Thinking for yourself and asking questions about war and race and sexuality can make you unpopular and get you fired. You still need to find a way.
A weekly collection of seven interesting links
It's the old parlor game and I'm forcing myself to play.
From learning how to drive on our farm long before I had a license through my military years in some of the most lethal vehicles in existence to accompanying my elderly father.
A failed hard drive gave me a chance to work off a bit of karmic debt.
A rant about a culture that doesn't require competency with a basic tool of most jobs.
You better Carpe Diem the hell out of what matters to you. Second chances aren't a given.
Even a cynical atheist like me can still admit that there is worth in some aspects of faith and the people who practice it. Refusing to see it is just as dogmatic as condemning people to hell.
This year is only 11 days old, and I have already had to change the way I've been using the Internet since forever.
A weekly collection of seven interesting links
A belated examination of my motivations for blogging and for using BearBlog as a platform.
Journaling is hard and never works out for me. Blogging is a blast and just as beneficial.
One of the biggest lies in the US is that our educational system is failing.
The old saying is true. We are as sick as our secrets.
What constitutes a hero? Is fame enough, or does it take bravery or altruism to qualify?
I don't need a winning lottery ticket to have the perfect day. My wife, my friends, my kids and grandkids - and a nap, that's what I need.
I had 18 years of my Reddit posts analyzed for neurosis, hostility and aggression only to find out that I am actually rather nice and helpful. My computer likes me!
Pickled Eggs, Kimchi, Thick Slices of Blue Cheese, Smoked Oysters - all of them are among my favorites.
It's the way we use language that persuades people, not just the facts that underlie our words.
A letter to the internet, asking for a few favors in the year coming up.
I have lived in or through seven different decades, I have a definite favorite. What about you?
I knew Jimmy Carter was a great man in 1976 and my opinion never wavered. Our country will miss him.
I spent a few more hours moving slowly south down Interstate 95 than I really wanted to in route to one of the south's destination cities.
Philosophers and psychologists have been pondering what makes us who we are for a long time. I might as well take a crack at it.
There are a great many things going on around me that people seem to be OK with, while I am left asking WTF on a daily basis.
Wherever you are, I hope you had the holiday you wanted and a time to enjoy whatever you enjoy. Merry Christmas from Wonder Woman and I!
During my first year of blogging in the 21st Century, I was glad to find out that all it really takes to fit in is that you try to be a good person.
My knowledge of pop culture didn't reach the 21st century and I'm probably not going to catch up.
I am grateful every day for the freedom that adulthood eventually confers on us. You're not the boss of me!
I was attacked by two groups of people today, run-of-the-mill Republicans and liberals from blue states. It was weird.
I don't knit or do needle point, but I love to do things with my hands that only require part of my mind as a way of relaxing.
If forty years of living with a mental health condition have taught me anything, it's that this too shall pass.
Someone benefits from all the fear that is sold to the people in the US, and it's not hard to figure out who.
Life is both easy and hard when you're married to Wonder Woman.
Is the person we play on the Internet the real us?
Spare me the pearl clutching. Nobody is coming to shoot your boss - this week.
The more I learn about the past, the better I understand the present.
It's not a frumpy word, it's an awesome one and it means the feeling of great pleasure and satisfaction - find some now!
Just some updates to recent events and plans for the immediate future
Trying to calm down after dealing with a crazy person at work.
So much of what I take for granted today would have seemed like science fiction to me as a child of the 70s.
These are the things that spring to mind when someone asks "What's wrong" - take your pick!
I just want to know how folks are doing. I'm inviting you to let me know. We are all in this together.
The story of an industrial disaster that actually resulted in change and accountability, unlike what the rich and powerful usually receive.
I don't long for the good old days because they were't good for everyone, but I do miss bits and pieces.
The December IndieWeb Carnival is under way and the topic is belief. Here's my mini manifesto.
Don't do yourself the injustice of writing someone off for a single sin. Pretend it's you.
I have been collecting quotes that I find for more than a decade from a variety of sources, using various tools.
What are the ethics of being a personal blogger?
A Thanksgiving message of gratitude to all of you who take the time to read my blog. I'm thankful for you.
Finding comfort in the familiar things in life and having new adventures - which way do you lean?
When it's time to leave, walk away from people and situations in your life with a smile on your face.
Having already retired once and not liking it, I just imagine how retirement number 2 is going to be different.
Some people view life as a competition, and they annoy the hell out of me.
A compendium of what an adventurous boy did in the 1970s
After trying for years to emulate the faith of my family and neighbors, I gave up and decided to use a different moral code.
I answer the question, "Do you have faith in the future of humanity? Why or why not"
Some thoughts on cracking jokes. When it's appropriate. When it's not. When I don't care either way.
Watching my Dad age is one of the hardest things I have even done.
Life is full of little moments we love to recount later. Here's a small collection of some of my favorites.
I'm tired, not from work, but from a world that seems designed for someone other than working people.
Despite outward appearances, life can be difficult for everyone.
Compassionate people are my people and they are the ones who give our society any hope of greatness.
Making art is for everyone, not just the elite few, whether it's writing, drawing, singing or something else.
AMA - Morning Person or Evening Person? I am definitely a morning person. I don't always relish another work day, but I love the early hours of the day.
I don't feel well, but I AM NOT being a big baby about it.
Today on Ask Me Anything I describe the best musical experience of my life
I answer the question, "What is it you long for - a time, a place, a feeling?"
You can bring back anyone from the dead from any era, at any point of their life and for only one day. Who?
Ask Me Anything - Where (and when) would you go if time travel were real?
For the AMA challenge, today I answer the question "Has anyone had a profound impact on you?"
This is all I am capable of writing tonight. I've spent all day trying not to feel anything with little success.
If I could give advice to my 18-year-old self, this is what I'd tell me. If you're 18, read this and do it. Thank me later.
A 2003 Trip to Paris to Protest the War in Iraq Introduced Me to a Whole New World
Today's Ask Me Anything question is "What's an important lesson you've learned about relationships?"
If I could change one internal thing/pattern about myself, what would it be?
Question: Why do you have the politics you have today?
I don't like letting go of stuff because I might just need it one day.
Everything is decaying from the moment it is created, no matter how much we love it.
Some thoughts on those I've known who've stood out because of their selfless kindness.
Heading into my seventh decade, I ponder the things that happen to all of us with the advance of time.
Finding the right tool for something important to you can have a major impact on your life.
What life is like on the day before and the day of an ultramarathon 24-hour race for the racer and her one-man crew.
My tastes in books, music, art and film are all decidedly plebeian and I am alright with that.
The story of how I discovered the world's best pharmacist by being hard to get along with.
A trip from the beginning to the present of the various online communities I've taken part in over 30 years.
The type and amount of food consumed by hikers on the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trails is truly mind-boggling.
Some reflections on voting in the US presidential election of 2024
Try to quit making assumptions and quit feeling like you have to live up to them.
My favorite time to do anything is "not right now."
I found a letter I wrote to a homophobic friend 27 years ago and I reflect on what is different and what is the same in 2024.
For once, pop psychology gets it right. We are doing the best we can do with what we have to work with.
The blogs I like are building blocks of something beautiful and heartfelt, not optimized, market driven revenue generators
Being cautious is a survival skill. Being paranoid is just an annoying personality trait.
In what way do you like to be shown you are loved?
A weekend with the grandkids and Tae Kwon Do, a football game, piano practice, a corn maze, a music store, AYCE French fries and a movie. Is that all?