Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 680
July 28, 2010
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The fact that I cannot walk into a restaurant full of empty tables and simply choose the table that I want baffles me. I understand that when the joint is jumping and customers are waiting, you will be assigned to a table of the hostess's choice. But on a Tuesday night at 6:00, I should be able to walk in, scan the restaurant, and say, I'll take that booth over there" rather than hoping for my desired table.
Am I wrong?
Thankfully, I am married to a woman who operates under this assumption...
Useless word
As a writer, certain words annoy me.
For example, the word minute, an indication of 60 seconds of time, is spelled the same as minute, meaning small.
I hate this. I have been forced to abandon the use of minute, meaning small, more than once because of the confusion that it causes when read. In fact, I would argue that the word minute (meaning small) cannot be effectively used in writing without briefly distracting the reader.
What good is a word that I can't ever use?
Career advice
Even though Elysha and I are on the no call list, we still receive the occasional unsolicited calls from telemarketers. Usually these are companies that we already do business with who are looking for more business. Credit card companies, The Hartford Stage, our alma maters, etc.
Sometimes I'm sort of glad that we do.
The other day Chase called me to inform me about an insurance protection program that they are offering cardholders. Normally, I wait for the telemarketer to take a...
July 27, 2010
Top 3 blogger on this blog
A friend of mine recently started doing business with one of the "Top 3 dermatologists in New York City."
Certain relatives love to assert that their doctor/lawyer/psychologist/tanner/lion tamer is one of the top three in their respective craft in their respective city.
I hear this expression all of the time.
"You must call this dermatologist. She's one of the top three in her field."
"He's the top plastic surgeon in the state."
"She's the number one dental practitioner in the...
Backing into trouble
I watched a woman grind her enormous SUV into a Subaru station wagon as she was backing into a parking spot at Shaw's supermarket today.
My question: Why does anyone ever back into a parking spot?
Can't we all agree that it's infinitely easier to back out of a parking spot into an empty lane of traffic than it is to wedge your car between two others while your body is twisted around in the seat and your vision is compromised?
And how often have you been trapped behind someone who has...
July 26, 2010
A contest! Everyone loves a contest! And there are fabulous prizes, too!
Okay, I have a contest, and hopefully enough of my readers will be interested to make it worthwhile.
On August 25, I will be appearing at WORD in Brooklyn, NY as part of my book tour for UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO. As part of the promotion for the event, WORD has created a webpage that provides the details about the appearance.
Included on WORD's website is a short bio of myself, which was written almost two years ago when the promotion for SOMETHING MISSING was just beginning. In looking at...
Clever brats-turned-friends
I've reach the point in my teaching career when some of my first students are now becoming young adults. As such, many of them are now becoming people who I am proud to call my friends.
I play golf and basketball with former students. I discuss writing and books with them. They attend my readings and signings. I pay them to babysit my daughter.
Just last week I engaged in a challenging, intellectual and reflective conversation with a former student about religion and parenting. ...
Contrition or liberation?
Thomas Friedman wrote an article that talked about how the world has become more transparent. With the advent of blogs, cell phone cameras, and social networks like Facebook and MySpace, anyone who wants to publish their opinion can do so with ease, and therefore a person's actions and words can be instantly beamed to the rest of the world. This means that off-color comments, boorish behavior, and controversial opinions can now be reported to vast numbers of people, thus damaging a person's...
July 25, 2010
Perhaps my publisher should triple the price of my book
It is a sad fact that price seems to equate to pleasure in human beings.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology recently studied a subject's reaction to wine after being informed about the price of the bottle.
Of course, the researchers were not truthful about the price.
Two of the wines sampled were offered twice, once at an alleged low price and once at a much higher price. And the subjects consistently said they enjoyed what they thought were expensive wines more.
...July 24, 2010
Future caveman?
I took a misanthropic quiz today.
I turned out to be 70% misanthropic. The results read:
Here's the truth: Most people suck. You are just lucky enough to know it.
You're not ready to go live alone in a cave - but you're getting there.
While some of my friends might not find these results surprising, I actually have a lot of wonderful friends in my life and am not ready to retire to a cave anytime soon..
Of course, based upon my recent experience at Pep Boys, the 70% result might...
