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My son has had behavioral problems from about the time he was three. There would be 45-minute to an hour tantrums of throwing, kicking, screaming and everything else associated with a full blown tantrum. When he went to preschool, my wife and I worked with his teacher to try and curb these tendencies.

It wasn't easy. He was having the same tantrums at preschool that he would have at home. There were several times when I had to come to school and pick up from the principal's office and many other times when he had to sit with the principal for a while to calm down.

We tried everything. When he went to kindergarten, we had hoped that it would change, but once again it was a hit and miss. He seemed to be finally growing out of the major tantrums and instead replaced with the a need to control. While I never had to pick him up, there were several times when he had to go sit with the principal to calm down.

The anger and tantrums had been replaced with control and defiance. Once again, we worked diligently with the teacher to get it under control, but it was still pretty dicey even at the end of kindergarten. Over the summer, we talked about being a big kid and respecting teachers and authority. I admit to apprehension when school started and waited for that first phone call from the principal. It never came.

A week went by. Two. Three. It was nearing the end of the first quarter and nothing at all. My wife and I were worried no one was telling us about things, but at the same time didn't want to jinx it by making the first call. When we went to the open house, I had the chance to talk to his teacher and she was completely blown away about his past.

My son has been the perfect student all year. No defiance. No outbursts, nothing. My son is an amazing child and I don't know what caused the change, but this year has been great and I tell him how proud I am of him every single day.

Anyone that watched The Walking Dead last season may have been a little annoyed at Rick's lack of decision. Shane was the strong one and Rick was the levelheaded one. He always kept the group first, but also wanted to keep morality.

Shame was a kill or be killed kind of person. In a world gone to hell, he was the one that was willing to sacrifice and few innocents for the good of the group. While it showed he was still human in an inhuman world, it also made him look weak.

The group was splintered and while the Walkers seemed to be less of a problem, there was still danger. It wasn't until Dale was killed that Rick changed. Dale was the moral compass and without him, Rick was allowed to go to the dark side.

The act of killing Shane was his way of taking control. With the farm in runs and winter on its way, Rick turned colder than the frigid weather. When season 2 opened, we saw a Rick that wasn't afraid to kill or sacrifice a few people for the group that has now become his family. Even his son was harder, taking down zombies like a pro.

Rick was a stern father, but he did what he had to do to protect his family. This was never more apparent than the last episode when he killed that inmate because he knew that he was a threat. There was no hesitation. It needed to be done, so he did it.

This is a far cry from the indecisive and morally minded man from last season. From what I have heard of this season, it's that hardness is something he's going to need.

A major piece of news for Muslims everywhere concerns Saudi Arabia’s proposed expansion of the Masjid an-Nabawi.  Located in the holy city of Mecca, this site holds the remains of the Prophet Mohamed and ranks as the second holiest site in the Islamic religious tradition.  At the cost of many billions of dollars, the government of Saudi Arabia wishes to enlarge the building so that it would be able to hold up to 1.6 million people.  Unfortunately, in the process of expanding it, they will be destroying three of the oldest mosques in the world.

Dating from the 7^th century, the three mosques in question are devoted to Abu Bakr, Umar and Masjid Ghamama.  One of these is said to mark the spot where Mohamed first said prayers for the Eid festival.  But this importance doesn’t seem to weigh in when it comes to the expansion.

It’s true that Mecca attracts more than 12 million pilgrims every year and that with the rise of middle-class Muslims in other countries this number is expected to increase in coming years by several million.  An expansion to the Masjid an-Nabawi is a smart idea, but the way they are going about it causes a certain degree of concern.

So why would the government of Saudi Arabia so readily say goodbye to so much Muslim heritage?  They’ve already demolished several other important sites, including the birthplace of Mohamed and the house of his first wife.  And those were taken down to make room for such mundane buildings as skyscrapers and hotels.  This expansion is much more important and likely to go through without much dissent.  But the reasons are two-fold.

One reason is economics.  By increasing the capacity of the Masjid an-Nabawi they allow for more tourism, which means more tourist dollars.  The other reason, and perhaps an even more troubling one, is that the Saudi Arabian elite adhere to one particular faction of Islam, one that disdains idol worship.  They see all sites as potentially un-Islamic, no matter how historically or culturally important they may be.

It’s deplorable that one group would see their views of Islam as being so “correct” that they’re willing to damage things sacred to their brothers who happen to hold a different view.  Throwing away history in the name of dogma is one of the worst crimes and made even more so by the fact that it’s their own religion they attack.  Unfortunately, there’s little people can do besides speak out against what is being done.  In the end, the narrow-mindedness of these elite will probably prevent them from hearing rational arguments, but at least Muslim communities around the world can let them know that what they’re doing is not right.

There is never a bad time to write, but Halloween lends itself to stories of the macabre. There's something that happens when the temperatures drop and the moon rises a little bit earlier. For many of us, we go to work in the dark and come home in the same.

I'm a horror writer, so there is no time that I'm not thinking about interesting ways to disembowel or new nightmarish creatures that will turn your hair white. I understand that I'm the minority, but you should discount horror just because we tend to more gruesome.

There are many contests and anthologies centered around horror this time of year. If it's not your cup of tea or if you've always thought about it, but never gave it a chance, then now's the time to unlock that disturbed part of your brain and let out all those deep dark desires you chose to repress.

Let's face it, we all have a dark side that we like to hide, but when you write horror you get the chance to let them out for a little while and play on the page. You're not a sicko although, I don't know you so maybe you are... but you are a human being.

I love horror because its a completely open world and there are no limits. You can be as light or as dark as you want. We've all been desensitized over the years, so few horror novels or movies scare us, but that doesn't mean you can put them down once you start.