Question: "How're ya doin' ?" Answer ...

... (embellished a little, but not much):

... there's always someone who just has to know "How you're doin'?"

What a week!  Had a note from SONY that our BRAVIA flat-panel TV could spontaneously burst into flame, so we had a Tech visit us and take the whole thing apart, test the innards and tell us ours was not one that would do that

... maket went up ... then drove to remote work site for two days of 8 hr-per-day training on a new EHRS (electronic health records system)

... market went down ... then they killed "Al Gathafi," variously rendered as "Al Qaddafi," "Algathafi," and "Al-Gathafi." ("variously rendered" in this case referring to the spelling of his name, not what the rebels did to him). To make it worse ther is the ironically-named "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights" and we wondered more about the spelling

... then the market went up (sort of) ... Note: And that's just his surname. Variations on his given name include Muammar, Moammar, Mu'ammar, and Moamar, and many others. Once you've settled on how to spell his first and last names, you then have to decide whether you want to add the Arabic prefix "al-" before his last name. Which can also be spelled "el-." And then, as the Editor of the story,  you have to decide whether the prefix should be capitalized ... or not

... then the market ... well, you know

... This is the point where most editors would give up on him and run a story on Justin Bieber instead (sp? Beiber, Beeber, Beaber ... at least we know it doesn't require the prefix El- or el-, capitalized or not), but his assassination was big enough to get reported with all the name variations, probably just to make sure he was really the properly "named one" who was dispatched

... then I got home from worksite, which took 4 1/2 hours instead of the usual 2 1/2 (due to work on the Bay Bridge causing one-lane traffic hold-ups)

... got to bed at 11:30 PM, awakened at 1:30 AM when wife got sick (minor illness, but we were both awake), then finally got back to sleep at 5:30 AM or so, awakened at 8:45 AM and called the cardiology office to tell them we were not going to be there in 45 minutes to keep her appointment

... then found out that overall we were up $4,500+ in the market for the week!

So, all-in-all, it was quite a week.  I am going to the wet bar in the kitchen now and believe I will just drink until Sunday night and hope for a better week coming up.

All of which proves: "If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question."

"So, how are YOU doin'?"

People Come and People Go

PEOPLE COME AND PEOPLE

GO

SOME ARE GOOD AND SOME

SO-SO

WHO CARES?

NO ONE INQUIRES WHAT'S

INSIDE

THEY JUDGE THE CATTLE BY THE

HIDE

WHAT MATTERS?

NOT YOUR THOUGHTS NOR INNER

FEELINGS

NOR SECRET INTERPERSON

DEALINGS

SO WHAT?

THE SO-SO ONES WITH PRETTY

HIDES:

BEWARE OF MOTIVES DEEP

INSIDE

THEY CARE.

ABOUT THEMSELVES, THEIR WANTS, THEIR

NEEDS

THEIR ACTIONS ARE SUCH SELFISH

DEEDS

THEY WANT.

THE GOOD ONES PLAN AND THINK,

INQUIRE

THEY HAVE NO BEAUTY BUT

ASPIRE

THEY GIVE.

THEIR THOUGHTS ARE ALWAYS OF THE

OTHER:

WIFE AND EX-WIFE, SISTER-BROTHER.

THEY PLAN.

BEAUTY HIDES BENEATH A

SKIN

TRANSLUCENT, ALMOST PAPER

THIN

THEY BRUISE.

FANCY THOUGHTS BRING

RIDICULE

SO THEY USUALLY PLAY THE

FOOL

SO FRIGHTENED.

SHOW THE PEOPLE HOW YOU

THINK

NEVER, (WHAT THEY DO IS

SHRINK).

GET SMALLER.

SQUEEZE THE LITTLE MAN

INSIDE

QUIET, QUIET, STEM THE

TIDE

BE COOL.

ALL THE TIME HIS MIND IS

BURNING

IN HIS GUT IDEAS

CHURNING

THINKING.

SLOWLY COURAGE GAINS A

HOLD

HE GETS BIGGER, STRONGER,

BOLD.

HE'S MOVING.

SO HE TESTS, SUGGESTS

PROPOSES

AND THEY ALL LOOK DOWN THEIR

NOSES

NEVER GOOD ENOUGH.

BRIEF THE FIRE AND SHORT THE

HEAT

QUICKLY STUNG AND SIMPLY

BEAT

ONE WORD.

SO WHAT HAPPENS TO THE

SOFT ONES

TO THE ONES WITH

QUIET BEAUTY

DO THEY WILT AND DIE LIKE FLOWERS

IN THE FALL

DO THEIR DUTY

FOLLOW ALL THE OTHER

PATTERNS

NATURES HAS PRESCRIBED FOR

CYCLES

DROP THEIR PETALS AND GO

DORMANT

DEAD-LIKE

UGLY

BARREN STEMS?

PROBABLY.

APPRARENTLY, (THE SECOND IS A BETTER CHOICE)

BUT THOSE SCIENTISTS WHO

DISCERN NATURE'S

CUNNING WISDOM

CAMOFLAGED

KNOW THAT

DEEP

WITHIN

AN UGLY, BARREN COVER

IS A BUDDING LEAF AND FLOWER

UNDISCERNABLE TO ALL BUT

INTELLECT

UNDETECTABLE TO ALL BUT

IMAGINATION

INVISIBLE TO ALL BUT

PATIENCE AND

THOSE WHO BELIEVE

IN MAGIC

BUT WHY NOT?

IT'S A GREAT DEFENSE!

LIE DOWN AND DIE AND

WHO BOTHERS A DEAD BODY

NO BODY HURTS

A LEAFLESS TWIG

PEOPLE DON'T PICK PETALS OFF

WILTED BUDS

HEAT BURNS (INFERNO) IN THE HUMUS. GUEST, (EDGAR?)

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL IN THE HUMAN BREAST, EDGAR.

HEAP DUNG (INFERNAL) ON THE HUMOR,

LEST IT SPRING TO LIFE

INFERNO-LIKE

WARMING THOSE

BREASTS AND

BRINGING LIGHT WHERE

ONLY DARKNESS LAY

ENCASING THE DEAD TWIG

NOW INTAGLIO AGAINST A

SETTING SUN

A SILHOUETTE OF WHAT

ONCE WAS

NOW COVERED WITH THE VERY

NOURISHMENT

(AD NAUSEUM)

(CUM PUNISHMENT)

THAT WILL FEED THE TWIG

ETERNAL SURVIVOR

BACK TO LIFE

FROM WHENCE IT CAME

TO       WHERE IT IS..

TO       WHERE IT WILL ETERNALLY RESIDE

HAVING LIVED AND

TAKEN LIFE FROM DUNG AND

DUNG FROM LIFE AND

MADE ONE OUT OF BOTH

TO SPROUT

AND GROW

AND BLOOM

AND FOOL US ALL

BY SEEMING TO DIE, BUT ONE MORE TIME

REINCARNATE ITSELF

DEFIANTLY AND

ETERNALLY

SELF-RENEWING

ANACHRONISM.