A learning curve is not an excuse. I’ll repeat it, a learning curve doesn’t mean you’re stupid. There’s room in class for another learner. If it’s something new, you may feel a little stupid working it out, but that’s just navigating the curve. Give it a few minutes and you’ll be an expert. How? Read […]
DORK LIFE? GO AHEAD AND LIVE IT UP
May 14, 2021 by
I met my eventual mother in law before I was in the ‘potential partner’ picture. Her daughter was on my radar, just not the other way around. It was familiar territory. Since I had time to play the long game of love, I kept the heat turned down. To an objective outsider I was just […]
HISTORICAL ADVICE: THIS IS WORTH SOMETHING, ISN’T IT
March 3, 2021 by
Historical advice usually comes from a book, or a class where some gray bearded funky old man in a musty suit jacket rambles on and on in a cloud of dandruff. Doing history is different than studying history. History museums Do History for everyone else. Museum visitors walk from exhibit to exhibit, floor to floor, […]
EXERCISE EQUIPMENT CLOTHES HANGER vs SHELF OF UNREAD BOOKS
February 7, 2021 by
Exercise equipment has one job, and it’s not for hanging clothes. One learns these things based on available space. Gym guys pay no attention because they don’t wear normal clothes. Their workout costume is an all day look, like they’re ready to drop and give themselves 20 pushups at a moment’s notice. Those outfits don’t […]
BLOG TRAFFIC: BOOMERPDX FROM NATION TO NATION
December 15, 2020 by
Blog traffic map via google analytics. The big difference between the top map and every other map of the world is that this one tracks where the hits, the readers, the bots, showing up on boomerpdx originate. It’s a blog traffic map, which isn’t very writerly since geography isn’t about plot, story structure, or how […]
BASIC WRITER QUESTION: WHY BOTHER
July 13, 2020 by
The best writer question is the one they ask themselves before starting their daily word haul. It’s a question writers never want readers to ask, so they ask themselves: Why bother? Here’s why:
CURIOUS CAT: REPORTS OF ITS DEMISE GREATLY EXAGGERATED
May 12, 2020 by
A curious cat looking for the right answers starts a journey. But where does it really begin? If it starts with reading, which books give the best answers? Young parents know this drill: Ask around at the library.
WHY AMERICAN MILITARY ARE STATIONED IN GERMANY AND JAPAN
January 30, 2020 by
My sources say over 33,000 US military personnel live in Germany, and 50,000 in Japan when their census came in in 2013. I’m part of the chorus asking, “Why?” Then I remember WWII.
MOST FEARFUL GENERATION TODAY: INTERVIEW
May 17, 2019 by
And it’s not the big ones The beauty of writing a blog is the feedback from unexpected sources. Most of the reading audience for BoomerPdx is afflicted by the internet ghosts of privacy protection, bashfulness, or worst of all, they’ve forgotten how to work a keyboard, so the feedback I hear is in person, which […]
Health Writing? Start With Cancer And Drill Down
July 27, 2018 by
Health writing is about bringing hope to the afflicted. Cancer writing, not so much. One is about the future and the steps to make it better. The other is layered with dread. One is about improving conditions, about personal bests, about gains; the other is layered with dread. Health writing brings nutrition, […]
