The NY Times salutes a subway notice demonstrating the proper use of the semicolon. Apparently it’s all too rare a sight nowadays; this bit of punctuation is generally considered an archaic has-been. Well, I protest; I must confess right here … Continue reading →
I’m still unpacking in my new apartment, but even though I carefully numbered each packing box, and kept a list of what’s where, I apparently wasn’t specific enough. So now, in all those boxes labeled “kitchen” and sub-labeled things like … Continue reading →
I don’t have much of a green thumb with houseplants. There are some varieties I gave up on long ago—the Boston fern, for instance. A fern in the dry heat of a northeastern home in winter requires a degree of … Continue reading →
This article at American Thinker describes growing protests by parents, who maintain their kids are overburdened and stressed out by too much homework. Author Charles J. Sykes takes issue, though, citing research to the contrary: …a study by the Brookings … Continue reading →
I’ve got a busy day today, so I will be uncharacteristically (and perhaps thankfully?) brief. Things I’m tired of: (1) the 2008 election (2) me saying I’m tired of the 2008 election (3) the fact that every time I see … Continue reading →
I was in Chicago last weekend, staying in the Hyde Park area, along Lake Shore Drive. Lake Michigan is extraordinary, looking for all the world like the ocean, complete with whitecaps on a windy day and what appear to be … Continue reading →
I’ve always had an excellent recollection for early events in my life, with the peculiarity that my memories tend to be visual as well as auditory and emotional. That is, not only can I remember a great many incidents occurring … Continue reading →
Today’s a traveling day, so this will be quick. I’m driving down to NY to see my family and especially my elderly mother. Last night I called her at around 8:15 to see how she was doing. She sounded a … Continue reading →
I lost my eyeglasses back in July, but since I only use them for night driving I can get by okay without them. And so, in all the flurry and brouhaha around my move, I’d neglected to replace them till … Continue reading →
Actually, it was early in the morning. The night before the closing I was up till 6:30 AM doing all the last-minute clearing away of the detritus of my life, getting things ready for the walk-through at 8:30 AM. I … Continue reading →
A while back I wrote about my plans to move. I put my house on the market in late spring, thinking—the current housing market being what it is (I seem to specialize in buying in a seller’s market and selling … Continue reading →
I was asked here why it is that I tolerate so many off-topic comments on this blog. Why not delete them, or at least admonish people to stay on-topic? As far as I’m concerned, the comments section here is for … Continue reading →