I was looking for something in my middle desk drawer this morning and ran across a debit card from an bank account I had closed a few years ago. Normally, that would not be significant. Even in this case, I suspect few people would given it much thought. This particular card, however, had a very special (to me) notation on … Continue reading
The Kansas Jayhawks ran into a buzz saw at Arrowhead stadium Saturday night. When they came out the other end of that device, they were considerably smaller in both stature and reputation. Even the coach was smaller in the latter, which is saying something. It is not possible to blame the players for this loss. If you wish to blame … Continue reading
While you are sitting down at the table this Thanksgiving, I would like you to remember this column, just for a second. You may wish to thank a higher entity, but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to spend a moment closer to the ground, as well. All of that food did not just magically appear on the table. For that matter, … Continue reading
I was dismayed over the weekend to learn that much, if not most, of our recycled electronics are involved in a very seedy and human-damaging processes. It would seem that many of the items that we discard ever-so-carefully carefully in order not to harm the environment are being harvested in such a way that they are very harmful to humans, … Continue reading
I have gotten some family and friend reaction to my recent column on education and technology. Essentially, several people have said that they understood the idea, but that I was much too hard on education and much too easy on the students. There is more than a little bit of truth to that, I suppose, especially from some viewpoints and some … Continue reading
All right, I have to admit it. The Kansas Jayhawk football team is for real. They are not 10-0 because of good breaks or bad opponents. They are 10-0 because they are a very hardnosed group of football players. It would have been pretty easy to lay down under the pressure that Oklahoma State put on them yesterday. Instead, the … Continue reading
Every night at five minutes until seven, I call my father in Nebraska. Often, he doesn’t answer the phone at other times because it is very frequently charities that he has never heard of asking for money. So 6:55 p.m. is our little code. He know that it is me and he picks it up. If you have been to … Continue reading
I found myself marveling yesterday over some correspondence in which I am involved. An artist in Rome, having met a curmudgeon in Kansas via StumbleUpon, has entered into a conversation about religion and physics. All of this occurred in a very short time and has not required any stamps. I understand that there have been pen pals for a long … Continue reading
Generally speaking, changes in the English languages are good. I especially like the additions, many of which come from slang, and there are literally hundreds of these each year added to a dictionary near you. Lately we have been seeing a lot of inclusions from black street culture, enough that I knew a person a few years back who was … Continue reading
It is, after all, football season, and I am in Lawrence, Kansas so I would be remiss if I said nothing about the remarkable season our football team is having. Thus far, it has been remarkable. The Jayhawks first four opponents were relative cupcakes, so it was hard to tell what the team was capable of. Since the pushovers, they … Continue reading