2,796 Articles Under This Category. Now Displaying Page 4
Computer and Internet Tweaks I would love to See. - Mike Fak
I realize I make a livelihood out of the computer age and the internet but that doesn't mean I will just roll over and accept some of the silliness that happens to me and all of you web browsers and users. Now I'm not professing we go back to chipping stories onto the sides of cave walls but... Submitted 3 years 135 days ago.

It “Sewer” Could Have Been Worse. - Mike Fak
I wrote a while back about the floods I have had in my old basement. Actually our area has had three heavy rains and all three times my basement ended up with three to six inches of water in it. Now in a hundred-year-old house, a basement isn't exactly a place where family gather to watch TV... Submitted 3 years 138 days ago.

Funny E-Mails and Office Humor. - Mike Fak
I have written before how the daily board (E-mail file) at the paper is filled everyday with all kinds of inquiries. Sometimes there is a great local press release. Sometimes there is junk information or people trying to have me hire them to write about something no one ever heard of before let... Submitted 3 years 142 days ago.

If I Don’t Exist, Why Must I Pay Taxes? - Mike Fak
I usually file my tax return at the last minute. It has nothing to do with procrastination. It's just that I almost always owe a little bit and I'm not giving it up until I have to. This late filing of course meant that I would probably be at the back of the bus when the economic incentive checks... Submitted 3 years 146 days ago.

Would Wacky Funerals Make Money? - Mike Fak
We had a special exhibit this week in Lincoln. A local funeral home put on an incredible display of Abe Lincoln artifacts including a transformation of the funeral home into an 1860s parlor. Collectors from all over allowed their memorabilia to be at the funeral home including the Lincoln... Submitted 3 years 149 days ago.

Is What Politicians Say the Same As What They Really Think? - Mike Fak
The first time I recall anything about a presidential election was in 1956. Eisenhower was running against Adlai Stevenson and I remember former president Harry Truman saying on the radio that Ike could go to hell. I remembered that because it was shocking that anyone would use such a vulgar... Submitted 3 years 153 days ago.

Wit, Wisdom, and Newspaper Business Sarcasm - Mike Fak
In the trade, all columnists have their own great stories to tell. From how they started to how they finished there are always some great laughs and deep insights into what made someone a success or not. As an expert in the "or not" side of the business, I have kept tabs on some of the more... Submitted 3 years 162 days ago.

Inventions We Take For Granted - Mike Fak
Sometimes when I go to a party or a get together, it is one of those events where a lot of people don't know each other. Sometimes those events can become a little quiet or boring. At such times I like to ask a two-part question that usually brings a fun and sometimes rowdy discussion. The... Submitted 3 years 174 days ago.

Hot Air Balloons and Why I Don't Ride in One - Mike Fak
Next weekend our town will be hosting our annual art fair and hot air balloon fest. It is probably the most intense weekend of the year what with surrounding towns and big city folks coming to see about 40 hot air balloons go up into the sky twice a day. Of course sometimes they don't due to... Submitted 3 years 181 days ago.

Being Sixty Years Old Has Advantages - Mike Fak
I had a lot of fun on my sixtieth birthday. I was busy running around town and many folks already knew I was reaching what I guess is a benchmark date in one's life. I had the radio show that morning where we made fun of my being so old. The publisher also snuck in a "Fak's turned 60 today" into... Submitted 3 years 184 days ago.

The Rooster That Wouldn’t Come to Dinner - Sandra E. Graham
Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, I guess I could have been classified as your typical "city kid". I was in my teens before I was ever introduced to a world called "the country" and became aware of wild animals that made strange noises in the night and vicious insects that bored into your skin... Submitted 3 years 184 days ago.

Chronicles of a County Fair Reporter. - Mike Fak
Well the 72 nd Logan County Fair is in the books and I can rest up a little bit. I decided in my new capacity with the Lincoln Daily News that I would give the fair my total attention after I was sure any important news blips or blurts were included in the day's edition. I imagine our... Submitted 3 years 191 days ago.

