VFTB’s Failsafe five-step strategy to guarantee your kid a spot in Princeton
Now that school’s back in session, high school seniors are scrambling to pull together college applications. It’s an anxious time for parents like me. Some parents may be sweating more than others....
View ArticleThe latest innovation from Google: Google Translate – Family Edition
When you think of Google, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? In my case, it’s the fact that I’m still kicking myself for not listening to my day trader buddy Rocco, who told me back in 2004 to...
View ArticleHousehold Budget Super Committee reaches 11th hour compromise
After months of grueling, often intractable debates – at times marred by heated name calling on both sides – the two leading members of the Jones household budget Super Committee appear to have reached...
View ArticleMarriage tip for men: When shopping at Costco on Black Friday, avoid...
It started out innocently enough. My wife asked me to go to Costco because we were low on shampoo. Perhaps I should not have gone on Black Friday, when Costco had everything on sale. The second I...
View ArticleOne year closer to death – My family’s Year-in-Review letter
The staff and management of View from the Bleachers want to take this opportunity to wish you the happiest of holiday seasons – with the notable exception of those heartless people who decided to...
View Article22-Step Guide to turning on a light bulb
I consider myself an expert handyman. If there is something broken, stuck, loose or making a sound it’s not supposed to be making, I possess an innate ability to quickly identify the problem – and...
View ArticleMy close brush with death: Seattle’s Snow-mageddon
It is a miracle I am alive right now. I could have been a statistic but thankfully, my life was spared. I live in Seattle, which recently experienced a devastating snow storm that shut the city down...
View ArticleA letter to my younger self: Jocelyn will never go out with you – and other...
Dear Young Tim, Hello, handsome young lad. This is me – that is to say, you, writing to you from the future. It’s now 2012 and a lot has happened to us since I was your age. I wanted to talk about some...
View ArticleSo you’re having a yard sale. How much you want for your LP, Leonard Nimoy...
If you ask me, springtime is synonymous with yard sales. All over America, moms are clearing out their overstuffed closets, getting rid of old, worthless, outdated junk that no longer serves any useful...
View ArticleTurn left NOW! No, your OTHER left!! The joys of teaching your teenager to...
If you’re like me, then you’re a 57-year-old male living in Seattle, with a slight overbite and a two-inch scar on your left hand from a kitchen accident in 2004. But that’s beside the point. My point...
View ArticleWarning signs you may be experiencing Kronic Incessant Disorder Syndrome (KIDS)
Over the past 50 years, throughout North America there has been an explosion of reported cases of Kronic Incessant Disorder Syndrome (better known by its acronym, K.I.D.S.). No socio-demographic group...
View ArticleEncourage your challenging child – through POSITIVE parenting
If there is one thing I’ve learned as a parent, it’s that in the end, your kids will crush your dreams, ignore all your well-intentioned advice, join a biker gang, and never write to thank you for...
View ArticleFreshman Year College Essentials Packing Checklist…. Item 756: their...
Every year about this time, thousands of families endure an emotionally trying ritual: Sending their young high school graduate off to college – or in the case of my neighbor Bert Zablinski’s...
View ArticleResearchers unlock the key to a happy marriage: Husbands, let your wives do...
Don’t believe me? Then maybe you’ll believe a study which concluded that marriages where the women do all the housework while the men retreat to the parlor to smoke cigars, read the newspaper and...
View ArticleBetter parenting through polling
When it comes to parenting, I don’t always make the best decisions. I’m not always sure what the right thing to do is in a difficult situation. Like the time our elder daughter begged and pleaded with...
View ArticleThe secret to maintaining your New Year’s Resolutions…
… is never to make any, of course. It’s January – a new year and another chance to wipe the slate clean and press the RESET button on all those failed commitments from the previous year. Every year, I...
View ArticleDon’t let your dishwasher destroy your marriage
If you’re like my wife, then after you’ve been married for about two years you probably realize your decision to get married was a serious mistake. Marriage is difficult, especially if your husband is...
View Article12 things I admire about my dad – By Emily Jones
[Note from Tim Jones: This week, I’ve invited my high school daughter Emily to take the reins of this column for the first time. I told her to write about whatever struck her fancy. Then I explained to...
View ArticleCommunities on high alert in wake of killer guinea pig attacks
It seems no animal is safe to keep as a pet anymore. There was a time when people kept turtles as pets. But no longer, thanks to research which proved turtles often carry the deadly Salmonella...
View ArticlePreparing for life as an Empty Nester (and hoping for an occasional text from...
This weekend I have the whole house to myself. Our elder daughter Rachel is a college freshman and our younger daughter Emily (who apparently really admires her dad – who knew?) is with my wife this...
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