April 2025

The Last 80 Years

General /

A Revolution in Living

Recently, I came across an article extolling the benefits of doing a “life review” — where people systematically reflect on their past, through conversations or writing, to identify character strengths and develop greater self-awareness.
While I’m not setting out to do one formally, it did cause me to pause and think about how much daily life has changed over my lifetime — changes that would have been unimaginable when I was a kid.

One memory stands out vividly from around sixth or seventh grade.
We lived in a small town, and on weekends I often worked at a friend’s farm (it might have had something to do with a crush on their daughter).
One particular weekend, the family decided to butcher a steer. I had no idea what I was walking into. They led the animal to the front of the barn, shot it quickly, hoisted it up by its hind legs, and immediately began eviscerating it.
Being more of a city boy than a farmhand, I barely made it behind the barn before I lost my breakfast. Meanwhile, the farmers efficiently gutted the steer, gathering the entrails into a wheelbarrow to feed to the pigs.
My family ended up with a generous share of beef from that day — food that lasted for awhile.

Today’s teenagers, I suspect, would hardly recognize the connection between the neatly packaged meats at the grocery store and the reality of where those products come from.
Nor would many be familiar with the complex, global systems that now bring a dazzling variety of food products to their table year-round.

Many other memories come flooding back — everyday realities that today’s younger generations would find nearly impossible to imagine.

I remember visiting homes where the “bathroom” meant walking outside to a rickety wooden outhouse. Toilet paper? Often it was a well-worn Montgomery Ward catalog, stacked nearby.
Indoor plumbing was rare in rural America well into the 1950s. It wasn’t until I was nearly through high school that I realized many of my friends’ families had only recently installed flush toilets.

Telephones were another world entirely.
Our house had a crank telephone — you literally turned a handle to reach the local operator, who manually connected your call.
The concept of a “party line” wasn’t something from an old sitcom; it was real, and it meant your neighbors could quietly pick up their phones and listen to your conversations if they were curious — and they often were.

Looking back, it’s hard not to be struck by how much ordinary, day-to-day living has transformed.

Today, we think nothing of running a dishwasher after dinner, tossing a load of laundry into a washer and dryer, heating a quick meal in a microwave, or pulling perfectly chilled produce from a modern refrigerator.
As a kid, washing dishes meant arguing over who would wash and who would dry, three times a day.
Laundry was a weekly ordeal: we filled heavy baskets, fed them into a wringer washer, then hung the clothes outside to dry, hoping for sunshine and no rain.

Cooking wasn’t about opening the pantry and grabbing an exotic array of ingredients; it was basic and practical. A simple gas or electric stove, a fry pan, and a couple of battered pots were the standard kitchen arsenal.
Spices? Mostly just salt and pepper. If you wanted “something different,” it usually meant adding a little more butter.

 

When I started my engineering career in aerospace, high-tech meant something very different than today.

The “modern” office was a massive hangar, filled with rows upon rows of drafting tables. Hundreds of engineers — many holding advanced degrees — worked quietly with pencils, T-squares, slide rules, and an extraordinary amount of patience.
I was lucky enough to work on the Apollo project — specifically the second stage of the Saturn V rocket — part of the grand effort that sent three men to the moon.

What’s almost impossible to convey to younger generations is that today’s smartphones and tablets have more computing power in a pocket than what NASA had access to during Apollo.
Computers in the 1960s were rare, enormous, and breathtakingly expensive.
Storage was measured in kilobytes. Processing speeds that today would seem laughable were cutting-edge.

It would be nearly two decades before personal computers became common in businesses and homes — and another decade beyond that before mobile phones were practical for everyday use.

Until the mid-1990s, the internet was an experimental curiosity — a web of clunky networks connecting government agencies and a few universities. Commercial transactions weren’t even allowed.
Then came the creation of the World Wide Web.
In just a few years, the business world transformed, followed quickly by the personal lives of millions.
The 1990s became a decade of breathtaking innovation and imagination, giving rise to companies and technologies we now take entirely for granted.
It’s astonishing to realize that all of this — smartphones, social media, cloud computing — has happened within just 30 years.

Those of us born before the Boomer generation — the so-called “pre-Boomers” — experienced a rate of change that would have been truly unimaginable at the time of our births.
Much of what we lived through would have seemed like magic to our grandparents.

It wasn’t just better gadgets, tools, and utilities.
It was a complete redefinition of daily life — how we lived, worked, traveled, communicated, healed, and thought about the future.

And yet, for the most part, these changes were accepted relatively quickly, even embraced.
Not without hardship, of course.
Entire industries based on traditional tools and business models disappeared almost overnight.
Small family businesses that once anchored communities were often swept away.
People whose skills no longer matched the needs of the new economy struggled to adapt — and some never did.
In business, the formal man in the gray flannel suit was replaced by young workers in jeans and T-shirts — symbols of a culture shifting toward informality, creativity, and technology.

Today, we continue to ride that accelerating curve of change.

Small, family-owned shops have largely been replaced by massive corporate retail chains.
The family doctor who once knew your entire history personally has been replaced by integrated medical enterprises, packed with specialists, technicians, and artificial intelligence systems that help deliver treatments previously thought impossible — from robotic surgeries to customized vaccines and antibiotics designed in real time.

Now, as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and automation gather even more momentum, we are being warned:

“Another massive wave of change is coming — one that may reshape society, economics, and daily living in ways we can hardly envision.”

For those of us who have already seen the world change once beyond recognition, it’s a fascinating, if slightly unsettling, thought.
We may only have another decade or two to watch this next chapter unfold — but if history is any guide, the transformations ahead will bring both incredible wonders and equally profound stresses.

