ABSILVER's World

A few lessons learned from not being on Facebook: For 7 days, I had to search for new cat videos and cute dog pictures, as they were not served up on my news feed. Missed the ease of hearing and seeing what others are up to, and the ease of communicating with friends and family. It is not easy to block websites on Chrome, and so I only hit the URL twice last Friday by mistake. As Hurricane Dorian approaches, I have not been in as much contact with friends and family in Florida as I would if hovering over Facebook. Overall, though, I would say the experience being disconnected has been most enjoyable. What I am realizing is that Facebook can be, for me, a distraction from my day to day life.   That may be more than welcome at times, but it also can also cause me to not be as focused on life choices and decisions as maybe I should be.   It is also interesting because I am also less focused on what other people are doing and celebrating in their lives and having to be more

OK, so here I am, August in Austin.   It is our third summer in Austin and the 100-degree days don't seem so bad although they shorten Daisy Belle's adventures in the daytime.   Maybe it is the heat, but it is time to shake things up! As I walked around Lady Bird Lake before the sun rose, this morning, I thought about what I could do to be more in the present and change things in my life.   Already have a dog and a cat, not looking for fish or rabbits, so I think we have all the pets we can handled.   Maybe a new hairstyle?   But being bald what could I really do so radical, I have already shaved my head at times, and nobody even noticed.   I thought about learning a new language or how to paint.   How, when and where would I find the time for that! Then I read this op-ed piece in the NY Times on DataInternet Privacy Tracking .   All these sites, advertisers, and social sites that are eager to track my every move.   Sort of made me want to run and hide from the

I slept well last night... and woke up mad as hell. There is a mass shooting in El Paso, 20 people dead and 26 injured, and the next story in NY Times,  is another shooting in Dayton Ohio 9 are dead and 16 injured and I slept well last night. I continue to sleep well at night, while We the People have detention centers, or dare I say concentration camps at our borders that are treating human beings less than animals.   My sweet DaisyBelle has more rights than they have.   Think about it, you can go to jail for killing and torturing animals in this country.   But who will go to jail for allowing the treatment of people and their children whose main crime is looking to escape violence and poverty for a better life in the country that is known for the free and brave?   Somewhere we should remind ourselves that they are human beings and deserve to be treated with kindness and care and not as an evil invasion. Apparently as the killer in El Paso showed, we are c

There are opportunities that arise in ones life, that, when taken, can open our minds and show us how to accept differences.   It all began with a cat.   Some readers might be in the “must love dogs” camp. Other on the “must love cats” team. From my point of view, many people who love dogs, don't like cats. Take me for example. My entire life I was sure that I was allergic to cats as I always seemed to sneeze around them. My limited exposure to them plus the sneezing had me believing that I would never actually have a cat in my house. Dogs, such as Daisybelle that you may all have heard of or seen a few pictures of in my blog, Facebook or other places, are easy for me to love and understand. They are happy when you come home, want to make you happy, and with a good personality can be quite entertaining.     People can be the same way. If you look around your neighborhood, you’ll probably find that your neighbors share many of your hopes, dreams, and aspi

“ Brian is only happy with 97%, of the results at work " said Frank in conversation with a former colleague at IBM, Sid, and his lovely wife, Mafel. We were meeting for an early dinner at Jack Allen’s on Anderson Lane.  Sid is great, and Mafel, charming, and we all got along well, especially Mafel and Frank as they both have similar charm and energy. They provided a great contrast as Sid and I discussed IBM and work.  With the help of Mafel and Frank, as the evening progressed and after a glass of wine, the topic of discussion transitioned from work to Austin and favorite places to eat and be entertained. Later at home I couldn’t shake what Frank said, "Brian is only happy at work when projects and the job achieve 97% of his expectations and results." He went on to suggest, and rightfully so, that any time my expectations are not met or exceeded translates into professional misery. This struck me as very insightful. It also made me reali

Everybody deserves healthcare, and medicines that cure diseases, eliminate allergies.   Today’s innovation in medicine and care help reduce pain, anxiety and depression, improve nutrition and provide hope and well-being for those with diseases such as cancer and AIDs live long and healthier lives. In a world where most countries provide healthcare as part of their society where does that leave the US?    Since I left the safety of a larger employer such as IBM, every career move has had the underlying worry will I have health insurance.   It isn’t just a discussion of costs; it is a discussion as a middle-age male it gets harder to get coverage that is also affordable.    Obamacare helped stabilize the costs, and made it easy to sign up, but with the attacks from the political right the concern that leaving employment, to say be an independent contractor can come with its own set of challenges. Why should a citizen of this country not have access to basic healthcare, a

I have been on an adventure these past few weeks, and led me to write a poem. I fight for us I fight for love  I fight to be content I fight to see my family smile.  I cry, life is changing.  I cry, life is freedom I cry, life is my own I cry, life is our family  I smile, for happiness  I smile, for my own path I smile, for my own uniqueness  I smile, for independence  I shout to live I shout to make my own mistakes  I shout for love I shout for the road not taken I strive to be who my dog loves I strive to understand the love of a cat I strive to understand who I am. I strive to survive