I was talking to my neighbor about upgrading my internet service recently and learned that he, like me, is a tech geek. This led to a conversation about cell phone service. He told me he uses Visible. It’s an MVNO that uses Verizon’s network and it has a unique “party plan” that makes it dirt…
Safe Space
My middle school years were some of the worst of my life. We had moved to the ghetto and I had to deal with a lot of scary things – the drunk who lived and hung out on the corner, the demented grandma in the attic across the street who screamed obscenities at us, the…
Covid PTSD
When I hear news reports of new Covid variant surging, that “everyone” is getting Covid (regardless of vaccine/booster status) and that certain regions are reimplementing masking and social distancing requirements, it upsets me. Yesterday, I had to ask myself why and spend some time thinking about it. Here’s the list I came up with. I…
A Lack Of Perspective
When the orthopedic surgeon told me to wear different shoes to heal my foot injury, I was relieved that I didn’t need to have surgery, get casted or wear an immobilizer boot. I wasn’t thrilled to have to spend hundreds of dollars on expensive running shoes. Nor was I thrilled that I could no longer…
A Triscuit A Tracker
During a comedy podcast I was listening to on Apple Podcast earlier this week, the host and his guest were riffing about Triscuit crackers vs. Wheat Thins. The riff was kind of funny, but not particularly memorable. It was about 5 minutes in an hour long podcast. Later that evening, I opened up YouTube and…
We’re Already Avatars
Science fiction movies often portray people as part human and part robot. In the Terminator, I-Robot, Ex-Machina and others, robots are often indistinguishable from human beings (until their super powers or lack of human emotions are revealed). Many years ago, I read stories of “enhanced” humans written by Isaac Asimov where people lived for hundreds…
$8000 Sofa!
FedEx unloaded a bunch of boxes at my neighbors across the street few days ago. The boxes had “Love Sac” printed on them. Curiosity got the better of me so I googled it. Love Sac makes modular furniture – think sofas that you can configure any way you want like L shapes, U shapes, extra…
Best In Show
When I was in high school, the senior yearbook was a big deal. It included class photos for all the homerooms, professionally shot individual color headshot photos for that year’s graduating class, pictures of sports teams, activities and events. One of everyone’s favorite sections was “Most Likely/Best”. Students vied to get selected for that year’s:…
Tribes
If you haven’t read Sebastian Junger’s book “Tribe”, I highly recommend it. In it he writes eloquently about meaning, purpose and connection we find when we’re part of a tightly knit group of people. This spoke to me, because I’ve been fortunate to have been part of several tribes during my life. As a small…
Price Of Admission
June has been a costly month. My annual bills for Auto, Home and Liability Insurance are due. My car registration with NC’s ridiculous “property tax” fee is due. I had an unexpected foot injury that cost me several hundred dollars to treat and resulted in me purchasing 4 pairs of running shoes. I found termites…