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Monthly Archives: March 2009

Data Rot

Posted March 31, 2009 – 6:35 am in: Journal

After reading a New York Times article about something called data rot, I’ve been thinking about the contrast between digital information and analog information.  Data rot, according to author David Pogue, is caused when information stored on various media (tapes, CDs, and so on) disappears due to degradation of the media itself.  Weather, chemicals, and [...]

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Lowbrow

Posted March 25, 2009 – 9:25 pm in: Journal

I learned how to waste hours on the Web in my early days as a surfer.  It came naturally to me, being one who is inquisitive and who also loves to fart around.  One site I stumbled upon addicted me quickly, and I can’t even imagine how many hours I spent there.  That site was [...]

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Dr. Palmer’s Lawn

Posted March 22, 2009 – 10:07 am in: Tales

I was startled when Dr. Palmer drove into my driveway.  He had never done that before.  In fact, I’m sure he had never set foot on the first inch of my property in the 36 years that he’d been my neighbor.  But there he was, climbing out of his Cadillac, standing with both feet on [...]

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Feed

Posted March 21, 2009 – 9:43 am in: Journal

I just spent several hours attempting to set up feed capability for this blog.  I believe I was successful. If you know what I’m talking about, or even if you don’t, click on the “Subscribe via RSS” button above to find out.  You can also get email alerts when there’s a new post on this [...]

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earthdump

Posted March 17, 2009 – 10:03 pm in: Journal

I chose the domain earthdump.com because my original idea was for a Web site dedicated to exposing and commenting on the fouling of Earth with rubbish and poisons.  I feel strongly, as many others do, about the disregard many people show for the cleanliness of our planet.  Needless to say, I was able to find [...]

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Barbershop Network

Posted March 15, 2009 – 6:45 pm in: Tales

Drake Jensen, in the barber’s chair, relaxes while Ned Yoder ties the white paper band around his neck.  It always makes Drake think of those ancient photographs of solemn men sitting bolt upright in stiff starched collars, glaring full-faced, wide-eyed, and unafraid at, perhaps, an imminent explosion.  After the paper collar is on, Ned always [...]

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Useful Phrases

Posted March 12, 2009 – 8:27 pm in: Journal

It wasn’t long after I started writing fiction that I realized I could use some help.  Even after reading hundreds of novels and many stories, I knew that I was still unschooled in the science, or craft, of fiction.  In those days before the Internet, I spent many hours in libraries walking the aisles, reading [...]

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Apple

Posted March 10, 2009 – 7:03 pm in: Tales

“Hello, Apple.  Thanks for stopping by today.”  Dorothy Goodrich reached across her desk and shook the hand of Apple Tenfingers, an applicant for a supervisor’s job in Dorothy’s company, Dorothy’s Delights.
Apple smiled at Dorothy and nodded.  Apple had a pleasant smile and seemed relaxed and comfortable.  Dorothy was immediately taken by Apple’s charm.
“Please sit down,” [...]

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The Budget

Posted March 10, 2009 – 5:08 am in: Journal

A New York Times article describes Barack Obama’s budget, and details some of the political pressures against its proposed provisions.  Reading such a treatise on the resistance to Obama’s initiatives makes one wonder how anyone could put much stock into the campaign rhetoric of a presidential candidate who must go head to head with the [...]

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Salem Peyatt

Posted March 7, 2009 – 10:08 am in: Tales

Salem Peyatt was not the strongest man in Grovetown, Indiana in 1902.  Neither was he the fastest man, or the largest man.  He was, however, the blackest man, and was therefore the toughest.  It was either be the toughest or not be there at all, because besides his grandmother he was the only black human [...]

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