I really need to get better about updating this more often. In fact I am going to have to make sure that my entire Web site is up-to-date because we are going to send out a newsletter to our friends and family encouraging them to come visit. I don't want people to leave disappointed.

It is Christmas Eve. I can't believe that the month and the year have gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday we were moving out here from Utah. Now we are settled, have friends and have each been through one job (I am on my second, Mia is taking a break). We are started to feel at home out here in Boston. That is quite amazing since most of the people out here have lived here their whole lives, it seems like we should still be outsiders.

I will post again after Christmas so I can describe all the loot I got, but on the eve of all the wanton gift-giving and getting I still have time to reflect.

Reflection in my case means considering how fortunate I am to have a loving family, both my parents and siblings, as well as my wife. I remember a time when I couldn't accept the idea of people loving me. It just didn't seem possible. Now, I know that they do and I live a much richer life because of it.

I reflect on my goals. Professionally I am in a place that wants me to succeed. I can tell already that they consider me an asset and want to give me opportunities to grow with them. I would like that.
Personally, I am able to support my wife and I, which is an important part of being able to plan for a family. I feel that as a person I have matured enough to guide someone else along. This isn't to say that I don't have more growing to do, but I could at least keep one step ahead for a while.
Spiritually I am committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It strengthens my relationship with my wife, my family, my friends, and everyone that I meet. My calling at Church allows me to extend a helping hand to people. I feel very humbled and grateful that I have such opportunities constantly.

This has been quite a year. I can only imagine what the next year will bring. I am confident that together Mia and I will make it a good year.

Well, I suppose that winter has finally arrived. We are caught between two storm systems, each determined to drop snow all over the region. I think they are trying to out-do each other.
Interestingly, the city commissioner didn't think that things would be too bad. And so the snow plows were not mobilized on Friday when the snow really started coming down. After about an hour every road in the area was covered with at least 4 inches of snow, and it just got worse from there.

The snow hasn't let up today, and it makes me a bit nervous about how much shovelling I am going to have to do to free our cars from the snowbanks that the plows place right at the edge of our driveway. That is one bad thing about living on a road that gets plowed. But we don't have anywhere to go (even Church got cancelled for tomorrow), so we are content to sip hot chocolate and relax.

Our house has been pretty good to us during this storm. We were getting a little crazy staying inside all day so we went into our small backyard and made snow angels. We were going to do a snowman, but the snow isn't packing well yet. But if we have to live in our house for a while we could do it. There is some food storage in the basement, candles for light and heat, water in case we need it. And bookcase full of books. Books are great because they work even when the power is out. We could do pretty well here.

My wife keeps saying she wants Tuna Melts for dinner, so I think we are going to brave the snow, walk to the corner store and buy some. What a time to crave tuna. Sheesh.

So, it has been a while since I posted. I suppose that I should say that Thanksgiving was good. We went out to my in-laws, which is always an experience.

I didn't eat so much this year. I sampled a bit of everything, but forwent tackling an entire turkey drumstick and pot of mashed potatoes. The food was good, and I ate just the right amount to be satisfied.

Of course, that is putting the positive spin on Thanksgiving. The rest of the story is that we spent the first five hours of the day hauling pine branches from two of the three large felled trees in the backyard. There was a pile at least 6 feet high and about 20 wide of all the branches we moved to the side of the road. But these were trees that needed to come down, so I didn't mind chipping in.

As for the rest of it, well things have been pretty quiet around here. I have been working long hours, which I am hoping to stop doing soon, and my wife has been not working. It makes both of our days feel longer, but we get by.

I, and I would venture to say we, have become so accustomed to multiple stimulus that it took conscious control for me tonight to relax in silence. Well, not complete silence. I was watching television, but also recording the show for my wife to watch later. During the commercials rather than flipping away, stimulating myself, I sat with the set muted and waited.

Actually it was an interesting experience. At first I noticed my heartbeat and could feel the pulse of it circulating blood through my body. I could hear the VCR humming, and the rattling of the cars passing by outside. The background stimuli that fill up our heads and ears.
But it was interesting because I started to notice what was around me in the room. On the left side of the TV is a hand-painted sushi plate and cross-stiched picture. Two unique items that no one else has in their homes.
On the right side is a 2x3 foot oil painting. It is unique not only because each stroke was placed on the canvas by a human hand, but it depicts a picture of an obscure mountain in the Philippines that no one I show the painting to has seen. In front of it stands a paper lumberjack, a hand-folded piece of art from Korea that is simple and yet stunning. Beside it a picture of my wedding, and on the back wall a Koa-wood framed, signed print of a photograph of a white Hawaiian plumaria relfect on a white surface that makes it look like two flowers.

