I started my New Year’s Resolutions late this year. My diet, or lack thereof, got out of control during the extended holiday break. If I had eaten any more candy, the Oompa Loompas were going to write a song about me. “Oompa Loompa, do-ba-dee-doo, I've got a perfect puzzle for ...
We are a few days into 2026, and I wanted to take some time to reflect on 2025. It was a long, weird year, but I had some interesting anecdotes that weren’t big enough to carry their own column but, to paraphrase Elaine Benes, are “column-worthy.” It was a banner year. I had three plays ...
I don’t want to throw anyone into a tizzy, but Christmas is almost here. You’d be surprised how many people will freak out if you remind them that the holidays are upon us. I will admit that I used to dread the calendar as it counted down until December 25. That’s because there is no ...
The world is filled with incredible inventions, and I am a big proponent of most of them. I like a variety of gadgets, but one device drives me crazy … crazier. Every autumn, I rail against the world’s most annoying appliance, the dreaded leaf blower. My neighbor is obsessed. He’s out ...
I learned a new word, uhtceare. It’s not new – it’s new to me. The word is ancient. It’s from Old English; the language, not the furniture polish. Side note: You will find words like glycol ether and carnauba wax in the polish, though, and they’re just as strange. But I digress, ...
I enjoy hypothetical questions – the ones that let you talk extemporaneously about any topic, the kind of question that is restricted only by your own imagination. I do, however, enjoy giving Smart Alec answers. If a genie could grant you one wish, what would you wish for? A ...
