I don’t know where I first read that but I have always liked it. I think most people “get more like themselves” as they grow older. I feel more comfortable in my skin than I felt when I was a teenager or even when I was in my Twenties or Thirties. I look at my face in the mirror every morning and think to myself, “Yep, that’s me” I don’t think, “Wow I’m getting old!” or “What happened to that guy that used to be there?” I just think of the wild ride that got me to this point in my life.

My good friend Bruce, once told my son that the thing he admired most about me was that I never cared about what people thought about me. I did go against the grain most of the time. Some people didn’t know how to take me and so they decided I wasn’t cool. I was of course never part of the in crowd, whatever that means. Somehow I survived not being like everyone else and became me, as I am, where I am in my life. If I had to do it over again, why would I change a thing? It took a lot of mistakes and miss-steps and a great deal of the Lord’s grace to get to here.

Today’s music “In My Life” by The Beatles

Many and I mean many years ago, I sat in my English class, fighting back tears while listening to “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen.  Our teacher played it as part of her introduction to modern poetry class. Most of what we studied were song lyrics but this one really got to me. Maybe it was his voice or the music but the images from the words reached somewhere deep that just made me sad. Of course I was a teenager so hormones may have had something to do with it. I was also in an all-male class so it was really important that nobody saw how this song made me feel.

Happy 75th birthday Leonard.

Thank you for the words.

This clip isn’t Suzanne but is another of his greatest songs Hallelujah, enjoy!

P.S. Sorry about the link embedding is disabled for this one

I think that may be a song title. Not for me though, I’m talking about changing my desktops around. The PC that I’m using as a media server is better suited to be my main desktop and vice versa. So it looks like a couple of days of moving hard drives and reinstalling OSs and apps. Good time to clean up.

BTW I was right about the song thing

My wonderful wife bought me a new addition to the computer collection. Thanks Kid!! After a lot of looking, I decided that the Gateway LT3100 was the perfect blend of size and mobility. It fits in my very small laptop bag (even with the 6 cell battery) and the screen is beautiful to look at. The only downside was that it came with Vista home basic. It went away very quickly. Overall, very impressive machine.

Dave Ball  ô¿ô
 Byte-IT       –

Sylvia Lennick, one of the last surviving members of the Wayne and Shuster comedy troupe, died Monday. She was 93. (from CBC.CA)

I came across this item on Digg today. It brings back memories. Not good ones. I used to have at least two episodes of Sleep Paralysis a week. It seemed to go away in my late thirties. I knew it wasn’t real but while it was happening I was convinced I was about to die. Makes you not want to sleep. Great article.

Freaky Sleep Paralysis: Being Awake in Your Nightmares

Same twinkle in her eyes. I hope I’m the one that put it there.

Please excuse the jacket.

Yesterday was my anniversary. Thirty-six years ago I was 19 and in love with another 19 year old. The only change now is the number of years that have gone by. Now I’m 55 and in love with another 55 year old. We have grown up and older together. I still have trouble trying to figure out why she said yes but I’m grateful every day that she did.

I’ve been reading a lot the past few days about the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Many people have been recalling what they were doing that day. I decided to write down what I was doing 40 years ago today. Most people that know me might think that like any 15 year old back in ’69, I would have been glued to the TV to witness that famous landing live.

I was not. I was too busy trying to explore strange new worlds that were much closer to me. A 19 year old neighbour of ours (she lived a few floors below us) wanted me to teach her how to swim. I was only too happy to help as it gave me many opportunities for exploring a mature (to me) female form. There were a lot of glances down a swimsuit top that seemed to float above her for a second as she would lay back in my arms as I taught her to float. There was lots of accidental groping when ever she would realize that she couldn’t touch bottom and would wrap herself around me. It was really pretty innocent on both our parts but a few times that summer, her brother would show up and let me know to, “Stay away from his sister.” She moved away at the end of the summer but it was not the last time I saw her.

Through a long series of coincidences, I ended up at her wedding five years later. It turned out that her Mother was a friend of my Mother in law and my wife and I were invited to the wedding. At the wedding I was looking at my wife more than the bride so it didn’t strike me until her brother came up to my wife and I and said, “Aren’t you the guy that was fooling around with my sister?” Real smooth guy. Thanks a lot. Luckily for me, my wife accepted my explanation.

Cold-induced urticaria

Most allergies are to physical items, but there are a handful that are reactions to environmental conditions, including cold. Those who suffer from this strange ailment must combat the cold in ways that would make most hardy northerners laugh as they wander around in shorts and a T-shirt while they shovel the snow from the driveway. Any exposed skin will break out in hives, and during the depths of winter an acute attack is a constant risk. For most who suffer from this particular allergy, swimming is extremely dangerous as it lowers the entire body’s temperature to the point that it brings on anaphylaxis.

Though rarely fatal, it does have the benefit of ensuring you’ll have a medical reason to never, ever be talked into going polar bear swimming. Who knows, you might even get prescribed a tropical vacation every winter.

from blurtit.com