tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-226633552012-01-17T16:39:08.070-06:00A blend of comments, stories, musings <br> and thoughts. Copyright © 2006-2010ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-50250619222216011322010-11-24T10:55:00.000-06:002010-11-24T10:55:09.869-06:00

I spent some time in the woods last week, a camera I hoped to use judiciously hanging from my neck and a gun I wasn’t thrilled about firing idle on my lap. I am usually enthusiastic come deer season because I like venison and being outdoors even on chilly days. But my objective this year was to shoot a buck with my camera. The woods woke up around 6:30 when gray squirrels began to emerge from

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-43482428950450394222010-08-13T10:55:00.001-05:002010-08-13T11:15:25.880-05:00

I awoke at 3:30 this morning, dreaming my backyard was filled with deer. In my dream, I stepped out onto the deck to find a couple of fawns playing, then looked to my right and discovered a few does and three or four more fawns. I could hear a buck snorting as I watched another doe squeeze her way through a small hole in the privacy fence. Just as I thought to go back inside to fetch my camera,

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-5313625977005248942010-08-10T13:37:00.000-05:002010-08-10T13:37:03.666-05:00

At the pinnacle of my career success, I knew beyond any doubt that everything I had ever done toward my chosen field had prepared me for the precise moment I was living. My education, the people I had worked with, failures, successes, all the experiences I had collected were part of this knowledge storehouse I could tap into at will and find something that applied. I was given the keys to be

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-50081239015406295652010-07-30T14:46:00.000-05:002010-07-30T14:46:33.924-05:00

A summer weekday with humidity levels and air temperatures both in the mid-eighties led me to believe it was a perfect day to grab a kayak and explore. So, I headed out to Springfield Lake where the city’s parks department runs a nice pavilion and rents kayaks for $8 an hour. Life jacket on, paddle in hand and an eight-foot Old Towne that still had the slight scent of sunscreen as a lingering

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-40591734790808809372010-07-20T18:01:00.002-05:002010-07-20T18:06:23.883-05:00

I am convinced that the hummingbirds frequenting my feeders communicate with me. No, the heat hasn't affected my good senses. After all, it's not like we discuss politics or Proust or trade jabs. The conversation isn't spoken, so I don't hear tiny voices, but the topic is something very dear to a hummingbird's heart - food.Over the years, I have observed hummers check the feeder, not sample the

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-50686060069175310902010-05-03T10:17:00.009-05:002010-05-03T11:43:02.337-05:00

Poised like paratroopers on D-Day,‭ ‬we waited for our signal to jump,‭ ‬to make the leap of our lives,‭ ‬the one we had trained for and from which we would not return.‭ ‬I could feel the wind in my face,‭ ‬all of us could,‭ ‬and our anticipation grew stronger.‭ ‬We had been told countless times not to look down because the act could stir panic in our hearts,‭ ‬and our instructors would have no

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1746954440995620202010-03-13T10:58:00.001-06:002010-03-13T11:01:26.892-06:00

My bird feeders are hubs of activity each winter and into the early days of spring. Every year seems to attract new animals. There are always squirrels who never understand that black oil sunflower seeds are meant for birds, but are nonetheless entertaining to watch. Doves have been frequent visitors the past several seasons and are quite content to peck away at scraps and fallen seeds although I

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-68406439482271417232010-01-10T08:10:00.003-06:002010-01-10T09:02:04.547-06:00

I sat on a knoll concealed by trees and brushes on the edge of my deer woods one early fall morning. Straight ahead was an old farm road overgrown and brushy save for a small patch of open field, an acre, maybe two. To my left, a tree dropped its hedge apples which are said to be the perfect cure for ridding a home of spiders and which cattle munch in loud bursts. Just to my right the old pond

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-77915692952783298172009-12-02T16:17:00.002-06:002009-12-02T16:49:07.533-06:00

November is always a busy month with Thanksgiving preparations, holiday shopping, deer season and Christmas lights. This year I got lucky. It was 65 degrees with calm winds the weekend I put up the lights but there have been Novembers past when I worked in weather so cold I could not feel my fingers and times when it sleeted on me and once, after the lights were all in place, that a hailstorm

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-33639902986284755592009-11-05T22:05:00.005-06:002009-11-05T23:11:59.468-06:00

Not long ago I read that scientists had discovered bacteria, I think it was, that thrived in an environment of benzene. They were trying to determine what new possibilities existed with such a life form, one that could tolerate chemicals so extreme that our conception of how things could live was challenged. And that led to theorizing that our search for life on other planets was misdirected.

