Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich

Do you remember what happens when you bite into an ice cream sandwich where the ice cream is a bit soft? As your teeth bear down on the confection, the ice cream tends to squeeze out the sides, almost as if resisting before succumbing to consumption by a determined hunger.

Ice Cream SandwichThat’s how I feel right now. Last week, we endured the wrath of the titans as two weather fronts converged over major portions of the state, wreaking havoc in its path, ripping trees from the ground, and tearing off roofs of unsuspecting homeowners. Just as things are beginning to settle down, two more weather fronts are converging, this time whipping snow in near blizzard-like conditions. What is this, revenge of the titans? Who says climate change isn’t a real thing?

So, I guess I have to hunker down and make the best of it, stay inside and read a good book. Do you know of any? I’ve got a suggestion. Check out the ones offered right here on my site. They’ll warm you up, as a chill runs up your spine.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.

I feel fortunate

I feel fortunate

That’s right. I feel fortunate and incredibly lucky. Two days ago, my area of the country and specifically my county was hit with a disastrous sustained windstorm.

Clash of the TitansBy sustained, I mean a storm raging, hour after hour, and lasting just over fifteen hours. It started slowly, teasing the people in its path, lulling us into thinking it wouldn’t be too bad. At its peak, lasting many hours, we registered eighty-plus miles per hour wind speeds. Speeds that were similar to those recorded by smaller hurricanes. Yet, this was no hurricane, just a clashing of two weather fronts. A clash of two weather fronts? I feel like it was a clash of the titans and we were insignificant casualties.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t live in a hurricane region or in the tornado belt. I feel for those that do. When a tornado touches down, it reigns havoc for those in its path. However, it’s pretty localized to a rather narrow track, which can be only a couple hundred yards to a mile or more. Hurricanes are another story of course and are more akin to what our region experienced.

In my case, our windstorm encompassed dozens of counties, two or three by six to eight long. medusa transformingMeteorologists in the area report that our area hasn’t ever seen one of this magnitude in over a hundred years. The damage was incredible and extensive.

In the early stages, tractor trailer trucks were flipped over on their sides, like toys in a child’s hand. As the day progressed, roof shingles were ripped from the roofs of houses and tossed like confetti in a parade. Then, trees were uplifted out of the ground, root ball and all, toppling which way and that, often landing on houses, crushing them and their occupants.

The roof of one of the local middle schools in my town was ripped off and sailed in the wind for hundreds of feet before touching ground. States of emergency were declared in several towns in my county, including my own. Live electrical wires danced in the streets, begging for the occupants of cars they draped, to step out in a futile attempt to escape their deadly touch.

Thankfully, in all the turmoil and bad situations, no one was seriously hurt or killed. Wow!

I could go on and on. It’s bad, but I know, it could be worse. I feel fortunate that my house faired well. My roof is intact, and I didn’t lose power to my house. I have about $600 in damages in non-critical areas of my house. Not bad considering most of my neighbors have damage ranging in the thousands. Kudo’s to the builder of my development. He coordinating the immediate repair to the roofs of the quality homes he built, and within a day, all of the houses on my street had their roofs repaired. Today, as I write this, he is doing the same on the homes located the next street over.

Kudo’s Joe Sciortino of Sciortino Homes .

Over ten thousand homes and businesses in my county lost power. It is going to take a week or more to restore power to most of the region. Temperatures dropped overnight, and the thermometer outside my window informs me that we are currently at eight degrees F. It’s cold, and I pity those that do not have electricity to power their furnaces. Many of my friends lost power, and I offered them a warm bed for the night. Gratefully, their power came back on last evening. All due to the willing power workers that showed up in our region yesterday from all over the state to help out.

I feel fortunate, and I am grateful to all those that descended on my community to help out. It could have been worse. Thank you. Now, I need a cup of coffee.

