Research has shown that we all have secret, guilty pleasures. I can't actually put my hands on any peer reviewed, analytically and scientifically sound research that says that, but I'm quite certain that there is research that shows that. Since, I am of the belief that research suggests that we all have these secret guilty pleasures, even without any sort of empirical data with which to back this claim, I decided I should take stock of some of my own. Afterall, "know thyself" right? Those...

Read More "Secret Guilty Pleasures"

I'm almost - ALMOST - ashamed to admit this. It’s one of those things: I KNOW what I should do, I just can’t quite bring myself to do it is all. I’m conflicted. I like trucks. I like my truck. I like big toys that aren’t particularly good for either the environment or my wallet. This is my - well, it's registered to me - Truck.  4x4.  Trailer hitch.  Mag wheels.  Yeah baby.   I remember, it was perhaps my freshman year...

Read More "I'm a Guy Damnit, and I Deserve a Guy Car"

You never know who knows whom.  If there is no other reason to treat other folks well, it’s that you don’t know who knows whom, or  who you may run into.   Case in point, I had a job interview not long after I had gotten out of college.  I was asked to go to the front desk, and complete an employment application.  I asked the receptionist for an application, made some small talk, and went about my business.  I got the job and I came to find out that...

Read More "You Never Know Who You're Going to Run Into"

In July 1996, a bomb was detonated in Centennial Park in Atlanta during the Summer Olympics. Two people died, and 111 were injured. My daughter had just turned one a few days before. In September 1972, a group kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli athletes and coaches in Munich, West Germany. I was almost 3. My son will be turning 3 this summer. This summer, in case you hadn't heard, the Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing, China. With the protests surrounding the carrying of the torch,...

Read More "Interpol's Olympic Warning"

My stupidity is well documented – When it comes to things like yard work, I’m not a very smart man. I tend to live by the idea that I’m not real smart, but I can lift heavy things. That’s a pretty serviceable motto.   I’ve been mulching the yard like a mad man over the last week or so. It now looks like a well mulched dirt patch. What will usually happen is that throughout April and through mid-May, it will rain enough to have some grass...

Read More "Fighting For Peace, Mulching for Weed Protection"

Here's an interesting tidbit - the world's population will hit 6,666,666,666 some time in in May, deduced from population estimates for May 1 and June 1. Perhaps you're in the "final destination" business and are looking to set yourself up with a website.  Here are a few suggestions that were available as of April 15 - yesterday. An issue near and dear to my heart, taxes - or perhaps put another way, the limiting of their applicability - may be coming soon to interstate commerce...

Read More "Surfing Digg"

So, I'm looking at these old commercials on YouTube.  I was actually looking for one to link in my last entry about the possibility of using paranormal infestation as a legal defense at the NLRB - if you're in your late thirties to mid-forties or so, you might remember this Tootsie Roll commercial, "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?"

"The World May Never Know."

YouTube is nothing if not ingenious about the way you can get sucked into related items.  I quickly found another one I remembered from my childhood....

"Whatever it is I think I see, becomes a Tootsie Roll to me...."  Yup.  You don't get that high quality stuff on Saturday morning anymore.

Anyway, sometimes the items aren't always "related" in the sense you might expect. 

I guess this is a bit "Old School" - hockey sweaters aren't really "in" anymore are they? - but I thought this was just some good time fun...

"And you over there with the long hair, keep workin that derriere..."  Yup.  That's some good stuff.

Today is a bittersweet day for me.  On April 9, 1993 my nephew James was born - a beautiful little boy joined us in this world.  On April 9, 1969 my very first friend in the world also joined us in this world.  Happy Birthday, Dave.  I miss you. It is a bittersweet day in that on July 29, 2002, Dave left us.  Not feeling well that Saturday afternoon, he went to lie down to tape a nap, a nap during which he suffered an aneurism.  His brain swelled and he never regained...

Read More "April 9, 1969 - July 29, 2002"

Seven years ago, Mrs. Mo and I were married. SEVEN! Doesn't seem that long. As soon as I met her that I knew I was going to marry her - it's called kismet. No, no. Not THAT kismet - the concept of fate...that we were just meant to be together. It was that little something that fired off - we'd known each other a hundred years. Like we were two old souls that had just found each other again. I'd never felt like that before. It was a beautiful spring Saturday sandwiched between two...

Read More "Anniversary #7"

Some time ago, I discussed with you, my dear friends, why I thought lefties have generally shorter lifespans - it had something to do with chainsaws having been built for right handed folk. Today, I learned something valuable, also involving chainsaws. While I may be left handed - and, yes, I fortunately still possess my left hand - that will not be why my life span is shortened. No, friends, it will be because I am, in fact, stupid. I also learned something else today - that your average...