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-28454774678284942272009-10-25T16:43:00.003-05:002009-10-25T16:59:24.010-05:00

Have you watched children just before bedtime on a day when they have played hard and filled with fun? There's a sudden burst of energy in a last minute refusal to give up and go to sleep for the day, perhaps a bit uncertain whether the next day will bring as much delight as the one passing into history. They fight sleep as hard as they can and want so badly to stay awake and stretch the day out

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-68751103002485139332009-10-14T12:31:00.010-05:002009-10-14T15:39:02.720-05:00

When I was old enough to ride my bike outside the confines of my immediate neighborhood, my usual summer destination was Edison Park which was a straight shot down Mulberry Street about five blocks from my home, a journey that took me past rows of closely packed houses on either side. Occasionally, I took a more scenic route down 167th Street past Concodria Cemetery and near a bank of businesses

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-9698327277404250802009-10-08T13:13:00.003-05:002009-10-08T16:14:55.650-05:00

Dreams are fascinating to me. Even the strange and twisted ones. Where do they come from? Why do we have them? What do they mean? And why is it that sometimes we remember them so vividly when we first wake up only to lose their detail with each breath we take until they are completely wiped away. Yet there are others we recall almost exactly as we dreamed them, even years later.Sometimes, I can

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-45993847467058955362009-10-01T18:36:00.005-05:002009-10-01T20:49:57.121-05:00

I make it a point never to pick up hitchhikers. It's just my policy and it always has been. Most are nice enough and probably mean no harm but there's always a danger that something could go wrong and I could end up badly hurt or worse. A couple of days ago, I violated my own policy and the thing is, I didn't even mean to do it, the hitchhiker crept in so quietly, so subtly I had no idea she was

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-39367619349633071882009-09-28T20:49:00.002-05:002009-09-28T21:06:22.930-05:00

I don't know exactly why I thought of it today, but I remember as a child one of my aunts telling me that every mile we walked added a new artery to our circulatory system. That was quite a revelation to my young mind and something that had a profound impact on me at the time. My brain immediately started developing what if scenarios. My first concern was what would happen if we walked only, say,

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-89952474262991105392009-09-26T11:18:00.001-05:002009-09-26T11:19:13.197-05:00

I have been carving out fifteen minutes a day every day for a visualization exercise. I am trying to picture where I see my life, my career, my finances as the future unfolds and becomes the present. It’s a great exercise and calls for living that fifteen minutes as if the future were already here today.There has been so much written and said about creating our own realities and I have become a

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-54521973917498413532009-09-22T11:04:00.004-05:002009-09-22T11:23:31.161-05:00

My knee is still sore today after playing too many consecutive hours of wallyball last week so I decided a nice, long walk would help rehab it. Last night's heavy rains left fog so thick I could barely see the ridge to the east and imagined mountains beyond. There really aren't any mountains nearby where I live and take my walks but I do have a vivid imagination.Water droplets were poised on

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-70158104108455030292009-09-19T11:01:00.001-05:002009-09-19T11:03:51.234-05:00

As I wander the same trail through the same neighborhoods on my daily walks, I find myself less attuned to the mundane path I travel and more aware of the sounds of nature, the scents of the outdoors and the neighbors who painted their garage doors that hideous shade of green this summer. Last evening, the scents are what captured my attention. I always manage to pick up something wonderful along

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-78703222927216188632009-09-19T07:47:00.003-05:002009-09-19T08:05:28.744-05:00

I started this blog as an avenue of expression, to talk about whatever I wanted and to continue practicing my writing skills. What I ended up doing was only posting when I felt I had something poignant to say. But then, following that logic, I haven't had anything important to say since July 2nd. Truth is, I have found other venues in which to write: freshare.net, Twitter, Facebook and a few paid

