We’re having a different kind of Christmas this year. Part of it is because I caught Covid at the company holiday party right before Christmas and we’re isolating. It’s the first time ever for us not to gather at our house Christmas day. We’ll gather virtually with our kids, and in person when we’re well …
As I stood in church recently during the worship time, I noticed someone repeatedly turning left and right with her hands raised as she sang. The combination of her posture and rotating movement reminded me of a lighthouse. The US National Ocean Service says that lighthouses serve “to warn mariners of dangerous shallows and perilous …
It’s late November and most of the trees in our neighborhood have long been bereft of their leaves. As usual, the stubborn silver maple in our backyard has refused to relinquish its foliage, having reluctantly dropped only half. What has fallen, we’ve raked up twice in the past week, and both times we wondered where …
On a recent botanic garden visit, I noticed an aquatic insect inhabiting a water feature. But it wasn’t in the water, it was on top of the water. I recognized it as a water strider. These insects glide effortlessly across the water’s surface, but can also stand still or skip across it. They have water-repellent …
A recent Saturday afforded me the opportunity to help at church by working on a couple of doors that were sticking and not opening or closing properly. The remedy involved rasping, filing, and sanding the edge of the doors so they would no longer strike the doorframe but instead would conform to the opening, easily …
Last week as I exited airport security and reached the gates, I heard the last call for a flight to my hometown. Now my ticket was for a flight two hours later, but it occurred to me maybe I could get home earlier. I went to the counter and explained that I was booked on …
Carrie and I just returned from Nashville, where I was attending a conference for work. The venue was unusual to say the least. It featured nine acres of indoor gardens, replete with a winding river, cascading waterfalls, and 6,000 tropical plants including more than 200 different species! All the greenery and the sound of the …
We just returned from a trip to Las Vegas on business. That place is bright! While some casinos have started using more solar energy, a recent report indicated the Las Vegas Strip consumes 8,000 megawatts of electricity per day. At .18 per kilowatt, that would cost over $1.4 million daily! But before you start feeling …
In the mid 90s, I attended Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Engineering conference (WinHec). Bill Gates spoke in person and I recall his talking about an initiative to make computers start up much faster than they did at the time. It usually took several minutes to get a PC up and running after flipping the switch, and …
There’s a scene in one of my favorite old movies, Joe vs the Volcano, where the main character is on a raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after his ship sank. It’s nighttime and having gone without food or water, he seems on the verge of death. As a huge full moon rises …
Occasionally I’ll have a dream from which I almost awaken laughing, and I had one of those last night. I saw a series of business offices. In the first, a man was gesticulating with his arms to emphasize the spaciousness of his office. Another, during a meeting with a visitor, showed off the size of …
As we waited to board a flight a couple of months ago, I noticed that the airline employee giving intercom boarding announcements at the gate was unusually articulate. She was so good, she sounded like she could have been on the radio! As is my habit whenever possible, I complimented her on her obvious talent. …
