Random Learnings #32
On my way to Chicagoland for my nephew's college graduation, I stopped at the Illinois Railway Museum - highly recommended, I'll write up my visit soon - and picked up…
1950s Walmart Greeter?
Everyone has seen the retiree working as a Walmart greeter. Everyone wonders whether the retiree works for the joy of interacting with people or the desperation because money is tight.…
Random Learnings #31
Unlike Woodrow Wilson, a Princeton professor with a PhD in political science, Truman had no abstract theories about the office. (In fact, he was the last occupant of the White…
A Friend Returned
Last night, a friend returned to visit us .... or more specifically, our house. My wife, my sister and her husband were out for dinner when I noticed our neighbor…
Random Learnings #30
I have read many - too many - books, articles, scholarly papers, etc., about the anti-Semitism faced by Holocaust survivors faced returning home, especially in Eastern Europe. By a large…
Random Learnings #29
The last Shah of Iran, Shah Reza Pahlavi, was a huge Rangers fan: The diplomats pressed for yet more royal visits, ideally with the shah comping to Britain again. The…
Occasional Affection
Our cat Lojo is generally not very affectionate. True, he does often like to where the action is, and usually joins us wherever we happen to be. Every so often…
Front-Yard Wildlife Lesson
A bald eagle caught a neighborhood squirrel - one of many - and decided the best place to eat was in our front-yard oak tree, totally unperturbed by the fascinated…
Random Learnings #28
Bring sunblock to a solar event. My wife and I went to Carbondale, IL to see the 2024 solar eclipse at Southern Illinois University. Our very first eclipse, so we…
Are You Kidding Me?
Saw this in my neighborhood. Since Radio Shack has been out-of-business since 2015, it almost feels like an invitation to break in. I know nothing about these systems, but apparently…