tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-138710172024-02-28T05:40:16.251-06:00A Golden PathMike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-61496806032599410102016-07-20T16:08:00.000-05:002016-07-20T16:08:07.546-05:00Been a while sinceBeen a while since I've been here:
The house is gone,
The family is away but not gone
But sometimes they too threaten to spiral away too,
The job is slipping away.
We decided to leave the house,
Gave it a new owner
and seek green lands.
No longer my home.
I see my children and wife almost every day,
Sometimes wrought in stress, fear and frustration,
Seeking connection against the time and Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-39790262327526523672012-11-29T08:27:00.003-06:002012-11-29T08:27:27.026-06:00Enemy of The State of Chaos
Editorial Note:
I original started this post in early 2011. After years of philosophical gnashing of teeth, I decided to "put to paper" what I see in America what I didn't see as working, destructive in the long term. After completing the initial draft of this posts, I decided that each of the 30 problems that America and the world faces deserved more than a paragraph or two Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-64260761419944247622012-02-08T09:20:00.000-06:002012-02-08T09:20:04.394-06:00Less Yahoo! in my Yahoo (a meandering discourse)
I've
been a Yahoo user for more than 10 years now, probably much closer to
20 years now that I think about it. I hadn't been thinking about it so
much in the last few years until the service went down yesterday for
several hours.
Years ago, I ran several Yahoo Groups
and used Yahoo chat and irc channels a great deal. Of late, most of the
groups have gone dormant, a Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-9936002586780700602011-10-17T23:36:00.003-05:002011-10-17T23:36:45.459-05:00So, first, an apology.
An Apology for ... my spelling and word choice mistakes. Today, I took the time to read my last several posts (I'm tempted to say call them 'rants' but I view rants as basically valueless outbursts and something to be avoided in type.) Seems the spell checker with my browser missed "a few errors" but more likely found are the problems with "wrong word" selection. In the rush to get Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-4505698410759827852010-10-12T07:05:00.002-05:002010-10-12T07:19:47.948-05:00"Say something cheerful..."I started this blog along time ago. I originally thought "maybe I can make a difference" with the written word and started writing (infrequently) about things that apparently are difficult for people to see and do "The Right Thing."Yeah, I know. Not enough time in the day to nail 'em all and certainly not an uplifting line of writing. And of course, I am occasionally just wrong. Hell, Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-20964147792854927262010-10-12T05:23:00.006-05:002010-10-12T07:05:05.089-05:00Letting GoI recently was confronted with a recurring paradox. While I tried to ignore this paradox for years now, I finally "popped" and "took out" a friend.At issue is the increasing "radicalization" of the religious believers. A friend (granted not a close friend) was off on a subtile but public "I hate Muslims and you should to" while pretending that Christianity and his faith required him to sow his Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-66600019723760826772010-09-02T14:45:00.001-05:002010-09-02T14:47:18.816-05:00Complaints about TomorrowHow realistic can you be if you expect tomorrow will be perfect without first cleaning up the horrible mess from yesterday? Those people who refuse to associate the situations of yesterday and today with the rose-colored views of tomorrow as direct "cause and effect relationships" are doomed to repeat all the mistakes of all the yesterdays.Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-30241862779073039362010-06-23T02:30:00.002-05:002010-06-23T02:35:47.007-05:00Before You Press Send, THINK!Before you press that SEND or FORWARD button, stop and think about what you are REALLY saying in your message.I've been seeing rather nasty, narrow minded, and hate-inspiring messages via social networks lately, masquerading mostly as America Patriotism.America, Americans and especially The America Flag have much better uses than to be draped over hateful, xenophobic messages. We (People of the Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-62877795281150018682010-05-31T03:59:00.003-05:002010-05-31T06:57:16.044-05:00Word of the Day: EmpathyEmpathyMain Entry: em·pa·thyPronunciation: \ˈem-pə-thē\Function: nounEtymology: Greek empatheia, literally, passion, from empathēs emotional, from em-pathos feelings, emotion — more at pathos +Date: 18501 : the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it2 : the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-64201502479123622672010-05-22T15:35:00.000-05:002010-05-22T15:28:52.361-05:00American Neo-Conservatives want your children ... as slaves.Family ResponsibilitiesLast year about this time I got married to a lovely woman. Earlier this year I became a father to a lovely little girl. Part of both of these experiences is the continuing knowledge that I have to take more responsibility for my actions (and in-actions) to safeguard my new family and our future.A Texan And An AmericanI consider myself a Texan. Always have. I've been Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-62305815078988346652010-05-22T14:35:00.000-05:002010-05-22T15:27:46.334-05:00US Government Fails Foreign Voter(s) (Again)Note: This post as originally started in 2008. I decided to finish and post it today.Ok, so you might be thinking "Hmm... what is Mike blowing out of proportion now?" Well, nothing.As a dutiful United States of America citizen, I wanted to vote. I wanted to vote:vote against tyranny disguised as democracy at home and abroadvote against encouraged rampant consumerism disguised as economic Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-69828151494242436772010-05-22T13:00:00.002-05:002010-05-22T16:05:18.004-05:00Winds of ChangeNote: I originally started this entry last year but decided to finish it today.In less than a week, I will get married, for the first time. At 40-something, I wasn't sure that this would or could even happen. Change is good, if somethings a little scary. Change...in our little world where (at least in the US), "people who know more than I what's good for me" (also know as "The Government") canMike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-2827984174017808842009-11-20T12:05:00.003-06:002009-11-20T12:16:20.331-06:00So, I got married. Now what?Well, as things go, my new bride (of 6 months) and I are expecting a baby in 3 more months. Go figure.This is my wife's first child and she is occasionally a bit nervous. I do what I can to bring some calm and