Concrete exposed to fire
Compared with other building materials, concrete is highly fire resistant. It doesn’t burn, it doesn’t conduct heat well, and it doesn’t emit toxic gases. It retains its strength and stiffness […]
Insights
Housekeeping, homemaking, and house building
Everyday life is more satisfying if you balance housekeeping, homemaking, and house building. It’s a concept I learned from Barbara K. Mouser more than 20 years ago. She focused mainly […]
Construction seasons
The old joke in northern climates was that there were two seasons: winter and construction. Highway departments would plan their work in stages they could complete “before the snow flies”. […]
Practice makes permanent
Whether competing in the Olympics or playing a musical instrument, expertise takes years of practice to develop. “Practice makes perfect” according to the old saying, but is it true? Unless […]
An ounce of prevention
I was born in the late 1950s, just when vaccines were being developed for a number of diseases we hardly ever hear of now. The Salk polio vaccine came out […]
The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know
“The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” Who first made this observation? Many attribute it to Aristotle, others to Einstein. Anyone who studies any subject in […]
Living well in middle age
While I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions, I do think it’s helpful to set priorities for the coming year. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Deborah Copaken’s […]
Deicing salts
Every December I try to remember why I ever left California. Last week Minnesota had a series of snowstorms, followed by subzero (Fahrenheit) temperatures. When it’s really cold, the snow […]
The power of an apology
A couple of months into a new job, I was struggling to get things under control. On the “L”, I checked my phone to see what fire I’d be putting […]