All Columns

  • 2018
    • 3/21/18: Six of the Best… nerdy recipes
    • 3/14/18: Six of the Best… Brooklyn Nine-Nine cold opens
    • 3/7/18: Six of the Worst… things about Android Auto
    • 2/28/18: Six of the Best… Tenth Doctor episodes
    • 2/21/18: Six of the Best… deep cuts I forgot I thumbs’d up
    • 2/14/18: Six of the Best… ways you could make my stay more comfortable
    • 2/7/18: Six of the Worst… things about recipe websites
    • 1/31/18: Six of the Best… annoying conspiracies no one is talking about
    • 1/24/18: Six of the Best… expensive things I refuse to spend money on
    • 1/17/18: Six of the Best… movie sequels in 2017, revisited
    • 1/10/18: Six of the Best… types of columns I wrote in 2017
    • 1/3/18: Six of the Worst… episodes of The Orville
  • 2017
    • 12/27/17: Six of the Best… episodes of The Orville
    • 12/20/17: Six of the Best… ways to improve customer service in medicine
    • 12/13/17: Six of the Best… streaming originals I watched this year
    • 12/6/17: Six of the Worst… Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes so bad that I couldn’t let my daughter watch them
    • 11/29/17: Six of the Best… Star Trek: The Next Generation season seven episodes, according to my daughter
    • 11/22/17: Six of the Best… changes my wife thinks the NFL should make to their rules
    • 11/15/17: Six of the Best… ways to support your writer friends when they publish a new book
    • 11/8/17: Six of the Best… times the hero and the villain teamed up
    • 11/1/17: Six of the Worst… Halloween costume choices I’ve made
    • 10/25/17: Six of the Best… rules for naming your characters
    • 10/18/17: Six of the Best… things about Planet Builders
    • 10/11/17: Six of the Best… things The Orville did better than Star Trek: Discovery
    • 10/4/17: Six of the Worst… things about Toys
    • 9/27/17: Six of the Best… TNG episodes, part 2 (ST:TNG 30th anniversary, 4 of 4)
    • 9/20/17: Six of the Best… TNG episodes, part 1 (ST:TNG 30th anniversary, 3 of 4)
    • 9/13/17: Six of the Best… recurring characters on TNG (ST:TNG 30th anniversary, 2 of 4)
    • 9/6/17: Six of the Worst… TNG misfires (ST:TNG 30th anniversary, 1 of 4)
    • 8/30/17: Six of the Best… reasons not to watch The Defenders
    • 8/23/17: Six of the Best… little annoyances on TV shows (that I can’t ignore)
    • 8/16/17: Six of the Best… Haven troubles
    • 8/9/17: Six of the Best… weird dreams I keep having
    • 8/2/17: Six of the Worst… things your company can do if you have anxiety
    • 7/26/17: Six of the Best… things about fidget spinners
    • 7/19/17: Six of the Best… numbers on Dark Matter
    • 7/12/17: Six of the Best… memories I have of watching GLOW
    • 7/5/17: Six of the Worst… ways to get me to come back to your website
    • 6/28/17: Six of the Best… things about getting a new phone
    • 6/21/17: Six of the Best… things I found while packing for my upcoming move
    • 6/14/17: Six of the Best… Heinlein books that deserve to be made into Netflix serieses
    • 6/7/17: Six of the Worst… things about the new Wonder Woman movie
    • 5/31/17: Six of the Best… things I’m looking forward to in my new house
    • 5/24/17: Six of the Best… lessons learned from things in my cubicle
    • 5/17/17: Six of the Best… ways to stay unhappy
    • 5/10/17: Six of the Best… things about One Punch Man
    • 5/3/17: Six of the Worst… ways to “enhance” your email signature
    • 4/26/17: Six of the Best… abandoned column ideas
    • 4/19/17: Six of the Best… lessons learned from Super Mario Run
    • 4/12/17: Six of the Best… Tickets to Ride
    • 4/5/17: Six of the Worst… problems with grounding your nerdy child
