Life

Dear Eric: Can you comment on using cast-iron pans on a ceramic-top stove. Is special care or cleaning materials needed? I love cast iron and have cut down on the sizes to avoid dropping them.

What do dogs have that’s lacking in humans? Harry Truman, the straight-talking former president of the United States, remarked that, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” But friendship is not the dog’s only virtue.

Welcome to the emotional evolution of the modern workplace. Cutthroat ladder-climbing and the Darwinian survival theory for corporate success are giving way to emotional intelligence and empathy — basic decency — as desired leadership traits.

Dear Mr. Dad: My husband and teenage son are both overweight. I’ve been trying to get them to cut back on the junk they eat, but telling them about calories and fat doesn’t have any effect.

A camping trip is, for me, the definition of summer vacation. I grew up under canvas and next to campfires, spending my days on sun-warmed beaches or in the rain-soaked screen tent.

Sharon McLean is a wine writer, wine instructor for the Arts Institute of Vancouver, a master of wine student and a veteran wine expert with the Taste Festival. She offered some salient tips on tasting B.C. wines.

“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.

What: Taste Festival of Food and Wine When: July 25 to 28 Where: Various locations, downtown Victoria Tickets: $19 to $89 Information: victoriataste.com Whether you enjoy discussing the molecular makeup of a particular B.C.

Rules for the men’s book club. 1. You do not talk about the men’s book club. 2. If one guy says “stop” or goes limp during a book-related discussion, the conversation is over. 3.

LOS ANGELES — It’s still an old wives’ tale that a woman can plan her child’s sex by timing the month when she conceives, but a new study has found that babies conceived at certain times of the year may be predisposed to adverse health outcomes, such