Here at The Shack we are well aware that Chanukah is less than a month away and as a result we have done absolutely no shopping for those eight crazy nights.

After all, what fun would it be to do all of our shopping in advance. It would remove the sheer joy of fighting crowds for parking and being assaulted mentally, emotionally and verbally during those fabulous trips through the mall.

Besides we like sharing this experience with our Gentile friends who have to help out that joyful fat man with his adventures in chimney cleaning and present deliveries. So we are pleased to present to you the first post on potential gifts for the holidays with a post about unusual yet useful gifts for the holidays.

Today's featured gift idea is one that I mused about inventing on Twitter.

I thought that it was a great idea. So did @JessicaGottlieb and @AintYoMamasBlog.  In fact following the Tweets we exchanged I contemplated trying to find a way to invent this product. But as it turns out someone already has and since old Jack is a good sport I am happy to give them a free plug here.

The Calmar Consulting Corporation offers AquaNotes which offers you the chance to write in the shower or the tub. And because Jack is a romantic old fool we'll even share this next section with you:

The development of AquaNotes® made this Shower Thinker’s life more complete. But, in truth, he had only begun to understand the concept of "complete".  After reuniting with a long-lost love, he married and a new necessity arose…the need to have a special water-proof notepad on which to leave love notes in the shower for his new, wonderful bride. That’s when Aqua LoveNotes® was created.

Those love notes would be very useful. It is a great way to leave your special someone a note reminding them that you are tired of finding their hair everywhere or that there are a number of special things that they can do to send you off to work with a smile in the morning.

Or even a simple, "I appreciate the way that you fold my napkin in my lunchbox. Thank you sweetheart." Of course that assumes that you still carry a lunchbox. Some of us never outgrow those cool units from the '70s.

Later on we'll be glad to offer some standard gift selections for you. In the interim here is a list of some unique items that just might be of interest to someone you know.

It is A Bathroom Revolution
How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs
What Not to Do-Snakebites
The Cubicle Celebrates 40 Years
How Velcro Was Invented
My New Desk- I Have To Get One
London Restaurant Tries To Solve Gas Crisis
Who Wants To Buy An Artificial Foreskin
Untapped Sources of Energy
The Mangroomer
Business Cards That Will Get You Business
Medical Technology- The future is now
Inventions You have Got To Have (Includes the ladies urinal, toilet forehead support system and much more.)
The Nose Pouch
How Much Would it Cost To Build The Death Star
Lose Weight With The Greatest Exercise Ever
The Best Clothing You'll Ever Own
When Disaster Strikes- Blow Up Your House
A free guide to the toilets of the world

 Something is off and I can't quite figure out what it is. Must be my Mojo. That crazy broad the Shmata Queen must have run off with it or hidden it. I hate when that happens.

Fortunately I have a spare. Actually I have more than a few that I keep secured in a secret vault that she doesn't have access to. I don't mind mentioning this because she is on a secret mission and is not currently reading this. And even if she comes back early from her hiatus it won't matter because by that point I'll have reacquired my mojo.

That mojo thing is important. It is part of what keeps me going. It is part of how I deal with the pressures of parenthood. It helps keep me balanced.

When my oldest was born I kept looking for the manual that comes with babies. It is not like I was going to read it. I am a man. We don't ask for directions, we just find our way.

I suppose that there might be a nugget or two of useful information in that manual. Maybe there is a section that provides instruction for how to deal with trying to launch a new business during hard economic times. Or a section that tells you what to do when dealing with a crazy woman.

Actually there is a big yellow book at Borders, called "Women for Dummies" but why would I bother with that. In case you haven't noticed, when I find myself in a hole I just keep digging. If I stick at it I'll eventually find myself in China at which point I'll set up a new import/export business.

Hey, speaking of China do you think that Marco Polo had any idea that one day he'd be turned into a game we play in swimming pools.

I am rambling. I do it often and I do it well. I do it when I am happy and when I am stressed out. And now I am stressed out.

The new business is in the very early stages. It is like a little fetus except a fetus has more protection than this does. Every day I look in the mirror and ask myself if now is the right time to do this. Two kids in private school and a mortgage suggest that it is absolutely the worst time.

Then again the economy is terrible. Every day businesses are going under, people are losing their homes and things are generally less stable than they could be. And that tells me that now is a good time to try.

