Might lose my p.t. job.  Quandary:  Do I go for the early S.S. and lose a couple hundred a mo. (more than if I wait) or do I throw myself into the gnashing teeth of the job market?  I don't feel too much pressure as a retired pensioner but sure will be easier to help out the Gen X-Y & offspring who are fighting the recession if xtra $ is coming in ( Read more... )

I prefer the social aspect of dogs, but the independent (usually) nature of cats suits my current life style.  Also, the latter tend to get into less 'trouble', but when they do, they lie better about it. (BTW, the photo in "writer's block" is the spittin'/hissin' image of one of our cats).

Now that we know we have slightly less than 12 mos. to overpopulate the planet (Maya calendar), I'm going to give my best New Years advice to the generations following mine:  (Why did I not include mine ( Read more... )

Not the usual subject for a quick post, but having been raised in the Hudson Valley where fall colors are (were) as vivid as they get, I'm a bit depressed by the loss of our 2 sugar maple trees behind our house.  At least I have one great photo of one of the trees in full orange glory.
( Read more... )

 There's something about grilling and gobbling cornonthecob that just makes for a pleasant evening w/ lariss and son.  Then watching 15 or so dogs having fun off-the-leash in the dog park gives one the idea that if they can do it, we primo primates ought to figure out a way to get off our leashes and work things out, too.  Maybe the prob is the 6 or 7 ( ( Read more... )

It hit me!  If I could go back in time, I'd take either one of my wife's siblings.  They think they know history and use it to augment their (relatively dogmatic) points of view.  I don't know what really took place other than the versions we're fed thru various questionable sources but I'll bet we'd all get a different perspective than the one we ( Read more... )

 I guess the road in front of my house will never cease being a speedway for hyper drivers in varying conditions of excitement.  Two years ago, 2 men were killed when their car (running in excess of 95 mph) dodged a car pulling out from an intersecting road, flipped 2 or three times and burst into flame in the ditch in front of my house.  I was ( Read more... )

BULLETIN:  Wife came back from taking her Dad to lunch to find garage people door open (she knows it was closed before she left), kitchen entry door glass smashed w/ hammer, and then ------ 50 yrs. of jewelry collection g-o-n-e!  That's the only thing they got.  Must have been a professional, 'cause nothing else in the house was touched.  They hit ( Read more... )

The worst thing about pulling an A. F. prank on ones offspring is that the one you pull with a light-hearted spirit often is reciprocated w/ an infarction-causing one ( Read more... )