Oh, Canada! Lately I’ve had a lot of dealings with the place, just over the phone, which have led me to the impressions that Toronto is a nice place, albeit with some bad neighborhoods, and Montreal is a Hellmouth. Until 2008, I had never even set foot in Canada, despite the fact that I’ve travelled…
Author: cjbickford
In Search of a Better Hamster Ball Design
Last night, at 1 a.m. in the morning, my husband and I were down on our knees calling out “Milo!” and shining flashlights into every dark, and possible hidey-hole in our living room, looking for our runaway hamster. Of every place we looked, the last possible place for him to be (barring an untimely death…
The Past and Future of Comic-Con, in the Context of Indie Bands
This week, I’m grateful not to be working at Comic-Con. Quite frankly, the logistics of the show, in its present state, drove me so crazy, my husband Peter banned me from having anything to do with it.I’m manning the office this week, talking to ComicBase customers (who are almost always fun to talk to) and…
A Taste of Lake County’s Wines
When we booked a week on Clear Lake in northern California, we expected to enjoy nature and the lake. What we didn’t expect to find was an up-and-coming wine scene. As we gradually found out, winemaking is relatively new to Lake County. Most of the wineries we encountered were established about a decade ago, maybe…
Electromagnetic Signals from Air Fields Screw with Auto Sensors
A few months ago, Peter was stymied by the fact that the tire pressure light on his 2010 Ford Escape lways seemed to switch on. He carefully checked the tire pressure, which was fine. He took his car to the Ford dealership, which confirmed the tire pressure was fine. They reset the light. And then,…
A Hike to Hidden Falls in Soquel
Last weekend, I joined my daughter’s Brownie troop for their Brownie Camporee, which involved Junior Girl scouts from two local troops teaching the Brownies from 4 troops about knot tying, fire building, trail signs, and putting on silly songs and skits for others. It took place at Camp Hidden Falls in Soquel. This Girl Scout…
Online Courses at San Jose State
The New York Times recently reported on the San Jose State’s Philosophy Department’s critique of online courses, as the university considers issuing credit for students who take and pass an edX online course taught by Professor Michael Sandel. However, one thing that’s often been missed in the reporting is that San Jose State is pioneering…
Dismay at the Book Burning Professors
Yesterday, I was dismayed to find out two professors in the meteorology department at San Jose had posted a picture of themselves about to set fire to a book, presumably because they disagreed with its contents. The picture was taken down but not before it was captured, because the idea of professors literally — not…
An Infantilized Society
Comedian John Heffron often compares the independence he had as a child to the way we raise our children today. I told this to a fellow mom at a park as we watched one of our peers go scurrying off in search of her 7-year-old son in the very suburban park. She told me that…
Pear Slices 2013
I’ve been going to shows at The Pear Avenue Theatre in Mountain View whenever I can for several years now, and the Pear Slices were a particular favorite for our family. They’re a selection of short one-act plays by local playwrights, like any Pear performance, imaginatively staged and well-directed. We were sorry that other commitments…