Awareness

The burnt toast method of discovering your calling

  I was working on a project one evening recently, mixing down some tracks from a recording session I had engineered of a friend’s band. (The Famous Haydell Sisters, a comedy country band, are amazing and your life would be … Read MoreRead More

When cultural expectations don’t fit

  I was at the gym the other day, and as all the machines were pointed toward the TVs, I watched for a little while. Yes, I know this was my first mistake. Actually, the show was quite compelling. It … Read MoreRead More

Is it subversive to repair things?

  I had the pleasure of stopping by a “repair cafe” this past weekend. A repair cafe is an event that matches up people who can repair things with people who need things repaired. Organized by RepairPDX, a local organization … Read MoreRead More

Christmas is always in December, or why to plan for holidays

  So, we know that we need to save for yearly bills. Well, we need to save for yearly expenses too. (To those who are new here, welcome! You may be wondering what’s the difference between a Bill and an … Read MoreRead More

The benefits of anxiety while flying

  For the past few years, I’ve flown over 25,000 miles each year, a respectable distance. With such a experience, you would think that I would have no problems with anxiety while flying. You would be wrong. But I consider … Read MoreRead More

What are your ulterior motives?

  In my post on affiliate links, I talked about how it has always felt important to me to keep this site non-commercial, and have all commercial intentions on other sites. (This is an evolving viewpoint, and part of me … Read MoreRead More

Affiliate links, or can you trust anyone online?

  A little while back, I wrote a post where I mentioned AwardWallet, a service that keeps tracks of all your different loyalty accounts (airline miles, hotel points, etc.) I’m a huge fan of AwardWallet, and have used them for … Read MoreRead More

How Ebola made me rethink responsibility (and flu shots)

  Sooooo, heard about any infectious diseases recently that have a non-zero mortality rate and no cure? You guessed it: It’s flu season again! … Read More

Be wary, but don’t give in to conspiracy

  I have been jokingly (I hope) accused of wearing a tinfoil hat. The reason for this is most likely related to my vigilance when sharing things online, my desire to be on as little social media as possible, and … Read MoreRead More

On poverty and self-description

  When you’re offering advice, it’s sometimes hard to know what kind of tack to take to be most effective. Would it be best to offer some gentle hand-holding, or do they need a swift kick in the pants? I … Read MoreRead More