Thank you

Thank you

I would like to take a moment to thank all of you that purchased and read my books. Thank youYou are the greatest, and I appreciate your support. My writing has transformed from something I dabbled in, to a passion that I cannot live without. I am writing new stories even now, and I have tons of ideas in my notebook. I look forward to sharing many with you as soon as I can. I am a transformed man, embracing change while bringing these stories to life.

Far and away, the most popular of my books are the ‘Her Client’ series, a study on what might happen if you piss off a client at work. Her Client Trilogy The main character in these books does exactly that but doesn’t know she did so. The day was a stressful one, and it’s about to get worse. She leaves work intending on having a quiet evening at home, drinking a glass of wine as she relaxes in her soaking bathtub. From the moment she walks into her home, thoughts of her tub are pushed aside as she has to deal with a home invader intent upon exacting his revenge upon her. The ordeal she suffers is horrific and, frankly, disturbing. These books are not for the faint of heart, as they document the darker side of humanity. The first book is available free on Amazon and your favorite eBook retailer.

I will tell you, I’m surprised by the success of ‘Her Client.’ I had no idea it would take off as it did. In many ways, it’s horror begs the question, how did I ever think this stuff up? My girlfriend is certainly questioning our relationship. Don’t worry. Our relationship is fine.

The Breakup‘The Breakup’ is a novella in the same genre as ‘Her Client’ and is a natural follow-up for readers of ‘Her Client.’ The main character is in love with her boyfriend and is certain that he is about to propose to her on a special date of dinner and dancing he has planned. She is an affable kind of girl, easy going, and very trusting. Her date does not turn out as expected, as her boyfriend’s definition of dancing usually ends in death. As I wrote earlier, if you liked ‘Her Client,’ you will like ‘The Breakup.’

A new book, titled ‘The Trafficking Consortium,’ about to be published, is in the final stages of review. It too is in the same genre as ‘Her Client’ and ‘The Breakup,’ but is more realistic. I would not call it horrific but you will cringe at what may, and sometimes does, happen to the victims. The Trafficking ConsortiumIt’s a full-length novel about what might happen if you came to the attention of an age-old global human trafficking ring simply by going for your annual physical at your doctor’s office.

In this story, the main character is noticed, selected, and kidnapped right off the street. After a harrowing time in an auction house, she is sold off to a foreign buyer who pays an exorbitant amount of money for her. As owned property, she has to figure out how to survive. Survival is not a given. Survival must be earned. She must use every bit of her wit and intelligence to persevere and explore every possibility of escape and return home.

Of all my books, so far, ‘The Trafficking Consortium’ is my favorite. It will leave the reader worrying that what happens in the book, might happen to you or your loved ones. Could this happen to you? Yes, it might very well. After reading this story, you will forever be on guard and watch what happens to your personal information. Look for it. It’s coming soon.

The Taste of HoneyMy semi-sci-fi series of books are also favorites of mine. ‘The Taste of Honey’ and ‘Broken Steele’ are a study of humanity, and how they must reinvent society a thousand years in the future. The human race overcomes a tumultuous reign of death and extinction events when scientists and corporations lose control of GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) which decimate the world. A thousand years later, humanity is the only animal species left on the planet. Broken Steele Even plant-life was affected by the scourge of the GMO’s, forcing people to make the impossible choice, at least by today’s standards. To those in the future, it’s not an impossible choice but an everyday fact of life. Softening the blow, they live in a society where there is no war, no coveting for property or territory, no crime, not a single agency, religion, or morality governing their lives. Sex is enjoyed by all adults, with multiple partners, and in every conceivable situation. It is the main stress reliever in a society struggling to survive extinction.

‘The Taste of Honey’ is my first published book and ‘Broken Steele’ is the sequel. A third book, entitled ‘Lucky Bitch’ is in the works and picks up after the end of ‘Broken Steele.’ All things considered, ‘Lucky Bitch’ should be released later this year.

