Should the Government Step In On the Obesity Issue? There can be nothing more sanctimonious than a reformed smoker so I refuse to be one of those. I have no problems with friends who smoke and I don't chide or berate them for their bad habit. They know it is stupid and unhealthy and they don't need... ( added 142 days 18 hours ago.)

Saving Animals: One At a Time I just did a story on our local Humane Society of Logan County. They use the name but aren't affiliated with any national chapter. They are a group of 150 individuals who, seeing a need for an animal shelter, formed their group two plus years... ( added 145 days 22 hours ago.)

My Conundrum With Living In a World Full of Animals. I'm not sure why I have such a soft spot for animals but I do. A great many of you can say the same thing. I know I could never be a hunter. Then again I won't be a hypocrite and condemn hunting since I can eat steak or pork chops or chicken with... ( added 149 days 21 hours ago.)

Hate Mail and Columns Keep Increasing. Well I took a long weekend off and visited old friends up north. It was a fun time and it is good to get away for a couple days from the bump and grind. I am one of those antsy types of people so I enjoy a couple days away rather than a week-long... ( added 151 days 22 hours ago.)

Greatest Golf Stories In the History of Mediocrity I will start off by saying all the tests came back negative. I will watch what I do so let's all move on. I mentioned my golf joke previously but I don't golf. I haven't since 1976. I do have a plethora of good golf stories and since it is the... ( added 156 days 20 hours ago.)

Nothing Wrong With Me; Unless There Is Now that was a classically ambiguous and contradictory statement wasn't it? I don't feel comfortable talking about my health but since I started this I will finish it up as best I can. I had assumed I would go into the hospital for a while and... ( added 159 days 22 hours ago.)

Facing My Mortality, I've Kept My Sense of Humor. I fibbed all of you folks as well as everyone in Lincoln this past week and I apologize. I didn't have the flu. To be honest I'm not sure what I had but the initial results are looking like ole Mikey had a small stroke, or then again maybe not. Or... ( added 163 days 19 hours ago.)

An Actor I Am Not. Well I told all of you I would tell how the local cemetery walk went. Many of my friends who listened to my portrayal of a man long gone said I did fine. But after all, friends will say kind things no matter how bad you do something. To... ( added 166 days 21 hours ago.)

Computer Journalism a Great Job When You Get Sick. Well, I am definitely under the weather with something. I'm not sure what but I know I have no energy, feel nauseous and my brain is as thick as molasses right now. I doubt it's the swine flu although with all the bacon and pork chops I have... ( added 169 days 21 hours ago.)

Playing a Dead Guy Probably Fits Me. Well, this weekend I'm in that cemetery walk I told you all about. I imagine it is time to look at the script and try and get in my mind the information I am supposed to tell people. As a school kid, I never studied for a test until the night... ( added 173 days 20 hours ago.)

The Things That Frost Me the Most. I have been pretty much a namby pamby lately with what I have been writing so I think it's time to let my curmudgeonly side come out a bit. A lot of things in this world frost my kiester but I only have so much time so here are a few of my biggest... ( added 177 days 22 hours ago.)

Looking Back On the Past Year. Well, my job with the Lincoln Daily News is now one year old. Like everything in my writing life, this part of it was an accident. I had left the local print publication when they were taken over by corporate buffoons who started gutting staff... ( added 179 days 18 hours ago.)

The Eight Year Old Comedian I imagine most people don't remember everything they did over the years that was goofy. I seem to have a knack for remembering things so I do have a mental handle on many of my biggest blunders or forays into goofiness that I have done over the... ( added 184 days 22 hours ago.)

Remembering My Most Embarrassing Moment...maybe I'm not sure if I ever wrote that three decades ago I was in the car business for a time. I had a friend who opened a Ford store and he asked me to come on board to help manage the mid-sized dealership. Now in the car business, with lots... ( added 187 days 18 hours ago.)

Becoming An Actor At Age 60 I remember in the mid 70s going to a company meeting where then Arkansas Head Football Coach Lou Holtz was the guest speaker. Holtz, who went on to fame at Notre Dame gave a really great presentation. It was lessons on life mixed with very funny... ( added 191 days 22 hours ago.)

The Real Strength In America Is the Common Worker, Not the Capitalist. This Mother's Day the Kiwanis club of Lincoln held its second annual Mother's Day buffet at Lincoln College. The event was created to take the place of the Christmas tree fundraiser that eventually became too small and took too much work with poor... ( added 194 days 23 hours ago.)

Route 66 and Muscle Cars Can Never Die. I remember about ten years ago helping a friend in a small town of 500 people. It was the day before Thanksgiving and he was having a real bad roof problem so I offered to help. At lunch time we went to an old-fashioned cafe in the one block... ( added 198 days 19 hours ago.)

Self Publishing Should Be Your Backup Plan I received quite a few private e-mails over the last few weeks and I appreciate them all. I think I received ten from writers, none of whom I recognized as Warpies, who asked me to look at a bit of their work. In all cases the manuscripts... ( added 201 days 20 hours ago.)

New Authors Have To Look At Their Book Like a Business. So you have written a book or are in the process. You also have been working on how to make your book as good as possible and thinking how to sell as many copies as possible. A good product: selling in volume: sounds like things a retail... ( added 205 days 22 hours ago.)

What To Look For With a Self Publisher So you have decided to go with a self-publisher. Of course, you have already checked them out thoroughly on the web right? The questions now are what is a fair cost and what in a self-publishing package is really worth the money. A cover... ( added 208 days 21 hours ago.)

Editing As Important As Writing For Book Authors. I recall once getting an inquiry from what I surmise was a young writer. He was taking me up on a free offer I had to take a look at a portion of work and give my opinion on it. The gentleman sent me a 7,500 word document that was all one... ( added 212 days 20 hours ago.)

The First Steps Before Self-Publshing Thanks for the feedback on my last article. I received several notes on the personal e-mail side and in all communications the essence of the comments was "can you tell me more'. Now I am by no means an expert in the field but I did pop out a... ( added 215 days 21 hours ago.)

The Best Self Publishing Tip Is "Think" I have had three e-mail conversations with writers in just the past few weeks that tell me more and more sharks are out there preying on the hopes, dreams and vanity of writers. I often get these queries but three so close together tells me... ( added 219 days 23 hours ago.)

The Demise of the Newspaper Business. Another Corporate America Blunder. I follow all the news about the newspapers across the country having all kinds of trouble. We have seen major papers like the Chicago Tribune and Sun Times and chains like the Journal Register go into bankruptcy. There have been papers all... ( added 222 days 20 hours ago.)

In Writing, Less Is Often More. Well I am getting a whole new pile of e-mails I really don't need to see. I imagine the Lincoln Daily News has made it to some new mailing lists that people pay good money to in order to find instant rejection. A lot of them are company... ( added 226 days 20 hours ago.)