On the checklist hotel housekeeping uses when servicing a room, one thing seems lacking. It is a small thing, something that would take almost no time (a second or two at the most). But in my experience, it is almost never done: Check the alarm clock, and if it is on, turn it off. Usually,…
Yesterday, I saw something on the bike path that I’ve never seen before in the dozen years we’ve been coming down to this part of Florida. In pre-COVID times, the bike paths here are busy, and they haven’t been empty this time around either. I’ve seen unusual things on these paths: strange bikes, unusual attire,…
If I have one hard and fast rule about reading, it’s that a book does not get on my list of books I’ve read if I didn’t read the entire thing. If I read half, it doesn’t go on my list. If I read all but the last few pages, it still doesn’t go on…
I managed to finish 88 books in 2020, the first time since 2017 that I didn’t hit at least 100 books, and the first time that I didn’t hit my target (110 books). But I forgive myself, given the year we’ve all had. Here are my ten best reads for 2020, followed by a handful…
I wonder what Andy Rooney would have made of COVID-19 and the mask situation. I can imagine him at the end of 60 Minutes, sitting at his desk, holding a typical mask that people wear these days. I imagine him complaining about how uncomfortable the loops for the masks are around his ears. “People will…
I learned this morning that science fiction Grandmaster James Gunn has died at age 97. His novel, The Listeners, set the standard for first contact stories. He created and ran the Center for the Study of Science Fiction in Lawrence, Kansas. His Road to Science Fiction anthologies offer an eclectic range of stories that chart…
I can’t recall the last time I went more than 2 months without posting something here on the blog. I’ll try not to let that happen again. Things have been busy: busy with work; busy with kids distance-learning; busy with a couple of kids in school classroom learning; busy with life in general. The busy…
The Little Man (now in middle school) is distance learning this year. The school gave him an iPad with a keyboard. All of his classes use Microsoft Teams. Teachers can see the kids, the kids can see the teachers. More than a month in everyone involved seems to have the hang of things. The main…