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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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04,December,2003
|
' Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. ' They just did! To think that our Founder Fathers died and killed to preserve that right, and wrote it down so we'd never forget it ... and then the current failed regime (and I mean the entire regime: Congress, Senate, Executive, Judicial) comes along and spits on the blood of young men and women who died. If we pulled out of Iraq right now and let Saddam's regime have a part in the government , people would scream that our troops 'died in vain!'. Yet, you don't hear much about our Founding Fathers dying in vain now do you? I mean ... given that part of our First Admendment Right was just erased, I'd say there's a bit of 'in vain' in their struggle against The Crown. Just think: You can now be put in jail for political speech in the United States!! Don't believe me? Break the law -- run a negative ad a week before the election -- and then don't pay the fine. What will happen? Into the slammer you go! United States Constitution: RIP, December 10, 2003.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
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Gemini
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04,December,2003
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urlLink Bush poised to end steel tariffs. What you hope happened: GW: 'I gotta lift this tariff; it's just not right in the context of fair and free trade.' What probably happened: GW: 'If I lift the tariff, what happens?' Rove: 'We calculate you'll lose seven electoral college vote because of the Unions, but gain thirteen because of the help to the economy'. GW: 'Okay, let's go ahead.'
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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03,December,2003
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Is it pronounced 'ess-press-o' or, as my wife insists, 'ex-press-o'? Dunno. Either way, it's the nectar of life!
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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30,January,2004
|
There's a blog that I frequent called urlLink Signal vs. Noise . I often mention cigars, surfing and -- of course -- Anna (Anna is the name of my Spyder, silly ... my wife named the car after Anna Kournikova). Yesterday, while discussing something, a person made my day with urlLink this piece of humor entitled 'Next week's Newsweek cover'. Can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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29,January,2004
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Really, urlLink this is no surprise. What is a surprise, however, is that more than two people will vote for this clown come next November. Do you really want to saddle our children with a debt that can't be paid? Worst President ever. Ever.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
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Gemini
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28,January,2004
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This will shock everyone that knows me ... but I'm hoping for urlLink Dennis Kucinich For President . Why? He's all about Peace , and idea whose time has come. Kucinich even wants a Peace Department set up within the U.S. Government. Also, he's a man of character, ideals and integrity, not driven by polling data and focus groups. Which, sadly, is why you won't vote for him. You are led around by the nose by the media, not stopping to study the candidates' positions. You have yielded your brain to ad campaigns and sound bites. Sorry if that seems mean, but it needs to be stated. My brother is a local politician, and he can testify to how ignorant the averge citizen is. No, he hasn't said that, I don't want to put words in his mouth ... but the stories. Some people (most, I think) just Don't Get It. *sigh* So if Bush wins (*shudder*) or Kerry (perhaps a bit better), it will mark another victory for special interests and big business in either case . Of the two, I'll vote for Kerry. But Dennis Kucinich is my man for President. You see, Miles ... you can be in favor of the 2nd Admendment and still want a peaceful world. It's all about sport and (hopefully never used) self-defense. Join me: Vote Kucinich.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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22,January,2004
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One word: urlLink frightening!
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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14,January,2004
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I'm a CIO -- that's Chief Information Officer -- the top exec in our company's IT group. Exciting stuff, eh? That is, until you realize you have to read and learn about stuff like urlLink this . More snow tonight, piled on top of the single-digit temps lately. Can I scream loud enough, 'I WANT TO LIVE IN KEY WEST!'?? Ian's off to Penn State (University Park), and off to a great start. His Comp Sci 120 (data structures) prof told him today, 'You don't need to come to this class ... ever'. He can email in the work. Ian was worried, because it's a data structure class (something Ian mastered in 10th grade in AP Programming) and yet they don't even get to urlLink tertiary trees . Miles, silly Miles, is delusional enough to think that the Sex Pistols or the Ramones could hold a candle to The Rolling Stones. Gimme a break. Granted, they're good (especially the Ramones) ... but come on. I think that California sun is getting to Miles. Here's a good question: 'Do you REALLY need a Hummer H2 or a Suburban to commute to work?' Ever heard of oil? Do you realize we import over 50 percent of our oil? Did you ever think that, perhaps, we should cut back? Just a thought. Something for you to think about while barreling down Rt. 95 at 85 mph in your 11 mpg Dakota. Our cultural calendar is not up to snuff this year. We've only scheduled a concert -- going to hear 'Windham Hill's Winter Solstice' this weekend. Other than that, we've not locked anything in place. To be honest, there's not enough to see and/or hear around this place. I'd love to see urlLink Bubba Ho-Tep , but it's not in our area. ARGH! The NFL season will soon be over, and I've yet to watch an entire game. Probably has something to do with the fact that my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, stunk up the league. Yuck. Well ... and the fact that I'd rather watch Jamie Oliver or Alton Brown whip something up. My favorite network is urlLink Fine Living , which I don't even get at home on my lame Suscom cable. I watch it at the cigar lounge on Saturday mornings while enjoying one (or, usually, two) premium cigars. Between Andrea Immer's wine show and the Napa Lifestyle show, I'm lovin' it. Last weekend, while watching those two shows, I thoroughly enjoyed a Montecristo White and a Macanudo Robust. Both excellent, although the Mac was better (a surprise). I'm anxious to try the Montecristo Afrique -- all African tobacco. Could be the newest 'thing' in cigars. If you don't smoke cigars, you should. Really. Gotta run; gotta go home and read about Business Intelligence and Data Cubes. *sigh*
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
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Gemini
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13,January,2004
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urlLink GET THIS SOFTWARE! I recently added my first photo album to my urlLink web site , and I used JAlbum to do it. Wow ... this is fantastic software. I mean incredible. And free ... FREE ... FREE! Get it, use it, and support it. Now go to my web site and check out my four pictures. It's a start.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
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Gemini
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12,January,2004
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If you're going to be away from your computer for a while, I'd suggest visiting urlLink this website and letting it on your PC. Great to bring up just as you leave for vacation!
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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08,January,2004
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Forget urlLink fast food ... instead, opt for urlLink Slow Food. You can thank me later! :-)
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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05,January,2004
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urlLink Steep is good tea, no doubt. We enjoy it at times. But, I'm convinced that given good packaging and a great web site , you can sell any item and make a great living. Add to that the fact that 'exclusivity sells', and you're on your way. Tell you what; email me with some ideas of items to be sold over the internet, and I'll sort through and pick one; I'll set up a web site, put together good packaging, and cut you in 20 percent of my first two years' profit. Seriously. Then I'll be living in Naples or West Palm Beach or Napa Valley.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
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Gemini
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05,January,2004
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urlLink Check 'em out! Many, like most political ads, are not honest. But 'Child's Pay' and 'In My Country' are not only honest, but very salient. Enjoy. (or ... not)
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
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Gemini
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02,January,2004
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Exclamation Points RULE!!!! I predict: The Baltimore Ravens will win the Super Bowl. Yup. Best defense in the playoffs. I don't particularly like the Ravens, but gotta give 'em props. I'm very glad to put 2003 behind me. It was too emotional, what with the tragic loss of one of the finest people I've ever met -- that being my nephew, Harry -- and the graduation of the light of my life (my daughter, Erika) from college, her marriage to The Guy You Pray Your Daughter Brings Home (you could not hand-pick a better man for your daughter), to the decision by my son to leave his incredible job (where's he's been successful beyond any expectations) to attend Penn State. Wow ... I need a breather. I set goals around this time of year. So far I've come up with the following goals: 1. Read two books about being more assertive; one by end of March, other by end of July. 2. Read an average of one book every two months. 3. Lift Weights at least two times a week. 4. Purge my old clothing. 5. Finish painting the living room by end of February. 6. Finish garage shelves by end of March. I'll have more to follow. Take note!! Here's a tip to use at work that will earn you some points: when you have a list, always always always make it a numbered list (as I did above, thankyewverymush). That way, in a meeting, people can easily refer to it by number. Didn't learn that in college, did ya? Nope! You can thank me by sending me one or more cigars. Hey Miles! Nice web site ... NOT! (it's down). Stinkin' skateboarding liberal. Shambaugh and Grichten came over for New Year's Eve. Had a great time, better than expected. We hung out, mostly in the garage with me smoking three cigars (not at once ... duh), and had some adult beverages and just talked and -- mostly -- laughed. So great to see some friends from times gone by, still friends, still doing well. At one point, Shambaugh remarked at our lives (my bride and I) being 'about perfect'. He named great kids, lovely house, good jobs, 25 years plus of marriage ... and reminded us how great that all is. That was encouraging. Having someone from the outside, looking in, tell you that you have a great life ... it means a lot. After reaching middle age, it dawns on you just how important relationships are. You lose that 20-something aggressiveness and that 30-something ego and just mellow out. It's great, it really is. And despite what most of the losers out there would have you believe, you can be in very good physical shape at age 45 and still enjoy kayaking, biking, surfing, golfing, lifting weights ... I could go on ad nauseum. Point is: as Frank sang, 'The Best Is Yet To Come'.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
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Gemini
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28,February,2004
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We recently got rid of the piano that we purchased back in 1989. We paid $900 for it back then, and it's still in excellent shape, but rather than try to sell it we 'gifted' it to my friend, Matt. (I love verbing a word; gifted, efforted, etc etc) Matt offered his old console color TV in exchange, and my daugher expressed an interested in the TV. Soooooo ... being the nice guy I am (read: Stupid), I accepted the TV site unseen. Picked up the TV last Sunday, and then went to deliver it on Monday evening. Weeelllll ... as you can guess by now, my daughter and her hubby decided that the TV would totally clash with their interior design. I have to agree. The TV is a wood grain console, while their apartment is uber modern design. It would clash like George Bush and Michael Moore at a nude beach. So, no problem, I'll just take the TV to the Salvation Army store. On Saturday ... five days later. So my wife, bless her heart, is driving her rich and luxurious Buick Rendezvous CXL all week with a TV in the back. Finally, Saturday arrives and I take the TV over to the Salvation Army store. This is great ... I mean ... some family down on their luck will at least get a good color TV for cheap, right? So I pull up and what does the 'We Will Not Accept' sign say? Right there ... number two ... 'B/W TV or ANY KIND OF CONSOLES (working or not)'. Grrrrrr. I try my charm, but the chubby 'Marty' guy says no-can-do. How anyone can resist my charm is beyond explanation, but apparently the Salvation Army trains their minions to be immune to Don Schenck Charm. Amazing. Just hope they don't train anyone else (Like, say, my wife, my employer, the IRS ...). So now I have a TV in my garage, waiting for our townships Spring Cleanup Day, when I can put it by the curb with a sign 'Works Great' and watch the Junk Buzzards swoop down and take it. Moral: Don't do favors. No good deed goes unpunished.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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10,February,2004
