tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32525192012-01-06T21:01:44.089-05:00The monthly diary author <strong>D</strong>avid <strong>A</strong>. <strong>M</strong>azzottaDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comBlogger10831100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-40878329376083013992012-01-06T20:59:00.001-05:002012-01-06T21:00:55.839-05:00

The Month That Was - December 2011: Thank you for your patience. I really needed the break last month. Now back to normal.So it's 2012. The end of the line for the human race. Appropriately, I spent New Year's Eve in a Jazz Club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, then stayed through to see Michigan's improbable win in The Sugar Bowl. But that was January, so it'll have to wait until next

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-37594636875061359852012-01-06T20:53:00.000-05:002012-01-06T20:55:15.552-05:00

Book Look: The Elementary Particles, by Michel Houellebecq: This is the second Houellebecq novel I've read and, like the previous, it made me want to shower afterword. Houellebecq's primary theme is that contemporary culture hammers into us the commoditization of sex resulting in the complete denigration of any sort of real emotional intimacy. This is essentially an elevation of the crudest

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-7225945483270935382012-01-06T20:52:00.000-05:002012-01-06T20:53:47.937-05:00

Book Look: 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami: Well, 900-ish pages on and I still don't know why I like Murakami but I do. His stories are riddled with long but incomplete explanations (one character even gives voice to this: "If you can't understand it without an explanation, you can't understand it with one." Uh, what?) He is given to occasional literary name dropping. He uses entire chapters to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-28377479045752612552012-01-06T20:50:00.001-05:002012-01-06T20:52:45.930-05:00

Long Gone: Nearly two full weeks is a long time for me to be away. If I hadn't had help, my plants would have died. I even had to have my mail stopped. Usually I‘m not gone long enough to have to worry about such details, but this was my one extended trip this year (thank you house) so I made the most of it. An extended road trip through the Southwest to destinations old and new, I was able

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-67670678580652133592012-01-06T20:49:00.001-05:002012-01-06T20:58:10.550-05:00

It's Happening Again: The scourge of all mankind, Politics, is upon us again. I really hate this. Clear thinking people can reduce any policy conflict to a core philosophical difference in about 2 minutes. What passes for political discussion is not thoughtful inquiry; it is finding the appropriate position to signal what sort of person you are to others. Are you caring and compassionate?

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-20415477351235622692012-01-06T20:43:00.002-05:002012-01-06T20:48:55.953-05:00

Luck: I have been anticipating this for a good long while. Dec 12, after the finale of Boardwalk Empire, we were treated to an early viewing of the first episode of the David Milch / Michael Mann series, Luck. I realize it's early and that it could fall flat, but I am seriously geeked to see this. I knew it right from the outset. It just doesn't feel like anything else on TV. There is quiet

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-26112025204025992302011-12-06T21:05:00.003-05:002011-12-06T21:16:14.400-05:00

The Month The Was (Lost) - November 2011: I’m afraid I have to do something that I promised myself never to do: bail on the monthly update. In all the years I have been keeping this diary, and the blog it was before, going back before the turn of the century, I have never failed to at least do a monthly update. But at the moment I just don’t have time to generate anything of value. I have

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-40254134617605227472011-11-06T23:16:00.001-05:002011-11-06T23:19:55.277-05:00

The Month That Was - October 2011: As I write this I am in the midst of a malicious head cold (my first in over a year, I think) and I am facing a call for jury duty tomorrow. I already feel like I am making no progress and now I am going to be a few more days behind. My house is no further along than it was at the outset of the summer *pause for a deep breath* and... I have spent the better

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-6845269309975276212011-11-06T23:13:00.001-05:002011-11-06T23:13:53.604-05:00

Book Look: Whatever, by Michel Houellebecq: This is a tricky one to evaluate. It is defeatist, pessimistic and even contemptuous, but it is not without a sort of refreshing point of view.The overarching theme is the degradation of human relationships in general and romantic relationships in particular. We follow a mid-level technical instructor as he travels to government sites to train users

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-32682741948727494452011-11-06T23:12:00.000-05:002011-11-06T23:13:03.462-05:00

TV Roundup: Let's start with the good stuff. Breaking Bad ended another great season. I am mildly surprised that it was so good since I read at the outset how the showrunner, Vince Gilligan, went into the season unsure of its direction. Ninety-nine times out a hundred that's a recipe for disaster, but they pulled it off and made a classic. Tremendous build up in tension throughout the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-89874353913249456962011-11-06T23:11:00.002-05:002011-11-06T23:12:00.306-05:00

Owned by My Phone: I am now a Verizon contract customer with a Windows 7 HTC Trophy phone. I am also paying roughly 10 times more than I was for my prepaid T-Mobile on an old school RAZR. With a 2 year lock in, it had better be worth it.I have to confess once I managed to convince T-Mobile I was really who I say I am, which took a couple of days, it was pretty easy to get my number switched

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-63323341292572865492011-11-06T23:09:00.002-05:002011-11-06T23:19:07.366-05:00

You Don't Know What You Don't Know: The 20th century was a watershed century in physics. It brought us the Copenhagen Model, Quantum Mechanics, and of course, Relativity. These theories proved to be remarkably accurate as models and enabled tremendous practical advances, to the point where they began to be thought of as more than just models. They began to be thought of as reality; as if

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-90168904782226025302011-10-08T21:45:00.003-04:002011-10-08T21:51:14.600-04:00

