The Cactus Who Wanted to Be a Christmas Tree
Katie loves Christmastime. Getting presents is nice, and playing in the snow with her friends is fun, but what she likes best are all the pretty decorations...
It’s All a Matter of Viewpoint
I was reminded again today that there are two sides to every story. In this case it was whimsical, but the point is valid nonetheless. I had taken one of my infrequent substitute-teaching jobs in elementary and noticed a book in the classroom, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf. Did
Some Thoughts on Time Travel
If you could travel through time, would you? Which way would you go, forward or backward? What if you went forward and the world no longer existed when you arrived? If you went backward, why? Right a wrong? Warn of an impending disaster? Fix a relationship? Change history? Make yourself wealthy? Today I was catching
On Protecting What’s Yours Intellectually
Intellectual property is near and dear to my heart. The sad fact is if you have a really good idea, someone will try to steal it. I remember when I lived in Southern California, I took a one-day course on how to set up a business (more out of boredom at that time). A woman
Five History Lessons About Everyday Products
I was trying to think of something clever to write about today when something fell into my lap. USA Today’s website has a post on “five history lessons on products you use every day” — — The Surprising History of Toilet Paper (Have you ever wondered how the Greeks and Romans got by without paper?)
Railroads and the Civil War
Teaching today has put me in the mood to post something historical — Railroads and the Civil War Some consider the American Civil War to be the first modern conflict. For example, it saw the first battle between ironclad warships, the first successful use of the submarine, warfare directed toward the civilian population (Sherman’s March
For Crossword Puzzle Fans
I rarely do crossword puzzles myself, but I know they’re a very popular pastime. They were even the storyline of an episode on The Simpsons. I mention this to share one of the most diabolical crossword-puzzle clues I’ve ever found. I’m fond of using it in the classroom when I substitute teach and things get dull.
Call Me a Pacifist, But…
Despite a 20-year career in the Air Force, I find at this stage of my life I loathe violence. It could be because I have been to war myself (Vietnam). It could be that there is just too much violence in our culture, from fiction (TV and movies) to fact ( the nightly news). Or
Some History Quotes
I never got to be a full-time social studies teacher. But if I’d had, I would’ve used quotes to help put things in perspective. Here are some of my favorites — “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” — Napoleon Bonaparte “History will be kind to me for
On the Academy Awards
I’m not a big movie fan myself, but it’s almost impossible to tune out the Academy Awards this weekend. One of the most informative sources I’ve run across is American Public Media’s “Marketplace” radio business program. Last week they did a series of stories on the Oscars, focusing on the less glamourous aspects of movie-making,
Scrubbing the Gene Pool
Have you ever heard of the Darwin Awards? As the website www.darwinawards.com explains: “The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it… For example, one of the 2014 awards was a double for two men who tried to take a selfie with a wild elephant