My Notebook features over 500 posts across over twenty years, covering everything from movies to ethics to personal stories to random links. Browse recent Notebook entries below, or use the category buttons or search to go deeper. The “Clip File” category contains my favorite writing.
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In a Cup of Tea
A poem about looking more deeply at a cup of tea
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Between Two Parks – and Laundry Service to Boot: Memories of College Life in Boston
I’m looking at the large pile of laundry decorating the floor of my son’s room. In a few short months, he’ll be away at college, unbound by my wife and I nudging him to throw in a load or two now and then. I don’t want to be a helicopter parent, but sometimes I fear…
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Yes, the Second Trump Impeachment is Divisive. But That Doesn’t Mean it’s Not Necessary.
The assessment by Congressional Republicans (and some of the public) that this week’s historic second impeachment of President Trump is “divisive” isn’t entirely wrong. The action is literally divisive, in that it will cause Trump supporters to resent further punishment for their actions, which will manifest later when they have either justifiable or perceived “points”…
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The Time Has Come for Netflix Live
Everything goes in cycles. The seasons, cultural trends, and basically every aspect of the internet rises and falls, with all that is old becoming new again (AskJeeves should be rebooted any day now). With that maxim in mind, I think it’s a perfect time for Netflix to keep ahead of its increasingly aggressive competition in…
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Radical Caring for Online News: A Call to Confront Two Disappointing Decades of Stagnation
I’ve worked in the web since the summer of 2000, when I was paid $400 to build a site for a local farm (RIP, Microsoft FrontPage). Fast forward two decades to 2020, and I’m still waiting for online news to break free of stagnation and innovate to improve its delivery and experience for the good…
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Some favorite quotes – a running list
Inspired by chatting in a work Slack channel, l’m taking my list of favorite quotes and making them public, starting with a couple that I think of often. Similar to my running list of comedians I’ve seen, I’ll try to remember to keep this updated as I add new ones to the list. For now,…
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Vote Yes on Orono School Bond
You may have heard that Orono is holding a vote on this coming Tuesday, June 11th to pass a bond in support of some long-overdue upgrades to our crumbling schools. As a proud Orono resident with two children in our schools, I was fortunate to have a role as one of the community representatives in…
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Pitching in the Shirtsleeves
On my first Mother’s Day without my Mom, I try to find something to hold onto.
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Movies 2018
In 2018, I watched 49 movies, two more than in 2017, and slightly less than the average of 51 movies per year that I’ve averaged over the past 10 years. Yes, I track my movie-watching (and my book-reading, calories, sleep, travel, and other things), I enjoy doing it, and I refer back to it often.…
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Not one of the finer moments in Bond history
I get that they want to show he’s wearing 3D glasses, but this will go down as a fully 90’s fashion choice nonetheless.