Much like we did, the next generations will have to adapt — quickly, creatively, and often under pressure — building their lives around a reality that today feels barely possible.

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May Day Ideas

General /

I am falling behind with my writing. Last week the weather was too good to stay inside all day and my garden needed a lot of attention toward getting it started. Besides I am retired as should get to do what I want when I want to. So article posting took a back seat last week.

I am working on several articles that are requiring a bit more work than anticipated. I am being reminded of how much effort goes into research, writing, editing and such to get article ready for consumption by others. I keep reminding myself that I used to do this regularly but then I had a great bunch of people in support.

So while I work on getting my articles ready, I will revert back to my other interest – good food and have gathered a few recipes for May Day. Take a look and try some of these out.

Crispy Chicken Thighs With Spring Vegetables

The rich and zesty pan sauce is what makes this simple, seasonal supper something you’ll want to eat again and again.

Recipe

  • Total Time         45 minutes
  • Yield                     4 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 small bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
  • 1 pound baby new potatoes, halved if larger than ½”
  • 1 bunch radishes (about ½ pound), halved
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon anchovy paste, or 6 fillets, finely chopped
  • ½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces, divided
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for serving

Preparation

  1. Step 1

Preheat oven to 450°F. Using kitchen shears, remove bones from chicken thighs, keeping skin and flesh intact; discard bones. Season chicken all over with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.

  • Step 2

Toss asparagus, potatoes, radishes, 2 Tbsp. oil, and remaining 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Transfer everything but the asparagus to a rimmed baking sheet and roast 15 minutes.

  • Step 3

Meanwhile, grease another rimmed baking sheet with 1 tsp. oil. Heat remaining 1 tsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Working in batches, sear chicken skin side down until skin is crisp and golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Transfer skin side up to prepared sheet. After all chicken is seared (reserve fat in skillet), transfer baking sheet to oven and roast until chicken is cooked though, 8–10 minutes.

  • Step 4

When you open oven to roast chicken, remove baking sheet with vegetables, arrange asparagus over potatoes and radishes, then continue to roast until asparagus is crisp-tender and potatoes and radishes are well browned and tender, 8–10 minutes more (it should take the same amount of time to finish as the chicken).

  • Step 5

Meanwhile, carefully pour off excess fat from reserved skillet, leaving browned bits on the bottom. Add garlic, anchovy paste, and 1 Tbsp. butter to skillet and cook over medium heat until garlic is softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, scraping up browned bits with a spatula or wooden spoon, and continue to cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Add remaining butter one piece at a time, swirling and stirring after each addition to fully emulsify sauce. Stir in 1 Tbsp. parsley.

  • Step 6

Transfer chicken and vegetables to a platter, then pour sauce over. Top with more parsley before serving.

Note
You can keep the bones in your chicken thighs if you prefer—roast in oven 12–14 minutes instead of 8–10.

Simple One-Skillet Chicken Alfredo Pasta

One of the reasons I like to cook mostly healthy food is so I can justify the occasional dish like this one. Plus, any one-skillet meal where the pasta cooks right in the sauce is a gift in my book.

Recipe information

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • Kosher or coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 4 cups chicken broth, preferably low-sodium
  • 1 package (1 pound) penne rigate or ziti
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream or half-and-half, warmed
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preparation

  • Step 1

Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper.

  • Step 2

Melt the butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, and sauté until nicely browned on the outside, but still a bit pink inside, about 4 minutes (the pieces don’t have to be browned on all sides; two sides is fine). Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.

  • Step 3

Do not clean the pan! Those brown bits on the bottom of the pan are going to add flavor to the sauce. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat until you can smell it, 30 seconds. Turn the heat to high, add the chicken broth, and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen up all of those delicious caramelized bits. Bring to a simmer, lower to medium heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta, stir well, and simmer until the pasta starts to soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the warm cream and the browned chicken with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, most of the liquid has been absorbed, and the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes more.

  • Step 4

Stir in the Parmesan until well incorporated, and adjust the seasonings.

  • Step 5

Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the parsley, if desired. Serve hot and pass extra Parmesan at the table.

Alfredo Add-Ins

  • Step 6

When you add the Parmesan in Step 4, you can add any of the following to the pot, alone or in combination; stir over medium heat for another minute or two.
1 tablespoon puréed chipotles in adobo sauce
4 cups sliced mushrooms, sautéed
3 cups lightly cooked tiny broccoli florets
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, such as oregano, thyme, or parsley
Or, you can serve up portions of Chicken Alfredo Pasta for those who like it plain and simple, and add proportionate amounts of any of the add-ins to the pot.

Make Ahead

  • Step 7

While it’s certainly reasonable to thrill over a meal of reheated leftover Alfredo pasta, either warmed on the stovetop or in the microwave, this dish is best when it’s made just before serving.

Young Carrots With Spring Onions, Sumac, and Anchovies

Various vegetables respond wonderfully to this preparation, especially when they are young and delicate and have just hit the market. Here carrots get a bracing wake-up from the combination of bright, lemony sumac, funky anchovies, and sweet spring onions. When spring onion season

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 pound young carrots, scrubbed
  • 2 spring onions, split lengthwise in half (discard any dry or discolored tops)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a few pinches for the herb sauce
  • 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 1 garlic clove, grated or minced
  • Juice of ½ lemon, plus a squeeze
  • 8 anchovy fillets
  • 1 cup croutons
  • 2 teaspoons ground sumac

Preparation

Covered-pot carrots and spring onions

  • Step 1

Preheat the oven to 300°F, with a rack in the middle.

