"It was a great feeling, to realize that the home we have lived in for 27 years, and have remodeled extensively to fit our tastes, really was our dream home." I know that feeling, too. Last night, as my wife and I were cooling in our red-neck pool, we talked about how much our home had changed from the time we pulled in with our three kids in tow. Every transformation, small and large, brought the place closer to an expression of what we somehow internally defined as "home." And it's home now, not merely a house.
Great post, Tom. So glad to see your writing pop up on the occasional Sunday.
A very cool trio of stories there. On the surface, they seem totally unrelated, but really they're about finding self and place in the world -- at least that's what I got from it.
I've been thinking about free will lately, too. Mostly in relationship to AI and marketing. There is a reason those ads pop up when they do that make you feel like you're being followed by some bot. It's because humans are mostly predictable. We *think* we have free will. And point of fact: we do. But humans are also creatures of habit, so the choices we freely make are also fairly predictable, most of the time. It's why I refuse to use predictive text in texts and emails, etc. (even if my machine does guess right... But then I think, did my machine *make* me make that decision? lol) You're playing rock, paper, scissors with the Universe, and even though you can choose any of the three, the Universe knows you're probably about to flash a peace sign...
Not sure if you're fishing for advice on what to do in the third story (skip if you're not), but oh, the things you could do with that cookbook! Copying and pasting is not an issue if you send a link back to her web page or her book on a bookseller site. You can also paraphrase (still giving her credit), just like if you're doing research on a topic. You could relate the story "as told to" style, kind of like Garrison Keillor, again, with links. You could do it semi-review style, like you did in the first story in this post. Once again, with links.
I hear what you're saying about keeping it original, but there are many original ways to convey information. Journalists, for example, routinely convey quotes. They didn't say them. They didn't have the ideas behind them. But they do decide which quotes make it into the article and which don't. They decide the order to present them. The lens to look at them through. The context provided with those quotes.
I also agree 100% that if you're not happy with a piece of writing, don't publish it. I guess in my line of work, these are all issues I've worked through already and had to get comfortable with (I'm also a classic overthinker...). I would never plagiarize either, but one of the key tenets of plagiarism is that unattributed part. As long as you credit Mi Ae, you're good. (And hey, if she gave you the source material, I'd tend to say credit her with links any chance you got anyway, regardless of anything to do with plagiarism!)
Last thought -- there is a Sub-Reddit on liminality that would go nuts over that first image you posted. One of the memes is about the Windows 95 desktop image with the green rolling hils against the blue sky -- you know the one I'm talking about. Although this isn't exactly that, it *does* look like it's from the same photoshoot. Even the shadows are hatched in perfectly!
Thanks Graham, and I think the way you identify the collective tissue is about right. I don’t think I was looking for advice, but I’m sure not against it: I think you’ve identified about the approach I take, though the channel I’m writing in doesn’t really do citations. But Mi Ae knows I dig her work. As for that Windows 95 shot—it was really wild to turn this corner and head up the hill and feel like I’d been transported to that very desktop. I took a few photos of it and all of them could pass. And you know what: it was just beautiful.
Yes - since a young age, well before that desktop image, I've been looking for a green field like that. It's kind of a joke between my wife and I. Now I know where I should have been looking! lol
Another good piece, Tom! Thanks for the book review. I have it on hold at the library, but I think I'll change it to the audio version. I'm glad you and Sara decided to stay put, or at least not move to Walla Walla. It is situated in country I love, and the town does have its charms. When we moved there in the late 90s there were 8 or 9 wineries in the area. When we left 14 years later there were over 130, and the ones founded by locals were slowly being eaten by bigger corporations. The wine industry changed the vibe of the town, mostly not for the better.
As a proud member of the Overthinking Club, welcome back! I often waver on the value of my writing, but a good book or 'stack reminds me of how and why these are important. Also glad we're not losing y'all to Walla Walla.
I'll have to take a look at A Walk in the Park, thanks for the recommendation! I'm also quite the over thinker and find my head wayyyy too far in my own ass, basically every day. Happy birthday!
Thought-provoking post, Tom. First of all, it reminded me that I pay a monthly Audible subscription and always forget about it. Just used up one of my credits to download A Walk In The Park. You're a decent salesman.
You ask, How do you explain decisions when you’re not sure you’re making them?
The way I do it is to play back the whole period in my mind, like a play, and zoom in on little details that remind me of things going on in the background. Then sometimes the decisions I made without realising identify themselves. Then if I want to understand why those decisions were made, I jump back into that state of mind, try to relive the feelings and the bigger-picture motivations that were going on at the time.
It's warming to read that you handled plagiarism from your students in more or less the exact same way I do. Although for the past couple of years I drum the bang of warning so loudly throughout the semester that they'd have to be a complete fool to try it. Not to say that a couple of fools still don't.
Good piece, mate. I'll let you know when I eventually start listening to the audio book.
