Sometimes I read too many Golden Age mystery novels and start writing them myself. And whoops, I did it again! In Scotland. Setting: Hamish MacHaggis’s estate in Glencambell, in the Highlands. Occasion: a house party. Guests are Lord and Lady Scrymshawe, a...
“Just delete it immediately,” says my friend the haiku poet. “Don’t be tempted to read it. Because if you read it, you might think, ‘well, this one’s okay,’ but trust me, it’s not. If it’s marked as spam, it’s spam, and you should just delete it without reading it,...
"Please," I hear you crying, "I don't want to remodel a bathroom! Don't make me!" No, wait. Maybe that's me. So here's your escape clause: don't buy a house. Lots of people are lifelong tenants, even in countries that use phrases like "pride of ownership." In exchange...
Remember when people used to “get jobs” and then “start work” as a "new employee"? These days, you’re not a new employee, you’re an organizational newcomer who has to be "sourced" and then “socialized” into your company by means of a process called “onboarding.” And...
I’ve been reading so many 1930s "Golden Age" English mysteries, I think I could write one in my sleep. In fact -- [rummages through scraps of paper on night-stand] -- I have written one in my sleep! Let's see if it's any good. Chapter 1: Toast on the Terrace Victim:...
Of the children killed by guns in the industrialized world, 87% are killed in the United States of America. – The Children’s Defense Fund News bulletin, December 15, 2012 A man-eating tiger rampaged through a junior high school in Burkhart, California, today, killing...