The Month That Was -- September 2011: One thing I remember about living near Washington DC is that the bums were quite clever. Instead of begging for a dollar or spare change, they would often ask for very specific amounts of money. "Can I have 78 cents?" "I need $1.20. Can anyone lend me $1.20?" The implication being that they weren't just begging for anything they could get, they had a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-45441002254681602232011-10-08T21:38:00.002-04:002011-10-08T21:44:47.663-04:00

Opposing Pawns: I admit it. I got sucked into another reality show. Now mind you, I don't watch things like Jersey Shore or anything featuring a Kardashian. And I'll pass on the various flavors of dancing and surviving. But I admit a passing interest in the blue collar ones - American Chopper, Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Tuckers, etc. Before you point and laugh, I'm not a religious devotee;

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-57117770349947051922011-10-08T21:18:00.003-04:002011-10-08T21:38:00.453-04:00

Book Look: Summer Reading Round Up: I have actually pre-ordered two books from Amazon, both coming in October, so now is as good a time to catch up with some quick reviews of my summer reads:I'm Gone, by Jean Echenoz -- This is a lightweight comic novel about an aging, womanizing art dealer who gets involved in a convoluted pursuit of antiquities. It doubles as a murder mystery and lad lit. It

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-41522396283000273192011-10-08T21:04:00.004-04:002011-10-08T21:17:53.280-04:00

Fear the Hayride: When will these threats to the safety of our children finally be addressed? Who will so the courage to stand up to this terror? If not us, who? If not now, when?I am speaking, of course, of the horrible scourge of hayrides. And I am speaking, of course, sarcastically.The outskirts of Ann Arbor is peppered with little cider mills and farmer's markets and other homespun,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-42751991927450951882011-10-08T21:02:00.002-04:002011-10-08T21:18:17.876-04:00

Link Slam: Michigan themed odds and sods from around the web...You couldn't out drink an old lady from Michigan. No, seriously. I'll spare you the walk-to-class-barefoot comparisons, but good grief the young 'uns got it made.Apropos of last month's rant, someone noticed there's a new model Camry.The Chicago Tribune discovers a 125 year old, continuously operating cider mill, about a mile from

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-16723376022426049042011-09-07T18:33:00.002-04:002011-09-07T18:39:47.544-04:00

The Month That Was - August 2011: The signs are all there. School starting. Football Saturdays. Cooler evenings. We march in steadily into fall. Next month I shall have to do a full assessment of my 50th summer. It also means the end of mowing is on the horizon.Still waiting for next month are any book reviews. Add two more to the list: I'm Gone, by Jean Echenoz, and Jonathan Strange

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-81556704011476479102011-09-07T18:30:00.002-04:002011-09-07T18:33:50.187-04:00

Don't Believe Everything You Think: As you know I am a big fan of Robin Hanson's website Overcoming Bias. Although many topics are addressed over there, the Big Kahuna issue is described in this post: More generally, we humans not only do things, we explain why we do things. Individuals and organizations stand ready to give reasons why we do each of the things we do. While such explanations

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-8828989390539152092011-09-07T18:25:00.002-04:002011-09-07T18:30:09.260-04:00

California Life: Year 2 in getting Miss Anna settled at college, a new one on the West Coast, involved arranging a trip to Orange County -- Laguna Niguel, to be exact -- with about a week's notice. I really can't describe how such last minute decisions arise because I am incapable of understanding them; they are simply beyond my comprehension. I just accept. I have been to So Cal many times,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-22518967098435362162011-09-07T18:22:00.002-04:002011-09-07T18:25:50.169-04:00

The New Camrys Are Out!: So what? Outside of car journals, the release of a new model Camry will get a collective yawn and an article or two and a few repackaged press releases. Whether Toyota has been affected by the twin terrors of unintended acceleration and earthquake/tidal wave/nuclear meltdowns doesn't seem to have ratcheted up the popular interest. Nearly all newsworthy events are

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-25902969593493137522011-09-07T18:10:00.005-04:002011-09-07T18:40:19.270-04:00

Grasping for Vegas: It's been an outlier of a year for me, especially in the realm of travel. Basically I've done little and what I have done hasn't really been anything all that new. I even missed my traditional Memorial Day in Manhattan and Labor Day in Chicago jaunts, primarily due to the house and other scheduling issues. So naturally I am desperate to at least renew my longest standing

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-31353832057697033502011-08-06T18:50:00.001-04:002011-08-06T18:54:12.303-04:00

The Month That Was - July 2011: So the summer peak has passed. It has been the hottest July on record for this area, but there is no denying the growing shortness of daylight. For this month, let me tell you about what I am not going to tell you about.I am not going to write about the long weekend I took in Rehoboth Beach, DE. In terms of activities it was little different than the trip I

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-18962152310876098302011-08-06T18:43:00.002-04:002011-08-06T18:50:24.227-04:00

Comedies Tonight: Consider Seinfeld the mold-busting, outside-the-box, ur-comedy. Here's where some recent comedies exist in relation to it.It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia -- Seinfeld, if it was populated by degenerate douchebags. It's many years into its run and is getting a little long in the tooth, but at its best it's a good as obnoxious cretin comedy can be. Danny DeVito remains one of

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-54147078194449115032011-08-06T18:39:00.002-04:002011-08-06T18:43:35.669-04:00

Phone Frustration: T-Mobile has been the bane of my existence. I have always had a weak signal at my office. But over the last few months it has become non-existent, despite the fact that their coverage map indicates that I should have four bar reception. In fact, I get no reception in about a 1 mile radius around my office. Beyond that, it quickly reverts to normal. So essentially that

