A New Kitchen Device, a Battery of Tests, a Starfish Update, and Two Forthcoming Books The celebrations are over, and the new year is upon us. So what's going on for 2026? I've got lots of good things happening, as represented by these three Women of Note-- Model Dolores Erikson on Trumpeter Herb Albert's iconic 1965 album cover; Blind Lady Justice gracing an LSAT prep guide, and EdenH., a.k.a. Starfish, Angel of the Trails. Who among us doesn't love whipped cream? I like to

Half a century ago this week, the 729-foot SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a violent Lake Superior storm, killing all 29 hands. I feel justified in self-identifying as a "Great Laker" because my father moved our family from western Massachusetts to a small town on the southern shore of Lake Ontario when I was five years old. 60+ years later, I vividly recall my first glance from that shore toward Canada... in particular, that the lake was too vast to see across and thus, to a yo

OK, I did... but after an utterly epic 2025 World Series, I take it back. Game 7, bottom of the 9th; bases loaded, no outs. An ace pitcher on the mound with ZERO days of rest. The potential Series-winning run is sliding into home plate. It does NOT get any better than this! One of our most popular essays EVER has been WHY MODERN BASEBALL SUCKS , with over 1500 views and counting. And while your Grumpy Old Mansplainer is correct about damn near everything, he is big enough to

We busted a local dairy for fraud last year. We recently gave them another chance. Thank you, AI If you haven't yet treated yourself to...

The "Angel of the Trails" was recently struck by a car and nearly killed. She could really use our help. Legendary hiker EdenH.; trail name-- "Starfish." Left, earlier this year at the AZ-UT border; Center, as her AI superhero avatar; and Right, In a Colorado hospital after the horrific accident. EdenH./a.k.a. "Starfish," (age? surprisingly older than she looks) was on a hike through Colorado this past August when she ventured, as hikers regularly do, off the trail and into