Toss the carrots and onions with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Lay them out in a single layer in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot with a lid. Cover the pot with foil and seal by placing the lid on top of the foil. 

Transfer the pot to the oven and cook the vegetables, first checking after 30 minutes for doneness by poking one with a metal skewer. When the vegetables are done, the skewer will slide in and out easily; as soon as they are tender, remove them to a plate to cool. Cut the cooled carrots lengthwise in half.

Herb sauce

  • Step 2

Mix together the remaining two teaspoons of oil, parsley, mint, garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt in a small bowl.

Put it together

  • Step 3

Toss the carrots and spring onions with the herb sauce and the juice of the ½ lemon. Lay the carrots and spring onions out on a serving plate. Drape the anchovies over them. Scatter the croutons over and shower with the sumac. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Many consider fresh rhubarb a spring ingredient, a colorful harbinger of the changing seasons. So, this may be a bit early as we are still changing seasons.

Recipe

Total Time  1 hour 20 minutes plus cooling

Ingredients

Cinnamon-Sugar Crumb Topping

  • ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into ¼” pieces

Pie Filling and Assembly

  • ¼ cup heavy cream (to glaze the crimped pie edges)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • 3 cups hulled and quartered (lengthwise) strawberries (approximately 1 lb. strawberries)
  • 3 cups trimmed ½”-thick slices rhubarb (approximately 4 large rhubarb stalks)
  • 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
  • Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Preparation

Cinnamon-Sugar Crumb Topping

  • Step 1

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or a fork, incorporate the butter by “cutting it in” to the flour until the butter forms small, pea-size pieces. Chill.

Pie Filling and Assembly

  • Step 2

Place rack in the center and preheat oven to 375°F.

  • Step 3

To prepare the pie shell, on a clean, lightly floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough with a rolling pin until it forms a 10″ circle. Reserve the second disk for another use. Fold the circle in half, place it in a 9″ pie plate so that the edges of the circle drop over the rim, and unfold the dough to cover the pie plate completely. Crimp the edges of the pie dough as desired and dock the bottom of the dough with a fork. Brush the rim of the pie shell with heavy cream to create a golden-brown finish. Refrigerate the pie shell while you make the filling.

  • Step 4

To prepare the filling, in a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, and salt. Place the strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl, and sprinkle with the sugar mixture, making sure all of the fruit is thoroughly coated. Immediately transfer the strawberry-rhubarb filling to the pie shell (if left sitting too long, these fruits will create a lot of juice, resulting in a soggy pie) and dot the filling with the butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar crumb topping over the strawberry-rhubarb filling, covering it completely.

Step 5

Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Transfer the pie plate to a wire cooling rack and allow the pie to cool and set for at least 2 hours before serving.

This pie is best served at room temperature or warmed to 350°F for about 10 minutes. It will keep at room temperature overnight and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Notes:

If the top of the pie turns dark before the juices have started bubbling around the edges, loosely drape a piece of aluminum foil over the pie dish to shield the crumb from burning. And about that bubbling: Don’t even think about pulling the pie out of the oven until you see it happening. Your thickeners (the cornstarch and tapioca) need that benchmark to reach their full setting potential. Similarly, This is a pie that benefits from some time outside the oven. To cut a neat slice, wait until the pie cools completely. Serve with vanilla ice cream or a big dollop of whipped cream.

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Road Trip: Then and Now

General /

From “Are we there yet?” to “Where’s the next Starbucks?”

My memories of road trips aren’t complete, though to be fair, that’s true for most things that happened before last Tuesday.

One of the earliest I do remember was sometime around seventh or eighth grade. My mom and I were driving to Chicago (the reason remains a mystery). This was long before cell phones or satellite radio. Even the AM stations would fade out every hundred miles, leaving us to invent games like “how many different state license plates can we spot?” Back then, plates were easy to read—before bumper guards and tinted covers became a thing.

When it came time to stop, we looked for a small roadside motel flashing a VACANCY sign. (This was even before Motel 6 made it trendy.) The most vivid moment of that trip? A thunderstorm outside Chicago so intense we had to pull over because my mom couldn’t see the road.

Through the years, the formula stayed the same: improvise the route, stretch the fuel tank, hope the food was edible, and keep the kids from strangling each other. A trip from Portland to Tustin meant an 11-hour haul with a pit stop in Modesto at my aunt’s. That kind of marathon drive was just how it worked.

Later, in college, I attempted dating someone in Corvallis while I was in Palo Alto. Eight round trips in eleven weeks—10 hours each way. That relationship didn’t last, but the road-worn memories sure did.

I still have fond memories of trips with our daughter when we would have contests to see who could spot the most “Herbies” first. Some may recall Herbie was the “Love Bug” with special powers and there were quite a few VW Bugs on the roads those days. I usually lost.

Fast forward to Reno years later, and the trips were different. We’d travel back to San Jose or head to Scottsdale for Spring Training. My wife—ever the travel agent—would chart every Starbucks along the way and pre-book motels so we wouldn’t exceed the now-standard 8-to-10-hour driving limit. If I missed a turn, she’d know… and so would I.

Then: Drive Till You Drop

In the good old days, a road trip meant piling the family into the station wagon, rolling down the windows (manually, thank you), blasting one of the three fuzzy AM radio stations you could pick up, and seeing how far you could go before someone needed a bathroom—or a tire blew out.

Lodging? You stopped when everyone was cranky, hungry, or unconscious. Sometimes you scored a decent motel. Sometimes you slept in the car with a blanket or sleeping bags if you were really prepared. Either way, the objective was to get to your destination in the least time possible.

