I’m tired of needing to “be vigilant or be a victim” (who will subsequently be blamed for not knowing better). What triggered this? The advice that’s going around to sign documents using a four-digit date instead of a two-digit date, so that two additional digits can’t be added to backdate or postdate the document. I … Read more
When the weather is nice, I don’t listen to as many podcasts. Most of my listening is in the car, and when the weather is nice, the windows are down, and when the windows are down, I can’t hear podcasts (or music), so I just enjoy the air. But the weather hasn’t been nice lately, … Read more
Well… I only took one photo this week. Or, rather, I took a bunch of photos at once and got one that was decent. I was playing the silly photo game, but there was one where the top 10 got gift cards. I don’t usually play to win those things, but that would have been … Read more
From my Facebook archives. I wrote a bunch to go with it, then decided it speaks for itself. Some students from my school were crossing a 6-lane street. They were half way across, and traffic stopped in order for them to complete their crossing. There were cars in only two of the three lanes. Someone … Read more
I recently discovered a new podcast: The Happiness Lab. It’s fairly new—there are only eight episodes so far—and I learned about it through a plug on Revisionist History. This coincided perfectly with a personal goal of adjusting my mindset in certain areas so I can be happier. Episode 3: A Silver Lining. They talked about … Read more
There is no shortage of parenting advice out there. Its quality varies, and its application varies. I’ve also figured out that many of the pieces that are excellent are applicable to all humans, not just little ones. Avoid saying “be careful.” Why? It’s useless. Give specifics. What do you actually want them to watch out … Read more
This popped up recently in my Facebook memories. I was going to rewrite it, but it’s succinct and to the point as-is. (The year this was written, Halloween was on the upcoming Friday.) It’s red ribbon week (AIDS? heart disease? hemophilia? no—substance abuse!). As part of celebrating (?) at school, some information is included in … Read more
I am just a few days shy of a year of daily blog posts here. At the beginning, it was pretty easy, as the beginning often is. Because—exciting! And then it was less easy. Because—work! The last few weeks, there have been many days that, were it not for the streak, I wouldn’t have written … Read more
So many people discrediting each other based on their age. “You are [young/old] so you don’t know anything” attitude. Take age out of it. Is the person informed? Experienced in this? Depending on who/what the conversation is about, are they articulate? Do they look at things from multiple vantage points? People at any age can … Read more
When a sentence has two parts—the first part positive and the second part negative—the conjunction makes a big difference in how the complete sentence is received. “You played that song really well, but this note should be two beats.” “You played that song really well, and this note should be two beats.” “You played that … Read more