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In the third season of AMC’s Mad Men, ad exec and perpetual little boy Pete Campbell whines to his wife after an insufficient promotion, “Why can’t I get anything good all at once?”
It’s an attitude I can relate to…and probably many other people throughout history, considering we have proverbs like “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” and other colloquial exhortations to be grateful. Still, sometimes we want what we want, when we want it. What then?
Read MoreA friend of mine is investigating a business idea.
In fact, he’s been investigating various business ideas for the past few months. He’s not sure whether the idea he has now will turn out to be a good one.
I wonder if what he’s really asking is, “Will my idea be successful?” And perhaps he would define success as, “Will it yield a profitable business?”
Read MoreMany experienced piano students come to me struggling with a technical problem I like to call The Claw.
Instead of dropping the weight of their arm into the key with a light bounce, they press into the bottom of the key forcefully, with a tensed finger and wrist.
It’s supposed to be like tapping an iPad; instead, it’s like trying to open a pickle jar. The result is a brittle, labored sound.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us into a global experiment in distance learning and online education. Suddenly, millions of children and adolescents are no longer attending school. What do we do with them?
With Rulerless Academy, I have adapted the traditional middle school curriculum to one that can be delivered fully online. It works! Here are some shifts that I recommend in order to make online education successful.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I decided that I would design my own knitted leg warmers.
I sketched out a schematic and chart, knitted some small swatches of the basic pattern, and then started in on the first leg warmer.
Things went okay and they came out pretty good. However, the back side, where I had done the shaping, looked a a little unrefined.
Read MoreMy mind was blown when I figured out I could fix mistakes in my knitting.
Even if I saw a mistake several rows back, I didn’t have to rip everything out. I didn’t even have to rip out all the rows between me and my mistake. I could simply release a stitch or two, do some surgery, and then it would be like the mistake never happened.
Since I make lots of mistakes, this is something I’ve gotten pretty good at.
Of course, there are some mistakes for which repair would take several hours — or it’s just straight-up impossible. Hopefully these mistakes are also in the category of “no one would notice this but the pattern designer” or “I have to hunt to find that twisted stitch anyway.” I let them go.
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