Saying goodbye to an old friend.

1st of September 2000

     A few Web applications are beginning to challenge email for the title of the Internet's killer app. None more so than the wildly popular Blogger from Pyra. Blogger still has a way to go, but it keeps improving with each iteration.

     At my day job, I've been using a highly effective Web app for some time now. Known as Mamba, from Luminate, this powerful browser driven performance reporting tool queries the Oracle monitoring tables of SAP R/3 client/server ERP systems. Employing the familiar user interface of the browser with hyperlink navigation, this Java application scours the R/3 performance database searching for alerts and potential bottlenecks. A very nice addition indeed to my tool belt of choice.

     I believe creative companies and programmers are finally discovering the constructs of the World Wide Web are enabled for far more than simple presentation of text and graphics. Back end programming has been flourishing in intranets hidden behind firewalls of corporate computing for awhile. I look for these behind-the-scenes web apps to move front and center into public consciousness in the near future. Keep your eyes and ears open.

31st of August 2000

     I can always count on the head lemur for a timely pick-me-up. Thanks for reminding me we're all just bozos on that bus. By the way, I'm going to have to do some research through the Minneapolis newpapers from 1985.

      You got it Joe. I'll try to schedule a class in Bulltown.

     August 30, 2000 did not exist in Lucid Confusion.

29th of August 2000

     Over a lifetime, your mind compiles a complicated, interwoven series of beliefs, hopes, wants, and needs. The result is your unique personality, one that is different from any other living human -- past or present.

     Considering it all, your brain is almost unbelievable in its miraculous powers. Possibly, you have been taking all this brainpower for granted. If so, it's time to reconsider. You have at your disposal the most powerful thinking apparatus ever created. That brain can become your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on how you use it.

     Given the brain's great potential, one thing seems clear: Your mind is more powerful than your problems.

Criswell Freeman -- When Life Throws You a Curve Ball, Hit It

28th of August 2000

     About a year after I got sober, I went into a deep funk for quite some time. As others began to worry about my condition, it was suggested I seek medical advice. Not surprisingly, I was diagnosed clinically depressed, a very common occurance in recovering alcoholics.

     What commenced was a two year journey through the psychological maelstrom. The M.D. shrink gave me pills. I gained 40 pounds but cut way back on my smoking. The pounds were gone four months after the pills were, and these days they sell Wellbutrin as a smoking cessation aid.

     But it was the therapy counselors I really tussled with. It started right off the bat with the first one. She began asking questions even I didn't want to know the answers to. She kept saying, "You have to trust me!" Well, I didn't, so I fired her.

     The next one seemed a little better, at first. Then the same questions kept being repeated, then again by the third. After awhile you begin to notice a trend. Now, were these issues I was going to have to deal with to get better, or are psychologists just nastily nosy?

     I eventually did get better. What I discovered was I hadn't truly learned how to live without alcohol yet, something I keep doing better a day at a time. And those questions? I still don't want to know and probably never will. So there.

27th of August 2000

     My wife is out of town this weekend, visiting our daughter in the Cleveland area, helping Anna get settled in her new house. It's kinda like the American dream in action. Our daughter got married in May, she and her groom purchased the house in July and moved in a couple weeks ago. I'm anxious to hear the reports.

     I thought I might enjoy the peace and quiet of a weekend with just me and the pets. Frankly, I've been somewhat complacent. Apparently I miss Lynn more than I imagined. I've always enjoyed a certain amount of solitude, many would go so far as to say I'm a hermit. I rarely, if ever, get the chance to have any time to myself though. Therefore, I've always valued the opportunities.

     So I had looked forward to this weekend not only for the chance Lynn had to help our daughter, but as a time for personal reflection on my part. I've done that. You know what I discovered? I need Lynn around.

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Two drunks are walking along. One drunk says to the other, "What a beautiful night, look at the moon."

The other drunk stops and looks at his drunk friend. "You are wrong, that's not the moon, that's the sun."

Both started arguing, then they happened upon another drunk walking, so they stopped him. "Sir, could you please help settle our argument? Tell us what that thing is up in the sky that's shining. Is it the moon or the sun?"

The third drunk looked at the sky and then looked at them and said, "Sorry, I don't live around here."