I love the storyline introduced in ‘The Taste of Honey.’ In many ways, I would embrace living in their society, far from the turbulence of today’s life. After all, no one wants for anything, and everyone enjoys all the sex they could ever want. What’s not to like? Oh well, yes, there is that one little thing but what are the odds? Even if you are selected, you know that you will be helping your family, friends, and community with all that you can offer.

Lastly, available only on my website, ‘A Mermaids Irresistible Curiosity’ is a free short story of a very curious mermaid, who rises from the depths to checkout a very handsome fisherman. Mermaids Irresistible Curiosity She is ecstatic when he captures her and brings her on board. Discover what happens next to a willing mermaid, enthralled by the primal urges raging throughout her body. I wrote this short story decades ago. I love the twist that is revealed in the very last paragraph. Download and read it today for free. Unlike my other books, while it does deal in adult topics, this story is suitable for young adult readers sixteen and up.

Other than the exception mentioned above, all my books are suitable for readers eighteen and above. I hope you enjoy reading them just as much as I enjoyed writing them.

As I close this article, I want to once again thank all of you out there that bought and read my books. I will be the first one to admit that they are not for everyone. However, if you have an open mind, and an open heart, you might just find that you like them.

Read my reviews. Many can be found on my author site on Amazon or on my website, RichardVerry.com. You can buy and download all of my books to your Kindle or your favorite eBook reader.

Finally, thank you to all of you out there that sent me a note, kind or not. I welcome all thoughtful, constructive critiques. I try to respond to as many as I can. Without your feedback, I can’t become a better writer.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.
Thank you for your support

What Makes One Happy? Part 4

What Makes One Happy? Part 4

Happiness, is it fleeting or can it be real and sustainable? Over the past week or so, I wrote a series of articles on happiness. When I started on the project, I wanted to refer to more generalities. Yet, as I started writing my first article I discovered that I could not write about happiness in general terms but as it referred to me. I didn’t know how else to say it.

Earlier in the week, someone wrote me, asking the question, “What is Love without Color?” Perhaps you received a similar question from this person. I answered back, “Color attracts but distorts, lack of color reveals one’s true self and is sustainable.” I could ask the same question regarding happiness.

“What is happiness without color?” What do you think?

Upon reflection, color, as it applies to love or happiness, could have many good answers. My answer was just one. I had given my answer much thought before I replied. Answers I could have sent were “Color reveals and attenuates love,” or “Color shouts love to the world to see and share.” Several other answers come to mind.

Substitute happiness for love, and I dare say, the answers remain the same or at least similar.

But my articles go deeper than that. I really believe in the difference between short-term and long-term happiness. I think that everyone needs and yearns for both. Single night encounters with someone that gets your rocks off is beautiful and delicious. However, it’s not the same as sharing years with someone who knows you inside and out and feeds your needs in bed and in everyday life.

A child is thrilled when he or she opens a present on his birthday or at a holiday. They squeal with joy in finding a treasure in the form of a doll or toy truck. It’s a short-term happiness for sure. Their real happiness, long and sustaining happiness comes from the love and care of their parents, mentor, caregiver or siblings. An adult does the same thing. Flipping a property for profit versus the years satisfying a desire or need to succeed in their chosen career as a building contractor are examples of short-term and long-term happiness.

“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” Bob Marley

Feel the Rain

How astute is Bob’s quote. I think he captured some of what I feel in just nine words. To me, happiness come from enjoying life, participating in life, interacting with all life, and appreciating all life. If you haven’t guessed, when I use the word life, I refer not to just all people, but life in general. From the worm in the ground to the plants we walk on or appreciate from afar, to the pets and wildlife who enrich our lives, and to people around the world, who help us with our car registrations to the ones that we come home to, everyday. They all have something to enhance our individual lives. Acceptance is crucial or we can never be happy either in the short-term or the long-term.

Some people find happiness in loving others, caring for others, or abusing others. I don’t understand the last, but I accept that it is real. We all know that there are monsters out there. I even write about them in some of my novels. I just can’t relate to them.

