For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by reptiles. Growing up in rural West Texas, I had plenty of encounters with lizards and snakes, and cultivated an encyclopedic knowledge of the more notorious species. But I never graduated to collector status, and thus never encountered the types of characters and degree of… Continue reading Book Review: “The Lizard King”
Fire Ant Sightings
Once upon a time there was a boy. We’ll call him Robert, since that was his name. Robert was an odd little boy, for many reasons, but not the least of which was his obsession with princesses. As you might imagine, this made for some challenging times during recess, and those challenges continued throughout his… Continue reading Fire Ant Sightings
Book Review: “The Year of Living Biblically”
A.J. Jacobs’s first book, The Know-It-All, chronicled his quest to read the Encyclopedia Brittanica from A-to-Z. Jacobs has now extended his version of literary flagpole-sitting to the Bible in The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, in which he describes his attempts to adhere to… Continue reading Book Review: “The Year of Living Biblically”
Book Review: “Grace (Eventually)”
Anne Lamott continues to exasperate – and, occasionally, infuriate – me. Her latest book, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, takes up where the previous one left off, and you might recall my less than warm review of that one. I had expectations of a kinder, gentler Lamott for this book, based on the pre-release publicity.… Continue reading Book Review: “Grace (Eventually)”
Local Destination Imagination Teams: Global Success
Cindy Hammond sent me the following report on how the local teams did in the recently completed “Destination Imagination” global finals (read this post for the back story): Over 1000 teams from the US, UK, Canada, China, Finland, Turkey, Poland, Singapore, Mexico, Guatemala, etc. competed in the Destination Imagination Global Finals held on the campus… Continue reading Local Destination Imagination Teams: Global Success
The Hapless Mechanic – Pt. 73
So we come out of IHOP after breakfast this morning and Gene points at our car and exclaims, “you have a flat tire!” Even a mechanically-challenged person like me could tell that he was right; the driver’s side rear tire was as flat as one of the pancakes I’d just consumed. The cause was obvious:… Continue reading The Hapless Mechanic – Pt. 73
Book Review (Sort of): “Blue Like Jazz”
No one ever accused me of being on the cutting edge of anything. I’m behind the curve in all areas of life, slow on the uptake. I defend myself as intelligently cautious; those who know me would say that I’m just clueless. Anyway, I offer that as an excuse as to why I’m just now… Continue reading Book Review (Sort of): “Blue Like Jazz”
Book Reviews: “The Blue Star,” “The Good Guy,” and “Blasphemy”
Summer is fast approaching, and that’s prime novel-reading season. I’ve read three novels in the past month or so, something of a record for me, and wanted to share some observations in case you’re getting summer book-buying fever. (Note: There are no plot spoilers in these mini-reviews.) The Blue Star – Tony Earley A review… Continue reading Book Reviews: “The Blue Star,” “The Good Guy,” and “Blasphemy”
The Incompetent Temporary Bachelor Chronicles: Vol. I
MLB is in another time zone on business, leaving me and the Dog Faced Girl to fend for ourselves, a task for which we each are woefully ill-equipped. In fairness to Abbye, the fact that she’s aged, infirm, blind, and lacks opposable thumbs gives her some legitimate excuses that I, for the most part (hold… Continue reading The Incompetent Temporary Bachelor Chronicles: Vol. I
Neighborhood Killdeer
Killdeer are exceedingly common throughout the US, and they’re even regularly observed around bodies of water in our arid part of the state. Still, I haven’t had the opportunity to observe them up close until a family took up residence around the stream and pond located in our new neighborhood. I shot the following video… Continue reading Neighborhood Killdeer