I have two super powers. One is that I can turn any light red just by approaching it. I’m a nightmare to drive with. The other is that I can guarantee a TV show will get low ratings just by enjoying it. If I enjoy it from the beginning, it will get cancelled before two…
If there is one thing I hate it is preaching to the choir. I don’t care if I’m the preacher, in the choir or just an innocent bystander. It really bugs me. I find it so distasteful that I have a hard time seeing how anyone could like it. But, like it someone must since many…
Quite a few years ago now, I was talking with my brother when he announced, “Environmentalists must be idiots.” When I asked him what he meant, he said, “All they’re trying to do is convince people that pollution is bad and they can’t manage to do it.” His point has stayed with me because he’s…
When I heard Clark Terry died yesterday, the first album I went for was Serenade to a Bus Seat. I’m not exactly sure why, but it is my favorite Clark Terry album. He is most famous for playing flugelhorn and his mumbled scat singing, neither of which appear on this album. It is a straight…
Robert Paul Wolff writes a very entertaining blog called The Philosopher’s Stone. Even when he is just bragging about his grandchildren, it is still utterly charming. A little while ago, I read a post called Ein Gedankenexperiment A La Rawls. In this post, he describes a thought experiment to determine what jobs would be worth…
Today was the first official day of spring training for most of baseball. Usually, when spring training starts, there are a whole bunch of stories about how some 36 year old is in the best shape of his life, and how some 22 year old is going to be the next Ted Williams, and about…
I went to the dentist this morning. The was nothing wrong, it was my semiannual cleaning. Like most people who are lucky enough to have dental insurance, my dental insurance is not the same as my health insurance. I have a separate insurance card for the dentist. Mine happens to be the same provider as…
Some time between my childhood and now, the kid economy disappeared. When I was young, I had a paper route and I shoveled driveways. When I was in high school, I scooped ice cream and when I was in college, I washed dishes and cooked. I had friends that were lifeguards, camp counselors, mowed lawns, etc. Now, most…
One of my jobs is at a community college as a writing tutor. It’s mostly a fun job, but about once a week I will get a student whose problem is, “I don’t know how to start.” What the students are describing is writer’s block. Luckily, writer’s block is not a problem I’ve experienced. But…
Today is Presidents Day. I want to do something a little different. Rather than ranking the presidents or trying to find some historical quirk to talk about, I want to talk about my presidents. I have been alive during seven administrations. I want born during Ford and am in the middle of Obama. It will…
