tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:48:01 +0000BLOGGA-LOOBA! is essays and observations by "Babalooba" about large and small topics that may interest, inspire, amuse or outrage you. Come in and browse around!http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/Billherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)Blogger14312533.811354-84.283353tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-7166104216107491373Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:39:00 +00002009-09-26T23:38:57.420-04:00Personal-loobaIn the midst of Atlanta's historic rains of the past week, our downstairs guest bedroom "took some water", as the saying goes. It was in many ways a blessing.We've had some gutter problems since moving in five years ago. Several areas have some leaks at the joints, and the shingles don't overlap in a few spots, causing rain to drain across wood, risking rot. After the first round of torrentialhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/MVDFWzbJzEQ/flood.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/MVDFWzbJzEQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/09/flood.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-3295646124808181657Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:50:00 +00002009-08-25T01:13:07.489-04:00Cultural-loobaFamily-loobaNow that school has begun we are quickly settling into a typical weekday routine. By this stage of the game (Lincoln in 9th grade and Casey in 5th) the engine generally runs pretty smoothly, and today seemed no different until Casey yelled "I hate all this killing!" and stopped making her peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich to turn off the kitchen radio. I irritatingly told her to calm down and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/jbZAPYU5XCY/when-horrific-no-longer-horrifies.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/jbZAPYU5XCY" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/08/when-horrific-no-longer-horrifies.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-6741757541708541799Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:46:00 +00002009-08-18T15:07:22.955-04:00Athletic-loobaIs there no such concept in America as rehabilitation?The Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick as a back-up quarterback, and I'm glad for them both. Vick, an amazing talent, squandered fame, fortune and the potential imminent NFC dominance of my home-team Falcons when his egregious involvement with dog fighting was revealed. As a result he lost his freedom, many millions of dollars and his http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/Gr5da5KB0u0/leave-michael-vick-alone.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/Gr5da5KB0u0" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/08/leave-michael-vick-alone.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-1378204762463542591Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:25:00 +00002009-08-12T02:47:22.912-04:00Family-loobaYesterday the kids started back to school. Will I ever get used to the school year starting in early August? Heck, yes! I'm very glad to return to a more predicable routine after three months of balancing my work obligations with the summer schedule. Casey was off to school early to be in the "safety patrol" where she gets the honor of wearing a sash-and-belt and opening car doors in the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/6Ze_zIAv-kE/blink.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/6Ze_zIAv-kE" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/08/blink.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-1597538954082000195Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:49:00 +00002009-08-01T13:30:47.712-04:00Genea-looba(Note: This is a l-l-l-on-n-n-g-g-g post under a new category pertaining to my family genealogy.)I have recently come upon a trove of photographs and documents that relate to various limbs of my family tree. I am becoming increasingly fascinated by learning about my lineage in the process of going through these papers. I am finding many letters from the late 1800's and early 1900's, and I am http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/SZikL5cI7L8/charles-paul-littlepage.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/SZikL5cI7L8" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/08/charles-paul-littlepage.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-6850225823772590891Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:35:00 +00002009-07-03T23:07:21.363-04:00Atlanta-loobaFor several months now I have been getting wonderful massages at a mall! At least it's behind a curtain, unlike the threading or teeth whitening kiosks, both of which just seem too personal to be out in the open like that.Here's the scoop: Gong Fu Hands at Northlake Mall in Atlanta is run by a Chinese couple. The woman is extremely proficient but the man is a master of the art. I've had http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/u_r5ZGtrOt4/gong-fu-hands-atlantas-northlake-mall.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/u_r5ZGtrOt4" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/07/gong-fu-hands-atlantas-northlake-mall.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-4624148446977524076Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:42:00 +00002009-06-06T23:35:26.441-04:00Enviro-loobaSince I try to be a "green" consumer I began using Palmolive "Eco" dishwasher detergent some months back -- I found it to be cheaper and more easily available than Seventh Generation. Unfortunately this turns out to be like saying water is cheaper and more available than gasoline when filling your tank -- while certainly true, this choice will destroy your engine in the process. And that's http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/leFfuCEjqx0/palmolive-eco-dishwasher-detergent.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/leFfuCEjqx0" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/06/palmolive-eco-dishwasher-detergent.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-8427437342567258474Thu, 28 May 2009 01:25:00 +00002009-05-28T00:22:45.410-04:00Lingua-loobaMy recent post about rituals in my personal and family life started me thinking of the collection of words games I enjoy with my kids, primarily Casey these days. Here they are:(1) Sausage -- In this game one person asks the other a variety of questions and only one answer is allowable: "Sausage!" The goal is to get the person saying "sausage" to laugh within 60 seconds. I'm pretty good at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/PXimTG1N6GU/word-games.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/PXimTG1N6GU" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/05/word-games.