Old Quebec is a fortified town retaining its colonial architecture from over 400 years ago. “Fortified” means it still has the defensive works that protected it from attacks. We didn’t visit Quebec but were fascinated by the original version Continue reading Mosaic of Life #141 Old Town Quebec – X-Ray
I was careful to precisely state the title of this mosaic. The “thing” I miss the most in my life is the 1800 sq ft workshop that I left behind when I moved into my RetCom in 2021. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #143 The Thing I Miss The Most…
The simplest definition of generational amnesia is learning from the past so we don’t make the same mistakes over and over again. Continue reading Generational Amnesia…
(just for the heck of it, I thought I would bring a post from my other blog at RJsMosaic to RJsCorner. This one has a deep philosophical thought 😎) In my days before I put aside the idea of life … Continue reading What Will I Be…
It seems like it was yesterday that I was watching the Spring flowers bloom. But, with the temps going done into the low 40s again, I know winter is on the way. This picture was taken in January 2007. Winters here in the Midwest were much more severe then than they are now. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #128 Fluffed Up For Winter
I will admit that cellphones have probably made the biggest impact on our lives since their invention. But, twenty years is about the lifetime for most of these types of advances. I wonder what the next “big” thing will be? Continue reading We Will Soon Be Throwing Our Smartphones Away…
“My Mind’s Eye” is one of the most descriptive phrases I have ever come across. To me, it is more than just a visual element—it’s packed with symbolism. Typically, the eye represents perception, consciousness, and awareness. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #137 – My Mind’s Eye
In my days before I put aside the idea of life after death, I wondered what I would look like when I went to heaven. Would I be an old guy as when I die, or maybe a baby starting all over again. Or maybe the bigger question is what do I want to look like? I answer that question with the blurry photo above. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #140 – The Forever Me
I guess now is the time of life where I am supposed to reflect on what I have done with the time that God still gives me. I spent too much of my time in the past wandering around in the wilderness of life. Too much dreaming, too much procrastination, too much overthinking Continue reading When You Don’t Know Where You Are Going, Every Road Takes You There
For this entire year of 2024, I have been withholding a lifestyle decision from you. Now that it is officially over, I thought I would tell you about it. But, first a little background story: Continue reading A Little Secret…
From a very young age, I was fascinated by architecture. I can draw the floor plan for any of the 17 different places I have lived in my life. The first one we moved out of when I was 4-years-old. That should have given me a clue as to what I should have become in the business world, but Continue reading Mosaic of Life #136 – Architectural Art
The picture above is synergy in the making. The two reenactors are from an event in Indiana, while the background is from Ft. Bridger in Wyoming. Putting the two together makes an image better than either alone. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #111 – The Beauty Of Duality
I love the challenge of figuring out what different acronyms stand for. Some are obvious, some, not so much. I have some that have guided me through life. I thought I would give a few of those. I don’t know if I invented them or just stolen them from others. Continue reading My Favorite Acronyms
I took this picture at the same place as yesterday’s post. The cattails, they are called reeds in Canada, just spoke to me. This is one of those instances that the on-line photo is actually better than the original, but … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #124 – Simplicity Personified…
I don’t know if it is just me, but I seem to be seeing all kinds of things that begin with “neuro” in the world today. I kinda think that the inner workings of the brain is the “Final Frontier”. Continue reading Neuro This… Neuro That…
We were about halfway through or 2011 Canadian adventure when we happened upon an Acadian village in New Brunswick, Canada. It was a very interesting place, but in my mind the star of it all was the old greeter above who welcomed us to his home. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #123 – My Old Canadian Buddy
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by this Doomdayer with his stern look amongst all those smiling and laughing people that Saturday night in Times Square. I think he is the first one I have even seen in person. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #134 – Those Poor Doomsayers…
During my travels across America, I have become fascinated with containers found in old-time general stores. This was probably the most complete store shelf I ever ran across. It was in The Museum of Appalachia near Norris, Tennessee. That is one of the top 10 places I have visited. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #121 – An Overdose of Containers
Mystic is simple mystical. It is perhaps the most beautiful place along the Atlantic seaboard. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #118 – Mystic, Connecticut
Even I, who frequently says that I get bored if things don’t change on a regular basis, sometimes get overwhelmed and ready to toss my Mac/streaming TV/cell phone out the window. When my Internet connects starts flashing yellow, my life stops in its tracks.
