Friday Donuts

Friends, I knew working from home was going to be weird, so I had mentally prepared for some of the inevitable challenges. I decided to keep as many personal routines as possible intact . I’ve been getting-up at the same time (even though it is tempting to sleep-in due to the shorter “commute”) and have kept-up with personal grooming (showering, dressing for work, having breakfast, etc.). I got a nice desk and dedicated ergonomic space and brew a pot of coffee every morning. As for the isolation, I suppose it can’t be helped. Sure, video meetings are nice, but they can’t take the place of hallway conversations. On whole I’d say my first week working from home has been a guarded success. Still, there were a few unexpected twists. Fresh air . On Wednesday afternoon I realized I had not set foot outside my house since Sunday –and quickly remedied the situation. Invisible chair . The edge of my camera view catches a corner of the room with some “invisible” clutter. As

Friends, In my experience, writer’s block rarely comes from a lack of ideas. More often than not it comes from too many ideas -and an inability or unwillingness to cull the herd and pick a topic to develop. When I have several ideas which equally deserve to be written about, it’s tempting to get stingy and try to keep them all. Like children, I can’t pick a favorite -and then I get stuck. After all, indecision is anathema to focus -and good writing requires focus. Case-in-point, this week. There was a laundry list of topics I could have picked. Each worthy of its own article. People in the news whose names would make great vampire names (white house budget director Mick Mulvaney and Colorado Public Radio reporter Vic Vela would definitely make that list) Gravitationally Challenged Tuesday. Think about it, donuts and weight euphemisms could have made for a great write-up! Re-brand Ash Valentine’s Wednesday. Like a winter Olympic athlete going for a medal hat t

Friends, When things on earth get a little too crazy (memogate vitriol, Rohingya refugees, market jitters…), my thoughts can gravitate towards space. Lately, there has been no shortage of reasons to look up. Cool . On Jan 21, Rocket Lab launched a carbon fiber, ultra-shiny disco ball into space. The “Humanity Star” will be the brightest object in the night sky until it burns-up in our atmosphere in about six months. Looking for a conversation piece on a night-out? Track it , then plan an outing where you can casually point it out! It should be visible in the Denver area for three minutes on Sunday, Feb 25 th (you’ll need to check closer to the actual date for precise times). Why? Because! Cooler . This week, SpaceX successfully launched a cherry red Tesla roadster, fully equipped with a Starman , blaring David Bowie’s Life on Mars into an elliptical solar orbit that reaches beyond Mars. It is expected to remain in space a

Friends, Does language affect body language? Sure, different cultures have different ways of expressing themselves (Italians move their hands a lot more than Brits), but, does the same person change their body language when they change the language in which they’re thinking? Perhaps. This weekend, I noticed something peculiar. When I saw someone that looked like they came from the U.S. (a vast majority of people in Cancún), I would greet them with a measured head nod, lowering my head as they passed by (keeping a straight face). When I saw someone whom I imagined spoke Spanish, my sub-conscious greeting was a brief and brisk chin rise (all while flashing a smile and raising my eyebrows). The language I was thinking in at the time directly impacted my body language. Perhaps there is such a thing as body Spanish! Then again, it may be the difference between a “howdy m’am” and a “:what’s up?” Kind of tempts me to alternate the TV sound by quarters between SAP and the English narration