The Obligatory New Years Post...

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves."
~ Bill Vaughn

As 05 draws to a close and we enter the latter half of the first decade of this new century, I feel inclined, if not, obliged to say sayonara to 2005 and give thanks for one of the best years of my life...

I know, its truly an original idea isnt it? I'm sure that more than half of the blogs on this site have some version of the same idea... but hey, I'm a conformist, and I'll readily admit that...

Anyway, thanks 2005... thanks for:

-- The arrival of my first child, a beautiful, healthy baby girl we named Paige Mackenzie. Becoming a parent is everything I ever thought and hoped it would be, and I honestly have never been happier than I am right now.

-- The renewed strength of my marriage to the love of my life, my wife Lisa. Having children can put a strain on a marriage, as there is less time for each other and you cant just jet off to get away from it all. Well, luckily for me, I have a beautiful wife who is an amazing mother and parter, and yet she still manages to keep the fires burning for her hubby. Our marriage is stronger than ever and I love her more today than I ever have.

-- My family and friends. I count myself lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends and a fantastic family that gets along so well.

-- My job. After 4+ years of "paying my dues" as I like to call it, I finally secured a position that I truly love. It's not so much work when you enjoy coming in each morning...

-- My health. Need I say more?

anyway... enough sappy stuff...

As I roll into 06, I think I should probably drink less, eat better, exercise more, save more money, etc, etc, etc... and while I will make an honest effort to stick to those default resolutions (except the drinking part)... I'll be surprised if any of them make it to February...

Happy New Year everyone...

Where are all the big-people clothes?

"Now, I dont want to get off on a rant here, but..."
~ Dennis Miller

Okay, seriously, I dont want to rant here, but I gotta get something off my chest... allow me to set it up for you...

Today at noon I strolled to a downtown mall near my office, and decided to check out some Boxing Day/Week sales at some of the clothes stores. So I stroll through The Gap, The Bay, Eddie Bauer, Tip Top Tailors, American Eagle and a couple of random skater inspired stores... and in each and every single one of those stores, I found myself asking the same question over and over...

"Where the hell are all the big-people clothes?"

Now, I stand about 6'3", so I am a little taller than your average joe, but the thing about me is that I have a little longer than average arms... and while that serves me very well on the basketball court and football field, it does nothing but piss me off as I curse another ill-fitting V-neck sweater in the little square taupe prison cell that is a Gap "fitting room".

Let me just cut you off before you think to yourself that I am some wannabe hip-hopper that wants t-shirts that hang down to my knees and long medallions with bling upon bling... that aint me...

I'm just a tall guy who wants to find clothes that fit...

(Jeezus... does that sound as gay as it looks? I hope not...)

Everytime I am in the Gap or Old Navy (which actually has the best fitting clothes, for me personally, of all the aforementioned offenders) I want to punch the nearest smug-looking, head-set wearing lackey, as I have to sift through the piles of XS, S and M shirts to get to the bottom of the pile for an XL or XXL.

XS? Who the hell wears EXTRA small? What, small isnt good enough for you? If you need extra-small, then hit the kids department for a size 6X...

Oh yeah, and you see how I wrote XL or XXL there? Well, again let me stop you before you start thinking that I am some portly fella who has to make a choice on whether to wear my pants above or below my belly... again, that aint me... I'm not say that I wont have to one day make that choice, I'm just saying that today... that aint me...

The reason I need to buy XL or XXL is because those are the only sizes with arms long enough for me to wear... and let's just say that I am never too impressed when I try on a shirt with arms that are long enough but the neck is so friggin huge that it looks like I could fit my waist through it, or that the shoulder seams are halfway down my bicep...

that, my friends... is NOT good times...

One solution would be for me to only wear short-sleeved shirts... yeah, I guess so... but have any of you experienced a Canadian Prairie winter? Also, the only one who could really pull off the short sleeved dress shirt was Detective Andy Sipowicz... so I think I'll leave that to him...

Oh yeah, and another would be that I could always shop at a "Big and Tall" store... but as I have said, I am not so much Big as I am Tall, so some of that stuff doesnt work for me anyway... and besides, the selection and styles offered there arent what I would call vast.

