Category Archives: Uncategorized

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves. William Pitt the Younger, Speech in the House of Commons (November 18, 1783) Send to Kindle

Astronomers have discovered a planet around the red dwarf star Gliese 581, 20 lightyears from Earth, which is perhaps comfortable for life. It is slightly larger than Earth, but is apparently located in a zone around the star which would … Continue reading →

This footage is eighty-eight years old. The people who made the film and the people in the film have most certainly passed on. We expect films of this era to be in black and white, and seeing it in black … Continue reading →

MSNBC.com is reporting that Fidel Castro was asked by Jeffrey Goldberg, a writer for the Atlantic Monthly, whether or not Soviet style communism was still worth exporting to other countries. Castro replied that it wasn’t–and that it wasn’t even working … Continue reading →

“How are you feeling?” her aunt Misti asked. “I feel like a rainbow is hugging me!” –my middle daughter, Toni, about a half hour after awakening from surgery on her ankle. Apparently they gave her some really good drugs. Send … Continue reading →

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome. –Isaac Asimov Send to Kindle

Arthur C. Clarke once wrote that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistiguishable from magic.” That’s called Clarke’s Third Law. Gehm’s Corollary to Clarke’s Third Law is “Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.” I have a Nexus One Google … Continue reading →

We commonly hear that we have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world five times over. Apparently, there are enough to only destroy a tiny fraction of it once, if these statistics are accurate: Check out How I Learnt To … Continue reading →

If it was easy, everyone would do it rather than going around telling you their ideas and saying how they could be a writer if they had the time. –Arthur M. Jolly, interview with Write On Online (2009) Send to … Continue reading →

An interesting and short review of the book, Why Beliefs Matter: Reflections on the nature of science by E. Brian Davies, Oxford University Press appears in New Scientist Magazine: CultureLab: The faith that underpins science The description of the book … Continue reading →