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Enter the Year of the Dragon

Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year, and the sign for this year is the Dragon. Or, to be more precise, the Year of the Water Dragon.

Out With One Year, In With the Next

As 2011 quickly passes into history, I have a few moments to reflect back on everything that’s happened these past 12 months. It has actually been a good year for Winnie and me, with lots of potential for an even better year to come.

Bowie and Cosby Sing a Christmas Song

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I've just learned the singers behind one of my favorite Christmas songs. So, in the spirit of the Christmas season, I thought to share this with my many (more than three) readers.

Let's Talk Turkey

In honor of another annual Day of Thanks, I thought to muse upon the ghosts of ~~Turkeys~~ Thanksgiving holidays passed. For those loyal readers who make it all the way through my ramblings, there's a bonus Thanksgiving music video thrown in for fun.

My Open Letter to UCSC chancellor Blumenthal

In response to police actions on UC campuses; This is my open letter to chancellor Blumenthal of the University of California, Santa Cruz, on Occupy UC Davis.

In Honor of Veteran's Day 2011

The further away I've gotten from my active duty days, the more important Veteran's Day has become. As of today I've been retired off active duty for 15 years and Veteran's Day has become the day I consider "my" holiday, as well as "the" holiday for my fellow veterans and those still serving.

Important Disaster Planning Information

My mom sent me this important and useful piece of information on disaster preparedness. Considering the number of disasters I've lived through these past years, I wanted to share it here.

My Letter to the City of Oakland

I've watched the "Occupy Wall Street" movement from the start, and can't help but being impressed with the way the protesters have handled themselves. For the most part, they have conducted themselves with exemplary behavior. However, the same cannot be said for the local governments and police departments. Aside from New York, the worse is the City of Oakland, California.

The End of Summer 2011

Another season passed, another season beginning. It has been a very busy summer here in the Virginia edition of the Charest family. We started with refinancing our house the evening before leaving on a three week trip to China. Upon our return home; the rest of the summer was a blur of recovering from our vacation trip, work, boating, really hot weather, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding rainstorms, and several groups of family visitors.

Let Him Die - Really?

It was just last year that we as a nation had a vicious and bitter "debate," more properly called a descent into insanity, over whether we should have some semblance of pretending to create a national health care policy. I did my part in debating the position of sanity and compassion in the readers comments section of our local rag, now called "Inside NOVA.com." What I remember most from this experience was just how vicious and selfishly mean the Republican side of the argument was.