The news that Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and son came as no surprise, but that the jury deliberated for a mere three hours after a six week trial suggests that the jurors went into deliberations with their minds pretty well made up. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that deliberations went … Continue reading Jury Deliberations
Dumb Password Rules
In the later years of my career at the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, whose parent is the Defense Logistics Agency, the requirement came down (from where, I do not remember) that we had to change our passwords every few months. This was stupid, as it did nothing to make our systems more secure, but try … Continue reading Dumb Password Rules
Teen Forum Dec 9, 1966
Here’s another Teen Forum from my high school years, and this one is very close to my heart as I’m in it! Just kidding. The other kids are Maryann Shelhamer, David Heberling, Suzanne Berger, Delroy “Skeet” Seldomridge, Beverly Kiser, and Thomas Seubert. I can’t say my answer looks particularly thoughtful 57 years later. Then again, … Continue reading Teen Forum Dec 9, 1966
That Was Fast!
I only filed my federal income tax a week ago, but I just checked my bank account and my refund is there!
Then and Now
The good folks at Electoral-Vote.com have published an interesting map of the electoral votes in the 1976 and 2020 elections: As they say: Compare the 1976 map with the 2020 map. Eleven states (including D.C.) stayed blue (D.C., Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin). Twelve states stayed red … Continue reading Then and Now
Litterae ex Domus Alba
In the second year Latin textbook that we used in high school, there appeared this modern use of the eloquent Latin language: Eight girls at New York's Dalton School had translated President Kennedy's Inaugural Address of 1961 into Latin and sent their translation to the White House. This is the reply they received from the … Continue reading Litterae ex Domus Alba
Elco
The previous item reminded me of my first couple of weeks at the brand spankin’ new Elco school. Compared to the the Richland school where I had been going since third grade, it was huge. At Richland there were five classrooms for the six elementary grades, so grades three through five were split and shared … Continue reading Elco
Teen Forum Jan 25, 1963
Here’s a Teen Forum from our first year at the newly built Elco school. In fact that’s the subject of the question: Now that the students have had four and a half months in the new facilities what do they appreciate about them? Only one of the kids is from Richland, Eric Smith, whom I … Continue reading Teen Forum Jan 25, 1963
How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth
Sharper is a new movie available on Apple TV+, and it’s difficult to say anything substantial about it without giving away details of the plot that are better left for viewers to discover for themselves. I’d even recommend avoiding the official trailer. So I’ll talk about the Black List for a bit. The Black List … Continue reading How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth
Gary and Tony
During my first year at Penn State, I lived in the dorms in East Halls on the 10th floor of Pinchot Hall. Just down the hall and to the right lived two fellows from South Philadelphia, both of Italian extraction, Gary and Tony. I’ve mentioned Tony a couple of times previously, but not Gary. … Continue reading Gary and Tony