I firmly believe in the concept of ‘doing whatever makes you happy.’ What I would like to wish for this world we live in is ‘Doing whatever makes you happy as long as it does not hurt or harm another.’

I dare say, there are some out there, perhaps even some who read this article, who won’t agree with my clarification.

So, I ask you. Do you feel the rain or do you just get wet? What do you think? Do you agree? Write me and let me know. I welcome your thoughts. In the meantime, I trust you’ll have a good day and a better tomorrow.

What Makes One Happy? Part 3

What Makes One Happy? Part 3

In my last two articles, I wrote about what makes me happy, both in the short-term and long-term. I spent very little time on my short-term happiness, and I plan to keep it that way in this article. It’s my long-term happiness that I will focus on in this article.

happiness is finding a parking meter with time on itWhen I think about what makes me happy in the short-term, I can’t help but think about listening to one of my favorite songs on my audio system. Be it on my smartphone, my home audio system, or in my awesome care with seven thunderous speakers that make my pants-leg move to the beat of the song. Wow. I also love hanging out with my friends, sharing food & drink over a meal. They are the most terrific friends in the world, and you know who you are. I’m looking forward to our next get together. Plus there are all the little things that happen each day, such as the feeling of completion of a job well done. All sorts of little things that make life fun and exciting.

Still, in the big picture, all of these little happiness’ do not measure up or compare to sharing these moments with an extraordinary woman. I’m fortunate enough to have found such a woman. There was a time, lasting for more than a decade where I feared I would not.

Now, I know that there are people out there, that do not need another person in their life. They hook up with someone and move on after a short while. That’s alright. It’s their life, and they are free to live it as they like.

However, for me, I can’t do that. In the short-term, sure. When I’m single and available, everything is game-on. From one night stands to hanging out for a couple of months is fine. But I’ve always known since I was a young adult, I needed someone to share my life with in profound and meaningful ways. I need a woman in my life. She has to be extraordinary, beautiful, and kind. I need a woman who will return my love, as I am, faults and all. Besides, I look upon the lady of my love with rosy glasses anyway, so she will be perfect in my eyes.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have my faults and plenty of them. Yet, one thing I have learned in all my years is that in order to survive and thrive; I must be who I am. For too many years, I wore a mask hiding my true self and trying to be the person I thought she wanted me to be. What a mistake that was. I lost decades of happiness as a result.

Thankfully, I have rectified that error. I speak my mind, unforgiving in standing up for my beliefs. If you don’t like them, or can’t deal with them, well that’s on you. I am who I am and you can either accept it or not. Fortunately, my lady-love does accept me for who I am. I know that there are parts that she does not like but I must have more than enough to overcome those as she professes her love for me in return.

She makes me happy. Ecstatic in fact. Here’s how. In my everyday life, I have to leave the house and go to work, just as most of us have to. I’m functional and happy when I am away. I’m stable and even keel even when we’re apart.

The closer I get to her physically, the happier I get. When we’re in close proximity, my happiness scale jumps radically. And when we touch each other, physically touch and just about anywhere on each others body, my soul sings. Happiness MeterTake when we’re sleeping. I am overjoyed when we spoon up to each other; one arm draped over the other. My happiness meter jumps into the red-zone. As we sleep, I can sense when we roll over and are apart. That meter dips down and out of the red-zone. In my semi-conscious state, I’ll reach out and touch whatever part of her I can, just to connect and move that meter up. If for whatever reason, she rolls over to face me and in her sleep reaches out and holds me, I feel that meter explodes well above the red-zone.

The thing that surprises me is that her touch doesn’t have to be sexual at all. It’s the simple connection of skin to skin that excites me. Now, don’t get me wrong. I live for the sexual kinds of touch, but I tend to include those in the short-term happiness column. The long-term, red-zone touches are what make me happiest.

Touching is just one of the must haves on my short list in a long-term relationship. Yes, there are a few more, and in total are less than ten. She and I have shared that list with each other. There are lots more on the ‘it would be nice if she …’ list, but if some are missing, that’s alright. It’s the must-have list that is most important to me. I’ve already written about two of those on the list. I won’t list them all or otherwise; this article could become a novel, short as the list is. I am fortunate to have found a girl, no, a woman, who satisfies every one of those items.

We have our pet names for each other. Mine for her has changed over the years. The last couple of years, I’ve referred to her as ‘My Love.’ I use it everywhere. I call her that at the checkout counter of the grocery store or when I am answering a private question about which type of beans I prefer. I love saying that. “Yes, my love.” “No my love.” “Hey, love, want to go to a movie?” I hope she smiles every time she hears me say it. I certainly do.

I am thankful to her for everything she gives me. I suppose that at times, she doesn’t recognize it, but when things quiet down, I am positive that she does. I think about her every day, no, just about every minute of the day. I regularly review what she would think and do in this situation or that. What would she think about a decision I am contemplating? Or just simply, picture her in my mind and smile.

One time, I feared I would never find the love of my life. Well, that’s not quite true. I was confident I would. I would search forever if need be to find her. I found her in the most extraordinary way and on our first date, we talked for hours over dinner which included some of the most bizarre topics. Topics that included how we would like to be buried when we died. How odd is that on a first date?

So, I have found her, the love of my life. The one that makes me happy in the long-term. She’s the one. Love, don’t you ever die on me. You hear me, love? I’ve got too much loving to do and much more happiness to explore.

Evil Meter

Another day without spilling my coffee

Another day without spilling my coffee

Two whole days and I didn’t spill a drop of my coffee. Whoo hoo! Both days were splendid, and I got stuff done, now if I could only delete my chronic headache, but who cares. Coffee heaven!

Losing my freaking mind over spilled coffeeSpilled coffee

What Makes One Happy, part 2

What Makes One Happy, part 2

Last time I wrote about my short-term vs. long-term happiness. Another short-term happiness is coffee. I love coffee. Sixteen years ago when I rejoined the dating scene, I had my first cup of vanilla latte. coffee latteWhile I liked coffee then, I fell in love with vanilla lattes. Today, exiting the dating scene with my long-term girlfriend, I drink several cups of coffee daily, laced with vanilla sugar-free creamer.

Which brings me to my second item in my long-term happiness list, alone time for painting, drawing, and writing. I drink coffee as I paint, draw, or write.

However, I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up, shall we?

As a child, I drew all sorts of spaceships and ground vehicles, making up stories as they developed. I also tended to write stories in my head that incorporated these doodles or were fresh and not related to them. I even wrote a couple down which were lost to the hands of time. As a young adult, I forgot about them and proceeded to be caught up in photography and girls. Girls turned out to be my main obsessive behaviors and I was awkward around them. It took a lot of trial and effort that lasted for decades, despite getting married and having a child in the meantime.

Sixteen years ago, I revisited my creative talents a couple of years after my marriage died and I lived alone. I loved it and I began drawing and painting in earnest. Living alone like that for all those years trained my adult mind to disappear into my creative world, feeling and living the lives of the characters I created. Later, branching out and revisiting my creative writing, I fell into the same pattern. In some ways, it was easier to disappear into my creative world as I could sit in a comfortable chair and write; all the while, my girlfriend watched her favorite shows on television.

I have to admit, I prefer my alone quiet time, apart from life and in my creative space (my office or my studio) in order to draw, write or paint. Sailing into the sunsetIt’s important to me, no question about it, and being there makes me happy. I’m free to be myself, unbeholden to anyone or anything else. Feeling what my characters feel and experience, I can develop story lines that flow. I can feel the pain and joy, torment and pleasure that they feel. It hurts at times but I am able to leave a bit of me in my creations. As I have said before, my heart and soul is embedded in each work I create, be it visual or written. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

To be honest though, it is difficult at times to separate myself from the real world, where my girlfriend is such an important part, and spend time in my creative space where I immerse myself in my fictional realities. I can recall a numerous occasions when I had to stop and ask her to wait until I finished a particular section of the story. I didn’t want to lose track of the flow of the story, extricate myself from the pretend world in order so that I could interact with her on whatever she wanted to say. Sometimes she’d acquiesce and other times, she’d fume. I can’t say I blame her. I do the same to her.

