Dave's diaries: Life, writing and more

May daze

May 2, 2023 A place I didn’t expect to be this week: at the drugstore for a second round of updated Covid booster, which the CDC recommends if you’re over 65 or have a weakened immune system. Their guidance has at times been confusing, premature, tardy, or seriously wrong, but with seniors like me accounting… Read more
My old school

April 10, 2023 One Sunday morning about fifty years back, I woke up in my dorm room sick to my stomach, with a bad case of the runs besides. Luckily, the student health service at the University of Michigan was only a few blocks away. The doctor was middle-aged, with a grey brush of a… Read more
Mug shots

March 31, 2023 Design © Janet Stevenson If you’re a zealous coffee drinker, you probably have a favorite mug like my new one above, made of ceramic and memories. The image shows a sunset reflected in the waters of Eastern Lake, one of the rare and beautiful coastal dune lakes in and around South Walton… Read more
WARNING: Unregistered post!

March 4, 2023 I am a blogger and I am writing about Ron DeSantis. More specifically: about how one of Ron Desantis’s allies wants to force bloggers to register with the state of Florida if they write about Ron DeSantis. As Dave Barry, one of the all-time great Floridians, would say: “I am not making… Read more
My new short story: “Come Sing It Plain”

February 20, 2023 When I’m writing, I find inspiration in a wide range of sources. Sometimes I draw on my own experience, as in “Algorithms and Lies,” in which a writer receives a devastating critique from an AI bot / editor. However, today’s world has no monopoly on cruelty and danger. My new story, “Come… Read more
Bots in love: AI-yi-yi!

February 16, 2023 I quit. I’m done. Knocked out. Over. From now on, I shall no longer try to be funny. Before you say, “You mean you’ve been trying?” read my explanation of how AI has meine Emdener Gänse gekocht (cooked my goose, the Emdener being an oft-eaten German breed). One of my favorite targets… Read more