From my perch in an oak tree, watching the sunrise, I had plenty of time to contemplate the irony that people want to talk about cougars and bears and creepy people on the trail, when it’s actually “man’s best friend” that has given me far more close calls. For the *first time in my life, […] more

Springtime! How can I tell? There’s poison oak on my legs from my last run, and instead of riding in the fantastic weather, I’m laboriously scraping girth and tack areas caked in mud because of spring time rains. An hour. A WHOLE HOUR. That, Dear Reader, is how long it took me PER HORSE to clean […] more

This week I “graduate” from the proton program. In addition to an official certificate (!? OK….), I also got a little pin with a symbol on it that is relevant to the science of proton particles (which I think is cool). Friday is my last treatment appointment but Tuesday was my final evening social event […] more

I’ve always intended that there be more than one Bar Napkin Book. I envisioned it as a series of short, to-the-point, practical guides on a whole bunch of topics that anyone with 2-3 hours could learn and apply. Unfortunately, I’ve been too busy with other projects to get another Bar Napkin together, but if you […] more

Seventeen times I’ve laid on this table, the plastic mask fitted over my face, waiting for the table to stop moving and the beams to be lined up exactly right, so the techs can leave the room. There are some people who find the mask so claustrophobic that they have to be sedated or put […] more

Loma Linda is unique among the universities, schools, and hospitals I’ve been a patient or a student at. It’s a private religious-based institution and while they aren’t overtly evangelical, the presence of religion and God is obvious – especially if your background is public universities. There are good things about this. The patient care and […] more