The Diatribe * net

It’s amazing some of the things you remember from when you were in grammar school. For instance, every great once in a while I remember a superstitious trick that my fourth grade teacher taught us about the first of every month. She said that if you say “Jimeny Cricket” as the very first words out [...]

I feel like a kid again.  I cannot tell you all how excited I am that The Police are back together.  However, this is The Police we’re talking about and I am petrified that Stewart and Sting will get in a fistfight at tonight’s Grammy Awards, which will lead to yet another broken arm/wrist/hand for Stewart, [...]

At Google, we have a number of meetings or training sessions where you’re required to introduce yourself. Besides the usual "name, department & start date" there’s always a unique question that is asked. "What is your favorite meal?","What is your Favorite Smell?","What was your last concert that you went to", etc. This past week in [...]

Yesterday, Bob Barker announced that he’ll be retiring from The Price is Right next June. Even though I don’t get to watch this show more than a couple times a year, this news hit me hard. I remember some serious bonding time as a pre-schooler watching TPIR with my mom. I also [...]

Happy Halloween, everybody. I heard something on a morning radio show on my drive into work today that made me remember something I hadn’t thought about in a long time. As a kid, there were years when I had some good Halloween costumes - I was Dracula one year, a pirate another year, [...]

My brother-in-law just forwarded me this article about a nearby town that decided to ban all contact during recess. Reading the article instantly sent me back to my halcyon recess days from first grade through fifth grade. Once we hit sixth grade, of course, our recess time was briefer and became more of [...]

Last weekend I drove back to Mass for my cousin Amy’s bachelorette party and my friend Jodi’s bridal shower. In this short weekend, I managed to see domestic abuse and the cops, attend a car show, meet a Massachusetts state senator, and dance on a stripper pole. Did I enter the Twilight Zone? No, just [...]