Category: Society

America’s Front Yard

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Reflections on the National Mall

A Flashback

I ran across a piece someone wrote a few days ago that mentioned in passing the National Mall, in the heart of Washington, DC. For some reason, it brought back a flood of memories I thought worth sharing. It is one of those places easily put into the mental background and forgotten or taken for granted. The Mall deserves better, for several reasons we shall discuss momentarily. As a symbol and as a gathering place, it offers us much.

My First Attentive Look at the Mall

Like many people,

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Most Prominent Physical Feature of a Politician?

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No, Not That! No, Not Those Either! Shame on you.

Tis the Season

I know – sometimes it seems it is eternally the case, but in face we are about to enter another national election cycle. In a little more than a year, we will be voting for all sorts of offices, from President to Dog Cather, and about every office in between.

Among other things, this means that the media, in all its forms, will be focusing on politicians and would-be politicians. Unfortunately, much of that coverage looks likely to continue being focused on horse race status and some gotcha articles,

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Meet the Swiss Army Knife State Legislators

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They Think They Can Do Everything. It Would Be Hard To Be More Wrong

Swiss Army Knife?

You get the reference. This refers to legislators who think that, now they have power (more on that later), they can act with the force of law on all of their pet projects and biases. The list is quite long these days.

Have no background in education? No problem – just go right ahead and dictate curriculum content, often in very specific ways. Do what you think is right for everyone! Say you have no experience in literay matters or library management?

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June 6, 2023

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A Mixed Collection Today: Celebrate Some, Worry Some

Today is D-Day

On this date in 1944, the Allies bet it all on an important event that could be the beginning of the end for the war in Europe. And so it was to be. A good date, perhaps, to reflect on what assaults and defenses we need to mount in the common interest. A few events and mindsets rise to the surface.

Some Good News to Share & Reflect Upon

How The Country is Doing: By almost any measure (economy, alliances and security,

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Two Rather Different Thoughts on Memorial Day

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How We View This Day Depends Greatly on What Experience We Bring To It

A Lot is Written and Spoken About Memorial Day

As well it should be. This is about as solemn a memorial service as we have for this country, and it deserves our attention. Still, as a veteran with more than a little bit of combat experience, I have always been a bit cautious about the day.

Seeing people who never served make pompous and bellicose speeches does not ring my bell. Neither do the machinations of those I think of as “professional veterans,” who seem unwilling to turn the page in life,

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Hey, Is Anyone Else Writing Some Good Stuff?

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Yes, Indeed. Today We Share a Sample of Worthwhile Reading

A Lot of People Are Writing Well, About Important (and/or Fun) Matters

I invest more time than I probably should reading the work of other writers, particularly bloggers and columnists. Part of this is a desire to learn more, part of it is admiration of good writing. Some readings are like a hot fudge sundae – completely satisfying.

I thought you might enjoy a few of such outstanding examples that have come across my computer screen in recent days. I hope you enjoy them and learn from them as much as did I.

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The “What Makes You Feel Good” Parade – Part II

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More of the Good Stuff – A Bit Deeper

Now, Where Were We?

We started this conversation back in March with a short list of things that make one feel good. The plan is to divide that list into three levels – the easy everyday stuff, which was titled The Light Stuff. You may recall that my Light Stuff list included an eclectic but not unusual mix. It included:

  • A perfect baguette
  • A walk in the woods
  • Time in a hardware store
  • A really good cheese platter
  • Being up early enough to wait for the sun
  • Serious red wine
  • Being in a baseball park before the game

Many of you wrote to concur with parts of that list,

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Assorted Odds and Ends

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Nature’s Metaphor

We had a remarkably mild winter in my area of the Smoky Mountains. We had one cold snap, around Christmas and New Year’s Day. It was a short but ferocious cold snap. A lot of trees, shrubs, and small critters did not make it. It led me to a hard late winter. In short order, an early spring seemed to arrive. But too late for those who could not survive the earlier snap. In a sense, that is a metaphor for life more broadly. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to deal with challenges that seemed unimaginable just days earlier.

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Martin Luther and Information Technology

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The Man Left Us a Good Idea

Think Much about Information Technology?

Sure, of course you do. We all do, pretty much daily. Let us take a quick look at what has us fired up/afraid/hopeful in the world of information technology. It is an odd list of things that have long driven us nuts and some new stuff we are still trying to figure out.

We have long worried about security, ranging from loss of personal information to loosing control of our hardware. Social media is a two-headed entity, opening the world to us but also deluging us with lies and conflict.

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March 28, 2023

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An Assortment of News and Views of the Day

The Passing of a Founding Father

Gordon Moore, as in Moore’s Law, has died at the age of 94. Moore posited the theory, way back in the 1960’s that computer circuits would double the number of transistors in such a unit every 18 months. Many thought that was absurd and would run out of possibilities shortly.

Moore was, of course, more than right. When he wrote his idea, the best circuit around had 50 transistors. Today they have billions. And we are not done yet.

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