November 15, 2007 by ratcheer.

I was feeling stressed out after a pretty hard day at the office this afternoon, so I started practicing my deep breathing exercise. While I was doing it, I remembered back to when it was first taught to me and it struck me - that was really cool! I was taught this very specific deep breathing technique by none other than Baba Ram Dass. The time would have been around 1975. He was giving a seminar sort of presentation one evening at the University of Alabama, where I was a student. I was expecting a sizable crowd, but I was one of only about 15 or 20 who were interested enough to show up. I met him personally at the end of his talk, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say we had a meaningful conversation.

Anyway, it is kind of amazing how fairly significant life events can go completely forgotten for years, only to pop up again when least expected.

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October 28, 2007 by ratcheer.

I made a simple roasted chicken breast dish for my family that came out wonderfully.

I sprayed a roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray. Then I placed four frozen boneless chicken breasts in the pan and sprinkled them with Old Bay seasoning. I topped them with Herbs de Provence. Then I dashed soy sauce into the bottom of the pan so as not to wash the seasonings off the chicken. I roasted it at 375 F for one hour and let it stand for ten minutes before serving.

I served it with gourmet organic Black and Mahogany rice. And simple frozen mixed vegetables. Delicious!

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September 9, 2007 by ratcheer.

I am having a pretty good time with my wireless Internet connection. I am using the Opera Mini browser on my Samsung A717. I have found mobile-friendly apps or links for Gmail, Google Maps, Fandango, National Weather Service, and several other interesting things.

My AT&T 3G and HSDPA connections seem to be very fast and reliable.

Overall, a good experience, so far. I haven’t gotten a bill yet, though.

Tim

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September 1, 2007 by ratcheer.

It has been an eventful week.

On Monday, my doctor reported that I have a condition I didn’t previously know about. So, I have to completely revamp my diet and take another medication. Bleh!

Also on Monday, our new cell phones arrived. Tommy and I got Samsung A717’s and Carolyn got a Nokia 6102i. Today, I signed Tommy and me up for internet access and text messaging. It is hard to figure out how to use them, effectively. It is exciting, but puzzling.

It looks like my Braves are falling out of the pennant and wild card races. Alabama plays, tonight, though!

I used D. R. Harris Arlington English shaving soap with an Israeli blade all week. It is excellent. Next week, I will use George F. Trumper’s Coconut Oil soap with a Swedish Gillette.

I need to post more often and have better focused posts!

Tim

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July 22, 2007 by ratcheer.

I had been holding back my Badger and Blade English Gentleman’s razor and finest silvertip badger brush since I bought them in January. I was waiting to use them to celebrate my birthday. So, last night, I took them out and used them.

Both have beautiful faux horn handles which range in color from light beige to deep brown. The razor has a nice, fat handle that is long and easy to grip. The hair of the brush is long lofted and quite dark looking for this grade of hair.

I used a new Swedish Gillette blade and St. Charles Shave’s Bay Rum With a Twist shave creme. I prepared my face with Pantene Pro V hair conditioner. Everything performed wonderfully and I got a close, comfortable shave. I finished it up with T. N. Dickenson’s witch hazel.

On a side note, I had lost track of my Swedish Gillettes for several weeks. I thought I had possibly thrown them away by mistake. But, I pulled out my large box of shaving supplies and found them in a separate location from all my other blades. I’m glad I found them, because they are difficult to find and expensive.

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July 4, 2007 by ratcheer.

I thought I’d weigh in on something I love - reading. I have been reading for a long time and I’ve had quite a few favorites over the years. My top favorites of the past several years have been Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Patrick O’Brian. As much as I love Stephen King, I’d have to say that O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series is the best fiction I’ve ever read. It is packed with historical accuracy, action, adventure, and well developed characters. I read the twenty books of the series, in order. I was sad that there would be no more when I finished the last one.
A couple of months ago, I was headed on a short vacation to Colorado Springs and I was looking for something to read, but I had nothing particular in mind. When I saw Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtey, I thought it would be perfect. I had seen the mini-series years ago, but I remembered nothing about it except the long cattle drive. Anyway, the book completely blew me away. So, I bought the other three books in the series. I am now about half way through the second one, Streets of Laredo. It is as good or better than Lonesome Dove and that’s saying a lot!

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March 23, 2007 by ratcheer.

I saw a very good movie, last night. I thought I was just taking my 9-year old son to a kid flick, but it was very well done and gave me some new insight on the human condition.

It was The Bridge to Terabithia. No spoilers here, but it seemed to show how one person’s consciousness and outlook on life can be permanently affected by the happenstance of a new friend. The new girl in town led the boy to open up the ways he looked at things, in the end changing him forever.

The ending was contrived, but overall I would recommend it to anyone.

Tim

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March 20, 2007 by ratcheer.

This is my first post. So, I am obviously new to this. But, here goes!

My name is Tim and I am 55 years old. I am married and have two sons. I am an Oracle Database Administrator at a large financial corporation. I have been an IT professional for 31 years.

I am interested in lots of things. I will talk about them as the mood strikes me.

I hope I can be interesting enough that others will want to have dialogs.

Until later,

Tim

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