So I was playing around with some manipulation of some old photos I took of the results of an ice storm we had a couple years ago. And I was pretty pleased with the artistic effects I was able to pull off. Enjoy.

The following is extremely long. But I didn't want to seem a point grubber, so I am placing the entire article here as I wrote it. If it is too long to read I understand. I consider 100 articles here to be quite an achievement for me. Sixty or so articles ago I had pretty much decided to toss it in, stop all together, and not come back. Those reasons are my own, and not infrequently are reinforced, but I chose to continue blogging, mainly because I found it was helping me think things ...

As I am planning on going into Urology I have been questioned on more than one occasion why I would want to do that. Well, I am not going to answer that in this blog. Rather I am going to pass along an old joke my High School physics teacher told us. Remember that back when this was told to me the word "queer" meant odd. Two best friends decided to go to medical school. Upon completing their time and their residencies they decided to go into practice together. One was a proctologist, ...

As I am planning on going into Urology I have been questioned on more than one occasion why I would want to do that. Well, I am not going to answer that in this blog. Rather I am going to pass along an old joke my High School physics teacher told us. Remember that back when this was told to me the word "queer" meant odd. Two best friends decided to go to medical school. Upon completing their time and their residencies they decided to go into practice together. One was a proctologist, ...

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...

Last night we witnessed a debate between two men desiring to be elected the President of the United States. Both had their opportunity to discuss their plans and policies, both had the opportunity to win over undecided voters, and both had the opportunity to educate the populace. Both are pretty poor choices in my opinion as well, but that is just thrown in here for fun, doesn't really have to do with the rest of what I will write. More than anything last night though, the candidates d...

My head hurts. My eyes hurt. I feel I can hardly form a coherent thought. And I like it. That's right, I am absolutely mentally exhausted, but it is a rewarding feeling. I have been working really hard on building a cost model for a relatively new type of surgery. It isn't done often because the new technology that it relies on carries the stigma of being very expensive. And it is expensive, to the tune of 1.2 million dollars for the unit. But it also carries with it the potential (...

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. ...

I was reading Jessica a book she had checked out from the library over the weekend. It was a fun book, and one that I felt uniquely suited to reading her. The title was "Stinky, Smelly Feet". As I read it, though, I came to a realization. I have stinky, smelly feet. So does my wife. And I bet every one of us here does as well. In fact I am positive that every one of us has stinky, smelly feet. In the story, the protagonist is a duck with a problem. Every time he takes his shoes o...

An interesting thing happened the other day. I was used as a human shield. Seriously. I was. For some reason, when it happened, it just struck my of an awfully odd thing to have happen. I use myself as a human shield quite often. Walking through parking lots, crossing streets, etc. with my wife and daughters, I always put them on the side farthest from possible traffic. I don't really even think about it, I just do it. Always put me between them and any harm. Of course, there...

I am a total tech junky. That doesn't mean I know a lot really, but I love computers, technology, new gadgets and new programs. At times I will browse software sites and look for new programs, read up on them, and maybe give them a try. Today I found some real gems that I just had to share. All of the following programs can either be downloaded or linked to from the site Klitetools . There are many sections, all freeware. In some instances there are newer, shareware or commercial ver...

Since my decision to blog more frequently I have, on more than one occasion, sat in front of the computer with a glazed over look. "What should I write?" Eventually an idea will come or I will simply ramble on about some insipid thought I had (hey now, I don't need anyone pointing out that all my blogs are like that, I know they are!). Or I even ramble on about nothing in particular at all, perhaps just my inability to come up with a good idea. In fact it wasn't too long ago I wrote a...

I popped my new Fates Warning CD in the home stereo today to give it a spin there. Jessica loves to dance, and loves "rock 'n roll", so she immediately jumped off the chair and started jumping around, crazy as could be. It was hilarious, especially seeing her try to dance to the beat of progressive metal (for those who aren't familiar, the genre is well known for weird time signatures and sudden and frequent changes in time sig). Aubrey, sitting on the couch, saw her sister having fun an...

This article was, in part, inspired by Dharma's comments over here . It has been said that the only constant in the world is change. I couldn't agree more. Every day we have a chance to make choices. Choices that will either move us forward or hold us back. But we can't hold still. The world won't let us. It doesn't take a break from turning, rolling forward, day by day. We either resolve to move forward as well, or we roll backward. The choice is up to each of us, the pow...