Meals were greasy. Lodging was iffy. The seatbelts were optional or non-existent, and so was comfort. But hey, we were young. And invincible. Or at least that’s how it felt.

If the trip itself was the purpose, then stopping at interesting places was more essential and eating and sleeping were what you could get.

Now: The Carefully Calibrated Cruise

Today’s road trips, especially for those of us in the 60+ or 70+ or even the 80+ club, are planned with the precision of a lunar landing. We’re not winging it anymore—we’re GPS’ing it, app-checking, and Yelp-scanning.

Instead of “Let’s drive until we’re tired,” it’s “Let’s find a nice hotel with good reviews, senior discounts, and a continental breakfast that includes waffels.”

Stops every 2–3 hours are the norm now, not the exception. That gives us time to stretch, use the facilities, hydrate, and check in with our phones—or our backs. Booking ahead? Mandatory. No more “blink-and-you-miss-it” motels.

The Rest Stop Renaissance

Back then, rest stops were glorified outhouses with a Coke machine. Today? They’ve leveled up. Seniors like us now expect—and find:

  • Clean, rated-by-app restrooms
  • Shade-covered picnic areas
  • Decent snack options
  • Dog-walking trails and mobility-friendly walkways

We have favorite states because of their rest stops. (Looking at you, Utah.)

Food with a Label—and a Purpose

Gas station burritos have lost their charm. These days, we scout restaurants that won’t wreck our digestion or our blood pressure. We’re looking for low-sodium, gluten-free, low-acid options with plenty of Google stars.

We also pack smarter: coolers filled with grapes, almonds, cheese sticks, and low-acid iced teas. That bag of chips from the 80s? It’s been replaced by fiber crackers and digestive enzymes.

Fewer People, More Peace

One of the biggest changes? We’re no longer ferrying a carload of kids. Road trips now are mostly couples—or solos—seeking quiet escapes. The back seat, once a war zone of elbows and sticky fingers, is now home to neatly folded luggage and that memory foam neck pillow we don’t leave home without.

Technology as Copilot

Maps used to cover the windshield when you unfolded them. Now our phones or even our cars tell us where to go, how long it’ll take, and where the best pie is along the route.

With apps, we can:

  • Check traffic and weather
  • Book hotels mid-drive
  • Find clean bathrooms nearby
  • Even get warned about construction zones before we’re in bumper-to-bumper regret

It’s peace of mind in the palm of our hand. And it means fewer “oops” moments at exits we can’t get back to.

Same Spirit. Smarter Route.

The road trip spirit is still alive. It’s just matured—like us. We’re still explorers at heart. We still take the scenic route. But now we plan a little more, pause a little longer, and enjoy the ride with a bit more padding—on the seats and in the snacks.

So here’s to the modern road trip: a journey of comfort, convenience, and hopefully we will experience somethings we have not run into before.

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A Tax Day Survival Guide  

General /

“Write It Off” Comfort Meal

Because if the IRS gets your money, you should at least get a great meal.

Tax Day has a way of bringing out a very particular mood—somewhere between mild despair and triumphant survival. Whether you’re writing a check to Uncle Sam or nervously watching your refund creep through the IRS website, April 15 reminds us that the only two sure things in life are death and taxes… and that neither should be faced on an empty stomach.

That’s where comfort food comes in. Not the quick salad or the protein shake kind of comfort—the warm, buttery, slow-cooked kind that wraps around you like a favorite sweatshirt.

So tonight, reward yourself for pushing through the receipts, the deductions, and the soul-sucking forms (Turbo Tax, H&R Block or your own accountant, they all suck you dry) with a meal that says: You got through another year! You earned this!

🧀 Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese

Rich, golden, and unapologetically comforting

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb elbow macaroni or cavatappi
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream (yes, treat yourself)
  • 1½ cups shredded smoked gouda
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
  • Salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne

Optional Add-ins:

  • Crumbled bacon
  • Caramelized onions
  • Chopped spinach (for the illusion of health)

Instructions:

  1. Cook pasta al dente and set aside.
  2. In a saucepan, melt butter and whisk in flour to make a roux.
  3. Add milk and cream. Stir until thick.
  4. Melt in cheese, season to taste.
  5. Stir in pasta, pour into dish, spread some of the shredded sharp cheddar on top and broil until golden.

🥬 Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze

Tax tip: They’re green, but not deductible.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt & pepper
  • Balsamic glaze

Instructions:

  1. Toss sprouts in oil, salt, and pepper.
  2. Roast at 400°F for 25–30 minutes until crispy.
  3. Drizzle with balsamic before serving.

🍞 Tax Bracket Bread Pudding

Sweet, soft, and almost worth itemizing.

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups day-old brioche or French bread, cubed
  • 3 eggs
  • 1½ cups milk
  • ½ cup cream
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Raisins or nuts (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Whisk all ingredients except bread.
  2. Pour over bread in greased dish. Soak 30 mins.
  3. Bake at 350°F for 40–45 minutes.

Top with whipped cream or bourbon glaze and pretend it’s a write-off.

🍷 Yogiwan’s Tax Day Reflections:

  1. If time is money, I just spent a small fortune looking for last year’s deductions.
  2. No matter how many times I do this, I’m always shocked by how much of what I earn the government thinks I ought to give to them.
  3. I’ve accepted that my taxes are too complicated for me to do without help and Turbo Tax, H&R Block and others confirm that I really don’t know much about IRS forms (and don’t want to know).
  4. Refunds are just proof that the government borrowed your money without asking—then made you beg to get it back.
  5. My tax return is like a mystery novel. Except I wrote it, I don’t understand the plot, and the ending still surprises me.
  6. The real miracle of Tax Day? Still finding time to make dinner and pour a decent glass of wine.
  7. Paying taxes is mandatory. Cooking good food afterward? That’s spiritual recovery.
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Reverse Mortgage

General /

The Other Half of the Picture

Previously, I posted about the benefits of reverse mortgages—and yes, they are substantial. Eliminating a monthly mortgage payment can really free up cash flow. Having the ability to access what was once “untouchable” home equity gives older homeowners more flexibility in dealing with major expenses like medical bills, home repairs, or simply improving quality of life.

