Archive for February 2013
Immoveable object versus unstoppable force
The answer to the eternal question turned out to be surprising. And a little disappointing. Physicists have no sense of drama.
Read MoreScience supports my wife’s hatred of cilantro and my hatred of broccoli, but she has more credibility than me in food related issues. Unfairly so.
In speaking about cilantro, Julia Child once said, “I would pick it out if I saw it and throw it on the floor.” My wife concurs. Though her palate is wide and varied, cilantro is her most despised food item. Apparently there might be good reason for this, at least according to research described in…
Read MoreThe person with the highest standards should not automatically be awarded the moral high ground
A piece entitled You’re Dividing Chores Wrong by Emily Oster argues that chores between spouses should be divided based upon increased marginal cost. It’s an interesting argument, but the part that I found most compelling was her comments about loading the dishwasher: Before my daughter was born, I both cooked and did the dishes. It…
Read MoreHenry!
Several years ago, I attended the stag party of a guy named Mike. Held within a VFW hall, a bunch of guys gathered around tables to play cards, drink and contribute to the groom’s Honeymoon fund. Though I rarely drink today, in those days I was quite the prolific drinker, accomplishing feats of alcoholic prowess…
Read MorePolitics of Competitive Board Gaming Among Friends
You’re going to love this. I promise. It’s as if characters from any one of my novels were ripped from the pages and brought to life.
Read MoreSticking the in-laws in an elaborate doghouse just might be the perfect solution
Five years ago I tried to convince my in-laws to buy the house next door to us. It would’ve been perfect. Small, inexpensive and a stone’s throw from my front door. I know what you’re thinking: In-laws living next door sounds horrific, but I genuinely like my in-laws, even with their eccentricities and less-than-lovable dogs.…
Read MoreTime is entirely subjective. Just ask a toddler who has been asked to wait one minute.
It’s long for the Internet but well worth it.
Read MoreBefore you start thinking that this storm is anything like ‘78…
I was seven years old during the Blizzard of ‘78, and I will never forget it. I lived in Blackstone, Massachusetts at the time, within one of the most impacted regions of the Northeast. Our home was without electricity and heat for a week. The roads in eastern Massachusetts (where I lived) were closed for…
Read MoreThe end of wet dog smell is just the beginning
Brace yourself for the most amazing video of 2013. Featuring the most amazing product of 2013. Just imagine the applications: Apply to your dog’s fur on a rainy daySurreptitiously apply to a friend’s soup spoon as a gagCoat your entire house in the productApply to yourself before swimming (I can’t even begin to imagine what…
Read MoreDon’t eat the poor lobster.
About 200 years ago, the lobster was regarded by most Americans as a filthy, bottom-feeding scavenger unfit for consumption by civilized people. Frequently ground up and used as fertilizer, the crustacean was, at best, poor people’s food. In fact, in some colonies, the lobster was the subject of laws—laws that forbade feeding it to prisoners…
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