Anyway, my question is, is there not one single solitary person of my size and stature that works at the Gap/Old Navy/American Eagle/Eddie Bauer/etc headquarters or mothership or whatever its called?

Who knows, maybe a requirement to work in such a place is that you have to be 5'9" or under and have a 30in waist...

Why dont these places make clothes for taller guys with average athletic builds (and long arms)? Or, as I have said before... Why dont these places make big-people clothes?

I guess they have to draw the line somewhere, and instead of introducing a few more sizes into their arsenal (ones that say LT = Large Tall), they decided to just go cookie cutter on us and standardize things across the store.

Bastards... I guess I'm screwed...

Ah well, I guess I'll use this little corner of cyberspace to vent about it, and extend a "One Finger Salute" to all those who decide that the Gap, etc wont have sizes that fit big people...

There you have it...

... and sorry for the rant...

The Ho Ho Hangover...

"I bought my brother some gift-wrap for Christmas. I took it to the Gift Wrap department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping."
~ Steven Wright

Ugh... Here it is, December 28th, and I feel like I have been Christmas-ing for 2 months. I have eaten, drank, eaten and drank all I can eat and drink... and now, now that I sit in my comfy chair at my office, I am experiencing the full effects of what I call the "Ho Ho Hangover".

What is the "Ho Ho Hangover" you ask? Well, let me explain...

Do you think that if you ate one more morsel of turkey, you would puke?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Do you look at chocolates, dainties and bite sized squares of various baking with utter disdain?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Do you want to take down your Christmas tree immediately?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Have you deleted all those Christmas tunes from your iTunes folder?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Are you sick of finding pine needles, shreds of wrapping paper and Clodhoppers around your house?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Have you cursed aloud as you stepped on the bathroom scale?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Do you have "meat sweats?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Are there more than 24 empty beer bottles / 6 empty wine bottes / 3 empty liquor bottles in your recycling bin?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover (or maybe just a plain old hangover)

Are you at work, cursing the fact that the stat holidays are over?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

Are you all family-ed and visit-ed out?
... then you have a Ho Ho Hangover

(**Note -- I really hope that none of my family or my in-laws takes offense to that... as it doesnt mean I am sick of them... because I am not... and I also dont know why I felt the need to insert this comment in here...)

Sorry for getting all Jeff Foxworthy on you there, but I think you get the picture... any number of these things mean you are experiencing what I am experiencing...

Now, dont get me wrong... did I enjoy Christmas? AB-SO-FREAKIN-LUTELY! In fact, I enjoyed it even more than I did in recent years! Recall my post on my "Grinch-sized Revelation" for proof...

It was a great Christmas... My daughter Paige got spoiled rotten, as if I expected anything less of our families... I managed to spoil my wife this year (again), I made out like a bandit with my gifts too, as my wife, daughter, siblings, nephews, parents and in-laws were all so very generous this year. We had a great time on Christmas Eve... we had an outstanding meal (cooked by yours truly) on Christmas Day... we had a fantastic time on Boxing Day and yesterday was fun as well...

all in all, Christmas '05 was the best so far... and the best part is, they are only going to get better as the years go on...

If only I could do something about this Ho Ho Hangover...

Wait, maybe I should treat this like a regular hangover... what's the best cure for that? Hair of the dog... is that what they say?

Well, to do that, I'll have to go eat a turkey bun for lunch, have a butter tart for a snack and listen to Bing Crosby's White Christmas...

uhh... maybe next year...

Crazy rich... or rich crazy?

"A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money. "
~W. C. Fields

Most people I know are your average everyday regular working class individuals... I don't know anyone who is rich. Now, I'm not talking about people who have nice stuff and who make good money at their jobs, I'm talkin about people who are crazy rich... so rich that they wont ever know what it will be like to not be able to afford something. That kind of rich... so I have no baseline, or experience from which to draw any conclusions on rich people, but I have seen several episodes of MTV Cribs... so that should be enough...

And I'm not talking about being wealthy... I'm talking about being rich... there is a difference... for a full explanation, see Chris Rock's standup routine...

Anyway, what would you do if you were suddenly rich beyond your wildest dreams? I'm talking lottery winnings rich... anywhere from 25-50 million big ones... what would you do?

