They ask how I am. I say that I’m OK. They compliment my haircut. I don’t show them the five-inch scar it hides. We talk for awhile, and they say it’s amazing how well I’ve recovered. Fooled ’em again. It’s been more than four months since the brain surgery, and most people can see no evidence … read more Inside and out
Category: Refraction
How a wave changes direction. Life changes, creating change and recovery from change
Building a business around one question
You’ve probably gotten this email: “We value your business. Please answer our one-question survey…” The survey question is, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product to a friend?” Take care how you answer. Someone’s job might be riding on whether you pick an 8 or a 9. In … read more Building a business around one question
Anger isn’t stupidity
A popular meme from a liberal writer, Andy Borowitz, today: Stopping Trump is a short-term solution. The long-term solution, and it will be more difficult, is fixing the education system that has created so many people ignorant enough to vote for Trump. Here’s the problem with that statement: It’s playground name-calling dressed up in a grown-up … read more Anger isn’t stupidity
For adults only
I treasure my pool time. I go during Adult Swim, and it’s quiet, tranquil, a pleasure to do laps. During my first weeks after brain surgery, my pool sessions saved my sanity and sped up my recovery time. Today when I arrived, the desk staff told me there are no longer any Adult Swim hours. Attorneys … read more For adults only
Couch worker
Amidst all the chaos going on in my house, with the entire basement unusable, there’s a bright spot: My commute time has been cut in half. Instead of walking down two flights of stairs to get to my office, I now only have to go down one flight – to the couch. I settle in with my … read more Couch worker
Numb
You’d think that someone who was raised Catholic and has been a reporter, editor, and journalism trainer for 35 years would have seen Spotlight the first week it came out. But when I finally watched it last night, I knew why it had taken so long. It’s an excellent movie, well-crafted and yet authentic in its two-camera simplicity, … read more Numb
Better living through plastic plumbing
It’s an odd feeling to look into the guts of your house. To see the secret space where the house’s invisible life carries on through water and drain pipes, air ducts, propane and electrical lines. It’s like seeing a scan of your brain. A little creepy, but fascinating. As of today, our house has veins and arteries – … read more Better living through plastic plumbing
One of those days
More than once, during the 18 phone calls I had today, my brain gave out. It just stopped working. I continued to take notes and make verbal responses, but my brain wasn’t making sense of the sentences that were being spoken. I had to write the words down verbatim and hope that my notes will be … read more One of those days
Self-Publishing School: A review
It only took a couple days before I got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that said: ‘You’ve been had.’ Self-Publishing School was not what I’d hoped. After less than three weeks, I asked for a refund. I did get the refund, so I wasn’t fleeced. I did get started on two … read more Self-Publishing School: A review
Money money money
The real reason that I have been delving into Census data was not to torture y’all with quizzes, but to help student journalists learn how to report on income inequality. If you want to know more about the practical steps, check out the post on the NewsNumbers.us site. A small percentage of people at the … read more Money money money