All of this, each piece so vibrant, each a testament to the artistry of life. Each a witmess to the world that exists, real and physical, more than a digital description of life. And yet with this surrounding me, I sit on my couch watching a show that will come back in re-runs and on DVD, I sit and watch and suffer through the silence during the commercials.

For me there is an amazing catharsis in writing. I am surprised that I don't do it more often. Writing is a great outlet for me, because while I am like talking to people, even large groups of people, I don't feel that I am very engaging as an orator. When I have the time to sit down and deliberate over my words before using them, the effect is much stronger and more clear.

One of the more random thoughts that I had today while listening to the radio is that I wouldn't do well writing about pop culture, or trying to incorporate pop culture into my writing. I just don't know that much about it, and personally, don't miss it all that much. I am surprised by how who are my age or older put so much importance on popular music, movies, clebreties and etc.

To change topics again, work has been pretty crazy for me. But I am enjoying my work now immensly more than I ever did at Schwartz. It is great to have a place where each day is exciting and I know that people respect the work I am doing for them.

Not that I don't still have plenty to learn. I haven't gotten any official training yet, so I have been pieceing together some of the procedures, and I can see where the cracks are. But overall things are going well.

So, here I am in Korea. It has been a couple of days and I could describe the shopping that we have done with my mother, but that wouldn't interest too many people. Though I will say that Koreans sell everything. I had forgetten just how many shops and carts are set up along the streets. Even in districts that aren't known as shopping areas, you will find people selling pants or luggage or food (especially flattened, dried squids) and just about everything else. I am amazed at how they all manage to stay in business.

But, today was what I believe will be the highlight of our trip here. We got to go to the DMZ or DeMilitarized Zone. This is something of an ironic name because while the actual 4 km wide, 250 km long zone is empty of military, the border on both sides is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world. All South Korean men have to join the army at 18 or 19 for a year. Many of them are posted along this border. Additionally, many of the new US Army recruits are sent to Korea for a year, again along the border. And North Korea as a military state has a large Army, most of which is deployed at the edge of this zone as well.

We toured the small UN area know as Pan-mun-jom or the Joint Security Area. Both North and South have some of their own buildings, as well as UN buildings that facilitate meetings between the two. We got the chance to go into one and were allowed to walk to the North Korean side of the building.
I have been in North Korea. How many people can say that!!!

It was a very interesting tour. We felt very privledged to be able to see where our soldiers were putting themselves in danger to protect the Korean people. I have to say that I have a deep respect for the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting others. Too often we take for granted all the hard work that goes into keeping us safe.

Well, after nearly 19 hours in-flight and almost 24 hours of traveling (which includes driving and airport time) we made it to Korea. One nice thing about the flight over the Pacific was that they had little TVs for every seat and a variety of movies that they constantly replayed. We got to pick a choose a couple of the movies that were interesting to us.

Our first day in Korea we burned through 100,000 Won. That comes out to about $80 and we got a lot for our money, but it is amazing how quick you can spend money over here. On the other hand, that is what we came for, so we are going to keep going.

My parents apartment over here is quite amazing. I want their kitchen and some of the closets they have. The whole apartment makes great use of space. I am really quite jealous.

We are off to see a Korean palace now, I will have to describe some of it later.

Hmmm and I will have to describe the Kimche. Hmmmmm

We are getting ready to leave for Korea. It is crunch time now. I hope we don't forget anything.

I can't believe how behind I am. Palm released a new handheld over a week ago and I am just now finding out about it.

Since I have been thinking of getting a new Palm anyway, I am going to have to keep my eye on this one.

I have been hearing it everywhere!

"This is the Red Sox year"

And this started before they made it to the playoffs...

Another weekend come and gone so quickly. This one was nice though. We took a short road trip to visit my wife's family. While we were there we got to watch conference and generally enjoy the company out there.

