Does anyone have any thoughts about President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office? If you were to give him a report card, what grade would you give him and why?

Ever heard of the expression, “Straighten up and fly right?” Derived from a popular Nat King Cole song, the expression essentially means to clean up your act, to be on the right path. But in this case, I’m taking the meaning of the phrase literally. Someone I know was chatting with a friend of hers via videophone. What she thought was a little black speck dotted on the camera lens turned [...]

Hearing aids can be a great asset for me, except when the “hearing” part doesn’t work anymore. Then they are of no “aid” at all. One time, my hearing aid started malfunctioning. During this particular period, work was extremely busy so I couldn’t take time off to go get the instrument repaired. As a result, I was without sound for a while, which was fine with me. After all, I [...]

Am I the only one who feels that head honchos (mostly CEOs) of bankrupt or defunct companies should not be awarded “golden parachutes?” The amounts these days can go upwards to millions of dollars in these severance packages. Do they deserve these perks for mismanagement? I think not. Let me take you back to the sandbox. As a child, if you were to hurt another child, whether deliberately or not, [...]

You work hard. Put in the proverbial elbow grease. Pull teeth in order to get what you want or need, and you got the bite marks to prove it. And then… someone else comes along and shamelessly lays claim to the fruits of your labor. Sounds like a typical cutthroat workday, right? Wrong. I’m talking about making arrangements for an interpreter. Throughout the years, I’ve noticed two different types of [...]

They say music reflect the current times. But in this day and time, the lyrics of the song– “Upgrade U” by Beyoncé Knowles– don’t cut the mustard: Partner Let me upgrade you Audemars Piguet you Switch your neck ties to purple labels Upgrade you I can (up), can I (up) Lemme upgrade you Partner let me upgrade you Partner let me upgrade you An Audemar Piguet watch with the barest [...]

On a recent cloudy morning, I was minutely contributing to the efforts of the conservation of the environment by taking public transit. No gas-guzzlers for me when I commute to work, especially with the way fuel prices have been steadily creeping up in the past weeks. Besides, I’m the type of driver you would NOT want to see in your rear view mirror during rush hour. While I was waiting [...]

A friend sent me a hot-off-the-presses article about deaf people who aren’t allowed to fly solo. That’s the apparent policy of the Australian subsidiary of Singapore-based budget air carrier Tiger Airways. Deaf passengers who want to fly on the airline must be accompanied by a fare-paying adult care provider, according to Jinky, a Tiger Airways reservations agent. This claim was contradicted by Matt Hobbs, who denied that such a policy [...]

Leapin’ Lizards! Today is Leap Day, when an extra day is added in February every four years. Not good news for your wallet, because it means you’re paying an one more day’s worth of interest rates. Not good news for girls or guys fending off unwanted advances, because unlike the previous three years, “I’ll call you on February 29″ will not work this time around. I’ve been wondering something about [...]

There’s a strong stench coming from Thailand. It stemmed from the fast-growing controversy concerning how the sign language interpreters in that country identify prominent politicians. Samak Sundaravej, the first elected prime minister since a September coup two years ago, has been crowned “Mr. Rose Apple Nose” because of a strong resemblance to the fruit. Accordingly, the sign language interpreters are holding their noses. Literally. That particular sign generally indicate that [...]