--- When the Scales of Justice Need a Tune-Up: Child Support, Vacations, and the Devil’s Expense Report Let’s talk about the Scales of Justice. You know them—the blindfolded lady statue you’ve probably seen outside courthouses, balancing her shiny little brass trays as if she’s weighing diamonds instead of human lives. In theory, she’s neutral, calm, impartial. In practice? She’s more like a part-time carnival worker juggling flaming chainsaws after one too many margaritas. Especially when child support enters the conversation. Now, I am not saying children shouldn’t be supported. Obviously, tiny humans cost money. They don’t live on air and Capri Suns alone. They need food, shelter, clothes, orthodontics, video game consoles, and, depending on the peer group, sneakers that cost more than your first car. Parenting, in all its wonder, is a financial black hole. But somewhere between “responsibility” and “ridiculous” there’s a fault line. And standing directly on ...

“Service With Extra Pings” — A Satirical Sketchbook Blog + Creator Desk Essentials “Service With Extra Pings” — Notes From the Sketchbook Timeless ink, cross-hatching, and a tiny splash of red . Heads up: This post contains affiliate links to products I actually use. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra and helps keep the lights (and the screenbar) on. The Gag Some days it feels like our phones aren’t tools; they’re supervisors with clipboards. That’s the joke at the center of this concept piece in the ink tradition of Pat Oliphant, Herblock, Ann Telnaes, Thomas Nast, Clay Bennett, and Michael Ramirez—bold line, dense vintage cross-hatching, and selective red like a fate marker. Central scene: an oversized smartphone looms like a monolith. Two thick notifications jut out: “Shipping update: Your glasses ...

Michigan’s Deep Quiet: Rustic Camps Around Grayling (Lake Margarethe + Au Sable) Michigan’s Deep Quiet: Rustic Camps Around Grayling If you’re chasing the kind of quiet that hums in the pines, Grayling and Lake Margarethe are your launch point. Within an easy 30–60 minutes you’ll find true first-come, rustic campgrounds: vault toilets, hand-pump water, trees between neighbors, and river or lake access you can walk to with a mug of camp coffee. How We Pick ’Em Rustic first: vault/pit toilets, no electric; hand-pump water when available. First-come, first-served: pay at the pipe, claim your spot. Water + privacy: lakes/rivers nearby, woods between sites. No sardine loops: we skip stacked electric pads and resort vibes. Quick Picks (Choose Fast & Go) Most Solitude White Pine Canoe Camp (walk-/canoe-in) Rainbow Bend SFC (tiny 7-site loop) Cathedral Pines (USFS walk-in) ...

  Camper Beware (But Happy Ending): How Sugar Sand Nearly Ate Our Trailer—and Pointed Us to Lake Margarethe TL;DR: A confusing directions email + deep sugar sand turned our Hipcamp booking into a $321.63 tow bill and a do-over. The host refunded the site (thank you), and we hope Hipcamp steps up on the rescue cost. Giving up on the original site led us to a serene win at Lake Margarethe —blue water, quiet banks, and the camping weekend we wanted all along. Bonus: a hyped local bakery (4.7⭐ online) delivered a 3⭐ experience for us. The Plan We booked a rustic private campsite near Grayling, MI —two adults, one inTech Flyer Explore in tow, and a calendar reminder chirping: Check-in Sep 25, 4:00 PM (Booking #3663602). The listing promised privacy, great Verizon signal , and a short sandy approach. Reality check: “Short sandy approach” is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Photo cue: – The long, rutted sand road (your wide shot) – Our Flyer hitched up on the two-track Dire...

  Junior Mushroom Detectives at Lake Margarethe: A Field Journal of Pine Needles, Suspects, and Spore Prints The Scene of the Crime Lake Margarethe , Grayling, Michigan . Pine trees towering, sand crunching under boots, and the kind of northern Michigan air that smells equal parts fresh and suspicious. We weren’t just campers this time. We were on assignment — junior mushroom detectives, on the hunt for suspects hiding in the moss, needles, and half-rotted stumps of the forest. 📸 Photo idea: wide shot of campsite under pines, with gear visible. Kellie carried the coffee, I carried the magnifying glass (well, okay, a nickel and a stack of paper plates). Together, we had everything we needed to crack the case: curiosity, sarcasm, and the willingness to kneel in wet pine needles for an unreasonable amount of time. Tools of the Trade Professional mycologists carry microscopes, reagents, and Latin dictionaries the size of cinder blocks. We? We had: A nickel (for scale). ...