Confirmation Bias
A while back I read the tragic story of First Air Flight 6560, a Boeing 737 that was flying into Resolute Bay, in the Canadian Arctic. This airport is at a point where the magnetic variation (the difference between true north (the northern rotational axis of the planet) and magnetic north (the northern rotational axis…Read More
Thoughts on Duty
I came across a line that resonated with me in a poem by Anne Angel: Commitment. (Contained in the book pictured to the right.) “It’s knowing your duty and doing your job and dulling your pain and stumbling on. It’s making a mess and maybe a difference, it’s trying to be more or to stir…Read More
Ruminations on 100 Posts
100 Posts! Woo Hoo! When I started this, I planned two posts per month. Four years to 100. It’s been just over two years because I’ve upped the post rate and added some new topics for consideration. The book reviews and interviews have been popular. I’ll continue them. In the next few weeks you’ll see…Read More
Ranting in Latin
My fault.
New Year, New Mug, New Socks, New Motivation
I’m delighted to bid farewell to 2021. Our family had a particularly bad end of the year. The darkest moment was the passing of our granddaughter, Claire Elizabeth. As much as I want 2022 to be better, I said the same thing in 2021 and it turned out to be much worse that 2020, so…Read More
The death of words
Edward R. Murrow said of Winston Churchill in 1940, “Now the hour had come for him to mobilize the English language and send it into battle….” President Kennedy later used this quote when presenting Churchill with honorary American citizenship. It’s still at war, only now it’s under attack. English morphs as times change. Words fall…Read More
Tales from Comicpalooza
It’s been a while since I blogged, but I have lots of excuses: We moved. We’re back in Houston. All our stuff is in a warehouse in Pasco, WA, waiting for two things – a driver (estimated delay 4-6 weeks), and a delivery address. 2. We’re currently staying with our daughter. All of us. Me,…Read More
Dramatis Personae Part 1: Will “WonderBoy” Kwan
Arnav Gupta, over at his Bookworm blog, has started a thread on characters and their development. He picked Hercule Poirot to start it out. That got me thinking about my characters. I had someone draw my two protagonists a while back. The drawings came out okay, but missed the mark. Probably my poor description of…Read More
English as a second language
I read an interesting blog last night by Beyza Çitak about struggling to learn English (blog link). I can relate. I don’t speak English. I speak American. The “English” speaking world tries to make everyone think that the language spoken by English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, Indians, Singaporans, Kenyans, Bermudans, and Americans…Read More
Cupboard under the stairs
You should know this already. Prior to attending Hogwarts, when the Dursley’s punished Harry Potter, they made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs. We’re moving. Long tale of woe involving program issues and long delays and innumerable other problems familiar to anyone who has worked on a failed/failing project. So be it. Hey,…Read More