I am always so amazed at how close together her family lives. My family is scattered across the globe (quite literally) and the idea of all of us living within 3 hours of each other seems so strange. Not that I wouldn't like it, but I doubt that there is any one place that we could get all the members of my family to agree living in. Maybe the East coast would offer that solution, but in our hearts we are a Western family, so I don't think I could convince them to come out here.

But fortunately for us we all love to travel, and having family in interesting places just provides one more excuse to get out and see the world.

I got up at 5:30 (OK it was really 6:00) to make bacon and pancakes and orange juice for breakfast this morning. It really made the day.

Embarassing as it is, I didn't have the patience to make pancakes correctly until last year. I was making them for my family at Christmas and was pressing down after I had flipped them to try and get them to cook through. My dad told me that I was ruining them because I was compressing out all the air out of them. It was quite the revelation.

And now, my pancakes are light and fluffy. They turn out so great. Hmm, I love pancakes.

Well, I started my new job today. They are very excited to have me working there, which is such a great feeling. I am not sure why they want me so much, but it excites me rather than making me feel self-concious.

I started at a weird time because we are going to Korea in two weeks, and will be gone for two weeks. That means that I am not really getting into my real work but just hanging out helping people.

In case you are wondering, I am now working at Protocol as an Associate Project Manager. The office is very interesting, we make sure that all the direct mail pieces are prepared properly, that the distribution is set up correctly and that the production happens smoothly. I really think it is going to be an interesting job.

I also just found out that placing a heavy emphasis on writing during my interviews was a good thing. I know that I want to write and I enjoy writing, and today found out that the Quality Assurance head is glad to have another good writer on board. Someone she can pass along writing and proofreading assignments too. This tells me that I have many paths open for me through this position.

So, more updates to come as I get into my job and as I prepare to head to Korea. That will be fun. I can't wait to eat kimche again

The weather has been holding remarkably well for the end of September. We are getting more rain but usually just for a day, then things clear up. We have noticed that the air is getting more crisp. Starting in the 40s in the morning and warming up to early 70s by the afternoon. The leaves have started changing, but slowly. I expect that October will bring a flurry of changing colors. Too bad we will be gone for most of it.

I can't say much more about the weather. Guess I don't have the knack for it.

Today we went to the beach.

The weather channel predicted rain yesterday which came and went. Today was a break in the rain and clouds, making for a fabulous 75 degree day. We went down to the edge of Cape Cod and found a desereted beach to lay out on and read.

The best part about today was that we continually thought time was passing faster than it actually was. We would read for a while, or go walking, then look at our watches and maybe a half hour had passed. It was great. We stayed at the beach for about 3 hours but felt totally relaxed and refreshed.

We have decided that if we are here next summer we are going to stay at a B&B for a night or two and explor omor of what is down there.

Now I am all tired from being so much in the sun. I will sleep well tonight.

So, it has been a while.

I won't say that it has been because I don't have time. I have lots of time on my hands. I suppose I have been avoiding any sort of explanation. And I like that tactic, so my explanation is that I got fired from my job and I am moving on.

The last week has been a good one. I have done lots of writing (cover letters) and even had a couple of interviews last week (which was the week after I lost my job). I went back to Protocol, the company I decided against in January in favor of Schwartz, and they welcomed me with open arms. In fact one of the women had an intuition back then that I would be coming back in a few months... and there I was.

Honestly, I have felt so revitalized knowing that I know have the time to go searching for something that I absolutely want to do. The landscape now is so different from Jan., there are so many more companies hiring. I am not going to settle for anything and might not even stay in PR.

The weather has been amazing for September, and since I have some free time we are going to head to the beach this week. That will be a nice break.

I was 8 when the Challenger exploded. I remember that it was supposed to be a life changing catastrophe, but the memory is blurred in my mind. I know that I was in school when I heard about it. But that is about all.

9/11 is the defining catastrophe in my life. It is one that will stay with me for as long as I live. I remember waking up to the radio that morning like I always did, but this time it wasn't music or pop culture jokes. The DJs were saying that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. I was awake and watching TV to find out what had happened almost immediately.
I still remember watching the news coverage and seeing the second plane, enter the screen then disapper behind the smoking tower. In a flash it turned into a fireball of its own. We watched in horror as people tried to leave the buildings. Watched in horror as we saw the first building start to sway and give then implode. It was almost too much to bear. It was almost too much to bear watching the second tower sway then give then implode, you could see it coming for the second tower. It was unbearable.

