What I need to learn about next are the qualities to writing paper. In high school we hosted an exchange student from southern Germany. I was a junior and he was a senior. We got along, though he was exponentially more socially capable than I was, and classmates would come over to pick him up … Continue reading A Man of Letters and Papers
Nauseous and Alternative
In my office, our executive director has been exploring Google Plus as a means to encourage socialization among us, that is, starting a community exclusive to our department. Along with this, my supervisor suggested I might write posts now and then to share tricky grammatical rules, technique and usage, and best practices with my coworkers. … Continue reading Nauseous and Alternative
The Endless and Futile Quest for Bostock
I bet you're wondering why there's no such thing as bostock. The answer to that is complex, because there are two factors that conspire to lead most people to believe it doesn't exist. One factor is that it's extremely rare, and the other is that it is imperceptible when present. Taking these into consideration, it's … Continue reading The Endless and Futile Quest for Bostock
My First ACES Conference
[Originally posted on LinkedIn] Last weekend I attended my first ACES conference. But let me back up. When I met the charming, brilliant woman who would consent to being my wife, she had one stipulation: "There is no way I can marry an unlettered man." I was a couple semesters shy of my bachelor's and … Continue reading My First ACES Conference
Busy Elsewhere
I'm doing lots of writing. I haven't touched my travel journal in about a year, let's say, and I haven't done any writing here that I'd shape up for publication. But I do have another blog where I'm challenging myself to stick to as close to a story-a-day project as I can. Sometimes that means … Continue reading Busy Elsewhere
The Legend of Brummie
[A long time ago, a friend asked me to write lyrics for his band. I drew this up promptly and as far as I know it was never used.] Brummie, the big fat Dutchman, He strode into town The sun was setting and the sky was dark And there were few of us around Brummie, … Continue reading The Legend of Brummie
Shifting Neighborhoods
My wife and I just moved ten blocks south of our old place, from the CARAG neighborhood into East Harriet. This doesn't mean much except for a few things: I went from three coffee shops within easy walking distance to zero cafes anywhere. There's one on the corner that opens exactly when I catch the … Continue reading Shifting Neighborhoods
Story Thus Far
Well, it's not going terribly. Along with my semiannual revising of the passwords, I've also unsubscribed from a number of email lists and deactivated my accounts on a dozen websites and services. It feels good to clean that all out, even if it's just an e-placebo effect. I like wrapping these things up and narrowing … Continue reading Story Thus Far
Traditional First Entry
What brought me to WordPress, to commit to installing it and learning all the programs and routines around it? For dozens of years I was a happy Google user. I have a legacy storage account, no reason to give that up; I used Google Buzz for as long as it ran, I boosted Blogger when … Continue reading Traditional First Entry
The Sesame Credit Scare
Your credit score, linked to your national ID, goes down if you post on social media about dissenting political views, discussing history that isn't state-approved.