MAGA: Was Life Better Back Then Than It Is Today?

Was life better back then than it is today? We all see a lot of memes out there that suggest that reality. Just today, this made it across my Facebook feed: It got me thinking and, when I think, I research, and when I research, I write. And three hours later, here we are. And […]

What Will We Do When We Are No Longer Living in an Ice Age?

What will we do when we are no longer living in an ice age? For most people with a passing understanding of planetary history, the idea of Earth no longer having polar ice caps is not a question of “if,” but of “when.” Ice ages are both completely normal and wholly abnormal; they are a […]

Imagine What A Terabyte Will Look Like in a Decade

(all dollars are 2014 US dollars) The first Model T cost $21,000 in 1908; by 1957, a Chevy Bel Air cost $17,000; today, a Chevy Malibu costs $22,000.   Sold in 1947, the first microwave cost $53,000; by 1983, that cost was reduced to $1,200; today, microwaves can be had for less than $50.   In 1961, IBM […]

Red States and Blue States: It Was Not Always Thus

I hear a lot of people talking about red states and blue states, often speaking of them as if it’s a set-in-stone phenomenon. Unfortunately, because American History taught in high school often glosses over 20th Century History (especially the political side), many people don’t know what really went on over the last 100 years. Let’s […]

Let’s Talk About School Shootings

I was sixteen years old when Harris and Klebold walked into Columbine High School and went on a killing spree. We were in school when it happened – before the media-driven-fear-fest that was 9/11, there was Columbine. Imagine being a teenager watching a school get destroyed…and discovering it’s being done by other students. It was […]

Walmart Syndrome: Why Americans Don’t Recognize Internet Censorship

If you ask the average net-savvy American about internet censorship, they’ll often reference the Epitome of Internet Censorship on our planet: The People’s Republic of China. The PRC blocks so many sites, it’s freaky. We all know how things like Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and adult porn sites like videoshd.xxx are blocked, but they […]

Shoot the Moon – Shoot Mars

I was taking a look at a picture of a scale composite picture of the relative sizes of Earth, Mars, and our moon. It got me wondering – how far away is Mars? It doesn’t look a whole lot bigger than our moon, to look at…but, actually, it’s twice the size of the moon, and […]

As Your Television Bleeds, Maintain Perspective

Recently, a friend of mine wrote the following on Facebook: Waking up to the horrible news of the movie theater shooting. I can’t even comprehend this. What is the solution to protect ourselves and our families? Gun control? Do we need metal detectors and TSA agents at movie theaters as well? These poor people were […]

Never Let Schooling Interfere With Your Education

When I was in high school, which was only a decade ago, it was a better time than today. While I wasn’t enrolled in the district I currently teach in, I’ve seen pictures of kids then and I see them now, and today is clearly more oppressive. We thought we had it bad in high […]

I Should Know My Self By Now

But, don’t get me wrong. I know. At least, I think I know better than most. I’ve spent most of my life in existential exploration and what is true for me now is as true for me as it has ever been: All knowledge is self-knowledge. Anything we think about the world or about anything, […]

Mutatus erat – Written March 29, 2001

After Jesus of Nazareth’s death, circa AD 0, everyone persecuted Christians. They were regarded as “New Jews” and were hated across the civilized world, better known as, “The Roman Empire.” (Kupstas) For 300 years after, Jesus’ followers were persecuted until Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal. Fortunately for the Christians, the real persecution did not begin […]

God Bless The Media (2000 Election Recount) – Written February 23, 2001

Geoffrey Chaucer, in his famous classic Canterbury Tales, wrote, “Truth is the highest thing that man may keep.” This quotation has an abundance of meaning in the current re-count of votes from the past election. As most people are aware, there was a controversy in Florida over who won the state’s electoral votes: George W. […]

Aristotle’s Interpretation of Spartan Women – Written March 1, 2004

In Aristotle’s Politics, Book 2, Chapter IX, Aristotle makes a clear connection between the dominant role of women and Spartan society as having a connotation of lawlessness; at the same time, Aristotle’s other statements about women show his slant towards women. At the same time, his ideas about Athens and Athenian government being superior to […]

Putting History First – Written February 24, 2005

When Deborah Amos and Rick Davis spent the week of Feb. 13 in High Point, North Carolina, to guest lecture at High Point University, they wanted to expose students and locals alike to realities that are not normally covered on the evening news. Their gripping depiction of the Middle East captivated many different audiences throughout […]