Tag Archives: miscellaneous

Roots

Posted on January 30, 2020 by JMN

http://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/26/opinion/media-politics.html Do you want to predict how a certain region is going to vote in the 2020 presidential race? Discover who settled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. If the settlers were from the East Anglia section of … Continue reading →

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One-One-Twenty-Twenty

Posted on January 30, 2020 by JMN

At nine PM on New Year’s Day 2020, it’s quiet in my neighborhood. Two earsplitting reports in quick succession rip the peace: POP-POP. A second or two of silence, then one more: POP. I recall an old cartoon in which … Continue reading →

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Dream

Posted on January 4, 2020 by JMN

I once said to my dad in a dream, “What did you think? That you fucked my mother and got an idiot?” I was cooking an elaborate turkey stuffing in my mother’s kitchen to celebrate for the umpteenth time their … Continue reading →

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The Macaroni Line

Posted on December 26, 2019 by JMN

This article is about how a small Texas town near me survived losing its Walmart store. I like it for its local history and photographs. Edna is “a community of about 5,700 people surrounded by rice fields, ranches and grassland.” … Continue reading →

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Shades of Black

Posted on November 7, 2019 by JMN

Stories in today’s press foster a rumination about “misconduct.” The monarch of Thailand banished two courtiers from his entourage for “extremely evil misconduct.” Unpacking the phrase’s implications suggests there may be three shades of misconduct: Misconduct (White) Evil misconduct (Grey) … Continue reading →

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Methanol Republic

Posted on August 21, 2019 by JMN

A Nobel laureate-in-waiting will spirit the drinkability out of antifreeze. Enlightened governments will protect their populations. Unicorns will pasture in Central America. These potables are flagged as suspect in this article: Guaro Montano, Guaro Gran Apache, Aguardiente Estrella, Aguardiente Barón … Continue reading →

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Sports

Posted on March 14, 2019 by JMN

I’ve studied at every level of American education — elementary through graduate school and law school — and have taught without distinction at most levels as well — middle school, high school, community college, and university. None of this qualifies … Continue reading →

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I Just Spent 3 Months in the Wrong Time Zone!

Posted on February 10, 2019 by JMN

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/09/why-spanish-sleeping-habits-under-strain The other factor that affects Spaniards’ sleeping habits is that the country is in the wrong time zone. Geographically, Spain should be on Greenwich Mean Time, but in 1942 the fascist dictator Francisco Franco switched the nation to European … Continue reading →

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Tono Romo, Ex-Quarterback

Posted on February 4, 2019 by JMN

nyti.ms/2UwA4ws “I just want to leave you with something I’ve learned in this process,” he said, referring to his quarterbacking years. “I feel like we all have two battles or two enemies going on. One with the man across from … Continue reading →

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*Affectedly Quaint

Posted on December 18, 2018 by JMN

Following Dr. [Donald] Knuth’s doctrine helps to ward off moronry. He is known for introducing the notion of “literate programming,” emphasizing the importance of writing code that is readable by humans as well as computers — a notion that nowadays … Continue reading →

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