Here are the most recent stories published at foldedspace. You may also search the archives to find articles on specific topics.
03 January 2023
Because I am a nerd, I like to “theme” my months and years. Doing so helps me keep on task. And it’s fun. One month, for instance, I might make it a goal to go the gym every day. Or maybe I’ll decide that February is devoted to reading books. Well, this year’s theme is […]
01 January 2023
After months — years! — of hemming and hawing, I’ve made the decision to move on from writing about money as my (mostly) full-time gig. This was an accidental career anyhow, one that I fell into in April 2006. I’m grateful for the time I spent writing books, blogs, and magazine articles about personal finance, […]
06 November 2022
Since late September, I’ve found myself eagerly awaiting new weekly installments of a television show. This hasn’t happened for years. I think the last time I was this excited about a TV show was during the early 1990s when Star Trek: The Next Generation was my drug of choice.
14 August 2021
To escape the heat yesterday, Kim and I went to the movies. We saw “Nine Days” on a whim without any foreknowledge of the film. It is amazing. I give it my strongest possible recommendation. It’s thoughtful, beautiful, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. More like this, please! (Here’s a glowing review for the curious.)
06 July 2021
While mindlessly browsing the web this morning, I happened this 15-year-old comment at AskMetafilter. It is, in essence, a description of what I’m going to call “the snowball method” for writing a story. Why snowball? Because the writing process builds upon itself, gaining size and speed as the work progresses. Here’s the entire comment from […]
05 July 2021
As Kim and I begin our house hunt, it’s become clear that I am drawn to mid-century modern design. Yes, I realize that’s a bit cliché. Mid-century modern (or MCM, for short) is popular with many, many people. For me, I’m drawn to MCM — or any sort of modernist design, really — because it […]
23 June 2021
Earlier this year, I made an abortive attempt to resurrect Folded Space (or jdroth.com, if you prefer). For the six weeks I was writing here, I really enjoyed it. But there were a couple of problems. First, my webhost could not handle the site, for whatever reason. It makes no sense to me. It’s a […]
09 February 2021
A decade ago, I decided to learn Spanish. In the summer of 2011, I sought out a Spanish tutor in the Portland area and chanced to meet a Peruvian woman named Aly. For the next eighteen months or so, Aly and I met three times a week for 90 minute sessions. It was a ton […]
05 February 2021
Since my epiphany last week about online interaction likely being the source of much of my stress and anxiety, I’ve been doing a lot of introspection. Overanalytical Man is flexing his muscles…but in a good way. I’m reading books (currently reading Waking Up by Sam Harris), watching movies, and talking with friends. This latter action […]
30 January 2021
I had an interesting insight during the dog walk earlier this week, and I want to set it down before I forget it. Tuesday was a good morning. I felt confident (which is unusual for me in recent years) and I was productive. I got stuff done. During the dog walk, my mind started to […]