I am generally of the opinion that the only good reason for running anywhere is to escape danger. I sincerely hope to die without ever having run a marathon. However, since my working day consists of sitting at my desk and/or in plane seats for hours at a time, I do occasionally go to the…
Hey everyone! For those of you who read my newsletter often, you’ll know that I usually begin with a whimsical paragraph filled with wonder and whimsy (I like the word whimsy, so I used it twice. Three times now.) This time, though, will be a bit different. I speak often about the importance of small…
Hello, and welcome to summer! More than that, welcome to a short workweek! There’s a good chance that you think today is Tuesday, and if that’s the case then it’s quite possible you’re still drunk from the weekend. Your clothes might smell vaguely of barbecue sauce and charcoal, and your nose is probably peeling. You’ve…
Hello, and welcome to the end of another year! You’ve probably unofficially stopped working already, since the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is universally understood to be a time for ‘wrapping things up,’ which is universally understood to mean ‘putting things off for as long as possible.’ This is the perfect time of year to…
As some of you may know, my wife is an organic chemist. In case you didn’t have to suffer through organic chemistry in college, it’s the class that makes aspiring doctors say, “I think I might just work in a vineyard instead.” Her doctoral thesis has the impressive distinction of somehow being written in English…
There are a lot of numbers in my life. There are telephone numbers, of course, a few of which I still have accidentally memorized even though there’s no reason to waste my brain juices on that kind of thing anymore. I’ve got credit card numbers, bank account numbers, height, weight, age, cholesterol (is it still…
Right now I’m writing this on my laptop, which is sitting right where it’s supposed to be – in my lap. The TV is on, the temperature in my house is a perfectly even 72 degrees, and nothing is on fire. If my refrigerator were within reach of my couch, I would never have to…
My wife and I occasionally argue about the merits of napping. She has a hard time switching off and disconnecting, and trying to do so is often more stressful for her than it is to simply keep working. I, on the other hand, try to take a nap at least every day. Except for a…
Greetings, my people! I write you today before heading of to Louisville, which I have learned is a city that is properly pronounced by only using the letter ‘l’ and an optional ‘v’. The city should really be spelled Lllllllllllvlllll, which would make it much easier for strangers to fit in. It’s an economy of…
History can be annoying sometimes. Usually I like learning about how people and civilizations got to be where they are. It’s supposed to be instructive, and besides it makes me feel like I’m more well-traveled than I really am. Have I seen a Sumerian ziggurat? No, but I know that was once a thing. That…