Humorous Essay Videos

Sponsored by: www.GotoMyPC.com/podcast I live in northern Utah which meteorologists describe as having an arid to semi-arid climate. Unlike some parts of the county where the weather never changes I’m looking at you Southern California we have definite seasons. If you start keeping track in July, the seasons are hot, hotter, hottest, too hot, when will the heat end, school registration season, why won’t the heat end, windy season, rainy season, Indian summer, why is it hot again, smog, the new Fall TV season, High School football season, Jazz Basketball Season, the one perfect Fall day, hunting season, municipal election season, cold season, flu and cold season, colder, coldest, why can’t it be hot again, smog, first snowfall isn’t it beautiful, snowing? again?, Christmas shopping season, bad roads and fender-bender season, Christmas day with a thirty-percent chance of snow, Hollywood awards season, smog, almost spring, melty, snow pack runoff, street flooding, road construction planning, the one perfect spring day, rain, rainier, rainiest, smog, lawn mower repair season, the annual blooming of the orange barrels, constructions guys with shovels but no visible work to do, graduation season, wedding season, smog, early summer, and finally back to hot. (Full Text) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9U -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Thanks to Chris Lane for some kind words this week.  You can learn more about Chris (and see some of his terrific photos) at http://www.ChrisLanePhoto.com As mentioned on the episode, Twitter friend @Mainframe noticed that I was on a behind the scenes episode of Angel Between the Lines where I got to talk about directing for an audio drama.  If you re interested, you can listen in at: http://www.angelbetweenthelines.com/2009/11/abtls1bts002-behind-the-scenes-with-the-directors/

Sponsored by: www.GotoMyPC.com/podcast With our sons grown and out of the house, my wife and I have completed our legally-mandated term of active service as parents. We find ourselves sliding giddily into the category of empty-nesters. We have the freedom to do what we want, when we want. Travel planning no longer requires us to consider school schedules, after school events and the quantity of fast-food restaurants along our intended travel route. We can be crazy and spontaneous. So, how did we choose to explore our new independence? Last Sunday I found myself jammed under a kitchen cabinet, wrench in hand, installing a stainless steel sink. Really. (Full Text) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9R -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Check out the JT Indie podcast at http://www.jtindie.com Please take a moment to fill out the listener survey at http://www.HappilyDomesticated.com/listener-survey/

Sponsored by: www.GotoMyPC.com/podcast Who doesn’t love a trip to the zoo? Well, probably the animals for whom it is a one-way trip, but that’s not really the point. The point is that you get to spend a happy, lazy day eating junk food and wandering past neat rows of tiny cages containing permanently trapped animals. As you stare at their cute faces, you just know that if they could talk they’d beg you to rescue them. If you can’t afford the zoo, you can get much the same experience with a bag of vending-machine pretzels and a visit to the cubicle farm of any corporation in America. Except, as you walk past the cubicles and stare at the occupants’ cute little faces, they can talk and they will beg you to rescue them. If you’re feeling kind, you might toss a pretzel or two their way. Don’t encourage them too much, though, or they’ll break out and follow you home. It’s not that hard to escape a cubicle unless all you have is a liberal arts degree. (Full Text) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9M -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Thanks to Vee of http://jugglingscarves.blogspot.com for recommending the show on the MightyGirl.com site. Thanks to Andrew Hackard and Ringmaster Greg for great show ideas! If you re willing, I d be grateful for a review on the new Farpoint Media website at: http://www.farpointmedia.com/short-cummings-audio/

Sponsored by: www.GotoMyPC.com/podcast After an extensive examination, the doctor concluded that my wife wasn’t right in the head. Aside: my wife is glaring at me with a look that could blister the paint on a battleship. In the interest of avoiding incineration, let me provide a some context. The doctor in question is my wife’s oh-toe-lair-in …. auto-lauren … octo-linen … ear, nose and throat guy. He decided that she was having trouble with her sinuses, but he said he had a fix for that. I looked up sinuses on-line to see what he might be talking about. Guess what? Sinuses are just holes in your skull. Sort of like damp, gooey caves hidden behind the bones of your face. So, in essence, the doctor was saying that my wife had holes in her head and that was the problem. (Full Text) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9J -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: You can find the survey I mentioned at http://www.takethesurvey.com/wizzard The shiny new Far Point Media site is at http://www.farpointmedia.com You can learn more about the book (and link through to its page on Amazon.com) at: http://www.HappilyDomesticated.com/BookPage

