I think I first heard the term “save the rainforests” while in high school (late 1980s), though it might have been in the early ’90s. I’d never seen a tropical rainforest (I was a baby when I lived in Hawaii, so I don’t remember it), nor did I know anyone involved in deforestation, so what[...]
I didn’t sit down with the intention of reading Good Housekeeping again; it just kind of happened — it was the only thing within arm’s reach while my daughter wanted to cuddle next to me. It was the mis-dated “March 2013″ edition (received in early February). Flipping through, I found an interesting snippet on page[...]
In The News: Human DNA Could Store 100 Million DVDs Worth of Data (Cleveland Leader) In The News: Your DNA can store information from a million CDs, researchers say (FOX News) It’s up to you: which headline writer got the math wrong? (Because “a million CDs” is about an eighth of a percent of “100[...]
In the News: Fresh twist to the DNA story signals major cancer breakthrough (The Independent) Quadruple DNA helix discovered in human cells (New Scientist) ‘Quadruple helix’ DNA seen in human cells (BBC News) Scientists have apparently discovered a DNA structure that could be related to cancer and its spread through the body. Some believe that[...]
In the News: Plastic bulb development promises better quality light (BBC News) In the News: New Lighting Could Replace Fluorescents, CFLs, and LEDs As The Light Source Of The Future Have you fully replaced your home’s incandescent light bulbs with CFLs? (We did, about three years ago.) Thinking about how LED bulbs are a little[...]
In The News: Study: Sea level rose 60% faster than UN projections (Inland News Today) In The News: Polar Ice Sheets Melt Faster (Wall Street Journal) In The News: Icy Greenland Melting At Accelerating Rate, Study Finds (FOX News) (Note that at least one of the sources above is FOX News.) The Intergovernmental Panel on[...]
I hereby announce that I’ve changed my view of Climate Change and mankind’s role in it. First, I never considered myself a “denier” of Climate Change or Global Warming. I’m almost never an immediate adopter or denier of any point of view; that’s just not my way. Over the years, my position on this subject[...]
For several years, the climate change discussion has been confused because some were arguing the wrong question. They were arguing about whether the world’s climate was actually changing, while the actual discussion is about whether mankind has caused the change and whether we can or should do anything about it. There’s no question that the[...]
The single most debated aspect of Climate Change is whether humankind has had a hand in it, and if so, then how much of a part have we played? In 2001, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) concluded that “most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been[...]
It’s no surprise that not everyone agrees on Climate Change’s impact on our world, and not everyone agrees that humankind played a part in changing our climate. In today’s world, you can make any assertion, true or not, and someone will disagree with you and claim to have a good reason. Note: I’ve never been[...]
“I thought the left loved freedom of the press and open government. I guess that’s only when ‘The Man’ is someone else.” That’s what one commenter said on a news story about the federal government hoping to charge a journalist for publishing news. It’s an astute observation about the way our two-party political system works:[...]
Commentary: A record Powerball jackpot isn’t a record to celebrate (Christian Science Monitor) The editorial board of CSM concluded their piece with this: Before the news media play up the next record-setting mega-lottery like Powerball, they may want to add these kinds of caveats in their reporting. It could deter people from rushing to the[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of To Sail Beyond The Sunset (1987) by Robert A. Heinlein, the last novel he published before dying in 1988: “I remember Earth. I knew her when she was clean and green, mankind’s beautiful bride, sweet and lush and lovable… It is futile to mourn over[...]
There is a school of thought, albeit a relatively unpopular one, that poor grammar or punctuation on printed signs should be corrected with a Sharpie or other tool, vigilante style. In the News: Vigilante Copy Editor (New York Times) And there are older instances, such as this one (The Virginian-Pilot).
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners (1985) by Robert A. Heinlein: “It does not do to encourage bad banners; one should retaliate, urbanely but firmly.”
In The News: Adobe starts subscription for Photoshop and Dreamweaver (BBC News) This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; many software companies are moving in this direction. Instead of having to ship millions of boxes and discs every year when they upgrade the software, they’re just going to add the updates to the online[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of I Will Fear No Evil (1970) by Robert Heinlein: “…most people think of money as something to pay the rent. But a money man thinks of money in terms of what he can do with it.” “…it’s impossible for a woman to lay it on[...]
For about $5, I made this measuring cup holder that’s hidden inside a kitchen cabinet: (Copyright © 2013 by Wil C. Fry. All rights reserved.)
My wife and I invoked our “30 minute rule” when watching this movie. The rule is: if the movie can’t interest either of us in 30 minutes, then we turn it off and quit wasting our time. According to Wikipedia, this film is based on a 1974 novel and “the story follows the hunt for[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during my 2002 reading of Stranger In A Strange Land (1961) by Robert Heinlein, of which I wrote on Nov. 14, 2002, “Perhaps the best book ever written.” (I no longer feel that way, but it’s still a pretty good book.)
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