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Poodle Lent
Poodle Lent is my adaptation of the traditional Christian season of Lent, reframed for people who are not religious but still value intentional periods of reflection, discipline, and renewal. While its structure mirrors the roughly 40-day observance practiced in many Christian traditions, especially the Catholic Church, Poodle Lent removes the theological framework and focuses instead…
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TaxPoodle’s guide to the sick day call/text
To begin, I think we need to agree on the term. We are describing the act of communicating with your boss, supervisor, manager, whatever-he-or-she-calls-him/herself that you cannot (or will not) perform the agreed upon labor you are employed to accomplish in return for financial remuneration for a period of time, which is usually unspecified but…
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Poodlism
The 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, an influence on Nietzsche and a contemporary of Hegel, was known for his philosophical Pessimism. I should explain. To a student of Philosophy, pessimism does not mean negativity or expecting the worse; rather, it is an outlook that views the world as aimless and our existence as one of…
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On Enduring Pain
I had a rough day yesterday. It was one of those days where all I could do was get from my bed to my recliner, and then just sit. Even feeding Gordon his doggie breakfast was a chore; it took about an hour of sitting still and staring off into space to recover from that.…
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The fearsome Wolf of Gubbio
I have a complicated relationship with the holy man of Assisi, St. Francis. I no longer profess to be a Catholic, but I was a member of the Catholic religious order Francis founded in the 13th century, the Franciscans, for five years, from the time I was 19 until I was 24. Before that, I…
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Who knew?
A little over a year ago, I was referred to a nephrologist. If you don’t know what that is, you’re not alone – neither did I; when I first got the referral, I assumed a nephrologist was a historian that specialized in ancient Egypt, specifically on Nefertiti, queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt…
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An unexpected surprise
Thinking about that title, aren’t all surprises “unexpected?” Hmm, well let’s not get bogged down in semantics. As an adult, I know that if I’m to pass along a food or beverage recommendation, it should be about a restaurant with a delicious grown-up entree (like the Corn Chowder Fettuccine at Grand Central at La Plaza…
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Pandiculation
Every morning when he wakes up, Gordon goes through the same routine. First, he has to find his way out from under the covers on my bed. As a little guy, he doesn’t have a lot of insulation, so the first thing he does when he goes to sleep at night is burrow deep under…
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Good
You know the way it goes. You project. You anticipate. You plan. And then, at the risk of personifying an immaterial concept, fate has a hearty laugh in your face. It’s the idea that nothing ever goes as you expected (or wanted) it to. The ancient Stoics were a clever bunch. They realized fate’s capricious…
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Attitudes toward AI
Everybody is talking about “AI” but few know what it is or its implications. My introduction to it has been largely positive. I have had “smart” devices in my apartment for over a year, “controlled” by Alexa from Amazon – though I have configured her to use a man’s voice, so you might say my…
Your mileage may vary.