I once worked with a guy who called me "Sweetie."

I liked the guy. But that habit made me nuts. He called other women around the office by that term as well. None of us liked it.

But we never said anything. What are you gonna say: "DON'T CALL ME SWEETIE!"?

That would have made us bitches.

Apparently, it doesn't get any better as you get older.

Another day, another 80-year-old driver takes out a pedestrian. At least that’s how it’s beginning to feel here in Massachusetts, where a recent spate of accidents involving elderly drivers is drawing lots of media coverage and sparking calls for more regulation of senior drivers.

If you find yourself in a midlife slump, it's a good idea to learn something new. And it really helps if you have a partner in crime. Pat Leuchtman is mine. 

We have both been writers for newspapers and magazines for decades, but over the past few years, we've been exploring self-publishing. Dogged freelancers, we got tired of the low pay and fickle editors, and decided to take matters into our own hands by going on the web. Fiftyshift is my result, Commonweeder is hers.

One topic of conversation among faculty this year is the increasing futility of trying to control student texting in the classroom. (I'm considering confiscating cellphones next semester.)

Spend any time around young people and you know that this is approaching a compulsion with a lot of kids. This generation seems unable and unwilling to unplug itself for even a few minutes. I found myself sitting next to an otherwise polite young student at an awards luncheon this spring and got just a little annoyed to find that she had her cel in her lap the whole time, texting away.

Testing to see if this teaser works

Came across this collection of photos of Michelle Obama's first hundred days and struck by what a class act she is. Check them out.

Newsweek's My Turn column this week features a poignant essay about one of the perils of caring for elderly parents.

And the New York Times Social Q's column hits on a similar theme.

If this recent economic downturn shows us anything, it's the importance a strong local economy.

Where I live, buying local is all the rage when it comes to food--and in western Mass., we are lucky enough to have good local milk (Our Family Farms), good local bread (El Jardin) and lots of farm stands.

The buy-local ethos is so strong here that even Dining Services at UMass Amherst buys a lot of its produce from local farmers, which gives them a good source of revenue, and amps up the quality of the food in the dining commons.

BJ Roche writes:

I had the pleasure of meeting USA Today political correspondent Jill Lawrence last spring, when she came to speak at a political reporting panel at UMass Amherst.

Jill was in the midst of the interminable Democratic presidential primary season (how soon we forget!) and, as a longtime political reporter, gamely adjusting to the 24/7 demands of the blogosphere while also fiing houghtful and well-reported daily stories. All in high heels.

He runs a second-half pot of coffee through used grounds.

This is downright Doctor Zhivago! But the coffee is not half-bad.

Turns out, he's in.

Thrift is all the rage now, and there are lots of theories why.  For a lot of us, though, it was always a necessity.