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Lost and (maybe? eventually?) found
As I write this, I am about 90 percent sure my wedding ring is somewhere in or around our house. I am 100 percent sure it’s not on my finger. That is a problem, but not an entirely unprecedented one. I...
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A post-Graham Post
The spectacle of experienced, often cynical journalists getting a little weepy over the prospect of their paper’s ownership changing from a group of rich people to one exceptionally rich person might...
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A love letter to XOXO
PORTLAND–If you write for a living, hope and fear are part of the deal. Hope, because you believe your ability to make words appear on a screen in a pleasing sequence will lead other people to give you...
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Don’t blame this nonsense on “Washington” or “Congress”
Most of the federal government shut down at midnight, and that sucks for multiple reasons. (Beyond the basic breakdown in democratic government on display, the shutdown has cut off a few friends from...
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My wavering definition of “weekend”
By the middle of this Saturday morning, I’d already written one thing for work, sent a couple of pitches to one editor and had begun working on this post. This was not unusual. What may be odd is that...
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My 2013 gardening report card
The forecast calls for below-freezing temperature tonight, so I officially put this year’s gardening season in the books by plucking the last few, still-green plum tomatoes off their dying vines. That...
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Things a freelance writer can be thankful for
Clients who say yes to your pitches–or at least politely say no and explain why they didn’t work for them. Clients who offer you unexpected assignments, preferably near a dollar a word. Clients you...
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Side effect of reviewing gadgets: a largely gadget-free Christmas
Since I see so much gadget coverage timed for the holiday season–and have contributed a fair amount of it in the past–I have to assume that normal people give and get gadgets around the holidays. But I...
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Christmas calendar compression
I can now click a button on a Web page and have almost any product delivered to almost anywhere in the United States within two days at no additional cost. That’s a respectable alternative to Star...
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Wintry mix: a Christmas playlist with a little indie-D.C. cred
By now, your brain is probably crammed full with the holiday songs you’ve heard since you were five–and they’re all stuck on repeat, right? Playing the traditional earworm cleanser, AC/DC’s “Back in...
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2013 in review: changing channels
I’m ending this year with a lineup of freelance clients that doesn’t look much like what it began with. I think I’m getting more comfortable with that sort of flux. Writing about tech policy at the...
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Things I have learned from life on the cold front
The coldest January Washington’s seen in almost 20 years is finally coming to a close, and it may even crack 50 degrees over the weekend. That makes this a good time to go over some lessons learned...
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Storytelling about story selling
Earlier this week, I did a foolish thing: I wrote an article without even trying to get paid for it. The piece in question–a 313-word listicle relating ten thoughts about Facebook on the day of its...
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D.C. snowstorms are the best
I woke to find about nine inches of snow had accumulated overnight. That’s the most snow we’ve had all season and the most we’ve had in three years–two of which were less like a traditional D.C. winter...
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Tax-time thoughts: now with slightly less incompetent accounting!
I have survived, I think, another tax season as a self-employed individual, and I’m increasingly convinced that if I keep doing this I will someday know what I’m doing. Once again, my worst enemy was...
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Where does the time go?
When I committed myself to writing one post a week recounting where I’d written, spoken or been quoted over the past seven days, an unspoken part of that deal was that I’d find something else to write...
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Decluttering tip: Hand over home-improvement leftovers to Habitat for Humanity
In the decade we’ve now spent in our home, we’ve had a non-trivial amount of work done on the place, which in turn led to many of the parts that we’d replaced piling up in the basement. Basements are...
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Recipe: farmers’ market gazpacho
About this time of year, farmers’ markets are all about the tomatoes. And the more cost-effective ones are all about tomatoes with issues. Sold as “seconds tomatoes,” “sauce tomatoes” or maybe just...
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MLB playoffs > NFL, NBA and NHL playoffs
It’s 0-0 in the bottom of the second inning of the Nationals’ division series against the Giants. I am excited to see my city’s team playing in October. And a little nervous. The 2014 postseason–the...
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The holiday season, as seen by a tech journalist
To those of you with normal jobs, this time of year means things like eating and spending too much, long travel to see far-flung relatives, having to remember where you stashed the ornaments, and...
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