Well, we have all had these conversations amongst our friends before... you know, how everyone goes around and says what they would do... things like:

-Pay off all my bills
-Quit my job
-Buy my mom/family a house/car
-Travel
-Invest x amount and live off the interest
-Take my family/friends on a trip
-Buy a huge house / fancy car
-Move
-etc

You get the gist of it...

But I wonder, how could you not instantly go crazy from having all that money? I mean, the sudden change in everything you know would be mind-blowing to say the least... it could make your skull plates shift like you had the San Andreas fault running down the center of your skull... just imagine for a second not having to work another day in your life and never having to want for anything ever again...

Your head hurt? Mine too...

I honestly think that riches could drive a person crazy... the paranoia of who wants what from you, the fear of losing everything you have, the worry over your new-found (and rather considerable) responsibility... yikes... and I haven't even mentioned media coverage/scrutiny... I don't care how "normal" you are or were before you got paid... being rich can drive a person crazy...

... or maybe ...

Maybe being rich just brings out the craziness in a person? Yeah, that's more like it... I think maybe that being rich pushes those more admirable personality traits, such as humility or respect, to the background and makes way for glaring egotism and greed...

Case in point? This man... Ron Artest... now he may have had some "issues" when he was younger... but you cant tell me that when he got rich (and famous - but thats a whole other topic), that his craziness didn't shove its way to the forefront of his personality.

Money, fame, an agent, personal assistants, a posse, people to handle his money, his public relations, his "music career" and never having to want for anything definitely let his insanity bust through that once humble and quiet persona... its sad...

At first, I thought that Artest was the benchmark for athlete/rich person craziness... until I remembered this man...

Terrell Owens... The Mayor of Crazytown...

If you read Owens' biography, you will read about a shy, awkward boy who was raised by his very religious Grandmother. Owens was uncomfortable around girls, didn't know how to dance, never said much. His introverted shyness drove him to pour himself into sports, where he excelled.

Yada yada yada... the rest is history...

He is now arguably the most dominant receiver in the NFL, but he isn't playing right now. Why? Because he is all kinds of crazy. The only thing that runs faster than he does is his mouth, which never seems to stop moving and spewing out such insanity that even Barry Bonds is like "damn, he's crazy..."

Anyway... I digress...

Getting back on point, I don't think that anyone I know would go crazy if they suddenly got rich... but what the hell do I know? Maybe they would...

But I can tell you this, if they did, I would be the first to tell them... "Naw man... you aint crazy... umm... can I roll with you in your Mercedes S-Class?"

Hey, I'm no dummy...

Don't hate me because you hate your job...

" I do not like work even when someone else does it."
: Mark Twain

After working out at lunch, I decided that I was going to go for a Pita to ease my lunchtime hunger... its fast, its fresh, its healthy... you really cant go wrong...

So I stroll down the street to a local shop called "The Pita Pit", a place I have frequented many times before... normally, the staff is courteous and relatively friendly... even though they all have the outward appearance of overly-pierced, angst-ridden, non-conformist adolescents.

Today was vastly different...

After entering the shop, I stroll up to the counter, and proceed to order a "Club Pita", but not even 2.5 seconds later I change my mind and say, "No, sorry, make that a "Chicken Caesar Pita"... without even looking up or acknowledging my existence, the lackey at the till, sighs, punches some keys on the till, which makes it beep in error... then she proceeds to shut it off (and odd choice I think, considering there is a big old button that says CLEAR... but what do I know?), and as she does this, she looks up at me with disgust, sighs and rolls her eyes at me...

I was a little taken back by this blatant rudeness, but I was snapped out of it when she said, in a monotone voice of obvious displeasure, "That'll be $6.49"...

... I know what you're thinking... $6.49 for a pita? I often think the same thing... I'm pretty sure I could make them for around $1.34 each... but hey, time is money...

anyway, she didn't let me finish before she totaled everything up, as I also wanted a diet coke, so I said, "Oh, uh sorry, could I get a Diet Coke too please?"... now at this point, she has clearly had enough of me, as she has to go through the whole production again (with the beeping, the shutting off of the till, the sighing and the eye-rolling)... so, in an effort to diffuse this situation with comedy I say... "Jeez, could I have made this order any harder for you?"

