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Workout Megamix Liner Notes - Part V: Recent Updates
Introduction“Don’t smile until February.” These are words of wisdom I heard recently from a third-grade teacher, on how to maintain order in the classroom. But these words could just as easily apply to...
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Workout Megamix Liner Notes - Part VI: Recent Updates (continued)
IntroductionAs you may have seen last week, I’ve appended my original workout music playlist (from years ago) to include a bunch of new songs. Well, not actually new, and not always even newer, but...
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Why Wordle?
IntroductionLet’s get one thing straight: I’m not one for crossword puzzles, Sudokus, etc., and I’m certainly not looking for new ways to spend time with my smartphone. I’d rather create than solve,...
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From the Archives - Bits & Bobs Volume V
IntroductionThis is the fifth installment in the “From the Archives – Bits & Bobs” series. Volume I is here, Volume II is here, Volume III is here, and Volume IV is here. I got the idea for this...
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Ask A Guy Who Catalogs Inept References to Neon in Rock Music
Dear Guy Who Catalogs Inept References to Neon in Rock Music,In all the years you’ve written this column, you have never pointed out the most common error songwriters make regarding neon, which is to...
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Consumer Reviews: Videoconferencing Platform
IntroductionCompanies like to measure the quality of “customer experience,” or CX, that they’re providing, but gaining feedback can be difficult. I hate it when I’m asked to submit a “very brief”...
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2022 Last-Minute Online Holiday Gift Guide!
IntroductionI reckon you’ve arrived here after googling “last-minute Christmas gifts free overnight shipping” or perhaps after crying out, “Oh shit, Alexa, I forgot to shop for Christmas!” (In my...
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From the Archives - Sting’s Lyrical Blunders
IntroductionAbout fifteen years ago, my brother emailed me a blog post by Charles Petzold about a fairly major goof in Sting’s lyrics to “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” The essay had to do with Sting’s...
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I Drank a Gallon of Water a Day for a Week - Here’s What Happened
IntroductionWhat follows is a work of fiction. All characters, situations, observations, and insinuations are fictitious, coincidental, or accidental. The characters were pulled out of thin air and...
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More Beer Pix - the Milestone Beck’sts
IntroductionI’m reaching that age when the milestones start to pile up: a kid graduates from high school, then another, then it’s an empty nest, a niece’s wedding, a kid turns 21 and can legally drink...
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Ask a Fitness Dweeb
Dear Fitness Dweeb,I read somewhere that I should always do my weight training before my cardio. Do you agree?Justin D, Asheville, NCDear Justin,I doubt it matters very much. According to the CDC, more...
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From the Archives - Cockroaches at La Loma
IntroductionHere’s another blog post from way before there were blogs. As with so many other random essays from my college days, I’d printed this, photocopied it, sent copies around to my friends and...
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What We Should (and Will) Be Embarrassed By...
IntroductionHave you ever been sent a link to a New York Times article, and you click it, and it starts to show you the story but then pops up a paywall saying you’ve reached your limit of free...
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A.I. Smackdown - English Major vs. ChatGPT
IntroductionIts seems as though OpenAI’s latest artificial intelligence tool, ChatGPT, is the darling of the media. I keep stumbling upon articles about it, which breathlessly sing its praises and also...
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A.I. Smackdown — English Major vs. ChatGPT - Part 2
IntroductionIn my last post, I considered the writing prowess of ChatGPT, the A.I. text generation platform powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3 engine. A professor quoted in Vice magazine said GPT-3 could get a...
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From the Archives - Bits & Bobs Volume VI
IntroductionThis is the sixth installment in the “From the Archives – Bits & Bobs” series. Volume I is here, Volume II is here, Volume III is here, Volume IV is here, and Volume V is here. But the...
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Welcome to Albany, California
IntroductionI live in Albany, California. If you’re not from around here, you probably haven’t heard of it. When I talk to people in other states who ask where I live, I usually just say “Berkeley...
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Schooling ChatGPT
IntroductionIn two recent posts, here and here, I put the much-touted ChatGPT AI text composition engine through its paces, and found it seriously lacking. Much of the hype around this technology, I...
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FIrewall for the Mind
IntroductionI recently read a compelling New York Times opinion piece by David Brooks called “The Self-Destructive Effects of Progressive Sadness.” It discusses the growing darkness of the national...
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From the Archives - a Rather Snotty Letter
IntroductionIt being a slow news day, here’s another offering from my archives. But first, a little background.A friend of mine is pursuing a second college degree and recently received an offer to...
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