In this day and age of bit torrents and file sharing, I’m one of the few people who don’t actually mind paying for music and movies.  I do view file sharing as stealing from artists and tend not to participate in newsgroups where you can get anything for free.  Were I a poor college student, my attitude might be different but as of right now I buy my music via iTunes and rent my movies through Netflix.

That being said, I have a ...

I need to know if this is a Midwestern thing or that it’s a missing component in the south.  As an ex-Chicagoan that was raised in Detroit and now lives in Atlanta, it’s a dirty little secret that I’m actually a native of Wisconsin.  I attribute my obsession with cheese as part of my birthright from being born in Milwaukee and living there the first three years of my ...

As a father of two kids, one of the places we frequent often is the local park.  One of Ally’s favorite things to do is be on the swing for long periods of time.  Now that she’s bigger, she doesn’t ask me to push her to get her started.  I mention this because when I’m standing next to her, I’ve been asked by quite a few kids of the course of the past few years if I could give them a push on the swing.  In this day and age of predators and perverts and lawsuit-happy parents, I almost always decline.  I say politely to the kid that it might be best if they have their parents ...

I’m worried. 

I don’t care which side of the political spectrum you’re on; we’re in a recession.  Jobs are falling by the wayside, prices are increasing exponentially, real estate prices are in a freefall and there isn’t really a light at the end of the tunnel just yet.  Obviously our economy goes up and down and these ebbs and flows are a natural cyc ...

After 2 ½ years, I have yet to successfully come up with a replacement for the word “blog”.  After 2 ½ years, I still hate the word.  With the word “blog” becoming more and more a part of everyday conversation and also a buzzword for the media to use, this bastardly coined word won’t be leaving our consciousness any time soon.  The sound of the word just grates on my ears.

Progress can be a two-edged sword sometimes.  It’s a necessary component of accommodating for more people, it allows for things to be updated over the course of time (from people’s clothing styles to renovations of buildings), and it also can revitalize a neighborhood.

While it’s nice to have those self-service kiosks at grocery stores like Kroger, there are inherent drawbacks too.  Even though the Robot Lady’s voice is semi-soothing, it’s borderline nagging to tell me to “Please place the item in the bag” if I haven’t gone from scanning the item to putting it in the bag in less than 2 seconds.  Sometimes the bags are hard to separate although not as bad as trying to open up a clear produce bag.  I’d have better luck and feel more dexterous were I to defuse a bomb with my toes.

Dear BellSouth and AT&T,

Back in those “pre internet tubes” days, people relied on the phone book to get addresses and numbers.  Perhaps the 200 people in the country with no internet access (the ones writing manifestos in the Montana wilderness), combined with a good chunk of the seni ...

I hate it when I’m forced to break my blog rule about no politics but this week’s events have left me no choice.

Remember when the presidency of the United States used to be held in high esteem?  I know that ever since Kennedy was exploring Marilyn’s every orifice and Nixon d ...