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-35900348355153871212011-08-06T18:35:00.002-04:002011-08-06T18:39:19.974-04:00

Critter Wars: I never signed up to abandon civilization. First it was bears and feral pigs. Now we have rabid bats. The latest one was hornets, and it hit close to home. Specifically right in my back yard.I had just finished mowing the lawn in 90 degree heat, very proud that I got it done in under 2 hours. So I took the weed-whipper out to hit the edging around the trees and in the backyard

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-38842831333667274452011-08-06T18:25:00.002-04:002011-08-06T18:35:08.182-04:00

Premium Clickage: Assorted odds and ends, haphazardly gathered over the past couple of months. From 1954 to 1998 the most popular name for boys in the US was Michael, except for one year: 1960 -- the year I was born. The name that that was tops that year? David. Just from my first name, you could take a good guess at my age. Interestingly by 1989 David had dropped from the top five, never to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-58016839453194766322011-07-04T22:18:00.002-04:002011-07-04T22:25:25.535-04:00

The Month That Was - June 2011: Another busy month. I now have a tenant in my old condo and so am officially a slumlord, of sorts. I've been working on repairs of the old place and maintenance and doing minor upgrades -- the hardest part of which is trying to get everyone's timing right. But by and large, that's going well, which is good because if I tried to sell the place now I'd take a big

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-82382613561265779722011-07-04T22:16:00.001-04:002011-07-04T22:17:40.766-04:00

Book Look: Positively Fifth Street, by Jim McManus: My new official favorite poker book. Jim McManus was a writer and teacher at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and serious amateur poker player when he scored a gem of an assignment from Harper's magazine: cover the World Series of Poker along with the sensational murder trial in the death Ted Binion, the now former owner of the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-55243972728309138442011-07-04T22:13:00.001-04:002011-07-04T22:15:49.568-04:00

Book Look: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu: Just when you think there was nothing left to make out of time travel stories, somebody comes up with something new. The protagonist uses time travel for the purpose of avoiding pain and hiding from life, or, as he describes it, living chronologically.The protagonist, also named Yu, has deep connections to time travel

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-71458740242899891672011-07-04T22:01:00.002-04:002011-07-04T22:13:14.503-04:00

A Day in My Life: A simple description of a typical Saturday, for no good reason. Nothing terribly interesting happens. Just trying to personalize things a bit.I sleep in, which means I don't worry about getting out of bed until 9. I can get up earlier, but only if feel like it. Since it's Saturday and I pretty much won't have any significant social interaction with anyone who cares, I don't

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-24940522116048813212011-07-04T21:58:00.001-04:002011-07-04T22:01:13.963-04:00

Bear Bearings: It was first spotted at Hudson Mills Metro Park. There were two witnesses, but when the rangers searched, they saw no evidence. People I know dismissed it as probably just a big labradoodle. Then somebody got a photo. It was a young black bear; an adolescent probably just newly on his own. PSAs went out about what to do in a bear encounter. The reactions were telling. It

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-84176997224306768602011-07-04T21:55:00.001-04:002011-07-04T21:58:27.094-04:00

Spitting on the Hand that Feeds It: This story tells you everything you need to know about Detroit. The city is getting a massive amount of philanthropic assistance from the Kresge Foundation: Kresge has invested more than $100 million in Detroit's transformation, funding a riverfront promenade, building greenways and backing incentives for entrepreneurs.In return, they get contempt. The Mayor

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-66235364127004331592011-06-05T21:38:00.001-04:002011-06-05T21:41:10.231-04:00

The Month That Was - May 2011: We went from one of the snowiest winters recent memory to the rainiest spring in 25 years. Honestly, I feel like some kind of farmer doing nothing but talking about the weather, but it's been pretty intense and it has a much greater affect on me than it used to. The good news is that we did have two straight days of rain free weather so I go to cut a relatively

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-8823276700904887652011-06-05T21:29:00.002-04:002011-06-05T21:33:34.581-04:00

Top Grade Linkage: A quick round up of some good reading and miscellaneous nonsense:The story of a master thief. Blanchard almost overshot the castle, slowing himself just enough by skidding along a pitched gable. Sliding down the tiles, arms and legs flailing for a grip, Blanchard managed to save himself from falling four stories by grabbing a railing at the roof's edge...The real trick was

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-33188803123124921602011-06-05T21:22:00.002-04:002011-06-05T21:29:10.100-04:00

Reliving in Florida: Another run down to North Miami, this time to pick up Miss Anna at the end of her freshman year. It is astounding how much crap can be fit in a closet-sized dorm room. Honestly, when you figure in the cost of the plane tickets, rental car, hotel rooms, and package shipping, it would have been cheaper to have her leave everything for charity and just replace it when she got

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-70446716644500741212011-06-05T21:10:00.002-04:002011-06-05T21:22:03.613-04:00

Book Look: This Side of Paradise, by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Keeping with the above theme of college days, my main read this month was F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise. Note that while I have linked this to the Kindle version on Amazon (free), it is long past its copyright expiration so you can snag it for free from just about anywhere on-line. Gutenberg.org is a good place to start for

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-84032182033347014442011-06-05T21:07:00.002-04:002011-06-05T21:10:50.253-04:00