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Tony Kornheiser wrote a book, urlLink Back For More Cash , and putting across a play on words, I'm back with more cash. You see, I recently attended urlLink SHOT Show 2004 in sunny Las Vegas. Sunny it was, about 60 degrees every day. Not that I got outside during the day ... except when I'd step outside for a break and simply close my eyes and put my face toward the sun. This, while it was four degrees back home. *big grin* I did gamble a tiny bit, and I did end up ahead about $80. That's not worth mentioning except that at least I didn't lose. One person in our group won over $5,000 playing blackjack. That would be worth mentioning. There was a progressive slot machine, 'Mega Bucks', that was up to $10 million. I kept saying I was going to play it and win ... but I just never got around to it. Well ... two -- count 'em, two -- people did hit the jackpot while I was there! ARGH! Two people are off with my $10 million! We stayed at the MGM Grand hotel, and the suite was on the 25th floor, with a balcony overlooking the strip. Had a hot tub on the balcony, too. Did I mention it was Real Nice? Vegas is a charicature of The Good Life or Entertainment -- pick one. While at the MGM, Tony Bennett and Bette Midler performed (not together, one separate evenings). Meanwhile, it was during Valentine's Day, so you saw many, many brides and grooms walking about, waiting their turn at the chapel. What a way to start a marriage; I'm not sure it's such a good idea. Saw only one 'Elvis', walking through the casino. That was cool. All in all, I worked very hard (on my feet from 8 to 5:30 every day, working a booth), played very hard, and have a good time. Nice place to visit, but ... you know the rest. -- Don
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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10,February,2004
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I'm leaving for Las Vegas and urlLink SHOT Show in a few hours. I'm always nervous about flying. I know it's safe, but seriously ... wouldn't you rather drive into a cornfield at 50 mph than auger in at, say, 650? :-) Good site here: urlLink Market 314 . Check it out and contribute! I'll be sending my pizza recipes over, as well as my best-in-the-world French Onion soup. Got my haircut this morning at urlLink American Male at Lancaster. Great experience; more than just a haircut. I got my hands dipped in parafin, got a face massage with tea tree oil and then a hot towel treatment. Quite the relaxing experience. I'm so metrosexual it's not funny. Miles, you wish you were as hip. In your dreams, buddy. Kucinich is still hanging in there! Seen the urlLink Dennis Miller show on CNBC yet? I like it. He's intelligent and quick-witted, and his down-to-earth ideals are refreshing. Check it out. Gotta run ... airport security can take a while. Peace, -- Don
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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05,February,2004
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Numbers have meaning, and some numbers have special meaning given a certain context. I'm convinced that if you delve deep enough into number theory and high math, you can reduce the physical world -- yes, the physical world -- to a series of numbers and equations. A lot of number and equations, to be sure, but nonetheless I'll stand by my theory until proven otherwise. (How's that for reverse-scientific-principal; I say it's true and ask you to disprove it. Sheesh, I'm so scientifically dishonest ...) And, no, I haven't been watching urlLink PI again. Think about certain contexts, and meaningful numbers pop into to your head. For example ... human age. Thirteen, 16, 18 and 21 all pop into your head. Teen years, driving, voting and/or leaving home, and drinking. See what I mean? I think a woman reaches her peak, beauty-wise, at age 32. That's not to say a 45-year old isn't beautiful (see my wife for details), but it peaks at age 32 typically . She's matured, got a few lines and maybe some emerging gray hairs (which can be attractive, see Emilou Harris for further particulars) and has a sense of herself. An air of confidence. Driving. 20 miles per gallon ... seems to be the cutoff between horrible fuel economy and not-too-bad, particularly for a large automobile. Football, these are easy. 100 yards rushing or receiving in a game ... 300 yards passing ... these are no-brainers. How about money? $1,000 a week is a nice level. Then it goes to $2,000 a week ... then if shifts from weekly to annual. The next step is $250,000 a year, after that $500,000, then a cool million. After that, the next number is 83 ... which is the average daily temperature of Tahiti *smile*. Water. 104 degrees to wash your hands, 110 to shower (a HOT shower). Okay ... 64 to play in the ocean, 75 to enjoy the ocean, 80 to enjoy the backyard pool. Air temps; 60 seems a lot warmer than 59. Fifty-nine is a warm March day, 60 seems like spring. You get the idea. ------------------------------------ A lot has been said and written about the Super Bowl halftime fiasco, so I might as well chime in since I'm more intelligent than most of the other commentators. *COUGH* First of all, if you were stupid enough to believe the original 'it was a mistake' claim, then please turn in your brain at the nearest Good Humor truck, since you obviously aren't using it. Never, *never*, put anything past the entertainment crowd. These people need attention like Al Franken needs a makeover. They are so full of themselves that they can't see anything they do as wrong as long as it gets them some attention. Second, what is being missed is the entire disgusting behavior of the entire show. The crotch grabbing, the bumping and grinding. Hey, you want to watch that stuff on MTV, help yourself. But a football halftime show? Excuse me, but did you even *think* that perhaps, just perhaps, that Joe and Sally Lutheran from Flyovertown, Indiana, might be watching the show with their two school-age children? Finally, it's too bad that most of you weren't as smart as I was about the whole thing (I guess it is a bit unfair of me to expect people to be as smart as I am, I mean ...); I didn't watch it! Wow ... what a concept? I saw the advance advertising -- more like 'warning' -- and switched over to watch Howard Dean being interviewed by Tim Russert on Meet The Press. Gee ... I traded 30 minutes of depravity for a half hour of knowledge about the possible future leader of the world. Told ya I was smart. Now don't you feel stupid? --------------------------------------- How come hypochondriacs never think they have hypochondria?
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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31,March,2004
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urlLink Here is something we never had to deal with! HA HA ... only in Florida.
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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22,March,2004
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urlLink This is cool. I want one to hang on the wall in my house.
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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17,March,2004
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The timing is right, the idea is brilliant, and it would pull our country together. That's how you know the politicians would never go for urlLink this . :-(
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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16,March,2004
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What the ??? Can you believe urlLink THIS? All the talk about obesity and especially in youth, and this? Unbelievable!
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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12,March,2004
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Music. The international language. I love music. No, I mean I love music. Love it as in I listen to it all the time, and all types. You like music ... I love music. Got that? I've observed a lot about music and have some 'interesting opinions' about it (to quote Miles when speaking charitably about me). I'm 44 years old, and grew up listening to Motown. Nothing better, it is (was?) great music. It taught me how to dance (something I stopped doing about age 35 -- a bit too late *smile*) and always plants a smile inside me. But folks our age have the youth of today confused and in a tizzy. You see, when *we* were kids, our fathers would complain about the volume ('TURN THAT DOWN!') and the singing ('You can't understand a word they're saying') and the rhythms ('sounds like a bunch of jungle music'). But we, on the other hand, like the music that our children listen to. And it drives them crazy! Yesterday I listened to Reggae dance music. I like alternative rock. I like punk at times (don't tell Miles; he thinks punk music is the cat's meow). Hip-hop? Heck, I like Outkast, Jean Paul, the whole crew yo. Point is, we've reached a point in societal evolution where everyone can listen to the same music and enjoy it, and it drives teens nuts. They would like nothing better than to shock us and make us scream about their music, and they can't. Sorry kiddies ... we've seen it all, heard it all, and quite frankly we're not impressed. Marilyn Manson? We had Alice Cooper and Ozzie before Marilyn was even born. B-O-R-I-N-G! (an aside: Don't get uptight about 'shock' acts like Manson (who is a has-been by now); it's all AN ACT. It's done to shock and get publicity. Understand that, and it won't bother you) Explicit lyrics and sexual overtones? Ha! ... don't make me laugh. Back In The Day, we'd put on Barry White (R.I.P.) and ... well ... we didn't need some coked-up street thug to tell us what to do! We made our own lyrics, if ya know what I mean. *BIG GRIN* So music's cool. Even punk, which is just random guitar licks and drums with someone screaming lyrics about everyday life. 'I eat burritos when I'm hungry ...' But punk has its place. Like when you want to get amped for something, like skateboarding (tip of the hat to Miles there) or surfing (aside: skateboarding is to surfing as Carmen San Diego is to Carmen Electra) or driving the Solar Yellow Spyder. (Oh, I'm sorry; you don't have a Solar Yellow Spyder! My bad) *laugh* So next time your 15-year old daughter gets in the passenger seat and turns on 'Hey Ya', don't say anything. Just reach down and turn it up. She'll be stunned and quiet. And that'll be music to your ears. -- Don
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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04,March,2004
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While perhaps not the textbook definition of urlLink Slow Food , we recently gave up on microwave popcorn and switched back to the childhood fun of urlLink Jiffy Pop . Apparently, urlLink not a moment too soon!
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
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Gemini
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04,March,2004
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Go urlLink here and scroll down to the article titled 'Stress Management: Does anyone want it?'. Excellent! Do companies that he describes really exist? I don't believe so ... :-( -- Don
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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01,March,2004
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Well, like many others, I went to see urlLink The Passion of The Christ over the weekend. I don't know where to start, there are so many aspects to discuss. For starters, it's a movie that assumes a certain level of Christian faith going in, and at least a working knowledge of the four gospels of the New Testament. Without that base, it's nothing but two hours of some good guy getting beat up by Roman soldiers. Going deeper -- and I went to Bible school for four plus years -- it's amazing how accurate and 'correct' the movie is. I guess I shouldn't be amazed, since scholars were used as consultants. But it's refreshing to see some adherence to actual practices. For example, just as is historically correct -- but known by few -- when the Romans wash their hands, the plunge them into a bowl of water. The Jews, on the other hand (guided by the teaching of the Old Testament!), put their hands under running water. Bet ya didn't know that, did ya? But beyond the history and the violence (which didn't affect me and I'll explain why later), this film is much, much more. Again ... if you're a follower of Christ. The graphic nature of the violence against the Lord is not just accurate, but very moving. The movie starts with a quote from Isaiah that pretty much lays down the meaning of the next two hours: Christ took the our sins upon Him. Knowing that, could the gore be any less? How ugly, unkind and downright sick can people be? And yet, here's the Son Of Man taking it all upon Himself in order to bring forgiveness. I saw myself in the movie at one point, and it hit me pretty hard. As one of the Roman soldiers was mocking, laughing and hitting Christ, I saw my (former) self. That was me, before my conversion to Christianity. Wow. Why didn't the violence affect me? Having gone to a fundamental Bible school, I had been taught (in graphic detail) every aspect of the Passion of Christ, right down to the cause of death (drowning; the lungs fill with fluid. In fact, the victim has to push up with their legs to expand the chest enough to get a breath, which is why the Romans broke the legs of the other two victims at the end of the crucifixion; if they could not lift themselves, they could not get a breath of air and would die quickly. By being able to lift themselves, they prolong their own agony). There is so much I could write, and I could give you several hours' worth of Bible teaching on this. In the end, I'd rather suggest you read The Book. It is, after all, the number one all-time best seller. -- Don
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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30,April,2004
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Water temperature today, April 30, is 50.9 degrees. Slowly moving toward 64.
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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29,April,2004
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Water temperature today, April 29, is 49.6 degrees *sigh*. Come on 64!
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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26,April,2004
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50.4 degrees.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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23,April,2004
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I send my son and my money to a urlLink model college .
