Category: General features

The Kobayashi Maru of plumbing

If you want to sear a point into a person’s brain, connecting emotionally is usually a good way to imprint your point. Emotion creates a tighter connection than just pointing out facts or offering a methodical argument. This is partly why large companies struggle against protesters and other organized opposition – companies tend to focus

A musical interlude spanning 26 years

I was bicycling near the parliament building in Baku, Azerbaijan when I rounded a turn and came upon a military checkpoint staffed by Azerbaijani soldiers with automatic weapons.  I quickly turned around and started peddling away. As I did so, I heard shouts from the soldiers and caught hand signals indicating that I should stop

Was I sleeping, or was that just a dream?

Last night was my first night back at home after a week in the UK, where the time is six hours ahead of my home time zone in Houston. That time difference can really mess with your head – and your body – as you try to assimilate back into your home time zone and

London’s amazing graffiti art tunnel

On a recent visit to London, I went on walkabout one morning in search of coffee and adventure. I headed in a new direction on this Saturday morning, and as luck would have it, I found both coffee and adventure! I was staying in the County Hall area of the city, not far from the

How far will you go for that perfect cup of coffee?

Have you noticed that more and more products these days seems to be available in new and more enticing flavors? I first noticed it years ago with Schnapps – peach and peppermint flavors have long been available – then with vodkas, and a friend in England tells me flavored gins are now a thing. And,

Humility, thy name is kite boarding

I floated quietly in the warm ocean waters, a wake board on my feet, a giant kite hovering some 50 feet above me, a tether binding me to the kite. All I have to do is dive the kite and let it pull me up onto the wake board. I know I can do this.

Dragging Main – Mumbai and Middle East style

By Tom Mueller It seems that every town has at least one place where young couples go to get away from family and daily pressures so they can just enjoy each other’s company. In many communities, it’s a back road, park or other public area. I’ve experienced this first-hand in America, and witnessed it in

Shooting sports: It’s like golf, but with hearing protection

I didn’t really know, until I started shooting regularly and in competitive formats, that competition shooting is a lot like golf. Meaning, of course, that it can be highly frustrating as well as highly satisfying on any given day. The motivational theory of periodic reinforcement comes in to play in both sports, drawing people back

Baku 20 years later – a photo essay

By Tom Mueller I returned to Azerbaijan recently after a bit more than 20 years away, and was excited to see how the country had changed as its fledgling oil industry has matured. I spent many weeks in Baku, the capital city, in 1993-95 as part of the energy industry’s entry to Azerbaijan following the

Waving off cultural differences in Australia and New Zealand

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – I came out of the turn and twisted the throttle open, feeling the big 1300 cc motor growl as the rpms came up and the horsepower spooled out to the wheels. I’m on a motorcycle and touring the New Zealand countryside. I feel good. I’m cracking down a two lane blacktop