Failed City Porn: Something I haven't done in a while: Completely gratuitous stores about the degradation of Detroit.Illiteracy in Detroit is around 47%. That's not a surprise. Though I was born in Detroit, I grew up in the city of Southfield which is on Detroit's northern border, just across the famed Eight Mile Road. Southfield's illiteracy rate is 24%, which is third-world-ish. It was a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-56420374330273255042011-05-03T19:53:00.002-04:002011-05-03T19:55:56.726-04:00

The Month That Was - April 2011: Waterworld. At least it seems that way. Spring has brought some new little twists on homeownership travails as detailed below, but I am getting more comfortable with these things. Soon I will be able to set aside my obsession with sorting out my house and get back to writing or travel or whatever. Speaking of writing, Misspent Youth is now available on Kindle.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-63924334652482733902011-05-03T19:49:00.000-04:002011-05-03T19:50:26.936-04:00

Book Look: Lay the Favorite, by Beth Raymer: This was a fun book that appealed to the gambler in me. It's a memoir of a girl's rather oddball way of coming of age. Her plans to work in her boyfriend's family restaurant crash along with their relationship so Beth finds herself broke and rudderless. She wanders into a couple sleazy occupations: An in-home erotic dance service although she never

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-87103151701564067252011-05-03T19:47:00.000-04:002011-05-03T19:49:27.527-04:00

Book Look: The Devils Alternative by Frederick Forsyth: When it comes to cold war thrillers, Frederick Forsyth is everyone's daddy. He wrote such movie fodder as Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File. When William F. Buckley wanted to start writing his own cold war fiction he told his publisher he wanted to write something like Forsyth. And now having read The Devil's Alternative, the source

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-89385407165745262542011-05-03T19:44:00.001-04:002011-05-03T19:47:18.945-04:00

Flick Check (HD Version): Since I now have that beautiful 65" plasma HD screen I figured I better view a couple of effects heavy movies to see what's up.Inception -- Uh...what? It was visually stunning beyond my imagination, but I can't for the life of me figure out what was going on. I'll grant you I'm old and my mind is going, but still. I am reminded of an episode from the X-Files called

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-33593727967683727882011-05-03T19:42:00.000-04:002011-05-03T19:43:34.924-04:00

Waging War on Nature: We had an enormous amount of snow this winter. It has all melted, plus it has been raining all Spring and the cricks-a-risin! The Huron River is much higher than I have ever seen it. Seriously, this is a huge issue. My lawn has lots of 45 degree slopes which give my little John Deere tractor fits in when it's wet. As the weight shifts off one side it just spins its

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-1676129866906325032011-04-06T21:22:00.001-04:002011-04-06T21:27:54.532-04:00

The Month That Was - March 2011: I was hoping to have Misspent Youth available on Kindle by now, and I am this close but not there yet. Current target is Monday the 11th. Planned price is $4.84, just like Business as Usual and Apple Pie.Note: You know you don't need a Kindle to read Kindle books, right? There is free software for everything from PCs to iPhones that lets you buy and read

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-42448157278635891652011-04-06T21:21:00.001-04:002011-04-06T21:26:14.885-04:00

Shrinking Heads: Loved this article on therapy from someone who had three therapists fall asleep on him. Needless to say, they all manufactured a plausible psychological excuse.Speaking of psychology, this on procrastination from a Hollywood psychologist to entertainment industry big wigs: By far the most common problem afflicting the writers in Michels's practice is procrastination, which he

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-33319116393392256622011-04-06T21:20:00.002-04:002011-04-06T21:26:05.139-04:00

R.I.P. Zune: Very sad to see that Microsoft has given up on Zune. The service and music store will continue, but the player is dead. The knee-jerk analysis is that there was no way they could stand up to the iPod, which is perhaps true, but I think the bigger issue is that all dedicated music/media players are evolving into smartphones and tablets. With that in mind Microsoft is aiming to be

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-3840335474537902612011-04-06T21:16:00.001-04:002011-04-06T21:25:55.747-04:00

Keys to My Heart: [[Photos to come.]] I do still love Florida. First, Palm Beach. I flew in on Friday, arriving in the early afternoon (a fine enough flight, no rant needed), snagged my rental, and headed for Worth Ave.It's tempting to resort to clich‚d descriptions of gauche, wealthy WASPs; white-haired men sporting colorful khakis and reconstructed cougars dropping half a grand on a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-28412655279899937972011-04-06T20:59:00.003-04:002011-04-06T21:25:42.116-04:00

Book Look: Quantum Reality, by Nick Herbert: I guess you can consider this part 2 of my continuing forays into the wackness that is reality. The last month was an exploration of the nature of time, reaching back to the beginning of the universe. This time it's all about the meaning of Quantum Theory.Quantum Theory is the most audacious and intellectually challenging concept ever devised. It

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-71327788832307949962011-03-06T22:24:00.002-05:002011-03-06T22:29:16.264-05:00

The Month That Was - February 2011: The first time I used the snow blower it was kind of fun. A novelty for me. The next couple of times I was grateful to be able to clear my sizeable driveway so quickly. By the fifth time I had to take it out in a month and a half, I was cursing the damn thing as a proxy for all the damn blizzards we've had. I'm beginning to fear having to mow the damn lawn

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-27589566556245969792011-03-06T22:23:00.000-05:002011-03-06T22:24:19.340-05:00

Why Movies Suck, and Hollywood Too: Um, yeah. To elaborate, I have been making the point for years the TV is vastly superior to film. Now it's looks like I am may be an unheralded prophet. (It looks like that to me anyway.) The trope of movie suckitude has been around for ages, but coupling it with TV's ascendency has been rare. Now a recent article in GQ suggests the zeitgeist may be

