Category Archives: Domestic Life

I For One Welcome My New Infrared Faucet Overlord

Interesting post and discussion at 11d on Sandra Tsing Loh’s latest essay in the Atlantic Monthly, which I read on the train this week. I thought the essay was terrible for a variety of reasons, many of them stylistic. There’s … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Books, Consumerism, Advertising, Commodities, Domestic Life, Miscellany | 12 Comments

The Given Tree

Earlier this summer, I noticed that our huge, old red oak had once again begun a serious decline from oak wilt after we had it strongly trimmed four years ago. Then this week, one of those guys who goes through … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life | 2 Comments

Organic Waste Disposal For Rent

Vis-a-vis the “pigs as organic garbage disposal in Cairo” story, I’m starting to see a whole new side to our deranged basset hound. My wife pointed out we could practically keep a blog on the things the dog has eaten … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life | 7 Comments

Simplicity vs. Sustainability

Last week, I was at an event where there was some talk about Swarthmore trying to embrace sustainability and simplicity to a greater degree. Afterwards, I was trying to parse out why those two words provoke really different gut-level reactions … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Consumerism, Advertising, Commodities, Domestic Life, Swarthmore | 5 Comments

The Right Firewood

Back from an extended camping trip where I was blissfully out of range of digital technology for most of the time. (Though I weep now looking at my email inbox.) A good time was had by all. One interesting experience … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Domestic Life | 1 Comment

The Weedy Garden of Familyhood

Before the blog went haywire last week, I meant to comment on Michael Chabon’s essay “The Wilderness of Childhood” in the New York Review of Books. The basic thrust of Chabon’s commentary is spot-on. It’s certainly one of the most … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life | 1 Comment

The Tournament of Lunches Begins!

We have some summer family projects: learning to ride a bike and such. One of the projects is to find some good lunches to take to school next year. So I designed a bracket-based Tournament of Lunches for this summer–I’ll … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life, Food | 1 Comment

This Cupcake Will Not Stand

Don’t you kind of wonder how this woman thought she’d come out looking from this New York Times article? On one hand, she seems perfectly aware that most of the other parents at the schools her kids have been at … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life | 11 Comments

DIY Discoveries

I’ve spent a good portion of the last week catching up on household tasks of various kinds. Whether it’s something I’m increasingly comfortable with, like gardening, or something where I’m still finding my way like working with power tools on … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life | 16 Comments

The Pursuit of Happiness

This is a good summary of the current state of work on the experience of happiness, and its implications for homo economicus and public policy based on assumptions that people are rational utility-maximizers. Makes an interesting companion to this article … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life, Miscellany | 3 Comments