Even though the COVID-19 plague has many of us cocooned safely away at home, for some people, work continues online. For those whose professions require “virtual” meetings, here are a few useful tips: If Time-Zone Follies require you to join a coast-to-coast meeting at “O Dark Thirty” and you haven’t yet managed to brush your […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/136.jpg753750Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-03-29 16:48:322020-03-29 16:48:32ZOOM-ing in on an Online Pajama Party
When Sandra and I got a letter from the U.S. Census Bureau on Friday, it reminded me of a joke that my dad, a wonderful raconteur, told me many years ago. With the coronavirus and the political season combining to depress everyone’s mood, I thought it would be nice to lighten up my blog this […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/seal-42704__340.png340340Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-03-22 18:44:272020-03-22 18:49:47The Census Reminds Me of the Weirdest Things
Today I’m writing about a few measures my wife Sandra and I are taking to avoid the coronavirus and the potentially deadly disease it causes (COVID-19). A couple of days ago we sat down over morning coffee and figured out a few things we could do to minimize our risk, since we’re both in our […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/money-laundering.jpg21332505Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-03-15 16:24:352020-03-29 16:50:34Money Laundering Might Help Keep You Safe From Coronavirus
Mayor Bernie Sanders in Yaroslavl, USSR, in 1988 Now that Super Tuesday is behind us, voters in the upcoming Democratic Party primaries will have to choose between the two remaining viable candidates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. In this post I’d like to make a small contribution to the effort to keep the nomination out […]
The distinguished journalist Edward R. Murrow,1 right, director of the U.S. Information Agency under President John F. Kennedy. At left, Murrow’s wife and son. In last week’s post, I began the story of how in a critical job interview, after I was asked the question I most feared, my luck turned around and I completed […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Murrow-JFK.jpg535688Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-03-01 16:32:582020-03-01 16:49:05How to Ace a Job Interview — Part 2
Back in the spring of 1968 I had a big job interview — the oral portion of the U.S. Foreign Service exam. It was a long shot, and I was not expecting to pass. Still, I hoped I’d succeed, since work as a U.S. diplomat in embassies and consulates around the world would give me […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/USIA-Logo.png599602Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-02-23 20:29:412020-02-23 20:29:41How to Ace a Job Interview — Part 1
A year or so ago, I published two posts (here and here) related to wine, beer and another, quite exotic, alcoholic beverage in the former Soviet Union. Previously, I’d created two other posts (here and here) about experiences with vodka in the USSR. Today, I’ll briefly return to the subject in a sort of “hair […]
Charpai — tipped on its side for easy carrying — much like the one I slept on in Rajnagar, except the wooden framework and legs of mine were, like most charpais in village India, unpainted No … Not that kind of hot night! I enjoyed precious few of those in Rajnagar. The hot nights I have […]
This is me in traditional Indian garb. The garment tied around my waist, a dhoti, is almost identical to the lunghi (sarong) about which please see below …. Judging by the number of ads for mattresses and sleep medications shown on our TV screens every evening, you could be forgiven for wondering if the country’s current ill […]
Leonid Brezhnev The passions whose flames are being fanned on both sides by the Trump impeachment trial bring to mind a joke that Russians would tell each other (if they felt confident the KGB wouldn’t overhear them) back in the 1970s when I was posted to the U.S. consulate-general in Leningrad (today, St. Petersburg). At […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Brezhnev-scaled.jpg25601920Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-01-26 15:13:092020-03-29 20:43:32Trump’s Impeachment Reminds Me of a Soviet Era Joke
ZOOM-ing in on an Online Pajama Party
/1 Comment/in Coronavirus, Humor /by Howard DanielEven though the COVID-19 plague has many of us cocooned safely away at home, for some people, work continues online. For those whose professions require “virtual” meetings, here are a few useful tips: If Time-Zone Follies require you to join a coast-to-coast meeting at “O Dark Thirty” and you haven’t yet managed to brush your […]
The Census Reminds Me of the Weirdest Things
/0 Comments/in Humor, Thoughts /by Howard DanielWhen Sandra and I got a letter from the U.S. Census Bureau on Friday, it reminded me of a joke that my dad, a wonderful raconteur, told me many years ago. With the coronavirus and the political season combining to depress everyone’s mood, I thought it would be nice to lighten up my blog this […]
Money Laundering Might Help Keep You Safe From Coronavirus
/0 Comments/in Coronavirus, Thoughts /by Howard DanielToday I’m writing about a few measures my wife Sandra and I are taking to avoid the coronavirus and the potentially deadly disease it causes (COVID-19). A couple of days ago we sat down over morning coffee and figured out a few things we could do to minimize our risk, since we’re both in our […]
Bernie’s ‘Woke’ Fans Need Awakening
/0 Comments/in History, Thoughts /by Howard DanielMayor Bernie Sanders in Yaroslavl, USSR, in 1988 Now that Super Tuesday is behind us, voters in the upcoming Democratic Party primaries will have to choose between the two remaining viable candidates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. In this post I’d like to make a small contribution to the effort to keep the nomination out […]
How to Ace a Job Interview — Part 2
/0 Comments/in Recollections /by Howard DanielThe distinguished journalist Edward R. Murrow,1 right, director of the U.S. Information Agency under President John F. Kennedy. At left, Murrow’s wife and son. In last week’s post, I began the story of how in a critical job interview, after I was asked the question I most feared, my luck turned around and I completed […]
How to Ace a Job Interview — Part 1
/0 Comments/in History, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielBack in the spring of 1968 I had a big job interview — the oral portion of the U.S. Foreign Service exam. It was a long shot, and I was not expecting to pass. Still, I hoped I’d succeed, since work as a U.S. diplomat in embassies and consulates around the world would give me […]
Russian Drinking Tales — Round 3
/2 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections, Russia-USSR, Travel /by Howard DanielA year or so ago, I published two posts (here and here) related to wine, beer and another, quite exotic, alcoholic beverage in the former Soviet Union. Previously, I’d created two other posts (here and here) about experiences with vodka in the USSR. Today, I’ll briefly return to the subject in a sort of “hair […]
Hot Nights in Rajnagar
/0 Comments/in India, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielCharpai — tipped on its side for easy carrying — much like the one I slept on in Rajnagar, except the wooden framework and legs of mine were, like most charpais in village India, unpainted No … Not that kind of hot night! I enjoyed precious few of those in Rajnagar. The hot nights I have […]
Mattress Ads and Restless Nights
/2 Comments/in India, Places I've lived, Recollections, Thoughts, Travel /by Howard DanielThis is me in traditional Indian garb. The garment tied around my waist, a dhoti, is almost identical to the lunghi (sarong) about which please see below …. Judging by the number of ads for mattresses and sleep medications shown on our TV screens every evening, you could be forgiven for wondering if the country’s current ill […]
Trump’s Impeachment Reminds Me of a Soviet Era Joke
/0 Comments/in Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections, Russia-USSR /by Howard DanielLeonid Brezhnev The passions whose flames are being fanned on both sides by the Trump impeachment trial bring to mind a joke that Russians would tell each other (if they felt confident the KGB wouldn’t overhear them) back in the 1970s when I was posted to the U.S. consulate-general in Leningrad (today, St. Petersburg). At […]