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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21,April,2004
|
Okay, here's something we can all agree that we hate: That fake ad-hoc question that the news anchor asks the reporter at the end of the report. ' ... and so, for now, there won't be a new Wal-Mark in Lancaster County. Live, from Warwick High School, this is Blahblah Talkinghead reporting.' 'Blahblah, what about the proposed Target store in that same area?' 'Forrest, Authorities here say that the same restrictions will apply to any store over 10,000 square feet, so for now, the new Target store is also on hold.' 'Thank you, Blahblah. In other news ...' Folks, you do know that the entire 'I'll-ask-a-question-and-it'll-sound-impromptu' thing is scripted, don't you? ARGH! I HATE that. What an insult. What? ... we're to believe that you just *happen* to ask a question and the reporter is just SOOOO smart that they know the answer? Sheesh. Whatever happened to just reporting the facts? Stinkin' ratings game. P.S. My neighbor and a lady at work call it 'Wal-Mark', so it's used here. The lady at work also says 'Discovery card' for the Discover credit card and calls the office supply place 'Office Mack'.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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21,April,2004
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49.5 degrees.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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21,April,2004
|
Oh man ... now urlLink this is a cool web site. I love to watch this stuff.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
|
20,April,2004
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47.8 degrees.
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1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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20,April,2004
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Sixty four degrees ... that's when I'll start surfing. Currently (April 20, 2004), the Atlantic Ocean is 47.3 degrees 20 miles off the coast of Delaware.
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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18,April,2004
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They call it 'Fitt's Law', and when web developers don't adhere to it, it gives me fits! ARGH!
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1,684,227 |
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| 45 |
indUnk
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Gemini
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06,April,2004
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The clock on my system tray (that little indented box in the lower, right corner of your Windows XP screen) shows 6:17 PM, and I'm sitting on the deck. The birds are auditioning for their summer song series, and the sun is reflecting off the pool that I opened yesterday. To my left, one of the finest cigars made: an Ashton Virgin Sun Grown. A Churchill. It's one of the most flavorful and strongest non-Cuban cigars going. I'm tasting some serious cinnamon and chocolate right now in this masterful stogie. I'm chasing it with some Canada Dry ginger ale. It's 83 degrees, and I just took a quick dip in the pool. Fifty six degrees! That's right, 5-6! Whew ... talk about cold! . But, the tradition must continue: I get in the pool when I open it in April and when I close it in September. Tradition isn't always meant to be easy, but it's always meaningful. What's pretty cool is that thanks to the wonderful invention of wireless networking, I'm able to sit here by the deck and surf the web, make this blog entry, and do some late Sunday evening work while 45 miles from the office. That's sweet. (I just realized: there's not a single cloud in the sky!) Had quite a weekend, with all the beautiful weather and such. Friday night I stopped to see Erik, my mechanic and high school classmate all those years ago (Lennon!). People hang out at his garage on Friday evenings. I smoked a big cigar, several people fawned over my Spyder, and then I headed home to see one of the most beautiful women on the planet, dressed to kill and taking me out to dinner. My favorite restaurant, bar none: Blue Moon. What a fantastic dinner. Great French wine (Vouvray); smooth as silk, very light body, very delicate (but not understated) finish with a hint of lemons. Outstanding. While the older gentlemen played classic crooner tunes on the piano (with our encouragement), we dined. I had what would translate to 'Casserole of the sea', and Patti enjoyed the Chilean Sea Bass in a sauce that can only be described as 'perfect'. It could also, I suppose, be described by it's ingredients, which the server would not share with us. So, donning our food detective hats, we did our best to conjure up the recipe via deliberate tasting. I finally nailed it down: butter (of course), cream, shallots, a hint of roasted red peppers, and the coup de grace -- rosemary. 'Nope. Thyme!' I was puzzled? Thyme? But Patti ... I know the flavor of rosemary, and it's rosemary. 'Thyme.' Come on. I mean ... yeah ... she has a culinary degree ... but she was wrong this time. Aha! ... I couldn't wait to win this battle. Another server stopped by, and we asked for the ingredients. She didn't hesitate to share them: 'Butter, cream, shallots, roasted red pepper and thyme.' ARGH!!!! Humbled (ME! Humbled! Can you believe it????), I ordered the caramel cream custard (she, the red raspberry sorbet) and sheepishly admitted that she was right. Again. As usual. *sigh* ----------- Didn't see my son for Easter. Haven't seen him for a while. We communicate on an almost-daily basis, but haven't seen him. He's too busy at Penn State. I miss him, and am anxious to see him, but I'm even happier that he's making the right decision to stay there and do his school work and research (he's in the Cognitive Science research department there, you know ... computers that think and all that stuff). Good job, Ian. Keep it up. You have no idea how proud we are of you: myself, your mom, your sister, Chris, Jane, my parents, Bob & Carol. You da man! ----------- Saturday I got up at the usual weekend time -- 5:45 -- and went down to Philadelphia to pick up some 16-inch wheels for my Saab 900S ... my 'beater'. What's cool is that I was walking around the house at 11 in the morning thinking 'I've been to Philly and back already today and I still have the entire day ahead of me! Cool!'. Opened the pool, drove the Spyder a bit (to run some errands). Erika came over to continue to try to migrate her *stuff* over to her apartment, and then my dad invited himself over to sit around my fire pit and smoke cigars (it's cool, he and my mom pronounce it 'CI-gars'). Nice evening. Sunday, I sharpened the blade on my lawnmower (Thanks for tip, Rich! I used a belt sander as you suggested and it works great! ) and then made sure it was exactly 3 inches cutting height as mandated by Patti, who is also a Penn State Master Gardener! (In case you haven't noticed by now, she's a driven over-achiever; Penn State Master Gardener, degree in Culinary Arts, certificate in Baking and Pastry, home-schooled our children for seven years, is in very good shape and is drop-dead gorgeous. Now that I think about it ... pretty much a good match for me ...) *cough* So get this: The first time I cut the grass, Patti says 'it's too short; raise the mower. It should be three inches high'. Now, I know 'cut it high and let it lie' is the mantra for a healthy lawn, but how could she know that it wasn't three inches high, but rather two and three-quarters inches? Come on! No way! No way she could have been able to tell that the lawn was 1/4-inch too short. See what I'm up against? It's a good thing I have the talent, intelligence, good looks and awesome physique needed to keep up with my perfectionist wife. *cough* Man, you have no idea how great this cigar is. I mean absolutely wonderful. ----------- Go ahead and laugh, but on April 8th we went to the 1st Mariner Arena at Baltimore to see Yanni in concert. It was, hands down, the Best. Concert. Ever. You may think you don't like his kind of music (he's described as the 'first New Age superstar'), but when it's performed live it's awe-inspiring. We had great seats near the front, and could see the musicians' facial expressions. During the course of the three hour performance, nearly every artist had the opportunity to perform a solo. Talent beyond description. Just unbelievable. So, our 2003-2004 winter cultural calendar winds to a close. We went to see the Windham Hills Winter Solstice concert, Yanni, and we're tossing in an IMAX movie about the coral reefs (and how, sadly, we're losing them because of chemical farming and over-harvesting of trees) to make it three events. We do three events every year. Next year will include the Cirque de Soleil 'O' at the Bellagio hotel and casino at Las Vegas. I went to see it two years ago and was so overwhelmed that I insist that Patti accompany me to Las Vegas next January (during urlLink SHOT Show 2005 ) just to see 'O'. It is the greatest cultural event I've ever attended ... well ... I guess it's a tie with Les Miserables, which is a life-changing experience. ---------- My son-in-law is the second-best son-in-law in the world (I hold the title of 'Best', thank you very much) and has a great job. He helps lower income people with housing, particularly when they have a problem with their landlord and can't afford an attorney. He also helps make sure housing discrimination is held in check. Fantastic, Chris. It's extremely important work, and we're proud of you. I know how much Chris believes in fairness and civil (and human) rights. Very important issues that many well-to-do people (read hard core Republicans) just don't seem to care about. Keep up the great work. ------------ My daughter (she's married to Chris -- figure that out yet?) is going through that stage in your life where everyone you know is getting married. It can be a bit of a drag, and quite costly. This outfit, that gift, this party ... it stops being fun when people are insisting that you spend $100 on an outfit 'so it will match the usher's sister's outfit'. Chin up, Erika. Just muddle through when you need to, put your foot down only when necessary (but then don't budge), and smile a lot. Only wish those other weddings could be as great (and as COOL) as your wedding. ------- 7:02 PM now, and the cigar is half done. It's still fantastic. Wish I could have another when this one is finished, but Patti gets a bit upset when I have three or four cigars one right after the other. She will ask me 'How many cigars have you had?', and I very carefully give a sneaky answer: 'This is my last one'. And that, my friend, is the application of urlLink 1 Peter 3:7 . ------------- Finally, if you're a spiritual person, please remember to pray for peace, especially in Iraq. If you're not a believer, then please send out some good karma. Seriously. -- Don
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06,April,2004
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Microsoft, known to some as The Evil Empire, has finally taken one of the (albeit, smaller) projects and urlLink released it into the open source community. What next? ... -- Don
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02,April,2004
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If you are using Microsoft SQL Server, never prefix your stored procedures with 'sp_', unless you are storing the procedure in the master database. If you call a stored procedure prefixed with sp_, SQL Server always looks for this procedure in the master database. Only after checking in the master database (if not found) it searches the current database. Just thought you'd want to know that. *laugh* -- Don, aka 'That geek in the messy office who listens to folk music all day'
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28,May,2004
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As mention urlLink elsewhere on the web , Thursday, May 27, was my 45th birthday. Finally, I felt the 'oh man, I'm gettin' old' pangs that one is supposed to suffer at 40. At 40 I was too busy working out, driving a hot car and enjoying life in general. Now, however ... I ... uh ... hey! ... I'm still working out, driving a hot car, and enjoying life in general. I'm not getting older, I'm ... you know the cliche. 'He is in the music business, he is calling you 'DUDE!'' Cut to the chase, Don; whaja get? from Patti: Two music CD's; Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits and 'Underneath' by Hanson. Yeah, laugh all you want, but Hanson's newest CD is full of really, really good music. No 'Mmm-Bop' on this one; sorry Miles, but no 'Blitzkrieg Bop' either. Both are great driving music. from Jane & Mike: $10 to get a good cigar. YEAH! Hmmmm ... Ashton VSG? Padron Anniversario? Decisions, decisions. from Rich: A black T-shirt that reads 'Got Old?'. Oh how nice. I wish it were white so I could wear it at the shore while surfing. How cool would that be? A guy wearing an old guy t-shirt while surfing. from Ian: TBA. from Erika & Chris: TBA Got nice cards, and tons and tons of email wishes. You folks are all too kind. So I get home from work and Erika (visiting) and Patti are cooking. Marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes and green beans sauted with red peppers and almonds. An absolutely perfect dinner. I paired it with a good Zinfandel (Red, NOT white! Never white Zin. *shudder*). Followed by Patti's Best-In-The-World made-from-scratch German Chocolate Cake. Hmmmm ... can I go back and put more hyphens in that sentence. Oh; A HYPHEN is NOT a DASH! Sheesh. Followed dinner with an $85 cigar, a Fuente Fuente Opus X Perfexion X. Okay, it's normally perhaps $30, but they were pushing them for $85 in Vegas last February, which is where I got it. Nope, I didn't buy it ... did I ever mention how I'm GREAT at being a total mooch? The John Walton school -- a charter school -- in the Atlanta area just improved quite a bit! They picked up a fantastic teacher; it'll benefit the students to no end. I'm quite happy for that school. Oh ... sheesh ... did I mention? It's my sister! Your sister? I'm sure she's a fine teacher. *laugh* I have one serious question: With terrorists attacking and/or threatening to attack, what, exactly, is it they want? Seriously? All the best, -- Don
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27,May,2004
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Jam Band par excellence! All the best to urlLink one of my all time favorite bands .
