The two women held up a large item partially encased in bubble wrap. “Where does this go?” they asked. I stared. It took a second to recognize the stained glass lamp – because one side of it was caved in. “It hangs above the dining table,” I said. “But … it’s broken.” I was running … read more Mark of the maker
Tag: Dad
Pictures on the mantel
They aren’t expensive frames. Plain black wood, the kind you have to sort through in the display racks at the drugstore, and check carefully to find a couple that aren’t scratched or dinged. After I’d put the two 8 by 10 prints in the frames, and set them on the mantel, I sat and looked at them … read more Pictures on the mantel
A new feeling
On Monday afternoon, I had the strangest sensation. I’d slept pretty well, gotten up and read with my coffee, worked on a blog post, then got down to work. I rapidly cranked out a bunch of tasks. Something felt different, but familiar. It was like, like …. I mentally squinted, trying to figure out what … read more A new feeling
Zen and the art of office design
For many many years, I have had a divided self – torn between the practical and the spiritual, the creative and the logical. I’ve tried so many ways to work it – mostly, by giving a chunk of my time to “work” and another chunk to “art. I grew up seeing this division in the … read more Zen and the art of office design
The 8-hour workday
In the fall of 1919, a massive strike shut down the steel industry. The U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor held hearings to investigate the strike while it was in progress. One of the 350,000 striking workers, Andrew Pido, testified: The CHAIRMAN. What is the reason you struck this time? Mr. PIDO. I strike on … read more The 8-hour workday
What I’ve learned from writing 500 blog posts
On my birthday last year, 500 days ago, I started this blog. I had no idea what I was getting into. I intended for the blog to be a simple record of the sculpture I was going to build from 16,252 pennies. I choose a penny to represent each day, gradually creating the sculpture, and for the … read more What I’ve learned from writing 500 blog posts
I’ve just seen a face
Who’s that? Picasa knows – even after one glance. Facial recognition has been built into Google’s free photo editing software, Picasa, since 2009. It’s remarkably good. You type in a name on one picture of a person, and it instantly identifies and labels all your photos of that person. If Picasa isn’t certain who the person is in a particular photo, it … read more I’ve just seen a face
Cement truck
On our drive from the mountains to Atlanta, there’s a 10-mile road that has no opportunities for passing other cars. It’s too curvy, too many blind spots. It never fails: In a hurry to get to Atlanta, appointment that we’re trying to make on time – on this road, we will get stuck behind a … read more Cement truck
The woodworker
At the rental house, there are two garages, but one of them isn’t for cars. It’s a woodworking shop, and it belongs to Amanda. She let me see it. I got to ogle the band saw, the power saw, the shaping tools that I don’t know the names of but would like to. I got … read more The woodworker
Just another morning
[Thursday Aug. 11] Today, Dad would have been 96 years old. I begged him to help me get through the day. It’s been a week since the tree fell on our house, and six days since Tom got out of rehab. The days are too long, and not long enough. I usually wake up at … read more Just another morning