Author Archives: Jim

I’m dreaming of a Black Friday

It’s Black Friday and I have not set foot in a single store. My objective is to avoid shopping malls and big-box chains until 2012. Christmas shopping is intended to get everyone into the holiday spirit. Not me. My shopping … Continue reading

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Occupying attention

It must be tough for this season’s new TV shows to compete with the soap opera of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Tents! Drums! Anarchists with iPhones! Convoluted speeches and loony signs! Celebrities and the homeless! Liberal mayors unleashing the … Continue reading

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Don’t rain on my fiesta

I never fully appreciated rain until I moved to New Mexico. Needless to say, it’s dry here in the semi-desert. How dry is it? (rimshot) It’s so dry that the weather forecasters measure precipitation in hundredths of an inch. So … Continue reading

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Antitrust and déjà vu

The feds filed an antitrust suit to block AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile. The Department of Justice claims the merger will limit consumer choice and raise prices for cell phone service. My local state regulatory commissioner welcomed the suit because it … Continue reading

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Middle-class warfare

Another election campaign is starting, and that means politicians will be telling us that they are standing up for the middle class (and that the other politicians are not). Knowing what class you’re in is important these days because class … Continue reading

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Three days on the stuttering planet

I went to my annual stuttering convention last month. That’s right, a stuttering… convention:  the annual conference of the National Stuttering Association in Fort Worth, Texas. Stuttering was a problem when I was younger but is not a significant issue … Continue reading

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Internet, Internet, make me a match

I’ve met some nice women on the Internet. Really. And I’ve had a few laughs as well. When my wife of 40 years passed away I had few opportunities to meet people in a new city. So when I was … Continue reading

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Getting in touch with my inner Boy Scout

When I retired to New Mexico I resolved to do more outdoorsy stuff and I’m finally getting around to it. This is a novelty for me because I grew up in a Chicago neighborhood where we learned not to play … Continue reading

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Cell phones cause cancer? So what?

The World Health Organization is making headlines with the pronouncement that cell phones just might possibly cause cancer. According to the Wall Street Journal, these are the same folks who warned us of the dangers of coconut oil, oral contraceptives, … Continue reading

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A moderate’s lament

When it comes to politics, I consider myself a raging moderate — which makes me politically homeless. I vote a split ticket as a matter of principle and change my party registration periodically to whichever party has the most interesting … Continue reading

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