    • 3/29/17: Six of the Best… things about writing by hand
    • 3/22/17: Six of the Best… things about Chuck Tingle
    • 3/15/17: Six of the Best… updates Disney could make to Beauty and the Beast
    • 3/8/17: Six of the Best… methods of faster-than-light travel
    • 3/1/17: Six of the Worst… things about conference calls
    • 2/22/17: Six of the Best… movies from 2016 not nominated for best picture
    • 2/15/17: Six of the Best… ways to save money on coffee
    • 2/8/17: Six of the Best… “if video games have taught me anything” lessons
    • 2/1/17: Six of the Worst… Enterprise design flaws
    • 1/25/17: Six of the Best… Cardassian philosophies
    • 1/18/17: Six of the Best… narrative devices you can’t use anymore (because they’re cliche’d)
    • 1/11/17: Six of the Best… columns I wrote in 2016
    • 1/4/17: Six of the Worst… questions I was left with after watching The OA
  • 2016
    • 12/28/16: Six of the Best… sequels coming to theaters in 2017
    • 12/21/16: Six of the Best… questions to ask your nerdy friends after seeing Rogue One
    • 12/14/16: Six of the Best… reasons to show fewer movie commercials
    • 12/7/16: Six of the Worst… self-promotion fails
    • 11/30/16: Six of the Best… things about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (that could have been even better)
    • 11/23/16: Six of the Best… Pokemon (according to my daughter)
    • 11/16/16: Six of the Best… presidential election screwups
    • 11/9/16: Six of the Best… things newer writers should avoid doing
    • 11/2/16: Six of the Worst… things about social media (for writers)
    • 10/26/16: Six of the Best… Criminal Minds villains
    • 10/19/16: Six of the Best… pro wrestlers (in my opinion)
    • 10/12/16: Six of the Best… second books in a series
    • 10/5/16: Six of the Worst… things about health insurance
    • 9/28/16: Six of the Best… books I discovered by accident
    • 9/21/16: Six of the Best… efficiency-increasing Chrome extensions
    • 9/14/16: Six of the Best… musical episodes
    • 9/7/16: Six of the Worst… examples of corporatespeak
    • 8/31/16: Six of the Best… things that are still on my Amazon wishlist
    • 8/24/16: Six of the Best… medical conditions you didn’t know you might have
    • 8/17/16: Six of the Best… things about planning your second wedding
    • 8/10/16: Six of the Best… quotes I’ve collected in the past four years
    • 8/3/16: Six of the Worst… things about apartment hunting
    • 7/27/16: Six of the Best… things about Star Trek Beyond
    • 7/20/16: Six of the Best… contemporary changes in etiquette rules
    • 7/13/16: Six of the Best… things the X-Files pilot episode did right
    • 7/6/16: Six of the Worst… things about the Abramsverse
    • 6/30/16: Six of the Best… things about Hamilton
    • 6/22/16: Six of the Best… decluttering ideas
    • 6/15/16: Six of the Best… from 20 years ago
    • 6/8/16: Six of the Best… questions nerds should ask when buying a home
    • 6/1/16: Six of the Worst… things about three-day weekends
    • 5/25/16: Six of the Best… ways to improve your e-mails
    • 5/18/16: Six of the Best… things about business travel
    • 5/11/16: Six of the Best… reasons to outline your novel
    • 5/4/16: Six of the Worst… Great Lakes Avengers
    • 4/27/16: Six of the Best… Dexter adversaries
    • 4/20/16: Six of the Best… business technology improvements that benefit nerds (and everyone else)
    • 4/13/16: Six of the Best… improvements SyFy made to The Magicians
    • 4/6/16: Six of the Worst… ways elections screw nerds
    • 3/30/16: Six of the Best… ways to improve the flying experience
    • 3/23/16: Six of the Best… modern-era live-action Superman films