Now, my comment was obviously meant to put the blame unto myself, but this multi-pierced malcontent again didn't even look up or acknowledge my presence and simply said (with another sigh) "$8.64"...

I have never felt the need to berate or challenge someone in the service/retail industry for their rudeness until that moment... I mean, I am a 28yr old man, who am I to be lecturing 18yr old punks? I can see my Dad doing something like that, but not me... does this mean I am slowly turning into my Dad?

God help me...

Anyway, I fought back the urge to say something to Bitchy McBitcherson, and simply moved along to get my pita... but I couldn't help thinking to myself, how can someone knowingly be that rude to someone? I mean, if it were me, and I even tried to be that rude to someone (on purpose), I would feel bad about it... maybe, its just me... maybe its just her...

Regardless, as I walked out of that shop with my CLUB Pita... yes, they screwed up my order any-damn-way... my final thought to myself was, "don't be pissy to me just because you hate your dead-end low-paying job..."

I felt good about that comment as I walked back to the office, but now, as I type it... I feel like a prick... See? I cant even be non-verbally rude to someone without feeling bad...

Maybe I just don't have it in me... maybe its because its Christmas... who knows...

All I know is that next time I go in there... I am sooo going to be rude to her... on purpose! -- No I wont... who am I kidding?

A Grinch-sized revelation?

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
~ Dr. Seuss

Now, I am no Grinch... as you can probably tell from my post on Christmas tunes , but I think that quote reflects, for me personally, how Christmas can take on a different meaning... even when you think you know what to expect...

I have always loved the holiday season, and Christmas in particular, as you get to enjoy family, food and drink in any amounts you want... oh yeah, and you get some time off work too.

So for me, last year got me really into things, as my wife (6 months pregnant at the time) and I hosted our first Christmas supper for her family and mine, and thankfully, the turkey and everything went off without a hitch...

... and as my wife sat there with her pregnant belly, surrounded by our families, I thought to myself, "man, next year is gonna be different..."

Boy was I right...

With the arrival of our first child, a beautiful baby girl we named Paige, things instantly got a whole lot different. But now as we approach Christmas, and Paige approaches 9 months old, I find myself rediscovering Christmas all over again...

Now, even though Paige is still too young to really grasp the whole concept of Christmas, she still knows that things are different around the house. Gone are the plain, lifeless walls of our home, and here are the twinkly bright lights of Christmas. Shiny wrapping paper lies at her level of play, and pine needles are easily spotted from down on the carpet, which is, her domain... and her's alone...

In fact, here's a pic of Paige running the show on the carpet...

Anyway, like I said earlier, I find myself rediscovering Christmas again this year, and I have that beautiful little girl to thank for it...

I find myself looking forward to Christmas and not for myself... not to see what lies beneath the tree with my name on it... not to get the much needed break from the office... not even for all the food...

Instead I find myself eagerly awaiting Christmas Eve and Day to share it with my family... I cant wait to head over to my in-laws place for our annual Christmas Eve gathering (full of great food, great company, card games and Christmas cheer)... I cant wait to get up on Christmas morning and watch Paige tear open her gifts... I cant wait to see her play with her new toys... I cant wait for my wife to open the gift I got her that is from Paige... I cant wait to see what Paige has gotten me... I cant wait for my family to come over supper and for them to be able to share it with Paige...

I never thought I would feel this way about Christmas... I often thought about my first Christmas as a parent, and I knew it would be different and exciting, but I never knew how much it would be... suddenly, it is totally not about me and it is all about that little girl and my family... I can only imagine how much fun it is going to be when she can actually grasp the whole Santa business...

So I guess this Christmas, and how it has changed for me isn't as drastic as how it did for Mean Old Mr. Grinch, but the underlying message remains the same...

"What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. "

Poker... am I seriously this bad?

"Poker is a godless game, full of random pain." -- Andy Bloch : Professional Poker player

Truer words have never been spoken...

Me and 8 buddies have a monthly poker game that rotates to each person's house each month, and while the stakes are small, the bragging rights are big. We started playing a couple of years ago, right when the poker boom hit, and we continue to play, even though poker has now fallen off the fad list... because honestly, at this point, when 9 guys get together without their wives and kids to drink booze, eat carniverous meals, mock each other as only guys can, talk about fantasy football/basketball/hockey and play cards... well, its good times all around...

