Thursday, January 29, 2026
Bruce Springsteen releases ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ protest song
Seen at https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/01/29/bruce-springsteen-streets-of-minneapolis-protest-song
Monday, January 26, 2026
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Friday, January 16, 2026
You are a Gift, my love
... and you are my Present <- thank goodness, and whatever else contributed to this great moment.
(How great!)
(How great!)
Hitting Bottom (from daily ACA email)
"All bottoms have meaning, and all bottoms can be a starting point for a new way of life. There is hope. Healing is possible."
We've hit some type of a bottom. Maybe we feel hopeless because life hasn't gone as we hoped. Or we've lost too much because of our dysfunctional behaviors, and we realize that we don't know how to change on our own. We tried, but it didn't work. Maybe we find our way to an ACA meeting because deep down we know there has to be something more.
Working the ACA program doesn't mean we might not hit more bottoms. Some of us are often blindsided by something we thought we'd dealt with. Maybe we've spent eons working on our over-responsibility character defect and have made great strides. Then in the face of overwhelming stress and grief, it feels as if we find ourselves right back where we were before we began recovery. We're in there trying to take care of everyone, being the buffer, trying to control the situation.
The difference this time is that we're not really in the same place. We now have tools. This new bottom tells us that we're a complex individual who doesn't have all the answers.
On this day, when I slip so far that I think I can't see daylight, I will not abandon myself. I will look at my situation as another opportunity for growth.
We've hit some type of a bottom. Maybe we feel hopeless because life hasn't gone as we hoped. Or we've lost too much because of our dysfunctional behaviors, and we realize that we don't know how to change on our own. We tried, but it didn't work. Maybe we find our way to an ACA meeting because deep down we know there has to be something more.
Working the ACA program doesn't mean we might not hit more bottoms. Some of us are often blindsided by something we thought we'd dealt with. Maybe we've spent eons working on our over-responsibility character defect and have made great strides. Then in the face of overwhelming stress and grief, it feels as if we find ourselves right back where we were before we began recovery. We're in there trying to take care of everyone, being the buffer, trying to control the situation.
The difference this time is that we're not really in the same place. We now have tools. This new bottom tells us that we're a complex individual who doesn't have all the answers.
On this day, when I slip so far that I think I can't see daylight, I will not abandon myself. I will look at my situation as another opportunity for growth.
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Engineer (not lawyer) joke
[Posted on Quora.com by Steve Thomas]
My sister-in-law, the lawyer, complained that I was always telling Lawyer jokes and requested that I - for once - tell an Engineer joke. So, I obliged with this one:
An Engineer dies and goes to heaven. Arriving at the pearly gates, he finds them closed. After banging on the door, eventually Saint Pete arrives, and looks questioningly at the new arrival. Petey informs the engineer that he must be at the wrong place, as all new arrivals have been accounted for. Pointing out the elevator behind him, he closes the door and the sullen engineer departs.
Arriving in Hell, as soon as the elevator door opens, the engineer is greeted by a blast of heat, the smell of brimstone and sulfur. Mystified at this turn of events, he’s unable to decipher what it was in his previous existence that would have sentenced him to eternity here.
Stepping out, he sees that the path leads across a deep chasm. Lava flows at the bottom, making the crossing dangerous, if not lethal. But as he starts down the path, he realizes the rock is rich in iron ore. Not yet understanding the pecking order, he sees a few ‘warm’ bodies breaking rocks, and calls them over, instructing them to break out the iron ore. Soon enough he’s got iron being smelted, and seeing other rocks that match, soon has steel being made. Within days of his arrival, he’s got a factory going, steel girders and a bridge across the chasm, and begins working on air conditioning equipment.
So the devil, in his office, hadn’t been paying too much attention, until he paused one afternoon and looked out. Seeing the bridge that wasn't there before, the factory, and multiple of his minions toiling for this engineer, he calls down to the head demon to find out what’s going on. The demon tells Lucifer that he hasn’t been able to stop it - this engineer is wrecking havoc with hell.
The devil is thinking about this, recognizing that for the first time in a dozen millennia, there are some improvements happening in hell - when suddenly the phone rings. Looking at the caller ID, he sees that it’s “the other place.”
