Is my family the only one who didn't know about this? We are getting ready to travel to Singapore, and one of the first things we did was to check our passports. The earliest expiration date showing on the three passports was August of 2020. Since we would be returning sometime in March of 2020, … Continue reading When Is an Expiration Date Not an Expiration Date? When It’s Your Passport.
“Harry. Stay awake.” That was the note Justice Antonin Scalia slipped to Justice Harry Blackmun during the final argument of the 1990-91 term, on whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act allowed town supervisors to restrict aerial spraying over a rural Wisconsin tree farm. (It did.) Passing such notes is apparently not that unusual, … Continue reading Turns Out That the Supreme Court Justices Are Just Like Us, Except They Dress Kind of Funny
Every year, the MacArthur Foundation selects between 20 and 30 individuals as MacArthur Fellows, commonly referred to as Genius Grant winners. The MacArthur Fellows Program is intended to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations. In keeping with this purpose, the Foundation awards fellowships directly to individuals rather than through … Continue reading Now This Is My Kind of Genius
When I first saw the 22,000 number, I thought it was an annual amount, and even then I thought it seemed quite high. But boy, was I off. On average, the Federal Bureau of Investigation receives about 22,000 tips about potential threats of violence weekly. 22,000... Weekly... And if that doesn't seem high enough, that … Continue reading 22,000 Per Week; 131 Per Hour; More Than 2 Per Minute
As soon as I saw the headline, the first thing I did was check the date, to make sure it wasn't an old story from April 1. But no, it was from this week. Toymaker Hasbro announced it was rolling out a new version of its classic Monopoly board game, naming this one Ms. Monopoly. In … Continue reading Ms. Monopoly – Seems Destined to be a Ms., Not a Hit
I guess this is kind of like a follow-up to my post the other day about "The Surprising Truth About Online Dating Apps"; you might call this one "The Surprising Truth About the Cost of Going on a Date". Match.com released the results of a nationwide survey that compared the average cost of a date … Continue reading Looking for a Cheap Date? Try South Dakota
I went to write my blog tonight, but then I heard the news about another mass shooting, this time in Texas. The headline: "5 Dead, 21 injured in Texas shooting". Right below that story was news that gunfire had broken out after a high school football game in Alabama late Friday, leaving 10 teens injured. … Continue reading Is This the One?
For the past 21 years, Beloit Collge has created the annual Mindset List, a compilation of what has always and never been true for new college freshmen. This year, the list has been taken over by Marist College. Here is some information from the Mindset List for the class of 2023: Variously known as Gen Z, Gen … Continue reading Wanna Feel Old? Let Me Introduce You to the Class of 2023
Don Schollander. Schollander was the first swimmer to win four Gold Medals in one Olympics, doing so in Tokyo in 1964 at the young age of 18. Schollander also won the 1964 James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete, and the AP Athlete of the Year, easily defeating runner-up Johnny Unitas. Schollander followed … Continue reading Before Katie Ledecky, Before Michael Phelps, Before Mark Spitz, There Was…
I just finished reading The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, and to sum it up in one word, wow. Many people may have read The Jungle in high school; it seems to be a popular choice on school reading lists. Somehow, I got out of school without ever having read it. But I'm glad I read … Continue reading I’ll Never Complain about My Job, or My Life, Again
Borden's Blather 