The Baby Cat

When we first adopted our cat Kiwi, she was very small. Not surprising, because she was still at the tail end of the kitten phase. As she got older, though, she didn’t grow a whole lot larger. We realized that she would be, size-wise at least, perpetually kitten-sized. Even after her third birthday, we still called her Baby Cat.

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Buckets

We are all holding a bucket.

Would the Ring turn something you’re holding invisible?

Of all the powers conferred by the One Ring, perhaps the most idiosyncratic and random is its ability to turn the wearer invisible. Why does it do this in the first place? Well, the real answer is because Tolkien wrote it as a ring of invisibility well before he knew what it was or what significance it held to his story and his world.

But since the Ring is, among other things, a ring of invisibility, it’s reasonable to ask questions about its properties and limitations.

The Funeral Procession

Back when my now-wife and I were dating, her grandmother passed away. She invited me to come to the funeral, which was of course a bag of mixed emotions. I was sad for her and her family at the loss of her grandma; I was happy to be invited; and I was nervous because this would be the first time I met most of her family.

The Waterfall and the State Religion of Iceland

Iceland’s early settlement and history was a bit messy and difficult, as might be expected when attempting to settle a land with little wood for fuel or building, low temperatures even in summer, and winters of near-perpetual darkness. The proto-country never developed central rulership.

The Pen That Got Away

I’ve written before on this site regarding my obsession with pens. This is the story of my favorite ever pen, the one that got away.

The Drive Home

I went to college at Virginia Tech, about a three-hour drive from my hometown of Knoxville. As is true for most people, the transition from high school to college was exciting and scary all at once.

At the end of my very first semester, the very last exam I had to take was Introduction to Computer Science. I fully expected it to be a cakewalk (it was), but exams are always a stressful time. After the exam was over, I was going to head back home to my parents’ house.

And it was snowing.

The New Republic

I was really into Star Wars when I was younger. Like, really into it. I watched all the movies, I read all the books, and of course I played all the video games.

The Contingency Employer

In an unfortunate turn of events, I found myself laid off while living in New Zealand. What’s a guy to do? That employer was my first job out of university, and I’d held that position for eight and a half years. I had never found myself unemployed before.

Axis and Allies

When I was in Boy Scouts (now just called Scouts), my Scoutmaster owned a game store. Not as in video games, but as in tabletop and board games. As you might imagine, his enthusiasm for such games rubbed off on his young charges.