The story made quite a splash when it dropped a week ago. A fellow named Uri Berliner wrote a piece for the Free Press, an online outlet, critical of his employer, National Public Radio, for having essentially become a Left-wing mouthpiece. Now a week might as well be a decade in the current age 0f 24/7, high-volume, light-speed, bleeds-leads, news […]
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Critique Me, Critique You
A few weeks ago, I published an essay in this space critiquing the recent March for Science, which coincided with Earth Day 2017. The March had been represented as a non-political demonstration of grass-roots support for continued funding of basic scientific research. Fair enough. But in reality it was, of course, a highly political, highly public rejoinder to the Trump […]
Continue readingOne! Two! Three! What are we Marching For?
Hint: It ain’t Science Just a few days ago we celebrated Earth Day, 2017, during which all of us paused for a moment to share our appreciation for our home planet, this verdant and fecund oasis in the endless vacuum of space. Gaia says “Thank you,” by the way. In addition to the usual festivities, this year we were treated […]
Continue readingTrue Grit
My first encounter with the little chow-mix dog did not exactly go as planned. Aloof to the point of chilly, unresponsive to all overtures, skinny and filthy beyond belief, Paris, as she was then known, seemed at first blush to be pretty much a dud. And this was a problem. The girlfriend had talked her up as the perfect choice […]
Continue readingAn Open Letter to the Readers of Salon
Or: Global Warming, Meet Lysenkoism; You Two Have a Lot in Common! While wallowing in the bloom of online post-election bloviation the other day, I chanced across this entrancing article on Salon. Being a reliable voice of the American Left, Salon can be counted on to deliver the party line on whatever issue has momentarily captured the zeitgeist. And […]
Continue readingAt the Shore
With nearly imperceptible slowness, the black of night gives way to a featureless, colorless predawn. A faint dull red glow limns the eastern horizon, grading upward into gray nothingness. Little by little, sea and shore emerge from the formless void. The bright disk of the sun lies hidden for now below the horizon, but if all goes as planned the […]
Continue readingA Life in Full
When a great man dies, it is as though a library has burned –Author unknown I was saddened to learn of the death of Oliver Sacks, the great author and neurologist, by cancer on August 30. He was eighty-one. Saddened but not surprised, as he had been ill for some time and had rapidly declined in recent weeks. Dr. Sacks […]
Continue readingThe Day the World Changed
We aren’t going to make it in time; I’m sure of it. Departure time crept up on us, it took longer to get going than it should have, and now we are running seriously behind. The convoy departs at eight am, sharp, we have been informed, and we are further advised to be at least 30 minutes early. This is […]
Continue readingYou, Robot
Asking for me by name, the caller identified herself as “Barney.” And who are you with, Barney? No one, just Barney, she replied, going silent. My assistant and right hand, a young woman who goes by the name of Seed, repeated the question just to be sure she had heard correctly and got the same response. Standoff. Faced with this […]
Continue readingIn the Shoes of Others
In any business serving the public, over time you accumulate regulars, people who for some reason glom onto you and come back again and again. Regulars form the backbone of a sustainable business, and in the long run they can make or break you. Most you are happy to see. After all, they wouldn’t keep coming back if there hadn’t […]
Continue readingBlue Water, Red Metal
One by one, the four diesel engines of the Royale Queen spring to life, breaking the quiet chill and signalling imminent departure. With this sudden sonic interjection, the assembled crowd snaps to attention and assumes queue formation, eyes forward, ready to roll. With a nod and a quick gesture the chief mate signals for boarding to begin, and the passengers […]
Continue readingCNET Joins the Dark Side
CNET, once THE place to go for news, information and good, trustworthy content, is now a tainted brand.
Continue readingThe Road not Traveled
I hadn’t intended to go that way. A series of delays had put me behind schedule and I was overdue back to the shop. So to save a few precious minutes I had planned to turn north on Westgate where it joins Slaughter, and take that lightly traveled road all the way to Stassney or maybe Jones before cutting over. […]
Continue readingMy Brother’s Keeper
For more than twenty years, the house directly across the street from my south Austin home has been a rental. Over the years the standard-issue two-story tract home of maybe 1800 square has seen many tenants, more than I can recall. Most do nothing to get my attention, and they usually don’t stay for more than a single lease. I […]
Continue readingMicrosoft Takes a Mulligan with Windows 8.1
With Windows 8, Microsoft pretty much reinvented the wheel. This is not, generally speaking, a good thing.
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