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-4422478189055666718Thu, 14 May 2009 15:05:00 +00002009-05-26T09:36:17.917-04:00Neurotic-loobaI was recently reflecting on the number of little rituals sprinkled throughout my life. Somewhere between superstitions and obsessive-compulsive traits, these behaviors are recurrent responses to particular situations.Rabbit, Rabbit -- At the first day of each month, the first person to say "rabbit, rabbit" wins. A quick web search reveals that this statement (along with numerous variations) ishttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/LbVoCBqaugI/rituals.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/LbVoCBqaugI" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/05/rituals.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-50020646298343798Wed, 06 May 2009 13:37:00 +00002009-05-06T11:03:08.354-04:00Neurotic-loobaAnimal-loobaPhilosophi-loobaI had a window open at my office yesterday to take advantage of the nice weather. Soon I noticed a fly at the window screen, trying to find a way out. I knew that in a few minutes I was going to close the window, trapping it between the glass and screen, which would surely mean its death.I'm not an absolutist in my respect for sentient beings. I do, after all, pay for quarterly pest control http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/mNxJSVkwH9Y/fly.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/mNxJSVkwH9Y" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/05/fly.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-3862060784787073178Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:14:00 +00002009-04-27T16:25:09.473-04:00Personal-loobaI just bought a dozen reading glasses from my local dollar store. Again.My need for reading glasses has emerged slowly but with increasing necessity over the last five years or so. I need the 2.50 magnification level to have any chance of reading a damn thing. For example, as an experiment I just removed my glasses and picked a random line from the new-age periodical "Aquarius" that just http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/I4qz7DZ3ZwI/glasses.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/I4qz7DZ3ZwI" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/04/glasses.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-2114106974255114698Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:10:00 +00002009-04-25T01:13:04.682-04:00Family-loobaSpiritual-loobaBabalooba's BestPhilosophi-loobaSince I titled my last post "Hat", I think I'll call this one "Shoe" since it touches the ground, which is the root word for "humility".Last week my daughter Casey had her 10th birthday celebration, delightedly hosting 10 similarly squealing girls at a local park pavilion which I had rented for the day. What turned out to be a valuable life lesson for me began when we arrived to set up the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/Xqq4b0avK2w/shoe.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/Xqq4b0avK2w" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/04/shoe.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-6044168227455484830Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:19:00 +00002009-04-24T23:18:19.352-04:00Personal-loobaPhilosophi-loobaLast week my business website vanished without a trace, taking my primary email account with it. The culmination of countless hours I've spent polishing my online presence to most brightly reflect my professional self was in one instant taken away without recourse or explanation, along with the email address that every current and potential client uses to reach me.I had to actively combat my http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/Sqgjw43seWE/hat.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/Sqgjw43seWE" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/04/hat.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-991808210885107081Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:33:00 +00002009-04-05T12:03:00.439-04:00Food-a-loobaSince I'm typing between delectable bites of my favorite sandwich, I thought I'd knock out a quick post extolling the virtue ofPeanut Butter, Pickle and Potato Chip SandwichesI don't remember exactly when I discovered this delightful combination of flavors and textures, but it goes back a long way. A quick search just now reveals that I'm not the only one who has stumbled on this seductive http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/4HX9CT3O1a8/peanut-butter-pickle-and-potato-chip.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/4HX9CT3O1a8" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/04/peanut-butter-pickle-and-potato-chip.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-5171645203582014020Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:43:00 +00002009-04-24T23:14:33.453-04:00Lingua-loobaLooba-visionAlmost two years ago I noted in a blog post that Anderson Cooper, the host of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360", says the phrase "I mean" ALL THE TIME!I remember a drinking game from the 1970's (back when I thought I could drink without ruining my life) called "Hi Bob" which involved watching the Bob Newhart Show. Every time a character said "Hi Bob" you got to take a drink. Today, if a person took ahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/uHRhXuOxkBQ/anderson-cooper-says-i-mean-way-too.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/uHRhXuOxkBQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/03/anderson-cooper-says-i-mean-way-too.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-2682155418119334051Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:29:00 +00002009-04-24T23:13:22.766-04:00Looba-visionThis is a minor complaint but it has bothered me out too long to keep silent. Here in Atlanta the CNN HLN channel periodically switches to a brief "WSB Channel 2 Action News Update" that broadcasts brief local news stories and weather. Fine and good. But this segment is obviously recorded in the morning and airs for the rest of the day.This means that sometimes at night I will see this "updatehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/JS9scwmCD84/wsb-action-news-update-out-of-date.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/JS9scwmCD84" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/03/wsb-action-news-update-out-of-date.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-439040134018457442Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:10:00 +00002009-04-24T23:04:52.721-04:00Family-loobaLast night I helped Casey, almost 10, construct a "leprechaun trap" for St. Patrick's Day. She designed a clever little box (covered in cotton balls to disguise it) on a string and we carefully set it up so that the string was held tautly in place by the weight of a small pile of coins and other shiny things so that the box would fall on the little creature and capture it when it tried to take http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/IW4xZHjJ7hg/leprechaun-trap.