Category: Everything Else

Have You Ever Noticed…?

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It’s Friday. Let’s Have a Lighter Discussion to Usher in Your Weekend

I have Noticed a Few Things of Late

Any of these ring a bell for you as they have for me? Some have been with us awhile, others a bit new. All are, at the least, a bit irritating. There are, actually, a gazillion such things in life, but in the interest of Potential Reader Fatigue (PRF – Stand by for announcements of a telethon to help crush this devastating condition. 😉)

 Health Warnings on Drug Ads

Every time I listen to one of those drug ads on TV,

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The Mystery and Power of Language

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We Sometimes Forget What a Powerful Thing Language Can Be

What Do We Mean by Language?

For a long time, when we thought of language we thought of word-based communications between human beings. One of those things that separated us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Now, of course, we are learning that this was our ignorance showing itself. It seems almost daily that we learn of communication between critters of all kinds that go beyond just particular sounds.

The basic definition holds – a system of communication that may be verbal,

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Is There Anything in Transportation Better Than a Train Ride?

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No. There is Not Anything Even Close.

A Life-Long Love Affair Continues

I suppose I tipped my hand a bit in the opening lines for this post. I do indeed love just about everything related to trains. There have been times when AMTRAK tested that love mightily (more on that later, with  good news).

Much of my life has been spent in one form of transit or another. A lot of it in airplanes (sometimes landing with them, sometimes jumping out before they landed). More miles than I can count on roads and highways,

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The Phantom Post!

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Where IS that Texas Article?

A few of you were kind enough to pass on that you received an email yesterday announcing a post in Agents of Reason about Texas. You clicked on the link and found no such article. What happened? Has Texas actually left the Union, taking the article with it?

No such worries. Yours Truly hit the wrong button yesterday during drafting of said article and accidentally hit SEND before it was ready. I deleted the article, but could not recall the notice. My apologies for the false alarm.

Our discussion of Texas is alive and well (which is more than we can say for the state) and will appear in your inbox next Monday,

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Economics for the Rest of Us

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Much Economics Writing is Academic and High Level – Today Let’s Look Closer In

 

Economics is Life

Whether we like to acknowledge it or not, economics is a powerful force in all our lives. It may be complex, it may be removed from our observation, but it determines so much, including much of our politics and social norms. If there ever was a domain in which the term “unforeseen consequences” rings true, it is economics.

I am in the process of reading Barack Obama’s last book and have just completed the section about the economic crisis he inherited and the remarkable demands it placed,

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If I Were King for a Day

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A Short List of Things to Make the World a Better Place- In My Humble Opinion

Ever Play “King for a Day?”

We all did this as kids. Let’s do a grown-up version. If I were granted the power to do anything, including some fanciful things, this is my short To-Do list of a dozen items as it stands today. Enjoy!

Physiology

  1. An Engine Check Light for People– We are far enough along in science and medicine now that we should have one of those all-purpose trouble lights just like in our cars.

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Let the Contest Continue!

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Next Contestant: Socialism

Part of a Four-Part Series on Choosing a Socio-Economic System for America

 

Ah, Socialism. The One People Love or Hate – And Seldom Understand

We started this little review and exploration of systems with capitalism. This time around let’s take a quick look at socialism. No one has any strong feelings about this one, do they? Oh, well, OK– maybe we do.

Remember our analogy for evaluating these systems- this is a bit like buying an automobile. Socio-economic systems carry a lot of the same characteristics we look for in automobiles.

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Let the Contest Begin!

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First Contestant: Capitalism

A Four-Part Series on Choosing a Socio-Economic System for America

 

Ah, Yes. This One is Familiar

We start this little review and exploration of systems with capitalism in large part because it is the incumbent in America, and the one most of us know best. Well, at least we know a version of it. More on that later.

We begin or review of these systems on Friday the 13th. What could possibly go wrong?!

Remember our analogy we set up to evaluate these systems?

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Taking Some Time to Think About Time

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Time Shapes So Much of Our Lives. Yet We Understand It Hardly at All

 

What is Time, Anyway?

Seems a simple question, but there is little agreement out there among people who cogitate on such musings. For most of us, time is a given. It is what provides the benchmarks and guideposts of life. When we think of life’s events, we often think of when they happened, and in what sequence. Time and events, life as a whole, seem intertwined inexorably.

But there is a serious coterie of scientists who think time is not a real thing but is just something we incorrectly perceive.

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About the Olympics

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Few Human Endeavors Carry Such Contrasts

 

 A Reminder as to How All This Began

The Olympic games were an invention of ancient Greece, one of the wonderful things that civilization left us. The idea was to foster peaceful competition and to celebrate youthful excellence, dedication, and skill. It was a noble and inspiring idea that was restarted in the modern era, for all the right reasons.

The Power and Beauty of Youthful Athletes

It would be difficult to not admire the skill and remarkable dedication of Olympic athletes. For most of them,

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