For some of us... it seems that Poker Night seems to be becoming less about the poker and more about the night out... hey, we still play cards, dont get me wrong, but gone are the days of serious pre-flop wagering, intense scrutinizing over a $3 bet and overly strategic play... a commonly heard phrase is the one from the movie "The Waterboy", where Farmer Fran (the backswamp bayou coach who you cant understand)... it goes a little something like...

"Be Lib Du Byht Unuba Day" (translated -- We live to fight another day -- or at least I think so)

(We often hear this as someone contemplates a big bet vs. a safer play in order to stay in the game a little longer)

Its almost like one of those Splurge Parties that women are always having... only you're not guaranteed to win or even break even... actually, then I guess its nothing like a Splurge Party... forget I said that...

Anyway, we had Poker Night on Saturday at my buddy Grad's house... the eats were excellent, and consisted of spicy buffalo wings, chili, chips, shrimp ring, etc... you know, the usual... (note the lack of veggie tray... actually, note the lack of veggie altogether)...

Now, the way we play it, is that everyone antes up the usual entry fee (dollar amounts omitted, as it would be incriminating)... and we play blinds, just like the big boys do... only we increase them every half hour, for the sake of expediency (we like to get three games in on one night)... so we will play till there is a winner (someone has all the chips)... he who comes in 2nd, he just gets his money back, while the winner takes all that remains... so, its a decent system, and we all have a good time... well, for the most part...

However, I go there to win... not just to cough up my money (I know I said it is becoming less about the poker and more about the night, but there is still a competetive aspect to it... dont kid yourself)... but when I dont win, or get second... it is my opinion that the two worst places to finish are dead last (first out) or 3rd place...

On Saturday, we played three games... I finished 3rd in the first game... actually I dont feel too bad about this one because I battled back from the brink to claw my way to 3rd... but still... that shit aint cool... all that effort and all I have to show for it is? Nuthin...

In the second game? I finished 3rd... not cool...

In the third game? Well, I played recklessly as it was getting late and I had to take a taxi all the way across town to get home (it cost me a whopping $35 for crissakes), so I lost out quickly and came in 5th...

All in all it was a shitty night of cards for me... I dropped ## dollars and all I had to show for it was a gut full of wings, chili and beer... so, actually, I guess it wasnt too shitty... just the cards were... the food and the company was great...

In all of the poker nights we have played, I have only won 3 games... so, suffice it to say that I am a friggin long way from breaking even... so, my question is, since I have been playing against the same 8 guys for this long and only won 3 times...

am I seriously this bad a poker?

I might be... who knows, maybe I have a glaring tell that I am not aware of... I hope not... I dont think I do... maybe I need to alter my playing strategy (ie no more limping in, play more aggressively, take advantage of position)... maybe I need to cut out the booze...

...hold on... let's not get crazy...

Our next game is going to be on Jan 21st... and dammit, I am gonna try my best to win... as we are approaching "straw that broke the camel's back" territory for me here... I can only stand 2+ years of losing before I make a change...

... who am I? The Cincinnati Bengals? Jeezus...

In my own defense, I must say that I am a very consistent player... (spare me the "consistently bad" jokes, thank you)... and while it means very little to anyone else but me, but I am always among the top 3 or 4 in each game... I just need that extra hand or that one bad beat to put me over the top... hopefully it happens on Jan 21...

regardless, I'll keep you posted... hopefully it is a happier tale... and if not, I guess I can always have a running post on my poker futility and call it "the Captain and Poker Putridity"... or something like that...

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad...

Just a quick post this morning to say happy 33rd anniversary to my Mom and Dad! They were married on this day in 1972... in this day of divorce and broken homes, they stand united and strong...

I love you guys...

I wonder...

After eating Chinese buffet for lunch the other day, I thought to myself, "Is this really Chinese food?"

The answer? A resounding "sort of"...

