Walking Backwards
When I was in high school, I read Edward Bellamy’s book Looking Backward which at the time was interesting in it’s study of the evolution of current technology. Today it would be hysterical, even strange for the current populus studying the origins of things we not only took for granted but may now be obsolete. […]
Fake Video Doctors
I recently watched a commercial for a toenail fungus remedy where the “doctor” described her medication as containing “Trickatones” her pronunciation of triketones. I can’t imagine any doctor so ignorant of elementary organic chemistry (a basic prerequesite for medical school) that would pronounce it that way. Then I watched the same fake doctor give a […]
Chasing Chase.
I should start by saying that, for the most part, I don’t like banks. They are even more despicable for the 30 some odd percent interest they charge on their credit cards. Greed is not good. Let me tell you a story. Before my wife and I went to Switzerland to visit my son last […]
Phone Nix
We’re off to Switzerland to visit our son and then take a few days for a jaunt along the eastern shore of Lake Como. I’ll spare you the details of the usual miserable airport preliminaries and start with our arrival at our coach seats. Seats 40F and G were ours and with the crowd pushing […]
The Weather and AI
I read today that Microsoft is working on using its AI to forecast the weather. What’s the big deal, I randomly thought. It’s already there. I use Chatgpt as my AI and I decided to give it a test. I should begin by informing readers that I was once a professional meteorologist with a master’s […]
A Word About Thought Questions
My whole educational life, I wanted to understand Einstein’s relativity and quantum physics. I never had the time because my education always interfered – a common sarcastic complaint. Trying to understand Einstein, Planck, Heisenberg, Shrodinger and all those guys was, and is still a chore. Whenever there’s a discussion about those two subjects, it always has to be a book. The concepts are so counter-intuitive that the only way to explain them is with the history of discovery.
Dick Tracy et al
Whenever my son Peter has to go for a long ride alone in his car, he asks me to keep him company. I usually go with him. It always turns out to be an adventure. One of the reasons is that we always talk or fight about something bizarre.
A Musical Legacy
I love J.S. Bach’s Cantata #54. Widerstehe doch der Suende. Translated it means something like “Stand firm against sin.” It’s for an alto voice. I read that the late Canadian pianist Glenn Gould who made a video of it with counter-tenor Russell Oberlin, wanted Barbra Streisand to do it with him. It never happened. Either […]
Understanding and Belief
Many years ago, I had a computer store. Every so often, a Rabbi named Balfour came in to have his computer serviced. Whenever he did, he always wanted to discuss religion. I told him, “Frankly Rabbi, you’re wasting your time with me.
Loosies and the Price of Eggs
I went into a supermarket where the price of eggs not too long ago was around a dollar a dozen. I was stunned that the price of a dozen was eight dollars and there was a limit of four per person. Limit of four? I could barely afford one dozen and would hope something would bring the price down.