I was numb as I walked up to class that day. The air buzzing around me with the news. There we were, sitting in a classroom with no windows, no connection to what was happening. We sat and learned about writing press releases. I remember my professor asking us to take a minute of silence for the people of New York.

9/11. I will never forget.

So, after what turned out to be a very turbulent weekend and week beginning, I am getting ahold of myself and feeling better about what is happening to me.

I am feeling more focused now. I updated my resume, and have been getting it back out in front of people. I think that I know enough people around the area to get back on my feet quickly.

And as I have heard a number of times, and I also think this, sometimes you have to get that kick in the pants before you go out and get something better for you. Well, I am not going to settle for anything less than what I feel is right for me. That doesn't mean it will be easy, but it will be so worth it.

I was just randomly looking around online and found DAO. It really is one of those games that looks easier than it is.

I changed my mind on this post.

Monica has finally gotten her site up and running. She decided to also start a blog so I have another link to add.

I am thinking that I am going to promote this blog just around my family and friends. If I decide that I want a more public blog I will create another one. Something more traditional and slightly less personal. That could be interesting...

Also, I just finished writing a story about the time I lived in Italy. It is a pretty rough draft so I will be making edits and posting those as well.

I haven't posted in a couple of days. I suppose I have been caught up in other things. With the Labor day weekend nearing I started a new game of NWN.

This weekend has been a nice release. There is something about a 3 day weekend that makes both the week before (as you anticipate and plan) better and the week after (since you only have 4 days of work) much better. On Saturday we went to a community farm in the area and picked our own raspberries and blueberries. Unfortunately we are right in between the seasons just now, so most of the raspberries were unripe, and most of the blueberries were gone. I think we are going to head back for more raspberries when they ripen.
It was interesting though, picking through the bushes because of all the bees buzzing around. They were very docile, just flew away when you moved the branches aside. I don't think anyone got stung while we were there.

I find that I am having trouble deciding how to enter the blogging community. On the one hand I don't feel that I need to, I just enjoy the writing, but on the other hand, I would like to get into a community.

I am thinking that this might be a good one. But I don't know.

However, I did just find Daypop so maybe I am on my way. (Crawls out from under rock and notices Daypop)

I have read any number of fantasy books in my days, perhaps I shouldn't be admitting that but it is true. However, I have never been able to read any book without wincing slightly when I hit the word 'sardonic.' I always feel that the author has been contriving an entire scene in which the evil character foils some attempt by the good character just so they could put a sardonic look on the villians face when the hero realizes he has been foiled (and thinks that everything is lost).

Samuel's sardonic look in East of Eden occurs so naturally that I can't imagine how else it could possibly be described. The word has been redeemed to me.

If you have been feeling this way yourself, then it might be time for you to start reading Steinbeck as well.

So the further I read into East of Eden the more intrigued I am. I especially like how Steinbeck has developed the Cathy/Kate character. At the very beginning he describes that some people are monsters, and the rest of us can't understand what makes them do what they do. Of course, from the inside perspective of one of those people, the reasons do not seem strange at all. And so they do not explain them and we do not understand them.

This provides such a refreshing change from the normal antagonist. Evil characters, even when not explictly stated, usually have been corrupted by power or greed or lust or something. They are people that we can understand because they have been corrupted by a temptation that might bring us down.

Cathy/Kate by comparision never resembled anyone of us nor could she ever become like us. Therein she is able to be at once evil and yet retain some humanity. Because we cannot see her end goal, we can conitue to assume some redemption may come to her, even though we know she is not interested in it. ANd perhaps she would not understand that if it were offered her.

I played chess online yesterday. It sounded fun when I started, but after I lost a couple of games I decided that I had had enough.

I think that I need to practice more, but the thought of going out and losing again makes me wary. I suppose I should just remember that the Internet is pretty faceless and no one but me cares if I win or lose. We will see.

And now, about an hour later, the rain is over. The street is already drying. You would hardly know that anything happened.

Except for my wet hair.

I ran to the store a few minutes ago under forboding but dry skies. About five minutes after I got home the skies opened. I can hear the thunder crashing and the rain hitting the street and the cars splashing it up.