I built this birdhouse the first year at the homestead in 2000. I worked all summer to create the workshop of my dreams in a pole barn on the property. There was a lot of manure scooping and inside cribs removed. It would be my first sole proprietorship. I kept it for almost seven years before I had decided I sucked enough sawdust. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #113 Orange U Blue – I Am…
Everyone hates something or someone sometimes in their lives. But ingrained hatred is something that ruins lives because it is often so fixed into their brain, as to be almost impossible to conquer. The image above was taken at the “Brown vs Board of Education” National Historic Site in Topeka Kansas. The building is not a large one but contains many artifacts that will make you think about racial prejudice and particularly the Civil Rights era. Many of you probably recognize the picture as part of the Birmingham Alabama forced school integration. On September 10th, in 1963, twenty black students entered previously … Continue reading Mosaic of Life #130 Burning Hatred
One of the things I always did when I visited State Capitals, was to get a picture of the capital domes. I need to make a collage of all those images to make them a mosaic of mosaics for this site. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #131 – Capital Domes
I did something that I haven’t done for several years and that is I contributed a significant amount of money to a presidential campaign. One reason is that, given my genes, I likely won’t be around for the next one. The other is if the narcissist con-man is elected, it’s likely that our democracy will fail to exist shortly thereafter. Continue reading The Best President Money Can Buy…
I have been making some stupid mistakes lately! I have been putting two of my most personal characteristics in conflict with each other. Those two characteristics are:
“Simplify” & “Never Stop Learning” Continue reading I Need Projects…
Even though I knew I was different from almost everyone around me, I spent a good part of my life trying to be conventional. To hide my true self, I wore all the masks that society expected of me. It wasn’t until my retirement years that I began to live a life that was true to me. I threw off my masks, maybe too quickly, but that is as it is. Continue reading Don’t Spend Your Life Being Conventional
When I came across some info about the American Neon Sign Museum in Cincinnati a few years back, I knew I had to visit it. Cincinnati is only a couple of hours drive from my RetCom so it made a good weekend trip. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #129 – A Dying Art…
These last few weeks I have been doing some serious contemplations about the meaning of my current life. That’s nothing new, it has happened regularly all my life. But, this time it seems more serious than most of the previous episodes, and that kinda scares me. Continue reading A Happy Day
Anyone who has visited Seattle, Washington has likely been to the Pike Place Fish Company. After our Inner Passage boat trip to Alaska in 2006, we spent 4 days in the Seattle/Vancouver seeing the sites. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #110 – A Seattle Landmark
Every once in a while, I come across an article that jerks me in a different direction. This is one of those times. It is about the story that with his last words, Jesus tore down a wall between God and earth and how Christians have been building walls ever since to replace it. Continue reading Building Walls…
When we are “pre-old” we laugh at the idea of an old person spending hours in front of a TV. I am beginning to be able to shed a little light on that subject. Continue reading Old People & TV Shows
Now that yet another summer is soon to pass, I thought I would give you another look at our Homestead Flowers. The flower beds above and throughout the rest of the yard were my wife’s territory. The veggie gardens were mine. I didn’t mess with hers, and she didn’t mess with mine. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #105 – Homestead Flowers
I guess I should do some explaining before this goes much further. I assume that most of you probably know that “aurora borealis” is the technical term for “Northern Lights”. The second thing is that I am a huge fan of the TV series Northern Exposure. I just love the quirkiness of all the actors and how well they meshed together. Continue reading Aurora Borealis Causes Dream Transfers
One of my favorite parts of my 2011-month-long Eastern Canada trip was Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (PEI). They were full of history and classics. Anne of Green Gables has always been one of my favorite stories. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #126 – Anne Of Green Gables
I can’t tell you how many “Simplify” signs I have in my small one-bedroom apartment here at my RetCom. I have never been much of a collector, but the “Simplify” message has always attracted me. I have finally decided to simplify my blog presence. For the last two weeks I have spent hours and hours struggling with how I will go forward with my blogging. I initially thought it was necessary to start fresh and throw away all of my posts here at RJsCorner. After several attempts of doing that, I have decided that would only cause a lot of … Continue reading I’M BACK
Being a Bob Dylan fan, but only during his folk music years, I thought it appropriate to use his words for this post. I have been posting at RJsCorner for sixteen years now. It’s time to move on. With this post, I want to tell you why. A good part of my corporate world work life was spent fixing processes and building software tools to do that. It seems I never saw a process that I didn’t think could be made better. I was pretty successful at accomplishing that as I got some serious recognition for my work and a … Continue reading The Times, They Are a Changing…
The post shares reflections from Ottawa, Canada and memories of the dramatic reflections mosaic at the World Trade Center. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #114 – 911 Memorial Reflections
One of the things that I have struggled with all of my life is that I am neurodiverse. The meaning of that word has changed so much during my lifetime to make it confusing to almost everyone. I want to … Continue reading Continuing Thoughts On Diversity
I have never been to London, but I have seen much of it when I watch “House Hunters International” while eating my daily lunch. And of course, I am currently watching the latest version of The Crown on Netflix. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #92 – Ottawa Parliament Building
Little did I know that when I took my wife to the “Windows on the World” restaurant for her birthday in 1999 that the building would not exist a couple of years later. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #117 – WTC 1999
I am a wordsmith who likes to learn a new word every day. It also makes me a picky writer, in that if I see a word that is just not quite right, I have to change it. Walt Whitman’s famous book entitled “Leaves of Grass” comes to mind in this regard. It was originally published in 1855, but he continuously changed/corrected it until his death about 35 years later. I will secretly admit that I do much the same for many of my 5000+ posts here on RJsCorner. When I see something that is just not “quite” right I … Continue reading Posterity?
t’s that time of year again. County fairs are springing up across the country. I spent 21 years living in a very small rural county in Indiana, and the county fair was the highlight of the year. Continue reading Mosaic of Life #120 – Training Wheels
I am not one to deny my female side, it exists and I am kinda proud of pronouncing it so. In some ways I think I am more female than male. I hate so much of the manly stuff, such as macho, chest thumping, sports, fighting in all its forms. I am more attuned to empathy, common sense, compassion, peaceful resolutions, and in my mind that rests in my female side. Continue reading Kindred Spirits
Sometimes I think that my bouts of depression are only a recent things. But I came across an entry from 9 years ago today in my personal journal and it got me to thinking: Continue reading Nine Years Ago… My Purpose In Life
