Vaughn Ripley's Blog, page 4
December 31, 2012
Another New Year
In circa 1973, Frank Zappa released a song about television. This song, I Am the Slime (Oozing Out of Your TV Set), tells a tale of how bad TV can be ... Well, I often think of this song with a futuristic slant on it. I think in the 90's you could have replaced TV [...]
December 22, 2012
Write Your Book
I was inspired by my friend, Susan Kim, to write about how easy (literally) it is to write your first novel. We were talking about writing and the ups and downs of it when it occurred to me that the majority of people I know dream of writing a book and yet fewer than 5% [...]
December 17, 2012
Get Out of Debt
Did you know that the total U.S. credit card debt is nearly $800,000,000,000. Yes, that is 800 billion!! That means that the average credit card debt per U.S. household is close to $16,000. Average household debt (credit cards and loans) is $54,000. More than 50% of Americans carried an unpaid balance on their credit cards [...]
December 12, 2012
Enough is Enough!
The year is about to come to a close. And, unless the Mayan calendar thingy is right, we will have all of 2013 to make all of those changes that we tried to do last year ... And the year before ... And so on, and so on. Enough is Enough!!! Are you going to [...]
December 1, 2012
World AIDS Day 2012
Today is World AIDS Day. Please take 60 seconds out of your day to reflect and remember the millions and millions of people affected and infected by this horrible HIV virus. No one knows the exact count, and we probably never will. But statistics and scientific estimates put the numbers somewhere around: 40,000,000+ people living [...]
November 21, 2012
Observations of a Commercial Gym
For the past three years or so I’ve been training at a small private facility that caters mainly to powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters. It was a phenomenal place to train – packed with very strong, smart people who had forgotten more about building strength and increasing performance than most “personal trainers” will ever know. Recently, [...]
November 8, 2012
How to Boil a Frog
I thought about titling this article, ”A Look at Why Some People Thrive, and Others Do Not.” However, that seemed a bit wordy, unclassy, and simply pompous … Talking about frogs on the other hand is fun, goofy, and downright cool. So … The title is what it is. I’m sure everyone knows how to [...]
November 7, 2012
all hail the garryowen geezers
i'm sitting in an irish pub. this is where the magic happens... i have made friends here. i have a writing group meeting here every week where i can find support and give support in the creation of the art of writing. the guinness flows freely, and the indian bartender vish makes the very best [...]
October 21, 2012
Which Cloud is Grandpa?
What happens to us when we die? Why did Grandpa die? Where do we go when we die? Why do we die? When will I die? Die, die, die … These are common questions from our children. They are also common for many of us. This article will not point to answers, instead it is [...]
October 18, 2012
Vitamins: The Newest Public Health Threat
With the boost in advertisement for vitamins and supplements, you may have jumped on the bandwagon, assuming that these products are safe. Unfortunately, many people are quickly finding out that all vitamins and supplements aren't what they're cracked up to be. The products that you think are safe for your body may actually be doing [...]
