I really can't describe what I felt inside when I read the e-mail. Dismay? Disappointment? Anger? So many things at the same time, really.

Either way, I thought it was worth sharing. Below is the text of an e-mail -- mostly unedited -- from a state resident. The only changes I've made is omitting the writer's name and deleting the actual location in an effort to preserve some of this dimwit's dignity.

Just for clarification, the "silly wrap around" is a roundabout.

Read on, cheerful reader...

You are going to have to do something about the dumb drivers that use that silly wrap around at the intersection at [STATE ROAD] and [ANOTHER STATE ROAD]. They just don't know how to use them. We was on the way to [A METROPOLITAN AREA IN MICHIGAN], and we had a car that stop before we got the intersection and they sat there and let four car from the east which was all going straight West, and by the time they got on there way there was 7 cars sitting waiting to go, we were all going South bound.

We see this happening all the time. You should of made it two lanes or just go put up a traffic lights. Some one will be killed there , just wait and see. Sent a car or two and have them video the intersection for a week. You will not like what you see. We even saw a driver cut off a semi and the driver of the semi had to jam on is brake and just miss the car that cut him off, so we stop to let the trucker get through.

But the intersection is nothing but headaches.

I'm in transportation, so I get links to stuff like this on a pretty regular basis. This particular video I thought was worth sharing.

From what I'm told, this is the new "wear your seatbelt" ad the UK is running. It was started by some guy not hired to do it, but because the cause is important to him. He came up with this idea, and now it's being hailed across the world as a "beautiful" commercial. And now the video has become so popular with the general public that people are forwarding it to friends and family of their own so quickly that it has spread all over the world in a very short time.

Ok, ok, so this post isn't that "mega", but as it has been a while since my last post I have a handful of items to mention. So, onto the content...

First, the bad. I have generally been trying to avoid thinking about the BP-oil-spill-in-the-gulf situation. I know it's bad, really bad, but I have too much in my personal life going on to devote much concern to this. And besides, what good would my concern do? My friend sent me this and it made me laugh and cry a bit. It just proves that no matter how many resources we throw at the situation, nothing can surpass a bit of relevant knowledge and understanding. Warning, this article uses many an expletive, but makes good points despite. Oh, and a preface: booming is a technique for gathering oil that is drifting ashore. Now fearless readers, here you go: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/11/865387/-Fishgrease:-DKos-Booming-School

After reading that, I need something to lift the spirits. To that end I present you with a bear that practices Kung Fu... hang it there, the toss is worth waiting for.

And I know I emailed this to a few people, but I had to post it too. While the band and the music are not that interesting, the drummer alone is well worth the time to watch. Enjoy, the most awesomely enthusiastic drumming of all time!

And with that I am out... until next time, dear readers.

So here are a few things that have been rolling around in my head lately that I thought I would share, just to give you a little idea of what it's like to be me.

First there was the decision by the Supreme Court to overturn the ban on corporate campaign spending because it was a first amendment violation. OK, I appreciate the first amendment and the maintenance of its integrity, but at what point does lobbying cross the line? Am I going to be able to vote Time-Warner-AOL for President in 2012? I heard this suggested on the radio and I think it is a great idea: from now on, all elected officials should have to wear some form of advertising for each one of his or her lobbyist's interests, a la Nascar. That could lead to a few changes in our national identity, but why not just be proud of who we are.

Now here is a short story... but first some preface. A few weeks ago I had Otto outside in the backyard without a leash. With the exception of the driveway, the entire yard is fenced and contains him, so that outside with no leash had been the SOP. On this particular day however, on the way inside he managed to slip by me in the driveway and get out into the front yard where he got into a bit of a fracas with a passing Great Dane (he is more courageous than he is smart). After that was all over, it was decided that it was time to employ the leash at least from the door to the backyard. So now we have that to deal with on a daily basis. Great.

So now fast forward to a few nights ago. Otto and I are getting ready to go out, so I slap the leash on him, throw a piece of gum* in my mouth, and open the door. At this point, Otto decides he has waited long enough and bolts for the backyard, dragging me in his wake and nearly sending me sprawling. "Whoa!" I exclaim, which gets him to stop momentarily. As I bend down to unhook his leash, I sneeze and spit my gum out onto the ground.

"You see?!" I say, as if this will somehow explain to him (a dog mind you), that in some strange cosmic way his pulling on the leash has lead to my sneezing and the subsequent loss of gum.

As he bolts off into the night, now liberated from the tyranny of his leash, I say out loud to no one in particular,

"We're like Laurel and Hardy... and I'm the dumb one."

After that I spent a few minutes laughing out loud. And I wonder why the neighbors give me strange looks. Like sands through the hourglass...

*Note that I have substituted gum here for a less socially acceptable item. If you know me, you'll know what I mean. If you don't know me, it was really gum.

A couple weeks ago, my sons invited me to join them at their elementary school before class for "Doughnuts with Dad," a special event that gave me a chance to see some of their work, meet some of their friends, and spend some time with them.

It was a unique opportunity, and one I wasn't about to miss. I rescheduled some meetings at work, cleared my schedule for the morning and drove them to school an hour early.

While enjoying some delicious, sugary and certainly unhealthy pastry and a cup of hot coffee with my sons, a reporter from the Kalamazoo Gazette approached us and talked with the boys for a few minutes. They say the craziest things sometimes.

I helped Michael study for his spelling test that day, went with Anthony to get a few new books from the Book Nook, and kissed them both as I left for work and they for class.

I have to admit I choked up a bit. It's rare I get one-on-one time with them, and those are the occasions when my heart wrenches at the "good-bye."