Sitting in the hot tub watching the afternoon wind whip a flag flying atop a 40-foot bamboo pole in my garden, I thought about waves. Flags wave in the wind, a convergence of weight, length, wind speed, and air turbulence. If the right proportions of... Continue

Roughly 500 years ago, Johannes Guttenberg introduced moveable type and the modern book was born. Guttenberg hoped that his invention would make the Bible more available and help sustain and enlarge the Catholic faith, but ironically it was reformer Martin Luther who used moveable type... Continue

Acre for acre, natural rainforests contain more biological diversity than any other place on earth, both plants and animals. The rainforest is the likely mother of us all. Only a small fraction of the many rainforest species are identified, yet modern civilization is systematically destroying... Continue

Both Presidential candidates are convinced that getting people back to work is the most essential ingredient in improving the American economy. This is, of course, true; more people working means more money consumption, more taxes to be collected, and more profits to be earned. The... Continue

I recently accompanied my wife as she traveled to Minnesota for her 50th high school reunion. It’s not easy being a reunion “spouse” while a group of 68-year-olds reexamine their senior year neuroses. Being a reunion spouse is a lot like being nobody. I opted out... Continue

Industrialization is grinding the planet to dust, pollution radically changing our climate, population increasing to unsustainable levels, disease and poverty continue to spread and politicians worldwide bicker foolishly over non-issues; we’ve gotten ourselves into a terrible mess, but nonetheless, society is basically good. Looking around... Continue

While on vacation recently my wife and I were in no mood to search high and low for the best restaurant in Chicago and decided to eat as close to our hotel as possible. The day had been long and the temperature hot...one sign I... Continue

Package labeling has become the art of deception, the intentional use of language to confuse and deceive the consumer. This is particularly obvious as food companies seek to exploit the organic food movement, currently the fastest-growing segment of the food industry, but the cosmetic and... Continue

I remember sitting in our family living room as my father turned and folded pages, snapping and creasing the newsprint as he made his way through every section. Meanwhile, my mother would work across and down, completing the crossword puzzle with a pen. Growing up with... Continue