Some days. Some days I love what I am doing. Some days I am convinced it is the best thing for me to do, that it is the right path. Some days I am truly excited about the future. Some days I wonder why I made such an idiotic decision. Some days I wish I had made some course corrections along the way. Some days I just want to be part of the standard, blue-collar working class. Some days this just sucks. Every day I pay out my nose (or other orifice if you prefer) to work for othe...

. . .And no one came? In our case, you have fun anyway. Last year we had quite a few friends over to our apartment to celebrate the arrival of the new year. Some came with their little ones, many left them home. We played games, ate treats, chatted, and generally had a great time. So this year we thought to repeat the feat. We invited some friends who live a couple hours away (they were planning on spending the night), some other friends who were still in town, and made sure we had ...

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all here at JU a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it), a happy holiday season, and a general sense of well wishes for all here. I have "met" some amazing people here, have formed some new e-friendships for which I am grateful, and have had my life generally enriched by those here and what they share with us. In particular I would like to thank those with whom I have connected perhaps a bit more, some of my favorite bloggers (in no particular ...

I would never claim to be the paragon of men's fashion. Even when I was a teenager and fashion is such a must to establish social status, I just went with what I felt comfortable wearing. But I have often taken care with how I dress when I am dressing up. I like looking sharp when I am wearing nice clothes. On Sundays, going to church, I usually wore either a nice suit and wingtips, or wingtips, slacks and one of my nice, 3 button sport coats. I have a good collection of ties that I ...

I have been thinking lately about the balance between rational thought and raw emotion. I generally try to err on the side of caution and act in a more rational way, but sometimes the emotion is too strong and I get caught in its lassos of madness. We have all experienced that heat of the moment. That rush of passion and energy that accompanies being in the middle of some experience. And we have all done stupid things while in that moment. And so, stupid is as stupid does. The stupid ...

This is sort of a hodge-podge, dealing with philosophical questions, yet still dealing with entertainment, maybe something else, so I am going Misc rather than either of those other two. Money can buy you anything in this world. Yes, according to the old adage, money can't buy you happiness, but I'm not convinced It sure can buy your integrity. I admit it, I occasionally watch "reality" television. "The Amazing Race" has some interesting challenges and the locations as beautifu...

Why is it that the only mail that I most certainly, absolutely want to tear into little pieces and throw away is the mail that invariably has the words "Please do not discard" or "Important information" on it? It has really made the process easier for me. I get an envelope that tells me on the front just how important it is to my life it instantly becomes confetti and litters the compactor before it ever even makes it into the house. Just how dumb do they think we are? Why does the fell...

This is going to be about as random as I get. Even I don't know for sure what is coming next: Thanksgiving fascinates, excites, and disappoints me all at the same time. I love having a day to reflect on all my wonderful blessings (though I really try to do so a little more often). But it amazes me to see so many hours put into making a meal that will be done in less than one. At least we have left-overs. Distance is relative. When we lived a two hour drive away from our family we t...

Yes folks, you read the title correctly. After the better part of a year and just over 100 articles it is time for me to come clean and just say it. I am right. You are stupid. If you are wondering exactly what I am right about, let me make this simple: Everything. No need to tip-toe around the issue, no need for me to write post after post, article after article in which I hint at the fact that I know everything, like some I have read here. I feel comfortable enough in my omniscien...

Humor and its use has been mentioned a few times here in the past day or so. It got me thinking, yet again . I agree wholeheartedly that we can all benefit from a healthy sense of humor. A willingness to not take ourselves too seriously is important, no doubt. But there is a problem. No matter what you, I, or anyone else thinks, there are things that are not going to be funny to certain people. I'm not going to try to draw any lines, but for me they certainly exist. I think it would...

Okay gang, this is too much fun. Certainly not worth an article, but thought that the forum lurkers may enjoy this. Have fun with the paper toss! Paper Toss!

I have mentioned previously that I spent a couple of years in Guatemala. I had some powerful, crazy, and fun experiences while I was there, many that I have be bouncing around in my head as ideas for things to write about. But I felt that to avoid unnecessary explanations in the future I would write a quick article that could serve as background and would pre-emptively address some of the questions that might pop up. I went to Guatemala as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of...

Seriously. I did. Okay, well that may be a bit much. But as I walked into the lab this morning we opened up the most recent edition of The Journal of Urology and WHAM there it was. An article dealing with the same thing we have been busting our humps over. The MD I am working with and I just sat there, in dumb silence for a few minutes. Then we went to work. We printed off copies of their paper and started reading. They were telling a very different story that we were, and we thin...

Perhaps I am just getting old. Maybe I am just tired. Maybe it's the fact I have children. Or am I just lazy? Whatever it is, I have learned to be very selective in picking my fights. Days not too long past I was relatively quick to anger. Never one to let someone step on, over or around me, I made sure everyone knew what I would or wouldn't do, as well as what I would and wouldn't put up with. To be honest, I was really high strung. I made friends, and was comfortable with my fri...

There it is. Looming up ahead. Huge, impending, green. With a little yellow brother sitting there. Exit Only. Arrows accompany the signs, clearly pointing out which way the exit is. Lines on the road tell you clearly which lane they are in. Everything is set up to clearly let the driver know that their lane will soon leave the freeway. They are given at least a half of a mile warning. And unless they are completely blind, they can usually see the lane veering off of the freeway. ...