Another New Blog

This new blog has made an interesting begining:

I lost my job a few months ago. I wish I could say I was just another statistic resulting from a poor economy. I can't. I can blame no one or nothing outside of myself for the loss. It was my fault. I failed to do what was expected of me. BUT, this is where my situation and that of many others cease to differ. Once you find yourself in a difficult situation, even a situation that is not your fault, it is, more often that not, your problem to solve. As I am not attempting to write a how-to guide on finding a job in a slow economy, I'll leave it at that.

The last several weeks have, though, given me the opportunity to learn, or at least reinforce, three very important lessons that life often tries to teach us....

1) In time, we can solve (or at least improve) most of our problems we are faced with if we put all of our resources to the effort.

2) Don't always mistake an unforeseen change of circumstances as an automatic tragedy.

3) Take notice of everything that is going on in your life, because that is what life is!

It seems the third lesson is the one that we seem to have the most difficult time getting our head around, especially in this age where success and value are measured by salaries, titles, bank accounts, and investment portfolios. We all have a way of focusing our energies and agendas on what will make us successful. I will be fair and concede that many have defined success in more ways that just personal gain or recognition. Many goals are quite noble or beautiful. But they are still goals to be attained. At least that is how it has been for me. I seem to be always in pursuit of something, constantly striving and pressing. Sometimes as honorable as academic achievement or a service project, or often as self-centered as pointless recognition or financial gain. And everything in between. I have started so many conversations by asking about projects or business endeavors or looking for the first opportunity to tell someone of my latest success or accomplishment.

He goes on to make some interesting points...

Fly Kilted!

Jeffery Goldberg at The Atlantic has a novel idea for dealing with the new TSA protocols (H/T: Backyard Conservative):

By the way, it is the official position of Goldblog that everyday is opt-out day. There's no need to wait until November 24th. But come November 24th, here's an idea you might try to make the day extra-special. It's a one-word idea: Kilts. Think about it -- if you're a male, and you want to bollix-up the nonsensical airport security-industrial complex, one way to do so would be to wear a kilt. If nothing else, this will cause TSA employees to throw up their hands in disgust. If you want to go the extra extra mile, I suggest commando-style kilt-wearing. While it is probably illegal to fly without pants, I can't imagine that it's illegal to fly without underpants. I If you are Scottish, or part Scottish, or know someone who is Scottish, or eat Scottish salmon, or enjoy Scotch, or have a vestigial affection for "Braveheart" despite Mel Gibson, you can plausibly claim some sort of multicultural diversity privilege -- the term "True Scotsman" refers to soldiers who honor their tradition and heritage by wearing kilts without drawers underneath.

A quality kilt, of course is quite expensive. If you want an authentic, good quality Scottish kilt, I recommend J. Higgins, of Kansas (from whom I purchased the kilt in the photo above). For something rather cheaper, try a Sportkilt. And for that steampunk look, nothing beats a Utilikilt. I wonder if I can still fit into my kilt?

Here's what we're opposing: