The Wild and the Woolly

Being (or becoming) Lovable

2009-11-02T17:08:25Z

Back when I was a young thing, still in college, a marginally older friend and I had a conversation about aging. I was reflecting that I didn't want to grow old and unloved, and his response was, "the only way you can ensure that you will be love...

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You Just Never Know

2009-10-23T17:57:05Z

I inherited a tendency from my mother to scan for the worst possible outcomes and prepare accordingly. This risk- averse tendency keeps me flossing and getting check ups, and probably has prevented me from being either very rich or very poor. I'...

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Over the Bounding Main

2009-09-09T00:26:49Z

Mr Salamander and I just returned from a week of sailing around the Gulf Islands on a 40-foot sailing vessel we rented with another couple, Monike and Paul. Although we didn't venture very far, we did discover some wonderful little communities in...

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The Porcupine Dance

2009-08-31T17:13:58Z

I've been thinking a lot lately about how we define our social distance with other people in our lives. That barrel-of- laughs philosopher Schopenhauer described the "hedgehog dilemma." When hedgehogs get cold and lonely they cling to each other...

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Blood Blackberry Pie

2009-08-19T21:19:20Z

Blackberry picking is blood sport. They grow in dense and snaky brambles that have a creepy way of grabbing your clothes and hanging on. They are covered with thorns and bees. They are also a non-native plant here in Canada and much despised ...

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Death With Dignity vs. Futile Care

2009-08-11T15:09:03Z

Even living in Canada, with its quite sensible health care system, is not protecting me from episodes of sputtering rage regarding the insane debate about health reform going on south of the border. The latest flap about "euthanasia" is so horrib...

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Healthcare Part 2: Why Socialized Medicine is a Good Idea

2009-07-23T17:19:17Z

When I used to give talks, I would sometimes lead with the observation that as a healthcare writer and consultant I've learned very little about health and a lot about economics. The best way to understand how the economics of healthcare differ f...

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Healthcare Part 1: The Toxic Legacy of Ronald Reagan

2009-07-22T21:11:40Z

Reading the debate about health care reform in the U.S. makes me really feel my years. I was a health care reporter under both the Carter and Reagan administrations, and after moving to California in 1986, spent the ensuing 20 years as a consulta...

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On a Desert Isle, with only a Sheep

2009-07-04T22:19:29Z

I now know for certain that if I'm stranded on a desert island with only a sheep for company, I could probably keep warm. Note quite sure how that's important, but there you go. I once had the opportunity to spend some time with an individual who ...

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The Extinction of our Species: Not necessarily a bad thing.

2009-06-19T21:33:49Z

We have an unfortunate tendency towards apocalyptic themes in this house. Mostly I blame Mr. Salamander, but this time I have no one but myself to blame. An article in the New Yorker matter of factly describing the signs and symptoms of the acc...

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