The "Old Block" Tells All.

  Why strive to be a good person in today’s corrupted social climate? Why bother trying to put your best foot forward and worry about your public image and reputation? What do you have to gain by being honest and socially sound when the whole social order has fallen into disarray? Are you getting paid to perform at your very best on the job, or are you getting paid just to show up? Can you see any feasible reason to reach down and pull someone else up to your level in society, or do you prefer to push them further down to lift yourself up higher?   I left a great job in Hollywood, standing around on a movie set; getting paid $300.00 a day to give martial arts advice when my step son got hurt in my absence. Would I do no less or make an even bigger sacrifice for my blood-born babies? The answer is an unequivocal “yes”! What would you give up for your loved ones? What about a stranger? We can all measure our worth by demonstrating our character through our actions rather than our words a

  She was not the “Lady of the house”, nor the landlord, nor a rent collector, but her unsoiled grace, beautiful spirit, and genuine love for me and mine made her far more than any title one could bestow upon her. She was and still is Lady K, the heart and soul of the Newsome Clan! (I love my BFAM “D”, but Kim was in a whole new class!) I hated when she brought that dog into our room and perched him on top of our refrigerator, flicking tufts of hair off her hands and blouse, after loving and smooching with “Patches”. Lady K would visit us often and seemed to always bring that little hairy creature with her as an unwelcome companion. Lady K would give my wife and me ample hugs and kisses that would last all day: even after she departed. We never talked about anything important to the household or the outside world, but her presence always lifted the weight of homelessness and despair from our heavy hearts. She was love incarnate! A special soul that God in his infinite wisdom saw fit

  Really? That is what the happiest man in the world looks like? Where is his big juicy ear-to-ear smile, baring all of his teeth? Where is that gut-busting laugh that sounds like Santa Claus on crack? What happened to the bright eyes, bushy tail, and sky-high eyebrows from all of the unbridled elation that spews forth from his uncontrollable giggles? Can you honestly see any joy whatsoever in this man’s visage? Wouldn’t you like to be this happy?   Clearly, happiness is subjective. It is not a one-size-fits-all state of being. And it is not a constant state of existence. If it were, the entire population of the planet Earth would be wearing fashionable, designer straitjackets! One can take only so much happiness before the tears of joy become the wailing of lunacy!   The brain and nervous system produce painkillers called endorphins, which promote euphoria in the average human being, (not crack heads though, they burn theirs all up)! This chemical reaction is what humans have come to

Are you reserved and sophisticated? Are you wild and adventurous? Are you “Street Walker Chic” or the plain old girl next door? Do you follow the latest trends or forge your own path? What you wear and how you wear it says volumes about how you are perceived by the world and its various societies. I adhere to the Steve Jobs approach to dress. I wear all-black cargo pants and matching shirts, and sometimes khakis. It simplifies my weekly outings and sets a post-military standard that suits my personality. At home, I wear matching silk pajama tops and bottoms. But I am a guy, (an old guy), and I can get away with this mundane style of dress, and my wife does not hate me for it. (In fact, I've been told that she loves me!) However, women are looked upon differently, in most cases. You are considered “Fashion Plates”, for lack of better terms. Some of you “just don’t give a nasty” what you wear in public, and simply mold your garments to the frame you were given or morphed into over ti

  Gamers are a special breed of talented human beings who are thoroughly misunderstood and unjustly maligned. The reasons for this misunderstanding are numerous and varied but are generally perpetuated by non-gamers who are driven by religious, social or cultural beliefs that spurn the  Intrinsic benefits of gaming. Due to preconceived notions and unfounded moral misgivings, the avid practitioners of video games "suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" both in the gaming world and IRL, (In Real Life). Non-gamers and other opponents of the video gaming world see this form of entertainment as non-productive, time-wasting recreation, with sedentary, fat-enhancing propensities that promote mindless, blood-thirsty killing, and provide zero benefits to the practitioner or society as a  whole. The truth is that many great gaming experiences, (the Diablo© series for example), draw their inspiration from the Holy Bible, which graphically depicts the horrors of warfare and

  Welcome to the wonderful world of The Old Block Church of Computing, where people and what they do with their computers take center stage. Join our little family of computer-conscious adults who love their binary friends. Sometimes it is a love-hate relationship, but when all is said and done, love wins out.   Computers and hand-held devices are meant to  make life easier for us humans, just like the revolutionary automobile has  done. Like  an automobile, a computer has basic components that are required to make it run  properly. The power supply determines the type and capacity of devices that can  be attached to the tower/case/chassis, which is the most visible and  utilitarian part of the computer. The power supply is the portion of the  computer that plugs into a wall or surge-protected power outlet and supplies  the power needed to run the motherboard and all of its attached or associated  peripheral devices. The  motherboard is key because it houses the CPU, (Central Pr

Look what came in my mailbox today! It must be a Christmas card from heaven! On the far left is the late L. O. Bruster-Smith, my mother, and on the far right, as you all know, is the late E. L. Bruster-Terrell, my grandmother! These are the most influential elder women in my short, but wonderful life! These two women instilled a diligent, steadfast, hard-working ethic in me since birth. (I fell out of the womb with a cotton sack on my back!) “If you want to eat, you got to work”, my grandmother would say. Mom broke it down a little gentler, but the message was clear, I was to become a human mule until my intellect matched or exceeded my physical strength, (that just happened yesterday, so I have been a mule for several decades). L.O. Bruster-Smith taught me to be a gentleman, “Never raise your hand to a woman, son. No matter what!” she would say. “Don’t cuss, don’t lie, and don’t steal!” she would add. “If you want something, work hard and you will get it someday.” I bought my firs