We usually have a hard time finding good things to say about a person we find humorless. Beyond acknowledging that he or she is, perhaps, “hardworking” or “dependable as the day is long,” we end up at a descriptive loss for these folks pretty quickly. Since we know, as Thumper the rabbit used to say, if you d...

Just saying “April Fools’ Day” makes me smile. In my life, every day is already pretty darn foolish. But it’s nice to have a special day to laugh — an especially rare commodity over the past year or so, given that the world feels like it’s going to hell in a handbasket. I never did understand that saying, but...

The announcement arrived quietly, the way fog rolls into Humboldt Bay — soft at first, then everywhere. At exactly 9:00 a.m., every screen lit up with a cheerful message from TechGov, the benevolent administrative intelligence that now managed the nation’s well-being. Congratulations, citizens. Artificial Int...

It’s 1961. Lewy, Larry, Gene and I are leaving Illinois for Florida. Maybe we’ll get to Fort Lauderdale where we imagine the beaches are lined with bikini-clad coeds. We will travel in Lewy’s well-primered ’52 Plymouth, which runs fine but needs regular refills of oil. We have virtually no money. We’ll be sle...