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-80263687882863824892009-07-02T06:37:00.002-05:002009-07-02T08:23:37.683-05:00

I have been trying to get immersed in social networking sites as a way of letting people know about freshare or my blogs and maybe even a little bit about me. I have accounts now on most of the major sites – Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn – and I started trying to figure out how each one works and what they attempt to provide to the user. So here is my very brief explanation of what you

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-3644965101410536082009-06-09T11:22:00.002-05:002009-06-23T21:56:49.746-05:00

Last Saturday I went to the hootenanny in Mountain View, Arkansas with my oldest daughter. For those who have never been to the hootenanny, it's an open air bluegrass concert held on the town square in Mountain View on Saturday nights. But I'll tell you this: the best music is not on center stage, it's along the side streets in gazebos and under shade trees or beneath shop overhangs. We attended

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-85765481108289480382009-04-21T20:09:00.002-05:002009-04-21T20:19:30.761-05:00

I like the way a familiar scent in just the right context can evoke a long forgotten memory and transport me back to another time.Last weekend, I was in the Wal-Mart parking lot headed toward the store to start the weekly grocery shopping. It was cool but sunny, very mild weather. A two-ton Ford dually motored slowly past, the driver in search of a parking space wide enough to accommodate his rig

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-39140068417118685462009-04-10T20:12:00.002-05:002009-04-21T20:20:34.603-05:00

Last weekend I got to go trout fishing on the river. Well, that is to say I expected to go trout fishing but the river was up big and the trout refused to bite so I ended up hunting instead - for morel mushrooms. That's the subject of another post in another blog which you can read here if you'd like: The Morel of the Story.Being out there on the river is one of my favorite places and my weekend

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-17484671397142596182009-03-29T23:14:00.002-05:002009-03-29T23:21:55.217-05:00

Last night’s snow looked like spray-on flock, the kind you can buy at Christmas to add a wintry touch to decorations. But it had little time to celebrate as the morning sun melted it away, giving a long drink to tulips and redbuds.What a great day for a walk so I laced on my sneakers and headed outside. This time of year, everything looks brighter, more detailed than in winter. In winter,

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-29224744098341336182009-03-24T16:03:00.004-05:002009-03-24T16:14:20.908-05:00

Water had furrowed the rocks the way time etches an old man's face. The flow was steady, patient, and the water had clearly expended much of its efforts either carving pathways to follow or sanding smooth the stone beneath it in a time honored journey to the sea.Ignoring rocks it had befriended eons earlier, the brook disappeared below the surface only to find its path again a few yards later, a

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-55552680201546433132009-03-11T20:06:00.003-05:002009-03-14T11:35:11.353-05:00

March, cruelest of monthsTeases with warmth, buds, bloomsScorns with sleet, snow, wind.Jonquils, maples, forsythia smileWhen the days reach sixty or seventyOnly to be slapped with an icy furyWhen the days struggle even for twenty.Used to bitter betrayalsThe blossoms have learned Do not trust this monthDo not plan to flourishJust be there to sentinelFor the ones in April.March, cruelest of

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-18856573444902800112009-01-25T13:29:00.004-06:002009-01-26T21:54:10.934-06:00

Two administrations and I think we still missed it on saving the economy. While everyone is focused on doling out billions, even a trillion or more to banks, financial institutions, car companies and any other organizations that are big, boisterous and failing, I think we are handing checks to the wrong sort of people.To illustrate my point, think about what makes our economy run. The numbers

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-8320012341460806622009-01-18T10:14:00.000-06:002009-01-18T10:15:40.336-06:00

In the days beforeAmerica lost its innocence,And before Blackberry, PC, PS2 and Wii,When the world seemed young and freshWar a fading memoryPost war prosperity a reality.We gathered all at grandma's houseParents, cousins, uncles, aunts,For fish and peirogis, homemade bread and pies,Laughter, broken English, singing and presents.Oh, so many presents -More than my imagination could ever

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-77086188593149891902009-01-05T14:52:00.001-06:002009-01-05T14:52:25.887-06:00

I'm usually not much of one for New Year's resolutions and here is my only one for 2009: I plan to write more. Throughout last year, all my writing appeared only on my Ozarks outdoors website, freshare.net, and on a few article sites. But I have missed blogging and resolve to do more of that in 2009. Here, on Amblin Cafe and for a soon to be developed outdoors blog on freshare. If you check this

