Category Archives: Life in General

As some of you know, I have suffered from occasional attacks of gout for years. They range from a day or two of a little pain and swelling, to full-blown, can’t-walk, feel-like-a-migraine-in-my-foot attacks that last a week or longer.

My first attack came out of the blue many years ago, and when I tried to figure out what had caused it, the only unusual thing I could think of was that I had eaten an entire box of Hot-N-Spicy Cheezits. That wasn’t too unusual — I LOVE Cheezits, and I love the HNS kind especially. This time, though, I had really chowed down on them … and a day or so later, I was dying from the pain.

I told my doctor about the Cheezits, and he looked at me like I was nuts. So, I figured I WAS nuts, and gave up on the Cheezits theory. Till it happened again.

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Joe Biden speaking at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors — and we see into his heart. I’m so glad he is our vice-president.

OK, short post here, but a good reminder nevertheless. From a Denise Harper-Angel email: More than half of the 356 fatalities were cases where those killed were not wearing their seat belts. Twenty four percent of the fatalities involved distracted … Continue reading →

So there I was, singing away on some hymn like I usually do, glad that it had four verses ’cause that meant that I could try to sing all four parts (not at once, although some claim I try that too), when a thought crossed my mind:
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I have a somewhat strange request to make. I have an online acquaintance that I’ve never met face-to-face (who goes by exmearden), who is having cancer surgery tomorrow. (A tumor in the heart.) I would request any who would to … Continue reading →

OK — I thought this was pretty funny, and actually might even be accurate. If you get tired of correcting people who call you a “nerd” when actually you’re a geek, just send them to this link:

http://www.greatwhitesnark.com/2010/03/25/difference-between-nerd-dork-and-geek-explained-in-a-venn-diagram

And here’s the diagram:

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Just finished The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It’s a book about the struggle to create art, to live to our higher calling, and to be and become what we are intended to be. And it has entered a very select category for me: Books That Changed My Life.

If you think that’s hyperbole, think again. Pressfield nails three concepts that any artist — indeed, any human — struggles with daily:

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Story currently on the rec list at Daily Kos entitled “My nephew arrived safely after being outed & kicked out of school.” It’s a heart-breaking story of teenage cruelty and adult betrayal, with some grace and love mixed in. Go … Continue reading →

I’ve long been a weather addict. When I was about 10 my parents got me a home weather station, and I predicted the weather to our family all that summer. Got pretty good at it, too … though predicting summer weather is pretty easy in Knoxville.

It’s winter weather in The Ville that is a real challenge, and John Belski does it as well as anyone. So, I was excited to stumble across his blog last year. It’s an excellent resource if you like knowing the behind-the-scenes info — he lays out the various models and explains his thinking on the forecast in clear, understandable prose. Plus, there are a number of regular commenters that keep things lively; some are amateur weather people like me, so they like to debate and discuss the possibilities. All in all a great site to visit. Make the jump for the URL and another couple of weather sites to know about.

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