Why? Because I like going against the grain. I like swimming upstream. Some people do it the easy way and then there is Jack, he does it the hard way. Did I mention that I have a second business I want to try and launch now.

Last night I sat and watched the dark haired beauty sleep. Long black curls strewn across a pixie doll face that was the picture of innocence. I sat and thought about her and wondered what sort of woman she is going to become. She tells me that when I am really old I am going to come live with her so that she can take care of me.

The thought made me smile. She doesn't realize that when she was born I promised to take care of her for her entire life. And if nothing else I have another couple of decades before she'll be old enough to handle herself.

I made my way over to her check on her brother and marveled over the sleeping giant. He is huge now. Ok, he is normal size for his age, but he looks huge to me. He is big enough to make wrestling more challenging. It used to be effortless, now, I need to pay a little attention to it.

He asked me if I would ever have a job where we could work together. I shrugged and told him that it might happen one day. Haven't a clue if the businesses I am working on now will be of any interest to him. Right now I just hope that they'll be successful us to merit the opportunity.

I can't help but wonder if it is a mistake going this route. I can't help but wonder if I should focus on the corporate world. Work for a company that is stable, offers a strong compensation package that includes benefits. Would it provide more security. Would it be better for my family. Am I am taking on unnecessary risk by doing this now.

In theory this is something that I should have tried before the kids came along. Would have been a hell of  a lot easier. But I wasn't ready. I didn't have the skill set that I have now and more importantly I didn't have the mental toughness.

I am comfortable and confident saying that. It is true. So in some ways now really is the right time to try, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a bit nervous.

The one thing that I know for certain is that a year from now life is going to be different, I just don't know exactly how different it will be.

It is a year since the terrorist attack in Mumbai. Some questions have been answered and others remain. Are the police better equipped than they were. Have they learned anything.

Something tells me that the terrorists are still training. They are not stupid. They look at the tools they used in the past and implement them again where needed.

I worry that nothing has changed. Time has passed and people have forgotten. Lost memories are dangerous.

I am working on a number of posts, but before they go up I figure that I'll share some of the music of the day with you.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps - George Harrison
I Am the Walrus- The Beatles 

The End- The Beatles
Longer - Dan Fogelberg
Same Old Lange Syne- Dan Fogelberg
Leader Of The Pack- Shangri- Las
Lola- The Kinks
Destroyer- The Kinks
Come Dancing- The Kinks
Our House- Madness
Suite Judy Blue Eyes 1974- Crosby Stills Nash
Helplessly Hopin'-Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Our House - Crosby Stills Nash & Young
(The Kids Aren't Alright)- The Offspring
You're Gonna Go Far, Kid- The Offspring
Gone Away- The Offspring

Nothing like more sturm und drang  in my life to make things interesting. I asked people to answer why they blog and received some interesting answers. Not unlike many of you I am here because it provides both an outlet and a chronicle of my life.

Posts like this one will be something that my children and grandchildren can read so that they understand that my life is like theirs. It is filled with moments of routine punctuated with bouts of craziness. That goes well with the wacky man they call dad now and may call grandpa in the future. Don't call me grandpa today because I am not old and I will kick your ass, male, female, feline or otherwise.

I received a letter today informing me that my healthcare costs are going to more than double in 2010. Since I am independently wealthy and without a care in the world I wasn't fazed at all by this.In fact I felt so bad about not being able to empathize with people I tasered my own scrotum.

There, that should make for the kind of search term I don't want associated with the blog. But at the moment I am too frustrated to care.

Stevie Ray Vaughn's The House Is Rockin'  just came on iTunes. If my life were a movie it would be an appropriate song to play now. It'd be one of those time line bits where you'd see me running frantically to try and overcome a challenge. By the time it ended I'd be out of breath but a huge smile would grace my lips and the screen would fade to black.

Except my life isn't a movie, or a sitcom or a play. The crap that was flung on me isn't a prop, it is real and it stinks. Blast.

Found out last night that my fraternity brother's wife died. I don't know all of the details other than she was 40, it wasn't suicide or car accident. It was some sort of health issue that snuck up on them, or so it was described to me.

She is the third contemporary of mine to die since May. Two mothers and a man, all aged 40. All died because of some sort of health issue.

Queen, I am Going Slightly Mad  is now playing. Again, an appropriate song. I am going mad. It finally happened, I took that last step, you know the one that Bugs Bunny refers to as a "Lulu." Damn, life might be easier if this was a Looney Tunes cartoon.

