wow! great advice from the above.

My problem with apologies from a person is when I hear them too often. It really cuts down on the sincerity, becomes annoying, and even nausiating. Especially bad is when that person's constant apolgies are an excuse to tell me about their never ending woes.

The above responses have given some really great examples of how to positively apologize. My only advice to add is to choose your apologies wisely and don't make them repetative. Sometimes a simple "I goofed" or "heck I was wrong" are enough.