How many American cemeteries can claim to have a Crimean War veteran? Well, York’s Prospect Hill Cemetery does. Doctor Henry L. Smyser, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, worked as a Surgeon Major in the Crimean War, and a decade later assigned to a military hospital in York. It being a warm-ish October Sunday,Continue reading “A Crimean War Veteran”
The Lottery Kiosk
As I was leaving the grocery store yesterday, an elderly man stopped me at the self-serve lottery kiosk. He was buying scratch-off tickets — he was organized, he had a plastic envelope — and there was one, something like Monster Mash, that he didn’t understand. There was something about the logo on the touchscreen thatContinue reading “The Lottery Kiosk”
The Miracles of St. Tibulus
I was today years old when I discovered there’s a Father Ted fan film! Today saw the nationwide “No Kings” protests against the Trump regime’s growing autocracy, and skimming through BlueSky I saw a number of photos of signs from the protests. What I did not see were “Careful Now” and “Down With This SortContinue reading “The Miracles of St. Tibulus”
12-Bar Job Search Blues
I saw a post on LinkedIn this morning that touched a nerve and sparked some thinking. “I have 35+ years experience and I can’t find a job that pays over $20 an hour.“ I don’t like LinkedIn. I’m not even sure it’s a necessary evil. The toxic positivity and “every moment is a life lesson”Continue reading “12-Bar Job Search Blues”
October Walkabout
I have been lax, I haven’t gone for my several times weekly walks around the area since… well, since I was laid off by Diamond. So, about a month. Either the weather wasn’t good — unseasonably hot, rainy — or I just didn’t feel like it, like when my arthritis was acting up or theContinue reading “October Walkabout”
A Near-Run Thing
It wasn’t as world-historical as Waterloo, but this game of backgammon was closer than it had any right to be. Look at that! White is trapped and unable to put his piece back on the board. I should have had an easy time of it. But no, some lucky rolls on white’s part, and whiteContinue reading “A Near-Run Thing”
A Derelict Church
I went into downtown York yesterday. Not something I often do, as I don’t like driving into downtown, though it’s become better in the last several years, ever since they repaved George Street. I wanted to go to a used book store to look for some research material for a writing project I intend toContinue reading “A Derelict Church”
Gentle Waves
Linux Mint Debian Edition 7 released this week, and I upgraded my two machines on Friday. I’ve still been toying with the WMX window manager, and as I did with EndeavourOS, I integrated Rofi menus into the workflow, using the scripts created by Aditya Shakya (and available on GitHub here. I made a custom colorContinue reading “Gentle Waves”
The Wind Shifts
It’s supposed to frost tonight. How do I know? The joints in my feet hate me these last six hours. Oh. Emm. Gee. The pain! But, it’s also been lovely the last few days. Even the light drizzle Tuesday morning didn’t really change anything. Sunday I went over to the state park overlooking the SusquehannaContinue reading “The Wind Shifts”
Pondering the Past
Did FBI Director Kash Patel and I buy comics from the same comic shop in Richmond twenty-five-ish years ago? The news about the Punisher-themed challenge coins Patel had made for the FBI makes me wonder. I was not expecting to see a post about Patel and the challenge coins in Facebook’s University of Richmond alumniContinue reading “Pondering the Past”