Oh, no, there goes Tokyo!

A purposeful grimace and a terrible sound can really take you places. Now we have to go back to L.A.!

Thanksgiving Prayer

O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.

~Samuel F. Pugh

Random Thought

I've never lived in a state that doesn't have a peninsula.

Finally, something I'm good at!

Ten Ways to be Unhappy (by Neil Eskelin)

1. Make little things bother you. Don’t just let them, make them.
2. Lose your perspective on things and keep it lost: don’t put first things first.
3. Find yourself a good worry, one about which you cannot do anything.
4. Be a perfectionist, which means not that you work hard to do your best, but that you condemn yourself and others for not achieving perfection.
5. Be right. Be always right. Be the only one who is always right, and be rigid in your rightness.
6. Don’t trust or believe people, or accept them at anything but their worst and weakest.
7. Be suspicious. Insist that others always have hidden motives.
8. Always compare yourself unfavorably to others. This guarantees instant misery.
9. Take personally everything that happens to you.
10. Don’t give yourself whole-heartedly to anyone or anything.

Our fearless leader

We take you now to the Oval Office . . .

Bush: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?

Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.

Bush: Great. Lay it on me.

Condi: Hu is the new leader of China.

Bush: That's what I want to know.

Condi: That's what I'm telling you.

Bush: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes.

Bush: I mean the fellow's name.

Condi: Hu.

Bush: The guy in China.

Condi: Hu.

Bush: The new leader of China.

Condi: Hu.

Bush: The Chinaman!

Condi: Hu is leading China.

Bush: Now whaddya' asking me for?

Condi: I'm telling you Hu is leading China.

Bush: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?

Condi: That's the man's name.

Bush: That's who's name?

Condi: Yes.

Bush: Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

Bush: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle East.

Condi: That's correct.

Bush: Then who is in China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

Bush: Yassir is in China?

Condi: No, sir.

Bush: Then who is?

Condi: Yes, sir.

Bush: Yassir?

Condi: No, sir.

Bush: Look, Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.

Condi: Kofi?

Bush: No, thanks.

Condi: You want Kofi?

Bush: No.

Condi: You don't want Kofi?

Bush: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N.

Condi: Yes, sir.

Bush: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi?

Bush: Milk! Will you please make the call?

Condi: And call who?

Bush: Who is the guy at the U.N?

Condi: Hu is the guy in China.

Bush: Will you stay out of China?!

Condi: Yes, sir.

Bush: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi.

Bush: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.

Condi picks up the phone. Condi: Rice, here.

Bush: Rice? Good idea. And a couple of egg rolls, too. Maybe we should send some to the guy in China. And the Middle East. Can you get Chinese food in the Middle East?

How Goldilocks chooses auto insurance

It's time for me to renew my auto insurance, and I have no idea if my coverage is too little, too much, or just right.

I haven't even thought about increasing my coverage in the three or four years that I've had my current policy, and I don't know if the numbers were right for me back then when I first bought it.

The Allstate calculator seems like a good place to start. It's quick and easy; why not give it a shot?

I Love To Write Day

So, I'm not going to make it to 50,000 words for NaNo 2004. I figure that I ought to be able to write something on I Love to Write Day, November 15, 2004.

Besides, it's officially approved by Jeb Bush, my governor. With the state of education in Florida, soon our students won't be able to read what's written, so let's celebrate!

Write something! (I even gave you a couple of days to get ready; aren't I thoughtful?)

Ooh, and this would be a perfect opportunity for random acts of poetry. Write something original on a postcard and send it to a stranger. Poetry makes the world a better place. (Note: if you're not a poet, you can crib from actual poetry when performing random acts.)