Lots of people do it: they list their New Year's Resolutions with great determination and resolve . This year, I am going to stop smoking. Lose weight. Get in shape. Find a new job. Learn a language. Whatever.

Mike Fak's, Blundering Through Life

I imagine starting off 2009; I should do another one of my goofy quotes segments. I have been keeping the stranger ones I have come up with for the last few years and someday, in the far, far future, I imagine I will pop them into a little book. Actually, a few of these quips, quotes and really bad jokes came into being in response to an inquiry from one of you Warpies. So in effect this stuff...

Messages from Outerspace

HEADACHES There are many causes of headaches. There is muscle tension, job stress, colds and eating or drinking something you really shouldn't have. Then there are breakfast bars and refrigerators. We have a breakfast bar opposite our main kitchen counter. To maximize storage space, a cabinet was built in a corner that can only be accessed from the breakfast bar side. I store the...

Why do we need to drink "so much" water? The average 150 pound adult is made up of approximately 2/3rds water. That's 40-50 quarts of water or 80-100 pounds of water per person! Your body uses about three quarts of water a day to carry out its basic functions. That water needs to be replaced through the beverages we drink and the food we eat. Many experts agree that most normally active...

Many Americans are addicted to credit. That's one of the reasons we are in such a financial mess right now. Those who are under the power of this addiction need to begin the process of breaking free and the sooner the better. Getting started is the key, so one must start somewhere, even if it is a very modest or seemingly insignificant step. Like they say, "a journey of 1000 miles begins with...

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? Most of us like to start the new year with hopes and plans for a good year. The past is behind us and we carry over the blessings, memories, and lessons it has taught us. But today is a new day, a new year, and we can start fresh. We can have new beginnings and set new goals. What would you like to be different this coming year? Maybe you want to...

The Grace of Gratitude

I have a friend, a really terrific friend, who, besides being incredibly beautiful, also happens to be incredibly talented. She makes beautiful things; with her words she writes books, with her hands she paints and molds clay, with her heart she grows the world around her. She's really something. A treasure in my world, to be sure. Recently, she's been going through some very new...

They say that life is nothing more, Than chance encounters o'er and o'er, From childhood 'till an adult be, Our history is all we see. I ponder all of life's 'What Ifs', And view them all as little gifts, While some I've opened, some I've not, And some I've simply just forgot. I see my children growing old, And wonder how it would unfold, If I had married someone else, Instead of her...

Elephants in the Room

New Year's Eve / Day is probably my favorite holiday of the year. Something profound occurs when people feel that they've been given the chance to start over. No other date universally marks the passing of what is old in exchange for the beginning of something new like New Year's Day does. 2008 has been a dark, dismal year for many. To me, 2008 is the year of the culmination of many moral...

(This is the Introduction from a book I am currently working on. The subtitle is: What NOT to Do Before Opening Your Mouth to Speak . Your comments would be greatly appreciated.) They say that man's greatest fear is public speaking; his second greatest fear is dying. Imagine that most people would rather be dead than stand and give a speech! But did you know that man's 3 rd greatest fear...