Last November, consumed with writing my latest book, ‘The Trafficking Consortium’, she really became bothered at the time I spent writing the story and disappearing into this fictional world, even when I was sitting right next to her. The Trafficking ConsortiumI took every spare moment to write, moments that she had felt were hers. I agree. Most times they were but during November, nope. It was as if I had a barking dog scratching at the door to be let out and relieve itself. Just as you can’t tell a dog to wait, else it would piss on your carpet, I couldn’t tell the story to wait. Frankly, it hurt to keep it inside instead of being let out. So, every available moment was taken to write, and write, and write some more.

My girlfriend and I are still negotiating these rules of engagement, so that I can create undisturbed and uninterrupted with time I allocate to her. Since she is very important to me, I walk a delicate line between the two worlds. In the meantime, I keep at it. I thank the universe that lately, she is okay with me blocking out significant blocks of time to create. I wonder what she will think when she figures out that some of my best creative time is well after dark and can last into the wee hours of the morning. I don’t think it is a problem though as my body can’t take it anymore. For some reason, it insists upon a decent night’s sleep.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great day and a better tomorrow.

What Makes One Happy?

What Makes One Happy?

Miss MollyI don’t know about you, but I can tell you about me. First off, I group my happiness into two categories, short-term and long-term.

My latest bit of short-term happiness comes from my car. It is a 2017 Camaro 2LT/RS with a few other goodies to go with it. She wears a Hyper Blue Metallic dress over a hot leather interior. Yes, that’s her in the picture. Beautiful, isn’t she?

I named it Miss Molly after the song ‘Devil with a Blue Dress On’ covered by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels. With six on the floor and on-the-fly modifiable performance modes, she’s a dream to drive and lots of fun to ride.

Devil In Blue DressBTW, I’ve named all my cars over the years with female names, the previous being ‘Alice,’ (nod to Elton John’s ‘All the Girls Love Alice’) a 2014 red Camaro built with similar accoutrements. Over the years, I have had or driven several Camaros and I first fell in love with the car when I bought my very first one. It was a 1974 antique white Camaro Type LT with all the trimmings, including a spoiler, and a dark saddle tan interior. I paid $5,204 for it brand new, right off the showroom floor. Too bad they still don’t go for that kind of money. Her name was Valerie and I’m not going to tell you why, though I bet you can guess why.

As for Miss Molly, I love sliding into her and giving her a ride.

However, I am most interested in writing about what makes me happy in the long-term. In no particular order, they are:

  1. Alone time for painting, drawing, and writing.
  2. Naked female bodies, or as I otherwise say, lover of the female form.
  3. An extraordinary woman to share our combined interests.

Fortunately, I am at a stage in my life where I enjoy all three, which I suppose makes me elated and lucky. I feel that I am, but why do I always want more?

Let’s start with number two in the list. I first learned of my fascination with girls and their bodies back in seventh grade. That would make me about eleven at the time. It was completely unknown to me, but I now know that it was at this stage in my life where I started changing my attitudes towards girls. Of course, at that time, I didn’t understand it. A year later in eighth grade, our teacher arranged our classroom desks in a circle. A girl (Theresa), who sat across from me, would sit with her knees spread wide so that I could see right up under her dress and study the panties covering her privates. I was fascinated, yet young and very, very stupid. Thankfully, I never made a move back then. I think it was also the year that I discovered my father’s stash of nudie’s in the basement where my mother would never find them. From that moment on, I was hooked.

