Jon Carroll refused to speak to me in my dream. Why, Jon? Why?

Two analogies. First, Leonard pointed me to a weblog whose author (allegedly) lives in Baghdad and criticizes the regime. I find that implausible and fascinating. I don't want to link to it for fear that …

I don't know why I started talking with Leonard about a universe in which people can turn into frogs and back whenever they like. But the scenario envisioned (which I hereby invite anyone to use …

Cody's got a phone call from Antarctica a few days ago. How cool! A worker at Antarctica Station called us up, looking for a particular blank book. Evidently Antarctica personnel get free phone calls (I'd …

I'm listening to Ben Folds, "Fred Jones Part II". My parents are in an airport, waiting for their plane. They're leaving for India in a few hours. Only now am I beginning to feel sad.

Zed mentions a spooky experiment. Milgram and and Zimbardo[0] showed us how rough, easy-to-discern external conditions stimulated submission and violence. But here, the subject is hardly aware of the stimulus. And, in the spookiest aspect …

I was looking up my old acquaintance Mike Carns to tell him about Garrison Keillor's upcoming appearance in Berkeley. And what did I find but his wedding plans! This sort of openness just begs sitcommy …

Terrific Cody's Deal: Our Bodies, Ourselves for $7.98. This is the anniversary edition, updated for the nineties, a terrific resource on women's health. Hundreds of pages of useful and entertaining information. The stack on the …

Best way to learn what we stock: standing at the checkout and watching what people buy. Every day I sell things that I had no idea we stocked. The other day I sold an amazing …

Annoying customer habit: approaching a staff member with a request phrased as a single word. "Chess." "Gardening." (At least one staffer regularly replies to such unmannerly requests in kind, with arbitrary words, e.g., "bingo.") Leonard …