In Kentucky, the incumbent Republican governor is trailing in the polls by more than ten points. Is it a coincidence, then, that the day before the election (which is today) he should have ordered that a display of the Ten… Continue Reading
To the right is a portrait of a religious fanatic and a terrorist. Sure, he looks like a pilgrim ready to make nice with the Indians over some turkey and cranberries, but this was not a nice man. 402 years… Continue Reading
1. The Wife “quit” Toastmasters last week. I’m only four speeches towards getting the basic certification, and I think I’d like to finish it, if only to have actually finished it rather than stopping going because The Wife did. She… Continue Reading
I don’t like it. It dulls the pain, which is nice because then I don’t have to feel it. And the pain can be distracting, at best. But I also don’t know very well whether I actually still have a… Continue Reading
…I can look forward to more student complaints when they don’t get “A” grades, as if it’s somehow my fault. A complaint like this, though, is extraordinary: the student complains that the professor fails to give sufficient direction, but also… Continue Reading
After another day of pain, this time accompanied by a lengthy navigation through a medical bureaucracy and a CAT scan, it has been confirmed that I have another kidney stone in me. This week’s pain is localized in a somewhat… Continue Reading
On November 1, 1755, a powerful earthquake rocked Lisbon, Portugal. Tens of thousands died in building collapses, fires, and general rioting. This inspired Voltaire to write Candide, one of the snarkiest and most powerful novels ever written. In the first… Continue Reading
The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired a new GM. Now, we’ll get to see how good he really is – the Dodgers don’t have quite the same depth of raw athletic talent as he’s become accustomed to coaching. And who… Continue Reading
A family sued the Westboro Baptist Church for disrupting the funeral of his son, a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq, and won a significant verdict. I have a very hard time feeling bad for the defendants. The excerable Fred Phelps… Continue Reading
12% of Americans do not identify with any religious tradition or consider themselves to be secular or atheist. That’s very close to one in eight Americans. Particularly interesting is that age groupings seem to remain constant over time, and nearly… Continue Reading