A year later, as a freshman in high-school, and still underage, I perused the magazine stands, trying to work up the courage to buy my first Playboy magazine. I stood there for over an hour before the proprietor of the place asked me “Well, are you going to buy something?” I chickened out and instead, bought my first book on how to sketch the human female body. This was just as good I thought and used it more to master the art of masturbation than to study and learn to draw them. Of course, by this time, I had been practicing masturbation for over two years, but now I had something in hand (forgive the pun) to refine the art. Even to this day, I frequently enjoy it. Perhaps that is why my urologist tells me that I have a perfect prostate. Does daily practice really make perfect in this case?

As the time inevitably drove on, I found myself hooked on studying a woman’s body. I amassed quite a collection of ‘girlie’ magazines, preferring the more tasteful ones over the increasing market of tasteless ones. With the advent of the internet and the freely accessible store of images, I eventually dropped all my subscriptions, which I presume many other men did as well, which in turn started the slide of the modern paper-based ‘girlie’ magazine.

Female FormMy love of a woman’s body has never once wavered in the decades since. In fact, it’s only grown. No matter what the shape, style, or wrappings, I love them all. I have my favorites of course and I absolutely hate the basketballs that some women insert into their bodies. I like them real, natural, and responsive. I even started reading medical textbooks and other similar books meant to instruct rather than titillate. I learned a lot about the female body and how it works. Even to this day, I strive to learn more about them. I want to find out how they work, inside and out.

As a result, I discovered the mechanics involved with foreplay, the female orgasm, and the after care. Over the years, I practiced with various partners and when I wasn’t in a committed relationship, with several at a time. They taught and I learned. Each taught me more than any book learning could ever have, though I do feel that the books helped make for an easier experience in and out of bed.

Still, I find myself unsatiated. My fascination with a woman’s naked body grows exponentially. I want more and I want to continue studying and practicing the art. And, this is very important, I know with whom I want to share this fascination and experience the joys that come with exploring the human body.

That would be, of course, the love of my life, my girlfriend and life-partner. No, they’re not three different girls, they’re all the same girl, all wrapped up in one fabulous package. I don’t believe I can handle more than one at a time. Too exhausting as she would say. We’ve been together for thirteen years this coming May. I have learned a lot about how her mind and body works. Although … I know that I don’t know it all. I know I am missing much that I cannot learn by reading books, looking at porn, or studying medical manuals. I desire and intend to rectify that with lots of practice. Perhaps within the next thirteen years, I will become satisfied.

However, to tell you the truth, I hope I do not. I have always had an insatiable desire to learn and grow. I don’t know what I would do with myself if I lose that desire. I will always want to learn more about what makes her tick. It’s a real shame that I am growing older, and my body doesn’t work as it once did in my teens and early twenties. If only I knew then what I know now, how much more would I be able to learn? And oh, how I would practice. Afterall, doesn’t practice makes perfect?

Next time, I will expound upon my need for drawing, painting, and writing. Lastly, I will write about my need to share life and experiences with an extraordinary woman.

In the meantime, have a great day and a better tomorrow, perhaps in bed with your favorite partner(s).

Editorial on Google Chrome v56

Editorial on Google Chrome v56

Google ChromeFirst off, let’s just say that I have been a Google Chrome supporter for at least two years. In my mind, it’s done an excellent job isolating and protecting us users from the nasties out there in the world trying to screw with us. I know because as an IT engineer at work, one of my jobs is to test the interactions of new software product versions in our environment. As such, I read up on upcoming releases of our critical applications used in our environment. The Google Chrome browser is one of those applications.

Last Wednesday, Feb 7, 2016, Google released its latest version of their Chrome Browser. I knew in advance that it was coming. I thought I knew how it would affect my user base at work and my devices at home.

I was wrong. In the week since Google released it, I have discovered a failure within printing calendars from OWA (Outlook’s web application for email and calendars for Exchange Servers) and Android device breakdowns. I’m less worried about the printing of calendars which I’m sure will be fixed at some point. I’m more worried about the total disconnect on Android devices.