    • 3/16/16: Six of the Best… job interview questions
    • 3/9/16: Six of the Best… things to give up to improve your health
    • 3/2/16: Six of the Worst… things about Fuller House
    • 2/24/16: Six of the Best… “great” movies that I just didn’t get
    • 2/17/16: Six of the Best… things about older cars
    • 2/10/16: Six of the Best… pop-up Twitter accounts
    • 2/3/16: Six of the Worst… Two Dots obstacles
    • 1/27/16: Six of the Best… reasons not to write what you know
    • 1/20/16: Six of the Best… things that seemed like a good idea at the time
    • 1/13/15: Six of the Best… columns I wrote in 2015
    • 1/6/16: Six of the Worst… things parents do in the carpool line
  • 2015
    • 12/30/15: Six of the Best… Highlander films
    • 12/23/15: Six of the Best… things I would change about Supergirl
    • 12/16/15: Six of the Best… ways to make work go a little faster
    • 12/9/15: Six of the Best… things that weren’t that great
    • 12/2/15: Six of the Worst… parts of the Star Wars movies
    • 11/25/15: Six of the Best… Rocky movies
    • 11/18/15: Six of the Best… things no one tells you about self-publishing
    • 11/11/15: Six of the Best… reasons for giving up on a story
    • 11/4/15: Six of the Worst… things about submitting your work
    • 10/28/15: Six of the Best… reasons to do it yourself
    • 10/21/15: Six of the Best… games I stopped playing
    • 10/14/15: Six of the Best… nerdy things I did with my school friends
    • 10/7/15: Six of the Worst… things about playing against the computer
    • 9/30/15: Six of the Best… things about the “old” internet
    • 9/23/15: Six of the Best… reasons Pokemon = Supernatural
    • 9/16/15: Six of the Best… ways to stop cheating
    • 9/9/15: Six of the Best… ways technology depresses us
    • 9/2/15: Six of the Worst… things about finishing a series on Netflix
    • 8/19/15: Six of the Best… annoying bugs
    • 8/12/15: Six of the Best… movies I own, but haven’t watched
    • 8/5/15: Six of the Worst… new words and symbols we (unfortunately) need
    • 7/29/15: Six of the Best… Harry Potter soundtracks
    • 7/23/15: Six of the Best… reasons to watch the movie first
    • 7/15/15: Six of the Best… French people in genre TV and film
    • 7/8/15: Six of the Best… things about Herman’s Head
    • 7/1/15: Six of the Worst… things about seaQuest DSV
    • 6/24/15: Six of the Best… alternatives to classic card games
    • 6/17/15: Six of the Best… reasons I keep coming back to the Anita Blake novels
    • 6/10/15: Six of the Best… Star Trek series finales
    • 6/3/15: Six of the Worst… things about pooping at work
    • 5/27/15: Six of the Best… ticketing system features
    • 5/20/15: Six of the Best… reasons to switch cell phone providers
    • 5/13/15: Six of the Best… reasons to be a strict parent
    • 5/6/15: Six of the Worst… things about birthdays
    • 4/29/15: Six of the Best… alternatives to classic board games
    • 4/22/15: Six of the Best… reasons not to buy a smartwatch
    • 4/15/15: Six of the Best… things about starting a restrictive diet
    • 4/8/15: Six of the Best… animated Star Trek episodes
    • 4/1/15: Six of the Worst… side effects of losing your memory
    • 3/25/15: Six of the Best… things to reset when changing jobs
    • 3/18/15: Six of the Best… reasons to sleep with clothes on
    • 3/11/15: Six of the Best… reasons to sleep naked
    • 3/4/15: Six of the Worst… things about applying for jobs
    • 2/25/15: Six of the Best… weird Google searches I made in 2015 (so far)
    • 2/18/15: Six of the Best… on-screen Batmen
    • 2/11/15: Six of the Best… ways to spend this weekend instead of seeing Fifty Shades of Grey
