Garage Band

There was a time in the not-so-distant past that the garage was the official man-cave, a domain of dirt, grease, and dangerous tools. Calendars from Rigid Tools adorned the walls, and broken memories from a man’s life lay scattered among the jars of nails and screws on the workbench. Projects begun and abandoned lay hidden … Read more

Cubicle Farm

I was once in my cubicle, settling down to enjoy an iced tea, when something bad happened. Like most cubicles, it was cramped, and to make up for the lack of space, I had taped project documents all over the walls and shelves surrounding my computer monitor. It’s one of those principles to help you … Read more

Death By Mixing Bowl

In Cleveland there are two main highways that lead into the city, and both of them stay high above the Cuyahoga River. That area, the Cuyahoga Valley just south of downtown, is an industrial wasteland where steel mills and chemical plants operate — not like they used to, of course, but they belch smoke into … Read more

Being Hadick

I have had two interesting encounters with folks named Hadick this past week, which reminded me of another, more interesting encounter. I joined a social networking site and within one day was contacted by someone else with the same last name. It turned out to be my cousin’s son whom I had never met before. … Read more

Basement Blues

I spent the better part of a long weekend cleaning my basement last month. There were boxes stacked on top of boxes, partially spilled boxes on top of the spillage from other boxes, and the debris left over from some fun game my son played with his friends. That is just the beginning of the … Read more