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grin and bare it

A blog by Matthew Dicks

Teach people how to deal with you

By mattyd | February 29, 2024

I was speaking to a business associate last week. She and I exchange a great deal of work regularly. We have quite a few ongoing projects at the moment. Amid the conversation, she said, “Is…

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JD Salinger: Bullets, bombs, and a book

By mattyd | February 28, 2024

A client recently told me that he can only write at a particular time of the day and only on certain days. This was not the result of a tight schedule or the demands of…

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Love and hate can coexist

By mattyd | February 27, 2024

Is it possible to both love and hate an idea simultaneously? Yes, it is. A group of citizens from Valdez, Alaska, is attempting to raise $125,000 to install a life-sized bronze statue dedicated to William…

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Another memory of Danny

By mattyd | February 26, 2024

My friend, Danny, passed away a little while back. On Saturday, I attended his memorial service. I expressed my condolences to his children and brother and said goodbye to my friend. On the long drive…

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Fourteen years later, I am still right

By mattyd | February 25, 2024

Fourteen years ago, Elysha and I had a disagreement over a crock pot. We had recently bought our home and were merging our belongings, and the issue of my crock pot arose. Specifically, Elysha took…

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“Separate but equal” still alive and well in Hollywood

By mattyd | February 24, 2024

I’m listening to a lot of interviews in the campaign season for the Oscars: Actors, actresses, and directors are putting their names in the zeitgeist, hoping to garner more votes. As I’ve listened, I’ve found…

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Meetings are terrible. Also correctable.

By mattyd | February 23, 2024

Data from the newsletter “8 Bits Make a Byte” from my good friends at Bedrock Data Solutions: 55 million meetings per week / 11 million per day / 1 billion per year 33% of employee’s…

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Marking my life through The Simpsons

By mattyd | February 21, 2024

In 1989, I was eighteen years old. I’d just graduated high school and quickly moved out (not entirely by choice) on my own. I lived in a townhouse in Attleboro, Massachusetts, with two friends. Bengi…

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Marathon singing with Danny

By mattyd | February 20, 2024

Another story about my friend, Danny, who recently passed away: Danny and I were camping with our Boy Scout troop on an autumn weekend. We had hiked deep into the forest off a dirt road…

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Danny gets me a job and changes my life

By mattyd | February 19, 2024

My friend, Danny, passed away recently. On Saturday, I’ll be attending his funeral. Danny and I spent thousands of hours together as teenagers, doing what teenage boys do once they get a driver’s license and…

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