In this age of heightened security, I’ve heard that the authorities might be monitoring the telephone conversations of ordinary citizens like me. If they are listening in on my cell calls to my wife, I have two words for them. Good. Luck. Really. Our conversations are non-linear in the same way that tires are non-square, fish are non-mammals, and beefsteak tomatoes are non-meat. For example, imagine that I wanted to tell my wife I’d set up an appointment to have the lawn-chemical warfare guys spray the foundation for bugs. I pay them to do this every Fall even though I’m not convinced it actually works. For all I know the big hose on their truck is actually connected to a tank filled with leftover cologne that stores couldn’t unload on Father’s Day. If I got down close and sniffed, my house might smell of off-brand aftershave like Old Splice, Tommy Hilfinger, or Huge Old Boss. It might repel the bugs for the same reason these scents repel anyone over the age of eight. Or maybe there never were any bugs to begin with. Or there might be a huge army of bugs massed on the far side of the fence just waiting for the year that I forget to tell my wife the be ready to let the lawn-chemical warfare guys into the backyard. That’s why it’s vitally important for me to call her and tell her to expect them promptly between nine and three tomorrow. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9G -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: You can listen in on all of the fun of Angel Between the Lines at: http://www.angelbetweenthelines.com/ My interview with the writers is found at: http://www.angelbetweenthelines.com/2009/10/abtlbts01-%E2%80%93-behind-the-scenes-writers/ And you can find my story Duluth at: http://www.angelbetweenthelines.com/2009/10/abtls1duluth-%E2%80%93-stories-from-wolfram-hart-duluth/ If you d prefer to read the script, it s at: http://www.angelbetweenthelines.com/2009/10/abtls1duluth-stories-from-wolfram-hart-duluth-pdf/

My lawnmower is gone. He moved away to college. With his departure, my wife and I took off the business casual clothing of active parents and slid into the comfortable shorts and Hawaiian shirts of empty-nesters. And you know what? It’s weird. Really. In the evenings, we no longer have to make sure that everyone has finished their math or packed their lunch or remembered to tell us about the forty-page book report about War and Peace that’s due first thing in the morning even though they have yet to technically read any actual part of the book including the title. My wife and I can enjoy meals which include sophisticated adult foods like broccoli, fish, and cheese that didn’t come from the inside of an aerosol can. We don’t have to worry about our television-viewing choices corrupting our children so we are fee to watch the evening news once more. In a lot of ways, it’s like being newlyweds all over-again; except we’re newlyweds with decades of experience. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9D -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: I really enjoyed being able to be part of the craziness in episode 96 of Bells in the Batfry.  You can listen to that episode at: http://thebatfry.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=536919 During the close of the show, I mentioned podcast novelist J.C. Hutchins and the publication of his novel 7th Son: Descent.  You can find out all about that at: http://jchutchins.net/site/about-7th-son/7th-son-descent/

American daily newspapers are dying in record numbers. Where once these magnificent beasts roamed the plains in great herds, now they have been hunted nearly to extinction by the railroads. Oh. Wait. That s the buffalo. Nonetheless, newspapers really are dying. If your local daily was a guest character on a medical drama, the hunky doctor would be saying reassuring things to the newspaper s family before telling the gorgeous nurse to have the morgue boys come up the back way so as not to alarm anybody. Which is a shame because the local paper performs the vital service of identifing the dangerous lunatics in your neighborhood. Don t believe me? Try this simple test. Pick up any local daily newspaper, turn to the letters to the editor page and read it. Now are you convinced? I thought so. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9z -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Congratulations to the contest winners Tammi, Ian, Richard, Shane s clever bitstrips comic at: http://www.bitstrips.com/user/64980/read.php?comic_id=336098&subsection=1 Thanks to the good folks at JTIndie for playing my promo: http://www.jtindie.com/2009/10/episode-77-heavy-heart/ for playing my promo

The Great American Pastime is, of course, taking people to court. No, I’m kidding. The Great American Pastime is baseball; an event in which small teams of highly skilled and carefully trained individuals convene in a specially-designated location to compete by following a complicated set of rules under the watchful eyes of a team of impartial judges. So, come to think of it, baseball isn’t that much different from court. Except, wouldn’t court be a lot cooler if the lawyers had to wear knee-breeches? It would at least make it easier to identify the prosecutors from the defenders. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at: http://wp.me/pjV28-9q -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Thanks to Shane, Cheryl and @Mainframe for their kind and encouraging words this week. Thanks, also, to http://www.thescotchcast.com/ for playing my promo. Finally, I mentioned Ian Peaston s interesting experiment in serial fiction during the show.  You can check it out for yourself at: http://www.whoiskai.com/

