Monthly Archives: August 2009

Not far from my house is a busy intersection with long traffic lights. Traffic can stack up, so it’s not unusual to sit though a couple cycles of the lights before you can pass through the intersection. Not surprisingly, many drivers push their luck in an effort to make it through the yellow light. But recently the city installed a red-light camera that photographs drivers who run red lights. I know more than one person who’s been surprised to find …

Do you own a dog or cat? Do you have a pool or a trampoline? Do you ever offer house guests an alcoholic drink? This is National Safe at Home Week. If you’re like me, you probably haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about how visitors to your home could hurt themselves. In part, we fail to notice the hidden dangers that lurk in our homes, because we know the risks and have taught ourselves to avoid them. Perhaps …

I spent part of my childhood living in the Middle East, where my Dad was on assignment for a large oil company. It was a fascinating experience, and I got a crash course in Islam. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins tomorrow. Devout Muslims observe the month by fasting daily from sunrise to sunset. If you’ve ever fasted for a day, you know it’s not easy. Now imagine doing that for more than half a day, every day for …

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a wimp. As a child, I dreaded the month of August, because that meant it was time for my back-to-school doctor’s appointment. And a doctor’s appointment inevitably meant that I needed to get shots. I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but as a kid I would cry and scream when I saw the nurse approaching with a needle. (Today I’m a bit better behaved.) August is National Immunization Awareness Month. If …

When I was young, we watched Judge Wapner on "The People’s Court." Today, Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown rule the airwaves. For many people, this is their first and only exposure to the concept of small claims court. In Tuesday’s blog, I wrote about one personal experience that left me wanting to sue a company that wronged me. Ultimately, I decided not to sue. But if I had, I would have filed suit in small claims court. Small claims …