I’ve written about product design failures before. When you are putting together something as complex as a jumbo jet, there are multiple levels of redundancy and long testing periods. A jet, and all its systems, is designed. So how can…
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Landscape Fabric Fail
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: bermuda grass, fail, gardening, landscape fabric, product design
Swimming With Kids
I’ve grown up in the water. Not like a paramecium or an eel but I have been swimming as long as I can remember. Sometimes it was in a public pool, crammed in among a hundred other kids all trying…
Why I Hate Plumbing
Just look at that thing. It used to be a conveyance for wastewater out of a bathroom lavatory and into the sewer. Now it’s an obscene rusted mess that had to be hammered out of another pipe like a…
Heard Around the House
Question to Child Harbat: “What’s your favorite thing to do with Grandma? Answer: “Catch turtles and fix tables.” Not sure if she’s done either of those things with Grandma, but there you are, from the unedited mind of a child.…
Living Near the Wild
Never forget that we are evolved animals living in a world of wonderful and dangerous creatures. On a family hike I was told by a couple coming in the opposite direction on the trail that there was a rattlesnake up…
The In-Between Moments
We train ourselves to think of the momentous occasions as the ones to memorialize: birthdays, graduations, anniversaries. By viewing life as a series of bridges between islands we deny ourselves the reality that life is every small step, every moment…
The Ultimate Home Garden Crop
I’ve had my experiences with zucchini, have battled with overgrown kale and eggplant, and tried to stop the inexorable spread of marjoram through the garden. Through all this I’ve discovered one crop that may be the perfect thing to grow…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: child harbat, crops, flowers, food, garden, gardening, strawberry
Gruesome Crime Scene Photos
Last night I was horrified to come into my daughter’s room and find the following scene. Note the victim, face-down amidst books and other scattered goods. It’s hard to tell whether these are signs of a botched robbery attempt or…
The Best Damn Cured Meat Around
I’m a big fan of handmade things, as my readers know. Whether it’s bread or furniture, I think the skill of the artisan imbues in raw materials something far greater than the sum of its parts. I was recently commanded…
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