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-28461197251870853102011-03-06T22:21:00.001-05:002011-03-06T22:23:05.214-05:00

Book Look: Krakatoa by William Manchester: The loudest sound in recorded history occurred on August 27th 1883 when Krakatoa, a wee little island in Indonesia just west of Java, vaporized itself in the last and largest of four major explosions. Krakatoa was one of the most cataclysmic events ever witnessed by humans and there are no end of descriptive superlatives that can be employed, but

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-5371955328543443582011-03-06T22:16:00.002-05:002011-03-06T22:20:59.978-05:00

Cold Beach Mix I had no business doing any travelling. I really am trying to dedicate myself to the house for the plannable future. But I also really needed a break from house fretting -- it's a very bad sign when you haven't changed your TV off the DIY Network in four days. So last minute trip was planned.The plan: Get to Washington DC, then make for the Delaware shore, Rehoboth Beach in

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-64461498583588398142011-03-06T22:15:00.001-05:002011-03-06T22:15:57.976-05:00

House Schooling: I may have mentioned (have I?) that I am actually living in the house now. As a result, everything I have to get done is in my face every minute. Like life, it's all about patience and priorities.I have some big ideas: I have a vision of a hot tub and plunge pool out back, and I think maybe there is an opportunity for a small addition off the master bedroom to add a big

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-87100452347180122922011-02-08T20:50:00.002-05:002011-02-08T20:54:53.905-05:00

The Month That Was - January 2011: At last. You can now buy Misspent Youth. Please do so at your earliest convenience. If you like it, please add a review to Amazon. Also tell your friends. Or better yet, buy copies for your friends. If you do these things I will be your BFF. Seriously, it turned out great -- some of my best writing. Kindle version coming soon.The corollary to this is

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-15547934122323352262011-02-08T20:32:00.004-05:002011-02-08T20:57:54.282-05:00

Book Look: From Eternity to Here, by Sean Carroll: I'm fond of pointing out, rather flippantly, that experience has made it plain to me that I was not put on this Earth to get it. Primarily this applies to women, taxes, and Jersey Shore, but the older I get the more I realize that it's really a much wider phenomenon. I don't think I was made to truly understand much of anything (except perhaps

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-14133631091841795222011-02-08T20:26:00.003-05:002011-02-08T20:57:19.846-05:00

Tube Notes: Justified is awfully fun. It is entertaining as hell, to be expected not just because it is based on Elmore Leonard stories, but because they have managed to catch to slick, tongue-in-cheekiness that Leonard brings to his books. The new season start on Feb 9th and I have been catching up the first. Each episode contains a reed thin plotted mystery just like every detective show

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-6854958046903016612011-02-08T20:17:00.002-05:002011-02-08T20:26:16.549-05:00

Stanky Yoga: I should do yoga. I know this. My flexibility is bad. My attention span short. My karma is in the toilet. The problem I have with yoga, apart from being terrible at it, is that it is boring beyond belief. At the moment, I am now four hours into waiting for the cable guy to finish my installation in a house with no TV, no internet, no books, no music. That's comparable to how

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-49895818913737987372011-02-08T20:03:00.002-05:002011-02-08T20:17:34.554-05:00

House Gripes: This month's list of observations on home ownership.65" plasma TVs are heavy. The good news is that a thief could not get far with a hernia (ha ha, robbers).I seem to be the only one that thinks "Wi-fi ready" and "adaptor not included" are contradictory.Recessed 15-foot-high swiveling flood lights are the product of a stunted, disturbed, or outright evil intellect. Maybe all

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-62981291116553895232011-01-07T21:34:00.002-05:002011-01-07T21:40:02.297-05:00

The Month That Was - December 2010: We are now into the second decade of the 21st century, a fact which blows my mind. With each passing year we put the lie to more and more sci-fi. Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 (overrated) and 2010 (lame) have been moved into the realm of fantasy. The third in the trilogy is 2061 (pretty much completely unknown) at which point I will be 100, twice my current age.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-27877247881257111302011-01-07T21:27:00.004-05:002011-01-07T21:42:35.808-05:00

Book Look: A World Lit Only By Fire, by William Manchester: Check out this quote:The Dark Ages were stark in every dimension. Famines and plague, culminating in the Black Death, and its recurring pandemics, repeatedly thinned the population. Rickets afflicted the survivors. Extraordinary climatic changes brought storms and floods which turned into major disasters because the empire's drainage

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-67017047177942069482011-01-07T21:18:00.002-05:002011-01-07T21:26:57.928-05:00

Glimmer in Detroit: If you have kept up on my commentaries about Detroit over the years (click the Detroit tag over to the right), you may have come away with the idea that I am a very pessimistic person. Not really. I am broadly optimistic, but specifically pessimistic. This jibes with my experience in life. There are many more failures than successes. This is a simple result of the fact

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-76906807504638899802011-01-07T21:11:00.002-05:002011-01-07T21:18:19.792-05:00

House Grouse: I am getting a rapid education in home-ownership. It seems like everything you want to do requires you to do at least two other things first, each of which requires you to be available in a four hour window for delivery or else requires extensive trial and error shuttling to the hardware store. I'm finding all the little things I didn't see on inspection. A scratch here. A hole

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-88652896684795317192011-01-07T21:08:00.002-05:002011-01-07T21:11:25.427-05:00