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21,May,2004
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You think gasoline is expensive. Pul-eeze. Read urlLink this and then you'll see that the real problems haven't even started yet.
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21,May,2004
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I was born. Yup ... today (May 27th) is my 45th birthday! Email me (donschenck at hotmail dot com) and wish me a happy 45th - it'd mean worlds to me. Ocean water temperature is 65.8 degrees. I might go surfing on Monday; depends on whether I want to fight the traffic. I really miss self-employment, where I could take a Tuesday or Wednesday off work and go surfing. No traffic, no crowds (both on the beach and the lineup), just wonderful. *sigh* Need any project management, software development, software architecture work done? This past Sunday I had to mow the field behind our house (it's not our property, but we mow part of it to keep that blasted burdock down), and I figured it would be best to don long pants. Ticks and stuff like that. Despite it being about 90 degrees, I managed to cut the weeds in long pants. What I did was pretend I was back in my hard-cord, fundamentalist Baptist days, when men didn't wear shorts (I sometimes did -- I was bad, I know). I played a mind game, that is. I figured I take the 'hard path' and see how 'tough' I was back then. You know. Know what? ... It wasn't hard at all. Not nearly as hard as, say, loving your neighbor as yourself or praying for those who despitefully use you (Matthew 5:44). :-) Got in the pool several times over the weekend. The water is 76 degrees -- nice! Very nice. Also enjoyed several good cigars. In retrospect, not a bad weekend. Found urlLink this cool website the other day. Fun stuff. Not much more to say. I really want to go surfing *SIGH*. All the best, -- Don
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21,May,2004
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61.0 degrees! First time the tides coincide with a day off, I'm there.
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20,May,2004
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It appears as though some Democrat senators are trying to urlLink change religion rather than let religion change them. Senators, you are dead wrong on this one. You're not even close. Your arrogance is appalling. Imagine the self-inflated egos of these pseudo-Catholics, thinking that their own opinions are enough to change almost 2,000 years of teaching. It's not all about you, Mr. Kerry and friends. It's about a church standing for something and not changing. It's not up to the church to moderate their moral teachings; rather, it's up to you to either; 1. Change your views on abortion, or; 2. Change your religious affiliation. (Disclaimer: I'm not a Roman Catholic, never have been, never will be. I have some major differences with their teachings. However, they have the right -- no, obligation -- to hold fast to their moral teachings, regardless of what egotistical amoralists think) I applaud the church for withholding Communion to these politicians. It's in keeping with church teaching. What? ... should they give Communion to a known rapist or serial killer? To an admitted adulterer (who is still 'adultering')? No, no, a thousand times no. Change your view, Senators. You're either Catholic or not; you can't have it both ways. (Disclaimer: I stopped being a 'Baptist' when I realized their very racist beliefs.) If your religious beliefs don't change your actions, what good are they? Finally; A man's morality will dictate his theology .
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11,May,2004
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Doesn't every home have a 'junk drawer', where mismatched items that have no other home end up? This entry is my Junk Drawer of Opinions. (Miles, the only man my age who is even more stubborn about ageing than I am, says almost all of my opinion are 'junk'. *smile*) The water temperature is 56.1 degrees. Surf weather is slowly approaching. Want to go surfing with me? Email me: DonSchenck@hotmail.com. A female friend of mine, from way back in high school, recently called me a 'smart, sexy man'. Wow ... that feels good. I live for that. Patti and I are doing the Body For Life routine. We didn't enter the contest -- I'm just *not* that competitive -- but we are carefully planning our six small meals a day, working out six days a week, and generally being all positive. So upbeat that it must be sickening to be around us. We're all about rising at 5:30, lifting or biking, having breakfast together (I cook the best eggs ...), all that 'oh look at us we're healthy and have it all together' stuff that makes people hate us. I love that. I *finally* have some of my shape back, which is nice. I don't look like a former lifter any more ... I'm getting more defined while adding muscle. Nice. If I can get the rotator cuff under control (surfing injury), I'll be good to go for surfing. To that end, we are selling our power rack, Olympic-style weights and incline-able bench. Instead, we purchased a Crossbow, which is a Bowflex wannabe. I know it sounds corny and perhaps stupid, but that Crossbow is fantastic. Takes very little room, is quiet, is safe, and we can do so many different exercises while changing resistance very quickly. We're pleased, and it shows. Having breakfast with your bride every morning is the best thing. It's wonderful to look across the table at the woman who knows me better than anyone else on this planet. We talk about the day ahead, our plans, our schedules ... our life. Wonderful to be married over 25 years and still have longing for each other. In case you didn't guess, I'm sitting on the deck as I write this, listening to the ocean and smoking a premium cigar. Life should be this good for everyone. Work is hectic; perhaps too hectic. Then again, the days fly by, and we are getting a lot done. We are transforming a company, changing it from a one-man operation with helpers into an efficient machine. It's challenging, with personality conflicts all the way, but it's one of the more rewarding challenges of my life. Your job? You sleep all day compared to what I do. I make you look like you're standing still. Sorry, but you'll have to catch me when I'm gassing up the Spyder. Otherwise ... WHOOOOSH ... I'm by you and surging ahead. (okay ... so I do have a competitive streak in me) Patti made salmon steaks, collard greens with mushrooms and baked yams for dinner. Perfectly done, of course (www.yorkchef.com was where she went to school and ran their cafe). Ian was home for six days after finishing his first semester at Penn State -- the best college, bar none. I think the bartenders at Penn State graduated from YOUR college. Ian has *two* Fellowships this summer, doing Cognitive Science research. Awesome stuff. He's the smartest person I know. Happy Belated Birthday to the best sister ever ... Jane. My sister has been an inspiration to me, a role model and a person that I look at as a picture of what a person should be. Intelligent, witty, great sense of humor, attractive (she's a Schenck, what else?). Sorry guys, but she's also married to the second-best husband in the world. Maybe third, since my daughter's hubby is fantastic. It's a tie! May 16 is a big day. That's the day of the dedication of Harry's Eagle Scout Project. Harry was my nephew; he died on April 13, 2003 just shy of his 17th birthday. A wonderful young man, full of life and a joy to be around. While one never 'get's over' something like this, I think May 16 will be a significant marker in this ordeal. As much as a grave marker signifies one's time on this earth, his project is the place I go to to remember Harry, to appreciate his contributions, and to think about my own mortality. While we'll never be able to put this behind us, May 16 will be the time I finally 'settle' his passing in my mind. Up until now, it's still unbelievable. You keep hoping, thinking, praying that this has all been a bad dream. Erika and Chris worked in their garden this past weekend, and Erika says 'we have the sunburn to prove it'. A young couple, just starting out; what could be more fun to watch? It's exciting to see them discover life together. Parents are doing well. Mom with her Red Hat Society, dad still designing machines. I've been told by those that build his designs that 'Donny, your dad is the best engineer ever'. I was told of a story of a conveyor he built. It was 1/4 mile long, with turns and other complications. They built it according to his design, fired it up, and it worked flawlessly. Ask any field engineer; that is truly rare. Just heard a jet ski whiz by. Noisy things. You don't mind them until you get a kayak; then, all of a sudden, you're a Birkenstock-wearing environmentalist who hates motorboats. (I just realized; I am, in fact, wearing my Birkenstocks right now!) Talked to Shambaugh the other day. He just got back from six days in the hills of Utah, hiking and shooting. Boy, that sounds like a blast. Nothing more natural than the stars, the fresh air, and .45's. ? While the pool (I'm looking into it right now) is crystal clear, it's also a bit chilly outside -- about 70. Think I'll pass. I did take a quick dip on Saturday. Had some terrible thunderstorms two nights ago. 1,500 lightning strikes during the night in York! Tragically, a woman and her four year-old child lost their life when their car got swept away. Remember: DO NOT drive through standing water that covers the road. How tragic. Prisoner abuse in Iraq? I have no opinion. Seriously. Like any good lawyer, I have to say 'I don't know all the facts'. AND NEITHER DO YOU. Will we ever? 9:43; better get to bed. All the best, -- Don
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10,May,2004
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The ocean water temperature, 20 miles off the coast of Delaware's Indian River Inlet, is a balmy 58.5 degrees today! Wow ... you West-coasters probably think it's a hot tub (the Pacific is SOOOO cold, FYI). It won't be long before my funboard is in the foam! Woo-hoo!
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05,May,2004
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May 5, 2004: 52.9 degrees and climbing!
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04,May,2004
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Water temp today is 51.4. Bush or Kerry? Two clowns. It's a lose-lose situation, folks. Once again, the two major political parties in this land have offered up two idiots and/or liars. Bush is too 'soft' to be considered a good Conservative, and Kerry is too flip-floppy to be considered a good man. Where is John Edwards when you need him? I won't vote for Bush; I can't vote for Kerry. I hate to sit one out ... so I guess I'll vote Libertarian. Or urlLink this . *sigh* All the best, -- Don
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03,May,2004
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Water temperature today, May 3, is 52.7. Also, I visited urlLink the web cam at the Kite Loft and saw a guy surfing this morning. Had to be SOOO cold, but the conditions looked half decent.
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29,June,2004
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What's worse and/or scarier? Right-wingers basing their votes on the obviously slanted comments of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, or left-wingers basing their votes on Michael Moore's fact-distorting movie? Most people are too lazy to do the math themselves. You let others think for you, and you know what happens? That's right ... you end up the mindless follower of a cult-like leader. *sigh* For the record, I abhor both the Republican and the Democrat parties. Both are shrill, lying and power-hungry. Dennis Kucinich was my Dem candidate, John McCain my Republican. Both got shut down by 'The Machines'. Nader 2004? All the best, -- Don
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23,June,2004
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Could be a lot worse. Check out the following quote about Marlon Brando: Marlon Brando is no longer a contender. The screen legend, once among the most influential actors in the world, is living in poverty and getting by with the help of government aid, according to a forthcoming book. The 80-year-old actor lives in a one-room bungalow, owes banks nearly $20 million, and is so fearful of bill collectors that he’s hidden the Oscars he won for “On the Waterfront” and “The Godfather,” reports the Sunday Times of London. And according to the book, “Brando in Twilight” which is scheduled to be published this fall, author Patricia Ruiz claims that a former maid is threatening to sue, saying the star has broken an agreement to pay about $10,000 a month in child support for their three children. Yikes. I suddenly feel quite blessed. All the best, -- Don
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23,June,2004
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I love public speaking, and have quite a bit of knowledge and experience to offer when it comes to technology. So, I ask you: How can I find public speaking engagements? I'd like to get paid -- at least eventually -- but am willing to speak gratis at first. I'd prefer to bypass Toastmasters and groups such as that. Ideas? Email to don.schenck@gmail.com. Thanks, and all the best, -- Don
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22,June,2004
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Since losing my full-time job and becoming somewhat self-employed again, I've not been able to muster any self-confidence. That's quite unusual for me, as I'm normally loaded with gusto and bravado. Yet, right now, I feel like a complete and utter failure. Seems like everything I put my hand to turns out to fail, break, or give up on me. (My children notwithstanding; they are both a great success and the only source of pride in a job well done that I have.) So here I am, 45 years old, and feeling like the best years are past ... my chances at success are gone ... and I'll be living out my remaining years as a pawn instead of as a king. *sigh* I know I'm suffering some depression right now, and I know I'll get over it. But it really does suck. I have absolutely *no* desire to do *anything*. None. Nadda. Zilch. Surfing? Who cares? Work? Give me a break. I can't sleep at night either. ARGH! Ya know ... being depressed is ... depressing! *smile* Perhaps my best bet it to get a stupid software developer job making mid-60's and then coast through the next 25 years to retirement. Sounds pretty lame, but it's probably realistic given my past track record. Dunno ... what do you think? All the best, -- Don
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22,June,2004
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' ... and you may tell yourself, 'This is not my beautiful house' ...'