stability (I stopped drinking caffeinated soft drinks to be able do this.) We have two sets of doctors and related specialist, poring over lab reports and ultra-sound photos and videos, Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-47023004223185015342009-06-08T05:18:00.005-05:002009-07-26T04:48:17.005-05:00MarriedSunday May 31st, 2009 I got married to Liliana in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria. Since it was a "once in a life time experience" we choose to do all of the traditional Bulgarian traditions at the bride's door, at the wedding hall and at the reception hall.PreambleLili and I brought my mom and dad from Texas to Bulgaria over several days before hand. My best friend Wayne and his wife came also from Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-90758299716210464132008-09-20T11:41:00.007-05:002008-09-28T07:16:54.178-05:00Open Letter to Americans: US Fiscal CrisisI bought a house I could afford. I borrowed less than I was offered. I paid my mortgage. I never missed a payment. I paid extra in the first year and every year after wards (even in years when I was unemployed.) I have watched my property taxes inflate to match the market value of my home for community services I couldn't use. I paid my taxes on time. I paid my house insurance on time. IMike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-47963182848687723162008-09-11T01:42:00.006-05:002009-07-26T04:36:30.986-05:00(Followup) A little side work for a "Mom and Pop" store in TexasI've been working on a banner logo for a local Texas "Mom and Pop" store. Learned some new skills, like animated images and better web styling techniques (things I new but never really put into practice.) I also had to keep in mind that the target demographic for this shop are slow modem connected internet users so the site had to load quickly. Check out the results below. Better yet, stop byMike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-50197567374817025612008-06-13T03:43:00.009-05:002008-06-16T02:33:54.987-05:00"Hungry Bears Don't Dance."I just realized my last blog entry has A) been up for a while and B) a bit of rant against litter in my email-box. So, to cover up "having an opinion" ( and wanting to be more in touch with cause-and-effects ), here's something else.Hungry bears don't dance.Funny, true and topical, at least for me. I've been told that (in the past) some Gypsies used to have traveling side shows though the Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-35067148862482759052008-03-19T10:34:00.001-05:002008-03-19T10:34:52.186-05:00Re: Fwd: MONTEBELLO HIGH SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA - Unbelievable!In reference to a forwarded email, as described here:http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/m/montebello-flag.htmDear Loved Ones,Good morning (actually it's afternoon by the time I finished this email.) I trust you are well and I hope you will accept this email in the vain it was intended: to inform.The photos in your forwarded are 2 years old, as is the issue. If you remember, the "Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-28649312877485284042007-12-10T08:58:00.002-06:002008-03-18T02:45:15.070-05:00A View Made More Clear; A Love Made More Strong:Of Patriotism:The proper means of increasing the love we bear our native country is to reside some time in a foreign one. ~William ShenstoneBorrowed from: http://www.quotegarden.com/patriotism.htmlMike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-60392865436315858542007-12-04T03:30:00.000-06:002007-12-04T04:38:35.624-06:00A Golden Path (Part 3)Note: this blog entry was started in mid October and recently re-edited for posted.Part One - The StimulusI've been in Bulgaria for more than two months now and I take nothing for granted. The language is not only spoken differently, but so are the letters of the alphabet. I haven't learned to read them yet, though I can recognize a few words and say a few, mostly useless things in Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-53737922913825304832007-10-30T05:38:00.000-05:002007-10-30T04:51:43.931-05:00A Golden Path (part 2)A Golden Path is a Dune reference. Leto II sees "A Golden Path" to humanity's ultimate salvation. My goal is considerably less grand in scale: to become fully awake in life.This might seem very odd. At times, I seem "odd", even to myself. For a number of years (my early teens through early thirties,) I didn't feel really awake. These times were usually uninteresting.More interesting are Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-43211724887415166492007-10-17T02:29:00.000-05:002007-10-17T03:09:19.142-05:00Blogger - Google: "We have a problem."What?! In reading my previous entries, I have been baffled by a "missing word" issue. I finally saw it yesterday in action after hours of circular work.To IS NOT or to WAS NOT, that is the question:First: a sentence like -That is not the right thing to do or say.Next, we edit by double clicking on "is" in the sentence, press delete and then type "was".What we want is:That was not the right Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-66456500371525395182007-10-16T09:21:00.000-05:002007-10-16T10:38:54.555-05:00A Golden Path (Part 1)I remember.More than 12 ago outside of Bryan Texas, Tom and I came to a small "hole in the wall" diner for lunch just off highway 6. In the thin gray skies of an occasionally overcast fall day, we had passed by our lunch time destination the first time without noticing it due to car ride conversation.The parking lot was east Texas gravel, like dirty limestone. It was rough to drive on and Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-8498501070387270012007-10-16T05:33:00.000-05:002007-10-16T05:52:57.529-05:00Growing Up or Just More Of The SameDune Genesis by Frank Herbert - http://www.dunenovels.com/news/genesis.htmlI found this article written by author Frank Herbert in 1980. In this article, he discusses his writing of Dune series and themes of human promise and human failings. That these themes are as-ever-important in the first decade of the 2000s as in 1980 (1959, 1937, 1914, ...) causes me to wonder if humanity is really Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13871017.post-33958927162352760592007-10-11T08:51:00.000-05:002007-10-11T09:00:43.018-05:00New Experiences and Old Experiences ReturnedThis week I had some new experiencesgot a spinal nerve block (2 I think- one per leg?)was a paraplegic (see #1, duration: 6 hours)toe surgery without noticeable pain or eventsheart rate at 46 to 50 beats during procedure (after all the shots were taken care of) - I got bored and found a reflective surface I could see some of the proceduretoe bone re-broken, repositioned and two screws placed to Mike B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00571637642438628173noreply@blogger.com1