ABSILVER's World

Top Ten Random Thoughts from the trail for 2023 from Longview, Texas As I start my 58th year on this planet, I have been trying to come up with something meaningful to write about and came up with a top ten list of things I learned or interested me in 2022. 1) I still don't care about the Kardashians. I don't get celebrity culture. It used to be you accomplished something or had a talent for the arts, but today the real accomplishment is being a celebrity. Whether you are an "influencer" online, Paris Hilton, or a Kardashian, this is true. I admire them because they have turned their celebrity into billions of dollars, but only for fleeting moments. 2) I made pizza for the first time.  I did a cast iron pan pizza as I don't have a pizza stone or a "pizza" oven. It came out well because my mother-in-law took leftovers home, which is a two-thumbs up for me.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-srfPL5CWZs 3) Best macaroni and cheese recipe is from the one and ...

I sit here the Sunday after my birthday. For the record, my birthday last Friday was a low-key, rainy day in Longview and ended with an early dinner at a very nice restaurant in Tyler, TX ( Culture ETX ).  Usually, on my birthday, I hide from social media and as many places as possible so the day passes quietly and we move on to the following year.  Dinner was wonderful, and we were back home by 7 PM.  I walked DaisyBelle, who seemed concerned that we had missed her walk and supper, normally a 5 pm walk and dinner. Friday morning, I went for a long walk.  As I looked back on year 57, there were some highlights.  I started a new job with TekMonks and learned that the people are even better than the products and services.  TekMonks products and services are unique, and there is great potential to lead in a cloud-centered technology world, and I look forward to year 58 being a great success. I also have learned to appreciate and enjoy Longview, Texas and the m...

I was in my 20s in Fort Lauderdale and coming to terms with being a gay male in a society that was slowly accepting gay people.  At a time when HIV and AIDs was a death sentence, and people were afraid of just standing close to others like me.  It was a gay bar or two that made me realize I was not alone.  One of my favorites was the Hideaway.  As the name connotates, it was hidden. You had to know where it was. In those days, there were several gay bars in Fort Lauderdale, but they were all quite hidden as I look back.  You had to know where they were. What were they? They were places for gay people to be together and, yes feel safe. Today, in Fort Lauderdale, no more Hideaways as the gay bars are all "out," and many are on the strip of Wilton Manors.  Gay people, straight people, and people of all kinds enjoy hanging out and openly enjoying each other's company.  If you have ever been to Wilton Manors for Halloween or a Pride parade, you would think ...

  I am sitting here on a Sunday morning, June 19th, and it is Father’s Day.   He is a great father, and we are all lucky to be getting ready to celebrate his 91st birthday, but I wanted to share my thoughts to celebrate my Dad on Father's Day.   My first thoughts of my Dad are with his Dad, my Grandpa.  I watched him for many years, from childhood to adulthood, treat his father with love and respect through sad times and happy times.  Dad showed such respect and love for his father and showed us by example what was important. My Dad, in short, gave his children the greatest gift by showing us his life priorities that were quite different from many fathers I knew in my generation.  While many parents around us were getting divorced, my father showed love and respect for my Mom.   He is and was a great attorney.  He would share his experiences, but as much as he has genuinely enjoyed practicing law, that is not the top memory I have o...

I have been sitting on the sidelines for a while. Not writing in my personal blog as I begin a new career adventure with TekMonks. I am doing a great deal of writing for TekMonks, which I enjoy, but it has also been a bit challenging to find something I feel interesting enough and passionate enough to write about. That said, I have found something that is on my mind. I appreciate all the people who post on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook who have written books and podcasts about their advice to us all on improving work, family, home, and other recommendations. I am sure they come from their best practices and good intentions, and I thought what I would share some of my words of wisdom as they may be.  I am 57, I know at this age in the professional world that is considered old and dated, but I feel neither. I have had a varied career starting at 13 as a camp counselor, and then to IBM, where I earned a number of 100% clubs and a Golden Circle before headed to NY, where my career va...

So, I have been thinking about Pat and Bill's upcoming trip to Savannah, as they have asked for recommendations for their time in Savannah.   I may be a bit biased, but I think Savannah is one of the prettiest cities in the country and has a lot to offer that I think you and Bill will enjoy. Here are some of my recommendations, and I can't wait to hear from others on Facebook. A bit of background will help set the stage for your enjoyment.  Savannah was founded in 1733.  Georgia was the thirteenth colony, founded by James Oglethorpe.  You may say why does this matters for your weekend to come, but Oglethorpe was ahead of his time, and Savannah benefits twice.  One, he settled Savannah up the Savannah River about 10 or 20 miles.  The coastal area that includes Tybee has stayed pretty natural with marshlands and such and so Savannah is fairly well protected in times of storms.  You can contrast that to Charleston which is built basically right on th...

I was asked by Sara, for some good chicken recipes. It turns out during the pandemic we may have been ready to build a coop as there are a number of recipes we have tried and I thought I would share with you all. We try for healthy recipes, but not all of these are.  We have been enjoying chicken thighs a great deal, but I know breasts are leaner and healthier.  For those that are curious, not all of them are from the Barefoot Contessa, and some of the healthier ones are actually Weight Watchers. My go-to chicken recipes: Let’s start with my go-to recipe for chicken breasts. This is from the Barefoot Contessa.  I found it as part of her chicken salad recipe.  The key here is these are bone-in and skin-on breasts.  I have never made the chicken salad, but consider it as a bonus.  https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-salad-contessa-recipe-1938131 Next is a roasted chicken and this one also comes from Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa.  Really...