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-56442696502992986342008-01-09T20:21:00.000-06:002008-01-09T23:10:59.431-06:00

I read recently that Canadian and U.S. officials are investigating chocolate manufacturers on charges of price fixing. All the big guys are involved: Hershey, Nestle, Cadbury, Mars. And it seems the firms are admitting that, "Yeah, you caught us with our hands in the chocolate chip cookie jar all right. We discussed pricing together for years."Which explains why candy bars are all pretty much the

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-5187298765138346312007-11-29T10:30:00.001-06:002007-11-29T14:49:28.845-06:00

As a Razorback, I can't help but comment on what I suppose happened between the University and Houston Nutt, former football coach. After months of saying he was staying at Arkansas and enduring fan and media criticism, Nutt abruptly resigned as head coach then, less than four hours later, accepted a new job with rival Mississippi.Not having been privy to any communications between the U of A and

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1734314262067899812007-11-20T20:55:00.000-06:002007-11-21T12:43:43.243-06:00

The world is getting warmer. Probably. It's difficult to verify that empirically since we are talking about fractions of a degree and measuring the very accurate information we can assimilate today against a set of data that was eyeballed and closely estimated in decades past. But the world probably is getting warmer.And we as a race are trying to stop that from happening. With an Emmy and a

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-48034772937543655612007-10-30T11:10:00.000-05:002007-11-01T11:56:43.704-05:00

Oh no! It's been over a month since my last post to Amblin Cafe. But if you think I've been loafing all this time, well, I guess you're mistaken. Once again, I've let my creative writing slip while pursuing writing of a different kind - web design.It was time for a complete makeover of our flagship product and the task of doing that fell to me.Slow and deliberate in my web site design skills, I

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-19621802025533288342007-09-21T22:50:00.000-05:002007-11-05T22:27:36.706-06:00

Even when his arthritis got so bad he could hardly walk, he still liked to pilot the jon boat we used to fish the White River for rainbow trout. Strength had left him, so he could not help much when putting the boat into the water or hauling it back out again. In recent years, my father-in-law also gave up driving his truck to the river since backing the trailer onto the landing proved too

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-2913606206386654192007-09-05T08:43:00.001-05:002007-09-05T21:47:01.482-05:00

There is not much about playing golf that I dislike. Except, of course, for double-bogeys, water hazards and sand. I like sand on the beach, but not in my socks, shorts or as a landing area for my golf ball.Other than those few curses, I like the game a lot. But for many more reasons than just for the sport itself.I'll admit it does feel good when I strike the ball so well I can feel it in my

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-38689982769312831612007-08-25T22:22:00.000-05:002007-08-27T23:16:40.800-05:00

A long time ago, when I was in grade school, the greatest honor that could be bestowed upon a fifth grade male was to become a patrol boy. I don't mean to sound sexist. There may have been a patrol girl, too, but this was before glass ceilings were broken and patrol duties were, rather unfortunately, a predominately male occupation at the time.Patrol boys got to wear a one piece bright orange

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-10512811464073401822007-08-13T10:52:00.000-05:002007-08-13T10:59:16.976-05:00

There are some things I will probably never understand no matter how much information I have on the matter. Like which button is supposed to make what special feature work on my overly sophisticated alarm clock. Or why my dog hates to get a bath but loves to play in the sprinkler.And some things are interesting to think about, but I am no closer to discovering the truth. Like why you never see a

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-38447333489076016002007-07-02T22:50:00.000-05:002007-07-02T23:34:18.739-05:00

Just playing with thoughts in today's post. Simply a memory, a recollection returning vividly. A picture in my mind.....A young boy, maybe ten, twelve at the oldest sitting on his swing in the backyard. The sun feels good on my arms and there's the uniquely personal scent of skin warmed by the sun.The swing creaks lightly as I slowly sway and I am suddenly aware of the metallic smell of the

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-57895554650971869502007-06-25T23:25:00.000-05:002007-06-25T23:26:54.348-05:00

