Commentary
Early retirement in name only
I was laid off on September 2. It is now September 20. So I have had 18 days to settle in to the “do nothing” lifestyle. Except that, so far, retirement has been more demanding than work. Every day has been busy from dawn to dusk. Much of my time has been devoted to transitional … Continue reading
Yes, I am still alive
Thanks for asking. I have not posted to my blog since July 26 – 6 weeks! But I have been busy. VERY busy. Mostly with work and our rental property, but also with planning our future. Just to catch you up on our plans: we are heading to Florida for the winter. We will be … Continue reading
A lifetime on a laptop
For those (few) readers who have noticed that I haven’t blogged lately, the reason is this: my laptop died. Yes, the Dell T5510 in which I had just invested about $100 to replace the screen and power cord decided that it was time to give up the semiconductor ghost. I used it in the morning, … Continue reading
“You guys don’t do shit around here”
We have had a brutal winter here in New England. Record cold, record snow. I have spent countless hours shoveling the driveway and the sidewalks. And once, early in the winter, I shoveled the street in front of my house, to make room for someone – a guest or a neighbor – who might need … Continue reading
Snowiest? Coldest? Why not both?
We have just put the month of February, 2015, into the record book here in Boston. And what a month it was! Yes, it was the snowiest month since meteorological record keeping began in 1891 – some 124 years ago. It obliterated the old record of 44.5 inches with a new total of 65.5 inches … Continue reading
Trolling for miles
My Visa account got hacked in early January. The hacker did the “can’t remember password” thing and managed to guess the answers to my (so-called) security questions, then changed my password. I was notified by email that my password had changed, but didn’t read the message until nearly a day after it happened. I immediately … Continue reading
A good time to travel
I just filled the truck’s tank: 26.5 gallons at $2.90/gallon. It would be a great time to be traveling. Which we aren’t of course. No, we were traveling when the price of diesel was hovering around $4.00/gallon. Just more bad timing on our part. We may be ruining the environment of North Dakota for future … Continue reading
Commuting – the lost opportunity
I have been commuting to work via commuter rail – 90 minutes each way – since we arrived back in Massachusetts in March. It is now the end of September and I am about to take my last ride and it now, belatedly, occurs to me that I have wasted those 3 hours each workday. … Continue reading
Halfway
With our first night in Biloxi we added another state to our map, raising the total to 24. There are 48 contiguous states. You do the math.
A farewell to Cambridge
If you are familiar with the Boston area, you know that Boston and Cambridge, though physically adjacent (separated only by the Charles River), are miles apart in atmosphere and attitude. Often called the “People’s Republic”, Cambridge is a left-wing paradise while Boston is more blue-collar. Hence I will bid a separate farewell to each. Though … Continue reading »