First and foremost, let me say this: never, ever, ever give away your fat clothes. I say this while sporting my current uniform: a grungy 20-year old Penn State sweatshirt and once generously stretchy yet now extremely stingy yoga pants that haven’t, alas, been donned for their true purpose...

We’ll start first with a quiz. Anyone who can define from your memory the follow terms gets an A: Polyspaston Archimedean screw Large armed lodestone Astrolabe Jovolabe Thermometry Condensation hygrometer Yep, if you’re like me, you haven’t a clue. And still don’t. But that’s okay; I had fun trying...

Yes, when the Italians kept questioning my sanity when I was headed to Fidenza instead of Firenze, it was because they knew anyone would be pazzo to go to the former rather than the latter. Florence is my kind of city. Vibrant, gorgeous, and very user-friendly. Easy to get...