On a hot afternoon visiting in Coleman, Texas, the family is comfortably playing dominoes on a porch, until the father-in-law suggests that they take a [50-mile (80-km)] trip to Abilene for dinner. The wife says, "Sounds like a great idea." The husband, despite having reservations because the drive is long and hot, thinks that his … Continue reading On avoiding the Abilene paradox
Author: T Coe
On hidden things in your home
There was a patch of carpet in our office that made a distinctive crunch when stepped on. I noticed it years ago, and it became just another quirk of the house—I knew something was odd but wasn’t sure what. Today, I learned the culprit: the installer had left a tatter of plastic wrap between the … Continue reading On hidden things in your home
On subverting the just-do-it mentality
Just do it is great advice—most of the time. Plenty of what I have to do in my job and I’m life strikes a note of such utter banality that I have to roll my eyes. Update the CRM, schedule a meeting, find an arborist, fill out the daycare form. It’s not that these tasks … Continue reading On subverting the just-do-it mentality
On failing to not check my email
I figured on a change. I had done the research, and then started to act on it. I was working full, productive mornings without even opening Outlook to check my email. And then I went on paternity leave. I knew that 10 weeks away would leave my work mind rusty—but I didn’t figure on falling … Continue reading On failing to not check my email
On the basics
Today, I had to explain what an RFP is to a high school student—a freshman high school student. Normally, when I explain that a lot of my job is answering RFPs and RFQs, they just…get it. Not the details, of course—but they understand the premise. But I’ve not been faced with explaining it to a … Continue reading On the basics
On the term “disabled”
I’ve reflected a lot in the past days on a passage in Sara Hendren’s book What A Body Can Do: Amanda would say she is disabled—not differently abled, not specially challenged, or any other similar variation.* Like many people in the disability community, she would use that term by choice, preferring it even to person … Continue reading On the term “disabled”
On 7 things from last week
Block party. It’s nice to live in a neighborhood where your neighbors throw an honest-to-God block party. (Bouncy castle included!) Jane. This documentary about Jane Goodall blew my mind—because I realized I knew nothing about her. No academic background? Had a baby living in camps in Africa? An incredible screen presence. No idea. Wings Over … Continue reading On 7 things from last week
On hard things that have no reward
I try not to complain about it, because it’s boring. I know this, but I can’t help myself from thinking about it all the time. And because this blog is a repository for thoughts, I figure I might as well do a little carping—boring as it may be. I’ll begin with a hope: I would … Continue reading On hard things that have no reward
On jargon from another industry
My wife showed me a diagram the other night. It was a simplified diagram of how programmatic ad placement works—the steps between buyer and publisher. It included a term—“DSP”—that I’ve heard my wife utter innumerable times on work calls over the past few years. If pressed, I might have been able to break out the … Continue reading On jargon from another industry
On book blurbs
I have a love-hate thing with book blurbs. On the one hand, they can be a window into the experience of reading a book. On the other, they can be a window into the experience of reading a book—they offer a frame that is not your own. Nothing makes me feel dumb like not “getting” … Continue reading On book blurbs
Taylor Coe 