The Dangers of Being a Chili Cook-Off Judge. - Mike Fak
Since it is county fair week in my home town I thought I would share a rather embarrassing tale that happened at this county fair about seven years ago. Now at the time I was doing a local television show and so the station had a tent at the fair. It doesn't do much for business except allow... Submitted 3 years 195 days ago.

The Tarzan of Wrigleyville - Mike Fak
I touched briefly on this story in my last book but I believe it deserves its own extrapolation to be presented to the world for internet eternity. It has been a family favorite over the years primarily because it shows how early on I could do really inept things. Plus my four siblings were... Submitted 3 years 198 days ago.

Roller Derby, Taco Bell, and Rumors - - Teresa Ortiz
As we walked through the doors, we knew we were in another time and place, though not sure which one. Forget about Greek Mythology, there is no myth about it, for there she was right in front of me, the one and only--Medusa. The snakes in her hair left a lot to be desired, but rest assured it was... Submitted 3 years 199 days ago.

A City Boy Prepares For the County Fair. - Mike Fak
Being born and raised in Chicago, I have trouble understanding county fairs. When I came downstate in the late 70s I found quite a culture shock when it came to the local county fairs. I saw entire businesses shut down, people take a vacation week and almost everything grind to a halt when it was... Submitted 3 years 202 days ago.

What’s In a Number When You Are Talking About Age? - Mike Fak
I recently received a private e-mail from one of you Warpies asking me a specific question. The question was, "What do you do when you can't think of anything to write about?" Now I understand the person's question but I couldn't relate a really good answer because I have never had a writer's... Submitted 3 years 205 days ago.

A Weather Report I Would Like To Write - Mike Fak
We Illinoisans were hit with another massive storm last weekend. I'm not sure if it is global warming or climate change or the revenge of the polar bears but something isn't right with the weather in the Midwest. Now one of the things our on line paper can do that printed media can't is to post... Submitted 3 years 209 days ago.

Chicago Drivers Make a Person Go Ballistic - Mike Fak
This weekend we went up to the Waukegan area to visit family. Now although my wife and I are both Chicago natives, what we have seen happen to traffic and the lunacy of area drivers makes us wonder if we can ever move back home. In the old days before families had a car for every person in the... Submitted 3 years 212 days ago.

June 20th… I Finally Used My Mother's Day Present - - Myla Madson
Divorced mothers tend to get gypped on Mother's Day because dad no longer feels compelled, or more accurately, required to take the little ones shopping to ensure a proper gift is purchased for the gal who gives so much of herself to so many people. I have received more school Mother's Day... Submitted 3 years 236 days ago.

Blundering Through the News - Mike Fak
With my official career as a newspaper pundit now over, I can turn to more interesting activities such as telling the news the way I see it. Although a freelance columnist and not a newspaperman per se, I was still constricted by such tangibles as truth, accuracy and reliability that always... Submitted 4 years 168 days ago.

What if the Government Took Over Baseball (Satire) - Mike Fak
Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell warned baseball owners at their quarterly meeting that if players and owners don't cooperate with his investigation into steroid use in baseball that the U.S. government might step in. I'm not certain that a body of legislators that can't figure out... Submitted 5 years 21 days ago.

The Television Wasteland. Dumb Commercials and Stupid Shows. - Mike Fak
Whether you use a dish or a cable, the price we pay for the garbage we are currently having sent into our homes just makes me want to fire everyone in the whole television industry. I currently have cable and my 60 channel compendium of potential entertainment is a joke. Half the channels are... Submitted 5 years 151 days ago.

Living with Rejection...by the Baseball Hall of Fame - Mike Fak
My son has told me that although I am a real old timer, I am on occasion fairly interesting. I agree with Tim. Unfortunately sometimes the interesting things that I do or have happen to me aren't exactly beneficial. The past weekend of the Lincoln Art and Balloon Fest shows that to be the casein... Submitted 5 years 159 days ago.

Reality TV – If the Real World Was Like “Real World” - Danny Davids
It’s May 2006, and the 2005-2006 television season is winding down.   Some people anxiously await their favorite show’s season-ending cliffhanger, while others feel pangs of sorrow as they watch the final episode of a series that won’t be back on the air next fall.   Many, however, are glued to... Submitted 5 years 260 days ago.