Even though my personal calendar is now filled with a smattering of fresh events, I am quite happy about the ones that don’t involve health, legal and tax annoyances. My back and other ailments seem to be stabilizing thanks to daily exercise and my having dedicated some time to cooking my own meals, which, besides being cheaper (a concern I’ve been having of late), also forces me to stand and move about, not to mention giving me an excuse for handling very sharp knives in very satisfactory ways. And I’ve lost weight–either from exercise or minor hardship, that is both...