On the simplest level, building is an artful combination of materials, chosen for their suitability for the task at hand. Wood and stone, for example, have had a long and illustrious history together, but other pairings have also occurred, coming into fashion and fading again, as the vicissitudes of history dictate. One of these pairings […]

Growing up on Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie, I had dreamed of having a dog. But we were a large family living in a really small house, so it was not be. Many years later, during my fourth year of teaching, the desire arose again and I casually mentioned it to some of my students. A day […]

OK, well first off, how many people walk into a car dealership and say that they’re shopping for 4,000 pounds of car? Right. About zero. You also don’t find many folks asking their salesperson how much a car costs per pound. (It wouldn’t be that hard to figure it out, of course – just take […]