by Mark O'Brien | Jan 22, 2015
In the summer of 1964, my parents rented a small, red cottage on Cherry Street at Chapman Beach in Westbrook, Connecticut. Headed east along the shoreline, the next beach is Chalker Beach. The one after that is Indian Town. That matters because that same summer, my...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 21, 2015
Spock: Captain, why are you wearing that radiation-proof suit and preparing to exit the starship? Kirk: Scotty, Bones, and I are going to measure the Dark Social. Spock: [raises eyebrow] Come again? Kirk: Dark Social. The communication transmissions we get from...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 20, 2015
SASS (self-absorbed self-satisfaction), is a philosophy, not to be confused with its homonymic variant: SaaS (software as a service). SASS is the twin sibling of stubbornness and the bane of creative productivity. It can be stated in one simple sentence: “We do...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 19, 2015
Someone once told me an expert is anyone paid to travel more than 50 miles to tell someone else what to do. Thanks to the blogosphere, the opinionsphere, and the ponitifisphere, the definition of expert has morphed a bit. An expert now is someone self-evidently...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 16, 2015
I have four dental crowns cemented into my noggin. I’m completely familiar with every step of the procedure for getting them in there: the prepping of the tooth; the creation and application of the temporary crown; the molding of the permanent one; and the implanting...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 15, 2015
I’ve been carrying these on a laminated card in my wallet for as long as I can remember. They need to be shared: People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good...