But with all that upside, there’s another half of the picture that deserves a closer look. These aren’t free-money products—they’re financial tools. And like all tools, if you don’t fully understand how to use them, they can bite back.

Minimum Equity Requirements

One of the first hurdles: reverse mortgages require that you hold at least 50% equity in your home—sometimes more. These loans are primarily targeted at homeowners who’ve lived in their homes for a long time and built up considerable equity. For many, this is locked-in wealth—hard to access without refinancing or selling.

While refinancing might not improve monthly cash flow, it could provide a lump sum. Selling, on the other hand, means finding a new place to live—a major emotional and logistical challenge for seniors. And that’s not even counting the fact that finding affordable housing is increasingly difficult.

So if you’re sitting on a lot of home equity and short on monthly cash, a reverse mortgage might look like a lifeline. But what’s on the other side of the ledger?

High Fees and Costs

Let’s start with the dollars and cents.

Reverse mortgages come with significant upfront fees, just like any refinance. These may include:

  • Appraisal fees
  • Origination fees
  • Closing costs
  • Mortgage insurance premiums (yes, even though you’re borrowing against your own house)

That mortgage insurance charge still bugs me. The lender already controls a huge chunk of the equity. Their risk is low—so what exactly are they insuring? Yes, it’s an FHA requirement tied to reverse mortgages, but it sure feels more like a way for the bank to pad their return than to truly protect anyone.

And remember: these fees are deducted from the loan proceeds, so they quietly reduce how much cash you’ll get up front—before you ever see a dime.

Complicated Terms and Fine Print

These aren’t your run-of-the-mill mortgages. Reverse mortgages come with layers of terms and conditions, some of which may not be obvious upfront.

Let’s talk about the line of credit, often marketed as a flexible cash reserve. Sounds great, right? But here’s what doesn’t always get explained: every dollar you draw adds to your loan balance, including interest. And that interest compounds. Unlike a traditional line of credit, there’s no monthly payment to chip away at the balance—so the amount owed balloons quietly over time.

And don’t assume the interest rate is fixed. Most reverse mortgages have variable interest rates, which are adjusted monthly—and as with most banks, those rates tend to go up faster than they come down. On top of that, lenders add a margin fee—a little bank icing on your debt cake.

Loss of Home Equity

Here’s the real kicker: a reverse mortgage is just a regular mortgage in disguise—only instead of you paying them each month, they’re quietly adding your “would-be payments” to the loan balance and you pay later.

As the interest, fees, and borrowed funds stack up, your equity goes down. You’re effectively eating away at the inheritance your heirs may have counted on—or even your own future ability to tap into that equity again.

Let’s revisit a scenario from my prior article:
Your home is worth $1,000,000 and you still owe $400,000—so that’s $600,000 of equity, with a $2,000 monthly payment. While you no longer need to make that monthly payment, it’s added to your loan balance. That means your equity is being reduced by at least $24,000 a year—and that doesn’t include interest charges, which compound over time.

Sure, the theory is that real estate values will rise and offset these costs—but if they don’t grow faster than your loan balance, you’ll end up house rich and equity poor.

Impact on Government Benefits

If you rely on need-based programs like Medicaid or SSI, know this: the cash you receive from a reverse mortgage could affect your eligibility. These aren’t always disqualifiers, but you’ll need to plan carefully—especially if the proceeds push your income or assets over program thresholds.

Foreclosure Risk Is Still a Thing

Reverse mortgage ads often promise: “You’ll never lose your home.” But that’s not entirely true.

You’re still required to:

  • Pay property taxes
  • Keep homeowner’s insurance active
  • Maintain the home in good condition

And here’s the twist: you can’t escrow those costs like in a traditional mortgage. It’s all on you to stay current. Miss a few tax payments? Let insurance lapse? The lender can—and will—foreclose.

Also, while rare, market downturns (like 2008–2009) can create trouble. If the loan balance nears or exceeds the home’s value (remember, you started with at least 50% equity), you’re walking a tightrope that could snap—especially if you’ve maxed out your line of credit.

A Summary from the Other Side

Reverse mortgages can be a great fit for certain homeowners, especially those who:

  • Want to age in place
  • Have no heirs (or heirs they don’t intend to leave the home to)
  • Need improved cash flow without relocating

But this is not “found money.” It’s borrowed money—with terms, fees, and consequences.

Banks don’t make money on good intentions—they play the long game. They sacrifice short-term interest income for a larger return in the long run. Along the way, they collect fees, insurance premiums, and interest—while your loan balance quietly grows.

My Final Take

I’m pretty happy with my own experience—but I’m still grumbling about:

  • Mortgage insurance I didn’t need and don’t want
  • Interest that’s anything but fixed (despite what I was initially told)
  • Miscellaneous charges that just keep getting tacked on

So if you’re considering a reverse mortgage: read everything. Ask questions. Get independent advice. And make sure you’re okay with the long-term picture, not just the short-term cash boost.

Because—as with all financial decisions in retirement—the key isn’t just what you gain. It’s what you might give up in the process.

