“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure.” — William Saroyan Nobody likes failure. Yet we learn so much more from our failures than our successes. Failure is what shows the path forward. I remember a Japanese businessman saying a failed part is a wonderful opportunity to make a product better. I
Something you may not have thought about recently — why are rainbows curved? I’ve never considered this until I saw an explanation on the EarthSky website (http://earthsky.org/earth/what-gives-rainbows-their-curved-shape?). This explanation does get a bit into physics. First, some basics — recall you can see rainbows when the sun is behind you and rain falls in front
I generally try to ignore fast food (unless of course it’s given to me). I do like a good burger, but I usually shy away from the genre because of its unhealthy reputation. But I couldn’t resist telling you about this. Recently Money magazine published a rating of 25 fast-food restaurants. Their methodology was simple
What can we expect in 2018? It’s tough predicting the future, especially regarding new technology, but some can’t resist trying. The latest I’ve seen is a Wall Street Journal article entitled “Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2018” by Joanna Stern and Christopher Mims (https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-that-will-change-your-life-in-2018-1514394043? ). Some of what they’re predicting shouldn’t come as
President Trump has a point — there’s a lot of fake stuff out there. Of course, manipulative tools have been available for some time. I assume you’ve heard of the computer program Adobe Photoshop? The publishing business where I worked for 15 years displayed a photo of an older couple with the man’s head replaced
No, this is not a children’s story (although it’s a tempting subject). I ran across a post on the EarthSky website that discusses this. Actually, it’s a link to a nine-minute YouTube video from PBS Digital Studios that explains turtle evolution in great detail. It’s probably more than you ever wanted to know, but if
I’ve always had an interest in outer space, and last year I began subscribing to Astronomy magazine. It’s full of fascinating scientific articles and tidbits, but what caught my eye in the May 2018 issue (yes, it’s out already; you have to plan ahead to watch the sky) was the “Strange Universe” column by Bob
One of the frustrating aspects of life is to say something to be taken at face value, then have it completely misinterpreted. I have a story along those lines that I’ve been relating to friends and they enjoy it, so I’ve decided to repeat it here. During my Air Force career, I worked mostly in
Who can predict the future? (Not theme parks, which is why Disneyland’s “Tomorrowland” always seems outdated.) But the Wall Street Journal is trying. The website of this venerable publication has been posting a series of podcasts entitled “The Future of Everything.” As of this date, 23 have been posted. Most are a bit long, going
Everyone wants to know the secret to a long, healthy life. But there is one group that appears to have a jump on the rest of us. The Amish. This religious sect that live mostly in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana and eschews most modern gadgetry have always had a health advantage; in 1947, the average