The funeral starts in about ten minutes. I was very seriously thinking about going, but chose not to. Haven't seen the husband in several years and have exchanged just an email or two during that time. I was torn about the decision not to go, but I have a ton of stuff to handle. He won't miss me, I'll send a card.

Don't mean to sound callous, but we all have to take care of our stuff. Right now I am doing the best that I can to take care of mine. Of course being told that the privilege of seeing the doctor and providing for my family's well being is going to become more difficult has influenced this.

Damn, damn and damn again. On to a different topic.

I just read that Costco and Coke are having a disagreement. I bet Costco wins this fight.

ATLANTA - Costco customers may have to look elsewhere for Coca-Cola products now that the retailer has stopped carrying them because the pair are fighting over prices.

The public squabble between one of the nation's largest wholesale club operators and the world's largest soft drink maker is likely to fizzle quickly. But it reveals real tensions as retailers and product makers square off on prices.

As shoppers continue to grapple with the recession, retailers want to win their favor by giving them low prices. But that has been creating tension between product makers like Coca-Cola Co., who are working hard to maintain profit margins while meeting retailer demands.

In other news there is a new report about the influence Twitter has on the world. Courtney Love is being sued for libel for something she tweeted. But it is not limited to celebrities, this issue that is.

Consider the case of Amanda Bonnen and her former landlord. Bonnen, an Illinois resident, is accused of using Twitter to tell another user: "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon Realty thinks it's okay."

Horizon Group Management LLC, the company that owned the apartment in question, sued Bonnen for libel over the alleged tweet. Horizon is seeking $50,000 in damages.

Legal experts say such Internet-related cases are being watched closely because they confront new and unaddressed areas of American law.

For example, how should a libel case be handled when it comes to social media? How can society balance accountability with free speech? And if information -- from private thoughts to public data -- is so readily available, how do we define what constitutes privacy?

There are other examples of ordinary citizens who are in legal trouble in the article. It is a reminder that there are risks in using social media. Twitter, blogs, Facebook and the like can all have an impact upon your life in ways that we might not immediately foresee.

These are more than cautionary tales. They are real life examples of things that need to consider when you are playing online. It is not completely clear where the lines will be drawn, but eventually the courts will come up with something. In the interim remember that the boundaries are fluid.

Ain't life grand.

Last Saturday night I stood outside in the cool Virginia air and engaged in a brief discussion about blogging. The people I spoke with said that they had friends who blogged but it was not something that they engaged in themselves.

They were very curious about why I blog and whether I get anything out of it. Later on I'll share more of that conversation. But for now, I am curious to hear what you have to say.

Why do you blog?

One whirlwind weekend trip has come and gone and I feel like I have been slapped in the face by reality. I am exhausted, mentally and emotionally spent in ways that I never would have guessed. It required far more to get myself ready to go on the trip than it should have, but sometimes that is how it goes.

And then once I was out the door it was a series of events that at times were uplifting as well as moments that were shocking. I'd like to say that the entire trip was just one big high but the rules of the blog dictate complete honesty and well...

Well..., there were some moments that surprised me. There were moments that left me feeling a bit like I had been punched in the gut and wondering WTF just happened. At one point Saturday night I am confident that I must have looked like I had seen a ghost.

For lack of a better description I had a pseudo-revelation that was completely unexpected and am still trying to digest it all. The funny thing about this revelation is that even though I had it, I don't quite know what to make of it. It felt a bit like the universe tapped me on the shoulder and told me that I want this but didn't give me a clue as to how to make it happen.

I spent a few hours late Saturday night trying to figure out what my next move is and ended up thoroughly frustrated. I think I know what I want to do. I suspect that I have a plan that will work, but I am not sure. Truth is that I am sure of everything and nothing.

Forgive me for my melodrama, but this blog was birthed in fire. I really didn't get the feel of how to do it all until I was in the middle of a crisis and then things just clicked. Since then this joint has served its role of chronicling the ups and downs of my life.

I often say that I can't wait until I have nothing to write about because my life is dull, steady and boring. But something tells me that it is never going to happen. Life doesn't stop. There is always going to be something going on.

Especially in my world, that is just how it is. Where I walk the earth shakes and it is not because I need to go on a diet. What a wacky thing.

