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VARIOUS WRITERS' RULES Write a draft. Then let it rest. -- Stephen KingRead a lot. -- KingNever use a long word when a short one will do. -- George OrwellNever use the passive voice when you ... read more

CLEO (our Boston terrier, speaking through my wife, Tara): I can be helpful, Dad. I'm a farm dog!DAD: Pepperidge Farms, maybe. CLEO: Ooh, do we have any Pepperidge Farms? ... read more

A Christmas StoryOne day, this past December, I was rushing around trying to get some last minute shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the Christmas season right then. It was dark, cold, and wet in the parking ... read more

This is a good site showing who to trust (or not) when it comes to self-publishing: Self-Publishing Services Rated by the Alliance of Independent Authors ... read more

One of our favorite scams! Our comments are interspersed in brackets and look like this. ... read more

And now I'm going to bed! :) I'll blog tomorrow. ... read more

I'm attaching pictures we made of Astrakhan and our room. We are staying at the Hotel Azimut in Astrakhan. They are going through major renovations right now. It's kind of funny to see the interior design mix. The lobby is decorated in ... read more

I was explaining to my 9-year-old daughter what networking is, and that I'm not very good at it. She said, That's because a lot of people judge you by your looks. And you're not ... You trying to say I'm ugly?I don't think so, she ... read more

Music by a brotherConanOur cat Conan died of a kidney infection today (we had to have him put down). We had him 1 ... read more

Tonight is our last night in Astrakhan. So, I thought I'd post some pictures of where we've been living for the past 19 days. We've had many battles over clothing. She thinks I put too much clothes on her. In the hotel room, she wears h ... read more

Our last stop before the airport on the magical mystery tour is the US Emb ... read more

It's been snowing all day, at least an inch and a half accumulation. Earlier, I put some de-icer on the driveway in preparation for tomorrow morning. Before that, I had to walk the dogs in the snow. You know, pugs don't like snow. It ju ... read more

Standard wheat harvest protocol in the US is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields because withered, dead wheat plants are less taxing on the farm equipment and allows fo ... read more

Vedic Astrologer Joni Patry (the only astrologer who predicted Trump win in 2016) says the world will never be the same again after next month:Watch on YouTubeChristian says God showed him a nat ... read more

The new washer was delivered today. I let them take the old one away even though we'd just bought it (used) a week ago. That's right, it lasted just one week. Oh well, we didn't really need that $200 (after tax and delivery), anyway. lt ... read more

Good guidelines. The snippet below is the most useful part:In DBT dialectical behavior therapy, the skill is encapsulated in a mnemonic device known as... Read, listen or wa ... read more

The Leaky Faucet Vol. 3, No. 8, December 10, 1991 Steve Denise host ThanksgivingTurkey was served and everybody ate it. What else is there to say? Okay, so it was an excellent meal thanks to the efforts of Denise and those who brought s ... read more

Itchy Trigger FingerVol. 6, No. 1, February 6, 1994Earthquake in Southern California!We're sure you've heard all about it on the news, but we just wanted to mention it in case you've just recently emerged from a cave. It happened at 4: ... read more

Hometown NewsVol. 2, No. 13, October 20, 1990Editor's Note: This is most definitely the last issue. Bill graduates!After seven months, Bill has finally comple ... read more

the rabblerouser Vol. 5, No. 5, August 8, 1993Bill moving to NashvilleBill is moving to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue his boyhood dream of being a country singing star! Oh wait, that's Do ... read more

The Barking Dog Vol. 4 No. 6, July 22, 1992 Who names these newsletters, anyway? earthquakes, earthquakes! We're sick of earthquakes! Why doesn't the government do something!? On June 2 ... read more

news from La-La Land HAPPY NEW YEAR!!Vol. 3, No. 1, January 4, 1991Newsletter editor murdered!The editor of this newsletter was apparently murdered some time over the weekend according to police. We think it was ... read more