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16,June,2004
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Okay, as of about an hour ago, I'm no longer a CIO. :-( I'm working as a consultant; have a gig that's four days a week as a Rent-A-CIO until I figure out what to do next. Should I restart -- and this time do it right! -- Xceeda, my company to do software development, technology consulting, network administration, etc etc? Or do I look for another CIO job? What's your advice? Comments ... please . Need any software development done? Need a once-a -week or -month CIO? Oh boy ... here we go ... never a dull moment! All the best, -- Don
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11,June,2004
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Whew ... cooler heads have prevailed, and Anna (my Spyder) is staying in our garage. Meanwhile, I guess I'll have to either: Get the Saab back, or take Ian's VW Rabbit and restore it to running condition. -------------------------- I have the Reagan funeral on the screen via internet ... and a guy is singing 'Amazing Grace' ... and I'm about to have what's known as a 'Baptist Fit'. What a great song! What a great hope! What great Grace! Hallelujia ... we will meet again. All the best, -- Don
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10,June,2004
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Funny thing ... about a week ago, I got the idea to trade in my Spyder for a small SUV. Something that can haul my surfboard, mountain bike or kayaks (that's 'kayaks', plural, Matt ... I'm getting one for my wife). I gave the Saab to my son, so I'm without a car that can haul stuff. Besides, I think I scratched my sports car itch. Stay tuned. All the best, -- Don
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09,June,2004
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Red Sox fans have been awful urlLink quiet. :-)
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08,June,2004
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Got the word at work yesterday that times are tough and I'm being forced to take another pay cut. Ugh. That's 55 percent cut in the past two and a half years. *sigh* If you know of anyone looking for a CIO, IT Director, Software Architect or contract development, let me know ... please. don.schenck@gmail.com Thanks, and all the best, -- Don
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08,June,2004
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Right now, go urlLink here and opt-out of DoubleClick's information gathering scheme. -- Don
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03,June,2004
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Miles, who is just left of Mao, likes urlLink Punk Voter. In the interest of equal time, I present urlLink Conservative Punk Magazine . I endorse neither.
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02,June,2004
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10 PRINT 'This is a' 20 PRINT 'Haiku program' 30 GOTO 10
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29,July,2004
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I've never been much of an activist, but I strongly urge you to support urlLink this cause .
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27,July,2004
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I went golfing with my son-in-law this past Saturday evening. Crossgates, at Millersville. Nice course. Very hilly. Extremely hilly. But not the toughest course in the world. So I hadn't golfed in two or possibly three years, and didn't have very high expectations. Started off bad. On the first tee, I drove the ball just left of center, toward the green. But it wasn't until we drove down course that I realized that the fairway went toward the right and then did a slight dogleg back to the left. Oops. So instead of being on the left of the fairway, I was in the rough. Not what I intended. I managed to right myself and struggle to a very bad first hole. But at least I had one under my belt, and was about to enjoy some time with my daughter's husband. We continued. I won the next hole. Good ... confidence building. As we played, the day melted away into the evening, while the moist summer air moved in from the south. It threatened to rain but didn't. But it was very humid and uncomfortable. The blister on my thumb was painful, but I pushed it out of my mind. I wanted to hit the ball well. As we played the holes by the creek, we were amazed at how the water had risen. It's been a terribly rainy season, the drought of two years ago now a distant, soggy memory. As we moved on, I couldn't believe how I was playing. It had been three years, but I was surprising myself. Was this really my level of skill? I surprised myself. Drivers ... irons ... the short game ... putts (my, the green were so fast!) ... golfing's more than just 'grip it and rip it'. It's the only game where you penalize yourself. Finally, we tallied up the score. I was flabbergasted! I did a double-take at my score. 75! The worst nine holes of my life. All the best, -- Don
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
13,July,2004
|
'There was a shopping mall Now it’s all covered with flowers'
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
09,July,2004
|
Homeland Security ... Patriot Act ... that's nothing compared to urlLink this fiasco . I cannot believe this. I cannot believe that something like this happened in the United States of America. Yet, I should not surprised. I mean, we have companies being enlisted as an arm of law enforcement (aka drug testing at work), we have states such as Pennsylvania where you cannot own property (you are required to rent it from the state government), and on and on. Washington, Jefferson, et al must be turning over in their graves. All the best, -- Don
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
09,July,2004
|
In late August, I'll have to drive eight hours (that's down and back) just to watch urlLink this one-hour, 45-minute movie . But I can't wait! All the best, -- Don
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
07,July,2004
|
urlLink This guy! All the best, -- Don
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
07,July,2004
|
Can you believe urlLink this? Somehow, for some strange reason, this is funny to me. I know it shouldn't be ... but I can just see some shadowy guy, in a dark alley ... 'Pssst ... wanna buy a list of kids who are learning phonics?' Pry-va-see. Look it up. Perhaps the folks at Gateway Learning need to get a copy of 'Hooked On Ethics'. All the best, -- Don
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
11,August,2004
|
I just don't feel like writing.
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
05,August,2004
|
May she urlLink rest in peace.
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
04,August,2004
|
urlLink This fiasco.
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
03,August,2004
|
And the rest of the Extreme Left ... urlLink this is what they like.
|
1,684,227 |
male
| 45 |
indUnk
|
Gemini
|
02,August,2004
|
urlLink Finally!
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
After a house full of uncertainty I opened the gates of my mind Incidents and events have led me to Become unhappy and sad A statement one day changed it all Slow and steady came patience and will and Dawned upon me your glorious halo Then one night you came in a dream To declare your message like a Muhammad An emissary in the age of plastic machines Like a soloist in a crowded city I hung on to you , my earthly prophet To take me through and lead me beyond The lights that lit and beautified Your city of the legends and the burning ghats One day for a chance reunion You looked at me with an intelligent smile You questioned me where after all is the pain where is it hidden , in which eternal cave You spoke like Nietzsche , you sang like Gibran I listen with awe , your Gita my lord I felt it striking my blood and bones I felt like moving in a procession of worlds That had all so simply mingled into you and beyond There is no darkness anywhere my Lord No misery , no pain nor grief No possesions , no wants and desire Freed from the human birth chain Petrified or mesmerized A bit of both perhaps I And You Sat like a miracle on your divine chariot Hanging from the sea , while i slept and floated On a narrow canoe Like some lost light from a star Suspended and amazed in the vasteness And profoundity of your ever expanding home Of which even i am a part Now
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Nikhil called up yesterday night . He was drunk like a maniac , not even in a position to hear things properly forget speaking . This is something which i have come to associate with Nikhil these days , getting drunk without an admonition to others about the extent to which he can possibly get drunk . He does it deliberately , i guess. Why ? well i don't have the faintest idea. Nikhil is the most unique character i have met in ages , when i mean unique i imply that. After having known him so closely for such a long time i am pretty sure he is the stuff that legends are made of . I don't intend to say that he reminds me of Rhet Buttler or Tom Tulliver but he has that element of agelessness in him . He is almost like a broad definition that represents a certain type of men , the species of which i am pretty afraid to admit is now almost extinct. Nikhil to me is the traditional old fashioned protagonist in Victorian novels of Thackeray and Dickens , those of the Bronte sisters or maybe Jane Austen , strong powerful and emotional. These are the three words that defines him . Once in a while he almost reminds me of the haughty Bingley or the handsome arrogant yet cultured Darcy. He is like that , almost like that. He can drink gallons of whisky and then bump a police car in south Delhi and yet convince the cops that he is mentally fractured and victimized by the perils of love and get away without shelling a buck . He can be as mesmerizing as his electric guitar rising and falling like the crests and troughs of the 'Temple of the king' or be loud and indecent and yet not sound cacophonic while attempting say 'Yesterday'. In short his range is commandable. The range and precision which he exhibits in music is almost in sync with his range of emotions in life. We have gone through a lot of troubled times together and both of us have evolved considerably. I have seen him getting disturbed , irritated but i have never seen him losing control. There has been moments when i wanted him to , but he still remained stoic. His only formal way of protest was to drink and sleep like a sick dog. He is not the types who does a lot of talking , or expresses a lot but i am sure he does wonder idly at times and these are the moments when i feel helpless and probably he feels unconsolable. I have never considered Nikhil to be a friend , he has always been there for me . I never expect him to tell me a lot many things or get ecstatic . Those things would be very un-Nikhil like. Nikhil means patience , composure and class. 3 things which cannot be cultivated or nurtured . You are either born with them or you are devoid of them . Most of the people with typical and classic 'middle class mentalities'(which has almost become a fashion statement and this by the way is the class i detest) don't have them no wonder how much they try to imbibe it . I remember while at college i knew a guy called Mayank. i really don't think that many people close to me actually held him up in very high esteem , and it would be a different debate altogether to determine his precision as a human being but there was something in him that differed him from any other Tom , Dick or Harry in college . Class. He had it in plenty . Something which was magnetic and eloquent. I wondered about his parentage and upbringing and i found out later(when i visited his aunt's place) that i couldn't have been more correct. One of my aunt always keeps on telling me that family is important. It determines directly or indirectly , if not anything else then genetically the way you will shape up as a human being. Nikhil's family has been very supportive throughout his personal mishap. His decision to leave the city and go to work in the U.S was a difficult one . No one knows it better than me , I have known him too closely , yet when he asked me whether he should take the plunge , i gave him the nod . Not because even i have similar plans but because i can feel for him . I can never see him marooned in this state . As i have always said that changing cities in this modern world is like being ressurected all over again . It's tough , essentially tough , but at times you have to do it . I left this city once , i will have to do it again and i know Nikhil has to leave this country . Life without him is going to be tough , but then when has life been easy since the last 1 year . There has just been so many hurdles and i have been constantly battling . Failed relationships , dissatisfied jobs , Absence of my only friend in office , Shalini's wedding and US voyage , Bhusho's absence and worse still 'No Nikhil'. The last one is the biggest one because it was the only one that came on like a frost bite . I could see it happening but i just didn't want to believe that it would actually. You have left me all alone Nikhil, there is nothing left for me in this city anymore. Maybe it's high time that even i decide things for the future , and i am convinced that my future lies elsewhere in a different city , all over in a different country. I will miss you Nikhil.
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Sleep in it and roll baby Sleep in it and roll Shake in the night on the Howrah bridge Without a dream or a goal Did someone tell you that you are a 'gonner' A sweaty summer night Hooked on to the ceiling like a ceiling fan Not like a flat tubelight Who the hell will steal your song The one that you wrote just today There are plenty of John Lennon's In this world anyway Are you ashamed that you don't know nothing About what will happen to you again Let me tell you my sugar baby You are walking in a dead lane So sleep in it and roll baby Sleep in it and roll The world will be a better place tomorrow Even with it's death toll
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
The way i console myself The unexplored 'me' What i am to myself Is for the love of it Not this body , neither this birth Something else it is actually Some other distraction that defines Me I love myself thinking About me and only me I can sense the touch , which i am sure Belongs only to me I pity those who can never see The vacuuity of my thoughts How clear and how much pure Is this Godly mind factory I am clear , I am glassy I am the time that never moves I am my hope , I am my sustenance I am only there for me This body will one day become a 'Manikarnika' light This eyes for vultures and crows These lips for my beloved will now only touch waters from your celestial shore I dress all the twilight and greet the dusk I become the radiance of the night I unchange my vision and pierce this dream I hasten the earth to move into light Megalomaniac omnipotent me With me and in me God like me God called me Just me Only me Me
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Still A young sweet girl , with baloons and smiles Greets me every now and then Dissolving into my eyes like a chocolate picture When i asked her once , why she sat so close So near to my heart , so close to my soul Yet stayed so far , shied away from me She finally must have felt She was too young and too sweet to think of an answer What if i never speak to her again What if my house , my city and my place of birth changes tomorrow In any of these births Will i still be awake and conscious to remember her precisely I don't think so , i guess Changing cities in this modern world is like changing lives I tend to think so at times At late nights when i wake up To switch off a gently speaking T.V. I often stare at the line of old houses in front They scare me They confirm that i am absolute That i will be lost someday ,mingle into a smoke network That belongs to nowhere , and specifically to everywhere I wonder about my origin , a piece of human identity Questions like ('who are my parents , who fathered me , who afterall was my mother' From which corner did i originate , where will i mortally extinguish ) blink and then sleep permanently Where were these questions for so long ? I am nothing but a dream Just a casual theme Made from the elements of desire I have nowhere to go No one will ever understand why i say so Till it all becomes earth rain and fire anekabaahudaravaktranetram pashyami tvam sarvato-anantroopsm naantam na madhyam na punastvaadim pashaami vishveshvara vishvaroopa (O Lord of universe, I see You endowed with numerous arms, bellies, mouths and eyes and having innumerable forms extended on all sides. I see neither Your beginning nor middle, nor even Your end, manifested as You are in the form of the universe. ) NOTE:- If anyone amongst you have personally liked any of my poems then you can visit www.freudianworld.com to download my published ebook . Alternatively you can write an email to me and i will try to send you a free copy. Thanks .
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
I searched in between the gossamer sheets impregnated with the fortnightly flood it was only a trifle concupiscent boo-boo and she railed me just for feeling 'the hots' I beat the bushes in my head and within i thwacked her senses with sleeping pills boy did i find the covert reasoning i stood half soaked amidst the glassy-eyed redness she was loaded and leaking , yes she was a maniac punch-drunk somewhere in between my diamond ring was floating
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Hi there , you can download the ebook for free . This entire publication has been supported by freudianworld.com which has decided to publish this ebook . Inorder to download this ebook you need to have MS reader installed on your machine . If you don't have the supporting software , please download it by clicking on thw link below. DOWNLOAD SHOCK urlLink DOWNLOAD MS READER urlLink
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
I don’t really know how to begin , I mean at one point of time I just thought that maybe I would never write again , forget compiling an ebook or anything even remotely similar to it. But things just happen and even before I could realize I had actually started writing again . I have always maintained that poetry is a hugely complicated medium and definitely I thought , I would do a lot better if I could stick to something like maybe short stories or personal essays for that matter but it never happened that way . Since I have been regularly associated with a website called poeticwings where you have other people freely commenting on your works someone once mentioned that I have a lot of disconnected random thoughts which needs to be organized , sorted out and strictly arranged . Maybe that was a correct observation but after almost a quarter of a century of existence I have realized that it’s too late for me to make a switch to the structured didactic style of poetic compositions . I know there are a lot of people who are so very good at handling the structural essence of poems and I sincerely congratulate them for their effort . I honestly feel that they should continue that good job , but it’s almost impossible for me to make a switch and start writing like them . I have always written everything that I have felt needs to be written , never bothered whether anyone can connect to it or for that matter whether anyone feels distantly alienated , disturbed , perplexed or absolutely disenchanted after going through them . It simply doesn’t matter to me , I am least bothered . My poetry is personal , it’s not about the polity . These are my ideas , my beliefs , it would be highly unexpected if anyone else endorses them , but it will definitely come as a decent surprise . My admirers ( I am grateful to them for appreciating most of my works so wholeheartedly ) , particularly Suzanne , Aurora , Shalini , Rohit , Avinash , Nikhil , Aishwarya and Bhusho always wanted me to get things together and keep on writing , which I have managed to do inspite of being hugely uninspired and demotivated at times. For a long long time I never felt like compiling a book , because I was wondering what theme should my book carry . If at all I come forward with a collection of poems there has to be a remote platitude among the majority of the poems , something that should essentially tie them together. I thought this was essential . Later on when I continued writing after a hiatus I realized that I have something to say , one last statement maybe . One general impression which I ubiquitously carry these days . I guess the only emotion that triggers me , raises my eyebrows and yet carries me forward is that of ‘Shock’. This , I realized was that one element which formed the nexus of my compositions . Hence I have renamed this ebook as shock . I have written all of these poems over the last 2 years , and to be honest at one point of time there was an enticement to maybe include a few of my earlier works , which I had written while doing my engineering , but I seriously realized that those set of ideas and impressions don’t define the present ‘ me ‘ , the one that I see everyday in the mirror. The one that I used to be is no longer me , and what I happen to be now is what I have become …… Hence I thought that ‘Shock’ can’t be primitive , it has to evolve just like it’s creator . I sincerely don’t expect you to appreciate everything about this book. If there is anything that you might have happened to like about this book , then I would be grateful to you for having invested your precious time. Do feel free to send me your feedback . Majority of the poems out here have previously been published in websites , while a few are freshly published in this edition . I am grateful to Agradoot , Shalini and the entire Freudian world team to provide me with an opportunity to publish this book on their website . It’s a great honor to be associated with a brand like freudianworld.com. I wish them luck and I am sure Shalini will have a great marriage , come September. Thank you all . Saumya Banerjee 16th day of the month of May , AD 2004 Kolkata25
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Remember all that you used to think about me , it's over now Another century has elapsed in this thinking exercise You owe all your leisure to the inequalities of time Deep within Life struggles and flaps its wings to be indefinetely free The girl it remotely tries not to see , shakes in thoughts And the agitated thoughts constantly struggle With the so far imbibed value systems of life One slip and i revolve like a thousand earths In a whirlpool of conscience To make ammends for all that has been lost To buy new time for all old reasons Staying awake whole night for another exam And late realization blues But there stands someone , watching it all He keeps on telling 'lad you are headed for a fall' Too much of venom in your head you see Accumulating these , do you think you can be free You won't be spared from the habit of living You will die , even though you won't stop breathing No one will be there to bring you back to life Expect no miracles for two thousand and five Yet we will think about cleaning the year that has become so dirty Wake up every night , drink gallons and have a party Look ahead for the new year , find actions we can accuse Then party real hard atleast now we have an excuse In a spider web of discotheques and whores Imprisoned spinelessly by tha shackles of time Who the fuck has made you swear To shut your mouth and bear all this When will you muster the guts To ask them flat on their very face 'Can't you just skip all these questions' And if you have survived this time , this journey Blame it on Nostradamus Or else the almighty must been real afraid Unable to pronounce the judgement day 'Sudha Sadhakam , Annatra Viraam She Jatrena sankite' Ask everybody to assemble out there For i feel even i have something to say 'Yet we will think about cleaning the year that has become so dirty Wake up every night , drink gallons and have a party Look ahead for the new year , find actions we can accuse Then party real hard atleast now we have an excuse' And No one will be there to bring you back to life Expect no miracles for two thousand and five'
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Don't ask me again Noyonika I don't want to lie If someone tells you that she is unhappy Then will you tell me why Broken heart or cancer cells What has hurt her most While she waits to die on her winter bed Only to return like an autumn ghost Didn't I mention long back That i am just alive A bit drowsy and a little bit lazy Doing it from ten to five But you people were happy and busy Even your Sundays meant men and work What has happened that now suddenly You have started envying a government clerk Didn't i tell you Noyonika To take plunge and cross the bar For a change , to emulate Alice And drink the lotion from the majic jar I must confess i had my chances The one female i should have had But when i recovered to truth and pain She had been married , unhappy and sad Will tell you something Noyonika I never allowed her to stick to me Now that i know , what a fool i have been To allow her to be free , from me Now that she will leave all this The places and people for whom she longed All we can do to make her feel special Everything to make her feel sunny and belonged Don't you worry at all Noyonika I trust nature too much to be true I believe that the elements are also Haplessly wondering without a clue Always for the wrong females You have but , wasted your life What has been the returns after all Said the old accountant's wife It is you who has let go The moments and all that was opportune You , who has made all those catastrophic wishes Unrecognizing the omnipresent tune Forget the past , forget the past And every other blast that can possibly last To snatch your freedom and kill your mind To die in a role that has been type cast Now you tell me Noyonika What is that i should do? How will i fetch my old belongings When all of it has become new I entrust you to help me out To lead me to make a safer choice Atleast i shouldn't be losing out To soldiers without their usual toys Don't ask me again Noyonika I don't want to lie Atleast i know who has been my loss For whom I should cry
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Saturday was Shalini's engagement , quite an affair. Nikhil was there to witness the magnum opus. As expected the guest list literally read the capital's who's and who's , courtesy Shalini's mom's political nexus . Nikhil's sense of politics is pathetic , the way he had been arresting looks on Dr Manmohan Singh when for the first time his pictures had flashed across the media was stunning. That moment betrayed his political awareness and he can indeed compete with the likes of the heavenly misinformed brother duo Rajat and Rohit . On the contrary Shalini's knowhow is quite spectacular , truly justifying her domicile for the nation's capital. While the to be bride and bride groom exchanged pleasantaries with the profound political gentry , Nikhil was standing across a remote corner with seriousness stamped all over his persona , like an embodiment of a celestial discovery 'ignorance is bliss'. Ofcourse he had been considerate enough to broadcast the entire circus over the telephone , but he had trouble considering the fact that the wish list was tremendous . Almost anyone and everyone who hadn't quite made it to the gala extravaganza wanted to know what exactly was going around. In the end it seems there was a sort of valedictory where Shalini's mom had announced that this was only a curtain raiser , the marriage was going to be the real show. Hats off to Delhites. Nikhil keeps on telling me that majority of Delhites , barring the traditional old people are almost always like this . They have developed the regularity of jumping into conclusions with regular pinpointedness , no ifs and buts or any other peppy side talk . So if it's a woman , the actionable purpose is obvious , it is singular and universal , but for the Delhites it is without a covering as well . Good for them . The weekend was useless otherwise. Went to watch a movie with Chatis called 'Hotat Neerar Jonyo'. Neera has been Sunil ganguly's protege in peotries for quite some time , his version of the mysterious undiscovered magnetic female . References can easily be drawn with Bonolota Sen , but since i have read almost a major portion of Ganguly's transalations atleast the better ones in ' Murmur in the Woods' i can safely comment that there is essentially a difference , elementary difference to be precise. I have never really vouched for Ganguly and i have sincerely believed that he has been a hypocrit , but the way the movie has been showcased it has indeed strenghtened my belief that Ganguly's pseudo-bohemian attempt at generating neo classical literature with heavy dosages of adultery sex and taboo do not go hand in hand with his new found loyalty for the Marxist. Strange indeed. The film at maximum can only be labeled as trash , the short story was bad , but the way the script has been compounded to facilitate the libertine adventures of Abinash is really horrendous and one can't help wondering how the writer of 'Prothom Alo' and 'Shei Shomoy' can stoop down to such fierce intellectual gimmicks , in the disguise of progressive art house cinema. One wonders the credibility of Subrata Sen , but then Ganguly indeed should be cursed. Coming back to the performances , well there's not much to say really , Bikram Ghosh hams his way through out , taking time off to expose his adipose bathed pot belly , and getting intimate (really intimate for sure) with Jaya Seal and the other bitch in not so comfortable positions . (No one can really be comfortable with Bikram on top) The dialogue writer has introduced a horde of one liners that has attempted to create a mix of new age spirituality (aka modern day salvation) and Tantric or sporadic reutilization of sexual energy .