I traveled to Davenport, IA, yesterday on my way to Wyoming for the Literature and Landscape writers’ retreat. Davenport is the home of John Deere, the tractor mogul who developed a steel-bottomed plow back in the 1800s. Davenport, for me, …
Home to Davenport, IA Read more »
I can’t remember if they’ve done this in the past–but–today when I voted, they gave me a card that said my party on it. The cards were color coded. I understand that I can only vote my party, but I …
Isn’t voting supposed to be private? Read more »
(This post was updated on March 7, 2018.) I recently watched a documentary called Chernobyl Heart about the young victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident when a nuclear reactor exploded. Although the film was made in 2003, the problems …
‘Chernobyl Heart’ Will Make You Cry Read more »
In my city, the furor over a tires-to-energy plant is growing. Do you know where most of our electricity comes from? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 2006, nearly half (49%) of the country’s 4.1 trillion kilowatt hours …
Tires-to-Energy: Some electrifying facts. Read more »
“Made in China” used to connote cheaply made tin toys. You might be surprised at the number of “quality” goods that are made in other countries, especially China. A casual walk around my house revealed that the manufacture of most …
China makes a lot of products. Read more »
I’ve been culling paper from the files in my house. The amount of stuff I’ve shoved into files for years is ridiculous. Anyhow, in my adventure I found the following piece by the late humorist, Erma Bombeck. I watched her …
No More Wet-Oatmeal Kisses Read more »
The other day, a pet chimpanzee attacked a woman and severely disfigured her face. The victim was a friend of the woman who owned the chimp. Travis, the chimp, wanted to go for a drive and took the keys to …
Wild animals belong in the wild–or in a zoo. Read more »
I found a great article in the February 1, 2009 issue of Bottom Line Personal. “Bulletproof Your Job and Ride Out the Rough Times at Work” is written by Stephen Viscusi. Here are the highlights: Be “low maintenance.” Don’t complain, …
Bullet-proof your job! Read more »
Here’s the glowing e-mail I sent regarding my fresh-air experience with CafePress.com: Hello to almost all the contacts in my address book, Most of you know that I don’t usually forward e-mails, and rarely open forwarded e-mails, but this one …
My good customer-service experience with CafePress.com Read more »
In Cleveland this week, doctors performed the first US face transplant on a woman “with facial damage so severe that she could not eat on her own or breathe without a hole in her windpipe,” according to The New York …
Cleveland Clinic face transplant: A no-brainer Read more »