After we finished installing our youngest son in his Freshman dorm room, he pushed us out so fast he nearly strained us through the keyhole. He hustled us off the way your immune system rejects a disease, the way a sovereign nation rejects an invading army, the way Jennifer rejected Brad when she found out about Angelina. After eighteen years of living under our control, he’s eager to be out on his own. I can understand that. His generation was the most monitored in the history of education. When I was in school, I had a Vegas-like attitude; what happened in fourth period history, stayed in fourth period history. Except, that it often didn’t happen. I found it difficult to pay attention in Mr. Harris’ class because the girl in the desk ahead of me had the most heavenly scent. When I finally worked up the courage to ask her what it was, she said, “Ivory soap.” =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9m -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: If you need any kind of web or graphic design work, your first stop should be: http://www.podcastdesigns.com

When my dinner arrived at the table it looked less like food and more like evidence in an arson investigation. “I can’t eat this,” I said.  “The pork chop is completely burned.” “Not all of it,” my wife said.  “Just cut away the burned part and eat what’s left.” “What’s left is the bone.” “Then eat the green beans.” “Burned.” “The applesauce, then.” “Burned.” “The salad.” “Burned.” =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9h -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: My thanks to Brian Brown and Summer Brooks at http://www.farpointmedia.net for their help with the redesign.  You can also hear them both on the Slice of SciFi podcast at http://www.sliceofscifi.com I m also wanted to thank the good folks at the JTIndie podcast for playing my promo.  You can find them at http://www.jtindie.com As I mentioned on the show, I ve found a very funny blog from a very funny newspaper columnist in British Columbia.  You can read his stuff at http://occasionalhumourist.blogspot.com/

Experts are the bodybuilders of the intellectual world; except its harder to spot them in a crowded room. Body-builders stand out because they are tanned and fit in the exact same way that Mount Everest is not small. Their distressingly unnatural proportions make it tough for them to fit into regular clothes. This is why bodybuilding competitions always involve swimsuits. It also makes it easy to avoid them at parties. Experts, on the other hand, tend to look just like ordinary people. They can pin you down under a high-intensity barrage of information so fast you won’t know what hit you. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-9a -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: This episode grew out an an e-mail correspondence with Norm Beer.  You can find out more about Norm on his website at: http://www.nkbeer.com.  I want to thank Norm for graciously allowing me to use his real name in the episode. Also want to thank @Krud for reinforcing the central idea of this episode.  Thanks! Finally, thanks to @DigitalRob for his kind words.  You can learn more about Rob on his blog at http://mr-williams.net/life/

I’m a big fan of sky-diving so long as it is undertaken for the express purpose of escaping from a paralyzed airplane which is hurtling ground-ward. On the other hand, leaving a perfectly functional aircraft mid-flight would be disrespectful to the hardworking engineers, technicians and flight crew who are dedicated to providing a safe, comfortable trip. Despite my common sense, I recently tried my hand at skydiving from the dizzying altitude of five feet, ten inches. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-98 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: The feedback lately has been a lot of fun, particularly in response to this Tweet.  When that went out, I heard back from @trgrant, @hjkuzcotopia, @AdoroTeDevote, and (of course) @CaptainJareck. @TheMoneyGeek is a great supporter of the show and I really appreciate that.  If I ever win the Utah lottery (which will be tough cause Utah doesn t have a lottery) I ll turn to Sam for investment advice. @Mainframe responded to this Tweet. Finally, thanks to two great podcasts for promoting the show recently.  The New Forest podcast (thanks Alex) and Chuck Tomasi over at Technorama (THE place to go for all things geek.)

