Admin: Hey, ladies, quick reminder about the group’s rules. Remember, we’re here to help each other navigate a tricky and sometimes dangerous dating landscape, so let’s keep it civil and no screenshots or snitching. Jane Eyre: Where to start? I started nannying for this guy Edward and, I know, never date your boss. Also he’s […]
Life + Outdoors
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Guns, Germs and Steel
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — First sentence of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy This is the second of two discussions about Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel, published in 1997. Last time, I focused on the role of “Eurasian” diseases (to which European invaders had […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Guns, Germs and Steel, Part 1: Lethal Diseases
“Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we Black people had little cargo of our own?” — Yali, a Papua New Guinean politician, in conversation with Jared Diamond. “Cargo” here refers to inventions and manufactured goods. When Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Pruning Lessons, Tools and Warnings
As I write this, it’s overcast, drizzling and freaking cold. Quite a change from the day before, which was 66 degrees and sunny. Welcome to winter in Humboldt. I’m sure we’re all grateful for the break in the endless rain that occurred in late December and early January. I know I am, as it’s a […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Planting Apple Trees on the North Coast
Apples are the most accommodating and long lived of fruit trees, and they cope with our wet climate quite well. There are many varieties of apple trees to choose from, each with its own characteristics. January is the best month to plant bare root trees, so take the time now to research the best varieties […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Dry January Mocktails
Whether you’re taking a break after the holidays or “dry curious,” many are forgoing alcohol for Dry January. But as you look at 2025 so far, you may be thinking you’ve made a huge mistake. You’re not alone facing our hellscape without even the thinnest veil of numbing booze between you and reality’s horrors. Plenty […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Don’t Worry, Be Walking
Have you ever had a day when everything you touch ends up broken, materially or metaphorically? Your favorite mug slips from your grasp and shatters on the floor. You open the dishwasher at the end of its cycle and find a moving piece detached. Someone misunderstands a word you say and a pleasant conversation turns […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Cancer and Me
“Congratulations!” “Er, thanks — what for?” “For beating cancer!” Congratulations are certainly due but not to me. I was just the patient; all I had to do was be on time for my many medical appointments, follow my oncologist’s instructions and avoid crowds following my chemo infusions while my immune system was recovering. The real […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Moon Jellies for Breakfast
We at Washed-up Foods Inc. are preparing to launch our first breakfast cereal. It’s called Sugar Frosted Moon Flakes. It’s made from our local moon jelly (Aurelia aurita), one of the jellyfish species harvested for human consumption. Dried jellies are used in several Asian cuisines, and are high in protein and low in fat, but […]