The Journey

So Google Maps is doing something rather cool. You can track the paths each presidential candidate has taken in their lives to get to where they are now (which is all over the TV, radio, web, mail, phone lines, etc.)

Just click on the candidate of choice on the left.

You'll notice they don't offer this service for either of the VP candidates. I had to do some searching for Palin’s but finally found it here.

Work Spouses

According to a recent article posted at CareerBuilder.com, roughly one in ten workers has a “work spouse.” A work spouse, for those of you not in the know, is “…a co-worker of the opposite sex with whom you have a close, platonic relationship.”

The article goes on to say that, in many ways, these relationships mirror real marriages and that roughly 20% of the people with work spouses also have a jealous real-life spouse as a result. The always-helpful CareerBuilder then gives seven signs that you may have a work spouse of your own.

The piece was forwarded to me by a coworker that believes we meet many of the seven requirements. After reading the article I couldn’t really disagree. So, despite the fact that I’ve made a conscious effort over the last twenty years not to get married it turns out I have a spouse anyway. Who knew?

More importantly this article got me thinking about possible problems that come with this seemingly-innocent trend.

I hate to say it, but with the emergence of work spouse relationships comes the possibility that certain people out there will go and find a work spouse of the same sex. As we’ve all learned over the last five years, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is a bigger threat to all that is good and pure and clean in the world than same-sex spouses. Just picture it – you’ve worked hard to establish a good, decent work spouse relationship with a coworker and then BOOM! – Sheila and Dawn from Accounting ruin it all faster than you can say “Indigo Girls”. Obviously, we cannot have that.

That’s why I’m writing a letter – a letter to the good people behind the extremely-necessary and not-at-all-wasteful-despite-the-fact-it-was-voted-down-less-than-two-years-ago Proposition 102. Knowing well how viciously-passionate they are I have a feeling that they are already on top of this – hurriedly crafting a “Defense of Traditional Work Spouse Relationship” initiative to appear on the next ballot. But just in case they aren’t, or in case they just need some support, I’m going to let them know. After all, you can’t be too safe when facing evil threats to the American Way of Life.

And to end on a positive, the emergence of work spouses also brings certain opportunities like the creation of a new job/profession/industry – work spouse counseling. As these relationships mirror real marriage there will no doubt be instances of work spouse physical/mental abuse, infidelity, and even divorce – perhaps at a rate as high as 50%. Professionals will be needed to counsel, console, mediate, and perhaps medicate. As long as we remember what’s important and protect "traditional" work spouse relationships, this can be a very good thing indeed.

And the Cradle Will Rock

I don't have children, but if I did...

http://www.amazon.com/Rockabye-Baby-Lullaby-Renditions-AC/dp/B0011V7OO2/ref=sr_1_36?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1222973148&sr=1-36

As a friend of mine said, "What better way to put your kid to sleep than Highway to Hell played on a glockenspiel?" As he's got more children than me (4 to 0) I'll have to take his word for it I guess.