The pain of the divorce gave me the gift of meeting many different people and gave me an opportunity to talk to people that had personalities with an enormous range. From suicidal to violent to shy and careful to amazingly heart driven. And I found people that I felt compatible with, compatible without compromises. People who were willing to give themselves up for another. People who have similar values as I do. People who make similar decisions as I do. People who deeply care for the things I care.

Following an arrest for domestic violence against his wife Brooke Mueller on December 25, Charlie Sheen could be facing yet another divorce. The 44-year old actor and father of five was charged with second-degree assault and menacing, both felonies, along with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. A protective order has been put in place against him, but Mueller’s attorney has now filed for an adjusted order so that she is able to see Sheen and repair their marriage.

Yes, lots of cell phone news today and we promise we won’t have quite as many tomorrow. This one is especially noteworthy – Google is expected to introduce its idea of an iPhone (well, it won’t be called iPhone, of course) on January 5, if we believe industry rumors.

The rumors started flying when Google began inviting journalists to a mysterious press conference shortly before the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual Disneyland gadget spectacle for geeks in Las Vegas.

A German security expert announced that the encryption technology protecting certain cell phone calls from interception has been cracked. The tools necessary to intercept cell phone calls are available free of charge on the Internet and information detailing the vulnerability of cell phone voice call and data (such as text messages) encryption has been released.

The newly raised concern affects only GSM networks, which are used by about 4 billion cell phone users around the globe and by AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. There were previous reports indicating that GSM might be insecure, but no one was able to show evidence for that claim until now.

Levi Johnston has scored a small legal victory again Bristol Palin. A judge sided with him and has opened the custody case to the public. He apparently agreed that Sarah Palin may be a threat to the case and denied Palin’s claim that a sealed case would be in their son’s best interest. A judge also denied Bristol Palin’s request to run the case using the pseudonyms Jane and John Doe.

I have to admit that I never really cared about text messaging and even found it quite annoying and useless – before the time of my divorce. Now I am infinitely grateful for this service as it allows me as a single parent to keep contact with my children when they are not with me. But it seems that not only I have gone SMS crazy, but many other people in the U.S. as well. According to the Census Bureau’s most recent data, more than 110.4 billion text messages are sent from U.S., cell phones – every month.

Let’s be honest, calling an Apple computer ‘affordable’ is an oxymoron, so please excuse my sensationalism in the headline. But Apple is to the generic PC what Lexus is Toyota, they are both more than likely to take you from A to Z, but the Lexus is more comfy and will do it in a more stylish way. Now it seems that Apple will soon be revealing the computer equivalent to a Lexus that is stripped down to the bones. It is likely to cost a lot less than current Apple computers, but it won’t be able to take you all places. Will you prefer this Lexus with a weak engine over a similarly priced Toyota that will get you everywhere?

So, was I able to find what I was looking for?
I was afraid that my fairy tale of a perfect marriage had burst like a fragile soap bubble. My feelings for happiness were tied to the children and the question how long I would have to be alone in a country I was not born [...]

There are just a few days left to ring in a new decade, so it is somewhat obvious that you will read a lot about top 10 decade lists over the next few days. And yes, there is also a top 10 Parents list – the St. Louis Today website was first to come out with such a list. Limiting an entire decade to just ten (types) of parents might be a bit difficult, so take this list with a grain of salt.

Don’t pretend you are surprised: Facebook has been found to have played a role in about one out of five divorces.

What may create and build friendships and relationships could also destroy it in the end. A British law firm said that “Facebook” was mentioned in 989 out of a sample of 5000 filed divorce cases.

There are two things about your family I was never able to understand and I carefully kept distance to as a result. It was your distance to your mom and dad and the relationship to your biological parents. And then there is your other brother you lost in a car accident before we got married. I agree that we did not communicate in a great way about these topics, but it was never my intention to keep distance, I just felt uncomfortable and was hoping that you would be breaking out of your shell at some point and talk about it when you wanted to. I never rejected the conversation about either topic as far as I can remember.

Rant alert – You might think it is common sense to assume that texting while driving could be rather unhealthy, especially if you are typing and miss that red light in front of you. But some things may simply be too inconvenient to believe and to adjust to – and we need to be reminded countless times of potential consequences. So, how many studies and accidents do we need to understand how dangerous texting while driving really is? How many more studies do lawmakers need?