My daughter and I are starting a new hobby, gardening. This weekend, we went out and got nine new houseplants, a bunch of seeds, and various supplies. It started as a plan for filling our yard with flowers, but it’s still a little too cold to start outdoors, so we got the houseplants to keep…
For a year now, people have been telling me that COVID is not just the flu. That’s how they always say it, “just the flu.” I always think to myself, “Just?” Used that way, “just” implies that the flu is no big deal. “Meh, it’s only the flu.” According to prevention magazine, millions of people…
I was in the grocery store and a guy walked past me wearing a Blue Lives Matter mask. I had a strong urge to tell him off right there in the store. Those who know me know that isn’t typical of me. As a rule, I don’t talk to strangers. I certainly don’t pick fights….
I got an email from the superintendent of the West Hartford Public Schools informing me that the school system will be fully reopening on March 17th. Saint Patrick’s Day. Next week. I’m utterly baffled. What’s changed? None of the kids are vaccinated yet. Most of their parents aren’t vaccinated yet. People are still dying of…
Apparently, based on my Twitter feed, something happened yesterday that I didn’t know or care about. The result is people venting their outrage on social media today. This caused some rather old memories to come back to the surface. I want to talk about those memories. I used to work at Borders Books and Music…
WandaVision’s first season just ended. At least I think it was the first season. The final episode was titled “The Series Finale” but I think that was a meta joke. The teaser at the end certainly implies a second season. There’s a lot of talk about the show online. Almost all of it that I’ve…
I was driving with my daughter the other day when she asked, “Why do we have to pay for things?” I told her that there’s a cost to making things, so we have to pay that cost. She’s nine, so of course she asked another question, “But what about things that aren’t made? Why do…
I act as a censor for what my daughter is exposed to. There’s a lot of TV, movies, and YouTube that she’s not allowed to watch. There are games I won’t let her play. I keep some news stories from her. I’ve never specifically told her she can’t read a book, but I have warned…
The pandemic has highlighted many of our problems. One of the most disturbing, for me, is the complete lack of a national conversation. There’s very little public conversation at all, and that tends to be confined to geekdoms. There’s almost nothing that can properly be called public discourse. All we have is a bunch of…
Daft Punk announced they are splitting up. Normally, I wouldn’t even notice the announcement. I’ve never been a fan. They’re just not my thing. If they’re yours, I’m glad they were able to bring you happiness over the years. I am a little bit familiar with them. I was managing a record store when Discovery…
