Welcome to my little Nerdery on the Net! :)

It has finally happened! My Notary Public journal finally has entry #1 in the book thanks to an acknowledgement for a power of attorney that has the first use of my notary seal that is now out in the wild, wild world! There's 611 more entries to go before it's time to get another journal book so I think that will be a while yet but that won't stop me from savouring notarial act #1…

Almost immediately after the news broke of yet *ANOTHER* mass-shooting event, this time in Louisville KY by a bank employee that was about to be terminated and decided he was going to be the terminator instead, we got this tweet from one of the usual suspects in the "thoughts and prayers" squad. Yep, I get it that this latest atrocity is in the Senate Minority Turtle's backyard and I would hope that deep down in…

"Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts. Only the heir to the throne of the kingdom of idiots would fight a war on twelve fronts." Ambassador Londo Mollari - Babylon 5 "Ceremonies of Light and Dark" Will that idiot currently occupying the Governor's mansion in Tallahassee ever learn that when you're dealing with Disney's lawyer corps that you'll find out very quickly that they're the sort of people that can follow you into…

“If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Obi-Wan Kenobi Yesterday, those of us in North Carolina saw our General Assembly devolve into an actual super-majority with the switch of party by Rep Tricia Cotham from the Democrats to the Republicans which now gives them the ability to override Governor Cooper's veto at will. To be fair, this is not as much of a change in how the…

Well, it's official. Senator Berger and Representative Moore have gotten their greatest reward from the hyperpartisan gerrymandering that has been to the Supreme Court twice only to fall on deaf ears and North Carolina's voters being left to fend for themselves. With the defection of Mecklenburg County's Representative Tricia Cotham who was elected as a Democrat in the 112th District by double-digits to the Republicans, they now have the outright super-majority in the NC House…

After watching the relative non-event of former President Trump's indictment and the subsequent press conference by New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, I'll confess that I had a rather impertinent thought when I came across an article from one of the local TV news sites showing that the signs announcing you've arrived at my hometown are already being dismantled. So far I've resisted the urge to weigh in with my take on the looming…

In a few hours in downtown Manhattan, our country will see the arrest, booking, and arraignment of former President Trump on criminal charges. No matter what happens this afternoon, this will be the first time that an ex-President has had to answer to criminal charges laid against them. It's not the first time that charges of misbehaviour in office have been contemplated for those who have served as President. There have been several impeachments and…

For over a year now, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Disney Company have been locked in an incredibly bitter and nasty public fight that is rather exceptional for those of us who have watched and experienced how Disney operates in Central Florida for decades. In a nutshell, Disney was granted extraordinary powers to essentially be a government in all but name when the Reedy Creek Improvement District was created in 1967. At the time,…

One of the leading voices of the "thoughts and prayers" squad in the aftermath of the school shooting in Nashville is none other than Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN 5) who happens to be the incumbent representative of the district that contains the school. Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words but I'm thinking this one is definitely worth the $1,000 the National Rifle Association put into his campaign coffers in the 2022…

Early this morning, the phone chirped out an alert that there was an active shooter situation in downtown Raleigh and that Ligon Middle School had been placed under a code yellow lockdown with the scene of the shooting literally being a couple of blocks away. In fact, I know that area very well as that is where I usually make a right turn to take the back way to the fields where Katie's lacrosse team…

It certainly did to me when my stepfather suggested we sit down and watch the movie adaptation of "Fiddler on the Roof" featuring legendary actor Chaim Topol playing the lead role of Tevye. The movie spanned *TWO* VHS tapes which should give you an idea of how long ago this conversation was and the state of video technology at the time! Oy vey! I'll confess that I had no idea what the movie was about…

OK, now that I've gotten the kind of heavy stuff out of the way...now we can go with the story I was originally planning on writing this evening. If we set the Wayback Machine for a little over two weeks ago, you would have found me in a classroom for the first time in about thirty years learning everything about becoming a Notary Public for the Old North State and then sitting one of the…

I had hoped to write of much happier news after Katie's and Enloe's first lacrosse game of the season but this afternoon's bit of excitement really won't wait. Today was Unify which is a special club at Enloe which pairs kids with special needs with mentors for fun activities geared for them. It could be some sort of sport or crafting activity and it's a nice way for Alex and Katie to spend an extra…

Another week, yet another act of verbal self-immolation that is absolutely and breathtakingly lacking in even a modicum of self-awareness of the blatant racism being spewed. This time, "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams finds himself square in the cross-hairs of outrage with hundreds of newspapers that syndicated/reprinted the strips dropping "Dilbert" from their funny pages. Truth be told, it was hard not to be shocked that there apparently are still hundreds of newspapers in circulation in…

Every now and then, I find myself wandering over to "The Globe and Mail" website for a bit of news from the Great White North. It seems so ironic mourning the passing of Gordon Pinsent who delightfully played Constable Benton Fraser's deceased father Robert on the series "Due South". "Due South" had the distinction of being the first Canadian-produced show to have a prime-time broadcast slot on a major American television network (CBS). It was…

For the first time in over 30 years, I found myself in a college classroom this morning to take the NC Secretary of State’s required course to become an official North Cackalacky Notary Public. The course and the examination one has to sit afterward has a reputation for being one of if not the most stringent and toughest in the nation requiring 80% as a passing score prior to being able to make application. As…

For the last few days, a Chinese balloon the size of three buses with a instrument package with solar panels dangling below it has been drifting over the continental United States and has made it's way from Montana to Missouri and is now hovering over western North Carolina. There seems to be a lot of anxiety surrounding this balloon that Beijing initially denied existed at all and then finally has admitted was their balloon but…

I know it's going to seem somewhat shocking that as much time as I've spent behind the camera lens through the years, I have rarely had any desire to be in front of one. In fact, were it not for the trove of pictures and slides I unearthed from my father's garage, there really wouldn't be all that many pictures of me in my younger days compared to how many I've taken of the kids…

(This is a variation on a comment I'd made on a YouTube video by "The Hockey Guy" where he referenced the Ivan Provorov controversy. Mr Speaker, I'd like unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks... :) ) "Hockey is for Everyone is the umbrella initiative under which the League encourages clubs to celebrate the diversity that exists in their respective markets, and to work to achieve more welcoming and inclusive environments for all fans.…

The following letter to my father was written several months ago whilst I was visiting with him at Arlington National Cemetery on a gorgeous August morning. There's something about that spot about half way down Section 76 that is peaceful and inspiring as I was reflecting on the past few days spent on walkabout in Washington DC and about to head toward the Outer Banks to collect the kids, Mistletoe, and likely a fair heap…

Are you flipping kidding me? I'm still trying to wrap my head round more classified documents being found where they ought not to be and in the possession of people who clearly should have known better! Apparently these documents were found in an office used by President Biden prior to his election when he was a member of a Washington think tank (now that's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one and having grown up…