Blogging… The Sport of Writing 9 Apr 2011 Some sports are played against the clock. Their time-centered rules vary greatly, but they include judicious use of the time available. Basketball rushes through its quarters with shot clocks to…
Blogging… Halt! Who Goes There? 30 Mar 2011 I can't decide what to say to you today because I don't know who in the heck you are! When I teach students about the proverbial rhetorical triangle--how their ideas,…
Brain… If You Build It, They Will See It 14 Mar 201114 Mar 2011 Some people go to all the trouble of designing and producing buildings, only to make them ugly. Why not hire an architect who understands proportions? Select beautiful colors for the…
Business… Friday Flick: Covey on the Talking Stick 4 Mar 20117 Mar 2011 Could we pass the talking stick around the world? Here's Stephen R. Covey introducing the idea. And remember that writing allows you to speak without interruption--and without others unwittingly changing…
Change the World… Stories from College Drop-In Steve Jobs 1 Mar 201110 Mar 2011 “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have…
Brain… My Students’ Best Advice 28 Feb 2011 My students are in finals week. I asked for advice to pass along to future students, and they all said, DON'T FALL BEHIND! They sound even more adamant than I…
Change the World… Friday Flick: Decide to Launch 25 Feb 201125 Feb 2011 In my childhood, I saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. In my young adulthood, I heard the Challenger explosion by radio. Now I'm raising a rocket scientist. I will…
Change the World… Not Without Encouragement 24 Feb 201125 Feb 2011 An Egyptian explained why he was helping donate food and medical supplies to protesting Libyans: because people can live without food, without medicine, but not without encouragement.1 Survivors fresh from…
Brain… Writing into the Darkness 22 Feb 201125 Feb 2011 Author and herb farmer Tom DeBaggio died yesterday. He put us on notice over a decade ago, describing his early onset Alzheimer's as "the closest thing to being eaten alive." …
Change the World… Are You Present? 17 Feb 201117 Feb 2011 My tag cloud records that I write with surprising frequency about "Being Present." It makes me laugh. Zen master, I am not. Obviously that's a message I crave. But today…
Blogging… Letting Your Goal Carry You 14 Feb 201113 Feb 2011 There is such joy in keeping a personal commitment. I keep blogging, logging in these little laps around the language. I keep breathing. At the end of our 21 Day…
Academic Writing… Why Do I Have to Take this Class Anyway? 10 Feb 201112 Feb 2011 I haven't studied math since high school. I excelled in it. I took all four years of accelerated classes, keeping college majoring options open. Then I tested out of college…