Sometimes a fact that's been right in front of me all my life nonetheless fails to penetrate my consciousness. This particular fact may be one of which all my readers are already aware. In fact, you may think it's quite unremarkable. But it just now came to my attention, and I am flabbergasted, so I … Continue reading An Eagle Landing on the MOON!!!
Society
This Crowded World
Today is the entertaining tips edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday, but I don't feel very well equipped to give advice on entertaining since we don't have guests nearly as often as I'd like; I'm one of the people who needs to read the host's article "Entertaining Even When You're Reluctant" and possibly the book she mentioned, … Continue reading This Crowded World
Parental Profanity Policy
Disclaimer: We only have one child. He is unusually observant and tends to pick up social rules fairly easily and accurately. What works with him may not work with every child. We are only two parents, and the two of us share extremely similar values. What is comfortable for us may not be comfortable for … Continue reading Parental Profanity Policy
Brick-Paved Street
We live on a little side street just one block long, built in 1920 and paved with yellow bricks. Those same bricks have been there for 90 years. There are only a few spots patched with visibly newer bricks or concrete. In the eight years we've lived here, our street has had only one small … Continue reading Brick-Paved Street
Tuesday Potlucks
On the first and third Tuesdays of the month, our church offers a short service followed by potluck dinner. Attendance usually is small, between 5 and 20 people. In order to get there on time, I have to rush from work to pick up my five-year-old son Nicholas from his preschool and trust that the … Continue reading Tuesday Potlucks
It’s 2010, and I still don’t need a cell phone!
Until last month, I had been carrying a 135-minute phone card in my wallet since October 2000. I didn't take it out because I'd used up the minutes. I took it out because the plastic is so old that it crumbled when I tried to transfer it to the new wallet I got for Christmas! … Continue reading It’s 2010, and I still don’t need a cell phone!
Books That Blew My Mind
UPDATE February 1, 2012: For the past two years, this has been an article like my links page where I keep adding content as I get around to it. Now I'm going to call it finished! Of course, I expect to read additional mind-blowing books during my visit to Earth, but this list now includes … Continue reading Books That Blew My Mind
I got to be a Shabbos Goy!
We live three blocks away from an Orthodox Jewish synagogue and within a mile of several others, so there are several Orthodox families on our street. Some are more friendly than others and occasionally chat with us about children, pets, or gardening, but in general they socialize with each other and don't mix much with those … Continue reading I got to be a Shabbos Goy!
When Robots Write the Blogs
Yesterday I delved into the settings for my blog software and decided to turn on an option to notify me of "trackbacks"--when other sites link to mine. I thought it would be cool to hear about them right away, instead of just discovering them when I poke around in the "statistics" to see how people … Continue reading When Robots Write the Blogs
Why aren’t we married?
Three years ago, Daniel and I were interviewed by Redbook magazine for an article called "The Changing Shape of the American Family" which profiled several different family structures. The Alternatives to Marriage Project referred the reporter to us as an example of a stable couple raising a child without being married. The final article [which, … Continue reading Why aren’t we married?
7 Things I Don’t Do
These aren't necessarily things nobody should do. They're things I don't do, and I'm glad I don't, and I'm going to explain why. 1. Cell phone. I do not own one and very rarely use one. I spend most of my time in my home or my office, both of which are equipped with landline telephones … Continue reading 7 Things I Don’t Do
Explaining the G-20 Protests to a Preschooler
It's been one week since Pittsburgh hosted the G-20 economic summit. The demonstrations against it and the police reactions to those demonstrations were a lot milder than they have been at previous summits in other cities, but there was some violent conflict and questionable conduct on both sides--check out the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette or Pittsburgh City … Continue reading Explaining the G-20 Protests to a Preschooler
Vending Box News
This is originally a tip from Daniel, but it works for me, too! We still subscribe to our local newspaper, the actual paper kind, because I like to read it while eating and I don't like to eat at the computer at home (since my lunch at work, and in fact my whole day at … Continue reading Vending Box News
Seven Reasons Not to Circumcise Your Son
by Daniel Efran Well, I figure if my girlfriend and my parents are discussing my penis on the Internet, I'd better chime in! The subject, specifically, is routine circumcision of infants--whether it should be routine, whether it should have been done to our son (which it wasn't), and whether it should have been done to … Continue reading Seven Reasons Not to Circumcise Your Son
Donating Dish Detergent
Do you ever want to help an organization, but feel like you can't spare enough money to make a real difference? Are you an environmentalist, wishing that everybody would switch to plant-based cleaners to help conserve our irreplaceable petroleum, but feeling like nobody ever listens to your ravings about how great these cleaners are? Buy a bottle of … Continue reading Donating Dish Detergent
Circumcision: The Earlier Generation
My article on why we didn't circumcise our son mentioned that when my partner Daniel learned more about circumcision, he felt "that he was mutilated without his consent simply because of tradition and ignorance" and was so upset that "he wouldn't speak to his parents because he feared he would yell at them." As I tried … Continue reading Circumcision: The Earlier Generation
Circumcision
Our son is four-and-a-half years old and has his entire foreskin intact. We have never regretted for a moment our decision not to have him circumcised. I always was a bit skeptical of the idea of surgically removing healthy tissue from newborns. My father explained that the foreskin can't become infected or cancerous if it … Continue reading Circumcision
My Opinion of Homosexuality in Twelve Words
God is Love. God is Good. Love is Good. Love is Love. If that's too succinct for you, here is another writer who says the same thing, so beautifully, in many more words!
Excuse me, are you Jewish?
My neighborhood has a large Jewish population, and every so often a person will approach me in public and say, "Excuse me, are you Jewish?" I always say no. Sometimes this earns me a Good Card, the version for non-Jews. Most times it results in the person leaving me alone--he was looking for a Jewish … Continue reading Excuse me, are you Jewish?
links
Check the facts behind those negative campaign ads! This site is like Snopes for politics.Hey, I never knew this before: Some spiders are indoor spiders who long ago evolved to live inside buildings!Curvy-hipped women are smarter and have smarter children.A man whose parents lived with and loved another couple for part of his childhood writes about the … Continue reading links
The Earthling's Handbook 