Family Time

It’s a Monday holiday, and the kids are just getting going on brunch.  It’s not all that special, but on a day when they can sleep in we can share a big meal together right away in the morning.  Scallions and kielbasa are chopped, eggs stuffed into the blender, and a small debate ensues about what kind of spices go down early in the morning.  A sprinkle of coriander and basil later, and the stove is gurgling with another family meal in the making.

Heaps of quantity time – and food – are what holidays and families are all about.

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Fly the Flag

The misunderstandings and suspicions melted away, as they always do, after a few litres of liquid bread that the Germans call “Bier”. Harald was very honest in his German way, a kind of honesty that was spelled out in long, silent pauses as much as words. “With all of these different people and cultures, what is it that makes you Americans?”

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Left Undone

For those of you who don’t want to read a deeply personal blog, skip this one.  I have only one topic on my mind and it’s something that can’t be written without using the pronoun “I” far too often.

My partner in life, Cristy, has decided to leave me.  It’s a trial “temporary” thing for now, to give her some space, but I have to regard it as permanent.  If there’s any chance left, and I’m not sure there is, it’s going to involve resetting our lives completely.

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The Latest

“Hey, Erik, you’re a techie – you gotta see this!”  Comparing new devices in a bar or coffee hut goes down a lot like guys used to walk to the curb to show off a new car.  What is the latest?  How impressive will it be?  The Sprint Evo device looked like just another iPhone or any other gadget, but this one has something very different.  After a brief introduction to the owner he showed off what he thought was the most impressive feature – messaging with a nearly bullet-proof voice recognition system.  No more texting, this sleek black slab of tech was something you talked to.  Let me tell you why this is so impressive and why I’ve been waiting decades for this small advancement.

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Car-ful Living

It had to happen one day, I guess.  Relying on buses to get around is not a bad option in the city, but getting work and shuttling the kids around eventually made it necessary to buy a car. Joining the ranks of the car-ful wasn’t easy for me, but I was able to find a 1997 Ford Escort that set me back less than $1000, my running average price for a car over my lifetime.  I may be consuming more gasoline than I did before, but the experience highlights just how wasteful our society is – and how much we could save if we tried even a little.

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