Today, two hundred years ago, Charles Darwin was born. The man who formulated the theory of natural selection. Also, two hundred years ago today, across an ocean, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born. When I was growing up in the Shenandoah Valley, my schoolbus carried me every day past theContinue reading “On Today’s Birthdays”
Monthly Archives: February 2009
On the Yes/No Meme
You know what’s awesome about memes? They’re cheap content. I don’t have to do a lot of thinking, and you get something to read that says something about me. And possibly something that you, dear reader, can interact with. 🙂 This one is Dayton‘s and Jim Johnson‘s faults. You can only answer Yes or No!Continue reading “On the Yes/No Meme”
On Word-Coinage
At work today it was decided — I had coined a new word. A good word. A perfect word. Clusterfuckery. I don’t claim the word. I see, from a quick Google search, that “clusterfuckery” has been in circulation for a few years now. It’s not my neologism. 🙂 Yet, I’m still going to use it.Continue reading “On Word-Coinage”
On This Week’s Subway Reading
As long-time Allyn-ologists know, I have a Saturday routine. I get up, I drink coffee, I put on NPR so I can listen to Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. I love listening to Scott Simon. His voice has the most incredible cadence I have ever heard, and with every word he enunciates, you feel itContinue reading “On This Week’s Subway Reading”
On James Lipton’s 10 Questions
I always like a good meme. This one comes from Dayton Ward, also known as “The Chosen One.” These are James Lipton’s Inside the Actor’s Studio “10 Questions” that he asks each of his guests, based upon the Proust Questionnaire. What is your favorite word?Cloud. What is your least favorite word?Fire. What turns you onContinue reading “On James Lipton’s 10 Questions”
On Completely Nerdy Knowledge
On Friday I mentioned how Snoopy made his annual report to the Head Beagle in a Peanuts strip that ran on Sunday the 4th of January, 1970. That date, it nagged me in the back of my mind yesterday and today. And then, this morning, I realized what’s so important about that date. I justContinue reading “On Completely Nerdy Knowledge”
On My Grandmother’s Quirks
The sun had gone down. My grandmother stood at the window in the dining room, looking out into the backyard, transfixed by the sight while she giggled. “The President’s plane is about to take off!” I didn’t have to look outside to know that there was no plane in the backyard. She was seeing theContinue reading “On My Grandmother’s Quirks”
On the First Signs of Spring
After weeks of cold, ice, snow, and more cold, today promised to be warm. Snow still lay on the ground from a snowfall on Wednesday. The ice from the previous week’s ice storm had melted over last weekend; I took a hoe and a shovel to my driveway and walk to rid myself of it,Continue reading “On the First Signs of Spring”
On My Annual Report to the Head Beagle
Recently, I picked up Fantagraphics The Complete Peanuts Volume 10, which covers the adventures of Charlie Brown and the gang from 1969 and 1970. I was flipping through it leisurely, and on January 4, 1970, Snoopy received his annual questionnaire from the Head Beagle. Without further ado, here’s my annual report to Head Beagle onContinue reading “On My Annual Report to the Head Beagle”
On the Latest Blog Stats
You can tell I’m a baseball fan; I love statistics. I don’t always know what to do with them, I’m always reminded of Mark Twain’s “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics,” and sometimes I can get really squirrelly with stats. Numbers, hard data — these are fun things, even if they’re completely meaningless and,Continue reading “On the Latest Blog Stats”