Tube Find: I have fallen in love with The A.V. Club (especially the TV section). Imagine finding a place where folks wax on endlessly about film and television and books and music, writing in-depth reviews of just about anything pop culture that comes into their purview. What sets it apart from other sites is their willingness, even eagerness, the rehash media from the past, rather than

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-31679430485741197042010-12-08T22:56:00.002-05:002010-12-08T23:00:10.451-05:00

The Month That Was - November 2010: As I am writing this it is November 30th. I have never started my monthly entry so late. Even when I end up getting things posted a full week into the next month I have always started sooner and been making notes along the way. It's the last day of the month and I got nothing. I can only imagine how late this is going to be. (Answer: Dec. 8th)Big long trip

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-147412697218945042010-12-08T22:55:00.000-05:002010-12-08T22:56:01.945-05:00

Getting Real Estate: You know the story: rates are down; prices are down. Will prices come back? Slowly -- will take years. But that's OK for me. Let's say it takes fifteen years to realize another significant gain in housing. In fifteen years I'll be 65 and seriously contemplating retirement, right? (Gawd, I hope not. Maybe from my day job, but not work in general -- but still...) All in

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-37776055113826507072010-12-08T22:54:00.004-05:002010-12-28T22:49:39.477-05:00

Palazzo for the Win: This was actually one of my favorite Vegas trips. I won't bore you with the details since you've read my ramblings about Vegas for years now, but the highlight was staying at The Palazzo -- the sister property to The Venetian. The huge suites are nearly as large as the ones in THEhotel. Palazzo and Venetian don't have the cache of the Wynn/Encore sisters next door, but

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-57688720793406501872010-12-08T22:53:00.002-05:002010-12-28T22:46:50.432-05:00

Climbing and Running: For some reason, I took running to heart this year. I don't know why. I'm not a particularly good runner. And I don't actually enjoy it all that much -- well, there are moments; when my stride is smooth and easy, when it's just me and my running shoes and shorts, with the sun and the summer breeze on my back, when even running in a straight line feels like a dance.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-82414384375336041872010-12-08T22:49:00.003-05:002010-12-28T22:47:06.417-05:00

Short Seasons: Two critically well-received new shows just closed their first seasons. By the way, since when did six episodes constitute a season? These shows are really just sequential mini-series. That's cool with me. Take your time, keep the quality up. It's better than hammering out 26 hours of video a year at any cost. TV seasons are like music albums: packaging fodder with gold to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-53181559459647570032010-11-06T17:45:00.000-04:002010-11-06T17:46:53.742-04:00

The Month That Was - October 2010: Spent the month getting more and more frustrated with Misspent Youth. Seems like no matter how many time I pick through it I continue to find errors. Has to stop eventually, doesn't it? Still hoping to have it out by the end of the year, but getting a little worried.On the upside, this month featured a visit to Miraval, the heavenly resort in the desert

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-78777069801422382572010-11-06T17:38:00.003-04:002010-11-06T17:47:12.341-04:00

Got Your Back, Don: From the majority of what I read about the Mad Men finale, and the conversations I've had about it, it seems that conventional wisdom says that Don made a bad decision. Faye was the one who could save him; the mature woman who could help him face down his demons. Instead he chose the one who would provide the path of least resistance. Well, sorry, but no. Or rather, yes

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-40709015790051459062010-11-06T17:29:00.004-04:002010-11-07T22:35:15.163-05:00

Shiny Happy Addicts: For non-addictive people, addiction can be a struggle to understand. "If you're so miserable, why don't you just stop?" is the na‹ve, unanswerable question. The fact is that the addictive activity brings tremendous pleasure. Heroin addicts describe the sensation of getting a fix as better than any sex you could imagine. I am not a broadly addictive person but I have

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-17809379362908161032010-11-06T17:27:00.003-04:002010-11-07T22:33:29.915-05:00

Autodestruct: Via the very best auto website in the world, The Truth About Cars, this quote from the Honda CEO nails it: "During the 10 or so years (until the collapse of General Motors), the automobile industry was in a sort of bubble. In that period, carmakers could enjoy sales growth even if they only kept doing the same old things unthinkingly."It's an oblique way of saying that year-to-year

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-52092046073828637752010-11-06T17:24:00.001-04:002010-11-06T17:27:17.747-04:00

The Dork Factor: I rarely wear a bike helmet when riding on the road (always on the trail) except when riding with my friend Darcy, the bike helmet Nazi. She vocally maintains that I must have some special bias in favor of brain damage. I maintain that I rode my three speed spider bike all around the neighborhood at age ten and never had an issue, plus it makes me look like a dork.Well, now we

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-82911280351725447912010-10-06T22:47:00.002-04:002010-10-06T22:55:58.791-04:00

The Month That Was - September 2010: Happy Birthday to me. Monday 9/13 was the big one. (As Jerry Pournelle would say, Friday the 13th fell on a Monday.) Half a century of banging about this world. Like everything else in life that is supposedly momentous, it passed without any great revelation or drama. The only actual celebration came two days prior when I was up on Mackinac for a 8-mile

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-24557184624902244712010-10-06T22:46:00.003-04:002010-12-08T22:46:23.709-05:00

50: Fifty doesn't exactly sneak up and bite you in the ass. It's a slow train coming that you first see about four years earlier, when you can no longer claim to be in your early forties. It's just a number, right? That what you're supposed to say. But surprisingly, that's how it feels -- physically anyway. I was thinking about running and fitness. Two days before my birthday I was up on

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-80220710000048624722010-10-06T22:43:00.002-04:002010-10-06T22:46:31.374-04:00

