Here it is, Thanksgiving week, and because I'm deep in the holiday spirit (read: lazy), there will be no spleen-venting. Instead, I've decided to give thanks to readers of Notes From The Light Side; not only is it tremendous fun for me to write but it's introduced me to some very nice people who appear to be regular readers. Even readers who don't necessarily agree with me seem to enjoy what I have to say enough to keep reading and criticizing me every week. I think one of the reasons I have ... Read Full Story

It's difficult to believe that only five or six years ago, I had little interest in the internet. I was one of those old-fashioned folk who believed the World Wide Web was useless to me, in much the same way I thought ATM's were useless 20 years ago. Of course now I consider both of them indispensible; I can't remember the last time I was in the local branch of my bank to conduct any financial business, and nearly all of my reading, shopping, communication and recreational pursuits are connec... Read Full Story

Bang on November 1, it started; strange noises emanating from the television set sounding suspiciously like Christmas music. At first I thought I was imagining things because I had just tucked into a piece of leftover Halloween candy, but on setting down the dust rag and taking a peek at the set, there it was, a major retailer reminding me that Christmas is the season for buying.....oops, I meant giving. That's right, Christmas advertising (or "pre-Christmas gift-sellers", if you want to soun... Read Full Story

For as long as I can remember, falling asleep has been difficult. Over the years I've employed a variety of methods to get the job done including prescription sleep aids, working a second job, staying up 'til all hours behaving raucously with friends, and reading the latest edition of The Wall Street Journal online. Each method has worked with varying degrees of success, but lately the simple task of sleep has become more elusive than ever.I think I may be in good company because many of the ... Read Full Story

I've been in love with air travel since I can remember, and my first recollection of flight was in the early 1960's on a MATS (Military Air Transport Service) plane en route to join Dad who was stationed in Naples, Italy. The aircraft was prehistoric by today's standards; for example the seating arrangement was to arrange to sit wherever there was a space. The consolation prize to Uncle Sam's Discomfort was my sister and I discovering a serviceman in possession of candy and chewing gum, which... Read Full Story

I'm happy. Very happy. Over the past weekend, an on-going problem I've been having with the old HP Pavilion 5700 (that I refuse to part with, thank you very much) finally got resolved. It didn't get resolved by HP tech support who were, frankly, useless. It didn't get resolved by the IT support group used by the company I work for, and it didn't get resolved by following HP's on-line troubleshooting tools. It got resolved by two guys on an internet forum."evil_bob" and "Camaro Guy". ga... Read Full Story

Earlier in the week, my slightly dim-witted co-worker Jean interrupted me in the process of sending out some time-sensitive bid invitations to pass on the following bit of information. Apparently her friend had a dream that she (Jean) was three months pregnant, and from the look on her face as she was telling me, she was positively beaming at the thought of pregnancy (as if there was some spiritual connection between her friend's nocturnal rambling and an actual conception). Of course I had ... Read Full Story

Since the flu bug I picked up last week is still with me, I've had a lot of time to lay about the house feeling miserable and sorry for myself. As much fun as this can be at times it can also be pretty boring so in an effort to be productive I tried something new; I became addicted to BBC's The Apprentice.I don't typically watch this 12-week reality series because of an unpredictable schedule but also because it's so unreal. If we're honest, is there anyone who believes that the candidates ar... Read Full Story

If you have read more than one or two of my columns, you've already sorted out that I'm no student of serious journalism. Certainly I can string sentences together fairly well and I'm also quite proficient in the art of spell-check. I write in what's been described by people who owe me money as a "light hearted" and "enjoyably readable" style, but if I was challenged with writing a serious piece of journalistic work on any subject, you may have a long wait. I have no doubt I could deliver the... Read Full Story

This week I wrote a column that I decided was nothing short of brilliant. Unfortunately, I have flu and was running a high fever at the time of my epiphany, so my judgement may have been a bit off and the article may not be as good as I think. Nevertheless, while under the spell of illness I decided, because of the subject matter (newspapers), I should submit it to The Washington Post for inclusion in their Op-Ed section.Unfortunately, one of the requirements of the Washington Post is that an... Read Full Story