Category Archives: General

I just read the first opinion piece published in the New York Times by Bret Stephens, who previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, where he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Where to start…how about with the use of … Continue reading →

A reaction to: You say, “Strict veganism, of course, would be better on all counts.” But exactly why? To avoid the suffering of an animal killed as a byproduct of our feeding ourselves? But what about the millions of creatures … Continue reading →

In current events, two studies suggest that the collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet (predicted back in the 1970s to occur as a consequence of unchecked global warming), has already begun. This will lead during the next century to … Continue reading →

For a project on the use of images as a source of data in biology, I found myself thinking about the phrase “carving nature at the joints.”  To a biologist the implication of this phrase is clear enough, because it … Continue reading →

This isn’t about science, but it deals with two of my favorite topics:  grammar and music. A song that came up on my playlist is this one from Snow Patrol:  “Chasing Cars.”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemKqzILV4w The following lines from the chorus have always … Continue reading →

Over at the NY Times op-ed page, Verlyn Klinkenborg regularly produces rhapsodic musings about his little patch of ground somewhere in the eastern U.S.  I am seldom impressed by the perspicacity of his observations or the poetry of his writing, … Continue reading →

I have been thinking of getting a large scale map of the Great Lakes region, and then framing it and hanging it in my living room.  This is partly because I love maps and partly because I love the Great … Continue reading →