Month: January 2026

I moved from Florida to Washington state in 1991, and now I live in the Seattle area.  Seattle is substantially different from Miami.  For instance, Washington legalized recreational marijuana in 2012.  Recreational marijuana is still illegal in Florida and federally.  Naturally, values and opinions vary around the consumption of marijuana; some opinions will be driven by whether its consumption is allowed by the law.

Interestingly enough, that’s not the only metric that drives opinions.  Washington legalized recreational marijuana in 2012; some stigma around it remains.  We should treat pot the same way that we treat alcohol, because they’re legally equivalent.  How many work-sponsored events have you attended with an open bar?  How many work-sponsored events have you attended with THC products?  Will you comfortably mention at work that you had a glass of wine after work?  How about a pot brownie?

Continue reading “How laws can change” →

Initially, I only saw vague references on Facebook on January 7th.  The phrase read, “This was not self-defense. This was murder.”  At the time, I had little time before I needed to leave, and I’ll hear the details later.  In that moment, I didn’t anticipate that this incident would balloon to what it became.  I left for the day and generally do not browse Facebook at work.  I did not receive the details on this discussion until the evening, and then it blew up.

Of course, the references were to the shooting death of Renee Good by an ICE agent.  Both the news and Facebook blew up with news and opinions about the incident.  I watched in quiet horror as video feeds from other people and different angles trickled in.  In a quiet instant, I think to myself, how much horror do we need to endure before we all become desensitized to it?

Continue reading “The memory of Renee Good” →

Years ago, a good friend read my long posts on Facebook and suggested I move my writing to a legitimate blog.  At the time, angst consumed me, and I shouted into the darkness.  His suggestion intrigued me.  This idea wouldn’t be that far-fetched; I kept an online journal many years before.  However, the type and style of the writing would be different.  This idea bounced around in my head for a while.  I always intended to return to writing, but not like this.

As it happens, starting a blog would be relatively simple.  You can register a domain for $20 a year; the price of hosting it will be a little more.  That’s if you want your own distinctive home on the web; there are plenty of websites that will host your blog free of charge.  However, I felt that if I wanted to do this legitimately, I should get my own domain.  Then the gears started churning.

Continue reading “Finding my imperfect self” →