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/IW4xZHjJ7hg" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/03/leprechaun-trap.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-1560964892891301580Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:12:00 +00002009-04-06T23:19:56.832-04:00Musical-loobaAn amazing thing happened this weekend at drum circle. 6 weeks ago I lost my precious shakestick, a piece of round wood about two feet across, with colored disks that I eventually held in place with strategically placed duct tape (one of the wonders of the universe) to allow for a crisp yet sensual "shaka-shaka-shaka" pattern that compliments a mighty fine range of rhythms. It was gradually http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/ssaAaixm0Ho/shakestick.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/ssaAaixm0Ho" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/02/shakestick.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-5221228694049506823Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:36:00 +00002009-04-24T23:05:03.378-04:00Family-loobaJust before bedtime last night Casey lost a tooth. As is her established ritual she placed it in the pocket of her special "tooth fairy pillow" and went to sleep. In the morning she found this letter along with a five dollar bill: Dear Casey:I’m so happy to get another one of your special teeth. I can tell it’s eaten a lot of yummy food and now its job is done. Do you know it’s been almost http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/H5t5hyJQBLk/tooth-fairy.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/H5t5hyJQBLk" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/01/tooth-fairy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-5238289388106423909Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:19:00 +00002009-04-24T23:01:54.800-04:00Cultural-loobaSpiritual-loobaToday you can call me Dr. Buzzkill.I saw a photo in a recent Newsweek of a precious little girl of 4 being buried in Gaza after after her body was ripped apart in the recent and growing conflict there (I can't find the photo online but a quick image search on Google displayed hundreds of similar pictures as readily as a friend once showed me his matchbook collection).All war is an excuse to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/B0apBR5Lzxs/excuse-to-kill-children.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/B0apBR5Lzxs" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/01/excuse-to-kill-children.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-8938363001105487634Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:50:00 +00002009-04-24T23:32:13.168-04:00Personal-loobaTwo years after scraping Gina's car down the left side I figured it was time to make amends and have it repaired. So I decided to tool around Saturday to find an auto body shop for a price quote.I pulled into a run-down-looking automotive garage on Lawrenceville Highway to see if they could recommend anyone to do the work. Everyone poured out of the building, rubbing the car and chatting with http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/k4fuqhzCb0s/finding-howard.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/k4fuqhzCb0s" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/01/finding-howard.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-8290355705630000388Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:40:00 +00002009-04-24T23:25:58.716-04:00Philosophi-loobaThe universe is made of stories, not atoms. --Muriel Rukeyser--------------------Umpire #1: "I call them as I see them."Umpire #2: "I see them as I call them."Umpire #3: "You're both wrong. They don't exist until I call them."--------------------'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone,' it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.''The question ishttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/_ZaeZKWE0tE/whats-your-story-morning-glory.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/_ZaeZKWE0tE" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2009/01/whats-your-story-morning-glory.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-3676387443983792042Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:39:00 +00002009-04-24T22:55:13.354-04:00Medical-loobaIf I don't go ahead and write about this topic now I may never do so, and I don't want it to sneak under the autobiographical radar. As part of my 50th birthday present to myself I actually followed a doctor's advice for once and scheduled myself for a colonoscopy to insure I wasn't developing any early markers for colon cancer. The event itself was a breeze, at least for me since I was knockedhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/LC4NepcTNS8/bottoms-up.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/LC4NepcTNS8" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2008/12/bottoms-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-4979557741801878436Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:09:00 +00002009-04-24T23:31:54.388-04:00Cultural-loobaFood-a-loobaI was at Starbucks recently and noticed a display for four different varieties of bagged coffee beans. Each sat on a shelf with a sign announcing its distinctive "personality":* Extraordinary and Enticing* Interesting and Complex* Familiar and Friendly* Adventurous and AssertiveI thought "wow, I want friends like that......hell, I want to BE like that!" It's a great example of subtle marketing http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/3S6sh3_4AMY/what-kind-of-coffee-are-you.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/3S6sh3_4AMY" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-kind-of-coffee-are-you.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3422406503322971630.post-736523380801454010Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:02:00 +00002009-04-24T23:14:19.248-04:00Looba-visionArthur is running downhill. The long-running PBS children's show about the boy aardvark, his family and his many varied species of friends and neighbors is running out of credible or meaningful plots. Entire episodes are now being devoted to rummaging through Binky's back story, spelunking through the furthest reaches of Prunella's squalid heart or introducing some character I've never heard ofhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~3/0rDBgYdtahY/arthur-jumps-shark.htmlBillherringlcsw@gmail.com (Bill Herring)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/zIKX/~4/0rDBgYdtahY" height="1" width="1"/>http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/2008/12/arthur-jumps-shark.html