General stuff

In Vulnerabillity

I never really identified with Superman. I loved Marvel’s universe of heroes instead because they had flaws and real problems that I could relate to. Superman was super everything, with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal boys like me. You could weaken him with Kryptonite, but come on… those space rocks just weren’t…

Joy and pain

These are basic human instincts – to maximize joy and minimize pain. It sounds very simple when you say it out loud, but it is not simple at all. For example, is it OK to maximize your joy if it causes pain to others in the process? Is it possible to avoid working through pain…

Write on

For over three years now, I have laid my soul out for the world to see in this blog. I have shared a little more than I thought I should, and worked out answers to questions in front of you like an algebra problem on an infinite online chalkboard. I have offered advice with no…

What goes around

Hey fans, it’s that time of year when we talk about a nation-wide sport that favors the strong and strikes fear into the hearts of the weak.  No, not the NFL playoffs… I’m talking about tetherball, the classic contest of physical agility and hand-eye coordination.  I just watched the scene at the end of Napoleon…

A new low

“A new low” is a negative term for describing behavior, but in golf it is the ultimate goal. Theoretically, the perfect score is 18 (which has certainly only been achieved in miniature golf.) Somewhere along the way the concept of “par” was invented to give average golfers something to feel good about, and terrible golfers…

Bounce, rock, skate, roll

Click to hear a soundtrack for this post. Flashback… The rink goes dark.  You hear the intro to Red Ryder’s Lunatic Fringe blend into Earth Wind and Fire on the massive subwoofers.  The multi-colored lights reflect across the polished skate floor.  Homemade flash pots with a little too much gunpowder shoot a mini-mushroom cloud of…