Columnists

Earlier this month, South County's representatives to the Valley

The world's religious faiths differ sharply in their systems of

As a native New Yorker, I still marvel at our region’s ideal weather even though I’ve lived here for 29 years. This year, as always, I look forward to the crisp air of autumn. Although not as dramatic as autumn in New York, I find the changing colors of leaves and the crunch underfoot as they cover sidewalks and yards invigorating. If you happen to see an adult woman skipping along the sidewalks while collecting leaves, it’s probably me.

If you listen to the buzz about the latest technologies, you may think laptops have gone the way of the stegosaurus. But, the truth is, many of us are still using them. This may be a problem from an ergonomics perspective. The big difficulty with laptops (AKA: notebook computers or netbooks) is the keyboard and monitor are attached to one another. This creates an impossible situation. If you place the screen at a comfortable level for viewing, the keyboard and pointing device will be much too high for keying and pointing, and vice-versa. Something's gotta give! And usually it's your neck, back, arms, hands or all of the above.

With the holidays fast approaching, my thoughts turn to family gatherings, gift-giving and sparkling wine - not necessarily in that order. Since the topic of family gatherings would far exceed the limited word count of this column, I will focus on gift ideas for the wine lover on your list and sparkling wines that can be essential to getting through family gatherings.

Q: I'm a regular reader of your column and usually like hearing about the problems other people have with their pets. But lately (no offense) your column has gone to the dogs. Literally, it's all dogs and cats. Why don't you ever talk about my favorite animals, cows?

After the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech, the talking heads, pundits and blogosphere immediately began debating the divisive issue of gun control. Some said the episode demonstrates the need for stricter gun control laws, while others said it demonstrates the opposite.

Gilroy's St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (651 Broadway St.)

On March 17, it is sometimes said,

I started writing this column when my son started kindergarten.