Inertia: 1) a tendency to do nothing or remain unchanged 2) a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless that state is changed by an external force. (via Lexico) When I first began my […]
Given that we find ourselves living in the future and that the future does not include toilet paper, I feel it my duty to explain the tow rag. Back in the days of sailing ships, the sailors did not have toilet paper. What they did have were rags. […]
It took three attempts, but I finally got my online request for a refund from Air Canada to be accepted into their system. The first two times, that little wheel kept turning backwards and finally kicked me out. The third time, though, I got through and felt as […]
As I was telling him the saga of my need to return to Canada before the border closed, my cab driver from Edmonton airport to my house said, “Your country called you home.” I thought that was a pleasing way to think of it. I had originally planned […]
This stereographic photo viewer, or stereoscope, is on display at the Stevenson House in Monterey, California. Robert Louis Stevenson lived there in the latter part of 1879, and the house was one of several that my niece and I saw during our tour of the adobe buildings in […]
As Oliver Hardy once said to Mastercard; that’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into. He didn’t actually say it to Mastercard, but he would have if he had my recent experience. To tell you this story, I have to provide a little background. I travel regularly from […]
Humans have invented amazing things, but some inventions are so ubiquitous that we overlook them. Today I am focussing my attention on one invention that owes everything to the ingenuity and industry of ancient civilizations. I am thinking about bricks. Ordinary, everyday, bricks. They have been around since 7000 […]
I am a snowbird who travels south for the winter. When I get there I have a bird of paradise plant on my patio.
