We’ve reached the midpoint of 2020. How’s your year been so far? It’s not the midpoint of the pandemic. Nor is it the midpoint of the battle over racial equality, which has been going on for hundreds of years. Neither of them are likely to end on December 31. Things could get worse before they … Continue reading "Do The Uncommon In This Uncommon Year"

Life is full of challenges. Some, like aging, are inevitable while some are of our own making. Sometimes you need to challenge yourself in order to forestall the inevitable. So, in these strange times and because it’s summer, I’ve challenged myself to do more biking as a form of exercise that might slow the aging … Continue reading "Charging Into The World Of Electric Bikes"

A scratch on my arm left a scab and now it itched, so I instinctively scratched at it, loosening it some but careful not to rip it or it might bleed again. I smiled, thinking back to the days when all of the neighborhood kids had scabs, mostly in the summer when we ran around … Continue reading "If This Summer Was Back Then"

Suddenly, much of the world is opening up again. Quickly. It’s a confusing time. As I write this, Minnesota is allowing some more businesses to open with restrictions. Wisconsin is mostly open again after state-level restrictions were removed due to a court ruling, not because the state reached a specific safety milestone. Bars there are … Continue reading "Opening Up Again, But On Virus Time"

Lately it feels like I’m stuck at a cabin somewhere in the middle of the woods without a car. It’s been raining every day, my provisions consist of junk food and the beer’s gone. It’s actually worse, of course, because the sun does shine, I have a car and I don’t drink. There’s nowhere to … Continue reading "Simply Endeavor to Persevere"

The news co-anchor was reporting his share of the 5 pm broadcast from his house. He was nearly inaudible and his fuzzy picture suddenly broke up and disappeared. A day later his home had been transformed into a high-def studio. Why does TV news insist on attempting to continue a format that isn’t even relevant … Continue reading "Pandemic Perception Permeates Public Policy"

Two articles in Popular Science in 2012 predicted a pandemic on the order of the Spanish flu, which killed millions, and how it could be handled. I remember reading them. A search of the internet brought me to them. They are eerily very foretelling. One was titled “Where Will the Next Pandemic Come From?” It … Continue reading "Living The Dream Of A Quarantined Retirement"

A new Twilight Zone episode is in production and we’re all cast members. It’s working title is “Flattening the Curve.” No one yet knows how it ends. This would be comical if the Coronavirus wasn’t so devastating. And while many books have been written about pandemics (imagined and real) many aspects of this one are … Continue reading "The Incongruity of Everything in a Humbled Nation"

The reports of the COVID-19 virus taking over the world were bad enough. Then I read the symptoms. “Fever, cough, shortness of breath” were the manifestations to watch for. Wait, what? I had every one of them. I read further. Been to China recently? No. Been in contact with someone who has been to China … Continue reading "Was It A Fierce Flu Or A Vicious Virus?"

Want to go back to the good ol’ days? You know, when life was slower paced and simpler, like the “Back to the Future” trilogy? First, search for part number 121g on the O’Reilly Auto Parts website. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Yep, that’s a flux capacitor, the add-on you’ll need to modify your Delorean or … Continue reading "That Was Then, This Is Now"