“One of the biggest roles of science fiction is to prepare people to accept the future without pain and to encourage a flexibility of the mind. Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.” – Arthur C. Clarke Translation: Greetings…
Soft Power: Hard Consequences
August 4, 2025 Recently, I penned an opinion piece in the Tulsa World on the ways in which America is throwing away one of its most cost-effective methods of persuasion on the world stage: soft power. The Tulsa World version…
My Summer Book Report: The Rediscovery of America
September 24, 2024 “The New World forgets everything The Old World forgets nothing.” I FINALLY finished my summer reading project. Whew. “The Rediscovery of America” by Yale professor Ned Blackhawk, is not a light, summer beach read. It’s a large,…
The Mayor of Jerusalem
The Persistence of Memory September 4, 2023 Do you ever read something, maybe while searching for something else, and you find it sticks with you? You may not fully remember it, or where you read it, but you find it…
Don’t Believe the Hype!
Shortly after the midterm elections this year, I wrote the following opinion piece for the Tulsa World. I always tell Editor Ginnie Netherton-Graham that I’m at least good for one piece per year… Column: Don’t believe the hype, recognize propaganda…
An uncomfortable book hits too close to home
The CEO (and CIO, and VP of IT) have resigned. The board president/former CEO has come back from retirement, to quell any potential stockholder revolt. In the last month, stock prices have fallen 30%. A Mid-level IT Operations Director has…
“Hello…I’m Gary, and I’m a Stutterer.”
1/8/2021: Now that the 2020 Presidential Election is behind us (HA!), I’m coming back to this post I started back in November… Samuel L. Jackson. James Earl Jones, Charlie Sheen. Jack Welch. Winston Churchill. Joe Biden. Me. During the runup…
The long march to specialization, and maybe civilization
One of the hallmarks of civilization is specialization and the cooperation that comes with it. Between 1.8 Million and 12,000 years ago, we were all hunter-gatherers. Initially, there was no specialization. If you were presented with a tree full of…
Virus
I had no idea earlier this year I would have read so much about virology. One tidbit: virologists have learned that viruses are something less than alive: they contain genetic information but cannot reproduce. They require a host that they…
Transparency
What do Police Departments and Public Schools have in common? In 2020 they’ve both been forced to reckon with situations that question their legitimate, organizational authority. One over perceived systemic racism and safety (Black Lives Matter) and the other over…