Stormbringer's Thunder

Buon giorno. How's it going, Cupcake? Actually, I have to pass on the cupcakes. And the Milky Way bars. And the brownies... You see, yours truly has Type 2 Diabetes. Don't run away, you're not going to catch it, especially through a computer screen. They call it a "disease", but it's nothing I caught or can give away. "Condition" is a much better expression. Here's something ironic: the place I work had a bake sale, proceeds to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Guess what? They weren't selling anything that a diabetic can have! I'm interested in a couple of things. One is to sort of sound a warning so that other people don't develop this condition. The other is to offer some advice. (And I'm more than willing to receive advice as well!) Everything in moderation. "Gosh, Bob, how did you lose twenty pounds in just a few months?" Intelligent question! First off, losing the tonnage is an important part of mana...

Frankly, too many people have horse apples for brains. Why do you think that is? To misuse a verse in the book of Proverbs, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". What are you putting into your head? Crap? Well, plants need fertilizer to grow with, but your mind is not a plant. My father was fond of saying that your mind is a garden. Plant thought seeds, water them and see what grows. If you plant good seeds, you get good results. The opposite is true as well. I tend to think that the mind is more like a computer. Any programmer knows that a computer is only as good as its input, which is GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Also, you need to have good programming in the first place, or even the best input will give bad results. Too many software vendors do not test their products thoroughly and rush it to market, and then have to issue patches and revisions. A simple way to show this is when you use a search engine. If you want to know the annual rainfall of Monterosso al Ma...

Addendum 11-06-2008: I usually put these addendums at the end, but this one is perfect for what I'm saying. Rush Limbaugh gave away a car to a caller on his show. He did it on a whim. Now, get this. When the people showed up at the lot, they were allowed to have the car before Limbaugh's money had reached them! They knew his word and his reputation! Buona Sera. I'm fine, thanks. Hope you're well. This thing has been burning in me and I can't wait to get it written and posted. What is a reputation? It's how people think of you, especially groups. Companies and things in general have a good reputation. Have you ever filled out a registration card for a product you purchased and seen a box under "what influenced your decision" that says, "Acme Corp. reputation"? The company is confident that the word on the street about them is good enough to make you buy something of theirs. Reputations often come about because of personal exper...

Buon Giorno , Class. Yours truly is a bit bothered about something. I don't like the way people beat themselves up. (Now, some people do need a beating, but I know people that will take care of that.) I'm talking about "put-downs", "badmouthing", "talking smack" (do people really say that one?). I'm not saying that everyone is a freaking bit of sliced sunshine in the midst of darkness, but there's no reason to tear down what you do have. One popular expression that I hear is, "Stupid me!" Dreadful. I'm all for admitting when you screwed up; I admit it before other people can point it out to me whenever possible. How about saying, "I messed up", or even, "Oops" instead? There's a difference between the event and the person. "I am stupid" is much different than "I did something stupid". For one thing, you're making an excuse. You're saying, in a way, "Don't expect much...

Buon giorno . I'm still worked up about the illegal immigration issue ( Part 1 is here ). E-mails like the ones my brother sent me get me going again. So, this session is a cheat. Not my own work, but it reflects my sentiments and also pulls together things I've read and heard in other places. But I did put some work into the links. Groovy, huh? Even groovier is that an upcoming Weblog will tie into the cheapness of labor issue. Do me a favor, though, willya? I just added some links to document some of the claims (I won't do all your work for you, though. Some of it's simply common sense, and things you can see with your own eyes). When you check out some of the links, open them in a new browser window or tab. That way, it's easier to find your way back here and finish the article. And maybe read its companion piece. OK, as my buddy Duke Nukem says, "Let's rock!" CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about? Let's be hones...

Buona sera. How are things going? Good, I hope. Enough of this happy banter. I'm irritated, and I want to tell the world. Today's topic is something that everyone seems to be writing and talking about, and I want to go on record as well. It's a very American subject, but I wonder how many other countries feel the way I do. Said topic is illegal immigration. Yeah, I know, so what. I'll tell you "so what". I'm really fed up with a number of issues here. One is the attitude of some bleeding-heart Americans that say, "The poor dears are fleeing an oppressive regime, we should give them sanctuary." That's a planter full of turd blossoms! Any idea how many people want to get into the USA in the first place? They have their reasons, too. What, we should just let anyone wander in that doesn't like his homeland? Get real. "Gosh, Bob, why should you care, anyway?" I'll tell you why. First, the borders are wide open and any t...

Edited 10-18-2009 Buona Sera. Time to jump right in. The spacing in this article is annoying and I can't get it to do what I want, so we'll all have to deal with it. Yours truly has to deal with depression. No, everybody gets the blues. I mean, as a diagnosed condition. (I went off the medication because I got fed up with it.) It's a struggle, and some days tend to be worse than others (obviously). Anyway, on those days, I have to go about my business on "autopilot". That's my term for doing things automatically, out of routine, just so I can function. Have you ever seen that poster with a group of animals lounging around and the caption, "We gotta get organized"? That was my high school class motto. But it became more profound for me as time went on. Getting organized is not only a powerful stress buster, but an aid to relieving depression. And I'll take all of those that I can get. One thing I have to say right now: This is f...