The above was a headline to a story in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. I can't wait for the day when two words would no longer appear in such a headline - "death-row". In a 2002 case, Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court held that executing intellectually disabled convicts violated the Eighth Amendment … Continue reading Supreme Court Sides With Texas Death-Row Inmate Who Claims Intellectual Disability →

Fred Wilson, of avc.com fame, published a blog today where he gave a shout out to Scratch, a visual programming language that makes building software as easy as building a Lego project. Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. With Scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games, … Continue reading Scratch and Play, the MIT Way →

If someone came along that had these qualities, and no college degree, it seems to me that such a person would still be fully capable of handling the demands of many jobs. However, such individuals are often not given the opportunity to pursue such jobs becuase many employers require applicants to have a college degree. … Continue reading Wanted: Hardworking, Personable, Honest, and Curious Person; No College Required →

Tonight I was lucky enough to attend Montgomery County Community College (Montco)'s annual “Salute to Excellence” reception. The event recognizes the academic dedication shown by scholarship recipients, who often must sacrifice and balance studies with work and family obligations in order to realize their dreams. At the event, students share their stories and get to … Continue reading This Place Opens Doors to Bright Futures →

Despite my strong feelings in favor of gun  control, I usually don't like to use isolated gun shooting incidents to support my position. I'd rather use the numerous research studies that utilize far more data and statistical analyses compared to one highly publicized shooting to back my beliefs. However, I'm going to make an exception … Continue reading Do Money and Guns Bring Out the Worst in People? →

The New York Times had a story recently, "The Future of Retirement Communities: Walkable and Urban", and that describes exactly the kind of place I'd like to live when I retire. So when I checked walkable.com to see what the most walkable cities were, I came across the list you see at the top of … Continue reading I Must Be Ready for Retirement – I’m Starting to Think Like a Retiree →

I had a chance to be part of two events this weekend that opened my eyes to the power of volunteering. The background of the people and the setting for each meeting could not have been more different. Last night I attended a meeting of Reconstruction, Inc., an organization committed to fighting for prison reform … Continue reading The Power of Volunteering →

Another great show at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. This time it was the classic "The  King  and I". I was vaguely familiar with  the story, and I certainly recognized  the song "Getting  to Know You." After the  play, I went to Wikipedia to read a bit  more  about the play and found out … Continue reading The King and I – a Timeless Tale →

I still remember the big day. I was probably around 12 years old, and my parents were taking me out to get something I really wanted. Webster's 3rd New International Dictionary. It was THE dictionary. It contained more than 450,000 entries, including more than 100,000 new entries. The first print run had 2,726 pages, weighed … Continue reading I Thought I Had at Least an Average Vocabulary; Wrong Again →