2025 Books A list of books I've read this year. The rating system: 1 star = Didn't finish it 2 stars = Finished it but can't really recommend it 3 stars = Good book - recommended - you can have my copy 4 stars = Excellent book - you absolutely should read it 5 stars = A classic, keeping it for the library The Ballad...

2025 Books A list of books I've read this year. The rating system: 1 star = Didn't finish it 2 stars = Finished it but can't really recommend it 3 stars = Good book - recommended - you can have my copy 4 stars = Excellent book - you absolutely should read it 5 stars = A classic, keeping it for the library The Ballad...

College Football is dead to me 5 years ago I wrote about my declining interest in college sports in I'm Over College Sports. For the most part that is still true, although I do relapse during March Madness. Last night, Purdue football, winners of two B1G games in a row for the first time since 2022, was on network...

The Lost Art of Idleness One of the problems with the pocket supercomputers that we all carry around is that they've killed the simple act of being idle. Many years ago, we had a basement. In that basement I had a real stereo system with a 5 speaker system that was perfectly balanced to my spot on the couch. Not...

Athletic Brewing Dark and Gourdy It's been a while since I posted an NA beer review. As you might have guessed by the name, it's a pumpkin beer. I hate pumpkin pie. I like pumpkin beer. This is a good one. It's a porter with flavors of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. The pumpkin is very subtle. This is a worthy...

Richmond Folk Festival I've lived in Virginia for 9 years, yet somehow last night was my first time at the festival. My bad. My very bad. In my defense, I think we are frequently camping when it hits town, as early fall is prime camping season. We were supposed to be camping this weekend, but real life got in the...

Occasional Update - Sept. 2026 What does "occasional" mean to you? I have done 3 of these updates all year. I feel like that is really stretching the definition of "occasional." In my defense, I'm getting to a point where I don't want to be online at all after work. This rant from yesterday is something I felt in my...

Living the Low-Sodium Lifestyle For reasons, my doctor suggested I adopt a low-sodium lifestyle. It's been 3 weeks now, so here is what I've learned. WHY DO WE PUT SALT INTO EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY? My strategy going into this was to try to eat a near-zero sodium breakfast, and under 500 mg at lunch, leaving me...

Recent books - September 2026 edition Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen Rating: *** This is the story of Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, sourced mostly from several first hand accounts that survive from the 1500s. Working on a ship back then was never a great job, but the 80-90% fatality rate...

Camping at Blackwater Falls State Park 2026 Edition Trip: 62 Nights: 203-205 For Labor Day weekend we returned to Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, WV. This is my 4th trip to Davis in the last 15 odd years. I really love the Canaan Valley region of West Virginia. It's a little oasis of reasonableness in a state...

Sunday Morning Birding at Dorey Park Slow morning - only 14 species. The highlight was a Great Blue flying into the pond right over our heads as we were finishing up.

Little League World Series Trip 61 Nights: 200-202 Photo Album Every year I watch the Little League World Series. Every year, during the series, I tell my wife that we should attend the following year. 12 months later, I watch the next LLWS and tell my wife... This has been going on for years, maybe even decades at...