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Louis L'Amour once said he could write while sitting in the middle of the freeway. That didn't impress me at the time, but now it does. Not one, but two dogs threw up behind me as I wrote. Was that a commentary on my writing? Wouldn't be ... read more

Welcome! It's timely to stress that The Political Compass has been on the internet since 2001. The uniqueness of our take on politics is reflected in the gratifyingly enthusiastic reviews we've enjoyed in the national media of many countr ... read more

Publishers and writing gurus preach that writers need followers. The problem is that emotionally-stable people don't want followers. They want friends, compatriots, people who listen, not followers. Especially zombie followers. They'r ... read more

If you were on a deserted island with an Internet connection and a pug, but could only access ONE website, which site would it be?(BTW, the pug is irrelevant, I just like pugs!)Facebook -- 3 votesGoogle -- 2 votesKindle -- 1 votesTwitter -- ... read more

Unless you like heavy metal guitars, you might want to lower or mute your volume before you click hereThis is exactly what you would ... read more

We're in Moscow. Bill already summarized our trip here. I do believe that I am fully initiated into the sisterhood of Mothers. I have changed an exploding poopy diaper in an airplane bathroom, with turbulence! I'll spare you all the detai ... read more

We just got back from today's first visit with the child (we're not supposed to mention her name online). We'll be going back this afternoon. In the meantime, Tara's trying to catch up on her sleep. She had woken up around 5 this morning ... read more

Preparing to take Elizabeth to a skating party, I said, Here, take some money. Go ask your mom for more. I thought I had at least a $10, but only had $6. When she returned I asked how much she had now. Forty-six dollars. What?! Yea ... read more

Finally, some pictures of Elizabeth. They're not even the latest, but it should hold you over if you've never seen her before. ... read more

We had a great visit with our little girl this morning. There were no observers. That happens this afternoon. Vika mentioned we should think about showing more affection in front of the observers. It's more in line with how Russians tre ... read more

Good news from best friends Julie and Bert in Las Vegas. One of their cats, Tobie, went missing this past January. He was an indoor/outdoor cat and one day just disappeared. Needless to say, they were heartbroken and spent many hours/day ... read more

from My Persian KitchenPrep time: 1 min Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 31 minsServes: 1 cupIngredients1 tsp grated fresh turmericfrac12 tsp grated fresh ... read more

Probably. You never know about these things. Anyway, I had forgotten to buy cat food and that is what allowed me to be there in time to save a life. Taking my daughter to school this morning, I had to turn south on Nolensville Rd because ... read more

Just FYI if you were wondering, 'cuz I was. In my case, it's the middle of September. Broccoli. If you live in a warmer climate and can find a quick growing Broccoli variety, you can harvest well into November. Source: ... read more

I'm hearing about crypto currency attacks by our criminal rogue government, but not sure what this means. Adams pays close attention to this type of thing so I'll wait to hear his interpretation. He's saying Bitcoin is a great on-ramp to ... read more

Hurray for the cows! Showing more backbone than most humans, as evidenced by the latter allowing themselves to be pressured into getting one of these unnecessary (and unwise) covid shots. ... read more

Behind the Eight Ball Who is that behind the eight ball, anyway?Vol. 6 No. 5, Au ... read more

The Leaky FaucetIrritating, yet soothing. Obnoxious, yet hypnoticVol. 3, No. 6, July 30, 1991Sapphire dispute settled out of co ... read more

Bullseye Vol. 2, No. 2, January 26, 1990formerly known as Hard Copy before that, The Holmes Family Newsletter D ... read more

The Holmes Family Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 8 Anniversary IssueMay 25, 1990Editor's Note: This is the big one! The big enchilada. The killer tomato. It's the anniversary issue! (Aren't you excited?) It was one year ago today that a yo ... read more

The Barking Dog Vol. 4 No. 6, July 22, 1992 Who names these newsletters, anyway? earthquakes, earthquakes! We're sick of earthquakes! Why doesn't the government do something!? On June 2 ... read more

Yee-Haw The only newsletter we do!Vol. 6, No. 7, December 29, 1994Belinda Has Puppies!Another one of Lucy's dogs has gone and had a litter of pups. This time the mother is Belinda, a Rottweiler, and she gave birth to a litter ... read more