Published inThe Writing Cooperative·PinnedWrite One to Throw AwayVet before you edit — One of the things I like about writing first drafts longhand is the visceral satisfaction I get from tearing a sheet off the pad, crumpling it up, and tossing it across the room when I realize an article or essay isn’t working. You can delete your working draft on a…Writing4 min readWriting4 min read
PinnedMy Mind Is Copernican, but My Heart Is Ptolemaic: Perception Is Reality“The Sun Also Rises” — Ecclesiastes 1:5 The Ptolemaic System For over a millennium the science of astronomy subscribed to the Ptolemaic System, formulated by the Greek philosopher and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria around 150 CE. It described a cosmos with the earth as the centre of the universe while the sun…Science5 min readScience5 min read
PinnedKlondike Solitaire with a Twist: A New Approach to an Old GameOrigins The game of Solitaire, also known as Patience, has an indeterminate origin. The entry for “Solitaire” on the Britannica website suggests that a group of card solitaire games originated in the Baltic region of Europe, possibly as a form of fortune telling, sometime in the late-18th century.1 The first recorded…Card Game9 min readCard Game9 min read
PinnedEarly Baez: A TributeI just read on Facebook that it was Joan Baez’s 83rd birthday. I’m only trailing her by a handful of years and, in a way, Baez and I grew up together, meaning we both passed through the same turbulent time periods. Not that I ever met her. …Folk Music4 min readFolk Music4 min read
Dec 16, 2023A Touch of Whimsy: AI Imaging for the Lighthearted“You must not ever stop being whimsical” — Mary Oliver I can’t imagine life without a touch of whimsy in it. Whimsy fosters a playfulness of mind that serves as an antidote to the world’s problems, not to mention those of your own. A grin, a laugh, a chuckle —…Creativity4 min readCreativity4 min read
Nov 6, 2023I Tried to Read a Physical Book … And FailedI’ve been an avid reader for decades and have a deeply instilled love of physical books. But for at least the last twenty years I’ve read my books digitally, using various types of ereaders. I owned the first generation Kindle device (the one with the hardware buttons and keyboard)…Lifestyle2 min readLifestyle2 min read
Oct 18, 2023Book Review: Ukrainian Portraits, by Marina SonkinaIn contemplating the recent wars between Ukraine and Russia, and Israel and Hamas, it is easy to overlook the plight of the refugees from both wars — people like you and me and our families — seeking some kind of asylum from the death, slaughter, and destruction of homes and…Books3 min readBooks3 min read
May 30, 2023In Praise of PerlIn Praise of Perl Programming languages rise and fall in popularity. For awhile everyone is keen on C, then C++, followed by languages such as Golang, Rust, Haskell, Python, or [fill in the blank with your favourite language]. …Perl5 min readPerl5 min read
Dec 5, 2022Born-Again Windows User: The Tale of a KeyboardI may be about to lose my tech cred. I’m a Windows user again, after years of using only Linux and MacOS. How it happened started with a laptop keyboard. It was in Costco that I met the keyboard. I spotted it sitting among the HP and Acer units —…Laptop5 min readLaptop5 min read
Nov 29, 2022Windows 11 as the WM for LinuxAdapting to Windows Subsystem for Linux It was only after installing Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) from the Microsoft Store on a new Windows 11 laptop that I realized that part of the general Linux experience, aside from all the great utilities, languages, and programs, is the Linux WM (Windows Manager) of choice. There are an…Linux6 min readLinux6 min read