It is quite possible that I will go out and stand in it for a while.

And on the other hand, I am completely disconnected from the rain. To me, it only exists as an image, a vision of rain. I am completely unaffected by the rain, uless I need to run back out to my car.

I really think I might go stand outside for a while.

I seem to cycle through interests which in turn affects how much time I think that I have. Before I started my blog I was spending most of my time in a MMORPG (sort of) which I eventually got bored with. While I was playing though, I didnt' think there were very many other things I could be doing and was content not to do them.

Now that I have started building my Web site I find myself pulled in a thousand different directions. I want to read, not only to post my thoughts but also because I have neglected my reading for too long. I want to learn JavaScript and Flash so that I make my site more interactive. I want to learn Photoshop so that I can create incredible graphics for my site. I read plenty of news at work, but find myself wanting to know more so I can converse intelligently about everything going on in the world.

And as odd as it sounds, I want to exercise more. This one came about because I realized that so many of the things I was doing revolved around my computer. It is like a deep well that I can draw so much from, but if I am not careful I might fall in. There is so much to learn and do online that I could easily spend too much time staring staring over the fence at the greener grass on the other side. Meaning to say that the glimpses I get of other people's lives online look appealing and I start to think that my own digital life would be better than this analog one I lead. Which circles right back to exercise. I try to get out at 6 a.m. to go running (as I have mentioned) and through this I feel more connected to my world. I feel more grounded, or that I have more of a presence in the world because I am out dripping my sweat on its pavement. Because I am breathing in the air and fumes and scents that would go unnoticed if I was not there. Because someone driving to work or leaving their house sees me and thinks they have seen me before, therefore I must be real and they must be real and the world must be real.

Every morning I am reminding myself that something exists beyond the walls of my house, beyond the walls of my office and pas the windshield of my car. It is a good feeling, a real feeling.

"Focus groups have shown that Democrats might be willing to vote against the recall if Davis acknowledged some failures, political analysts said."

This is taken from an article about the speech Gray Davis made at UCLA proported to be his chance to take responsibility for his mistakes. And while the whole recall process is a circus, it is good to know at least one player is doing his part for the right reasons.

A co-worker and I were having a discussion about plums at lunch.

She prefers a firmer, tart plum whereas I go for the rounder, softer, juicier, dark skinned plums. I love taking a big bite of a soft plum and letting that soft texture fall apart in my mouth. Hmmmm.

I think I need to buy more plums before the season ends.

My wife subscribes to Martha Stewart magazine and yesterday she got a Reader's Digest-sized recipe magazine, but filled with simple recipes that can be made without grinding your own wheat or growing your own vegetables.

She got all excited about the recipes as she flipped through and decided she wanted to subscribe. The trouble is, we have about 5 specific cookbooks (chicken, Asian, etc.) that don’t get used along with The Joy of Cooking and a couple other 'basics' cookbooks. So I told her that if she made a blueberry crumb top pie she was eyeing, we would sign up.

I didn’t expect her to actually want to make it, but figured this was win/win for me. Either we don't get more cookbooks that line our shelves and collect dust, or I get some blueberry pie.

As it turns out, I got the pie. She decided that she wanted to make it right away, so I found a chicken roll recipe that included tomatoes and asparagus, and we went out to buy the ingredients.

I learned a couple of things while making my chicken rolls.
1. Frozen chicken thawed in a microwave is not suited for pounding flat
2. You can get a tomato that is bigger than you need
3. Chicken cooked on one side doesn't roll well
4. My wife doesn’t believe that I actually read recipes
And finally, those chicken rolls were really good, even if the presentation would have made Martha run screaming from our house.

So, it looks like I am going to be having more adventures in cooking. I think I might try the cantaloupe and mozzarella salad to try and beat the heat.

I started reading John Steinbeck's East of Eden. Terrible I know but I picked it up because of the buzz that Opera generated about it. I have been planning to read some American classic authors for a while, and this seemed a good place to start.

Though I have only been through 2 chapters, Steinbeck's writing style is very descriptive. I have heard that he can write too much description at times, but I really feel as though I am standing in the Salinas Valley as the novel begins.

