William F. Buckley, Jr.

No, I never met WFB, never saw him speak, never wrote for National Review. I was as unreflectively liberal as all my friends in high school in the 60’s. No personal remembrance of him here, but if you haven’t found them yet you can read many excellent eulogies at National Review’s web site.
It wasn’t until the mid-70’s, [...]

Toxic lightbulbs

It appears to be as bad as the “alarmists” said.  Here are the helpful guidelines for what to do when your new, “green-certified” compact flourescent bulb cracks.
From today’s Boston Globe:
1. Keep people and pets away. Open windows, and leave the area for 15 minutes before beginning the cleanup.
2. Do not use a vacuum cleaner, even on a [...]

Alaska- OK, it’s more than just a little different!

It’s time for our favorite mid-winter carnival, “Fur Rondy”, and this year’s organizers added a jolt of rejuvenating energy to the event with the world premier 1st annual “Running of the Reindeer”.
From the Anchorage Daily News:
“From sausages to stews, reindeer are usually a main dish in Alaska.
But the antlered animals were the main event on [...]

Observations on Obama- Updated

Interesting to see the growing number of liberal columnists/commentaters, often Obama supporters themselves, who are beginning to express misgivings and unease about their man. Concerns include both the ever more excessive expressions of adulation and hero worship, and his lack of experience, accomplishments, and judgement.
There appear to be two opinions- either Obama is on [...]

The Asian Century? The rise/return of the East.

Been lots of ink spilled on this idea already.  Just listened to an interesting interview with Professor Kishore Mahbubani, author of “The New Asian Hemisphere” (link here).
Highlights:  For about 1800 of the last 2000 years, the two major economies of the world were China and India.  Developments in the West (what Prof. Mahbubani calls “the [...]

“Romulan ship decloaking off starboard, Captain!”

Cloaking devices and invisibility shields could happen sooner than the 23rd century.  Details in this Washington Post article.  Waay cool.
(A sudden thought- how old is the youngest person who knows who the Romulans are (who they were? will be?)?  When was their last appearance in Star Trek, anyhow (movies and spin-offs included)?

Berkeley, Che, and more… the Left’s moral inversion

Vivid, notorious images of moral disorder recently. In Berkeley, the nearly incomprehensible declaration by the City Council that the U.S. Marine Corps was an unwelcome, uninvited intruder in the city. Even more bizarre, a Berkeley police officer on the scene was asked by a local citizen whether they intended to enforce his legal right to [...]

On a personal note…

The big event of the week was my interview for admission to Alaska Pacific University’s Master of Science in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) program. In preparation for it I had read up on the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority (AMHTA), as it seemed reasonable that I might get asked whether I knew anything about it. [...]

A brilliant proposal for ending the Israel/Palestine issue.

This isn’t the latest from Victor Davis Hanson, but I just recently came across it- “A Modest Proposal for Mideast Peace”.
“Perhaps we ought to broaden our multinational and multicultural horizons by transcending the old comprehensive settlements, roadmaps, and Quartet when dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, a dispute which originated with the creation of Israel.
Why not [...]

Alaska is just a little different, Part 5: Beware of Falling Moose!

“Falling moose nearly takes out trooper”, article by Beth Bragg in today’s Anchorage Daily News. Yikes!
“We’ve seen the highway signs that warn of falling rocks, and we’ve seen the ones that warn of moose crossing. Now Howard Peterson of the Alaska State Troopers wonders if we need a [...]