https://open.spotify.com/episode/73bJk8ZjpGbXueSQBnr5tn?si=vPOofPjXR3SdF5ed85JBrw There is a pandemic in Silicon Valley. It is making startups sick, and 90+% of all small businesses fail. This virus didn't start in China, or any country. It didn't begin in crowded, filthy wet markets from different animals swapping genes. It began with Google and Facebook, and their unrelenting greed for profits. I … Continue reading The Virus Killing Silicon Valley Startups
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4DIaZWItxWERRbZDNjZBz6?si=8fc15218e7cc4ebc My sister is dead, I told the bank manager. She isn’t dead. She lives in Washington with her husband, having recently moved from L.A., where we were both born and raised. The bank manager expressed his condolences. He accepted the paperwork from our lawyer to remove my sister's name from our Trust as the … Continue reading LOVE Defined
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3twfyST4SJL8zsLJ3kD6uO?si=ZHdYwRM3RJ2CJCQo3pwy9w Took a family vacation to Yellowstone last summer. After a day of exploring the spectacular park, we ate dinner at Canyon Village, a sprawling commercial development in the mist of the natural wonders. The kids wanted some souvenirs so we stopped in the gift shop before eating. The clerk at check-out was a kid, … Continue reading Jobless America
Strong winds shake the plane and rain sheets off the wings and streaks down the small windows as we sit on the runway waiting to take off. The 737 engines ramp to a high pitch roar. My three year old daughter sitting next to me suddenly grabs my hand as our plane accelerates, faster and faster … Continue reading The Terrorist Within
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5xhZeYAutJNfWi5zt9soK6?si=4073fb0a27024069 Had a meltdown on my tween son when he asked, yet again, for an iPad at breakfast this morning. Before the iPad he wanted a laptop. He'd insisted he needed my old HP the moment I purchased my Toshiba, though he could give no reason why he had to have it, since he had a powerful … Continue reading On Being Cool
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2rdvNjUq0mF0A9VRVQhYMI?si=f4801e17fd9c4045 My son’s guitar teacher was freaking out the other day over the impending arrival of his first child. Beyond a healthy birth, he was consumed with anxiety over the care and feeding of an infant, all the way up through guiding his child through their teen years. As a parent of two tweens, I … Continue reading The Power of Love
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3yJRofoRgfBT9w7QLL5Y0x?si=W-G4wBMOQKqloF1aAA-7oA On the short ride home from his Boy Scout meeting, my 11 yr old son was quiet and sullen. I asked him what was up. Had anything happened at the meeting that he wanted to talk about? I saw him looking at me from my rear view mirror, gauging how to tell me disappointing … Continue reading Boy Scouts of Faith-Based America
My husband's sister has two children. Her oldest, 15, was diagnosed with ADD when he was 9, and has been on Ritalin since. He’s failing out of the private high school he attends in Manhattan. He lies, cheats, and steals when it suits him. He is volatile (way beyond normal teenage angst), and often violent … Continue reading Parental ADHD
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2fxXPGFxrxRmhkxSB6lh9F?si=774979808a6f488b Our son went on a camping trip with his 5th grade class last week. He was gone four days, spent three nights bunking with eight of his classmates and a high school chaperon. They shared a cabin (with heated floors and a private bathroom), one of many scattered around Camp Arroyo, nestled in the … Continue reading Letting Go of Our Kids
(An Atheists View of Religion) Religion is one of the few remaining barriers to humanity’s advancement at this time. Perhaps it had a purpose once, when we were all closer to apes in mental development, but we're not anymore. We are living the Reign of Man. We’re effectively Gods here now. Relying on mysticism to … Continue reading With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
