Month: February 2020

Another “Ripped from the headlines”. There is a news item headlining today’s paper.  It’s about a gentleman that runs a restaurant in New Hampshire.  He escaped from his native Lebanon some years ago and recently became a citizen of the United States.  For some reason unclear to me, he decided to make a trip back to his native Lebanon to visit relatives.  It appears that parts of his former life in Lebanon didn’t escape official notice and he’s been detained.  To make matters worse, he’s suffering from a chronic medical condition about which I suspect Lebanese officials care little to not at all. And while I feel tragically sorry for him, my question first and foremost, with Hezbollah currently running Lebanon, is, “what were you thinking?” Continue reading “Don’t Go There!! Americans Abroad”

Remember that feeling either of joy or dread that everyone felt back in January when the tax forms and information started to roll in?  Taxpayers are divided into two categories – those that are getting a refund, so the savings account will get a bump or that new refrigerator seems possible – please issue that refund before the Presidents Day Sale, and those that will owe  money, and thus will be standing on tiptoes on the cliff of mid-April before filing. Continue reading “Tax Prep, or The Taxperson Cometh”

As my global readership knows, I’ve written somewhat extensively on the health benefits of napping, as well as various techniques and formats for napping successfully.  Therefore, it’s high time I set up a niche market in consultation – the Nap Consultant.  Actually, I’m a bit conflicted – do I call myself a “consultant”, which implies a degree of support and empathy. Or I could use the term “specialist”, which suggests a high degree of expertise and training.  While we’re at it, this is not to be confused with a “sleep specialist”, who deals in sleep disorders and uses a whole array of plug-in electronics and/or medications.  Nay, nay.  This is pure, natural, healthy midday sleep that rejuvenates, restores, and allows human beings to extend their day well into the evening and beyond. Continue reading “Art of the Nap II – The Nap Consultant”

This is not an endorsement for any candidate, as I feel that would seriously jeopardize my credentials as an impartial, independent blogger / influencer.  For those of you that don’t understand the primary system, it’s a convoluted, messy, scrappy way that we pick delegates, and sometimes really good delegates – they’re called superdelegates, state-by-state that will eventually elect the party’s nominees. We have dozens of candidates blowing through gazillions of gallons of jet fuel crisscrossing the country in attractive geometric patterns, and its ultimate purpose is to take all of the mystery and surprise out of the conventions. That’s it in a nutshell. Right now, there’s a lot of fun going on here in New Hampshire surrounding our primary because it’s the first officially scheduled one, except for Iowa, which is a caucus and not really a primary.  The difference is that people go to polling stations and, well, I’m not really sure what, but somehow they indicate their preferences.  We use a paper ballot, which is much better.  Then we have Russian nationals to count the ballots and tell us who won.  No, we don’t really, but Mr. Putin has offered his people to help. Continue reading “Heading Into the Primary – An Update”