This weekend I discovered that spiders really can get caught in their own webs. Apparently, they produce several different kinds of silk. Some are sticky and others are not. Once they’ve built their intricate fly-catchers, they know where to tread. Each one of their legs has a couple of claws on the end that spiders use to grasp fine web threads and maneuver along their willowy highways.Should

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-77529422863648945572007-06-19T23:47:00.000-05:002007-06-20T00:00:04.138-05:00

I usually write an entry to this blog every Sunday. But last Sunday was Father's Day and I decided to take the day off. I played golf instead. Eighteen holes. Had a blast. Then I just got lazy for the rest of the day, especially after a double serving of lasagna and a huge piece of coconut cake.Anyway, I will get back to my regular schedule this week. Even if the weather's nice and I play golf

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-19298448176443073952007-06-10T22:41:00.000-05:002007-06-10T23:14:21.570-05:00

What did you want to be when you grew up? Do you remember? I do. With every fiber of my young boyhood, I wanted to be an astronaut. Sail the stars in a high-tech tin can, watch the sun rise and set every twenty minutes or so, speed around the globe at 17,000 miles an hour! I knew I would probably miss being the first man on the moon, seeing as I would end up being just thirteen when it happened,

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-29116731892243226502007-06-04T22:44:00.000-05:002007-06-04T22:46:50.932-05:00

Thanks to Dick Cheney, this is one of the most unusual presidential election seasons we have ever witnessed. It isn’t often a sitting vice-president leaves office with no ambition to run for the top job.So we end up with eighteen or twenty Democrats and Republicans tossing their political hats into the ring nearly two years before the presidential election will even be held. I mean, think about

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-88141419924976976352007-05-29T23:20:00.000-05:002007-05-29T23:27:22.981-05:00

Dr. Theodore Maiman passed away on May 5 of this year. I learned of his passing from an article I discovered while reading an online news site. Dr. Maiman’s name was, perhaps, not widely known and certainly could not be called a household word.But his invention is one that we all see in use at sometime during the week, and the same invention actually struck fear in the hearts of many a few

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-56162929671323003392007-05-21T22:50:00.000-05:002007-05-21T22:52:34.576-05:00

Springfieldians are some of the nicest, friendliest people you'll ever want to meet. Until they get behind the wheel of an automobile.Case in point: last week, while driving home from work, I came up behind a lady going fifty while driving in the left lane. She had a small child in the front seat and one in the back as well. Since the speed limit in this particular stretch of highway was sixty

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-13498880706147067922007-05-14T23:20:00.000-05:002007-05-14T23:23:29.670-05:00

I understand the theory of supply and demand. Pretty much all of us do. I used to teach it to fifth and sixth graders when my daughters were in school. I brought in donuts, gave each class member an envelope stuffed with Monopoly money and auctioned off the donuts.To simulate real life conditions, not everyone had the same amount of Monopoly money in their envelope. Some students were relatively

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-25672564021627504392007-05-03T16:56:00.000-05:002007-05-03T22:07:40.235-05:00

Whether it's the yips, the jitters, a slump or the shanks, we've all experienced something like it. You're off your game, out of the zone. You have to pull out of it or give up. A bad case of writer's block is no different. And when matters get complicated by spending time writing html code instead of stories, well, it just doesn't help.While I needed to spend time with a web site redesign (thus

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-34122284614206591202007-01-10T22:40:00.000-06:002007-01-10T23:21:23.289-06:00

Sometimes nouns can become so popular and recognizable we can hardly resist the urge to give them wings by adding a couple of extra letters and turning them into verbs. For example, you can be easily be punk'd or spammed and, even without the extra letters, you can Google something or email someone. We could probably assemble a lot more of them, but that's not where I was going with this post. I

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-19815812981628349992007-01-04T22:05:00.001-06:002007-01-04T23:04:59.403-06:00

I came across some news on the wire about the Tightwad Bank closing in Tightwad, Missouri, population 63. You can read more about the closing here in an article I wrote for YourPanorama. Granted, most of the accounts at that branch were probably small and only set up for the novelty of having checks that read: Tightwad Bank. It's like something you would expect to find in a game of Monopoly. In

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-36440765045362831992006-12-21T22:41:00.000-06:002007-01-01T09:35:13.804-06:00

