Author: Chad
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The best parenting advice I’ve ever gotten
The best parenting advice I’ve ever gotten was from my own parent. Per my mom: When all else fails, lower your expectations. Runner-up is from my other parent. Per my dad: Kids spell love T-I-M-E.
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Come as you are, but be ready to change
The slogan of the church I attended in middle and high school was “Come as you are”, which was fitting for a nondenominational church in the hyper-liberal, irreligious enclave of Madison, Wisconsin. I remember the senior pastor expounding on the slogan during one sermon. He added an addendum that I think transforms it into something…
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Six movies at the end
The small movie theater near me temporarily closed in March 2020 due to COVID, but then sadly never reopened. (The one movie I got to see there before the end was Knives Out—not bad…) Whoever closed the building for good clearly didn’t take a peek around the corner, because these movie posters are still on…
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Fine free fate
What happened when New York Public Libraries eliminated overdue fines last fall? Exactly what always happens when libraries go fine free: A wave of returned overdue materials came crashing in, accompanied by a healthy increase (between 9 and 15 percent, depending on the borough) of returning visitors. Since last fall, more than 21,000 overdue or…
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Links of the moment
An ongoing series Abraham Lincoln and the telegraph (which he called “lightning messages”). Cruise around Google Maps with Driving Simulator. Framed is Wordle for movies. 100 easy ways to slightly improve your life.
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Long live the limited podcast series
My recent experience with the Band of Brothers podcast made me realized I’m very much a fan of the modern trend of “official” companion podcasts released alongside limited series by the show’s creators—Watchmen and Station Eleven being two recent examples I enjoyed and appreciated. These are slightly different beasts from the popular post hoc recap…
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Recent Views
More photography here and on my Instagram. Into the tundra: A ghostly window creature: 3 year old was “helping” me clean out the car on a warmer day by “fixing” a headrest with a wrench, but all you can really see is the reflection of the sun and clouds in the rear window: Among the…
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Courage & Camaraderie in ‘Band of Brothers’
Band of Brothers, the 2001 Tom Hanks-produced HBO miniseries that dramatized the history of Easy Company paratroopers throughout World War II, was a formative viewing experience for me, especially on the heels of Saving Private Ryan. That was as a youngster interested in history and World War II, and as the grandson of a veteran…
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The Rockefeller theory of time travel
Morgan Housel: Charlie Munger was born in 1924. The richest man in the world that year was John D. Rockefeller, whose net worth equaled about 3% of GDP, which would be something like $700 billion in today’s world. Seven hundred billion dollars. OK. But make a short list of things that did not exist in…
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Connect 4 with a 3 year old
Things my 3 year old did while he and I played Connect 4: Said “I block you!” after each time he inserted a disc, even when he didn’t block me Inserted discs pell-mell with the goal of filling the entire board Inserted discs using his toes Things he didn’t do: Attempt to connect 4
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Links of the moment
An ongoing series Mister Rogers and typewriters. A short history of the ballpoint pen. The Interstate Highway’s forgotten codes. What if Titanic but with a cat?
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Into his great daily unknown
We celebrated Little Man’s third birthday this week (well, fourth if you count his actual day of birth). While looking through my photos of him I noticed a motif of capturing him from behind as he ventures forth at varying speeds. I like this vantage point for a few reasons. Since we don’t post his…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer by Steven Johnson. My favorite author does it again, using his signature storytelling savvy to explain how human life expectancy has doubled in the last century. Vaccines, epidemiology, pasteurization, drug regulation, penicillin, and automobile safety sound like dry topics, but how they came to…
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No disclaimers
As a drummer in my college’s jazz program, I once got recruited by one of the jazz guitarists for a paying gig he’d gotten at a local restaurant. I was interested not just because of the money, which was negligible (not that there is such a thing for broke college kids) but because the idea…
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Recent Views
More photography here and on my Instagram. Shoutout to this Ameritech relic on a power box: Little Mr. Autumn Man: That golden hour light: Same garage, different day and view: More golden hour light and shadows: Morning breaking in the backyard: