• The Weekly Playbook #3: My Evening Routine

    16 Jul 2021 » 3 min read about Weekly Playbook

    For an overview of this series, see the debut post on my morning routine. Background Recently, I wrote about how I form my habits. In light of that post, I thought I’d write about my evening routine since it helps to reinforce the habits that I have been working to form. I wrote about my…

    Continue reading β†’

  • How I Form New Habits

    15 Jul 2021 » 12 min read

    I am in the middle of a fairly significant lifestyle change. As part of my plan to retire in ten years, one of the things I wanted to do was get myself back into shape. When I retire, I want to be healthy and active. Being in good mental and physical shape are big part…

    Continue reading β†’

  • The Pharmacy and the Tobacco Shop

    14 Jul 2021 » 3 min read

    In my senior year of high school, and during the summer of my freshman year in college, I worked in a local pharmacy. This wasn’t a chain pharmacy. It was large, and in addition to filling prescriptions has aisles with the usual over-the-counter medications, bandages, and other appurtenances of first aid. There were aisles with…

    Continue reading β†’

  • Finished Reading: The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin

    13 Jul 2021 » 5 min read

    The main reason I read so much is to learn. So I couldn’t pass up a book with the title The Art of Learning. The author, Josh Waitzkin, was as chess champion and the subject of the book and film Searching for Bobby Fischer. After his years in chess he moved into tai chi and…

    Continue reading β†’

  • Why Can’t Your FitBit or Apple Watch Pause Your Audio Book When You Fall Asleep?

    12 Jul 2021 » 2 min read

    Kelly is reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir for her book club. Actually, she is listening to the audio book version, narrated by Ray Porter, who does a very good job. The problem is, she says, she keeps falling asleep when she listens to it, and then has to go back and figure out…

    Continue reading β†’

  • Minecraft Lessons IRL (In Real Life)

    11 Jul 2021 » 3 min read

    We went for a hike on the Fourth of July in a state park in upstate New York. It was our family, and my sister’s family. Between us there are five kids, and five very enthusiastic Minecraft aficionados. The weather was perfect for a hike, especially after several days of rain. We had reached our…

    Continue reading β†’

  • 200 Meditations

    10 Jul 2021 » 3 min read

    A little over a year ago I began to use the Calm app to start a meditation practice. I tend toward being anxious, wound up, and I’d been having trouble sleeping. I heard that meditation could help with all of this so I signed up for the app and a committed myself to giving it…

    Continue reading β†’

  • The Weekly Playbook #2: Curating Photos

    09 Jul 2021 » 3 min read about Weekly Playbook

    For an overview of this series, see the debut post on my morning routine. Background I don’t know about you, but I’ve got too many photos in my photo library and I don’t know what to do with them all. They are all digital, of course, so they don’t take up space. But there are…

    Continue reading β†’

  • Original Fiction?

    08 Jul 2021 » 2 min read about Blog & Site Meta

    One thing that I have never posted on the blog over the last 16 years is original fiction: that is, fiction I’ve written that has not appeared anywhere else. The main reason I’ve never done this is because publishing a story on the Internet is considered a first publication. Since the “first serial rights” are…

    Continue reading β†’

  • Finished Reading: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

    08 Jul 2021 » 4 min read

    In the long list of things that I would like to be able to do well, running–in particular, long-distance running–is high among them. I’m envious of friends and family who managed to cultivate this particular exercise throughout their life, and for whom it is a pleasure that they look forward to each day. When I…

    Continue reading β†’