As was certainly true for most young boys and girls in their single digit years, Christmas for me was a colorful and mysterious event with its own compliment of scents, tastes, sights and experiences to awe and amaze.From our home in northwest Indiana, we made an annual Christmas journey to Chicago by South Shore, an electric passenger train. Cars painted a dull orange would take us directly to

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-36255217384735833312006-11-29T23:20:00.000-06:002006-11-30T00:05:45.826-06:00

As a young production supervisor, one of the myriad training classes I was required to attend was produced by a company called Kepner-Treghoe. I don't know if they are still in business, but I'll never forget that class: problem solving. We were taught how to separate the symptoms we observed from the actual problem. That way we could attack the real issue instead of stomping out fires that never

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1149480025671112102006-06-04T22:59:00.000-05:002006-06-05T06:50:44.786-05:00

Sometimes we do things just because we’ve always done them the same way and because it’s just too difficult to change. But if we take a moment and examine those things from a different vantage point, the folly glares back at us and, suddenly, it’s not so undesirable to change after all.For example, there are countless hours spent in countless organizations across the globe developing elaborately

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1148360023763466902006-05-22T22:46:00.000-05:002006-05-23T17:34:04.926-05:00

A year ago today, I said goodbye to my brother. His wife tried to wake him for church that morning, but he had already left, having died in his sleep. Ron was 48.I have to admit, I didn't know Ron very well. I'm not sure many people did. He had a big heart and a warm personality, he laughed heartily and he never lost that child-like wonder and excitement of his youth. In fact, you should have

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1146581702997271052006-05-02T08:20:00.001-05:002006-05-02T09:55:03.003-05:00

On a break from work one day, one of my co-workers (that I'll call Jim) told us about growing up poor in Arkansas. Jim's family owned a small plot of land where they grew a few crops to sell at local markets. Jim's father worked at odd jobs to supplement the small income his family earned from scratching out a living off the land.All in all, though, Jim said it was a pretty happy childhood. He

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1145336274220852702006-04-17T22:32:00.000-05:002006-04-17T23:57:54.546-05:00

A small gathering of the Korpella clan took place at my mother's house this Easter weekend. We got the opportunity to visit, we got caught up on each other's lives, and we ate to contentment. Maybe even a little past contentment.As a result of my daughter's school assignment, our conversation turned to my Grandma Rose, my mother's mother. Grandma died in 1964 when I was still very young, but I

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1144466354252518472006-04-07T22:16:00.000-05:002006-04-07T22:19:14.270-05:00

Many years ago, when I was a shift supervisor at a manufacturing company, a group of us headed to the local watering hole for an after-the-work-week drink. We were assigned to evening shift, so we got to the bar around twelve-thirty in the morning, which feels just like five-thirty in the afternoon to anyone on nights. And, like the song says, “It’s five o’clock somewhere” so why not partake?

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1144004701915308402006-04-02T13:21:00.000-05:002006-04-02T14:19:19.786-05:00

I once read that a weed is simply a flower whose beauty has not yet been realized. If that's true, then my front yard is the most misunderstood piece of property in the area. In my zeal for curb appeal, I've tried most every brand of commercial fertilizer and weed inhibitor approved for residential use. I even thought about renting a crop duster once, but that seemed like overkill. I've reseeded,

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1143776733671696012006-03-30T21:40:00.000-06:002006-03-30T21:45:33.693-06:00

Note: I wrote this piece last fall after observing the real Howard in my backyard. Since these little winged critters are due back in less than a month, I thought it fitting to remember.It’s September now, which means those mercurial winged summer visitors will soon be leaving for warmer climates. September, while marking the beginning of the next season, also marks the end of those aerial

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1143269366461196452006-03-24T22:40:00.000-06:002006-03-25T01:15:27.130-06:00

As most of us learned (or should have learned) in high school biology, over half the human body is made up of water. And, if our geography lessons took, we also found out that over seventy percent of the globe is covered in water. Pretty much all life as we know it depends on water. A few years ago, a gentleman named Dr. Masaru Emoto decided to subject water samples to different thoughts and

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1142402109216810862006-03-14T22:51:00.000-06:002006-03-15T00:30:08.610-06:00

