Heat Weirdlastname 
Four years ago, I wrote a post on Facebook about cancer prevention. It’s full of frustration. Wrapped up with the frustration—though not so evident in the writing—is a solid dollop of “I get it.” A month ago, I lost a good friend to cancer. In the month since then, I’ve learned about three more diagnoses … Read more
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Clearly Newton was not in the social sciences. I saw a bumper sticker: Keep talking, I’m reloading Besides poor punctuation… What makes one an acceptable response to the other?! I’m completely flabbergasted by transgressions, real or perceived, that some people regard as sufficient to shoot … Read more
The sunsets in Arizona are pretty consistently amazing. When I lived back east, there was occasionally a sunset that really made you stop and just take it in, but here, it happens regularly. Almost daily. After living here for almost 16 years, I’ve not tired of it. I’m sure the photo I used for this … Read more
Treat others the way you want to be treated. We get stuck in the details. “Well, I like pedicures, but if the person I gift one to doesn’t like pedicures, then they’re not happy even though I treated them how I would like to be treated!” That’s not what it means. We want to be … Read more
A while back, I was at a going-away party at a school. There were sandwiches, chips, etc. set out cafeteria-style, and some of the lunch ladies were helping distribute it. lunch lady: Do you want some chips? me: No thank you. LL: It’s OK to cheat. me: It’s not cheating. LL: You’re on a diet. … Read more
I’ve been somewhat fascinated with my hands lately. I have callouses from rock climbing. I love my climbing callouses, which seems odd, but I think they’re just a reminder that I have time and ability to do something I enjoy doing on a regular basis. And maybe a splash of the badass feeling I had … Read more
During the course of conversation and brainstorming with my group during a training, someone mentioned that they have children whose parents put them in an ensemble (band or orchestra) to “get over their shyness.” First of all, in a traditionally-run ensemble, there’s not a lot of verbal interaction between players, so that’s not really going … Read more
There’s not a bite or a sound clip or a quote for me to pull from this podcast—there was just too much—so I’m just going to recommend listening to the whole thing. Dax Shepard (Armchair Expert) talks with Johann Hari about his research and books exploring addiction. Much of the information was not new to … Read more
Tomorrow’s post is a recommendation for a podcast episode I’ve been listening to. (I still have about half an hour left, and I’m not going to post about it until I’ve heard the whole thing, even though you could listen to half of what I’ve completed so far and it would be worthwhile.) They’re talking … Read more
The Climbing Daddy and I were at the climbing gym the other day, and there were some parents with a young child on the beginner wall. The kid was maybe a third of the way up the wall, and the parents were yelling all sorts of suggestions and directions up at her. I turned to … Read more