When I first learned of the upcoming Chrome release, I figured that it would not affect me. All of my devices are relatively new and update frequently. Okay, apparently I was partially correct.

Google DriveAbout 3-4 years ago, I bought a Samsung tablet 10.2. It’s been a workhorse in my house ever since. My girlfriend uses it to read her webmail and traverse the various social sites. I use it to make use of the Google Drive features which depend on Chrome. When I am away from my home office, I can pick up the table and write full chapters of a new book on it. Then, when it’s time to do initial editing, my girlfriend will read out loud what I wrote on the tablet while I follow along on mine and make corrections.

With the release of Chrome 56, that all broke and apparently will be gone forever. In researching the question, here is what I found.

Samsung stopped updating the Android OS on my 10.2 tablet at version 4.0.4. Okay, it’s an older version. I get that. But until the other day, I didn’t care. The tablet did everything we needed, browsing, docs, sheets and a bunch of other stuff that is not germane to this editorial.

When version 56 installed, Google in its infinite wisdom simply disabled the installed instance on my tablet. It didn’t say why. It didn’t throw up a message why the program wouldn’t load. Tapping the icon on the screen merely appeared to start and immediately stopped. When my girlfriend told me that her chrome on her tablet had broken, she just handed me the tablet and told me to fix it

ChromeNormally, this is a no-brainer for me. I uninstalled the app and went to the Playstore to reinstall it. What do you know? The app wasn’t listed. WTF? When I dug deeper, I found an article in 2015 mentioning that due to the disabling of certain external features, most notably .mobi, Google was going to stop supporting Chrome on certain devices in the future. Okay, to me that means, support will stop answering questions, and I am free to use the software for as long as I want, as long as I don’t call them. Right?

Wrong in this case. Google effectively crashed my installed copy and prevented it from being used at all. Okay then, at first I accepted it and moved on, giving the tablet back to my girlfriend and told her to use the built-in browser that came with the table.

A couple of days later, it hit me. My current cell phone is a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. What would happen if I decided to continue to use it for the next, say, 3 or 4 years. Not to say I would, but what if? I still have my Galaxy S3 in use, so it is possible. What if Google decided to build in yet another security feature into Chrome and disable all previous versions of Chrome. What if they decided that the Android OS version was just too old to support the latest and greatest (?) version of Chrome and just killed Chrome on my device.

You would say, just use a different or built-in browser. My answer would be, wrong.

Chrome is the built-in browser on this device. As such, I would have no browser at all, and I suspect a bunch else would break as well since the OS on the S6 Edge is so heavily dependent upon the Chrome backbone.

Would I be able to use the playstore to go out and find the current copy of Firefox, Opera, or Safari? I’m not sure. They would be forcing me to buy a new smartphone when I had a perfectly good working one yesterday.

Is this right? The same goes for my tablet. It was a perfectly good working one yesterday and not today. Its usefulness is now cut in half, and my girlfriend and I are already talking about replacing it.

Now, you Apple people out there would ask, why not buy an iPad, or why didn’t you buy and iPad.

I’ll tell you. I’m an open systems kind-of-guy. I do not like the small little world that Apple forces me into. I do not like how they force you to buy new expensive accessories on each device you own. And by-the-way, Apple builds in their own planned obsolescence into each of their products. Now, before you try to defend your position, just know that I do have an iPad 2. Yes, this is an older tablet, predating my Samsung Tablet. I had figured that it would force me to replace it two years ago. The thing is, I don’t use it very much. In fact, about the only time I use it is to test my website designs on it. And hey, guess what? I haven’t gotten the nerve to load up Chrome on it and see what happens. I will soon, just not today.

In the end, I’m not happy that Google is doing what they are doing, in the interest of making a better, more secure browsing platform. I feel they should have a least let me keep on continue using the older version, and given me a disclaimer. Fine, I’ll accept the disclaimer and continue to be productive. If something happens afterward, it’s on me, and I’m okay with that. #sad