For most of human history, humanity has waged a war against boredom. For some, it was how to cope with tedious, desensitizing work. For others, it was how to manage free time apart from work, whether that free time be generous or scarce. Prior to the last century or so, the primary weapons against boredom…
“Jane* had her baby.” It was my wife, speaking to me from her chair nearby. I looked over and said, “That’s cool. I didn’t see that.” I opened up Facebook, navigated over to Jane’s profile page … and saw why I hadn’t seen it. Sometime in the last few months, Jane had unfriended me. I…
Most people know that eating right, getting enough exercise, and reducing stress are all good for them. Most people also have some vague idea that getting enough sleep is also good for them. What people don’t always fully appreciate is how important sleep is for the other things. Inadequate sleep is associated with all kinds…
A wise man once said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” And, in life, this is true. While receiving things from others is a nice feeling, there is something truly meaningful about helping another person in their hour of need. In fact, one of the reasons that helping others is meaningful is…
I speak in front of people every weekday. Granted, it’s mostly 20-30 teenagers (some would say that’s hard enough), but I do speak in front of people. I’ve also spoken in front of groups of 50, 300, and — in one nerve-wracking moment — several thousand people as a faculty speaker at a graduation. One…
When I was a kid, I heard stories about “Tupperware Parties,” where people would gather together and experience the joy that is Tupperware, all while cooking and doing other stuff. As a boy, I didn’t know much about them, since these parties were predominantly hosted and attended by women. I also remember my mom talking, with…
When I published my first novel back in 2016, I had more than a few people tell me that they wished they could write a book. Many of them said they had ideas in their heads but could never make a book out of them. This story plays out to other authors every day; author…
Antenna TV is one of the most misunderstood technologies in America. Most Americans don’t realize they can even get it, and among those who do, there is a lot of confusion. Do you need special technology? Is the signal that fuzzy thing that we had back in the 80s? The answers are no and absolutely not!…
Most marriage advice tends to focus on the big things. Finances. Communication. Intimacy. Respect. Love. All of those things are really, really important, and when they’re missing, a marriage can fray, go cold, or even fracture. Today, though, I’d like to talk about three relatively small things that have been good for my marriage, and…
While it may seem like politics has gotten more fractured in recent years, the truth is that politics has always been a divisive topic among families. Benjamin Franklin, one of the fathers of the American Revolution, famously had a falling out with his son William, a British Loyalist, and the two never really reconciled. Families…
