Category: General
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Birthday Musings
Two days ago, I completed my 55th trip around the Sun, with a little help from the Earth doing its orbit thing. My wife Carrie remembers her dad reaching 55, announcing “I am now the speed limit!” I mentioned this to my sister, who remembered our dad saying something similar. So that’s been an easy…
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Talk of Stronger Oversight in the Cornhole World
Judges ruled that the violations were unintentional, resuming the cornhole competition with its $15,000 cash prize after a one-hour delay. I might have questioned Devon Harbaugh’s complaint that rival opponents Lopez and Richards’ bags were too small, but ESPN’s cornhole color commentator agreed, “anticipating some drama.” And I would have been surprised by Lopez and…
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Punishing a Cross-Country Runner
“Our sport is your sport’s punishment” has been boasted on many a cross-country teams’ shirts—printed on the warm-up tee (only making a meaningful statement when worn in the halls). It’s essentially true, though, as football coaches bark out “Gotta catch those, kid—take a lap!” and in basketball, “Hands up on D—give me a ladder!” So,…
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Urban Dictionary Submissions
The “Urban Dictionary,” the crowdsourced Internet lexicon for staying in the know, has defined for us catch words and phrases such as “binge watching” or the much less useful “potaint” (the soft and sensitive part of a potato). It is a thorough resource, although I’m not sure why it must be “urban.” I protest: people…
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AutoCorrect As Life Coach
AutoCorrect (a.k.a. Predictive Text or AutoFill) can be a timesaver, a helpful assistant for the spelingley or grammatical challenged, an aid for a “swiped” entry, or, let’s face it, a nuisance. But it’s here to stay and getting smarter (especially on phones like mine, in service a long time). We know such features are powered…
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Mountain Road Hazards
If planning to get away to the mountains, don’t ruin your moment in the fresh piney air by getting yourself into a car accident. You might be leaving the lowland driving hazards of road construction and bumper-to-bumper vehicles, but you may encounter other threats. For starters, the scenery: Let your passengers enjoy the rising peaks…
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Beyond Plant
The people of the Land of Great Vegetation had enjoyed centuries of prosperity. Lives relished in shade and abundant oxygenation, with unlimited fruits, vegetables, and a myriad of fruit salad and salad salad variations. They were a regular people, yet with wealth rooted in the land and literally growing on trees. Until The Great Slaying.…
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Frog in the Kettle: Situation Clarified
The Story “The boiling frog is an apologue describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger…