Dave’s Diaries: Life, writing and more

  • Uncle Grumpy’s new friend

    What do we all want most? (No, not that; this is strictly a G-rated post, “G” for Grumpy.) We want the whole world to agree with us and acknowledge how brilliant we are! So with no humility or irony whatsoever, I present that the fine folks at The New York Times are in flat-out straight-shootin’… Read more

  • New short fiction about a very long war

    New short fiction about a very long war

    I’ve published another short story on Amazon, and not a humorous piece like “The Fourteenth Pelican” this time. “A New Grateful Nation” is about people coming back from our country’s longest war, but for whom it’s not over just yet. It’s also about those who’ve been fighting equally important battles on the homefront all along.… Read more

  • Their past, our present

    When a movie star lies about his past to protect his image, it’s usually a non-story. In fact, in Hollywood, it’s probably considered PR 101. But Ben Affleck went way over the line when he persuaded the PBS genealogy program “Finding Your Roots” not to mention an ancestor who owned slaves. As a result, PBS… Read more

  • Diary of a hacking victim, chapter 1

    Exposed. Naked (and not in any good way). Vulnerable. Powerless. Adrift. Apprehensive. Anxious. Frustrated. Overwhelmed. And definitely mad as hell. These are some of the things I’ve felt since learning that I’m among the millions whose precious personal data was lost when the federal Office of Personnel Management got hacked. When the story broke I… Read more

  • Announcing…my first fiction!

    Announcing…my first fiction!

    As much as I love blogging, I’ve got another kind of writers’ itch that demands a scratch. And now…”The Fourteenth Pelican” is live and ready to read! If you’re a fan of Carl Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey, or Garrison Keillor’s Guy Noir, you’ll like this short, tongue-in-cheek detective yarn. The hero is an intrepid (?) private… Read more

  • Retired, but not from life

    Yesterday I retired from the job I’d held for many years. I had a great sendoff, with lots of good wishes and some truly special gifts from the best bunch of colleagues anywhere, or at least in this corner of the Milky Way. I’ve got plans for the first day of the rest of my… Read more