Thanks Kris. I hope you like the book … do let me know. I was really intrigued by the almost over-the-top humility Fedarko displayed, and also by how much shit he gave his friend Pete McBride.
I listened to the first few minutes, it's passed the test. I find it hard focusing at this time of year, so it'll be a slow process getting through it. Audible's for the morning walk to work usually.
Enjoyed this cornucopia of topics, Tom. I always forget to sign up in the winter for a CSA; loved doing one a few years ago. (What the hell is a pattypan squash?) I empathize with the house search (still nothing but the spreadsheet idea I borrowed from you is helping, as is Pinot Grigio). Look forward to more pics and Sara’s art!
I love the house-hunting/not-house-hunting story very, very much. I hate the thought of moving, and always have. I like to stay put! I'm so thankful that my parents still live in the house that they moved to when I was nearly two. I live elsewhere, but close by.
I'm going to check out 'A Walk in the Park' by Kevin Fedarko - I'm grateful for your recommendation! I'm on the verge of finishing 'A Walk in the Woods' by Bill Bryson, his hilarious and beautifully-researched and written account of his experiences on the Appalachian Trail. I shall be so disappointed when I've finished it, as I always am when I've had such a great read for company!
I sure hope you like the book. I adored it. I hate the thought of moving also, but my wife dreams of it constantly, so I have to walk this path with her. Luckily for me, she’s also aware that we’ve made our home pretty much as good as it can be, so the chances of finding something better that stays within our budget are really, really small. I’ve grown used to the idea that we’re play house-hunting, and that I won’t really have to leave, though we get pretty close to the brink sometimes.
The one time I had no choice about moving but HAD to, I went on strike. So did my brother. We were both less than ten years old at the time, and we were NOT MOVING.
Fortunately my parents changed their minds, and instead of moving to somewhere that had the much-needed extra bedroom they contracted builders to extend the house! 😂
My kids—32 and 30 and both married now—do NOT want us to move. They recognize they have no vote, but to them, where we live now is home and they want us to keep it that way.
I guess I'm the same! I visit the home I grew up in all the time - in fact I was last there just this morning - and I can't imagine my folks living anywhere else. Like your kids, though, I don't have a vote if my parents choose to move, and I'll be part of their journey if they ever do.
"It was a great feeling, to realize that the home we have lived in for 27 years, and have remodeled extensively to fit our tastes, really was our dream home." I know that feeling, too. Last night, as my wife and I were cooling in our red-neck pool, we talked about how much our home had changed from the time we pulled in with our three kids in tow. Every transformation, small and large, brought the place closer to an expression of what we somehow internally defined as "home." And it's home now, not merely a house.
Great post, Tom. So glad to see your writing pop up on the occasional Sunday.
I’m waving at you from my porch, Mark, way across the country here. “Occasional” is the right word for my posting schedule!
Talk about burying the lede -- Happy Birthday!
A very cool trio of stories there. On the surface, they seem totally unrelated, but really they're about finding self and place in the world -- at least that's what I got from it.
I've been thinking about free will lately, too. Mostly in relationship to AI and marketing. There is a reason those ads pop up when they do that make you feel like you're being followed by some bot. It's because humans are mostly predictable. We *think* we have free will. And point of fact: we do. But humans are also creatures of habit, so the choices we freely make are also fairly predictable, most of the time. It's why I refuse to use predictive text in texts and emails, etc. (even if my machine does guess right... But then I think, did my machine *make* me make that decision? lol) You're playing rock, paper, scissors with the Universe, and even though you can choose any of the three, the Universe knows you're probably about to flash a peace sign...
Not sure if you're fishing for advice on what to do in the third story (skip if you're not), but oh, the things you could do with that cookbook! Copying and pasting is not an issue if you send a link back to her web page or her book on a bookseller site. You can also paraphrase (still giving her credit), just like if you're doing research on a topic. You could relate the story "as told to" style, kind of like Garrison Keillor, again, with links. You could do it semi-review style, like you did in the first story in this post. Once again, with links.
I hear what you're saying about keeping it original, but there are many original ways to convey information. Journalists, for example, routinely convey quotes. They didn't say them. They didn't have the ideas behind them. But they do decide which quotes make it into the article and which don't. They decide the order to present them. The lens to look at them through. The context provided with those quotes.
I also agree 100% that if you're not happy with a piece of writing, don't publish it. I guess in my line of work, these are all issues I've worked through already and had to get comfortable with (I'm also a classic overthinker...). I would never plagiarize either, but one of the key tenets of plagiarism is that unattributed part. As long as you credit Mi Ae, you're good. (And hey, if she gave you the source material, I'd tend to say credit her with links any chance you got anyway, regardless of anything to do with plagiarism!)
Last thought -- there is a Sub-Reddit on liminality that would go nuts over that first image you posted. One of the memes is about the Windows 95 desktop image with the green rolling hils against the blue sky -- you know the one I'm talking about. Although this isn't exactly that, it *does* look like it's from the same photoshoot. Even the shadows are hatched in perfectly!
