Mark Twain: The Law of Narrative

Someday – when I’m brave enough – I’ll write like Mark Twain. He manages to be sparse yet fully furnished. Like a minimalist home with a lived-in look. Artful and direct, he takes a meandering track through his stories that wonders all over but when complete seem like they couldn’t have taken any other way. […]



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the one where took apart the car door

The Brown recently broke my car’s rear window with his fat Lab head. To prove to the Internet that not all my attempts to use tools fail, I illustrate the repair with helpful photos. Filed under: photos, projects, tools & tips, wildlife



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Sorry, WildDog.

Move over, WildDog…. a new pup’s coming to town! Filed under: marriage, media, photos, shenanigans, wildlife Tagged: baby, birth announcement, chocolate lab, photo, sad, sign



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what it’s like to stand in the middle of a massive corn field

So, here’s my take on what it’s like to stand in the middle of a massive corn field. I’ve had a couple of “wilderness experiences” this month — times of protracted solitude away from phones, emails, computers, and the demands of daily details. Thank goodness. One of those experiences was on a farm in Nebraska […]



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going off the grid

Next week I’m going camping. And not the Texas variety of camping where you stay in a cabin and everyone thinks it’s “rustic” because there’s no internet and the TV is smaller than the one you’ve got at home. No, I’m talking about real camping. Seven days on a desert island with no snack bar. […]



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the new, old, “old” mirror

It’s new because I just made it. It’s old because we ripped it out of our downstairs bathroom. And it’s “old” because it’s been through a 7-step process to make it look like it’s been hanging in a barn for a few decades. It’s a new, old, “old” mirror. photos & video on the flip […]



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blue no more

There’s nothing like the threat of out-of-town guests to motivate you to get the guest room set up. A new peaceful paint scheme turned this room from “blue” to “ahhh.” We were leaning toward some warmer colors for the room, but after some test spots we went with a more neutral scheme of putty walls […]



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How does one determine the level of intelligence of a person based solely on conversation?

I was cruising Quora recently and came across this interesting question: How does one determine the level of intelligence of a person based solely on conversation? With my media background, I’m always interested in finding ways to dig in someone’s mind, unearth their thoughts, and put those thoughts together in a way that does justice [...]



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gratitude: my worst shower

The sleazy midwest motel. The African safe house. Or the Idaho “cabin.” Replacing my bathroom shower head this weekend got me thinking about which venue could claim the title of MY WORST SHOWER EVER… Here in our comfy house in a safe, normal neighborhood it’s tempting to over emphasize the need to improve our surroundings [...]



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Backyard Sports Science

The Brown has decided he loves to catch frisbees. We break it down with a little Backyard Sports Science. Filed under: media, shenanigans, video, wildlife Tagged: chocolate, dog, frisbee, funny, lab, lewis, puppy, video



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WildDog at Work: A Ruff Day with IKEA

Why put together one large IKEA bookshelf when you can assemble four of them? Luckily, WildDog was on hand to supervise. When you’ve got a massive book storage problem, the only solution is to go to IKEA, right? And while you’re there, you really should spend 2 hours wandering the Swedish jungle only to select [...]



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The Brown and the White

It didn’t take long. The Brown soon realized that the white powder falling from the sky was just another state of his favorite substance – water. A Lab. His bone. And a flurry of snow. It’s time for you to rearrange your priorities. Drop what you’re doing and immerse yourself in the The Brown and [...]



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