Friday Donuts

Dear Members and Constituents, When is the last time you gave something your undivided attention? Better yet, do you ever wonder whether that is even possible anymore? If you’re like me, your commute involves driving while listening to the radio and checking your smartphone at the red lights. We arrive at work to take conference calls while checking e-mail and trying to hold a side conversation with that person who swings-by. Finally, our evening relaxation involves trying to maintain a conversation with our family while watching a TV show and surfing the web. In our multi-tasking society it’s easy to wonder whether there was ever a time when people lived in the now. Call me a dreamer, but I think it IS possible, and it begins with a donut. Make your way to my office and help yourself to one of four dozen LaMar’s donuts here today courtesy of Paul Savill (donut boy). Yes, they are all crammed into a single box –it seems the attendant was trying to do too much at once—but once you’ve

Dear Members and Constituents, The grass is greening, songbirds singing. Clear and crisp, blowing brisk, an air of spring is ringing A three day weekend pleads you, please spend days away in careless play, your soul and mind to mend To clear fountains in the mountains or a stroll through the mall maybe try to get tan Before you go, you should know Stacy Jackson went to Waltons watch the donuts flow So, in closing I’m proposing, get a treat o, so sweet grab a donut, don’t be dozing! Happy Friday!

Dear Members and Constituents, The stage is set for a zombie apocalypse. Imagine, if you, will a climate change-induced mile-wide tornado creating devastation in its path. FEMA, strapped for cash and understaffed by the sequester fails to respond in a timely manner. Amid the debris and unbeknownst to most, hydraulic fracturing has released an ancient virus from the bowels of the Earth. A virus which attacks the neo-cortex of the brain, diminishing higher function and creating an insatiable appetite for fresh brains. Crazy, you say? Perhaps. Then again, some are taking this threat more seriously than others. In fact, just this week I was driving behind some folks who have a unique strategy to address this impending crisis. The vanity words “ EATTHE ” are etched on their “ Kids 1 st ” license plate. Clever. In-fact, the only hole I see in their plan is the assumption Zombies can take subtle hints. Then again, kids do have fresher brains, who knows, it might work. Of course, i

Dear Members and Constituents, There is a new villain in the news whose name sounds oddly familiar. The man who held three women hostage in his basement for a decade sounds a lot like the man who has held Cuba hostage for five. I speak, of course, of Cleveland’s own Ariel Castro (although I’m sure the city would like to remove any association with this man). On my drive to work this morning I was trying to craft a poem comparing the two men. By the time I arrived at the office, I had decided against the idea as ill-contrived and altogether wrong. Why focus on these poor excuses for human beings when we could be talking about the goodness of donuts. Rich Law (donut boy) stopped by LaMar’s this morning and delights us with a delicious pastry sampling. So come on down and do your part to help liberate these donuts from the box they’ve been trapped in for who-knows-how-long. You’ll be glad you did. Happy Friday!

Dear Members and Constituents, The Internet –the massive network connecting the world which has forever changed the way we live—is, obviously, built on standards. Not surprisingly, these standards, known as RFCs, govern everything from making a phone call using IP (RFC3261) to how IP addresses are allocated on a private network (RFC1918). What is surprising (to me at least) is the acronym RFC itself. It stands for “Request for Comment.” That’s like calling the rules your children are supposed to abide by “Optional Behavior” or traffic laws “How Are We Doing?” Still, the Internet works well enough. The other day a club member brought RFC1149 to my attention. The grin-inducing “A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers” is a couple of pages long and goes to prove some geeks have too much time on their hands. My favorite quote “The carriers [pigeons] have an intrinsic collision avoidance system, which increases availability.” So, how does this apply to donuts?