The Odd Stillness of Indian Summer; Reflections of Bellwood
It's not every day in November that you hit 80 degrees and hover near there for a while. Or my wife is right to be surprised that I am surprised by something that to her seems typical. It just seems the world's out of place, out of time. Perhaps that is why I had a dream of my childhood home on Bellwood. It's s common and natural feeling for me to think I'm back in my bed in my room there before opening my eyes,...
Will the Force Awaken?
It's hard to describe in a way most people will truly appreciate, but in a way, two things sacred to me as a child were Star Wars and Disney. They were part of how I imagined the world could and should be. But I'm all grown up. I still believe in Santa Claus, in Chivalry, that there is a Dulcinea for every Don and that windmills don't always win. But Lucas, like all of us, isn't the same man he once was. The story...
What a Week, What a Summer
Being finally cool outside again, I just went for a walk around the block, by myself. It would have been the perfect day to take Pasha for a walk, but she died last Wednesday morning, in her sleep and the usual "animal cracker" pose. We got used to checking her breathing when we found her like that, almost as a joke, but this time it was for real. But given Merry was on vacation and I could call in to cancel Tai...
Save the Queen, Save the World
I'm waiting for two people to get back to me about bees on their property that need to be removed. I'm not sure if I have the equipment, and have requested a fee for the effort, and who knows if the rescue and transplant will be successful. How did I get here? A Brother (and Star Sister) in the fraternity I was staying with in Utica last month (their trailer) told me about having bees in their basement ceiling,...
Does Wanting to Cuddle Make Me a Creeper?
The Cuddlr app came out for Android, but I still am not sure about it. Apparently it's doomed to failure according to critics. Is it due to collective social awkwardness toward strangers and even friends? Or are we so touch-starved all around that holding hands or spooning is inseparable, in perception or reality, from sexual motives? Even if I wanted to use the app, touch is so forbidden today -- teacher's can't...
Handwriting: Looking Back at 2014
I was scanning the checks part of my statements from my business account, when I saw ones in my wife's handwriting. I thought I had the wrong account -- until I realized that was a year ago. In January, the checks looked normal. In February, Merry wrote my checks for me because of my hand injury. By the end of the month, I was at least signing my name -- backwards. Eventually the writing became my own, and more...
Vegas-Arizona Trip 2015
Finally managed to visit my Dad again in Sun City. Christina wanted to visit her childhood friend Lizzy and her new baby, so we took a plane to Vegas first. On the plane, I had a philosophical discussion with poker professional Phil Ivey's uncle Xeno, and Christina lost a notebook of writing, sadly. Daughter's adventures while I slept aside, I got some reading and contemplation in, including hammock-time by the...
A Lifechanging App
In July, I started using "Daily Success", an Android App that really changed my sense of productivity and got a lot of things accomplished. A LOT. It enables you to check off and track your completing of daily tasks. Sometimes the bear ate me, but more often than not I do all or most of the list (though not so much this month, between holidays and helping Alb3rt a bit too much on Farmville 2). My initial list:...
“Relentless Arctic Attack”
That's what the news was calling the nation-wide pre-winter storms, and the news has been on almost constantly for the last four days. I can only laugh. The images and time-lapse of the front moving in were amazing, the amount of snow record-breaking (nationally, with 74 inches falling in 24 hours) and then a second lake effect storm rolling in. The Internet is being filled with memes and song parodies about the...