I wrote a poem for my sweetie. I’m placing behind a cut due to it’s sappy content. You have been warned. Tears You shed some tears last night, you were afraid, That something would be wrong, or I’d be mad. But everything was right, I’d never trade, Our love is not just strong, it’s ironclad. I thought about our past, our wedding day, You were so scared, you shed some tears then too, But we have held on fast, words can’t convey, The time we’ve shared; our wish has since come true. ...

Last night was a milestone, or at least a turning point, in our relationship. We had sex, for the first time in something like 5 years. The sex was nothing fancy, but I’m immensely proud of M for getting up the nerve to do it.

Congress must establish an independent Katrina Commission, modeled after the 9/11 Commission, to unflinchingly assess the failures and successes of government responses to the disaster and make us safe. If you agree with this, go here to sign this petition. Personally, I don’t feel that the United States is safer since we sent troops to Iraq. It doesn’t make me feel safe knowing that a large number of National Guard, including Reserves, are in the Middle East. ...

I wrote this as a comment to another friend but I wanted to save it here… If I ever write a book on “managing your manager” it will probably include: - Have good communication with your manager. Don’t be afraid to assign tasks to your manager if something is outside your control but affects how you do your job. More communication helps, if you are good at your job and comfortable talking about it – it only hurts if you are bad at your job and you’re trying to cover it up. ...

I wrote the following in a comment to a friend’s journal, but I wanted to save it here too… I had a conversation with someone recently where we talked about empathy, and how to develop and strengthen it. Something that has always helped me: I take my own “emotional temperature” very often, at least once a day, and in times of stress, sometimes a dozen times a day.

Exercise log for September Thu 9/1: (vacation) Fri 9/2: (vacation) Sat 9/3: (vacation) Sun 9/4: (vacation) Mon 9/5: (problems with toe) Tue 9/6: (problems with toe) Wed 9/7: (problems with toe) Thu 9/8: (problems with toe) Fri 9/9: (problems with toe) Sat 9/10: (slacking) Sun 9/11: (slacking) Mon 9/12: (slacking) Tue 9/13: stairs, 27 levels, 19 min weight: 256.5 Wed 9/14: stairs, 28 levels, 21 min Thu 9/15: stairs, 29 levels, 22 min Fri 9/16: stairs, 31 levels, 23 min weight: 255 Sat 9/17: none Sun 9/18: none Mon 9/19: stairs, 33 levels, 25 min weight: 256 Tue 9/20: bike, 30 min Wed 9/21: stairs, 34 levels, 28 min weight: 253 Thu 9/22: stairs, 35 levels Fri 9/23: stairs, 36 levels, 25:25, 42.35 sec each. weight: 254.5 (note: work clothes +7, gym clothes +3.5) Sat 9/24: none Sun 9/25: none Mon 9/26: exercise bike, 30 min, 7.5 miles. weight 253.6 (home scale, w/clothes) Tue 9/27: exercise bike, 30 min, 7.5 miles. weight 256 (home scale, no clothes, after dinner) Wed 9/28: exercise bike, 30 min, 7.5 miles Thu 9/29: exercise bike, 30 min, 7.5 miles. weight 253.0 (net, home scale, a.m.) Fri 9/30: exercise bike, 30 min, 7.5 miles. And cleaned house. weight 254.4 (net, home, a.m.)

Note: the following is a work of fiction based on Cthulhu universe writings by bradhicks John Doe aka “Henry J. Ford” versus the Estate of Henry J. Ford, or as it’s commonly known, “Ford” v Ford. When the reanimated corpse of Henry Ford showed up to contest the reading of the will, the estate counter-sued, asking the probate court to rule that Ford’s death certificate was final. “Ford” argued that the law permits withdrawing death certificates in the event that the subject turned out not to be dead after all, such as when the attending physician mistakenly declares the subject legally dead and then they wake up. The probate court demurred, saying it didn’t have authority to define death, so the case got kicked all the way up to the US Supreme Court. ...

Let the record reflect that I have emptied the hot water heater and refilled it. I had not done this since moving in, and I don’t know if the previous owners ever did this, or for that matter how old the water heater is (though it looks to be not much more than 5 years old). I had heard somewhere that you’re supposed to flush out the water heater every year, so it was overdue. ...

Exercise log for August Mon 8/1: Morning workout Tue 8/2: Wed 8/3: Thu 8/4: Fri 8/5: Sat 8/6: Sun 8/7: Mon 8/8: Tue 8/9: Wed 8/10: Thu 8/11: Fri 8/12: Sat 8/13: Sun 8/14: Mon 8/15: Tue 8/16: Wed 8/17: Thu 8/18: Fri 8/19: Sat 8/20: Sun 8/21: Mon 8/22: Tue 8/23: Wed 8/24: Thu 8/25: Fri 8/26: Sat 8/27: Sun 8/28: Mon 8/29: Tue 8/30: Wed 8/31:

I think there a lot of people in the US who don’t have (or don’t use) basic critical thinking skills. This makes them very susceptible to being led around by their emotions and pseudo-reasoning than by their beliefs, principles and ideals. I think that this is reflected in the media and in politics. How did politics come to be so divisive? If it’s possible to get any kind of information at any time, why is it that so many people choose to filter their media consumption so that they only get exposed to opinions they agree with? ...