twitter account today.  Seems odd to establish a mechanism by which people can absorb my errant thoughts.  Errant thoughts I equate to sounds that might be made from a BB rattling around in a tuna fish can.  Every once in a while the BB-sized idea gets moving and… Read full post »

Turning fifty does not mean you’re dead, but it also doesn’t mean you can pass for a college kid, anymore, either.  It didn’t really hit me until such time as I went for a physical and saw the nurses' reactions to my age that resulted in a series of medical… Read full post »

Ed McMahon dead at 86.  He had a good run.

 Ed was the butt of many, many jokes over the years, and yet he played a valuable and often under appreciated role in life of the unflappable and unconditionally supportive partner.  He took whatever Johnny Carson threw his way with geniality.… Read full post »

We've had a run on pop culture demises these days that likely has Governor Sanford dropping to his knees, yelling, "Yesssssssssss!  There is a God!"  Lucky for Governor Sanford, it appears God favors horny hypocrites with an eye for the Latin Ladies.

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael… Read full post »

It never fails.  The 24/7 media needs something, ANYTHING, to fill the air ways.  Some pop culture icon does something idiotic or tragic and up come the klieg lights for continuous coverage of someone in whom we had passing interest.

 And then we snap and have enough of it.

Please… Read full post »

I caught a news clip on the Obama family trying to do what typical families do by taking their kids to national parks.  I do not know the kids' names or ages.  I have enough trouble remembering my own and feel diving into the particulars of those little girls is an… Read full post »

Based on subject matter, I am all for Barack Obama addressing the schools.  It’s akin to FDR fireside chats provided the subject matter remains appropriate, and his message more than meets that filter.

He’s a black man raised by a single mom.  Hard enough, he had the further dif… Read full post »

I moved in 2001 from a community of 12,000 that had a volunteer group that raised money to put on a spectacular Fourth of July parade replete with fez-adorned Shriners in their little cars nearly gunning down children chasing after the candy tossed to them from fire engines and the like.… Read full post »