I was deeply disturbed by the hatred visible in Charlottesville. I was deeply disturbed to hear Donald Trump equivocate on opposition to neo-Nazis and racists. After Trump was elected, I remember having a conversation with a friend, in which I told him about my fears. I knew that Muslims would be killed, simply because of […]
Kinder, Gentler Lending
How many times have Bible-thumpers beaten you over the head with some harsh gotta-do-it commandment? When did you last look at something in our society and think, “That’s downright mean. Isn’t there a nicer way?” Sometimes we can find a kinder, gentler way, by choosing kinder, gentler portions of the Bible. Just as an example, let’s try […]
My Brother Died, a Year Ago Today
A year ago, my brother, Norman Robertson, died. I was so f—ing angry for so f—ing long that… that… that I still don’t have words. Norman should have. Norman shouldn’t have. It was all his fault. Still is. You see that, don’t you? Thankfully, I am finally done with my anger even though my heart pounds as I […]
Inspired by the Man in the Arena
Nelson Mandela gave a copy of Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speach to François Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team, before the start of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. I find this quote much more inspiring and apropos than the poem Invictus. It is not the critic who counts; not the […]
The Comfy Old Shirt
Imagine it’s one of those lazy mornings when you don’t feel like doing much of anything. You woke up and shrugged into a comfy old shirt. You left your cuffs unbuttoned. The left half of your collar sticks up, since you never bothered to look in the mirror. As for the buttons down the front, […]
Dr. Lester Start, Ph.D.
I very much enjoyed the time that I got to spend with my father-in-law, Lester Start. Sadly, he was taken from this world much too soon. My wife and her siblings have created a web site as a publishing platform for his sermons and talks. Please visit Lester Start’s Works.
Boom or Bust for Open Source Software?
You might have noticed a bit of “uncertainty” in the economy these days. I was fascinated to see these two articles show up within 24 hours of each other: Economy to Give Open-Source a Good Thumping by Andrew Keen <snip> So how will today’s brutal economic climate change the Web 2.0 “free” economy? It will […]
Sure As ****
I just got some bad news and thought to myself, “I sure as hell don’t want ____ to happen.” That made me wonder, why hell? Of all the things in the universe to be absolutely certain of, why hell? As with so many colloquialisms, I do not actually believe in this one any more than […]
An Attitude of Gratitude
I sat down to write about something mundane and got distracted reading the NPR This I Believe stories. Mary Chapin Carpenter just got out of the hospital after suffering a pulmonary embolism. Now, recuperating, she is climbing The Learning Curve of Gratitude. I found her article shortly after the shock of reading a friend’s name […]
For Whom Do We Mourn?
Tragedy struck on Monday when 33 people died at Virginia Tech. Flags fly at half mast as we grope through feelings of hurt, anger, helplessness, and grief. President Bush was so moved that he offered personal condolences, It’s impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering. Those whose lives were taken did nothing to […]
Good Advice
This seems to be good-advice day. I am reading Exceeding Customer Expectations, about Enterprise Rent-a-Car’s highly successful business practices. As expected, it is full of good advice. Key seems to be: assure that your customers are completely satisfied. And then, reading a completely unrelated magazine article, I ran across this adage: Learn from the mistakes […]
Chanukah — Day 1 — Freedom of Worship
Chanukah starts tonight, our annual “festival of lights.” It gets tangled up with Christmas because, well, because kids (big and little) like to get presents. Who can complain? Our holiday is completely different than Christmas, though. Several themes comprise Chanukah and, over the next eight days, I will be writing about the ones that seem […]
Gratitude
This seems to be the year for in-my-face opportunities for thankfulness. My family is having its problems; life isn’t perfect. But it ain’t nothin’ compared to lots of other people that I know. At least three of the women in my life are battling breast cancer and one man has another kind of cancer. One […]
Machine Gun Sentry Robot
NewLaunches.com brings news that Samsung develops machine gun sentry robot. Samsung has partnered with Korea university and developed the machine-gun equipped robotic sentry. Do you remember the scientists who worked on the atomic bombs and later regreted their decisions to do so? I am afraid that we are about to see history repeat itself. One […]
Live Transparently
Joseph poses a good idea in his posting on Changes in Lobbying Practices Lobbyists would be required to hire a Congressional stenographer to record the entire interaction, every single time they interact with someone in Congress. The transcript would then go on the Internet. Better yet, the whole thing also would be videotaped, and the […]