    • 2/4/15: Six of the Worst… even-numbered Star Trek films
    • 1/29/15: Six of the Best… things about polyamory
    • 1/21/15: Six of the Best… things about American Girls
    • 1/14/15: Six of the Best… things about my dad’s Pacer
    • 1/7/15: Six of the Worst… parental technology troubles
    • 1/1/15: Six of the Best… six of the best columns from 2014
  • 2014
    • 12/31/14: Six of the Best… things about my first Christmas
    • 12/24/14: Six of the Best… things about classic video game systems
    • 12/17/14: Six of the Best… things Chicago Hope did 20 years ago that you thought were new developments
    • 12/10/14: Six of the Best… things about relationships that started out long-distance
    • 11/26/14: Six of the Best… revision tips
    • 11/19/14: Six of the Best… sex writing tips
    • 11/12/14: Six of the Best… writing tips that I could come up with
    • 11/5/14: Six of the Worst… ways you can ruin an otherwise-good idea for a genre fiction story
    • 12/3/14: Six of the Worst… things about my new desk
    • 10/29/14: Six of the Best… odd-numbered Star Trek films
    • 10/22/14: Six of the Best… fandom actor crossovers on Warehouse 13
    • 10/15/14: Six of the Best… things about being Mark Oshiro (part 2 of 2)
    • 10/8/14: Six of the Best… things about being Mark Oshiro (part 1 of 2)
    • 10/1/14: Six of the Worst… things about an office with a window
    • 9/24/14: Six of the Best… Star Trek AU beards
    • 9/3/14: Six of the Worst… things to do on the toilet (besides pooping)
    • 8/27/14: Six of the Best… reasons that nerds + fantasy football = awesome
    • 8/20/14: Six of the Best… unconventional vampire abilities
    • 8/13/14: Six of the Best… stupid little life hacks
    • 8/6/14: Six of the Worst… things that annoy me about the Android/iPhone battle
    • 7/30/14: Six of the Best… things about Android phones
    • 7/23/14: Six of the Best… things about iPhones
    • 7/16/14: Six of the Best… Space Quest games
    • 7/9/14: Six of the Best… writers to take over for George R.R. Martin
    • 7/2/14: Six of the Worst… things about apartment living
    • 6/25/14: Six of the Best… defunct webcomics
    • 6/18/14: Six of the Best… things about reading A Song of Ice and Fire after everyone else
    • 6/11/14: Six of the Best… lesser-known kid-focused books with genre elements
    • 6/4/14: Six of the Best… book series… serieses… whatever… to read while you wait for the next Song of Ice and Fire novel
    • 5/28/14: Six of the Best… secret sex scenes in Star Trek novels
    • 5/21/14: Six of the Best… unexpected things in my wallet
    • 5/14/14: Six of the Best… John Cusack romantic comedies
    • 5/7/14: Six of the Best… nerdy tumblrs
    • 4/30/14: Six of the Best… things about long-distance relationships
    • 4/23/14: Six of the Best… Discworld onramps
    • 4/16/14: Six of the Best… problems that are all CNN’s fault
    • 4/9/14: Six of the Best… gaming strategies my kid uses
    • 4/2/14: Six of the Best… casual games to distract you while someone else takes over the world
    • 3/26/14: Six of the Best… things to put in your con bag
    • 3/19/14: Six of the Best… things to bring on a long car trip
    • 3/12/14: Six of the Best… things to do when planning your first airplane trip
    • 3/5/14: Six of the Best… Buffy crossover fanfics
    • 2/26/14: Six of the Best… Mike Doughty songs
    • 2/19/14: Six of the Best… things that drive you nuts about your co-workers
    • 2/12/14: Six of the Best… ways not to be a dick on the elevator
    • 2/5/14: Six of the Best… ways to make cleaning suck less
    • 1/29/14: Six of the Best… places to fart at work
    • 1/22/14: Six of the Best… two-letter plays in Words With Friends