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The Quiet Exit: Tiger Woods

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The Quiet Exit: Tiger Woods,
the Masters, and Golf’s Changing Face

Here we are again, just weeks away from the Masters—Augusta’s annual pageant of golf history and hope. But this year, one of the most familiar figures in the game won’t be walking the fairways. Tiger Woods, once the face of golf’s modern renaissance, will not be playing. And while nothing has been officially announced, the growing reality is that we may never see Tiger seriously compete on the PGA Tour again.

Just last year, during the second week of the FedEx Cup playoffs, this same question was quietly hovering in the air: would Tiger return to contention? Could he do what Jack Nicklaus did in ’86 and make magic at 46—or in Tiger’s case, 48?

Back then, there were a few surprises worth talking about: Keegan Bradley jumping out to a first-round lead at 6-under, Adam Scott—at 44—still hanging in two shots back, and Ludvig Åberg at 24, bringing fresh energy. The average age of the BMW participants was 34—solid prime years. Tiger wasn’t among them.

The absence wasn’t necessarily surprising. He had already been selective with his schedule due to the toll of surgeries and physical setbacks. But the absence felt louder.

Since then, the situation hasn’t improved.

Despite occasional optimism from broadcasters, analysts, and loyal fans, the truth is clear: Tiger’s body no longer allows for the consistent preparation, recovery, and endurance required to compete at the highest level. He’s had multiple surgeries on his back and knees. His flexibility, which was once his secret weapon, just isn’t the same. And in a game where rotational power and precision define outcomes, that matters.

You can go back and watch his swing from 10 years ago—and again from 20—and compare it to his motion today. For most of us, the differences may seem subtle. But for a player like Tiger, whose game was built on timing, torque, and explosiveness, the changes are monumental.

And even if Tiger could summon the physical strength, there’s the field to consider.

Today’s competition is younger, deeper, and more aggressive than ever. The average age of his competition is 14 years younger, and many of the game’s newest stars—players in their early 20s—can drop 6- or 8-under rounds on any given day. It’s no longer just about playing well—it’s about doing so for four consecutive, exhausting days.

Tiger hasn’t shown that kind of staying power in a while. And even he, as disciplined and mentally tough as he is, can’t overcome the clock.

That’s not to diminish his place in history. In my opinion, Tiger Woods is the GOAT of golf. He changed how the game is played, how it’s viewed, and how it’s marketed. He inspired a generation—including many of the young players now dominating leaderboards.

And today, those players are putting on quite a show. Rory McIlroy has been leading the charge with his familiar fluid swing and renewed focus. Scottie Scheffler has established himself as a consistent contender, and players like Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Åberg are making their mark in the sport’s new chapter.

The talent pool is deeper than ever. But a fair question remains:

Will anyone ever approach Jack’s or Tiger’s lifetime performances?

Will anyone energize the non-golfing public the way Tiger did? Will tens of thousands of fans follow another player down the fairway the way they followed Tiger? Will we see another global figure with that kind of magnetism?

It’s hard to imagine. Tiger was a once-in-a-generation force. He didn’t just elevate the sport—he redefined its possibilities.

So what will golf have to do to fill that void?

It may come down to storytelling. To nurturing rivalries. To building the next generation of stars not just through their statistics, but through their humanity, grit, and charisma. Golf may never have another Tiger—but it can still create moments that move people, and players who inspire more than just those who own clubs.

I don’t know if Tiger will ever play on the Champions Tour. The competition there isn’t younger, but it is still intense. And though Tiger once beat nearly all of those guys regularly, he’ll still be playing with the same physical limitations.

What I do hope is that Tiger stays close to the game. He remains one of golf’s most powerful ambassadors. Whether through mentoring, course design, broadcast, or youth development, he still has so much to offer.

For now, I hold onto the memories. The fist pumps. The Sunday reds (a tribute to his Stanford undergraduate time). The roars echoing through Amen Corner.

We may not see Tiger competing again—but what he gave us can’t be matched.

And for that, we say thank you.

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The Reverse Mortgage Revisited:

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A Second Look with Fresh Eyes

You’ve probably seen the ads—Tom Selleck giving you that knowing look, talking about reverse mortgages. I’ve had more than one friend say, “If Magnum P.I. is pitching it (or should it be NYPD police commissioner) , maybe I should pay attention.” And honestly, they might be onto something.

So imagine we’re at a backyard barbecue or maybe sipping something cold at the clubhouse, and someone brings it up: “What’s the deal with reverse mortgages anyway?” Here’s how I’d break it down—no charts, no jargon, just real talk.

Let’s be honest—most of us flinch when we hear the term “reverse mortgage.” It’s one of those financial tools that’s been clouded by bad press, predatory practices from the past, and a general sense of mystery. But recently, I came across some updated perspectives that surprised me enough to make me take another look—and they might surprise you too.

For homeowners aged 62 and older, a reverse mortgage offers a way to convert part of your home’s equity into tax-free cash without having to sell, give up title, or move out. And while that might sound like a slick pitch from a late-night infomercial, today’s reverse mortgage market is far more regulated, transparent, and consumer-friendly than it was even a decade ago.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the positive features reverse mortgages can offer today:

1. Eliminating Monthly Mortgage Payments
A reverse mortgage starts by paying off your existing mortgage, if you have one, and replaces it with a new kind of loan—one that doesn’t require monthly payments. For retirees on fixed incomes, that’s a big deal. It keeps money in your bank account each month, freeing up funds for other needs or wants. That payment is just… gone.

2. Accessing the Remaining Equity
Once your existing mortgage is paid off, the rest of your home equity becomes available to you. The older you are and the more valuable your home, the more you can access.

