Euphemism

I went to a financial advisor the other day and he described how my retirement accounts would accrue interest over the years until the end of my retirement. I said, “End of my retirement? Do you mean death?” “Yes,” he said, “but some people don’t like to talk about it.”

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Another disastrous result of global climate change

The low water level in the Great Lakes. From the New York Times: “Water levels in the Great Lakes have been below their long-term averages during the past 14 years, and this winter the water in Lakes Michigan and Huron, the hardest-hit lakes, dropped to record lows, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.” What does this mean? It means shipping that uses the Great Lakes is in big trouble: “Shippers, carriers and the industries that rely on bulk materials like limestone, iron ore, coal and salt are hugely dependent on lake travel.”

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My Life in Meats

steakI gave up eating red meat for about 18 years. Then I slowly went back to it a few years ago, trying to eat mostly grass-fed meat. Then I reached a point in the last year where I felt I was eating too much of it.

You see, I love meat. I grew up on it and never lost my taste for it. I went to a steakhouse recently and ate a big, delicious steak. I am hoping that is my swan song. I am thinking of having meat just 2 times per month. Now I have to think about how much chicken to eat, fish, and so on.

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You Can Practice Resuscitating on this Body

rescusi annieresusci_anne_fullbody_1_-_jpegI remember learning in First Aid class in high school how to resuscitate a person using a doll called Rescusci-Annie. Here she is:

 

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Let’s Go to the Amish Conference

amish bonnetIf you want to know more about the Amish — and who doesn’t? — go to the conference on “Amish America: Plain Technology in a Cyber World” to be held June 6-8 at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa. The college has a center for Anabaptist studies.

Wish I’d heard about this sooner and made plans to attend. There will be more than 100 presentations and they are streaming some of the sessions, so we can all watch!

 

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I’m Going to Bigfoot Country

I have been fascinated by Bigfoots for a very long time. This summer I am going to Yellowstone Park, which is an area known for Bigfoot sightings. I will also be in several other wildnerness areas. It’s a long shot, I realize, but if I see a Bigfoot, I promise to bring back photographic evidence.

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The Summer Day Trips Have Begun

Here I am with the Canine Prince in Gloucester, Massachusetts. sparky 2013

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Got 10 Minutes? Learn All You Need to Know About the Future of Earth

This could be the best 10 minutes you’ve ever spent educating yourself. Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben speaks in this Australian newscast about everything you need to know about the future of our planet. McKibben is co-founder of 350.org, which brought us the Keystone Pipeline protests.

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School Newspapers are Dying Out

As a kid, I was a budding writer. I cut my journalistic teeth on the camp newspaper, the junior high and high school school papers, and in college, when I founded and ran a short-lived newspaper with a friend. Now I read in the New York Times that school newspapers are quickly fading to black. It hadn’t occurred to me that this was happening. Now, I wonder, where and how do kids learn journalism? Blogging is a pretty solitary activity, and not the same as learning to produce a paper with a group of classmates.

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