The copy I have is about 600 pages thick. I was looking at it this morning over my bagel wondering if I was going to have the time and energy to finish it. I shouldn't take up so much time with my blog so I can read more.

Or maybe I will just start staying up later...

So today I went through the ePlastic tutorial. I would have never been able to come up with this on my own, but taking it step by step I was able to come out pretty close. I am going to try making all the letters that I need to re-create my site navigation with them.

I also decided, that while I have never done it before, I am going to create some blog skins. I very much doubt that anyone will want them, but at least I can contribute.

So begins my odyssey into some very basic Web design and development.

I have been playing on the company softball team and we won our last game Wednesday night. I can't say that I am very good at softball, but it has been fun getting out with people of all levels in the company and just having a good time.

There is such a different dynamic when you are out on the field cheering for someone to run home or knock one out of the park. I can't wait for next season... even though it is about a year away.

There seems to be more talk now days about Howard Dean than John Kerry as the democratic hopeful who can unseat George W.

I think that Dean is doing a great job of getting into the grassroots of the democratic party, a segment that appears to appreciate his plain-spoken manner and apparent approachability.

At some point though, it will not be enough for a candidate to be just anti-Bush. He talks about the issues very much in terms of what Bush is doing wrong, but I hope he will speak more towards how he expects to implement his policies.
It will be interesting to watch the democratic nomination process, I hope Dean has what it takes to get through it all.

I haven't posted in a few days because I have been working on the rest of my site. I attempted my first foray into templates and style sheets with Dreamweaver. They are pretty basic, but making sure I got everything in the right place, figured out what belonged in the template, what fit in the style sheet, how to reference them and on and on and on.

Having a project to explore these technical ins and outs makes things easier. I could visualize what the end product should be and just had to keep tweaking and adjusting. I made numerous forays to the Internet for help. I also relied heavily on my blog's style sheet so I can't take too much credit.

The great thing about the Web is that now that I have everything figured out (I hope) you won't see any of the mistakes that I made (I hope). I am thinking of including some JavaScript, so errors are on the way.

And let me say:
No Contest!!!

Surfing the Internet can be either very busy or very slow. I tend to either click through links as I am looking for something, or just sit back and read everything on a site.

But when I am looking to waste a bit of time, invariably I end up playing games.
This site has some reall great games. The visuals are always incredible. Some of the games are repetitive, but most fall into the easy to learn, difficult to master category. :)
Be sure to try the diving game, umbrella chickens and the egg toss.

I am going to dare to tackle a very controversial and sensitive subject. I hope that I can manage it objectively and that my words convey their intended meanings.

Gene Robinson was elected the Bishop of New Hampshire for the Episcopalian church. This has caused quite an uproar to which I would like to add my 2 cents.
But before I begin that, I want to set the boundaries on what I am discussing. I have heard some radio interviews with Robinson, I think that he is an intelligent man who cares deeply about the people he serves. I do not question his integrity or ability as a leader, nor do I believe any of the accusations (all dismissed) brought against him.
I think that gay rights is an important secular, social issue that needs to be debated, but I do not wish to mire myself in the delicate intricacies of that discussion.

What I would like to say is that from as a religion some beliefs are fundamental to the character and integrity of the religion that cannot be tossed around by popular opinion.
One of those beliefs is that a man was made to be with a woman and a woman was made to be with a man. God's first commandment to Adam and Eve, and I feel I can invoke the canon of scripture since this is a religious topic, was to multiply and replenish the earth. This passage has such a depth of meaning. Man and woman are meant to be together, they are meant to create life and provide guidance to their children, frustrating these plans is antagonistic to one of the basic tenets of Christianity.

I think that the Episcopalian church was wrong to allow Robinson to become a Bishop. And again, I do not say this because I think that he is unqualified for the position, but because he has chosen a lifestyle that does not conform to Christian tenets. For this alone I do not think he should be given charge over a section of the church.

On a larger scale, though dissatisfying as this will be, I do not have an answer for homosexuality in a Christian context. It is a very personal issue that cannot be summed up in 1 or 2 blithe sentences. I wish the Episcopalian church all the best as they deal with it.

If you have ever wanted to reach for the stars, things just got a bit easier. You can buy real estate here in our solar system pretty cheap.