Sometimes I feel like Forrest Gump. By the sheer luck of being in the right place at the right time, I've managed to run into or meet some famous people over the years. And, with the exception of two occaisions, I wasn't looking for them - they just sort of showed up ... or I ran into them - literally.The late governor of Missouri, Mel Carnahan, was giving a speech at a conference I attended at

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1141965845352421102006-03-09T22:27:00.000-06:002006-03-12T12:39:33.926-06:00

I heard this story some time ago and I wanted to blog it. Problem is it's been a while and I can't recall who originated the story or even if I got all the details right, but it's still a good story:A couple of people shared walks on occasion, discussing anything that suited them. One of the two made certain to stop anytime he discovered a dropped coin along the path. He would look at the coin a

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1141706101426902902006-03-06T22:03:00.000-06:002006-03-06T22:35:26.776-06:00

I like going to Lowes or even Home Depot as much as anyone else who enjoys building projects. But there's just something about that small, family-owned hardware store that harkens to another era. I've been in a few that occupied old brick buildings with creaky wood floors so worn by traffic that you just have to wonder how thick the flooring is anymore. Others are in more modern structures, metal

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1141511052192032342006-03-04T15:49:00.000-06:002006-03-04T16:25:09.606-06:00

Ever pondered the concept of forever? I mean, really thought about it. It's difficult to wrap your mind around, isn't it? Everything we know about is finite: we finish a race, we complete projects, our pets die, we die. You can take off in any direction on our planet and eventually get right back where you started. Your journey ends. But cast your eyes to the heavens on any clear night and

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1141360840567873232006-03-02T22:13:00.000-06:002006-03-03T08:21:38.080-06:00

I wonder what makes cell phone users drive in the left lane of a four lane highway. Is the reception that much better eight feet left? And here's some breaking news - you really don't have to drive that slow to maintain reception. Your phone really will continue to pick up cellular signals at or above the posted speed limit. Today, while waiting at stop lights on my way home, I made a very casual

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1141190609722015622006-02-28T22:39:00.000-06:002006-03-02T00:03:45.346-06:00

I was a human resources manager for many years, working for several well known manufacturing companies. In that capacity, I interviewed a lot of people and read countless scores of resumes and applications. By far and away my favorite was the guy who answered why he had left his previous position by stating, "My boss shot me." Now, in my experience, I had taken some creative and sometimes some

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1141016888074230682006-02-26T22:31:00.001-06:002009-06-30T15:11:12.138-05:00

"Chocolaty keen with cream in between." That's how it was billed and when I was a kid, and that was all it took for my mouth to ache with desire for a Lucky Cake. Tip Top bakery was responsible for the confection and my quarters helped fill that company's coffers. The old black and white television commercial featured a childlike figure, with a flute if I recall correctly. But it was a long time

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1140757311715068652006-02-23T22:36:00.000-06:002006-02-23T23:07:14.536-06:00

I wonder what old dogs think about. I wonder what animals of any kind think about. Nearly every day on my way to work I see this old, white dog patroling the edge of the highway. He (or she) lives out in the country on a back road I like to take to avoid traffic. He looks fairly healthy, but his coat has lost its sheen and he could use some care and attention. He ambles along the end of his

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1140674683540746922006-02-22T23:06:00.000-06:002006-02-23T00:04:43.556-06:00

According to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyworld, a pirate's life is downright inviting. Being drunk and slovenly is all right with pirates and you can even take a nap right there in the mud with the pigs. Plus, when you do awaken from your alcohol induced slumber, it's perfectly acceptable to fire your pistol, get in a fight or even chase wenches all over town. Who wouldn't want to

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22663355.post-1140389721981070682006-02-19T16:40:00.000-06:002006-02-21T22:24:26.443-06:00

It's been a mild winter again this year, but we did receive our first really measurable snow yesterday - four inches. It was the kind where the main roads are clear but the ground, the trees, rooftops are covered. Throughout the winter but especially during snows, I like to make sure there's plenty of seed out for the birds. I figure they have it pretty tough during cold weather, so I do what I

ROBERT J. KORPELLAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02840582740503036324noreply@blogger.com0