Sunday was far smoother than Saturday night. Even though I hadn't quite figured out what to make of everything, I had regained some balance and perspective. By the time I hit the runway I was beginning to feel like I had a small inkling of what to do about everything.

Then came a grueling plane ride. Screaming children, airplane noise, lack of food and a raging headache wreaked havoc on the almost zen like state I had achieved.

By the time we landed I was in the land of crankiness and was relishing the thought of clubbing baby seals and stomping on sand castles. I was ready for food, quiet and my own bed, in that order.

Since I was famished I decided that the best course of action was to stop on the way home and grab something to eat. Of course I managed to stop at three different restaurants that were closing as I got there. One guy kind of snapped at me, "we're closed."

Wrong thing to say. I barked back that if they were closed it would be wise to lock the door, flip the sign to read closed and to treat customers who walk in as if they were a customer and not the food critic for the local newspaper.

Needless to say his attitude changed, but I left anyway. I am not the food critic. I get it, they want to go home and that is cool with me. Just no reason for him to be a jerk. Eventually I got some food into my system and puttered around the house before I collapsed in my bed.

And now I am sitting at my desk staring at all of the work I left for today. I had this silly dream that it would magically disappear. Of course I was slapped in the face by reality, so I probably should go and get back to it.

Life is something, isn't it.

I have never understood why some people push the idea that one time of year is better than another for donating time or money to a particular cause. It seems to me that if the cause merits your support than it shouldn't matter whether it is April, May or December.

If they do good work and they help people than you should support them year round. Now maybe you can't donate your money or time year round, but that is not really the point. It is all about giving back when you can and not limiting it solely to a season.

It is part of why I dislike the holiday season. It feels a bit like they are trying to cover up the crass commercialization with a two dollar donation to the United Way. Just doesn't feel right to me.

I talk to my kids about giving back. It is good to remind them that they lead a very nice life. They don't really understand just how privileged they are. They don't know what it means to go hungry or to not have a home. I am very grateful that they don't know these things.

And I don't think that they have to experience it to understand it either.

But I do think that they need to learn what it means to give back. They need to learn that it is not always about giving a check, that sometimes giving your time is more valuable than money.

It is an ongoing discussion here.

One more post before boarding. This is for Fragments of Fiction, just another story I have created.

It was much harder than I had anticipated it to be. The trip that is. I spent the whole time there as an outsider looking in.

Can't say that I really mind being the outsider. Been doing it all my life, feels natural. Most of the time it is a comfortable fit, but not this time.

Tight patent leather wing tips clicked and clacked across the dance floor, but none were mine. They stayed on the side and watched the world around them.

This should have been the time to walk in with you on my arm.

The perfect time to glare at the men trying to check you out, while secretly smiling. The chance to step out from the worlds we live in and enjoy something special and different.

But you weren't there and I was alone.

Who knew that your absence would be so palpable. Who knew that it would feel so shocking, like jumping into icy water.

Except that stinging sensation didn't completely disappear because I never completely adjusted. Once we laughed and cried together. We told each other that "you're my air". Now my air is gone and I am choking.

But tomorrow is a new day and with it a fresh start. I am looking forward to it because you never know what the day can bring. I am happy, but I miss you terribly. Just thought that you'd should know. 

It is a quarter to five here on the East Coast. I have 45 minute to kill before we begin boarding the plane so I thought that I'd try to be productive.

Today I was reminded twice of what it means to be a captive audience.

I recently attended an event where one of the other attendees "regaled" us with tales of her children and grandchildren. Endless stories about how smart and how cute they are were heaped one upon the other with little regard for those of us who were forced to listen.

I like kids. I write about my own all the time. But the distinction between what happened today and the blog is that you have a choice.

You can read, skim and or skip these tales without concern. No one will be hurt. It won't look like you are lacking social graces.

It is possible that I was the only one who was irritated by these tales today. It is possible that everyone else enjoyed the 362 stories we heard. I can only speak for myself and say that it got old.

Not to mention their need to one up anyone else who managed to share a tale of their own. Midway through I was aggravated so I pulled a "Natural Jack" and started making up things about my kids, incredibly ridiculous things. I just had to know if this other person would respond and how.

On the other side of the captive audience bit is my visit to the airport. The prices that are being charged for simple things like water are crazy. $3.50 for 12 ounces is robbery.

And don't get me started about the fees for checking luggage. We gave them billions of dollars to recover from 911 and they gave us fewer flights and new fees. Something is very, very, wrong here.