You might never set foot on your land, but just think in 100 years when people start colonizing other planets (assuming we do) someone down your family line will have a piece of paper that no one will recognize as valid.

This is one of those times when reading this, all I could think of was "Why didn’t I think of that?" Well, I suppose I will have to find something else to sell, I wonder if the ocean floor under international waters is taken...

Apparently my post from yesterday didn't make it. Which, while frustrating is not the end of the world. It had a great link I might use later though.

I was planning to avoid discussing news on this blog, but my resolve didn't last very long. And I suppose this post is going to push me from opinionated into activist.

Just the other day I read that congress is planning a buyout of tobacco quotas. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but apparently farmers have to lease the right to fill a quota from a private party. Since quotas have been going down in recent years, the price to lease them has been going up.

Congress wants the tobacco industry to fund the buyout by paying a certain percentage based on their market share. That has led the tobacco companies to state they will almost certainly pass the price along to consumers. Now some lawmakers are saying this isn’t fair to consumers who are already struggling with high cigarette prices.

And to all of this I say, Pass the Price Along. I don’t want the farmers to suffer, but cigarette smoking is not one of our inalienable rights. And consumers have to realize that big tobacco does not care about them. They aren’t going to shoulder the costs so their faithful (read: addicted) followers can keep on puffing.

And while I am on this topic, kudos to Boston and New York.

The Internet is great because it has something for everyone.
I highly recommend wasting the rest of your morning, afternoon or night letting the dancer inside you cut loose.

There is something about waking up at 6 a.m. to run that makes the world seem more tactile. I have been living in my town for a couple of months now but never paid much attention to it. I know the quickest route to work, where to get Chinese food, which supermarket is best for produce (Russo's) and which is good for everything else. However, I have come to believe that driving is much like watching television, the places that we pass by (viewed through a pane of glass) are not real to us. They are images much like a televisions and most likely I won't stop unless I already know the place exists.

Running through town at 6 in the morning changes that perspective.

Partly I think because I am not interested only in my destination. Thinking too hard about how long my run is could cause me to give up. Endurance was one of the aspects I wanted to develop by running though it seems slow in coming. So rather than worry about getting to the corner of Pine street, I notice the details about the streets I am on.

A couple of quick observations are in order to show that I am not just making this up. First, I notice the trees more. So many of them hang low over the sidewalks, leaves pushing into my face as I try to duck my head beneath them. I get a bit annoyed by some of the trees but am constantly amazed at the number of them. The same thing goes for a footpath along the river. It is fairly well kept but the small purple and white flowered shrubs on one side and the broad leaved bushes on the other keep creeping out like they are exploring, and deciding if they can reclaim their space.
I also run by a day labor office that doesn't open till 6:30, but every morning people are milling around at 6, waiting and hoping for a job. They usually stand in groups of 1 or 2 and sometimes 3, smoking cigerattes but with no coffee. They don't tend to socialize much because they are all competing for the same spots every day.
And finally, even though it is the middle of summer, I am always shocked that the sun is so high and hot at 6. I keep expecting that I will wake up one morning to a cool dawn, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe I need to get up earlier...

I also feel that I should start connecting myself with the blogging community -- though a definition of that would be hard to nail down. I spent a couple of hours last night reading blogs that discussed web logs as social software. A very interesting idea that I think I will have to research some more.

I was in a poetry group that would get fixated around a particular topic. Not everyone around the same thing, but we would each connect with an idea that would become a recurring object in our poems. Even if it thematically had nothing to do with what we were writing. Without further ado:

William Tell raised rabbits.
Not just any rabbits
but ones that grew ten feet tall.

"Why do you let them grow so big?" He
was often asked. William Tell only smiled;
until March when the hares went wild.
He confided in me, "I feel like a
rabbit in a cage." And so he let
them go. “I feel my reputation
has outgrown me.� And so he moved
to New York.

While the historical William Tell has nothing to do with this poem, he was a consistent character in a couple of pieces and I like the appearence he makes here.
So there you have it, Ten Foot Rabbits -- Waiting for my reputation to outgrow me

This is the first posting of my new blog. What an exciting day...


Well, now that the excitement has worn off, a quick explanation about the name of my blog.
It comes from a poem that I wrote which I will post later. I don't want to waste all my material at once. :-)

Nothing interesting today. That will have to wait for tomorrow.