Later this year Microsoft will release Windows version seven. After nearly a decade-and-a-half in development, this new software package promises to give you the same smooth, hassle-free experience as Windows 95. As with the release of any new operating system, the arrival of Windows seven is exciting the geek community the way the arrival of European settlers excited the natives in the new world. Specifically, the geeks are dividing themselves into camps and working out attack strategies. One camp is populated entirely by people who have an excess of ready cash; these are the People of the Apple. They’re eager to point out that the Apple OS is now in version X which is waaay better than version seven. So what that Apple hardware costs about three times as much as the Windows equivalent? It’s just ‘that’ much cooler. They say they’d like to see Windows gone, but deep in their hearts they know they really need Windows so they’ll have something to feel smug and superior about. The folks in the Linux camp have no use for anyone who isn’t willing to compile an operating system in order to use it. You have to watch them closely because they’ll GREP or FINGER you at the drop of a CD-ROM. They don’t care about other operating systems because all non-Linux software is just a pale reflection of the Platonic ideal. The largest camp is made up of actual Windows users; half of whom hate the thought of a new version while the other half cling to the hope that this time things will be better. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://wp.me/pjV28-93 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: My thanks to all of the great folks who sent encouraging words my way this week: Stuart Jaffe Jeffrey Hite @RedPenofDoom Shane Stephen @Zac_in_Ak @RobertoBarriero

Job interviews are the business-world’s equivalent of speed dating. Based on a brief conversation, hiring managers are supposed to select the candidate with whom they expect to have a long-term relationship of forty or fifty … months. The employer is expected to make a binding commitment to this person until death, promotion, mandatory staff reductions in the face of lower-than-expected earnings, or internal restructuring do them part. Even with a really appealing candidate this is a scary proposition so it’s only natural that managers can get cold feet when it comes to hitching their career wagon to a newcomer. The hiring process starts when a manager feels a certain emptiness and yearning for companionship and realizes that it would be really nice to have another staff member to help carry the load. It’s important for the manager to have a clear idea of the kind of person they’re looking for so, just like a young person looking for a mate, they’ll write out a detailed, realistic description of the skills and experience they desire.

Things sure have come a long way since the Dark Ages. A few centuries ago we’d all have been living in a kingdom where any autocrat could summon all of the peasants into the castle for a meeting at a whim. At the same time, if two of the local knights had a disagreement — say, over ownership of a pig, a plot of land, or some serfs — they would meet on a field of honor and duel until one of them was dead or seriously injured. It’s amazing the difference one enlightenment and a few centuries can make. Now we all work in some company where any manager can summon all of the employees into a conference room for a meeting at a whim. If a couple of supervisors have a disagreement — say, over control of a resource, an office, or some ser…employees — they meet in an executive board room and argue until one of them is deaf or seriously tired. Measured in terms of “gallons of blood” spilled, the modern approach is infinitely superior to the medieval equivalent. However, the meetings haven’t changed much in nearly a millennia. Oddly, you see a lot more movies about knights and lords than you do about business meetings. There’s a simple reason for this; meetings are dull. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://myfavoriteshortcomings.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/meeting-of-the-bored/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Thanks to Sam @TheMoneyGeek for his kind comments about my new avatar.  You can find it here and here. My sincere apologies for the Yoda impression.  It won t happen again.

I am utterly reliant on odd assortment of inventions, devices, gadgets and gizmos; so long as the technology holds out, I’ll be fine. In my imagination, I am a survivor-type whose courage is a match for any calamity. In truth, I’m a technologically-coddled coward who whimpers when the DVR misses the latest episode of Dr. Who. That’s how bad it’s gotten. Really. My ancestors had to decide what television programs to watch by actually finding and reading TV Guide. Fortunately, in those unenlightened times, the number TV stations was small enough to count on the fingers of a cartoon character’s hand. Scanning through a three-program listing and deciding not to watch TV was much easier than flipping through two-hundred channels and a half-dozen pay-per-view movies before deciding not to watch TV. The DVR makes the whole process even harder because now I have to decide not to watch recorded programs, too. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://myfavoriteshortcomings.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/technologically-dependent/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: You can find frequent contributer Shane McAfee s blog at http://bdgjm.blogspot.com/ Twitter Pal @Betani has a really interesting website at http://betanisbureau.com/ Thanks to Robert Gasperson for his comment on Mile Marker 45.  You can learn more about Robert on his blog at http://www.robertgasperson.com

