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 Readers are invited to comment on any of the items or discussion seen below, or any matter of concern here in Beautiful Marion County! It's been a really great run, but it's now time to say 'adieu'- December 28, 2007 And so it ends... this is the final blog in a series that started last Feb. 7. There were a few half-hearted attempts before then, but Feb. 7th marked the first of my seven-days-each-week blogs, a series that lasted until May 11, when the powers-that-be figured my time could be spent more productively in some other activity. But even then, the blogs continued, three times each week except during vacations. But now, after some 77,000 words on this blog, its time to hang up the old green...http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4854/Default.aspx Christmas past, with a wary eye on the future- December 26, 2007 Well, that was quite a Christmas yesterday, wasnt it I was pretty sure I didnt wind up on Santas Good Little Boys and Girls List this time around, so I really wasnt expecting much. The past few years, my wife and I seem to be getting and giving our presents to each other at some point before Christmas, so when the big day actually rolls around, its kind of anticlimactic. However, yesterdays bounty proved me wrong in my prognostications once again. The four of us in our immediate family got...http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4850/Default.aspx One facet of Christmas shopping always seems to get left out of planning- December 24, 2007 Tomorrows the big day, only one more full day of shopping until Christmas! Im getting ready to make my annual raid on the stores to stock up on the presents Ive got on my to-buy list. Hope theres still some stuff left on the shelves. I usually wait till late in the season before I start looking for presents anyway, its more of a challenge then. One of those tasks I generally overlook and one that just never seems to get onto my list of things to do is the wrapping of the gifts I buy. Its not..http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4849/Default.aspx Why I quit making New Year's Resolutions many years ago...- December 21, 2007 Its that time of the year when we should start considering what resolutions we might make for the New Year of 2008. I generally dont bother with the practice anymore. Ive disappointed myself so many times in the past when Ive failed to follow through on a goal for the new year, that Ive gotten lazy and now generally take that infamous Path of Least Resistance, which in my case, is just not to make any resolutions at all. Over the years, Ive thrown the proverbial towel into the ring on at least.http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4846/Default.aspx Frosty mornings trigger memories of even frostier mornings of long ago- December 19, 2007 Monday morning marked the first really cool morning weve had so far this season. It was a chilly 36 when I awoke at 5:30 a.m., then the temperature continued to slowly go down to 32.8 before it stopped then began its slow climb back up to more comfortable numbers. Im sure the air conditioners in Florida appreciate the break and the chance to quit running 247 for a day or two at least. Ive often thought that its surely a good thing that air conditioners dont have labor unions. If they did,...http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4840/Default.aspx A new little toy for the technological cognoscenti- December 17, 2007 I recently purchased a neat little device named Neo. Its made by a company named AlphaSmart. The business was started by a couple of ex-Apple Computer employees, but they sold out their interest in the company awhile back. The neat little device I referred to is a simple little gadget that is absolutely ideal for writers. Its a keyboard with an LCD screen. It has a mini-word processor inside and a calculator. It also has a built-in dictionary and thesaurus and thats pretty much it. Some...http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4837/Default.aspx One of nature's true wonders slowly being restored to former glory- December 14, 2007 My wife and I went over to Dunnellon last Saturday, to Rainbow Springs where they were having the parks annual Santa Over the Rainbow event. The park was ablaze with color as bright colorful Christmas lights, arranged in and amongst the branches of the parks copious shrubs and trees and bedecking the buildings all evoked a peaceful Christmas spirit. Rainbow Springs State Park is one of those delightfully beautiful areas, that alas, has been allowed to deteriorate greatly over the past three...http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4832/Default.aspx Don't like your life Then change it!- December 12, 2007 The Christmas holiday season, for some reason Ive never quite been able to understand, brings out moods of depression among some people. Ive seen a few news stories that claim the suicide rate always seems to spike around Christmas day, a time when most people seem exuberantly happy. I suppose if circumstances are such that youre lonely, depressed, without a friend in the world, then ending it all might seem like a viable option. But life is just too great to do something like that....http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4830/Default.aspx A day without coffee is like a day without sunshine- December 10, 2007 Almost every day at work, I fix myself a mug of instant coffee, and as my career slowly fades into the sunset, so the contents of that big jar of Folgers Instant are slowly fading away, too. I started drinking coffee at my desk several years ago, when the coffee vending machine in our company snack room was removed. This, as I recall, is the third jar of instant coffee Ive bought since the machine was removed. Im a coffee lover from way back, having imbibed the stuff since I was a child of 8.http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4825/Default.aspx Pondering a somewhat different direction in life for the new year- December 7, 2007 Ive been giving some serious thought to writing a book lately. I know a lot of people, at some point in their lives, claim theyre going to write one; but very few of them ever actually get around to doing it. I read one time that only several people out of every thousand will ever write a book; and further, that of those who do, only several of every thousand written will ever get published. But computers and the Internet have changed many of those old harsh realities. There are many more...http://blogs.myspaceocala.com/Home/tabid/195/EntryID/4820/Default.aspx |