Jessie Newburn – Page 31 – Jessie Newburn Writer

Blue fungus

NatureSeptember 11, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

At a neighborhood barbecue recently, I wanted to prepare the Solo Stove for the night-time "mini bonfire" ahead. I started gathering some kindling and smaller wood from a nearby woodpile when my eyes spotted something that made me go, "Huh? What's that?" I saw blue coming out the ends of a dried and long-dead piece of…

Bandaids

Little BitsSeptember 8, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

I think I've used maybe one bandaid in the past year or two, but somehow needed TWO today! One new piece of glass/tupperware stuff chipped and I cut my finger. And then later, mandolining an onion -- as I've done many, many, many dozens of times -- my fingers slipped a tinsy bit and I…

Our bodies, our choice

MemoriesSeptember 2, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

I've read a lot of books. Mostly as a child, teen, college student and--erg, um, well, then it kinda dropped off for a bit until I got scolded by a low-schooled-yet-erudite man who was like, "What!? You need to read, girl!" And so thankful I am for his harsh-but-loving admonition when I was in my…

Creating a comic book … at work!

Other WritingSeptember 1, 20222KViews 0Likes 0Comments

Some time ago I was the Director of Communications & Engagement for an organization that had a lotta people loving it, a lotta people hating it, and a lotta people simply not understanding it. The organization managed a town of about 100,000 people and a couple thousand businesses. It was a complex organization, a very…

Seems reasonably efficient to me

Things I PonderAugust 29, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

I, for one, have transformed into (except with groceries and clothes) a fairly adept, regular and mostly satisfied online shopper. I totally get that more packaging is used in the delivery of said online orders. And I was momentarily surprised--but then quickly after quite delighted--by the simplicity with which this pair of flip flops was delivered to…

A new client-onboarding slide deck

Other WritingAugust 18, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

A website, app development and SEO company was struggling with new hosting and maintenance clients who were often unhappy at the end of the month. New clients (and even long-term ones) were regularly using up their allotted monthly maintenance and support hours with inefficient practices and little understanding of how the company's support ticket system…

One Driver, 35 Rides, Countless Stories

My books ... and bitsAugust 16, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

Here's the intro to the third book in my Uber Chronicle's series, One Driver, 35 Rides, Countless Stories. In July 2016, a TechCrunch article stated that Uber had completed over 2 billion rides for passengers. Two billion! (2022 stats updated: 1.44 billion rides are completed through Uber every quarter. Times, they are a-changin’.) In this book,…

Pressure

Little BitsAugust 13, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

I know I'm not the only one: hours before leaving for a trip, for vacation, for whatever, I'm all caught up projects that are suddenly urgent. Late last night I was (re)organizing my notecards by category: general hello, thank you, birthday, wedding, sympathy, new baby etc. Today I was dusting. (I hardly ever dust!) But you know:…

We can manage but ourselves

Things I PonderAugust 10, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

Hmm. I've heard and seen this quote from Louis CK here and there -- "When someone says you hurt them, you don't get to decide you didn't" -- and I'm not sure I agree. I have a lifetime of feeling hurt, victimized, done-wrong, shafted and all sorts of "wrongs" aimed in my direction. I've had a fair…

On becoming a fan of psychedelics

Burning Man, ExperiencesAugust 8, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

When I was in my late teens, I had my first--and last for a few decades--experiences with LSD and mushrooms. Some friends of mine and I did LSD one night at a hippie retreat of sorts in the early ‘80s. We danced in a group setting, laughed, saw pretty colors and, overall, had a lovely…

Is anything special any more?

MemoriesAugust 1, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

I am aware, of course, of the VAST vastvastvastvast uptick in products available, the Made-in-China-fication of production and how products are much more accessible for purchase than they were in my childhood and young adult years. Quite aware. I mean, I’ve lived it: this change, this uptick, this vastvastvastvast increase. But a particular and recent Amazon listing…

Was it the Bisquick?

Things I PonderJuly 23, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

I think it was the Bisquick. See, I am sorta on a mission to find a great sausage-ball recipe, and Bisquick (or its generic equivalent) seems to be a key ingredient in almost all of the recipes I found online. So, I got myself some Bisquick, and, yesterday, I made my first attempt at making Bisquick-based…