Read More "Learning another thing"

The great American roadtrip. Packing everyone into the family Chevy and rolling off down the highway to destinations unknown. So many places to go, all within hours from almost anywhere. You have to keep everyone in the car enthusiastic about the trip. Therefore the old reliable "mix tape," or now-a-days the mix-disc, comes to the fore as being all important - without the music jive, your trip falls flat in a hurry. Here are 20 suggestions for compiling a fun family roadtrip...

Read More "The Family Roadtrip"

Every so often the multi-state lottery in which my state lottery participates reaches a level that catches my eye: $95 Million, $250 Million, et cetera. Of course the jackpot is never expressed as so-and-so-many-million dollars, it's expressed as $95,000,000 or $250,000,000. The jackpot amount for the March 28, 2008 drawing of Mega Millions is $113 Million (or, put another way, $113,000,000) with the up front cash option at $71.2 Million. The odds of matching all five numbers PLUS the "Megaball"...

Read More "If I Won The Lottery"

No sooner had I cranked up a little Iron Maiden - "2 Minutes to Midnight" if you must know - I get a link to this image via email. Someone was reading my mind. Rock on, dude. Rock on. You can click on the image to see the graphic in all it's glorious detail (and yes, I know there's a typo at the bottom).    Rock on.

Read More "I Met a Butterfly"

It's Friday night and if you're reading this, you're probably as pathetic a shut in as your ever faithful market clerk. Mrs. Mo is busy stuffing plastic Easter eggs, and I've just finished scrubbing the grout in the upstairs bathroom. Ugh. Sitting here watching CSI:Miami reruns. Now, I'm usually all about CSI: Miami. No, not for the storylines - admittedly, it's the worst of the CSI franchise for storyline and frankly acting as well. Nope, I'm all about Eva La Rue (that's a PDF, baby)....

Read More "Another Friday Night"

Parents cannot receive enough helping guiding their children’s growth through reading. This article seeks to look at the meanings of five different children’s books through a slightly different – perhaps the adjective would be “twisted” – perspective. We will now explore the Dr. Seuss work Green Eggs & Ham, the bedtime classics Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,...

Read More "Synopsis of 5 Children's Books"

Yes, my dear readers, I was involved in a crash today. There I was - not another vehicle around - out for a leisurely ride. It's always a risky endeavor when traversing snowy trails, but it didn't seem wholly risky at the time. We were out as a family, just looking for a little something to do on a gray Sunday afternoon. I was fine one moment. The next, I had hit some ice and I was out of control, unable to stop. My children looked on with bemusement and dread as I raced headlong toward...

Read More "Accident with Video Evidence"

Being a parent means being consistent Because you're teaching your children the world has rules Being a parent means expressing anger Without expressing rage Being a parent means admitting mistakes when you make them You will not always make the right call and the world is better with people who understand they can be wrong Being a parent means doing the right thing, Because it's the right thing, not because it's the easy thing Being a parent means acting in someone else's best...

Read More "Being a Parent"

Yes, it's getting close to Christmas season again and for many of us, that means giving retail stores and businesses dollars from our pockets in exchange for presents for our loved ones. For too many others it's  just another long, cold winter season with no hope for better prospects. That's what this blog is about.   I was once asked to deliver a short lecture on poverty. I had some experience. I grew up on a small dirt farm in mid-Michigan as a kid and didn't realize at the time...

Read More "Being Poor"

It's most definitely winter here in New England - with a cold front and snow moving in. Of course, all the little things we've been sitting on for months now come to a head - you know the bald tires on the car...that stuff. So we went down to the Super Wally World and did some shopping while we waited. Of course, my inspection sticker expired on Friday and just now realized it. That means I will get a ticket tomorrow - I once drove around for 11 months before I realized my sticker was expired,...

Read More "Tis The Season"

We spent the day today running around, trying to find a suitable used car for our house guest. Her work visa is for 18 months, so she's not looking to spend a lot of money on a car - just something reliable to get her through the next year and a half. Can I just tell you how many AWFUL flipping cars there are sitting on iron mill parking lots for $3000?    We drove a Chevy Prizm (aka Toyota Corolla) with 130,000 miles on it. We got in it, and there was an outstandingly FUNKY...

Read More "The Sport of Auto Shopping...and a little Footy"

Hi folks. I guess I did a bit of a disappearing act there for a few days. Allow me to explain. I stopped by felber's place in Syracuse, but no one was home.. So I drove on up to REIGNBLOOD's place in Buffalo, but again no one was home. Since, I was so close now, I decided to drive on over to Niagara Falls, ON. Yeah, the whole fam damnily decided to go to Canada for a few days. I had hoped to get another blog entry out before we left, but it just didn't happen. So the Yankee-in-law...

Read More "On the road again..."

As the summer comes to a close, I've learned a few things about project work, cleaning the yard, etc.  The first thing I've learned is that Finish Carpenters aren't necessarily Scandinavian.  Imagine my surprise when my neighbor looked at my carpentry work and said, "Well, I guess Irish guys aren't finish carpenters."  To which I said, "Of course not, we're Irish."  He shook his head and then said, "well, a man running for his life wouldn't notice." ...

