Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
The End of Chocolate?
Catches up on the news, I found something very disturbing January 2, 2018 on the Food and Wine website. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are predicting the source of chocolate, the cacao plant, is likely to go extinct, perhaps as early as 2050. The culprit is global warming. Most of the
Just When I Was Ready To Give Up On Humanity…
This is an era when I hesitate to see the news. Certainly there is enough negativity to last a lifetime. So it’s nice to have a refuge to escape the disasters, threats, and misery in the everyday headlines. Occasionally I look longingly for an escape, if only for a few moments. One distraction is sports,
Technology Versus Spontaneity — Who Wins?
Recently I visited Walt Disney World for a week. My primary purpose was to participate in the events of Marathon Weekend. Of course I had a pass to go to the theme parks, but my highest priority was conserving my energy for the races. As such, my theme park visits were very spontaneous; I would
Ringing in the New Year With New Life
New years are always a time for renewal, so I thought it appropriate to pass along some scientific news — “In 2017, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences, along with several dozen international collaborators, added 85 new plant and animal species to Earth’s tree of life, including 16 flowering plants, three scorpions, 10 sharks,
Whatever Happened to the Equal Rights Amendment?
One of the hottest political issues of the 1970s was the move to add an Equal Rights Amendment for women to the U.S. Constitution. It looked like a sure thing until a conservative backlash stalled its ratification three states short; 35 states ratified, but 38 were needed. The initiative failed. Yet today nobody talks about
Are Dogs Smarter Than Cats?
Here is a good way to start an argument (not that we need any more reasons) — which is smarter, dogs or cats? I don’t own any pets; I take responsibility to animals pretty seriously, so I don’t have any strong opinions. But there is a new study claiming that dogs have the edge in
Book Review — Homo Deus (with spoilers)
If you’ve ever wondered what Bill Gates reads, he has been publishing annual reading lists (for example, https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Best-Books-2017 ). Earlier this year, I saw his summer reading list (https://qz.com/988136/bill-gates-book-list-2017-recommended-books-for-summer-reading/) and picked out Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari. This is definitely an intellectual book that puts a unique spin on human
Just For Fun — Santa the Criminal
A headline in the December 25, 2017 “The Daily Dose” from Ozy.com brought me up short — “How Many Crimes Would Santa Be Guilty Of If He Were Real?” (This piece reminded me of the Pixar animated feature The Incredibles, where superheroes had to go undercover due to the collateral damage their good deeds were
How To Live To Be 100?
Everyone wants a nice long life — I’m planning on 80 myself — but the way technology is advancing, perhaps I’m setting my sights too low. Is living to be 100 a realistic goal? A recent study published in International Psychogeriatrics has explored what it takes to make it to the century mark. Researchers visited
Some Things to Look Forward to in 2018
In addition to recapping the passing year, a favorite media pastime is looking ahead to what the new year might bring. Although some changes we already know, like we’re getting a new head of the Federal Reserve in February, much is pure speculation, especially when it comes to technology. Here are some technological items I’ve