The big difference? The loan balance increases over time—not decreases—because interest and fees are added to your loan balance rather than being paid down monthly. You don’t repay the loan until you sell the house, move out permanently, or pass away.

Let’s say your home is worth $1,000,000 and you still owe $400,000. That’s $600,000 of equity, which becomes the foundation for your reverse mortgage. You can tap into that through various options—and you no longer need to make that $2,000/month mortgage payment. You borrow against the equity you’ve built, and the lender pays you.

Keep in mind: you still have to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance. Reverse mortgages don’t include escrow accounts, so it’s up to you to stay current on those bills.

3. Flexible Payout Options
You can access your available equity in different ways:

  • Lump Sum – Get a large amount up front for major expenses.
  • Monthly Payments – Create a steady income stream.
  • Line of Credit – Use as needed, with the added bonus that it grows over time if left unused.

This flexibility allows you to tailor the loan to your financial needs and lifestyle. Your home’s been building equity for years—why not put it to use? Whether it’s:

  • Paying monthly bills
  • Fixing up the house
  • Traveling more
  • Helping the kids or grandkids
  • Or just having peace of mind

A reverse mortgage can give you some valuable financial breathing room.

The proceeds from a reverse mortgage aren’t considered income—they’re loan advances. That means no income tax, no impact on Social Security, and no effect on Medicare premiums. For retirees trying to manage their tax brackets, that’s a real win.

4. You Still Own Your Home
Contrary to what some people believe, you don’t give up ownership of your home. Your name stays on the deed. You can still live there, decorate how you like, and enjoy your space. But you do have to keep up with the basics—property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. If you don’t, the loan could come due early.

If you move out of the property for any reason, the loan becomes due. If property values continue to rise, you’ll likely have equity left over after the loan is repaid. Also, at that point, the all of accumulated interest becomes a tax deductible expense.

5. Your Heirs Won’t Get Stuck With a Bill
Reverse mortgages are non-recourse loans. While it’s true that a reverse mortgage reduces your home equity over time, your estate is still protected. If the loan ends up being more than the home is worth when it’s sold, your heirs aren’t liable for the difference. No surprise debts.

6. Support for Aging in Place and Long-Term Care
Here’s another strong reason to consider a reverse mortgage. Long-term care insurance used to only apply when you entered a care facility. Today, many policies cover in-home care—allowing people to age in place.

Your reverse mortgage funds can be used to supplement those insurance benefits:

  • Pay for in-home healthcare or visiting nurses
  • Hire part-time or full-time caregivers
  • Make home modifications (ramps, stair lifts, safety upgrades)
  • Cover transportation or daily living assistance

It can mean the difference between staying in your home or needing institutional care.

7. Consumer Protections Have Improved
The industry has matured. Regulations now require independent financial counseling before approval. Disclosures must be clear. Loan structures are capped to prevent early over-borrowing. Today’s products are far safer than those offered 20 years ago.

8. Not a One-Size-Fits-All Tool—but Worth Considering
Yes, there are costs—origination fees, mortgage insurance, and closing costs—but these are part of almost any major refinancing activity. For people who are “house-rich but cash-poor,” the value of accessible funds may far outweigh the costs. In many cases, these expenses can be rolled into the loan and deferred until the home is sold.

Final Sip of Advice
Look, a reverse mortgage may not be for everyone. But for someone 62 or older, sitting on a lot of home equity, and wanting more financial wiggle room without leaving home—it’s worth a serious look.

That said, be informed. Not every lender is created equal, and not every product is the right fit. You’ll likely see a negative article or two—and some of them raise valid points. There have been cases where misunderstandings or poor planning caused problems.

So talk to a trusted financial advisor or a HUD-approved reverse mortgage counselor. Make sure it fits your goals, your budget, and your future plans.

After all, it’s your home. It’s your life. And this might just be a smart way to make both work even better for you.

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A Quantum Universe: A Simple Look

Articles /

Way back in college I found that some topics were beyond my comprehension. One of those topics was semiconductor electronics. (There is a story there for another time) This was complemented a couple of years later with advanced physics regarding quantum topics. Over the years, I have continued to casually follow up on what was happening in this area as it is core to many of the developments we use today.

But if you asked me to define or describe quantum mechanics or physics, I would plead ignorance.

I just caught an article in my inbox that tries to explain some of this. I’ve provided a synopsis below, but the real thing is much better. You do not need to be a nuclear scientist to read it (although it might help) as it’s written for a general audience. But it is complex by nature!

What It Means To Live In A Quantum Universe:
A Simple Look

In his article, “What Does It Mean To Live In A Quantum Universe?” physicist Ethan Siegel explores one of the most bizarre—and fundamental—aspects of our reality: quantum physics. It’s not just about mysterious science experiments or far-off space stuff. Quantum rules shape everything from the Sun to smartphones to the simple fact that we exist at all.

Siegel starts by explaining that everything is made up of tiny building blocks called particles. These particles make up matter and forces, but unlike what we’re used to in the “normal” world, we can’t pin down everything about them at once. For example, if you measure where a particle is, you can’t also know exactly how fast it’s going. This isn’t due to poor tools—it’s a built-in rule of nature called the uncertainty principle.

He illustrates this with a clever experiment: shoot tiny particles through a magnetic field and watch them split based on their spin. But if you measure their spin in a new direction afterward, it completely wipes out the first result. The particle “forgets” what it was before. That’s a peek into how strange and slippery the quantum world is.

