Mar 08 2010
In late February and early March came periods of devastation for Chile. Those periods came in the form of ” . . . the most severe earthquake experienced by the oldest inhabitant . . . ” as stated in an account of the events. The account continues, “A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest [...]
Feb 22 2010
Of late, I’ve written some things in my blog that, upon reflection, make me a science jerk. For instance, in my recent discussion of media coverage of the climate science mistakes uncovered in the last four months, I pretty much made it sound like anybody who doubts climate science is an idiot and should suck [...]
Feb 22 2010
Athletics at SMU can raised quite heated responses from members of the SMU academic community. This response is rooted in many things, but primarily a perception that student athletes are expected, or themselves expect, to achieve less in the academic realm than their non-athlete peers. Setting aside the reality for a moment, which is always [...]
Feb 22 2010
While attending my nephews’ birthday party this weekend, I was told a horrific anecdote by one of my family members. Their employer recently bought a larger retail space not far from their original building. The employer relocated to the larger building and merged departments and personnel. In the process, they’ve changed health care plans, forcing [...]
Feb 11 2010
I’m told this doesn’t happen very often, and when it does it isn’t usually this bad. Today, it snowed several inches in Dallas and the surrounding areas. This caused the expected knot of traffic, accidents, people doing generally stupid things that work great on dry pavement and terribly under low-friction conditions. The snow was heavy, [...]
Jan 09 2010
In a lifetime, your chance of dying from heart disease is 1 in 5. Your chance of dying in a car accident is 1 in 272. Your chance of dying while walking is 1 in 623. Your chance of dying due to drowning or accidental submersion is 1 in 1073. Your chance of dying due [...]
Dec 23 2009
It was Christmas, and from many lands far away
The family convened to mark Christmas Day.
A year or more since the last time we had been
a family together, united as kin.
“Where is Sister?” asked Brother upon his arrival.
“She is busy at church; it’s her organ recital.
Each Christmas she plays for the holiday service.”
“Will we see her [...]
Dec 20 2009
In the movie, “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” author Audrey Niffenegger explores the relationship between a husband, who unpredictably travels through time, and his wife, who must deal with his disappearances and harrowing experiences. But what if it was the wife whose life had become unpredictable, and the husband who had to cope?
In some small way, [...]
Nov 29 2009
The past week has been spent in restraint. As Thanksgiving approached, a few brave souls jumped the gun and started putting up Christmas decorations. Jodi and I started driving around the neighborhoods and then changed to walking. Every time we returned home, Jodi would race for the garage, storehouse of all our Christmas decorations. She [...]
Nov 16 2009
The sermon that followed the baptism of my God-daughter was a let down, a reminder of the reason I originally abandoned a religious life in favor of a spiritual one. I don’t know if these let-down sermons are at all common; I just know that I run into them a lot. At first, it seemed [...]
Chirp, a microblog Going Up Alleys The Perils of the Ice Queen
