Pull Tight

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality” Dante Alighieri Attended an excellent lecture, Diversity in America, last night by Soledad O'brien.  The story of her life going back to her parents mixed race marriage at a time when it was illegal in many States is fascinating.  She and all of her 5 siblings graduated from Harvard.  Her accomplishments and career are very impressive.  She mentioned the quote above as JFK's favorite; excellent point for all of us to reflect.

I He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise .  ~Henry David Thoreau Although I have enjoyed cooking for quite a number of years, the past few months have given me a chance to improve my skills.  Being between jobs it seemed like a better idea to cook good food than go out for it.  Have learned quite a bit about the use of spices.  And, began baking for the first time (bread makers don't count as baking).  I have learned to bake bread, make cakes, etc, as well as trying some more complicated main course and vegetable dishes. Over the years when we would entertain, my role was usually as grocery shopping and as sous chef.  Some may have heard me refer to myself and the "shopper and chopper".  I am very good in the role of chopper and shopper.  Invite me over to help prepare a meal sometime. Maybe a cooking gene was passed on to me.  Mom is a pretty good cook and is very...

Watched Inside Job last night.  It is a excellent portrayal of the economic crisis of 2008 and the following worldwide financial meltdown.  This has affected almost everyone in the world in some manner whether it be, lost jobs, lost retirement funds, lost homes, etc.  The movie should be required viewing for every adult.  No matter your political affiliation, if you can watch this without getting pissed off, you need to check your pulse to make sure you are still alive.  Many of the same people who played such a large part are still in powerful positions.  These people should be in jail instead of being in government positions, serving as university presidents  (or professors) or still in very high positions in the banking industry.

"we are nothing more than the sum of our memories and experiences"   —   Michael Scott   ( The Sorceress ) Just finished reading Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer.  Recommend book to everyone.  The book is mostly about mental athletes who develop astounding memory feats.  Maybe I will learn some of the parlor tricks to impress friends. But the really interesting part far me was all of the people the writer met along the way in the book.

So glad I have a DVR during the election year.  Even though the political ads have yet to hit my part of the world, I can't imagine sitting through them.  Wonder how many fast forwarded every Republican presidential ad in the States already having caucuses or primaries.  It is sad state of affairs if anyone is making up his or her mind based on these ads.  Read their records, watch the debates or look at some of the endorsements.  With the campaigns just getting started, I am thinking it might be a good time to invest in the companies making and selling DVRs and TiVos.

Spoke with the moderator of a social networking presentation today after a networking meeting. Much of the presentation had to do with staying current with new technology or at least appearing to do so. He told me of recently presenting his resume to a human resource contact who immediately made the remark (I'm paraphrasing)  "I see you learned keyboarding skills on a typewriter." This was because he used 2 spaces at the end of each sentence. When you think about it, the use double spacing made a lot more sense with the mono-spacing of typewriters (all letters occupy an equal amount of space). There is a lot of discussion on the internet on this topic. Surprising how a little thing like this can make us look a little less tech savvy. For me, it is a transition to single space for my blog, facebook, linkedin, twitter and whatever comes next. And, one small thing to help me keep within one generation of current trends.

Have see the Christmas Carol many times over the years, but the version currently playing by the Dallas Theater Center is the best I have ever seen.  Great acting and special effects make it a stand out production.  If you live in the Dallas area and have never been to the Kalita Humphreys Theater, you should go see something at this theater.  It is one of three theaters designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it makes the theater experience even more special. “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” – Benjamin Franklin After the theater, we dined at the Meddlesome Moth.  The menu had two pages for food and four pages for beer, my kind of place.  Interesting place to dine with the rock star stained glass from the former Hard Rock on McKinney and a floor of tile samples from the buildings' former life as a tile store.  Good food, good beer, good company and definitely a good time.