(One wonders if ever the hint is on Reiki and Chakras, this never the less reminds me of Paul Flinch ) Sample this . Ghosh : Ami tor sathe ekbar sute chai , taholei amar mukti . Amay Mukti dibi to Rani . or even better ones this time from Seal. Seal: jabo tor flat e dekha korte kintu promise kor kono oshobhotami korbi na . or worse still Seal's husband discovering that his wife had been having a clandestine affair. 'Amar prestige ta kothay jabe , tumi ekbaro bhable na '.(He believes in quickies spending less than a minute to dump his load , and not being sensitive enough to even bother about his wife's satisfaction ) I sincerely wonder , how less do people bother about sex , particularly we Indians . Satisfying your partner is ethereal and of utmost importance , half of the life is sex and i am certain it is very important , the way you express the way you deal the way you receive it matters. Freud steadily maintains that sexual expressions define our general tendencies. If you bother sincerely about satisfying your partner , about her desires , animal wants , you must be a great spouse completely in possession of the body and the mind . The smaller attributes and emotions which we express during the act magnify 10,000 times and speak solemnly about our generic behavioral patterns and habitual commitments . A person who suffers from OCD for instance will be almost always be violent , the more restrained and underlying your emotions are the more violent and passionate you will be in bed . I knew this fellow back in school who was a very shy person , he was calm composed and exceptionally quite yet his sexual life happens to be fantastic . It's not that he is essentially very communicative or explicit in bed , but he has that element of power in him . He tells me that when he really gets into the act it's almost as if he ends up being possessed. I can understand him properly. He was animalistic in desire for the female with whom in real life his attitude was rather indifferent or casual , but being a passionate fellow he found his incomplete expression through his body . Where the mind failed the body responsed. They complemented each other perfectly . People whose affection for their partners are extremely static and dormant are always violent and obsessive in bed . Some people can't express what they actually feel, it's not that they do it on purpose but it's simply because that they themselves are unaware of their actual feelings , it's only during certain circumstances that they become wild . While at bed , they communicate with their bodies, they find it much more spontaneous and rational. People who believe in a gentle kiss , soft aesthetic touches and plenty of holding and soft kittenish gestures are the people who are more vocal about their feelings for their partners . For them love making is fun , it is not any other means of expression , it lacks the element of violence and power. It is sugary , it can never include something say spanking , or bondage or even mock violence and rape. It will always be gentle and smooth , holding cuddling and sleeping tight. Most of the Indian males fall into these category and not to mention they are the most cherished one's among the fairer sex. These people are also the one's who will never fail communicating with their partners. They can be sexually incomplete , they don't need to because their body doesn't need to complement their minds. Thus spake the great man Sigmund Freud . And indeed at times for these people , the body has been able to express what the mind had always failed. The caption for the film i just talked about also read ' When the body talks about the mind'. Couldn't agree more with you Subrata Sen , atleast you got your caption right.
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
The old man finally said ' I won't smoke anymore ', When the resolution didn't make much sense though The anticlock exercise had begun The next few days were spent Trying to believe that life has run out of days Ah! he mused , I won't see the summer sun again Not another mango season for me Not anymore , not even once A lot of people who have been directly or indirectly His produce Were silently weeping , moaning , saying words of wisdom Eternal Hindu philosophy , birth , rebirth ,karma Heavy heavy words Didn't make much sense to the simple man who Was not even in a position to make out what afterall Was being said The whole of the life was done in the 'Beatles' way 'All you need is love' once sang John and Yoko surprisingly at the end of days Everything becomes the Beatles again 'You say goodbye , i say hello'. yet another song . He should have been grateful He had lived a good 72 years , inspite of being A heavy smoker That too unfiltered cigarettes No one could allow him to pick a filtered one 'I don't like them ' pat used to come his reply The cancer arrived late , but it arrived in time A very bad time of the year , to be precise Cold cold winter And no mangoes either . The city doctor said '6 months' For a change trying to adjust his almost instanteneous expression And surrogating it with that of guilt Some kind of guilt , but there was no need for him to feel sorry he thought later And once everything seemed settled no one felt sorry anymore We all know it happens once in life And that is always enough We might be aware , but we never feel it sense it , almost like a time bomb which seems hidden somewhere It has to burst and it will burst Now, anytime That is the difference of knowing death beforehand And just knowing it like any other honest fact Honesty bites When the desire to live is maximum It manifolds a good thousand times overnight The desire to live becomes more deadly than death itself And the helplesness become unconsolable You start preparing for death The old man was preparing to die One of these days He often cried like a baby Often screamed in rage Locked himself in his 30 square feet paradise Came out and laughed like a lunatic He was overcome with fear The way he had lived his life , he had never bothered about death It was never required of him He had a solution for most of th situations he could think of He had never listed this In short he was unprepared , badly unprepared How will he fair in his last exam ? What do you think should he do ? He had asked me this question and now I am Asking this to you. Send in your answers in self addressed competition postcards As soon as possible The best answer , judged by the old man himself Will get a dozen alfonsos(mangoes) in the next mango season
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
So finally Nikhil is leaving , and it couldn't have come at a more horrible time . Probably this is the time when all things should have come to an end , perhaps the time has come for an entire age to dissolve , like cubes of old emotions in teacups of time . Had i been a few years younger , i really don't know what i would have done with so much of turbulence happening around me , all the time . I definitely wouldn't have battled it or fought it , i would have relinquished without a thought . All of my close associates are dissapearing without a trace , Chatis is leaving for Belgium , Kushal for the U.S , shuto has already shifted to Bangalore with a new job and my own sweet Gabs have gone to Germany on an onsite assignment . This is the official part of it , besides at a personal level Nikhil is going to leave next week, (good for him) Shalini is getting married come September and she is flying off with her husband for the states soo after that. Bhusho is surviving out here in this tragic city with me , but i believe he is too busy with his M.D. preparations to have time left off for me . You know Nikhil , no one can possibly understand what exactly i am going through these days . To tell you honestly , buddy I am seeing through a lot these days . Professionally i am having a nightmare , with a bullshit project . On a personal front well do i need to be explicit . I don't think so , atleast not in front of you . The best part about you is that you have never asked me any questions , it was your silent presence that used to comfort me and soothe me , I knew you were there to be my very own shock absorber , you have the power to bear everything , but i think this time things are just getting a bit heavier on my part . You always tell me that i can't express atleast i have the advantage that i can deceive a lot of people . It's uncomfortable to think and know that so many people can possibly figure out what you have been going through on your personal front . I don't much believe in religion Nikhil , i have never been a faithful but these days i know that i am not an agnostic anymore . I am slowly getting transformed by faith , what exactly is happening i might not be able to elucidate to you buddy but i am undergoing a great transformation . I can almost feel it within. Believe me buddy it's happening . I am evolving a lot these days . I just remembered a song by ColdPlay from the album 'A rush of blood through the head' that goes as Where do u go u never know , DOn't be so sure of what you think you know God gave u style God gave u grace , he put a smile upon ur face' I truly believe in the Almighty these days , probably it's the worst form of escapism but i know that i don't have a choice and besides i have always been an escapist through out my wretched life . That sets it perfectly , almost in sync with what i am , or rather what i have completely transformed into . I have matured 10,000 times in the last year or so and everyday , i have a strange gut feeling that i am being tested by the Lord himself . For what reason i don't have any idea , I sincerely remember that i have never hurt anyone (physically/emotionally) on a consensus level . I have never tried to cause pain to others , seriously i have tried not to but i am being victimized over and over again and now i am almost used to it . I sincerely believe that the Great Lord himself is allowing me to go through these testing times , and he definitely has a plan for me . I have to bear this onslaught ( i know it's getting increasingly tough) but still i have to bear this and much more . There's no shying away from his well defined path , and i am just a meagre human being . I read the Gita everyday , without fail , I do it more frequently these days . The shlokas produce a serene feeling , makes u realize that you are temporary , all grief is temporary ,all pain is no pain at all. Perhaps the greatest pain incurred is of being born as a human being and this cannot be altered. For a change my Great Lord i am not shying away from all the dire consequences , I am facing everything chest open and i know i will overcome all misery , I have full faith in your divine compassion , i know this is one of your great lessons that you want me to know , and i being your humble devotee will experience this great knowledge of yours with all my sublime consciousness. Just give me strength to bear all this Oh Lord , just give me plenty of strength. I need you more than anyone else particularly when you have decided to even take away Nikhil, my last source of strength.
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Last weekend was pretty routine . I am busy reading the 'Suitable Boy' these days , which is presumably consuming a fat slice of my time . Thoroughly enjoying it though. Seth has always been one of my perennial favorites , ever since i read his 'Mappings'. I remember almost precisely that there was this poem about his father coming to see him off at the railway station and that was quite unlike the other English poetry that i had read in my life so far . I was thrilled to have discovered Seth , and it was then only that i had figured out that Seth had been a huge hit in the U.S . Seth reminds me of this Bengali writer i am also very fond of Shirshendu Mukherjee . Their style of writing is pretty similar lucid , intriguing and captivating . Both of them are essential page turners , i mean their literature has this quality . The Suitable boy happens to be one of the longest novels in English , almost a 1400 page exercise . I haven't even completed a third right now , but i can almost feel it , the compulsively addictive nature of the book . Set in post independence India , in the early 1950's the story centres around Lata and her mother Mrs Rupa Mehra's strong penchant in finding for her a suitable groom . The story takes off from Brahmpur(modelled on Lucknow though Lucknow has been separately mentioned) , a fictituous town , which happens to be the capital of Purva Pradesh ( modelled on Uttar Pradesh) with the wedding of Lata's elder sister Savita and proceeds from therein to Kanpur , Kolkata , Delhi and eventually Lucknow. I admire Seth's characterisation and eye for details which is more imaginative than researched and which probably adds on to the almost serene phlegmatic and fairty tale like quality of the narrative . The narrative is so smooth and delicate almost chocolatey , with those protagonists which can remind you so emphatically about the heroes of Middlemarch or War and Peace. Quite an experience . Being an Indian i was glued on to the cricket sets for some time this Sunday , alternating between watching the match and reading the book . Cosy Sunday afternoons don't get better . Saturday evening was spent watching a 'substantial' Hindi movie(the less said the better, actually the audience comments were more memorable) , followed by dinner with Joy and Jeet. Earlier in the day went to Oxford Bookstore and gallery with Aishwarya who had come down for a couple of days . Sulked some tea , almost completed a book by Osho titled ( Walking in Zen , Sleeping in Zen ) . I am seriously zapped by this person's brilliant sense of humour . Answering to different queries from his followers , the master quoted somewhere that sex indeed can be so animalistic and irrational that one actually might (someone who never does) frequent the church on an everyday basis if he/she so realizes that the church is the best suited place to have an earth shattering orgasm . On another occassion he took off on Moraji Desai and his urinating habits , elaborating on how Indira (gandhi) who followed him to the PM's residence at 10 Janpath spent a fortnight on abluition therafter . The point that was made was 'drink alcohol it's fruit juice , do not drink what Moraji believes is the water of life . Point noted. Another thing which i quite liked was his take on LSD and other modern drugs . Without sounding mawkish and uninformed or for that matter even sycophantic , he unapologetically emphasizes on the importance of drugs in the initial phases of strengthening the Zen principles ( he doesn't quite glorify 'concentration ' it's Zen that he speaks of) . Afterall Zen he says has etymologically originated from Dhyan (meditation) and the same needs to be extended in everyday existence ; it shouldn't end up being a half hour process at sync with/surrogated by morning walks , laughing clubs yoga etc etc.
