"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
In the news
This is a sad story: My first reaction, which I shared on Facebook and Twitter, was this: Nine-year-old boys come out? Since when? Something is off here. I admit, the old man inside me wanted to yell at the clouds and say kids that young can’t possibly know they’re gay, but something told me not to, and […]
I disagreed with most things John McCain stood for as a politician, but although I consider myself socially progressive I was also a career military officer and that informs a lot of my thinking. If I held public office half my socially progressive brothers and sisters, probably more, would hate my guts. So I try […]
That’s my physical therapist, Jenny, who has put me through the paces for the last time: stretching, bending, climbing, riding; she who encourages patients, and me in particular, to work through the pain and get better. You know what? I’m going to miss her. From this point on I’m on my own with home exercises and a local gym […]
Last night an airport employee commandeered a Horizon Air Q400 twin-turboprop airliner at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He got it started, taxied to a runway, took off, and flew around Puget Sound before crashing on an island (he died in the crash, of course). He was followed by a pair of F-15s that had been scrambled […]
Another outpatient physical therapy session this morning, this time including stairs. Not exercise stairs, mind, real ones. My therapist, Jenny, walked me through hallways to an interior staircase at the south end of the building. Without using the handrails, I went up and down the stairs three times. Jenny continues to tell me I’m ahead of the curve for […]
Progress report: my knee still aches (with occasional sharp nerve twinges) and I still walk like Festus, but the home exercise routine is going well, the outpatient physical therapy at the orthopedic institute even better, and the swelling has almost disappeared. Tomorrow I see the surgeon who replaced my knee and who will, I hope, […]
I steeled myself for a stern lecture and a return to white pads and tape, but the dermatologist’s nurse practitioner (the nice one!) took one look at my skin graft Tuesday and said “Let your nose shine out upon the world for all to see.” So here it is, in its bumpy, slightly discolored, W.C. […]
It really shouldn’t be news that Harley-Davidson is moving some motorcycle production to its overseas facilities in Australia, Brazil, Thailand, and India. The company has manufactured parts and bikes in those countries for years, and it announced plans to increase production in Thailand months ago. Now, though, Harley’s going to move even more production overseas. […]