Topic Tuesday #176 2015/12/15 "Sabbatical"

Topic Tuesday #176 2015/12/15 "Sabbatical" 

sab·bat·i·cal səˈbadək(ə)l/

noun- a period of paid leave granted to a college teacher for study or travel, traditionally every seventh year"

Though I may not be a professor, and though I have not been doing this blog for 7 years, I am going to take a wee break. I missed one, and then two and now I am under the weather with the Christmas season upon me. I will resume the Topic Tuesday Blog in 2016.

Until then, tune in (or download) the O'Rly Radio Show with fresh content every Friday at 9:30 pm eastern, available at www.orlyradio.com and on finer podcast aggregators around the world.

Topic Tuesday #127 2014/12/23 - "Achoo choo for Christmas"

Topic Tuesday #127 2014/12/23 - "Achoo choo for Christmas"

So there I was (so many great stories start this way, this is not one of them) renovating my bathroom. I had taken the precautions that had served well on previous days. I was cutting cement wall board for the tile backer in the shower. The diamond blade kicks a lot of fine chemical laden patter into the air and breathing it will knock you down pretty quick. Things went well and the boards were going in, the mortar mix was setting. It was time to take care of family matters, as I started sneezing and noticed my nose running. 

Here in Florida, we have absurd weather. Humid all the time, sunny much of the time, hot most of the time. During winter we tend to have an 88 degree day followed by a 52 degree day. Then, many times, it will spike back to the 80's or 90's. This rapid shifting of the temperatures tends to make me sick. It was chilly Monday morning. Tuesday, the air is back on in the house trying to cope. So I have the sniffles, the days leading up to Christmas. 

My saving grace this year is the vacation time I took to renovate the bathroom and work on the house. I'm scheduled out, so falling asleep after dropping the kids off to daycare was wonderful. Right now, I'm about 10 minutes from going back to sleep for the rest of the night. 

I am on the mend, and will be signing off key holiday favorites by the electric firelight in no time! I hope all of you are having a happy and healthy holiday season.

Topic Tuesday #118 2014/10/21 "Holidays"

Topic Tuesday #118 2014/10/21 "Holidays"

Holidays are most often marked by the passage of time and where they fall on a calendar. We have, through time, become less sensitive to the days they fall upon. Today it was brought to my attention that the Halloween supplies were already on clearance and going back in their shipping container homes. The holiday hasn't even passed and is more than a week away... Christmas decorations are now completely dominant in the big box retail emporiums of misery. Might I remind everyone out there that Thanksgiving is still on the horizon..? This is out of hand. Christmas decorations came out about the same time as the Halloween decorations this year, and the executives have decided that the spirit of holiday shopping needs to get going.

They are taking all the fun out of the holidays, and many of them have some serious issues too. 

At this point, I have decided to rename the holidays. I know it is a big step, but bear with me. 

  • New Years Day can stay because it makes perfect sense. 
  • Valentines Day is now Heart Day
  • Mardis Gras is Bead Day, Fat Tuesday is still acceptable. 
  • St. Patricks Day is now Green Day, no offense to the band, but I'm certainly trying to avoid becoming a basket case.
  • April Fools Day, Joke Day
  • Easter is Bunny and Egg Day.
  • Earth Day, Mothers Day, Flag Day, Fathers Day, are simple enough to remain unchanged.
  • Independence Day is Firework Day
  • Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Veteran's Day are very meaningful but are basically BBQ Day 1, 2, & 3 regardless of how many people try to remind everyone.. 
  • Columbus Day should be ignored.
  • Halloween is Costume Day
  • Thanksgiving is Turkey Day
  • Christmas is Tree Day.

There... Enjoy... Maybe someone will actually remember what the holidays are all about but for now get your Halloween... I mean Costume Day, shopping done soon before it's gone.