Another Trip Among New Year’s resolutions I will bet that most people our age are telling themselves that they will finally get down to seeing the world and traveling more. Inertia certainly increased with age (is that part of Newtonian physics?) and our bodies at rest tend to want to stay at rest. But we have more of different physics equation with which to contend in this household. A few years ago after a very…
Bouncing Buddy I was never a pet person, but as life has progressed I have changed…somewhat. I do give my $19/mo to the ASPCA, but I am forever reminding Kim that the same gift of $19/mo to Save The Children seems more important. We had a dog when I was a kid, but it was really my sister’s dog and was cared for mostly by my farm-strong mother. I will not mention his name in…
Metabolism Schism I am once again confused by my own body. I have been on as much of a regular exercise program for six months now as I can ever remember. This started with a trainer and swimming, it progressed recently to adding a rowing machine at home for workouts when I am not otherwise at the gym or in the pool, and the recent spring weather has me out in the yard doing 2-3…
Contemplating My Navel How often do you think about your navel? It is literally and figuratively the center of you. It connected you to life and to your heritage, undeniably so. We are mostly bestowed with “innies”, but who among us does not wish that we had the abdominal muscles to show off an “outie”? We mostly ignore it until it accumulates some lint and we are forever washing it in the shower absentmindedly because…
Flood on the Hilltop By definition, it would be pretty hard to flood me out on this hilltop. We are literally on higher ground than either our neighbor to the north or the neighbor to the south by at least 30 feet each. To the east and down the front slope it is perhaps 50 feet down to the road. And my back hillside is probably the steepest grade and it goes down perhaps 75…
Healing the Divide We all understand that we live in what seems to be an increasingly divided world. I doubt that many of us like that situation and I know most of us scratch our heads and wonder why it has to be that way. Today’s Washington Post had a lead article that seems to offer some explanation. The problem is thought to be rooted in the age old cultural phenomenon of tribalism. Tribalism is…
Networking In the business world, there are those who spend their energy being part of the “who you know” universe, and there are others who stay comfortably within the “what you know” world. In my day, I liked to think I was a top-notch content manager who spent a lot of time focused on what I needed to know to do the job best. I always figured that if I did that well, I would…
A Tarzan Moment Today is the second of what looks to be a three-day rainy spell here on the hilltop. Everything in the garden is benefiting, but I can’t really say the same for myself. One gets used to the nice weather of San Diego and I find myself at a loss for things to do when I am forced to stay indoors. I am not backlogged with work at the moment and have recently…
Demon Dog Let’s be clear about one thing right from the start, Kim and I both love Buddy and think that he is an incredibly cute pup that we are thrilled to have as part of our lives for a long time. That all said, Buddy has more than a little of the Devil possessing him at certain times. I’m actually quite serious about this and while I am not a particularly religious person nor…
Columns & Rows I have started a new spreadsheet. I love spreadsheets. Ever since I first met a VisiCalc spreadsheet back in about 1979, I have been in love with spreadsheets and what they can do. I actually think that spreadsheets may be the most impactful invention of my time. I know people will scoff at that in light of everything from EVs to Smartphones, but my logic is quite simple. Spreadsheets enabled all innovations…