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A Stability Engine? I am starting to think I might actually be developing a knack for short-circuiting stress and anxiety. Today, I had to make my way back toward home from work, riding the train to where the car is parked so I could pick up my older daughter at school and drop her off at...

When AT first proffered a bucket of cold water to FOL's blog thread, I very nearly wrote a brief reply. In fact, I started to draft a reply, then thought better of intervening in what even then portended to be something of a shit-storm . . . if you'll pardon the expression. What I was thinking...

Much Ado about Lunch I had lunch with Nyx today. We met at a restaurant we'd been to several times before; she was on her lunch break, I was on my way home after a morning in the office, with an afternoon of grading and schlepping to look forward to. (As it happened, schlepping girls here...

Foolery I received a PM from someone with whom I have corresponded, from time to time. This individual is keeping a low profile, but a question posed to me in a recent message merits some thought and at least an initial response. It has to do with the concern I've expressed about feeling...

I still don't want to go into too much detail, but playing music is not, for me, just an occasional enjoyable activity. It's an avocation that involves a number of standing commitments. Last night's gathering was a band practice, not just a random gathering of musically inclined friends. I have...

Movement and Location I've never really had much interest in bluegrass music itself, but some of the so-called "alternative bluegrass" groups have caught my ears. I very recently stumbled across Punch Brothers and have been listening to their album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, for the last week...

Walking and Falling I've experienced what I can only describe as a wobble in the relative equanimity of the past week and a half. On Saturday and Sunday I was feeling just fine. The giddiness I was feeling at the end of last week carried over into the weekend . . . but I found myself worrying...

The version I had in mind is attributed to Winston Churchill, talking about Americans: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else.”

"Wish I was there" I'm not entirely sure why I did it, but I started a new OKC profile recently. On any given day, I can count on some variation of the following in my inbox: [SFX: crickets chirring] Okay, that's not entirely true. I have started a couple of conversations that went on for a...

Well, yeah, if you press them on it, most people might come around to the notion that they really should not use others for their own satisfaction. To paraphrase one of my favorite quotations, people can be counted on to do the right thing . . . after they've tried everything else, first. It...

I might be more likely to think of it this way, myself . . . except I keep getting caught up on the means-ends thing. Yes, I do want my life to be richer and happier, more full of possibilities; yes, having relationships with others is an indispensable means to that end. My life would be poorer...

Three New Things First, I seem to be successful, so far, in keeping my anxiety at bay while Vix is in Europe. I stayed home from work on Tuesday because of illness, and slept much of the day. That night, though, I had trouble getting to sleep at all. My head started spinning with all the...

I heard this just now on NPR: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175619109/if-supreme-court-lets-states-define-marriage-could-legalized-polygamy-make-a-com As I post this, the audio is not yet available online. Wait for it, though, because it's worth a listen. Prof. Turley seems confident that, if...

Thank you for being more direct than you were in your first thread. Your questions are better formulated, as well. I'll send you a PM in a moment . . .

I received the same PM, just now. Regarding research ethics, a lot depends on what happens with the research. If it's really just a class assignment and never goes past the instructor's desk, then the standards of research ethics are slightly less stringent. The student doesn't have to get...

It might help if you could say more about your background and your motives. Is this just personal exploration, either to understand your friends or to consider your own options? Is it a research project for a course? Or does it serve some other purpose? It matters. People - and not just...

Parting I drove Vix to the airport, just now, which gave us a chance to talk. I told her some initial observations of my own reaction to her departure, but with the stated intention to observe them for a while, to see how I can mange them. It turns out, there are a number of little things that...

Perhaps so. One of the things I need to observe - when I can eat again! - is how well the new normal takes hold. I think I know where my attention needs to go, regarding which see below. No, I've had no prior affiliation. I suppose I'd seen Doc, from time to time, in the circles in which we...

Derailed! Okay, the title is too alarming. It's just that Vix is packing for a two-week trip to visit and travel with Doc in Europe, and I had resolved to become a quiet and careful observer of my own reaction. I've already noted the first stirrings of panic and disorientation, which turn...

Meeting Doc Vix and I went with the girls to an event in another state. Doc was back from Europe for a short time, for family reasons, and managed to come to that same event last night. What strikes me most about it was how little about it was striking. In other words, it seemed like no big...