Flick Check: Movie Round-Up: It must have been ten years since I had a remotely positive outlook about movies. And it gets worse every year. I am decidedly not one of those who goes around complaining that things aren't what they used to be. I know full well the change is mostly in me (and perhaps in the entertainment industry in general) not in the movies themselves. Still, there you are.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-80944630576651595402010-10-06T22:38:00.002-04:002010-10-06T22:43:36.139-04:00

Tube Notes - Knocking on The Pantheon Door: In contrast to movies, TV continues to kick out bits and pieces of real art. The current triumvirate of Mad Men (season 4 almost over), Dexter (season 5 just starting), and Breaking Bad (between seasons) are generating some remarkable drama. Interestingly, and instructively, all of them are variations on a single theme: the destructive affect of

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-72579745866997153332010-10-06T22:34:00.002-04:002010-10-06T22:38:04.967-04:00

Selling Detroit - Style Over Substance: It's been a awhile since I busted on the city of my birth, but a recent article in the WSJ irritated my pet peeve. At first glance it seems like one of those optimistic takes on a supposed turnaround in Detroit, a city which has been poised for a turnaround for the entire half-century of my life. But credit the WSJ for not completely falling for the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-41362925585515006352010-09-07T22:01:00.002-04:002010-09-07T22:06:33.067-04:00

The Month That Was - August 2010: I am monstrously late, but it was an especially chaotic month, mainly centering around the death of my father. There was no shock or surprise involved; it was a long time coming and everyone was well prepared, which was an inestimable blessing. Still there were arrangements to be made and feelings to confront, most reducing to anxiety over the horrible fate we

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-86979132308521630212010-09-07T21:53:00.003-04:002010-12-08T22:42:37.900-05:00

Swamped in Florida: [[Photos on Smugmug.]] Here we go again. On only a few days notice I scheduled my flights down to Florida for my father's funeral. It was to be held in Sarasota, but it looks like Delta rarely if ever has scheduled flights directly into Sarasota anymore, so it was either change planes or fly direct to one of the nearby majors, Tampa or Ft. Myers. I chose Ft. Myers just

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-15751051020217095162010-09-07T21:51:00.001-04:002010-09-07T21:53:34.200-04:00

Book Look: Why Did I Ever, by Mary Robison: Judging from the blurbs attached to the book jacket, everybody with a recognizable name in the literary world thought Why Did I Ever was a great big handful of chocolate covered awesome. As for me, I just liked it. It's clever and creative and hits the right notes at the right time. Not that I don't have my gripes.The plot is firmly planted in the

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-47431280453057871022010-09-07T21:39:00.002-04:002010-09-07T21:50:43.087-04:00

Book Look: The Poisoner's Handbook, by Deborah Blum:. Was there ever a time and place when folks understood less about human nature than the 1920s and 30s in the U.S.? It seems like the concept that people respond to incentives was completely foreign to them. The depression was made Great by people with no clue about public reaction to basic economic incentives. And before that there was

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-44129516231806931812010-09-07T21:35:00.003-04:002010-09-07T21:51:41.129-04:00

A Small Victory for Reason: Here in Ann Arbor, speed limits were raised at three notorious speed traps. You read that right: Raised. These spots have been well known to locals for decades and probably great revenue generators. But recently, after years of efforts, the National Motorists Association successfully argued that raising the speed limit would not make these roads less safe, but would

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-54527416099703378012010-09-07T21:30:00.002-04:002010-09-07T21:51:27.031-04:00

Link Dump: I haven't done a link dump in ages, so here's some good reading to distract you from work....I hate politics, but P.J. O'Rourke is just too good and funny not to read. On a recent trip to Afghanistan, he brilliantly gets to a core issue in all of journalism (and one of the reasons I hate the news media), which is that nobody knows what the real truth is and whatever "angle" is taken

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-87529237431271909392010-08-02T21:46:00.000-04:002010-08-02T21:48:11.946-04:00

The Month That Was - July 2010: Outside. I've been outside a lot. That is, after all, the purpose of summer. I haven't been travelling, and probably won't until I get the house thing sorted out. Not that I can be said to be hoarding cash -- I just dropped $1100 on car repairs with only marginal success (more below), but I'm getting my cash balance in shape for pre-approval and scheduling

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-16677362467384265302010-08-02T21:43:00.000-04:002010-08-02T21:44:39.005-04:00

Book Look: Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley: I'm a big Christopher Buckley fan. He writes sharp little satiric comedies, based primarily on political or social "issues" with a gimlet eye, but a sympathetic one (he's a "laugh with" versus a "laugh at" guy). His style is smooth and accessible but still very highly crafted and thoughtful. Honestly, it's hard for me to imagine that only

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-62369807015347699092010-08-02T21:41:00.002-04:002010-08-02T21:43:06.621-04:00

Surreal Tour: I was probably one of three North Americans who kept up with the Tour de France replays once Lance Armstrong was out of it after the fourth or fifth stage. The race was an extended exercise in Fellini-esque action.First, Lance crashed. Then crashed again. Then again. Then again. I lost track, but it happened often enough that he found himself many minutes behind the guy he was

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-55727546404177026862010-08-02T21:41:00.001-04:002010-08-02T21:41:50.725-04:00

Stroke, Stroke, Stroke, Breathe *cough*: Speaking of bikes, I have been out on mine a good deal this summer. In fact, it's been my saving grace when I bring my car in for repairs. I can just commute from the Toyota dealer to work or wherever. I need to do a long ride though. At the moment, I don't think I've gone more than 25 miles. I need to take a day to do about 50.In fact, there were 3

