I’m trying really hard to take parenting magazines seriously, but they seem to be written for a demographic that straddles dense and insecure. The latest unsolicited offering from Parents—

is apparently for people who don’t already know ice cream cake and enou…

Helping people with a job application is not something I do. Unless you accidentally send it to me when asking your friends to review your cover letter before applying to be president of a bank. Especially if the email ends, “Constructive not your usual Tom. Thanks.” This …

INT - NIGHT - a fundraiser from University of Rochester calls TOM who has the phone on speaker while holding JOSIE. We join the call in progress …

• Caller: “Sir, no amount is too small.”
• Tom: “Well, I make like ten cents…

What I’ve been up to since last I posted an entry

I’m coming to the end of another contract and realizing just how out-of-date this portfolio is. Rather than try to catch up with an endless series of posts …

From time to time a client on WebFaction will experience a hiccup in their memcache process. It’s not obvious at first unless the site is under heavy load (New Relic is a huge help in diagnosing the problem); this post is just a central …

“I’ve put relatives in the ground with fewer tears.” — my mom

Last Sunday night we had to say goodbye to the gentlest soul I will probably ever meet. I’ve tried to figure out how to write this since then but it all comes out as a jumble …

New Relic’s basic agent (and the free 30 days of Pro we got up front) have been a huge help on one of my largest ongoing projects. Wanting more insight into our server after a mystery incident yesterday morning, I’ve …

Because I always forget and because I am getting into the good habit of connecting via SSH for everything, here’s a note to myself on how to get SSH deployment keys running in my typical process:

• Use or generate a key
• Add the key …

As befits what was an all-male school, the highlight of my 20th high school reunion occurred in the men’s room near the end of the night (with a conversation at the urinals).

Him: “What brings you here?”

Me [assuming he meant something other than the …

EXT - DAY: An outdoor concert/ festival between acts. Our hero, TOM, just growing into his impossibly handsome looks in his late 30s strides purposefully toward Port-a-Potty Row. His path is interrupted by THE STRANGER, a younger man. Before T…