When Words DivideA few weeks ago I was emailed a PDF of page proofs for a scholarly paper I’d written. The subject of the paper is a particular dictionary…Sep 8, 2022Sep 8, 2022
Just Take Away the KeysLetting incompetent seniors drive is costly. Why do we do it?Jul 13, 2022Jul 13, 2022
Twenty Years at the Creede HotelOne family’s tenure and a lifetime of memoriesMar 23, 2022Mar 23, 2022
When Purging Melancholy Gave Way to Treating DepressionLater than you think, and we’re probably no better at itMar 19, 2021Mar 19, 2021
Did you look systematically at example sentences throughout the dictionary in question, or just…Feb 27, 2021Feb 27, 2021
The Gig Worker’s Nest Egg: a Guide for Making it GoldenFirst, the bona fides: I left my last full-time salaried job in 1990, at the age of 36, with the goal of never having a boss other than…Feb 8, 2021Feb 8, 2021
Published inThe FacultyThe Old College Try (and Fail)I met my students for the last time in person on Wednesday, March 18th. We were already nervous by then. Fresh rumors wafted through…May 26, 2020May 26, 2020
Mormon Elder Behaving BadlyFirst, before I raise any hackles: this all happened long ago, and by the time you get to the end of this short account you will question…Dec 18, 2019Dec 18, 2019
The Fabulous Life of Angeline Louisiana MunnOn the 6th of September 1890 in the bayou country of Louisiana, probably in the family home, was born a child Angeline, the seventh of ten…Sep 4, 2019Sep 4, 2019
That Time Jesus Dinged Me for Jerking OffIt happened when I was 13. I was not new to the game; already an old hand, in fact. I learned the basic technique from other boys in the…Jul 15, 2019Jul 15, 2019
The Descent into Stupidity of Quora’s Evolving Business ModelFirst, to obviate objections: there’s still a lot of useful content on Quora, the product of sincere people asking questions and…Jul 9, 20191Jul 9, 20191
Suicides I Have KnownThe first one was early and scary, and quite a bit more than my six-year-old brain could process. The shooter was the father of five; he…Jun 23, 2019Jun 23, 2019
All About My MotherMy mother Barbara died two year ago — on April 8th, 2017. By the measure of the world, she lived a small life. She died twenty miles away…Apr 8, 2019Apr 8, 2019
The Low-Hanging Fruit of Predictive WritingWe’ve all been using autocomplete and autocorrect when we text — it’s a handy feature that considerably speeds up the two-finger typing…Jan 17, 2019Jan 17, 2019
ReunionThe class I would have graduated with is having a reunion this weekend. There’s a small item about it in the paper, which my father’s wife…Dec 3, 2018Dec 3, 2018
The Skin-Envelope AdvantageI was talking to my phone the other day, like you do, while barreling down I-25 in Colorado. I had a practical problem to solve…Nov 26, 2018Nov 26, 2018
Resist Google’s Attempts to Turn You Into a RobotWe’re training machines to think this is how humans actually converseNov 2, 20188Nov 2, 20188
