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
Works
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!”
Shop Class
I was required to take shop class in high school – wood shop, metal shop, and basic mechanical drawing. At the time, I wondered what use it would be to me, because even then there was talk about the coming “knowledge economy.” I had a guidance counsellor who told me that I wouldn’t need to … Continue reading Shop Class
Honor
Recently a family of mountain lions killed a woman in Colorado. It was the first such attack there in 25 years. Generally, mountain lions keep their distance from humans unless provoked or unless their young are threatened. That’s the norm. But whenever one develops a taste for human blood, it must be hunted and either … Continue reading Honor
Stories Run Wild
Ursula Le Guin referred to works of fiction as thought experiments. Her concept fits my attempts to tell stories. Le Guin also suggested that all fiction is metaphorical. It seems to me science fiction is often an allegory about “real life,” whatever that is. Much like geometric proof, science fiction postulates possible outcomes, based on … Continue reading Stories Run Wild
Birthday 71
Long ago, I realized that part of life would be managing my expectations. If I expected too much, I would likely be dissatisfied. If I expected a little, but received more, I would likely be pleased. I recall the story of the ill-clad, hungry man on a cold, rainy night. By chance, he stumbled upon … Continue reading Birthday 71
MurrayWorks 