When I was a kid, some years we would go and visit my grandparents for Christmas. They had a very old house, with a huge fireplace in the living room, a secret back staircase from the kitchen to the second floor, and a root cellar with a dirt floor. The fireplace was a very important […]
So this is Christmas Read More »
When you call to get your credit card activated you probably have me to blame for the experience. This is because the consulting firm I was working for (which no longer exists) was hired by a major credit card company to revamp their call centre script to make it friendlier. The project landed in my
Ain’t no cure for the credit card blues Read More »
Predictions About the Future In the 60s there were many television shows based on visions of the future, including Star Trek and the Jetsons. I admit that Star Trek actually did a pretty good job at inventing devices before their time although I am still waiting for the transporter. Probably because of the technological advances
Dumb things about the 1960s Read More »
The Bat As you might know, the cottage was a decade-long work in progress. Many advances in degree of completion took place in the past two years, most notably siding last year and significant headway in drywall this summer. However, there were many years when it was way far from finished. We took possession once
Memories, like the corners of my mind Read More »
This week the cottage burned. To. The. Ground. We went up to look at it and it is amazing what a fire will take. The only things remotely recognizable were the cast iron frying pan and the shell of the brand new cast iron sink (minus its enamel) that we had just bought for the
Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone Read More »
The Flower Guy About 25 years ago when I first lived on the Danforth in Toronto, we went out for dinner a lot. This is because there are lots of restaurants and because I was too lazy to cook after spending all day at business school. Just about every time we were out for dinner,
Who are the people in your neighbourhood? Read More »
As you may recall from a previous post , I travelled to Italy for two weeks to stay at an enclave of villas to celebrate my friend’s significant birthday. It was all women on the trip except for Judy’s son and her brother Nigel who lives in England. Nigel rushed in to fill the patriarch
Italy: The Headmaster rules Read More »
In my opinion, bicycle trips are great vacations. You are outside in the fresh air, getting exercise, and at least in my case, moving slowly enough to enjoy the scenery. That’s why I’ve taken a number of cycling vacations. This particular one was to New Mexico. Not so strangely, New Mexico has a lot of
Bicycle Chronicles Part 2: There’s Snow in Them Hills Read More »
One of my final assignments at a research company I worked for involved an epic road trip that went from Seattle, to L.A., to Miami and finally to Boston, over the course of a week. I facilitated a series of focus groups of small business owners to provide insights into their preferences for and usage
Identity Theft: Not a Recommended Experience Read More »
Cockroaches: Nature’s Perfect Pest The first time I ever saw a cockroach was when I was living at the graduate students residence at U of T. I opened my typewriter case one day and a strange bug crawled out. My roommate helpfully identified it. Turns out the building was pretty much infested and although they
A Field Guide to Urban Wildlife Read More »
