We’ve been at the Sawmill Creek Lodge in Huron, Ohio the past few days for the Webner family reunion. Although Sawmill Creek has many fine amenities, it does not have in-room wireless connections, and therefore Kish and I can’t use our own laptops to access the internet. As a result, we have made liberal use of [...]
Archive for July, 2010
The Need For Speed
Posted in Reflections, Technology, tagged computers, Internet, modern culture, Personal Computers, Reflections, Technology on July 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Public Art At The Ohio Statehouse (VIII)
Posted in Art, Columbus, Ohio, tagged Art, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Statehouse, Sundials on July 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The north side and on the south side of the Ohio Statehouse are bookended by sundials. Whereas the sundial on the north side of the Statehouse is a tribute to George Washington, the sundial on the south side is dedicated in honor of the Grand Army of the Republic. The simple inscription on the sundial is ”Lest We Forget.” [...]
Inching Closer To Proof Of Extraterrestrial Life
Posted in Science, tagged Extraterrestrial Life, Geology, Mars, Philosophy, religion, Science, Space, space exploration on July 30, 2010 | 1 Comment »
If you follow science news, you regularly see reports on scientists who are looking for proof of the existence of extraterrestial life. The latest story is a report on the examination of geological formations on Mars. Scientists are finding minerals and geological formations at one particular Martian site that are very similar to minerals and geological [...]
Measuring The Meaning Of Mothering
Posted in Family, Science, tagged Children, Family, Mothers, Parenting, Science on July 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The BBC has a story today on one of those odd scientific studies that seek to confirm what everybody already believes. In this case, the study attempts to assess the impact of mothering on children. Psychologists evaluated the interactions between mothers and their infants during a routine check-up with the children were only eight months’ [...]
Re: What is a Voter to Do?
Posted in Politics on July 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Some say I’m optimistic about politics. They’re right, but my optimism is really just a defense mechanism I’ve developed to keep myself from getting depressed about America’s political future. Some liberals let the Bush presidency turn them into cynical trolls, but I survived by convincing myself that brighter, more reasonable years were ahead. Until recently, this habit of optimism kept [...]
A Brief Response
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, budget deficits, Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Democrats, economy, Federal Debt, Federal Deficit, Politics, President Obama, Republicans on July 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We’ve had some good back-and-forth discussions on the blog lately about political issues, from UJ and some commenters, including my friend Doug. I like a good, civil discussion as much as the next person; in fact, I wish we had more discussion in this country, not less. That is why I think the internet and blogs [...]
Jack Tatum
Posted in Columbus, sports, tagged Big Ten football, Buckeye football, Columbus, Jack Tatum, Ohio State, sports, The Ohio State University, Woody Hayes on July 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I was sorry to learn of the death of Jack Tatum today. I was even sorrier to read stories that said that Tatum was “best known” for delivering the hit that paralyzed wide receiver Darryl Stingley. It seems unfair for unfortunate one play to so define a player — particularly a player of Tatum’s caliber, [...]
What is a Voter to Do ?
Posted in Politics, tagged Democrats, mid-term elections, Politics, Republican majority in 2011, Republicans on July 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »
It’s pretty clear that Bob is not happy with President Obama’s agenda and what the Democrats are trying to push through Congress, so my question to Bob is what is a voter to do ? Since voters in most area’s of our country typically only have one alternative, Bob’s response would most likely be to vote Republican. With [...]
The President On The View
Posted in Politics, TV, tagged Politics, President Obama, President Obama On The View, The Tonight Show, The View, TV on July 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Tomorrow President Obama will be taping an appearance on The View that will be aired Thursday. The View is an ABC-TV morning show that features a number of women sitting around, talking. The View is predictably touting the President’s appearance as legitimizing the show; Barbara Walters, one of show’s hosts, says that the President’s appearance [...]
The Northport Promise
Posted in America, College, tagged America, College, Northport Michigan, Northport Promise, Public Schools on July 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Kish and I have spent some time in Northport, Michigan on our vacation, and you can’t go into a local business without seeing a collection receptacle and a sign for the “Northport Promise.” It turns out that the Northport Promise is a tuition assistance program for students of local schools, to help them attend Michigan [...]
The Wondrous Sound Of Silence
Posted in America, Reflections, Travel, tagged America, Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan, Reflections, Travel on July 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Kish and I have been staying for a few marvelous days in our friends’ house along the Grand Traverse Bay. The house is just north of Omena, Michigan. It is separated from its neighbors by stands of trees to the north, south, and west; to the east stretch the wide and bright waters of the [...]
Earths, Everywhere
Posted in Science, tagged Earth, Kepler space telescope, Science, Science Fiction, Space on July 26, 2010 | 50 Comments »
The Kepler mission, a space observatory designed to examine deep space, has only been operational for six weeks but it already is starting to pay dividends. The observatory has located 140 suspected Earth-like planets among 700 suspected new planet discoveries. Previously, telescopes looking outside our solar system have identified only large gas giants. Scientists need [...]
Nothing Like a Good Game of Euchre
Posted in Cards, Family, tagged Cards, euchre on July 25, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Well Cathy and I are on a short vacation in Naples Florida visiting our cousin Beth, her husband Craig and mom’s brother Uncle Gilbert (fondly referred to as UG throughout the rest of this blog). Beth’s brother our cousin Gib also decided to fly in to Naples from Chicago with his family, wife Mary Ann and their two [...]
A Movie At The Bay
Posted in America, Movies, Travel, tagged America, Michigan, Movies, Sutton's Bay, The Bay, Travel on July 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday it was overcast and there were intermittent sprinkles, and Kish and I decided to explore Sutton’s Bay, another nearby town. While there we decided that we had to watch a movie at The Bay, the town’s lone theatre. Our trip to The Bay — where we watched Inception, which was well worth a second [...]
In Defense Of The Stimulus
Posted in Politics, The Economy, tagged Budget Deficit, Congress, economy, President Obama, recession, stimulus, stimulus spending, TARP, Unemployment on July 25, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Any regular reader of this blog knows that I have been critical of the “stimulus” legislation and the government response to the current recession, which has featured lots of spending. In the interests of being even-handed about it, attached is an op-ed piece in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer from the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics that [...]
