Book Review #3
In the translated book Planning in the USSR by I.A. Yevenko, the communist hyperbole and delusion begins immediately with the Author's Notes on page 5: The system of socialist planned…
Book Review #2
A Brief History of Freemasons: the true story of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society: From the back cover: An illuminating and unbiased history of this most enigmatic secret society.…
Random Learnings #65
Reading the otherwise underwhelming The Freemasons: The True Story of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society by Jasper Ridley, the author uses the folk tale Cinderella when discussing the French…
AI Learning
No question, I am a library nerd: I'll wander through the shelves, grabbing, random seemingly interesting bound periodicals or journals to glance. The truly interesting finds are taken to a…
Visiting the Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, the seat of British Government since the creation of the Model Parliament in 1295, is easily recognizable, if for no other reason than the Elizabeth Tower…
ADS-B Feeder Attempt 2
Hosting an ADS-B feeder has intrigued me for some time but only did so in September 2025. My first feeder was a Raspberry Pi with an RTL-SDR v4 dongle running…
Cold Weather Fountaining
Sunday my wife and I visited the Bryant Park Holiday Market on its last day for this year - food, jewelry, clothes, knick-knacks, the usual - but the operating fountain…
Meandering Thoughts #60
A few issues with this sign at the Empire State Building's 86th floor observation deck: Isn't an unlawful act by definition prohibited? Is climbing the fence or throwing objects and…
New York City Love Letter
Sunday, my wife and I introduced a Connecticut friend to the main branch of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. Of course, one must see the Rose Main…
Constitutionality
Donald Trump's continual declaration of national emergencies that he uses to declare executive orders of dubious legitimacy harkens back to similar usage in Germany following World War I. This was…