Read More "Learning Things"

One of the benefits of housekeeping is finding those treasures from yesteryear, dusting them off, and enjoying them again. And so it goes, as I've been dusting off my old compact discs, I have found several of those long since forgotten favorites and thus the third of the "More Favorites" series, Compact Discs. The first in the series was Comedy Movies; this is the second in the CD series. It's hard to believe, but CDs have been in mass production now for over 25 years. I remember...

Read More "More Favorites: Oddball CD's"

I'm into nuggets, yah...

Man, that's a funny commercial. 

Alice Cooper all but created the shock rock that spawned Kiss and eventually Marilyn Mason and Rob Zombie. Beginning as Vincent Furnier and becoming the lead "persona" for the band that had changed it's name to Alice Cooper, he eventually accepted the moniker as his own and began a solo career. The story goes that Alice Cooper, a 17th century witch, had been reincarnated as the man who eventually took the name after communicating with her via Ouija board. The story has changed at...

Read More "Alice Cooper: Top 10 Songs"

Who doesn’t enjoy a little Jimmy Buffett music every once in a while. Whether you’re a straight out Parrothead or a casual listener of adult oriented album radio, you’re sure to know more than a few Buffett albums. While it’s difficult to pull together a simple list of the Top 10 songs, its far easier to pull together a list of Buffett’s top 10 albums of his career. This is not to say it’s an easy task, just easier than compiling a top 10 songs. I’m...

Read More "Jimmy Buffett: Ranking of His Top 10 Albums"

One of the benefits of housekeeping is finding those treasures from yesteryear, dusting them off, and enjoying them again. And so, it goes, as I've been dusting off my old compact discs, I have found several of those long since forgotten favorites and thus the second of the "More Favorites" series, Albums. The first in the series was Comedy Movies. The Cult "Electric" 1987 saw the release of The Cult's third album "Electric." Their second album, "Love"...

Read More "More Favorites: Albums"

Today we celebrated a belated birthday for my oldest.  She's really becoming quite a young lady. Funny thing about having kids, they provide a guide for the passing of your own life.  They don't hasten the passing of time, but they really make you far more conscious of the passing of time.  She just finished up her second year of Middle School this spring/summer, when it seemed like at the beginning of the school year I was putting her on a bus for kindergarten.  I just...

Read More "Musings on Children and Their Birthdays"

I’m not much for the outrageous, over the top antics of Jim Carrey or Chris Farley, and far more prefer outlandish comedy. Sometimes subtle is the key, sometimes not, but I’m here to present three of my all time personal favorite movies of all time.     Murder By Death. The setting of this 1976 masterpiece is relatively simple – a dinner party where the five invitees are caricatures of literary masters who are asked to solve a murder mystery.   The cast...

Read More "Movie Favorites: Comedy"

I spend a reasonable amount of time online, checking out various pockets of interest on the internet.  Some which only professionals in my field would find of interest, others are sports related where I can find the scoop on what’s going on in my own insular little world. Every now and again, I’ll come across a little gem tucked away in the recesses of the internet’s collective basement.  Here are a few of them: Where’s George  Ever wonder where the money...

Read More "Wasting Time Online"

Tonight, with the Red Sox on an off night and a beautiful summer evening it was time to have a little slice of small town America. After playing catch and pitching to my sons in the backyard, I asked the boys if they would like to go for a Kayak ride in the tandem Kayak that we have; it actually seats three, perfect for two adults and one kid or  One adult two 7 year olds. They said sure.   We walked the Kayak down to the lake as we often do. We paddled down to our town’s lower...

Read More "A Slice of America"

I’m someone who likes to live my summer measured by innings. On nights when the Sox aren’t playing, my summer night is whiled away with yard work or toddling around the yard. On game nights, the evening is measured by the passing of half innings. Sometimes 2 minutes, sometimes 32 minutes, always 3 outs. Sadly, though, life really isn’t measured in this fashion. “You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today And then one day you find ten years...

Read More "9 Innings, 10 weeks, 10 seconds"

April 7, 2001.  The day we officially became a family.  Six years ago. A lot has happened in the intervening years - trips, cars (several!), a house, a dog, a baby.  We've come a long way from our little apartment.  We've done a lot of things and been through a lot together.  There's no one else in the world I would rather make this journey with.  The things that brought us together all those years ago remain true.  I feel like I've known you for several lifetimes. ...

Read More "Anniversary #6"

In May 2004, Pokey Reese came into my family's life.  This guy was always happy, and man could this little guy jump like you read about.   He added a lot to our lives.  Tomorrow is his birthday.  He'll be turning the big 3 - coincidentally Pokey's uniform number with the Red Sox. No, Pokey is not the former Red Sox infielder, although he is named for him - well before Pokey threw out the last Yankees runner in the 2004 ALCS, he was a cult hero in our home.  Since...

Read More "It's Pokey's Birthday"