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
I don't get much to think these days. At length and at large , I am just another 'me' that i have come to know Much recently , just a few seasons back. I think i could love her if i were gay, Which i am not. The only female i felt , i had madly loved And lusted after Is no longer a female . Powered by her zeal to forsake the female within She moves around , in her thoughts and purposes Like any other male friend of mine And i can't bear to see this metamorphosis. She is playing Narcissus these days. Holding on to her new found sexuality and Rediscovering her new reflection , The one which is illusively her's . And like a fool she must be wandering Oh! this is me . She now must be completely in love with herself And i don't love her anymore. If and when her thought petrifies They will bear flowers too . The flowers which won't be picked up by men For their lovers or paramours Unless ofcourse , they happen to be gay.
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Joel Pinto can write the saddest song tonight He has all the means and reasons His heart pines for a very old lover The one he had met near the Colaba cemetery On one of those desperate afternoons When he had always felt , weak and insecure All by himself in an urban landscape Big Big city blues , he was convinced She came like an unannounced evening A bit early and a bit unexpected Joel Pinto was only twenty three and She was perhaps a touch over nineteen They met and mingled with the Retreating monsoons And felt that they had somehow wanted To live together When she had left , without any reasons Or maybe with too many to answer just one He had cried , unknowingly subconsciously For her She never heard , she never returned Joel Pinto was ageing without a wish When he had stopped counting the springs anymore Of his life He saw her again , unexpectedly ,unwantingly But there she was without a clue Without any reason By now Joel Pinto had become used to His memories The body in flesh and blood , imbalanced his thoughts It didn't jolt him enough though He realized he had still loved her Joel believed he had always done so , in his way It's just that he never became conscious He became , once she had left He wondered whether it was necessary for him to be conscious About something , which he knew was so very obvious It took him 34 more years to realize that it wasn't Possible for any other person to understand him And he felt a quietful peace Joel Pinto felt like fighting with himself He was convinced , that she had become a part of his memory She didn't earn the right to present herself in flesh and blood She simply didn't Joel Pinto wanted to hate her He definitely did He remembered how much she had made him pine How many nights , countless days How she had left him without a notice Why she had to do , what she did ? Unanswered questions Unanswered questions are like bitter better medicines They cure but they leave something condescending behind A liquid curse , when Pinto swallowed his saliva A stomach cramp when he thought and thought And he had plundered his stomach tissues with so much of acid At times he felt , if he could wash her face with his 'own' acid But something in him stopped him from doing that He thought about the face , he had so gently kissed , Held in his palms Touched and caressed with the tips of his fingers Scratched with his nails He used to stare blankly at his own reflection And started to wander 'I can't scour this face , I can't sour this face either' Acids can scour and they are almost always sour in taste No one knew more about acids than Joel Pinto He was the Hydrochoric acid man Joel Pinto wanted to hate her He had every reason to do so , He wanted too But still he couldn't Joel Pinto realized another new thing after 34 years and 6 months You don't dictate love , it dictates you He kept quite and didn't speak to himself for 2 days He felt defeated , he didn't feel like waking up And facing life He just wanted to sleep tonight a lot lot more Joel Pinto can now write the saddest song tonight He has all the means , he had lost the reasons But today for a change Joel would just sleep
|
3,302,639 |
male
| 23 |
Consulting
|
Scorpio
|
16,Juli,2004
|
Sleepy Sleepy afternoons Inviting blue skies Wide open window Vintage decaying plastered mansion Familiar face A look that almost touches you everywhere Shampood ,freed and wet black hair And an even more black cup of coffee Are all the apparitions For my vacation blues Often on some mornings When even wasted time retires , To stop from being routine All the ashtrays are crowded by dead fires All around When i pass on the news to a passing wind Tell her just that 'I am unwell' Remember the busstops , the rain and the nights A pair of wet socks , a navel with no lights Your skimpy clothes ,an empty bottle of rum A letter on a hotel bill and my unwashed cum Now every morning when the telephone sucks Asks me to wake up without you by my side Now whenever the caution bell strikes On sleepy highways without time and tide I collect this ghost-thoughts And arrange them quick Neatly ,orderly for my vacation blues Often during evenings When you decide to walk back home Saving your soft body from stares and buses When very old people look at you With a lot of pain , with a whole burden of years You walk past them , soft and quiet Like a century or a lifetime that has refused to move Maybe you were someone's lover , someone's wife Someone's yesterday or everyday life Even you must have tried to find a way out A way to get lost and never be found Remember the blindfolds , red sripes on your back Fish on the sea shore ,drunk like a maniac Remember the soap ,the towel and the shower And apart from the bed all that was shared Now whenever you open your mouth to curse You remind me of all the sins of my birth Or else why would have you beared so much of pain Forgotten the body which only bears my name Forgotten all the places where i had my home Every bit of you which is only mine I have distorted all these memories And arranged them imperfectly To share with me a place on some time All alone in my vacation blues
|
4,108,232 |
female
| 23 |
indUnk
|
Scorpio
|
11,January,2004
|
Martin and I had our date last night and I'm still smiles. Unfortunately, he's leaving for Daytona tomorrow for testing because get this....he's a race car driver for the NASCAR Busch Series. I must confess I haven't been much of a follower of the sport despite my North Carolinian roots. So needless to say I'll be missing him but luckily we have free long distance on our cells :).
|
4,108,232 |
female
| 23 |
indUnk
|
Scorpio
|
10,January,2004
|
So last night I was content with the prospect of staying in with a few beers and relaxing but Missy was pretty persistent about me going to a party with her in Mooresville where I had never been before. Since she is my best friend I finally gave in however I didn't put to much effort into my appearance since I knew I'd probably just be getting druk anyways. Besides, I wasn't exactly expecting to meet any decent guys that way. Boy was I ever wrong! After a few beers, Missy and I decided the pool table would make a great dancing surface so up we went without a second thought. That was when I looked across the room and saw him - a really good looking dark haired guy with the prettiest brown eyes and I sure am a sucker for the tall dark and handsome type. Being that I obviously wasn't shy, I jumped down to find him cause I just had to meet him before another girl got to him and before I knew it I ran into him - literally and my beer made itself at home all over his shirt which was kinda embarassing but luckily due to my drunken nature it was also excusable. We spent the rest of the night close by each other tossing back drinks and just having a good time until I guess he amd Missy decided I had had enough. This morning I woke up dazed and confuzed with a slight hangover not to mention I was late for lunch with my mother which was an interesting experience in itself. I think she had a good laugh at me for being hungover and she could tell I had met someone but I wasn't willing to jinx anything by talking to her about it. As soon as I arrived home I crashed in my nice soft bed only to be awoken by a call from the one and only Martin. I will say that it was a great wake up call to hear his voice. So we're going out tonight and hopefully, I can keep the drinking to a minimum so he doesn't assume I'm just another sorority girl because that part of my life is pretty much coming to a close now. I'll update again after the date. Mandi *Disclaimer: this blog is a work of fiction for a fiction character. Please visit the link for a full disclaimer. No ill intent or financial gain is meant by this blog, just entertainment. The events listed and spoke about within are purely fictional.*
|
4,067,143 |
male
| 16 |
indUnk
|
Capricorn
|
31,July,2004
|
Today was pretty kool.. i went over to brandi's house and chilled and watch some tv .. wich i hardly do haah.. I also got to meet branid cats which was an adventure obsidian is a funny cat. After that we went over to doms and i played poker w/ all the guys then after we all chilled in the basement and played ps2... oh yeah and people opened britts party invites and the confetti got everywhere... i hope i can have as much fun as i did 2day while im still here. @marrow i got a party to go to.. My aunts throwing a goin away party n i hope that goes allrite.
|
4,067,143 |
male
| 16 |
indUnk
|
Capricorn
|
29,July,2004
|
Today started off pretty good i wen to swim practice @ kohler and had a fun time racin against Litz... then after that i came home and chilled.. theni decided to finish writing my song i think it turned out pretty good. Then after that i had a soccer game to go to. It was the same as always we lost like 5-1 wich is good cuz we rarly score... I had 1 good shot hit the crossbar and i also threatened to kill a kid if he touched nick haskil...i got ya back haha. oh yea i also made fun of jake adamo and shawn foels at swim practice ... it was so awesome they had nothing to come back at me with. haha... anyways i hope tomarrow will be more enjoying ...maybe i can get ahold of some friends to do crap n stuff
|
4,067,143 |
male
| 16 |
indUnk
|
Capricorn
|
28,July,2004
|
Last night i sorta had a mental break down or a panic attack mixed in w/ a side of bein manic depressant. It was so not fun i was soo angry i just wanted to blow sumthing up! This last year has been really tuff and it all just exploded. Having to deal w/ a death of my g/f the moving news and girls and emotions and responsibilty of acting as the father figure cuz my dads not home all week... it was just too much to handle in one year or should i say 5 months. Well anyways i took all my emotions out on my friend Brandi and i felt really terrible about doing that, im sorry! I just wish sumtimes i didn't exist.. sumtimes i think things would be better off w/ out me.
|
4,067,143 |
male
| 16 |
indUnk
|
Capricorn
|
28,July,2004
|
I really hate the thought of this moving idea.. I really don't wanna leave. This year I just started becomming more socail and actually statred hanging out w/ people....now im goin to move and have to go into a new school and have to start all over again. I especially hate having to leave all my firends...well the few that i do have anyway. I really want to stay in touch w/ you guys! Well anyways ill be back w/ more later
|
4,067,143 |
male
| 16 |
indUnk
|
Capricorn
|
28,July,2004
|
Well ive never really done anything like this b4 but imma try it out cuz i hate telling and unloadin all my problems on people directly...so now i can just write about all my shit here
|
4,067,143 |
male
| 16 |
indUnk
|
Capricorn
|
11,August,2004
|
LAts nite was amazing...I went out bowlin with my friends Dom and Britt and Brandi. I can't believe Brandi wore a red shirt... lol..sorry personal thing! Oh Dom u got lucky the first game i kicked yuor as the next two! Brittany, sorry for giving you pointers on how to bowl.. like sliding the leg thing haahahahah... you can do the kick thing .. it works too! After bowlin we all hung out on brandi's back porch.... good times. 2day wasn't all that great basically worked with my dad all day then went and watched the city swim meet and saw my coach. PEACE OUT~
|
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