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Redux: Ass Holes in the Desert
I wrote this earlier in the year, when there was a proliferation of assholes along the border. Since then, I had a chance to peruse the area. Yup, they’re all still there. Non-native species get a...
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An Open Letter to Whoever the Hell Is In Charge of the Green Stuff in My...
I began my undergraduate studies in 1995. I completed them in 1999 and moved into a shared apartment overlooking the San Francisco Bay surrounded by a mix of native plants and xeriscaping. Since then,...
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When Is Screen Addiction Actually Addiction?
This week, I published a story with NOVA about the relationship between chemical addiction and screen addiction. For those of you who don’t know, screen addiction, internet gaming addiction, or...
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Redux: Goodbye to the Friend I Never Met
I wrote this piece a year ago at the end of an exhausting story about the end of a species. I was angry and despondent. I wish I could say that a year has changed my perspective. Scientists have...
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They Paved the Maya World and Put Up a Parking Lot
A few weeks ago I published a story in Hakai about the hidden story of the ancient maritime Maya. It’s not the first time I’ve written about the Maya – in fact, for a while there it was a bit of an...
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How much does it cost to save a species? Less than you might think.
Most people know that the world is facing an extinction crisis. Overfishing, unchecked energy exploration, and human sprawl has put 16,000 species on the Endangered Species List, with many more waiting...
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The Journal of a Middle-Aged, Middle-Management, Sub-Atomic Particle
It’s been a rough couple billion years. I don’t know why, I just haven’t been feeling the same way as I did in the billions of years after the Big Bang. Back then, being a quark meant something – it...
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Redux: Baby Steps with Baby Words
I wrote this one year ago as my kid was ramping up his language skills in Mexico. Today, I am in a different country and my kid’s Spanish is rapidly disappearing. Sigh. Having a baby is a miracle....
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Good Journalism, Crap Journalism, and Everything in Between
On Monday I found myself unexpectedly caring for a pre-schooler all day. It seems there is a holiday in America known as President’s Day. We didn’t have it in Mexico and the last time I remember...
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Pyramids, Hidden Tunnels, and All the Best Mysteries
This post was originally published on March 21, 2018 I love a good mystery. And in a weird way, I kind of hate it when they are solved. It’s a little like candy. I have a vicious sweet tooth and I...
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My Kid is a Genius. Kind Of. Maybe.
Recently I’ve started research on a new book proposal about developmental psychology and achievement. And, by research, I mean tinkering with my child’s mind. Nothing invasive, mind you – I would...
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The Youth Bulge
Being married to an economist means many things. For one, it means losing a lot of arguments. Economists are like the physicists of the social scientists. They insist that, when you boil off...
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I Don’t Like Parenting
This post was originally published on September 3, 2018 I have a confession to make. I’m worried that I don’t like parenting. Don’t get me wrong, I like being a parent. And I definitely love my kid. I...
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Be Ashamed of Your Hard Tears
To be a parent is to get jerked around. Toy manufacturers jerk you around into buying useless crap. Other parents jerk you around making you worry you live in the wrong zip code. The kids themselves...
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Snark Week: Literally the Most Terrifying Creature on Earth
Imagine I was to describe a creature to you. Something truly terrifying. Something out of a nightmare that no amount of drunken elves could wash away. It’s small enough to hide almost anywhere in your...
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The Journal of a Middle-Aged, Middle-Management, Sub-Atomic Particle
This story first ran January 17, 2019. It’s about a quark. Any resemblance to the author is purely coincidental. In fact, any perceived real-world parallels reflect more on the reader’s personal...
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Grickle Grass
Finding a decent bedtime story to read to your kid is harder than you might think. Most childrens books are either pointless (Superman like red! Superman likes blue!), overproduced (A book with...
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It All Depends Where You Look
This post was first published on January 9, 2019 Last month, while on assignment in Cozumel for a story on sponges, I went diving on a beautiful reef. It was stunning – a world of color, dreamlike...
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How to Fail the Pre-K Entrance Exams
As many of you know, I’m a pretty big deal journalist. I mean, not the kind of big deal whose name or stories you might recognize. Or who even writes for outlets you might recognize. But still, a...
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Manifesto of a Wasp Scientist
All characters are fictional and should not be confused with real scientists. I especially ask that no bee researcher take offense. We science writers would shrivel up and die if you stopped talking...
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