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« Previous Entries Next Entries »A Summer Adventure
Sunday, June 28th, 2009I have always looked for challenges, for opportunities that would test my mettle. One summer while my family was vacationing on Chappaquiddick Island, I decided to do something nobody had ever done: circumnavigate the island alone and, being the first, set a world’s record for doing so. I was just sixteen. Chappaquiddick Island sits off [...]
Cat’s in the Cradle
Sunday, June 21st, 2009“If you must hold yourself up to your children as an object lesson, hold yourself up as a warning and not as an example.” -George Bernard Shaw This won’t be your standard “rah-rah, Dad” Father’s Day blog entry. Because, unfortunately, I see a lot of wisdom in this quote from George Bernard Shaw. I know [...]
Funerals
Sunday, May 24th, 2009Every family has its traditions. One of ours? Not having traditional funeral services. To my memory, my family has never, during my lifetime, had a church service funeral-not for Mom, Dad, Gramp, Bam, Gramps, Gram, Aunt Ann, Uncle Bill, or even my cousin Hamill. Not a single church service. My cousin Nancy tells me that [...]
Long-Board Shuffleboard
Saturday, May 16th, 2009In 1977, I was a relatively young, energetic thirty-year-old working for the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). I’d just moved my family from Princeton, New Jersey, out to Olympia, Washington, and as a newcomer to the area, I wanted to explore and experience life in the Pacific Northwest as much as possible. A [...]
Ralph’s Sister
Friday, May 8th, 2009When you walk into some bars in Alaska, the sign in front doesn’t say, “Please check your coat here.” Instead it reads, “Check your guns here.” The first time I saw this, I was shocked. Oh, man, I thought, you mean some people are packing guns? Welcome to a whole different world. Life is just [...]
Making the Team
Monday, April 27th, 2009Yesterday and today likely tried the nerves of many an NCAA player as they awaited their fates during the annual NFL Draft. I’ve never played professional sports, but I do know the angst and anxiety inherent in waiting to find out if you’ve been “picked”-and, even worse, the initial feeling of helplessness when you learn [...]
Craig Venter – Synthesizing a Life on the Leading Edge
Friday, April 24th, 2009Under the title heading of Craig Venter’s Wikipedia entry is a note reading – “the neutrality of this article is disputed… please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.” This note could serve as a metaphor for Venter’s relationships with those in the scientific community, where ongoing struggles for funding create fast [...]
Adventures in Zip-Lining
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009Not too long ago I served as a “dance host” on a two-week cruise from Santiago, Chile, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. What is a dance host? Many cruise ships hire gentlemen who are accomplished dancers to be available to dance with women. Our typical daily schedule involved being on the dance floor at six o’clock [...]
Regular or Decaf?
Friday, April 10th, 2009Last month was National Caffeine Awareness Month, when the Caffeine Awareness Association encourages Americans to give up coffee. I’m proud to say, I’m ahead of the game. Why? Because I already gave up coffee altogether 25 years ago. It started 27 years ago. I was on my way to have lunch with George Benson, the [...]
The New Truth in Numbers
Saturday, April 4th, 2009Statistical analysis and data mining are having their day in the sun. Over the past several years, what has been a staid and incomprehensible science has evolved into a (semi) pop culture darling as economists, government officials and business leaders around the world have started using statistics to show us surprising social truths, hidden behind [...]
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