Back spasms
I’ve had a bad back for over 30 years. Bad backs run in my family, and despite general athleticism (or maybe because of it?) three out of the four members of my family had serious and chronic disc problems and … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Me, myself, and I
Are you exceptionally likeable?
I already know that I’m not. Some people like me exceptionally well. But I think most people find me a trifle odd. Maybe not just a trifle. And now I know why. I don’t fit this profile at all, and … Continue reading →
Aldi saves money, but I still don’t like it
I love to save money, so when I recently went to an Aldi market for the first time I expected it to become a new favorite. But I was surprised to find that I didn’t much like it. In fact, … Continue reading →
The left: principles vs. principles
Commenter “Mac” writes: I recently had an exchange with a leftist who explicitly rejected the significance of plain facts to the debate. For him the only *fact* that mattered was that his cause was morally right. It dawned on me … Continue reading →
“Customer service” of the Orwellian type
It costs money to hire people to answer phones, even if they live in Bangladesh or wherever they tend to be these days. So websites that pretend to have customer service actively discourage phone calls. The first way they do … Continue reading →
Neo’s not a he
The first couple of months I was blogging I didn’t post a photo of myself. I originally was completely anonymous, and publishing a photo didn’t even cross my mind. But I could not help but notice that all my readers … Continue reading →
“The American people are exhausted by this”
The title of this post is a direct quote from commenter “Cornhead” today on one of the posts about the Ukraine phone call and its fallout. I don’t know about the American people, although I suspect Cornhead is right. I … Continue reading →
My problem with graphics and symbols
When I updated Firefox recently, I noticed that certain familiar and comforting words – “bookmarks,” for example – that used to point to the obvious and could be clicked on without much thought, have been replaced by symbols. And I … Continue reading →
Getting an education in the Big Apple: George Packer’s honesty, a parent’s dilemma
It’s easy to mock George Packer for what he writes in this Atlantic essay about choosing a school for his son in New York City. But I find his essay heartbreaking as well as complex. He’s a well-meaning liberal who … Continue reading →
It turns out my mother’s stories were true
My mother was an excellent writer. She was also a good storyteller—that is, an entertaining one—although she sometimes embellished things for the sake of the story. I know this for a fact because I sometimes heard her stories about me … Continue reading →
9/11: eighteen years
Eighteen years is a long time. On September 11th of 2001, many of the people about to vote in 2020 hadn’t yet been born, and others were so young they don’t remember a time before 9/11. The attack has always … Continue reading →
Neo’s other articles, in case you’re wondering
Recently commenter “Tom Grey” wrote this: I actually think your writing should ALSO be in some more conservative media group site like PJ Media / Townhall / Breitbart? / OAN? but I can imagine even asking them to pay you … Continue reading →