Sunday, December 14, 2003American Society Has Lost the Concept of "Bad"I don't know exactly how it happened, but we no longer have "bad" in our culture. Not "bad" as a stand-alone concept, anyway. We have "bad, but...." Harris and Klebold were bad, but people were mean to them. Lee Malvo did a bad thing, but he was under John Muhammed's spell. Michael Jackson does bad... Sign in to see full entry.Saturday, December 13, 2003Pricing Your Skills in the Job MarketI made a big mistake when I took my most recent job. I priced myself too low. I had just left a large company with good salary ($37K) and excellent benefits (PPO for self and family, 401(k), and more). In setting my target salary for the next job, I decided that $33K was the lowest salary figure I... Sign in to see full entry.Wednesday, December 10, 2003Sexual Harassment, Weak People, and the Victim CultureMHW recently started quite a controversy with his post about sexual harassment actions being the refuge of weak women who were unwilling to stand up for themselves. It is true that some people resort to bureaucracy and policy rather than simply declaring, "Don't do that; I don't like it." It is also... Sign in to see full entry.Monday, December 8, 2003Politically Correct Christmas Carol RevisionsGod in heaven, what next? The PC police are invading the hymnal, for pity's sake, and taking out references to God, man (as in mankind), and other non-PC expressions. It's making me crazy. Here's my dilemma. When I was about 10, my church had a contest for hymn memorization. Any kid who memorized... Sign in to see full entry.Monday, December 1, 2003Learning From PainI've had a lot of pain in my life--physical, emotional, mental/pschyological, and spiritual--so you'd think I'd pretty much have a handle on what pain is, does, and effects in a person. But yesterday I went through an experience that taught me a lot about physical pain that I didn't already know. I... Sign in to see full entry.Tuesday, November 25, 2003Thanksgiving Is Upon Us----Warning! This Post Contains SERIOUS Calories...and I am looking forward to a wonderful day with my family. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and has been since I was a kid. Every year of my life we have gone out to Grandma's for Thanksgiving. I was really close to this set of grandparents, and I idolized my uncle until he married... Sign in to see full entry.Monday, November 24, 2003The Results of the Great ExperimentWe learned a lot this weekend in our quest to see if the children and I could clean our home and still make time for fun. I learned a lot about each of my kids, and I think they learned a lot about what it means to "do your share." The first thing I learned is that my oldest child forms emotional... Sign in to see full entry.Saturday, November 22, 2003The Big ExperimentToday is The Big Experiment for me and my boys. Because of the loss of salary and benefits from my previous job, money got too tight. So I had to let the housekeeper (biweekly) and the yard man (also biweekly) go. The boys are getting old enough now that they should be able to help my tidy up most... Sign in to see full entry.Wednesday, November 19, 2003I said it in January...I used to like Michael Jackson. When he was a nice, relatively normal, young black male, I thought he was very handsome, very talented, and very deserving of the fame and fortune that he was amassing. I do not feel that way now. Michael Jackson used to look like a man. Now he looks like a bad... Sign in to see full entry.John Muhammad and Lee Malvo Should DieThe "DC Snipers," John Muhammad and Lee Malvo, are on trial for the sniper-style shooting spree that left thirteen people dead----thirteen families and countless friends in mourning over unexpected, inexplicable deaths. Muhammad (age 42) has been found guilty; he confessed himself the mastermind of... Sign in to see full entry. |