Great post as usual, Tom!
Thanks Graham, and I think the way you identify the collective tissue is about right. I don’t think I was looking for advice, but I’m sure not against it: I think you’ve identified about the approach I take, though the channel I’m writing in doesn’t really do citations. But Mi Ae knows I dig her work. As for that Windows 95 shot—it was really wild to turn this corner and head up the hill and feel like I’d been transported to that very desktop. I took a few photos of it and all of them could pass. And you know what: it was just beautiful.
Yes - since a young age, well before that desktop image, I've been looking for a green field like that. It's kind of a joke between my wife and I. Now I know where I should have been looking! lol
Another good piece, Tom! Thanks for the book review. I have it on hold at the library, but I think I'll change it to the audio version. I'm glad you and Sara decided to stay put, or at least not move to Walla Walla. It is situated in country I love, and the town does have its charms. When we moved there in the late 90s there were 8 or 9 wineries in the area. When we left 14 years later there were over 130, and the ones founded by locals were slowly being eaten by bigger corporations. The wine industry changed the vibe of the town, mostly not for the better.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of Fedarko’s book. I’m impressed by it on so many levels.
As a proud member of the Overthinking Club, welcome back! I often waver on the value of my writing, but a good book or 'stack reminds me of how and why these are important. Also glad we're not losing y'all to Walla Walla.
Thanks Katharine, hope to see you soon
Interesting. BTW it's "over his skis" up there at the top, not "skies." Although perhaps it's fitting considering the location.
Thank you! Correction made.
I'll have to take a look at A Walk in the Park, thanks for the recommendation! I'm also quite the over thinker and find my head wayyyy too far in my own ass, basically every day. Happy birthday!
Thanks Skylar … you gonna be at the meetup next week?
Thought-provoking post, Tom. First of all, it reminded me that I pay a monthly Audible subscription and always forget about it. Just used up one of my credits to download A Walk In The Park. You're a decent salesman.
You ask, How do you explain decisions when you’re not sure you’re making them?
The way I do it is to play back the whole period in my mind, like a play, and zoom in on little details that remind me of things going on in the background. Then sometimes the decisions I made without realising identify themselves. Then if I want to understand why those decisions were made, I jump back into that state of mind, try to relive the feelings and the bigger-picture motivations that were going on at the time.
It's warming to read that you handled plagiarism from your students in more or less the exact same way I do. Although for the past couple of years I drum the bang of warning so loudly throughout the semester that they'd have to be a complete fool to try it. Not to say that a couple of fools still don't.
Good piece, mate. I'll let you know when I eventually start listening to the audio book.
Thanks Kris. I hope you like the book … do let me know. I was really intrigued by the almost over-the-top humility Fedarko displayed, and also by how much shit he gave his friend Pete McBride.
I listened to the first few minutes, it's passed the test. I find it hard focusing at this time of year, so it'll be a slow process getting through it. Audible's for the morning walk to work usually.
Enjoyed this cornucopia of topics, Tom. I always forget to sign up in the winter for a CSA; loved doing one a few years ago. (What the hell is a pattypan squash?) I empathize with the house search (still nothing but the spreadsheet idea I borrowed from you is helping, as is Pinot Grigio). Look forward to more pics and Sara’s art!
It’s not a big decision unless it needs a spreadsheet! Thanks for your comment Bryn.
Happy recent birthday, Tom! 🥳
I love the house-hunting/not-house-hunting story very, very much. I hate the thought of moving, and always have. I like to stay put! I'm so thankful that my parents still live in the house that they moved to when I was nearly two. I live elsewhere, but close by.
I'm going to check out 'A Walk in the Park' by Kevin Fedarko - I'm grateful for your recommendation! I'm on the verge of finishing 'A Walk in the Woods' by Bill Bryson, his hilarious and beautifully-researched and written account of his experiences on the Appalachian Trail. I shall be so disappointed when I've finished it, as I always am when I've had such a great read for company!
I sure hope you like the book. I adored it. I hate the thought of moving also, but my wife dreams of it constantly, so I have to walk this path with her. Luckily for me, she’s also aware that we’ve made our home pretty much as good as it can be, so the chances of finding something better that stays within our budget are really, really small. I’ve grown used to the idea that we’re play house-hunting, and that I won’t really have to leave, though we get pretty close to the brink sometimes.
The one time I had no choice about moving but HAD to, I went on strike. So did my brother. We were both less than ten years old at the time, and we were NOT MOVING.
Fortunately my parents changed their minds, and instead of moving to somewhere that had the much-needed extra bedroom they contracted builders to extend the house! 😂
My kids—32 and 30 and both married now—do NOT want us to move. They recognize they have no vote, but to them, where we live now is home and they want us to keep it that way.
I guess I'm the same! I visit the home I grew up in all the time - in fact I was last there just this morning - and I can't imagine my folks living anywhere else. Like your kids, though, I don't have a vote if my parents choose to move, and I'll be part of their journey if they ever do.