If you glance through the list of tags on my blog (the tag cloud is on the right if you're reading this on a desktop computer; it's after the post if you're reading this on a phone) you'll see I have a series of posts on Passover seders. Though my earliest post on the subject was written…
It's been two weeks since the party. I said it then, and I'll say it again: It was the best party I ever hosted. I don't think I'll host a better one for the rest of my life. This is one of my longer blog posts. I want to get all the details down so that if…
I first met Geela Naiman in the early 1980s. There was an SF fan gathering at my house. Sherry Nehmer, an editor at Analog, was the featured speaker. Near the end of Nehmer's talk, a friend of hers arrived to drive her home. That friend was Geela, though I didn't hear her name at the time. After…
Warning: This post contains self-indulgent meanderings on the passage of time. If you young'uns can't handle that, skip this post and get off of my lawn. A few weeks ago I was in the lunch room of Nevis Labs. I was the oldest one there. The rest were summer students about 20 years old. The topic had…
I'm leaving World of Warcraft. I played the game from before the beginning, during its beta test prior to the game's formal release in November 2004. After putting time and energy and money into the game for 15 years, I feel like some nostalgia and introspection; hence this blog post. World of Warcraft (WoW) is part of…
In the holiday season for the past several years, I've experienced a moment: The moment when I know that Santa came. I know that may seem a silly thing for someone of Jewish heritage and Wiccan practice to say. And to make it clear: I'm not talking about the tendency for Santa to show up at Yule…
Through a World of Warcraft discussion message board, I heard of a research study being conducted by West Virginia University on the relationships between videogame players and their avatars. In a "what the hell" mood, I responded to the survey with a story about one of my WoW characters. I thought the story was minor, but to…
Like many folks, I have that box in my closet filled with cables that I keep "just in case." Today I decided to go through that box and toss out the stuff that I knew was obsolete or that I'd never use again. Sure, there was the usual batch of BNC cables and excess power cords. But…
It’s a general day of memoriam and memories of actor Leonard Nimoy. Here’s my Spock/Nimoy story. I was a science fiction fan from childhood. In third grade, a teacher loaned me a copy of Eleanor Cameron’s The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet. That book started my fascination with SF that continues to this day. I started…
By William Butler Yeats When you are old and gray and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or…