I am pretty sure that the Chinese food I dined on is vastly different than anything I would actually find in China... now, I dont profess to be a culinary expert, but I can still make that statement with a fair bit of assurance. I mean, the buffet consisted of the following:

ginger beef
sweet and sour pork
chicken fried rice
deep fried boneless dry ribs
deep fried spicy chicken legs
deep fried chicken legs
mixed vegetables
some noodle dish

Is that Chinese? Not sure... I guess its classified more as "Western Hemisphere Chinese Food"... regardless, its still damn tasty...

Once more thing I wondered about... when the staff of said Chinese restaurant shuts down for the day and heads home, what do you think they eat? Do they eat Chinese food? Or in their case, food? I mean, numerous friends of mine who worked in various food establishments have always said that they never ate the food or type of food they prepared each day... they just got sick of it... so, do you think that people who own and run a Chinese food restaurant order pizza or go out for steak or a burger and some fries when they are done for the day?

Who knows...

I love Christmas tunes... or do I?

Christmas time is upon us... obviously, and as I sit here with iTunes shuffling some various Christmas tunes for me, I got to wondering...

When an artist/band decides to record a Christmas album, is that a good thing or bad thing in terms of their career and their success?

Okay, the obvious take here would be that it is a good thing, for no other reason than the artist is still actually recording, which means some label is still taking the time to sign this act and produce their stuff. But really, is it that good?

The other side is that it means one's career is on the slide, that its a vain attempt to regain fans and or exposure. I mean, there are a lot of Christmas albums out there, so, even if youre a band on the downside of your success, recording a Christmas album can do nothing but good for your rep, because Christmas tunes are like clubhouse sandwiches... they are very hard to screw up.

Myself, I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle of that equation. I mean, unless you are a pop band who can churn out all sorts of crap and teens will eat it up even if you were secretly pulling a Juda Priest on them, then I think it is a questionable move in terms of how you are viewed. But at the same time, if youre a legendary (= old) singer who still has fans of all ages, then putting out some Christmas tunes for all to enjoy can actually be a shot in the arm to a career in need of circulation. I mean, the number of good Christmas songs out there are very few, if you want to avoid the whole ultra-religious side of things... so its really a foolproof idea, as everyone will instantly know every word to each song on your album.

Now dont get me wrong, I love Christmas music... I just wonder sometimes what would bring artists to record Christmas tunes... I mean, I can see N'Sync doing it, just because their marketing scheme was to put out as many songs/pictures/articles of themselves as they possibly could while they were popular until people figured out that they all sucked (cept, JT's got skills... he's the modern day Michael Jackson -- only without the freakiness and abusive childhood memories). But what about Mariah Carey? She did a Christmas album in the 90s, and it's pretty good... but what drove her to do so? Sheer love of the holiday season? Not sure...

What about Neil Diamond? John Lennon? Frank Sinatra? Elvis? They have all made some very memorable Christmas music over the years, but at what point in their careers did they decide to make that move? And why? Who knows... but Elvis did record some as young Elvis (who could do no wrong) and as fat old Elvis (who needed the work)... so I guess he would be the ideal litmus test for this question, as he recorded Christmas albums at both points in his career... I guess we'll never know...

One more thing about Christmas music that gets me is that it seems that Christmas music and the National Anthem have become the two music styles that are open to any type of artistic impression. I mean, you see people take all sort of artistic liberties with the National Anthem (see R. Kelly) and the same is true for Christmas tunes (listen to O Holy Night by three different artists and you'll see what I mean)... my question is, how did that come to be? I mean, shouldnt a manager tell someone not to eff with a good thing? Who knows... I'm not a singer or a producer... I'm just a listener... but I can tell you that when I see some random act of the week taking on the National Anthem with numerous runs and lengthy notes, it makes me sick... but on the flip side, when I see someone like BabyFace or Boyz II Men do their take on White Christmas or Let it Snow, I find it refreshing and enjoyable... odd...

anyway... enough for today... back later with thoughts on Chinese food...

What is a Pensieve?

Welcome one and all to the Captain's Chronicles, by yours truly... a blog inspired by my own isatiable need to have my name in print on the internet... I plan to pour out thoughtless, meandering posts on this site, just to get them out of my head... kind of like my own personal "Pensieve", a la Albus Dumbledore of Harry Potter fame... whoops... sorry... too early for a children's book reference?

Anyway... I'll be back later with thoughts only I could come up with...