I have the opposite problem and always have. Even as a kid I was a morning person. When my high school switched to starting at 7:40 my junior year I was excited because it meant that we got out earlier, got done with sports practice earlier and I would still be reasonably awake while trying to finish my homework. Even…

And it’s only in the mid-90's in Texas. That’s actually slightly below normal for this time of year. Yes, that’s hot. But it’s bearable. And definitely not stupid hot like we’ve had in previous years.

In general, summer is my least favorite season. It’s stupid hot (I live in Texas) and half the activities I enjoy take the summer off. This summer was particularly bad for me and a couple of others I know due to a bunch of reasons including people and pets dying, poorly time and extra-long work travel, illness,…

Yes! This!

There already are shortages. Blood banks in south Texas can’t open (because, well, not much can open down there). Central Texas (think Austin) banks are helping to carry the load, but that means lower supply for that area and it will ripple across the country. If you’re able to donate, please consider doing so.

If you don’t mind donating to a Christian organization, World Vision responds to disasters around the world, including in the US and does great work.
Donation Link:

Like I said, I made it work. Definitely not the best method and I don’t recommend it. But it’s not all doom and gloom if a kid has issues with memorizing the basic math facts.

Yeah, the idea that you need instant recall of math facts in order to progress in math or that not knowing your basic arithmetic facts is going to make the rest of math pretty much impossible is false. How do I know? I counted on my fingers to do basic addition and subtraction through all of college....at Georgia…

But you never answered the kid’s question. You implied that the kid couldn’t have a cookie now, but you never did say it outright.

My parents’ town is in the path of totality and declared a “snow day”. Kids will be off school. They’re telling everyone to stock up on essentials before. Neighbors in my parents’ subdivision are talking about parking cars to block off the road into their subdivision (which is along and on top of a ridge) to keep the…

I built a couple of “magic folding cubes” out of Lego and then functionn well as fidget toys for me. Because I already had the parts, they were free to build. But if you needed to buy them, cost would be less than $5 for the parts on Bricklink. Instructions here:

I’ve been on 9/80s for many years and really like it. We do it a little different in that the work Friday is only an 8 hour day so, even though we’re working on Friday we still get a short day (only by an hour, but it’s still nice).
I’m not sure Summer Fridays would be all that exciting for me if I worked a traditional…

The idea of sleeping in your gym clothes is great...for guys. I don’t know of any lady who would enjoy sleeping in a sports bra.

I discovered Brazilian limeade last summer when I was invited to an Olympics opening ceremony watch party. It’s basically water, sugar, lime juice (or whole limes cut up, blended and strained) and sweetened condensed milk served over ice. It’s a frothy, refreshing cup of awesome.

That’s a great attitude for leisure travel. However it’s often not as applicable for business travel. If I’m traveling for business there’s a reasonable chance I’m working crazy long hours, sometimes through the night (local time...time zones can make things all sorts of weird), sometimes under intense pressure. In…

That’s my plan as well. I’ve got a mental list of a ton of volunteer and part-time/second career jobs for non-profit and ministries that I’d love to try out. I figure if I pick up one or two of those and keep up with the volunteer activities I’m currently doing and really enjoy I might have just enough extra time from…

Maybe you get up early and do things together all day. Maybe you’re introverts and enjoy some quiet, by yourself downtime to relax in the evening. Maybe your house guests stay up later than you do or are from a significantly different timezone and haven’t acclimated to your schedule. Maybe you have a bedtime routine…

3. Your guest is visiting from out of town and you’re not really “go out and enjoy the nightlife” type people but, rather, retreat to your own corners and enjoy your own shows via various streaming services in the evening type people. Having a spare laptop or even spare tablet you can loan them is much more convenient…

I have a duffel bag that’s about this size that I use as a carry-on when flying for  weekend trips. On a recent Delta flight, they were requiring gate checking of any “roller bag” for passengers boarding in zone 2 and higher (because half the plane boarded in zone 1 or before the overheads were full mostly). I boarded…

I have a duffel bag that’s about this size that I use as a carry-on when flying for  weekend trips. On a recent…

Yep. Gotta board early so you can enjoy a beverage and snack before takeoff, maybe start watching a video so you can finish it before landing. The couple of times I’ve gotten bumped up to first class have been very enjoyable.