I am a chopper of wood and carrier of water, a keeper of bees, digger of soil, and washer of dishes, but when people ask me "what do you do" I usually satisfy them with "I'm in information technology." If they really want to know, I'll tell them about the decade as a wilderness guide. Some jobs are vocations, some are avocations, but that one was an evocation. I also wrangle pixels and try to herd them into representations of coherent thoughts, which is a provocation. :-)
“I know this defies the law of gravity, but, eh… You see, I never studied law.” -Bugs Bunny Some time ago, I was disappointed when some young friends were politely disinterested in learning to use a map and compass before embarking on a hiking trip. They planned to follow the prompts on their phones to … More Gravity Gets In Everything
Thunder echoes from the mountain this morning as welcome rain washes the air clean again. That mountain air that we advertise for the envy of our friends in the city has of late been nothing to brag about. Daniel Boone is credited with saying that when you could see the smoke from your neighbor’s chimney … More The Smoke From Our Neighbors’ Chimneys
I am my father’s son. This is not to say that I do not cherish the many gifts and influences of my mother, but boys who are blessed to have a father in the home, one willing and able to provide the mentoring they desperately need, are bound to inherit some of his attributes and … More My Father’s Son
People separated by time and geography are likely to develop distinct characteristics including language. Even if they share a common language, these separations can produce different accents or dialects. In the United States alone, at least 15 different accents are recognizable, and separate from those produced by immigration and ethnicity. The state of Maine, for … More All Hat And No Horse
“What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .” … More My iFriend And Me
There have been several studies which suggest, no, that’s too polite, which record the diminishing physical strength of college-age males compared to students of the past. In fact, the Pentagon did a study in 2020 which revealed that 77% of Americans would not qualify for military service due to obesity, drug use, mental and physical … More State of Readiness
My mother liked Norman Vincent Peale, but as a teenager I was of course much too sophisticated to read the copy of “The Power of Positive Thinking” she gifted me one Christmas. I ran across it the other day and had one of those bittersweet “wish I had listened” moments we sometimes have when we … More Outside The Box
“Thought I heard a rumblin’; Callin’ to my name; Two hundred million guns are loaded; Satan cries, ‘Take aim!’” – John Fogerty “If you’re gonna fight, fight like you are the third monkey on the ramp to Noah’s ark and it’s starting to rain.” Tim Kennedy, MMA Fighter Monkey fights are brutal, and it’s not … More Another Run Through The Jungle
My old friends Mr. Paul Reed Smith and Mr. Washburn spend more time collecting dust than making music these days, but there was a time when they were busy almost every night. I think every American who ever owned a guitar, whether that instrument was a PRS or an air guitar, has entertained at least a … More Wegotcha
While the big rain fell last Tuesday I stood in the creek and felt the current pulling at my boots. Our little stream is usually a low talker with a soothing voice that invites you to stretch a hammock between two saplings and rest in the shade, but today it was singing a bawdy sea … More A Walk In The Rain
Outside The Box 