Monthly Archives: April 2013

The Bartender Effect

If you are an authority figure in the life of people around you, you’ll likely wind up with them confiding their darkest secrets to you. Bartenders, I’m told, experience this. Certainly pastors certainly do. And sometimes administrators, teachers and college … Continue reading

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No Moral Equivallence

The horrible events in Boston bring out the worst in some people. I really do not understand those who believe that there is no difference between the actions of terrorists and the actions of the U.S. military. And I say … Continue reading

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Seasons

Southern California does not have seasons like most of the rest of the country. The temperature in Los Angeles stays pretty even all year round. But we do have periods of the year where it rains, and periods when it … Continue reading

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Science Fiction

The first science fiction novel I remember reading was by Robert Heinlein. It happened to be his first novel, entitled Rocket Ship Galileo. Published originally in 1947, it told the story of a nuclear scientist and some boys who built … Continue reading

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The Problem of Suffering

The problem of suffering—why a good, powerful God would allow pain and misery—is one that has troubled many, at least since the time of Voltaire. In his book Candide, the atheist Voltaire tries to demonstrate that the horrors that can … Continue reading

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The Incompetence of the Political Class

Actually, the general incompetence of the government is a good thing; it keeps the government, most of the time, from really doing much that harms us. And that was the goal of those who created the constitution. As Thomas Jefferson … Continue reading

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Apollo 13

On the night of April 13, 1970–43 years ago today–the words “Houston, we’ve had a problem” were uttered when an oxygen tank in the Service Module of the moon bound Apollo 13 exploded. The Lunar Module pilot of that mission, … Continue reading

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The Importance of Perspective

We each know remarkably little, no matter how old we may be, no matter how well educated we are. In the course of a single lifetime, how much can we actually read, watch and remember? How much of the world … Continue reading

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Hacker’s Apprentice

Sometimes when you write something, it doesn’t quite work. And sometimes, you can’t immediately figure out what you can do to fix it. I have a novel which had the working title Hapax. I hated the title, but I felt … Continue reading

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On Writing

Writers get questions. “How do you come up with your ideas?” is the classic. And my answer? I don’t really know. Except perhaps the simple fact that I’m always looking for them. I think everyone has stray thoughts that could … Continue reading

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