Let me share with you my secret shame; I like action movies. I enjoy spending a couple of hours with a big, goofy, enthusiastic film that substitutes explosions for plot and has a soundtrack loud enough to induce brain damage in inanimate objects. My years of sitting in darkened theaters have taught me that the world is full of boy wizards bravely aiding rogue archeologists and super-spies as they battle giant evil robots that travel through time to subjugate humanity by seizing the one ring from its resting place in an museum that comes to life every night. Okay, so after a while all of the stories sort of run together and the closest thing to a boy wizard in the real world is my news carrier who routinely performs the trick of making the morning paper disappear into the neighbor’s rose bushes. Still, it’s all in how you look at things. With a little imagination (or possibly a few moments of oxygen deprivation) it’s easy to pretend that your own, actual, real life is as exciting as the lives of your on-screen heroes. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://myfavoriteshortcomings.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/i-wish-that-li…ike-the-movies/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: My thanks to Matt over at http://www.pizzagohere.com/ for extending my research into Teenage Dropsy. Congratulations to Evan for completing http://airshipdiaries.libsyn.com

I’ve seen a disturbing number of significant family birthdays and anniversaries this year. My youngest son turned eighteen, my oldest son turned twenty-one, and I turned old. My wife, annoyingly, has remained as youthful and beautiful as ever. She claims this to be the result of clean living, a good attitude and just a tiny bit of help from her personal assistants Miss Clairol and Mary Kay. I’m thinking of checking the attic for a portrait. On the other hand, maybe I won’t. When I’m eighty and she still looks twenty-five, I’ll be the envy of the rest of the nursing home. I am reminded, that birthdays and anniversaries are the mile markers of life. My own birthday doesn’t bother me. Through years of careful inattention I have developed the ability to deny that I’m getting older even though I had to stop checking the 35-44 box on surveys last year. As far as aging is concerned, I’ve moved into the state of denial and haven t left a forwarding address. Except, when my children have birthdays, I do the math and realize I must be older than I thought. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://myfavoriteshortcomings.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/mile-marker-forty-five/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Thanks again to the Heiler family for linking off to this site in the blog.  I really appreciate it. A big Hello to my new Twitter friends @Sam55510 and @Meike_Schneider Congratulations to Alex at the New Forest Podcast for hitting episode 50! And, finally, I d like to encourage you once again to join me as a listener (and, if possible, supporter) of Decoder Ring Theater.

Listen up, maggots. You’re here because you’re going to get married soon and it’s my job to see that you do it right. There are plenty of things out there that can endanger a marriage; apathy, infidelity, the inability of the male to share the remote control. I only have a few weeks to teach you how to keep your marriage alive. During this intensive course I will challenge your assumptions and teach you new skills. If you do not wash out, you will become husband material. You will obtain and maintain gainful employment. You will listen to your wives. Are you listening to me larvae? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://myfavoriteshortcomings.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/bridegroom-boot-camp/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: Thanks to all of the Twitter-friends who helped out with this episode including @Comedy4Cast, @hjkuzcotopia and @TheMoneyGeek. It was nice to meet @burgessbooksinc on Twitter.  You might want to follow William s tweets to learn about the great (and rare) books he s selling Thanks to Bryan and Doug over on Facebook for their encouraging words. Finally, thanks to Mignon Fogarty (@GrammarGirl) for using my son s question in a recent e-mail newsletter.

During the recent influenza outbreak, news broadcasters switched into hilarious panic mode. Night after night they talked excitedly in the manner of newscasters in classic Japanese monster movies. “Swine flu has been sighted outside your town and is headed your way! It will destroy you and your family! You must evacuate at once!” From the sound of it, we should have been running in panic down the streets while a sixty-foot virus stomped our homes into rubble. The only thing missing was a scientist in a white lab coat and black plastic glasses telling us his secret invention was the key to defeating Swine Flu, but that he couldn’t use it because it was too powerful for mankind to possess. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Like this excerpt? Want the whole story? Listen to the audio version by clicking the ‘Play’ button at the top of this post. If you’d rather read it, you can find the full text at http://myfavoriteshortcomings.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/missed-diagnoses/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Notes: A quick shout-out to all of the nice folks I ve been chatting with on Twitter including @spelleanor, @zac_in_ak, @themoneygeek, @mainframe, @mmangen, @CoolB, @NewForestAlex, @BecaVan, @jTimothyKing, @verseandy and @hjkuzcotopia. Thanks to Kim and And for playing my promo on the Joss Wheadon fan podcast Upsidedown and Halfway to Happyland Thanks also to CleanCasts.com a great directory for featuring this program and @Betanie for the re-Tweet of their announcement. Finally, thanks to Shane and Stephen and cousin Tim for hanging in there with me during a recent writing session.  It was fun to have you along.