A Voice In The Wilderness

I can identify with John the Baptist, especially when I (foolishly) talk politics with my extended family: I say what I want to say, they hear what they want to hear. Everybody gets their feelings hurt, or ulcers, or both.

Gasoline Prices

I just got back from filling my gas tank, and do you know, the price of gasoline is down by about a dollar from a week or two ago?

Requiem for Robin

Remember Robin Hood? The guy who lived in Sherwood Forest and made a career of defending the poor and hopeless against the rich and powerful? Yeah, he broke the law, but listen up dummies! Guess what? Your freaking country was founded by guys who broke the law! So don't give me any crap about the law being the be-all and end-all of civilization!

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.