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 […]
In the last week I have gone from thinking “Oh, I’ll be OK” to “Oh, heck. I need an escape route.” There has been a rapid escalation in the number of cases of COVID-19 and, sadly, in the number of deaths both internationally and nationally. I have been […]
The building that houses Catholic Charities of Santa Clara has a magnificent main door on E. San Fernando Street in San Jose. This door does not get a lot of use, however. Most of the people coming and going from the building use a door at the side, […]
Will the San Jose Sharks play in an empty arena? That is the burning question of the day. Santa Clara County, where the Sharks play, is doing lots of sensible things to try to address the problems presented by COVID-19. They have encouraged people to work from home […]
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.
