Though I don’t like doing it, I’m taking the week off. I’ll be back next Monday.

While I’m away, how about a few reruns? They’re mostly fiction, and mostly my words, and some certainly could have been better. But the important thing to remember is that if you’ve never seen them, they’re new to you.

• iPhones, etc. — Remember when the world was going to end if you didn’t get an iPhone? Neither do I.
• Conversations I Don’t Have with my Dog — Thoughts about the nature of life, shared with my dog.
• OPW: Happiness — Some words from Mattieu Ricard on the difference between ignorance–which can seem like happiness–and the real thing.
• Dispatches: Coalition Against Animal Racism — A (fictional) piece from our sometimes reporter, Steve Finch (also fictional), about the way races are treated across species.
• Impressions in the Carpet — Thoughts about the dents that furniture always leaves in the carpet.