Archive for 2013

In the Goblet of Fire, Professor Dumbledore informs Harry Potter of the evil Lord Voldemort’s eminent return, then warns: "Dark and difficult times lie ahead, Harry. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.”    ...

Boston is my favorite public transit city. I’m like a kid while being transported by user-friendly Charlie through the labyrinth beneath her historic streets. It’s not uncommon for outsiders to say Bostonians are not so user friendly. Stereotyping...

These days we call the US Post Service [sic] snail mail. But in 1775, Ben Franklin’s innovation sped up letter travel between Philadelphia and San Francisco from forever to a few months. In 1844, Samuel Morse accelerated message delivery...

Recently, my grandson George borrowed the Haviannas I schlepped home from Sao Paulo for my daughter. He put them on all by himself. We think we may have a fashionista on our hands—a theory further supported a week later when he requested the doctor use...

In my thirties and forties, I had a recurring dream. Instead of selling my first six cars, I put them in storage. Far from being “rode hard and put away wet,” each was in pretty to very good condition: The ‘49 VW, the ‘50, ‘51, ‘53, and ‘56...

Whoever concluded we are direct descendants of apes must have missed Solomon’s advice about considering ants. Seriously, nonhuman primates travel light. More like ants, we humans spend our days schlepping stuff around. We pack suitcases and...

If I remember correctly, I was driving home from the airport while listening to an NPR clip about two airline pilots overflying their destination by 150 miles. The commentator said they “lost situational awareness” while using laptop computers for...

On December 13, 2012, the coinventor of the bar code died at 91. During WW II, Joseph Woodland’s military service involved being a technical assistant on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I’m told he thought he was working on a cure to...

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