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CLEAN LIVING FOR A QUIET LIFE

Clean living is an art form, and like all art it takes practice. Yes, we’re talking about practice. It takes practice to talk without a particular tone, without too much edge. Do that and you may have a productive conversation. Go ahead and save the tone and edge for people you don’t know, who don’t […]

PREDICTION BETTING FOR THE CLAIRVOYANTS IN THE CROWD

If you listened to a clairvoyant’s advice watching the 4th game of the NBA Finals last night you would have cleaned up on prediction betting.   Clair: Sure they’re twenty-nine points down, but just wait. You: Yeah, okay swami, I’m turning it off. I can’t take it. Clair: Don’t do that. You’ll be sorry. What […]

OFF THE HOOK IN GOLDEN YEARS?

As the golden years of retirement stretch out before you there are a few things to keep in mind. Probably more than ten line items, but this is a start. You don’t have to agree with any of them, but pick and choose in any order. I’ll start:

END PRODUCT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT, NOT PRACTICE

‘End Product’ is another way of saying, “What have you done lately?” We pay to go to concerts, games, and races. We don’t pay to go to practice rooms, weight rooms, or interval track training, the stuff done before the end product. Buy a ticket for an event and you expect a competent performance? Sounds […]

HISTORICAL ACCURACY? IMPORTANT, OR NOT

I’m a fan of historical accuracy, of a story that stands up to scrutiny not opinion, My feeling is that the people involved in historical events deserve the decency of applied history. How to apply history? It’s all about the sources.

MAKING THE CANCER CALL 2026

Ten years ago I got the cancer call. Me: Hello. Doc: Are you sitting down? Me: Yes. (I was in the bathroom.) Doc: The tests came back. You have cancer. Me: That’s not good.

OPENING NIGHT AT THE ROSE GARDEN

I watched the Rose Garden, home to your Portland Trail Blazers, rise up on the Northeast bank of the mighty Willamette River. From opening night until now it’s been . . . thirty-one years? As long as the Memorial Coliseum stands, the Rose Garden will always be the new kid on the block. And now […]

RETIREMENT WARNINGS FOR BOOMERS IN THE FAST LANE

You’re in the fast lane and know it when you pull up on a Waymo car.   Waymo has named the Rose City as one of the next locations welcoming its own fleet of self-driving vehicles. As part of the announcement, the company revealed it will start manually operating the cars on Tuesday to “help […]

ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR REMINDER FROM VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MAILER

As a veteran of the President Gerald Ford Army of 1974-76, I feel I know what acceptable behavior is without a reminder from the Veteran’s Administration in 2026. I knew the program way before joining the Army. Where did I gain such valuable information? The Boy Scouts. This all rings true from Acceptable Behaviors listed […]

MAKING PROGRESS WITH GRAND DECKS

Making progress on a deck doesn’t look like this, but the ending does. Inspector dog agrees. Three picture framed sections? Check. Boards fastened without anything showing? Check. Railing is sturdy? Check. But what did it look like before?