When we were kids, dad built an HO-scale train layout. He also liked building engines and railcars from kits and was a friend of Mr. English, who owned Bowser Manufacturing (a well-known model train supplier in our hometown). The layout was not as elaborate as those we might see at model train shows. It was … Continue reading Toys
Category: Uncategorized
Asteroids
About 66 million years ago, an asteroid comparable in size to Mt. Everest collided with the Earth near what is now the Yucatan peninsula. That collision brought the age of dinosaurs to an end and set the stage for the rise of mammals, including the super-predators known as homo sapiens. It was the fifth major … Continue reading Asteroids
Beliefs
Several years ago, we rented a large pickup truck. As a joke, I posted a photo of myself standing beside the shiny new truck in our driveway, with the caption, “Our new truck.” I received many positive comments before I confessed my prank. I’m sure some of my friends were genuinely happy for me. But … Continue reading Beliefs
Fault Lines
Whenever my grandfather had enough of his grandchildren, the television, or just people in general talking too much, he would remark, “Yack, Yack, Yack…” as if words – the noises we make with our mouths and vocal cords – would ever solve anything. James 3:3-6 issues a stern warning: “When we put bits into the … Continue reading Fault Lines
A Lenten Meditation
When I was little, my grandma called me her “joy boy.” To be fair, I was the first grandchild, so I had that going for me. Grandma taught Sunday School to little kids and even drove a few to Emannuel Baptist Church. Their parents didn’t have the means, but Grandma cared about them and set … Continue reading A Lenten Meditation
The Honor Society
“I don’t like honors. I appreciate it for the work that I did and for the people who appreciate it. And I notice other physicists use my work. I don’t need anything else. I don’t think there’s any sense to anything else. I don’t see that it makes any point that someone in the Swedish … Continue reading The Honor Society
Categories
“There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary numbers and those who do not.” Math jokes aside, anyone who thinks there are only two kinds of people in the world is mistaken, if not delusional. It might sound good to divide the world into two parts – saints and sinners, … Continue reading Categories
What’s in it for Me?
I used to watch “The Adventures of Superman” with George Reeves. The special effects were rudimentary compared to today: Superman jumped out of frame to take off and back into frame to land. But the ideals of “truth, justice, and the American way” still took root in my mind. I’m disheartened these days, because I’m … Continue reading What’s in it for Me?
Control and Chaos
The father was right. There must be rules around the house. Children must obey their parents. Speak when spoken to. Come when they’re called. Pick up their toys. Clean their room. Do their homework. Don’t run in the house. Do their chores. Don’t talk back to their mother. Eat their vegetables. Ask for permission. Stop … Continue reading Control and Chaos
“Assimilate This!”
“Assimilate This!” In the Star Trek movie, First Contact, Worf uttered this memorable line as he fired a phaser rifle at the Borg Collective, a species that forcibly merges humans with technology and assimilates nearly everyone it encounters. However, no one wants to be assimilated. No one wants to believe “resistance is futile.” Least of … Continue reading “Assimilate This!”
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