While I’m waiting for my mail-in ballot to arrive, I decided to look over the candidates and issues that the primary election is all about. As it happens, and it’s not a big surprise, most candidates are running unopposed, and the ballot questions are easy “Yes” answers, so there’s not a lot of research to … Continue reading The Third
My Gut
A couple months ago I realized that my gut was trying to tell me something. This is not anything new. My gut has been telling me things for decades. Most importantly it tells me when my trousers are getting too tight. That’s what it was telling me this time. I was getting cramping pains in … Continue reading My Gut
Mail-In Ballot
The primary election is coming up and I realized I should have received my mail-in ballot by now, or at least have been notified that it was on its way. Instead, I’ve gotten a couple of emails to let me know that the election is due and to check my registration status. Hmm. Happily, Pennsylvania … Continue reading Mail-In Ballot
Segregationist
It seems that this is spring cleaning week. Here’s another piece that I wrote some time ago and simply never got around to publishing. Isaac Asimov’s introduction to “Segregationist”: In the spring of 1967, I received an interesting request. It seems there is a periodical called Abbot tempo, supported by Abbott Laboratories, a respected pharmaceutical … Continue reading Segregationist
Fictional Morality
I usually write a bunch of posts ahead of time and save them for those occasions when I might be working on a longer series and don’t have the time to write the daily post, or when I’m pressed for time for other reasons. Sometimes those posts get pushed down in the unwritten and half-written … Continue reading Fictional Morality
Romeo, Juliet, and Parking Lots?
Back in the 1970s when I was exploring the classical music repertoire, I was especially interested in what was known as program music, i.e., music that attempts to render a narrative or a description of something, as opposed to absolute music which is simply music for the sake of music. So, for example, Beethoven’s Sixth … Continue reading Romeo, Juliet, and Parking Lots?
The Adventure of the Table Foot
Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, made his debut in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and thereafter appeared in a series of short stories in The Strand Magazine. The character has been dramatized scores of times and imitated and pastiched and parodied both affectionately and otherwise. Apparently, it didn’t take long, as this story from … Continue reading The Adventure of the Table Foot
Lemon-Garlic-Chive Vinaigrette
Here’s tasty salad dressing from Julia. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 1 tablespoon molasses 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 2 teaspoons minced fresh chives 1 garlic clove finely minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup vegetable … Continue reading Lemon-Garlic-Chive Vinaigrette
Changing Brokers
I’ve been annoyed with the brokerage firm that I’ve been using for quite some time, so I finally decided to switch to a different one. The annoyance wasn’t all that serious, which is why it took me so long to make the switch, I mostly found it hard to navigate their web site. There were … Continue reading Changing Brokers
Newton’s Apple
One of Apple’s most famous bombs was the Newton. Released to much hype, it simply didn’t live up to its expectations. It was able to recognize one’s handwriting, whether one wrote on it with printed block lettering or cursive, but it did this by comparing what you wrote to a list of 10,000 words stored … Continue reading Newton’s Apple