The question Darren didn’t ask.
One of Darren’s most embarrassing moments happened over 50 years ago, and he still thinks about it. Seriously. It was the End of the Year 6th Grade Field Day. A big deal. Darren, being the “star” athlete that he was, was competing against the other 6th grade class’s candidate, a boy who Darren knew was […]
The Blanket Billboards.
Driving around Utah, it’s hard not to notice how many billboards are advertising blankets. So. Many. Billboards. And I have questions. How much money goes into all that advertising? Who decided blankets needed this much attention? When did blankets become such a competitive thing? Why does this feel so concentrated here? I can’t find a […]
Snickerdoodles – and staying.
Every single time I make Snickerdoodles for some sort of gathering or event, someone says “Snickerdoodles are my favorite!” Every. Single. Time. Snickerdoodles are unique because of (at least) three things: Cream of Tartar for that distinct tang. A cinnamon sugar coating. And crispy edges due to a 400 degree baking temperature. To whom do […]
Wyna’s Herrings (and Thinking Sideways).
The New York Times Connections is a daily online word puzzle designed by puzzle maker Wyna Liu where players must group 16 words into four categories of four words each. For instance, these 16 words: Twist Fan Mint Fab Just Only Petit Spread Merely Fantastic Olive Connect Cherry Simply Radiate Branch Darren hates it. And […]
What the London Plane Tree knows.
The London plane tree (platanus × acerifolia) is a hybrid between the American sycamore tree and the Oriental plane tree. Wikipedia says it’s believed to have appeared by accident in the 17th or 18th century, possibly in a garden in London or Spain. Botanists noticed that this crossbreed had unusual strength: it could survive soot, […]
Giving 17 its moment.
In psychological experiments where people are asked to pick a random number between 1 and 20, 17 is chosen far more than any other number. This happens so much that 17 has come to be known as the least random number. A valid Sudoku puzzle cannot be made with fewer than 17 clues. A traditional […]
4 Questions from Fiskars.
I grew up in a house of scissors. We had little kid scissors, dad’s big metal office scissors, huge shears in the garage, craft scissor, junk drawer scissors, kitchen scissors, mom’s hair cutting scissors, and the orange handled Fiskars – both straight and ‘pinking’ style. And we knew better than to use the orange ‘sewing […]
In Defense of Bridges.
I don’t think I really knew what a bridge was until I was learning the guitar and my friend Mike would give me the lyrics to songs he was teaching me in long hand with his very neatly written “Verse” and “Chorus” and “Bridge.” In a song, a bridge is usually a section that provides […]
Olly Olly Oxen Nope (the fish follow-up!)
Exactly a year ago, I wrote about a childhood game of hide and seek – and about a belief I wanted to let go of: “I can’t change.” To make it tangible (and a little silly), I gave myself a goal:Learn to like seafood. More specifically: become the kind of person who doesn’t automatically say […]
The weird noise or the nail.
Photo by Bernd Dittrich It would usually start the same way. A student would raise their hand, look at me with frustrated eyes, and say those five words every math teacher dreads: “I just don’t get it.” It seriously happened almost daily – every summer, in every summer school math class I ever taught. And […]
