New links

Hey, I know I haven't been posting much and likely no one bothers coming by anymore. BUT, if you do and haven't noticed, I have added a couple new links over there ------------------------------->>>>

One of them I think is FANTASTIC. That would be lala.com. They seem to have most every album in the rock era available for a free listen (one time) or you can search by song. Set an account up and they will search wherever you point their "music mover" and if you already have an MP3 of something in their database/library, they make it available to your library. The cool thing about that is you can sign on from anywhere you have internet access and your library is there for you.!
You also get to add 50 songs to your library for free (a signing bonus, if you will). And the songs are only $.10 each. Yeah, that's right. A dime to access almost any song from anywhere. Buying access to the entire album is even cheaper per song.
If you want to have the songs be a bit more mobile with an MP3 download, it is pretty cheap to purchase.
These guys seem to have figured out a way to retail music in the digital download age to those of us who don't want to steal but also don't want to pay for a lot of extra crap (like record companies underwriting Jonas Brothers tours and neglecting the independent types).
The other music blog I haven't looked at much yet, but if Maceo says it is ok, then I think it will be.

The Nest Is Empty

Yesterday, my wife and daughter started out on the two vehicle caravan that will take Nicki to Atlanta and my life to another stage. As the departure date as approached, many people have asked me questions relating to how my life will change when there are no children living in the home. They have ranged from inappropriate inquiries on intimacy (which were met with equally inappropriate responses) to whether we expect a "budget bonanza" since we are no longer footing the bill for their housing costs.
Initially, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. My kids have moved. And your point is?
But as I went to bed last night and habitually reached to close the bedroom door, I paused. Why? Why did I need to close the door? There was no one else in my house. I wasn't going to be disturbed or roused from sleep by a child coming home at 1, 2, or 3. I didn't need to worry about embarrassing my child with a view of my bed clothes glimpsed as they went down the hall to their own room.
I mean, it is just another stage of life that those of us fortunate enough to live long enough go through. It is the order of things, proceeding in the way it has since the time of Eden. I count my blessings that we were able to see them become adults, seemingly free of the demons that I voluntarily consorted with at their age. Both my girls have learned what it means to be told no because money isn't available to satisfy capricious whims. I hope they have learned to value effort and wisdom acquired through teachings or experience. To date, their choices have been good ones, or at least not the sort that will permanently alter their lives to the negative. They are great kids and pretty good people, if I do say so myself.
So quit asking me about being an "empty nester." It hasn't effected me one way or the other. My life is the same.

I closed the bedroom door before turning out the light.