I’m not in any position to talk about what’s happened in Baltimore recently. There was the deeply saddening death of Freddy Gray, followed by peaceful protests, then proceeded by looting and rioting. There’s a lot of anger, much of it directed towards the police. I feel like I’m too far away to weigh in any … Read more
The New York Times recently posted a fascinating series of charts showing the percentage of women who will have an unplanned pregnancy over a 10-year period of “typical use” of contraceptives. The results were really surprising to me. Here are a few key examples: birth-control pill: 61% Depo-Provera: 46% condom (male): 86% Those numbers seem … Read more
A Super Bowl commercial tonight featured the classic fable of the tortoise in the hare: A tortoise and a hare race each other, but the hare is overconfident that he’ll win, so he takes his time. Eventually the tortoise acquires a Mercedes Benz and catches up to the hare, winning the race. We all heard … Read more
Recently I saw an intriguing headline on Facebook from Fast Company: “This Video Shows What Happens When Little Boys Are Asked to Slap a Girl” The article shares a video PSA from Italy that attempts to make a statement about domestic violence. Without even watching the video, you kind of know what’s coming–these boys are … Read more
For a long time now I’ve been greatly puzzled by a major worldwide industry: Services and products that cater to really, really rich people. I understand why these industries exist: If people are willing to pay for something, that something becomes a viable business. I’m talking about $10,000-night hotel rooms, private airplanes, super expensive watches, … Read more
When I was growing up in suburban Virginia, I adored UVA (the University of Virginia). I spent part of 4 summers at a summer camp on UVA’s campus, and I cherish those memories of four-square, frisbee, and girls in the midst of the austere architecture of Thomas Jefferson. During those summers and the years that … Read more
A few days ago I had a meeting at a Starbucks. I was kind of excited about this because I hardly ever go to Starbucks. It’s probably been over a year since I’ve been there, but I enjoy their mocha frappacinos (I don’t drink coffee unless it’s in some type of frozen sugary form). Not … Read more
When I was growing up (and still to this day), my entire extended family were Washington Redskins fans. Big fans. Everyone follows the team as closely as possible, and they went to a lot of games. I personally root for the 49ers, but I’m always happy to see the Redskins do well. Recently, though, it … Read more
I doubt I need to explain the ice bucket challenge at this point, but just in case, it’s this thing where you get publicly challenged via video by someone who dumps a bucket of ice water on their head. You can film yourself doing the same thing within 24 hours (and maybe donate some money) … Read more
For the first time in a long time, I’m taking two weeks off. From work, from blogging, and mostly from e-mail. I have a family reunion at the beach next week, followed by a week at a gaming conference. I’ll have limited internet access the whole time, and frankly, it’s important for me to focus … Read more