“What can I do for you, Pete?” the devil asked.
“Yeah, uh ... remember that new arrival you had the other day, that you couldn’t find the papers on? The Engineer?”
“Yep, sure do. We didn’t have any paperwork for him, but he’s here anyway. Why?”
“Well, it turns out he’s ours. We had a little paperwork mix up, his papers got stuck in the wrong folder, so you’ve got to send him back.”
The devil thinks about it for just a split infinity and answers: “No.”
St. Peter is flabbergasted; he’s never had a conflict with the devil before. “No?! What do you mean No? He’s ours - you know the rules. You’ve got to send him back.”
The devil thinks about it just another moment and answered, “I said no. We’re going to keep him. This guy has made more improvements around here in just a couple of days than I’ve seen in several millennia. He’s here, so I’m going to keep him.”
“Oh, Come on, you know it doesn’t work that way. If you don’t send him back, we’ll have to sue you in heavenly court.”
The devil broke out into a huge guffaw. “And where do you think that YOU’RE going to find a lawyer?”
My sister-in-law, the lawyer, complained that I was always telling Lawyer jokes and requested that I - for once - tell an Engineer joke. So, I obliged with this one:
An Engineer dies and goes to heaven. Arriving at the pearly gates, he finds them closed. After banging on the door, eventually Saint Pete arrives, and looks questioningly at the new arrival. Petey informs the engineer that he must be at the wrong place, as all new arrivals have been accounted for. Pointing out the elevator behind him, he closes the door and the sullen engineer departs.
Arriving in Hell, as soon as the elevator door opens, the engineer is greeted by a blast of heat, the smell of brimstone and sulfur. Mystified at this turn of events, he’s unable to decipher what it was in his previous existence that would have sentenced him to eternity here.
Stepping out, he sees that the path leads across a deep chasm. Lava flows at the bottom, making the crossing dangerous, if not lethal. But as he starts down the path, he realizes the rock is rich in iron ore. Not yet understanding the pecking order, he sees a few ‘warm’ bodies breaking rocks, and calls them over, instructing them to break out the iron ore. Soon enough he’s got iron being smelted, and seeing other rocks that match, soon has steel being made. Within days of his arrival, he’s got a factory going, steel girders and a bridge across the chasm, and begins working on air conditioning equipment.
So the devil, in his office, hadn’t been paying too much attention, until he paused one afternoon and looked out. Seeing the bridge that wasn't there before, the factory, and multiple of his minions toiling for this engineer, he calls down to the head demon to find out what’s going on. The demon tells Lucifer that he hasn’t been able to stop it - this engineer is wrecking havoc with hell.
The devil is thinking about this, recognizing that for the first time in a dozen millennia, there are some improvements happening in hell - when suddenly the phone rings. Looking at the caller ID, he sees that it’s “the other place.”
“What can I do for you, Pete?” the devil asked.
“Yeah, uh ... remember that new arrival you had the other day, that you couldn’t find the papers on? The Engineer?”
“Yep, sure do. We didn’t have any paperwork for him, but he’s here anyway. Why?”
“Well, it turns out he’s ours. We had a little paperwork mix up, his papers got stuck in the wrong folder, so you’ve got to send him back.”
The devil thinks about it for just a split infinity and answers: “No.”
St. Peter is flabbergasted; he’s never had a conflict with the devil before. “No?! What do you mean No? He’s ours - you know the rules. You’ve got to send him back.”
The devil thinks about it just another moment and answered, “I said no. We’re going to keep him. This guy has made more improvements around here in just a couple of days than I’ve seen in several millennia. He’s here, so I’m going to keep him.”
“Oh, Come on, you know it doesn’t work that way. If you don’t send him back, we’ll have to sue you in heavenly court.”
The devil broke out into a huge guffaw. “And where do you think that YOU’RE going to find a lawyer?”
Monday, January 5, 2026
Saturday, January 3, 2026
Friday, January 2, 2026
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Tord Gustavsen Quartet "Staying There"
Mathias Eick "The Door"
Tord Gustavsen Quartet On Every Corner"
Brand X "The Ghost Of Mayfield Lodge"
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