Then comes the real twist: these particles aren’t always acting like tiny balls. When they’re just traveling through space without bumping into anything, they act more like waves—spreading out, overlapping, and even creating interference patterns. Only when they interact (or we measure them) do they behave like solid particles again. It’s as if they live a double life.

This dual nature plays out in the real world. Take the Sun, for instance. The energy inside it isn’t strong enough (in a classical sense) to force protons together to create nuclear fusion. But thanks to quantum tunneling—a trick of wave-like behavior—they still manage to fuse and keep the Sun burning. Without that, there’d be no sunlight and no life.

Quantum physics is also behind many everyday technologies: LED lights, solar panels, MRI machines, and even how plants turn sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. All of them rely on these wave-particle quirks.

Siegel wraps it up by emphasizing this strange but simple idea: everything in the universe acts like a wave when moving freely and like a particle when it interacts. It’s weird, yes, but it’s also the reason anything works at all.

Think about this two-sided nature of reality: when quantum particles propagate freely, they behave as waves, and when they interact with other quanta, their interactions force them to behave like particles

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Peach Cobbler Day – April 13 & National Sourdough Bread Day – April 1

General /

April 13th is Peach Cobbler Day!

The birds are chirping, and the snow is all but done failing, except in the mountains. The days are finally getting longer, and sunshine should be a mandatory ingredient in every upcoming recipe.

Too much of anything always seems to end up being a bad thing in one aspect or another. Please let that act as a warning for the Peach Cobbler recipe included in this issue. It is delicious, but just because it has a lot of peaches in it doesn’t mean it’s very nutritious. But we had to share this treat with you knowing that April 13th is Peach Cobbler Day! Enjoy in moderation.

Peach Cobbler

 Ingredients

  • 4 cups sliced peaches
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 8 TBS butter
  • 1.5 cups self-rising flour
  • 1.5 cups milk
  • Cinnamon

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a pan combine peaches, 1 cup of the sugar and water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Set this to the side. Melt butter in a clay baking dish in the oven. Mix the other cup of sugar, the flour and milk together till smooth. Add this to the melted butter, without stirring. Place fruit on top and slowly pour in remaining syrup. Top with cinnamon. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

National Sourdough Bread Day on April 1st

In honor of National Sourdough Bread Day on April 1st, this article will take on the sometimes-scary idea of baking bread at home. Once you realize that delicious homemade bread is simply four ingredients and some elbow grease away, I’m sure you will be eager to getting baking. [For a Beginner’s Sourdough bread recipe and instructions go here. Lots of ads on this site.]

 Bread Baking 101

Bread is delicious. Picture a Crispy Baguette, a Country French bread, some Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Loaf or the Classic Sourdough Loaf. If you had the audacity to actually say that the idea of these breads doesn’t make your mouth water, then I simply don’t believe you. The only thing that would make the aforementioned bread better would be if it were homemade. Baking bread at home scares so many people away, but once the concept is explained, we can see that baking up some homemade bread is simple, rewarding and delicious.

Despite the laundry list of ingredients on the back of most breads, a standard loaf actually only needs four basic ingredients: flour, water, yeast and salt.

The diversity of flour types that are readily available these days may be daunting, but don’t fret, a standard, unbleached all-purpose flour, will do just find for bread making (plus it will be affordable)! The flour forms the foundation for the bread. The water acts as a dissolving agent for the ingredients and it activities the yeast. Too much water means a flatter loaf and to little water will end up making your bread dry and hard. Instant yeast will be the simplest means for bread making. This will be responsible for the dough rising but adding too much can result in the yeast affecting the taste of the bread. Sea salt, kosher salt or simple table salt will all do for break making. The salt delays the yeast and maintains control of the fermentation process.

Here is a simple bread recipe: 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons yeast, a tad more than 1 cup of water.

Now just mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Kneading is very simple. Roll, 

squash, fold, squash, repeat. Just don’t rip or tear the dough apart. The kneading releases the gluten in the flour, which then help form uneven pockets of CO2. This is responsible for your bread having all those different sized pockets once it’s baked. Kneading generally takes about 7ish minutes. The dough’s consistency will transform into a smooth, almost creamy texture. Once you feel this happen pound out a few more minutes of kneading. Spread down a bowl with some canola oil and place the dough in it to rise.

Bread rising is simply the yeast munching down on the simple sugars in the flour. The yeast releases CO2 while snacking, which forms the pockets and results in the dough rising. Proper kneading leads to proper rising. Once the dough has doubled in size it’s done rising (typically 45 minutes to 2 hours). The quantity of yeast and the temperature of the room influence the rising time (warmer = faster).

The dough must be re-kneaded now. This serves two purposes: bringing the dough down in size and also releasing more food for the yeast to consume. The yeast will eat more and release more CO2, which will bring out more diverse flavors in the bread. But yeast also releases acids and alcohol so too much yeast food feasting will result in off tasting bread. After the last rise shape the dough into a loaf. Pick whatever shape you dig: baguette, round, Batard, etc. Once shaped let the loaf sit for another hour to grow a bit more in size. Lastly score the loaf with a clean and very sharp blade. The slits allow the gases inside to escape without the loaf ripping open while baking. Get creative with your scoring and impress your friends…or just yourself (it’s hard to share homemade bread, especially really cool looking homemade bread).

The baking process will kill the yeast after about 5 minutes; during this time the loaf will experience an “oven spring”, which is one last rising action as the yeast eat more and more before they die. The baking temperature and time will vary based on the size and shape of your loaf. For the ingredients listed above I would suggest about 375 degrees Fahrenheit and 45 minutes baking time.

That’s the nuts and bolts of bread making. Now hunker down during a stormy, rainy day and craft yourself some loafs of bread!

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