Archeology is a tantalizing science, with anthropology close behind. It seems that every new find of human remains pushes the origins of relatively civilized human being farther back in time. Within the last few days, the remains of a seafood dinner and small stone tools in a cave on the coast of South Africa give evidence of a fairly complex … Continue reading
I am waiting, and watching, with almost unbounded curiosity, to see if the rich white people of Southern California are treated as badly as the poor black people of New Orleans in their time of crisis. We can even have the battle of the football stadiums, since the field where the San Diego Chargers play football has been opened up … Continue reading
You have to wonder about the practical nature of human beings. We keep building our homes and town in places where nature has proven to be a superior adversary. I don’t know how many times I have heard flood or storm victims vow to rebuild their homes in the same places, right in the place where storm surges or raging … Continue reading
It seems that the term “Customer Service” is becoming less descriptive of the actual service rendered with every passing day. Especially with larger companies, the experience has become all about the corporation and not about the customer at all. The first and foremost corporate customer service law has become “Thou shalt not admit to any error on behalf of the … Continue reading
I suppose that it would be possible to think of me as a Dutch-American. My ancestry is mixed European, really, with Dutch the largest component. My mother, who was in a great position to know, always told me that I was half-Dutch, half-Irish, half-English and half-assed. See, I told you that she ought to know. ;o) But I don’t think … Continue reading
As far as I can tell, Labor day is an idea whose time has gone. I have always been ambivalent about labor unions. They seem to have done just about as much harm as good. There has always been the odor of crooked dealings about them, even though they righted a wrong or two many decades ago. But, whether they … Continue reading