A frequent feature on this site; feel free to comment on the quote or to supply a competing quote.Even in a perfect world,
Where everyone was equal
I would still own the film rights
And be working [...]
A frequent feature on this site; feel free to comment on the quote or to supply a competing quote.
I have been putting off the sleep tests my physician ordered for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I sleep most poorly away from my own bed. However, I am tired of always being tired, and tonight I am [...] 
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It was with sadness that I learned this morning of the death of Ronald A. Bradshaw, Sr., who passed away at his home at the age of 78. I first met Ron in 1989 when I was starting a career as a franchise owner, and [...]
This is an irregular feature - both in frequency and oddness - dedicated to a word I came across that I have never previously used.
The stars seemed aligned for a productive afternoon of dissertation writing: no kids were in the house, and I had a few intriguing ideas that needed to be fleshed out in written form. Just turn on some quiet instrumental music - say, Andres Segovia - and [...]
I have taught at a number of institutions that have accreditation as an online university, and one factor is ultimately more important than any other in online education. It is the individuals who teach the course that inevitably create an environment where engaged learning [...]
I opted to spend my day attacking a backlog of items that I have been putting off for a few weeks. I was getting to the point where there were enough of these relatively small projects piling up that their collective weight was beginning to approach [...]
I came across an old drawing today that kept me puzzled for over an hour. Pictured on your left is a woodcut illustration of a late fifteenth century chapbook for some poems by Giuliano Dati, a prominent Italian poet. The first of these poems was entitled [...]
Left: MSU's Larry Caper scoring the winning touchdown in OT against the Michigan Wolverines (photo by Todd McInturf / The Detroit News)
Pictured on your left is Bolt, a one-year-old Australian shepherd mix who was rescued from a local shelter. He is quite a bit underweight, weighing in at only 27 pounds today at the vet. Bolt looks like he will probably be around 40 pounds when he [...]
Today has been a strange, strange day, a day that started with me going off to work with mismatched socks. After arriving at work I noticed that I had walked around campus for at least 10 minutes with my fly open, and then I remembered that [...]
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In a previous post I listed quite a few tunes that work well for walking, focusing on songs with 110-120 beats per minute (BPM). Since that time my walking speed has gradually progressed, and I find that songs closer to 110 beats per minute do [...]
A frequent feature on this site; feel free to comment on the quote or to supply a competing quote.
A frequent feature on this site; feel free to comment on the quote or to supply a competing quote.
Pictured on your left is a small garden I created this afternoon, and at the moment I took this picture my Puggle (whose name is Chauncey Gardiner) already appears to be plotting ways in which he might make mischief.
Pictured on your left are a group of guys with whom I share a passion for fantasy football. This particular league - with the unassuming name of "Jim's Fantasy Football" - has been together 15 years as of the 2009 season, and there are six original owners' [...]
One of the downsides of being a person who works many part-time jobs is that sometimes I neglect to pay regular attention to my employers and their abilities to pay me on time. As a result several times last year my wife reconciled our accounts and [...]
One of the more in-demand educational programs that returning students seek out is an organizational development degree, especially from an institution that offers online degree programs. Regular visitors to this site know that I have taught online for a few years now, and I spent [...]
As the current owner of a pair of Puggles, I can testify to the fun-loving nature of these affectionate dogs, and our new foster Sam (or "Sammy," as we have been calling her) possesses all the most lovable qualities about Puggles.
Just a quick plug for a worthy cause, Planned Pethood. The group - which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded over 30 years ago - has a goal of reducing the overpopulation and suffering of dogs and cats through educational programs as well as low-cost [...]
What? You were expecting a prurient story about some sort of brutal assault against former President George W. Bush? Sorry to either alarm or disappoint you (depending on your political views), but the bush I'm talking about is my snowball bush, known to horticultural' [...]
My time-stealing, disorganized collection of keys prior to their reformulation
Pictured on your left is my latest attempt at creating a decorative display for the dinner table. Yes, I am secure enough in my masculinity to play with flowers, folks, though the "ooohs" and "ahhhs" from our dinner guests lead me to believe that the gathered [...]
There is an especially gratifying quality to walking into your backyard and picking from a variety of homegrown vegetables for the evening dinner. Such was the case this afternoon after I finished working in the yard.
Regular readers of this blog already know about Missy, a female terrier mix we have been fostering. You can read the earlier posts about Missy's abusive former owners if you want to know the background of this abused dog.
The old saw about weight loss is that diet and exercise are the real keys to shedding unwanted pounds, and I have to say that this simplest of advice is certainly the best. Since early June when I started walking 3-4 miles a day and cutting [...]
It was a bittersweet moment as I saw the broad grin on my son's face when he walked back in with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles road test employee. I knew immediately that he was successful in his latest attempt to score that holiest of teenage' [...]
Left: not to be eaten raw, and wash your hands after handling, please
It is just a summer thunderstorm that I am experiencing as I write this post, just an ordinary opening of the heavens that results in a heavy downpouring of rain. Add in some hail and a fair amount of nearby lightning strikes, and the result is a [...] 
Pictured on your left is my left elbow, the color of which is now an intriguing purple-red-black blend thanks to a Mengele-like nuclear medicine technician at Toledo Hospital. I went in for a scan of my liver and pancreas, and the technician had some trouble getting [...]
At my best I am merely competent with auto repairs, and as I have grown older I am less entranced with the idea of spending a half-day on my driveway replacing a part like a water pump or a radiator. Yet some repairs are just too [...]
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At the Detroit Tigers - Minnesota Twins game the other night, I watched Tiger manager Jim Leyland chat it up for about 10 minutes with a half-dozen fans next to the Tiger dugout. What I found interesting was not the conversation itself (I was too far [...]
This is an irregular feature - both in frequency and oddness - dedicated to a word I came across that I have never previously used.
Finding beats for my feets
Miguel Cabrera being hit by a pitch from Carl Pavano; photo by historymike
My grandparents have lived in the same house since the early 1940s, and their close proximity to Detroit's Metro Airport means that they witnessed the facility grow from a one-runway regional airport that mostly serviced the Michigan National Guard into a major international travel hub [...]
I spent a warm summer evening with my wife over at Toledo Botanical Garden listening to the Toledo Jazz Orchestra play as part of the Jazz in the Garden concert series. Approximately 1,000 people turned out this evening, and for the most part [...]
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It seems like this blog has lately evolved into a virtual obituary site, but when tragedy strikes, people have to deal with grief in the manner to which they are accustomed. In my case, it is through writing that I best process difficult emotions, such as those [...]
I know little about Friendly Missionary Baptist Church on Parkside in Toledo, but I found the name of the house of worship worthy of a chuckle. After all, considering the options, would one expect a missionary to be anything BUT friendly?
Left: Mother duck with baby ducklings; click photo for larger image
In the eyes of the member of Rocket Patrol who ticketed my vehicle the other day at the University of Toledo, I committed a crime worthy of a fine: I failed to place my UT parking permit in front of one of the other [...]
Pictured on your left is an image from 1934 of my grandparents as teenaged lovebirds as they grew up in Depression-era Detroit. My wife and I spent most of the day with my grandfather helping him with a few last-minute funeral preparations, and we spent about a [...]
16 December 1915 - 29 July 2009