Would you want to live in a city I built?

Ever hear of Andyland? It's a bustling city of about 100,000 people—about the size of Round Rock. It has an airport—which was super expensive to build, so I hear—and the mayor is a total goofball. Andyland is a city I created as mayor in Sim City 3000, or SC3K, a computer simulation game that's nearly…

5 people who are warmer than you right now

It's the peak of summer, and everyone is bellyaching about the heat, myself included. Yes—it's hot. Here in Austin we could go an entire month or more of consecutive days of temperatures hitting highs in the triple digits. Anything in the 90s or cooler would be a godsend. I seriously doubt where you live is…

5 things I’ve been pondering lately

Whether I'm washing dishes, walking the dog or showering, my mind never stops, for better or worse. Here's five things that have popped into my mind lately: • It's summertime, and my mornings are often punctuated with the sound of power equipment manicuring surrounding lawns and vegetation. It's hotter than the hinges of hell here,…

My stamp collection is worth …

... Firstly, I suppose it's not technically my collection; I inherited it from my grandfather who died when I was a toddler. I can sort of remember meeting him in his last stages of dementia, and he somehow knew who I was, too, according to my mom. I've always felt his presence. I know he…

Things I’d rather do than watch the World Cup

The World Cup—which is sort of like the Olympics of soccer, I gather (?)—is taking place right now until July 15, according to ESPN, and I couldn't be more bored, even if I were driving through West Texas, which can be about as flat as Napoleon Dynamite's monotone voice. To me, watching soccer is about…

Little-known facts about summer

June 21 was officially the first day of summer, though it's been summer here in Texas since February or so. Here are some facts about summer that I managed to dig up after intense research: • If you stare into the sun long enough, it'll talk to you. At least it does to me. How do…

The concerts you missed out on

A radio personality reminded me the other day that one of my favorite acts, Huey Lewis and the News—I double-checked, and the band uses "and," not "&," more often than not—was likely done touring because Huey is experiencing Meniere's disease, or progressive hearing loss. The band came through Austin not too long ago and even shouts…

Did I do enough to help someone in need?

I was at a McDonald's recently, and a homeless man was outside asking for help. I live in a decent area of town—at least I think it's nice—yet only 1 1/2 miles away we have many homeless Austinites who congregate. I know it's 1 1/2 miles because I used to jog to the McDonald's and…

5 smells I like

There's some things that I think we can all universally agree on that smell good—fresh-baked cookies or bread; a newly mowed lawn; or the smell of a new car, for no other reason than the fact you have a new car, all come to mind. But there's other smells I like, too. For instance: My…

5 things you’ve missed in 6 months

I took a six-month break from blogging because I decided no one cared about my life or opinion on anything—I barely care about my opinion on anything—so why bother writing? People are bombarded with opinions all day, and I didn't feel like adding to the noise anymore. Plus, it's not like I'm getting paid to…