I moved from Brooklyn, NY to Green Island, IA with my mom and siblings in 1972, arriving in time to start second grade. To make it seem exciting, our mom…
I was working today when I noticed my cat, Lojo (named after a French music group my wife and I love), perched on my desk peering at something. At first,…
My maternal grandfather, Carl Henke, died when I was very young; not sure when, but too young to remember him. I heard and learned little about him, other than he…
I occasionally go to the University of Minnesota's Wilson Library to view microfilms of old newspapers. Today, I was reading about Queen Victoria's death in January 1901 and stumbled across…
Military battles and wars aside, success in international athletic competitions is often viewed as increasing pride in one's nation. It's all for the sake of the nation, at least as…
I grew up in eastern Iowa obsessively listening to WLS-AM from Chicago to hear the rock-n-roll that wasn't played locally, with a line-up of legendary disc jockeys: Larry Lujack, Tommy…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/17963290@N00/6520777613 I recently created a small DSL that provided state-based object validation, which I required for implementing a new feature. Multiple engineers were impressed with its general usefulness and wanted…
I was a member of Iowa's Hawkeye Marching Band drumline in the mid-1980s. Great music, fun trips, hijinks, many cherished memories. 1986 Rose Bowl definitely a highlight (for which I…
Unless you've been meditating at a silent retreat in the last week, you're likely aware of the school shootings in Perry, Iowa. Until my brother reminded me, I did not…