Category Archives: nothing special

Every two years I lose two weeks of my life, as the Olympics comes to my room. A dozen-odd thoughts about the Summer Games: I use the term “stick the landing” when discussing matters other than gymnastics. I get cranky … Continue reading →

[Spoiler Alert: If you are not following the Olympics in real time, and want to be surprised, DON’T READ this. Go off and watch the replays of Tom Daly and Matty Lee winning the men’s 10-meter platform synchronized diving event. … Continue reading →

I have stashed a bag underneath a coffee table at the edge of the dining area. (Like many modern plan houses, we have a combined dining and living area.) Inside I have a colored pencil set, originally 72 colors, but … Continue reading →

Twenty-seven years ago, Railfan came into my life. It’s not always been easy, but I would not wish it any other way.

This recipe belongs to Ree Drummond (“The Pioneer Woman” on Food Network). I am duplicating it here because I am changing the measurements to make 12 scones instead of 8, and adding cherries. Chocolate Chip Scones 3 3/4 cups baking … Continue reading →

Learning matters to me. What I have done best in my life was always being a student. I may not have been able to transform what I learned into anything that I could get paid for, but I console myself … Continue reading →

I will be repeating this several times before the election: Make sure your registration is up to date NOW. If there are problems, or if you have changed your name, address, or party affiliation since you last registered, reregister ASAP. … Continue reading →

Sometimes, when everything is going to hell, it’s important to remember what good there is in your life. So, in more or less random order… Hamilton. The Avengers movies Fantasia (& Fantasia 2000) Disney+ Art Amazon (don’t judge me) Facebook … Continue reading →

In 2017, I spent four days in a Spanish hospital, laid low by pneumonia (my second bout in three years — one of the reasons that my family will not let me go to the grocery store). When I got … Continue reading →

So, when this all started I was going to write an hour a day. Clearly, this has not happened. But I have not spent all my time binging on Tiger King, which seems to be all the rage. The large … Continue reading →

(Many years ago, when this blog was on Blogger rather than WordPress, I had a similar post talking about the history of my nom de trivia. I seem to be repeating myself a lot lately. Sorry. Most of you haven’t … Continue reading →

Today is Good Friday, one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar, the day when, according to Christian theology, Christ was crucified. For the first time in years I opened up the Book of Common Prayer and looked at … Continue reading →

One side effect of this quarantine is how much more I see of my friends on Facebook. Not that I am spending more time on Facebook (if anything a bit less) but they are spending more. (Probably due to to … Continue reading →

You may notice a slight change in my profile. My good friend from college, Jane*, has been insisting for a while now that I remove the word “former” in front of “lawyer.” “You think like a lawyer,” she said. “You … Continue reading →

John Scalzi has ideas about how people treat books, because, well of course he does. Looking at his (actually Anne Fadiman’s) grid, I have been all of them from Lawful Good (uses leather or other proper bookmarks) to Chaotic Evil … Continue reading →