Splaining
I’ve decided the term mansplaining needs to lose the gender reference. Yes, men do it, but women do it too: So it’s not mansplaining, it’s just splaining.
Responding to a homophobe
Among the good things that I listed in my recent Good News in 2020 post, legislation was passed in some areas here and there that will help protect people who otherwise were at risk to be denied employment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Laws such as this are often touted as a victory for people… Read More »
Comparing Five Note-taking Tools
In the mid 1990s, after years of carrying around a Daytimer, I entered all my notes into my Palm Pilot. A few years later I moved all my notes into OneNote, and in 2012 I moved everything into Evernote. I detailed this journey along with some Evernote pointers in my blog post, Evernote is Awesome. I spent many… Read More »
Darkness, and then sunlight
Once upon a time, on an otherwise beautiful day in mid-March as people in one hemisphere were starting their days and those in the other were readying for bed, an event occurred that affected the entire solar system.
Part 2: Building in Ilwaco?
Now that we’d narrowed down the location to the Long Beach peninsula, we focused on a lot that was in the same neighborhood as my brother’s home in Ilwaco.
Breaking up with a Client
I’ve been self-employed for much of my career. This was an on-again off-again arrangement earlier on, but has been my permanent situation for about fifteen years now and will be forever more. I’ve written before about the realities of being self-employed, such as the hit to your taxes, health costs, and more. But another important thing to consider… Read More »
Welcome
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Good News in 2020
When you focus too much on the bad you lose sight of the good. And there was actually quite a lot of good stuff that happened in 2020. While these things may not have been as headline-grabbing as bad news, it’s worth taking a few moments to acknowledge that even in 2020 there was plenty of good going on. Here is a list of 42 good things that happened in 2020.
Goodbye, Paper Towels
I’ve gone far to reduce my use of single-use plastics, but why stop there? As I looked for other single-use products to focus on, I turned to paper towels.
Videos of small moments
I can be stopped in my tracks by patterns of growing moss, dew drops on a leaf, unusual clouds, shadows in the wind or, really, almost anything. Beauty is almost everywhere, especially if you look for it.
Anticipation
It’s not unusual for a holiday season to come and go without receiving any gifts, so I relish every little tidbit I get, including this notice from FedEx that something was en route.
Let reason win
About a year into the Trump presidency, the level of anger and hatred in the United States was starting to get to me. I wanted to promote the idea of people talking respectfully to each other about issues instead of jumping straight to hatred and yelling. My wonderful partner surprised me one day with the gift of the… Read More »
Afterlife
Whether from living in the horror-show of 2020 or because of the recent death of my father, my thoughts have been tending recently toward deeper topics than usual. Lately I’ve been thinking abut the nature of consciousness.
Philip Glass for the New Listener
So, you’ve heard of Philip Glass and want more. The list of Glass compositions and performances is very long, so choosing what to listen to next is not a trivial task. I’m here to help. This post is a curated list of the approachable Glass pieces that I recommend for those just starting in their shiny new Glass obsession.
Nature’s mandala
The other day I saw a huge, completely concentric, perfectly spiraled spiderweb right outside my kitchen window. In the center of this minor masterpiece was a large brown striped spider, hanging in the middle to wait for his prey.