To every thing there is a season...

Not long ago, one of my favorite authors disappeared. I don't know why, but it seemed like he just dropped off the face of the earth.

He had a terrific imagination, inventing new worlds and social structures in a kind of Utopian frenzy. His stories always carried a thread of sadness, however.

What is the opposite of xenophile?

My Honey suggests xenophobe, but I disagree: love and fear are not opposites. Love and hate, or at least dislike, come closer.

Anyway, whatever it is, I think I'm becoming one.

False Advertising

I tried to post this earlier today, but apparently MySpace had a bad case of hiccups.

I was sitting here, keeping my grandchild company while watching the "Sprout" cable channel - you know, all kid programming, all the time?Anyway, it gradually sinks into my consciousness that there, on my TV screen, is a purple T. Rex dancing around a bunch of preschool-aged children, exhorting the benefits of eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.

The Trouble With Public Schools

I had a serious case of deja vu today.

You see, when I enrolled as a graduate student in Engineering school, I became a student member of the National Society of Professional Engineers.  For student members, the fees were pretty cheap, and it seemed a good idea to have some kind of membership in a professional organization to list on my resumé when I started to look for work.

Visitation

I went back to visit my work friends today. Seems a little strange, having to be a visitor at the place where I used to work. It makes major changes in how you have to conduct yourself.

I HAVE THE POWER!

Sometimes my erstwhile quiet neighborhood sounds like a war zone. Explosions happen out of nowhere. It's not guns, though. The little subdivision I live in was built in about 1972, and I think all of the infrastructure is still the original equipment. About 2 to 3 times a week something in our local electric grid, probably a transformer, blows up, and it sounds like dynamite going off. In fact, one blew up just before I started this blog. I know that's what it is, because the lights blink, and my UPS alarm sounds, just for a moment.

Hate

Something, I'll not say what, got me to thinking about hate today.

I've done it myself - and I'm sure you have too - said, "I hate [pick a name] !" - sometimes decribing the offense or characteristic that sparked the response, sometimes not, depending on how familiar the audience was with the relationship between the speaker and the object of scorn.