I’ve decided to add that “currently reading” thing to my signature block — Where I work, it is fashionable to add a “currently reading” list of 2–3 books to a user’s signature block. It is a clever idea, and I enjoy getting — at times — to learn a little bit about my colleagues’ interests. I say “at times” because some lists are…

That’s “missing in action” M.I.A. and not the trigraph for “Miami”. — I’ve been M.I.A. from writing for a few months now. Well, kinda…instead of writing pithy blog posts, I have been focusing on more long-form projects. Namely, trying to get my crack at the Great American Novel off the proverbial ground. It’s been tough. As the father of two kids, I…

“I have the power!” — He-Man — I took a class in high school called “Power and Technology”. Luckily, the teacher, Mr. Rose, knew nothing about either topic. A skilled — I assume — auto mechanic, he was forced into this role as the school system was phasing out classes on how to change oil and whatnot…

Hear me out — this is actually a brilliant solution to a complicated fitness problem. — I do not like being cold, but I like to think that I am, at least kinda, into fitness. Even though the winters in suburban Maryland are not the same as those in Edmonton, Canada, they are cold enough for me to not want to go outside. Therefore, my robust…

Don’t worry — no spoilers — Lately, I have been reading some of Henry Kissenger’s memoirs — don’t worry we’ll get to the Mandalorian in a second; I’m setting the mood. Most of them discuss how American Exceptionalism was twisted over time. This bastardization of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy led us into the morass that was…

Usually, our street is a Christmas light wasteland; this year is different. — Our street — a cul-de-sac off of a dead end road — has typically been bereft of Christmas joy. Each season, we’d have two or three C+/B- efforts and at least one D-. The D- minus was some dad, about three Bid Lights deep,who would toss a net of lights…

Hot tub operation is not as trivial as it seems — Cold(er) air has finally arrived, kicking off the 2020–2021 hot tub season. So here we are again, discord in marriage: my wife prefers a “luke warm” tub of 99 degrees, while I prefer a “reasonably hot hot tub of 101”. If you think that 2 degrees isn’t that big of…

After 40+ years, there’s a lot of crap to rummage through — After 45 years, my parents are selling the house in which I was raised. I have had the somber task of rooting through the stuff they have accumulated over the years, plucking out whatever useful/meaningful items that are left. It was emotional, to say the least. …

If these ads continue to procreate, I might miss a nuclear attack — I need an Ad Blocker to block the pop-up that tells me to disable my Ad Blocker. Like most bipeds, I use an ad blocker to stave off the relentless torrent of attempts to sell me things that are eerily similar to my Google/Amazon searches. …