I voted in 2016. I voted this year, too. I plan to vote in every election from here forward. But I used to not vote, deliberately, despite many people trying to convince me that I should. …

How everyday technology accidentally made art — This is not a painting of a heron in a river, it’s a photograph, and it hasn’t been digitally edited. No filters have been applied to it. No Photoshop tool has been run over it. This is the photo exactly as I took it last March. But at first glance…

Practical Advice Over Tricks and Tips — At one time, I was seventy pounds heavier than I am now. That number doesn’t seem like it can be right, but it is. Along the way I’ve tried several approaches, bounced back up thirty pounds or so, and undergone multiple big life changes that impacted my ability to manage…

A few days ago, some strong winds in London led to the best video I’ve seen all year. In the TikTok video, what appear to be giant, inflated Christmas ornaments bounce through the city streets, rolling over cars and past shops in one of life’s all-too-rare playfully bizarre moments. …

Yes, just the boxes, plus a few manuals — I knew that retro video game collecting was “a thing,” and that certain titles could bring in impressive sums. So while I was cleaning out some clutter that I didn’t want anymore a few months ago, I decided to check eBay to see if the five Super Nintendo game boxes…

You’re more interesting than you think — Many writers are hesitant to talk about themselves. Some are too humble to put themselves or their experience up front. Others are uneasy about the vulnerability of opening up to an audience. So when they do talk about themselves, they feel the need to create some larger pretense before finally…

Seeing something that isn’t there — The first time I saw Mount Saint Helens, I knew I had to climb it. I was at the observatory five miles away from the summit during a stop on a short road trip with friends, but even from a distance, I found the environment stunning. Saint Helens is a…

The simple way to manage my money was the best one — I’ve tried all kinds of budgeting apps, but none of them ever stuck. No matter how simple the apps tried to be, I always felt like I was fighting them. Using those apps meant following someone else’s concept of how my money was organized, which never fit quite with how…

And I can prove it — Last night I watched the latest episode of Great British Bake Off (Great British Baking Show for U.S. viewers who do not insist on using the original name) and it ended in a familiar scene. An amateur baker who had made it through the first three weeks of competition was…