mikkie's musings

Nobel Peace Prize? You’re kidding me…

mikkie — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:10:20 +0000

// First it was Al Gore with his books and documentary and now it’s Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize after being nominated when he was in office less than two weeks (nominations closed in February). And Obama hadn’t even done anything yet – he won because he INTENDED to work for world peace. That’s it [...]

My cats keep me sane

mikkie — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:26:59 +0000

// I have two cats, and they are endlessly entertaining. Since I live alone, they provide me with companionship, conversation and entertainment on a regular basis. I have two cats, because the one cat I originally had was getting bored and looking kind of depressed, so I got the other one as a playmate for [...]

Change is in the air

mikkie — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:27:47 +0000

Obama campaigned on a platform of hope and change – well, he’s definitely following through on the “change” part, anyway. He’s changing the foundations of this country in a headlong rush that can’t possibly be good – such a huge undertaking should be given serious thought and planning, since it will affect so many people [...]

Racist remark? Give me a break!

mikkie — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:12:50 +0000

Jimmy Carter’s determination that Congressman Joe Wilson’s outburst of “You lie!” last week has racial undertones is so far-fetched and manufactured as to be laughable. Since when is the objection to someone’s untrue remark a comment on their race? I’ll tell you when – it’s when the administration is losing the argument over healthcare and [...]

Nagging health issue…

mikkie — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:45:23 +0000

For the past six weeks or so, I’ve had the most annoying cough. I think I got it from my co-worker (at least he’s a convenient scapegoat, although it’s probably true). It started out as a relentless cough that wouldn’t allow me to get any rest, since it kept me awake at night with fits [...]

Finally making progress

mikkie — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:47:05 +0000

For the first time in about eight years, I feel like I’ve turned a corner in a good way. I’m performing well in a job situated in a relatively good market niche (no talk of layoffs or market loss at our company so far). My job pays a reasonable wage, gives regular raises and has [...]

Be honest and don't self-censor

mikkie — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:17:53 +0000

That’s the advice a good friend gave me over 10 years ago, when we reconnected after about 25 years and started recounting the events that had happened in our lives during the intervening years. I’ve often thought about his words, and realized that they’re a fairly good mantra for living one’s life. Being honest is important [...]

What happens after we die?

mikkie — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:17:38 +0000

The ultimate question that has no concrete evidence to serve as proof of its answer – what happens after we leave this physical existence we call life? I don’t know the answer any more than anyone else, but I do have an image of what it might be like — and the loss of three [...]

Religion vs. spirituality

mikkie — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:55:09 +0000

First of all, a disclaimer – although I was raised as a Southern Baptist, my thoughts and beliefs are not based on any particular religious dogma. I am, in fact, leery of all organized religion because I see it as a man-made construct that is all too often used to wield power over the masses [...]

Where is my America?

mikkie — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:04:47 +0000

When I watch the news these days, I don’t even recognize my country. Daily, new policies and new edicts from the White House appear to be systematically dismantling the country I grew up in. I feel disenfranchised, pushed out of my American home and lifestyle. Frankly, I feel betrayed by our leadership and appalled that [...]

Busted

mikkie — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:57:14 +0000

I just took an online quiz, and apparently they’ve been looking over my shoulder, because here’s the result: You Are a Life Blogger! Your blog is the story of your life – a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And you make it as entertaining as possible. You may be guilty of over-sharing a bit on your [...]

Limited mobility

mikkie — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:48:44 +0000

One of the biggest issues in my life these days (aside from being overweight) is my restricted mobility due to bad feet and ankles, and an aching back. Those structural impairments have caused a definite restriction on the activities I can pursue, and at 54 I don’t like being limited by what (in my mind) [...]

Listening to my elders

mikkie — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:28:30 +0000

My aunts (my mother’s sisters) are an odd pair — one of them claims never to talk to the other one, and in the next sentence she’ll refer to a conversation they had recently. The same one says her sister never comes to visit, and then relates something her sister said the last time she [...]

Metaphysical moment

mikkie — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:26:00 +0000

I was raised in the Southern Baptist church from about the age of five until my early teenage years. My parents didn’t attend church, ostensibly because my mother was raised Baptist and my father was raised Methodist (his father was a preacher), and each refused to attend the other’s church. Who would have thought this [...]

Chicken Little lives to see another day

mikkie — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:38:06 +0000

Well, it appears that the latest hyper-reaction to current events is quieting down somewhat, and it looks like we just might survive another onslaught of deadly disease that was supposed to wipe out a significant percentage of the population. I think the press and television media are as responsible for the swine flu panic as anyone [...]

Murder-suicide in the news

mikkie — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:04:23 +0000

I think people have just lost their damn minds. A quick search of “murder-suicide” on MSNBC turned up an overabundance of stories on the subject – at least six of which within the last month have included the murder of children. People are killing their entire families (and in one case, even the family pets!) at [...]

Financial frustration

mikkie — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:08:48 +0000

Like thousands (if not millions) of other Americans, I struggle to make ends meet. I have a job that I enjoy and that pays me a decent salary and I’m able to pay my bills on time each month, but that status will only continue if nothing happens that requires a large outlay of cash [...]

Synergy

mikkie — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:45:06 +0000

According to Wikipedia, synergy is “the term used to describe a situation where different entities cooperate advantageously for a final outcome. Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The essence of synergy is to value differences.” Yesterday I observed two very different instances of synergy – one involving [...]

Global warming postscript

mikkie — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:01:05 +0000

This is a follow-up to a post about global warming that I wrote awhile back… I just saw a segment on the CBS News Sunday Morning show that caught my eye. It referenced a scientist at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), who conducted a study and discovered that about 13,000 years ago, the [...]

Governmental whiplash

mikkie — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:48:39 +0000

In January, President Obama warned that we were facing “a crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime” and that recession “could linger for years and the unemployment rate reach double digits” if nothing is done. He predicted trillion-plus budget deficits “for years to come.” We were all scared. We panicked and battened down the [...]