Books I Haven't Read Yet... Because of the Kindle

07 October 2011, 14.38 - JBMoney

Lately, I've been boxing up some books for a few reasons: to keep Fianna from destroying the nice hardbacks, to make room for other "stuff", and the expectation that we'll move soon and have to do so anyway. In an indicator of how pampered modern life has become (not just me), I'm running across several books that I planned to read but never did... because I bought a Kindle roughly two years...Read More

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2011 August: Tuscany, Italy (Week Two)

01 September 2011, 12.16 - JBMoney

After leaving the Val d’Orcia, we made a short 1.5 hour drive to Siena. Siena is an impressive city. At one time, Siena was in a class along with Florence, Venice, and Genoa, competing for political superiority. Siena’s grand hopes were wiped out, along with a third of the population, during the bubonic plague of the mid-1300’s. Florence’s military conquered them in the...Read More

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2011 August: Tuscany, Italy (Week One)

30 August 2011, 08.45 - JBMoney

In August, the Bresslers went on our first two week vacation since Fianna was born (Feb. 2009). We used to take 3-4 weeks of vacation a year, so it was nice to get ‘back in the saddle’. Our destination... Tuscany, Italy. We’d been to Italy in 2002 and were looking forward to a return. Italy is a terrific place to vacation. Italians are nice folk with a good deal of respect for family,...Read More

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From the Sea to the Source

28 July 2011, 12.17 - JBMoney

In April, my Dad (Rick Maybe-Bressler) and Uncle (Allen Maybe) did something that nobody one else has done. They navigated personal water craft (perhaps better known as "Jet Skis") from the Pacific Ocean to the source of the Sacramento River. They started by passing under the Golden Gate bridge, then navigating the San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, and the Sacramento Delta...Read More

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14 years and nary a scratch on 'er

13 July 2011, 00.00 - JBMoney

Fourteen years ago today we picked up a scared little terrier from the Sacramento SPCA. She was about seven months old. I remember suffering the horrified glares of a little girl and her family as I stole Phoebe out of the cage, while they debated getting her themselves. Another 5 minutes and we would have never seen her. Fourteen years later, Phoebe is still going strong. She's not the little...Read More

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A Sticky Wicket

31 January 2011, 13.17 - Pistol Pete

You know what really chaps my butt, besides everything else that chaps my butt? Not only have we been giving Egypt billion$ since 1979, but we also built them an M-1 tank factory so they can have the same great tanks we have! They even have 300 F-16s! We must have a closet full of Einsteins. I know that makes Israel feel most secure. There has been a steady succession of douche bags from Carter to...Read More

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New Years in Japan

04 January 2011, 20.35 - cody

New Years or 'Oshogatsu' in Japan is a very important holiday.  Each year in Japan is considered to be completely separate from the others so the start of a New Year is a way for people to start over with a clean slate.  People decorate their homes with a traditional decoration of pine and bamboo called a Kadomatsu.  People set a pair of Kadomatsu on either side of their front door to...Read More

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Red Light Special On Aisle 5

01 January 2011, 22.45 - Pistol Pete

Big Ben; Taj Mahal; Giza; Walmart – What do all these places have in common? Americans are merely tourists there. I’m not one to frequent Walmart, because I don’t particularly like people. However, sometimes I am forced to inhabit one of those clearing houses because whatever it is I need is otherwise sold at a store that is closed for some mundane reason such as the Earth blew up....Read More

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Fianna's Second Christmas

31 December 2010, 14.36 - JBMoney

Fianna had another busy Christmas, except this time she was old enough to enjoy it a little more. She travelled to Southern California for the holiday, and went to three different family events on Christmas Day (Hatch Grandparents' house, Grandma Day's house, and the Runner house), and another event the next day. Two days after Christmas we were back in Sacramento for dinner at the Bressler...Read More

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Twilight's First Gleaming

23 December 2010, 07.39 - Pistol Pete

While mesmerized with the lunar eclipse the other night, we were kidnapped by Nubians dressed as KISS, but they let us go after the second act of Henry V because they ran out of chocolate pudding. Quite civilized for a group of weight-watcher cannibals, don't ya think?   I told a friend that we are in good health. I inadvertently lied. I'm now convinced I'm getting a cold...Read More

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