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-83766585172883201152010-08-02T21:39:00.000-04:002010-08-02T21:41:05.734-04:00

Auto Recovery: If you have been following along the past few months, you know I was briefly in the market for a new car. My '02 Camry is starting to get a little bothersome. Naturally, like everything else money intensive, that went on hold when I plunged into the house market. I turns out it's just as well. The once-in-a-lifetime buyer's market for cars has passed.Hamstrung by union

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-38935621589369782472010-08-02T21:37:00.001-04:002010-08-02T21:39:48.713-04:00

Get Outta My Head: For my day job, I recently took a personality test. Called Predictive Index, its primary goal is to identify your favored modes of communication and learning. The idea is that it's a way for managers to better facilitate useful communication among employees and perhaps defuse some conflicts. It involves only about five minutes of a survey, associating specific words with

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-27700113693822988302010-07-04T22:04:00.002-04:002010-07-04T22:12:52.545-04:00

The Month That Was - June 2010: A sunny and warm 4th of July. I'm delighted to say that I've had a healthy share of outside time so far this summer, which is what one should be able to say.I have yet another hard-copy formatted galley of Misspent Youth. At first glance it looks pretty much correct and I am trying to work up the enthusiasm to unsheathe my fine-toothed comb. I've also managed to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-56544489255950997782010-07-04T21:38:00.002-04:002010-07-04T22:04:51.206-04:00

Memorial Day in NYC: There are few things in the world cooler than being in Manhattan. (There are also few things more expensive.) If you are feeling dead and defeated, Manhattan will almost certainly change your outlook. This is especially true on Memorial Day weekend, on the cusp of summer. The weather was perfect. The city not too packed -- despite the fact that it is Fleet Week, a

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-24475763874601683422010-07-04T21:30:00.002-04:002010-07-04T21:38:05.782-04:00

Book Look: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami: I've read the bulk of Murakami's work by now, and I've enjoyed and admired it, but I really don't know why. He commits many transgressions against my list of "what I like in novels" yet I still find myself engrossed by his writing. Norwegian Wood is no exception.The story is quite simple. A young college student, Watanabe, already given to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-56521893076220516142010-07-04T21:16:00.004-04:002010-07-04T22:14:52.858-04:00

Breaking Bad And You: Season three of AMC's near-pantheon series just recently finished up and it was very well done. Short version: this is the year Walter White's slow flight into the dark side went hyperbolic. The show has turned into a fascinating exercise in reflecting on one's personal morality. At what point is Walter White no longer a hero? When we started he was a hapless Beta Male.

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-61791831781166473842010-07-04T21:01:00.002-04:002010-07-04T21:16:16.176-04:00

Fort Lauderdamndale: The end of the month brought a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, to go through college orientation with Miss Anna. Orientation itself was what orientation is at just about any college: a diversity-oriented intro for the students, a safety-oriented intro for the parents, and a universal introduction to a confused administrative bureaucracy. By the third day or so they get around to

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-28422300543637301562010-06-02T22:05:00.000-04:002010-06-02T22:10:41.790-04:00

The Month That Was - May 2010: Another month and another revision to Misspent Youth. Now it's back to sorting out the formatting. Then on to the cover. I managed to get in a whirlwind weekend in NYC for Memorial Day. Technically in May, but I'll write it up for next month. For now, let's just say the Apple remains the Apple. I don't spend enough time there (for which my wallet is thankful)

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-284226332236598002010-06-02T22:00:00.001-04:002010-06-02T22:05:13.307-04:00

Peter De Vries: If you were to try to pay me the compliment of a lifetime (and there is no reason you should) you could simply tell me that my writing reminds you of Peter De Vries. Yes, I realize you have never heard of him.For thirty years -- from the mid 50s through the mid 80s -- De Vries was perhaps the most celebrated satirist alive. He was prolific -- cranking out roughly a book a year;

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-27897132918876192022010-06-02T21:58:00.001-04:002010-06-02T22:00:46.645-04:00

Kwame Up the River: Well, I have to laugh. Detroit's former leader, the self-styled "hip-hop mayor," Kwame Kilpatrick, got sentenced to 1.5 to 5 years in prison for trying to hide assets from the court and just generally being Mr. Scammy McDirtbag. Hee. Hee. Hee. There will of course be an appeal.The most telling point of the story, and the one that perfectly illustrates how Detroit works,

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-79155416922230108152010-06-02T21:54:00.002-04:002010-06-02T21:58:15.384-04:00

Fresh Mex: I'm sure many of you have been very anxious to learn how I feel about Fresh Mex-style fast food. Well, you can relax now. I'm about to tell you. In the greater Ann Arbor area we have three fresh mex chains available: Chipotle, Qdoba, and Moe's. Each has its distinct advantage so here's a quick guide.The best standard burritos come from Chipotle. Their meats just seem fresher and

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252519.post-50473305437026107452010-06-02T21:49:00.002-04:002010-06-02T21:54:26.070-04:00

Not Quite Going the Distance: I spend an inordinate amount of time at my health club and otherwise working out. Really, to the point where it's nearly unhealthy. I rarely speak of it because I agree with Haruki Murakami when he says, "A gentleman shouldn't go on about what he does to stay fit." Of course Haruki-san said that in a book about running marathons, so go figure. Most people, when

Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06196333737485857456noreply@blogger.com