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 …
At times on walks around the neighborhood we hear the sound of a hummingbird. Our area is home to the broad-tailed hummingbird, the male of which makes a unique trilling noise while in flight. On rare occasions we might spot the bird feeding on flowers or resting on a branch. But more often we only …
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 …
Last week I had a bone density test due to my doctor’s insistence. Before starting the test, the technician weighed me, and I was shocked and alarmed to hear that I weighed almost ten pounds more than I thought I did. For years I had not weighed myself because it had become a frustrating 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 …
For the next quarter at work, my small department plans to conduct an experiment. Since our jobs are often reactive in nature, we tend to handle individual tasks upon notification of assignment, prompting frequent interruptions. Research indicates it’s inefficient to switch one’s attention between tasks, and with requests coming from multiple higher-ups, it gets stressful …
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. …
Years ago, a cartoon pictured a psychologist telling a patient, “Mr. Figby, I think I can explain your feelings of guilt. You’re guilty!” Like it or not, we’re all guilty. According to Romans 3:23, All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We don’t need to refer to the Ten Commandments to …
Gasping for air, I frantically circled the business meeting room, trying to say, “I can’t breathe!” But no sound came out, and as hard as I tried to inhale, no air was coming in. It was terrifying and I didn’t know what to do. And then I woke up in my pitch-black bedroom and realized …
