Ken Hensley DOT com is now using Wordpress instead of Joomla. My previous host for KenHensley.com went away (after nearly 10 years of hosting). This necessitated a change in hosts (switched to globat.com) and I decided to stretch my web muscles and try a full-blown WordPress site. Here it is! Still experimenting with plugins, widgets, etc.
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My mother only knew how to play one song on the piano. It was part ragtime with hints of a church hymn mixed in. I find myself still humming that tune even though she passed on nearly 13 years ago.There are other memories which tend to surface around Mother’s Day ... like how my mother would carry one of those old Panasonic cassette recorders to bluegrass festivals and record her favorite groups. You could never hear the actual music because mom would start singing along and forget about the recording.Or my mom’s love of flowers and her affection for cats.Now that I can no longer pick up the phone and talk with mom, I wish I had paid more attention to Mother’s Day. When you’re young (and often stupid!), special days seem more burdensome than blessed.There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give to sit next to my mom one more time…
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As some of you know (especially my Facebook friends), I have finished writing my first novel. I began writing last fall, after I started commuting to work on the trolley. Every morning and evening I spend about 45 minutes each way on the trolley. I began reading novels to help pass the time and started ripping through them. San Diego's Central Library is only three blocks from my office and I would walk there on lunch and swap out books.After a few months of reading other people's writing, I decided to write my own. Most of the novel was written on my Sprint smartphone(s) -- the latest being an HTC Touch Pro. It has a slide-out, full QWERY keyboard with both function and CTRL keys. I did do some writing on my laptop, but the majority of the book was written with my thumbs and an occasional finger.The novel is…
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I'm now into my third week of morning workouts. While grazing the aisles at Costco, I came across the "3-in-1 Exercise Ball" in a box. It's an inflatable exercise ball and three DVDs -- with an elastic band and a web that wraps around the ball. One morning I'll do Pilates and the next day I'll do cardio and strength training. Although I'm beginning to miss my belly, I am feeling better with each day.
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In my life with coffee, there have been several significant hinge moments. The first was being given my very own Mister Coffee maker when I went away to college (thanks to my brother, Rod). I could brew my own coffee in the convenience of my dorm room. Thankfully the water from the sink wasn't toxic. The second hinge moment came when I discovered a coffee grinder and began grinding my own beans - first with the aforementioned Mister Coffee and then with a Krupps machine. The next hinge moment in my coffee story was the birth of the coffee shop and espresso drinks.Thanks to a friend of mine (Tina), the most recent improvement in my quest for the perfect cup of coffee has been the use of a french press. She came to a Bible study at our house for LifePoint and nearly fainted when she saw me using a…
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