The thoughts coherent and rambling of a technical communicator living by the banks of Possession Sound on the Salish Sea.
This notice was included with a pizza delivered on December 3, 2009. To support the families of the four slain Lakewood, Washington police officers All the Papa John’s Pizza in Snohomish, Pierce, King, Kitsap, and Island Counties, a total of 41 stores, will be donating 100% of our profits from Tuesday, December 8, 2009, and [...]
I am not against firearms. There are legitimate uses. I question the standard reasons given for the average person carrying a handgun. Particularly the reasons for carrying a concealed weapon. The reason for carrying a concealed weapon is protection from other humans. If you encounter a bear in Everett, your typical handgun—concealed or open carry—is [...]
This is a letter I sent to The Daily Herald in Everett, Washington regarding replacement of the Snohomish County Prosecutor. The Snohomish County Council needs to replace our prosecuting attorney. There is a lot of talk that only one candidate deserves it. That is true. The Office of Prosecuting Attorney oversees more than criminal prosecution. [...]
It can be interesting looking at the wreckage after two thoughts collide. Back in 1977, I was taking a class on the history of the American City from Dr. Donald Oster (now an associate professor emeritus) at the then-University of Missouri-Rolla. At the start of class one day, he told us of a discussion the [...]
Yes, that Stephen Colbert. For those of you singing this on Sunday, I want you to remember this video.
As we approach the Last Sunday after Pentecost and the conclusion of the church year, here is an appropriate hymn.
Officially, the US is very clear that Veterans Day is not Remembrance Day. We have Memorial Day to remember the fallen. Today is the day to remember the sacrifice of all veterans in time of war. My father, a disabled veteran, won’t talk about everything he saw in Korea. I understand there are some pictures [...]
We all want the ability to predict what will happen so that we can prevent bad things from happening. There are various academic disciplines that try to do this: psychology, psychiatry, sociology, economics, and political science. There are specializations within each of these disciplines, such as social psychology. Even so, it is still possible for [...]
In August 2009, Glenn Beck was given the Key to the City of the place he calls his hometown, Mount Vernon, Washington. This makes Beck the second most important person in the world with ties to Mount Vernon. Even though Beck claims Mount Vernon as his hometown, he was not born there. Did you know [...]
I’ve been procrastinating. Well, kind of. But, not any more. My relationship with Yahoo as a hosting provider goes back to when they purchased GeoCities (where all good geeks first established their websites in the 1990s). There was a certain simplicity with just leaving things as they were. I can pound HTML. With a text [...]
One of the first things I heard today on Weekend Edition Saturday was Scott Simon’s essay “Gandhi, King, Walesa, Mandela—Obama?” The essay ends with this twist. The president said yesterday, “I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize.” [...]
Since when does state law affect the spread of the kingdom? I read somewhere that even the Gates of Hell couldn’t defeat the church.
On Monday evening, October 5, 2009, I watch the PBS program “Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times.” Knowing about the quality reporting attributed to the Los Angeles Times in recent times, I decided to watch this program. With its recognized quality today (even after a buyout from Chicago), I was a bit surprised to [...]
Courtesy Dave Walker at cartoonchurch.com This cartoon by Dave Walker from Great Britain captures the concerns many people are having on this side of the Atlantic. If shaking hands with someone is causing you concern, consider the historic use of the pax-brede. For that matter, Orthodox veneration of icons and the Book of Gospels includes [...]
I can hear the smallest child asking, “Why is September 11 different from all other days?” When will we have the ability to say it isn’t? Don’t get me wrong. What happened on 11 September 2001 combined horror and heroism, bigotry and beauty, history and the here-and-now. But, how does this make it different from [...]
Nothing like stopping a crowd with giving an answer that is not expected. This also turned into a good discussion on health care reform. Did everyone catch that Switzerland has very regulated private health care insurance companies? This is the cost of not having some sort of public option. Congratulations to Senator Franken for showing [...]
Your result for The RPG Class Test...
41% Combativeness, 7% Sneakiness, 71% Intellect, 53% Spirituality
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