I Don't Know Much

Out in the Mojave Desert, there are a lot of hills and small mountains with wide, flat planes between. Behind the town I grew up in was a hill we called Grandpa Mountain. It had the face of an old man in profile along its eastern edge. It was just a hill, because its peak was only 600 feet above the... Sign in to see full entry.

I'm a geek. I know this from comments by people around me. I'm not the original kind, that bites the heads off chickens in freak shows, I'm the nerdy kind, that loves math and science and reads dictionaries. Yes, I read dictionaries. I read one in 4th grade because it was the longest book I could... Sign in to see full entry.

I became a Mormon Elder so I could heal people. Of course, it didn't work, and I didn't really expect to perform miracles then, but it was kind of expected, and I was still very much a product of the Mormon culture I had been raised in. It wasn't for another ten years, and with the support of my... Sign in to see full entry.

I have spent a few days rather distracted. It was the invasion of reality into my narrow world, outside events that made me look beyond my comfort zone, and think about meeting new people. Because I have a very small comfort zone. I spend my evenings and weekends at home, usually with my family, but... Sign in to see full entry.

I hear Senator Barack Obama is an elitist. Good for him. So am I. I don't want Joe Six-Pack running the country. I want Winston Churchill. I want Albert Einstein in charge of science and Werner von Braun in charge of rocketry and the space program. I want Bach and Picasso in charge of the arts and... Sign in to see full entry.

Yesterday I wrote about my impressions of the last formal presidential candidate debate. Today I saw video of the last informal presidential debate, the speeches by Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner. There were no questions posed by a moderator or... Sign in to see full entry.

I'm afraid my predictions about the debate came true. Oh, except I avoided getting buzzed, but that's not important. Sadly, importance was not much acknowledged in the debate. Here's what I'd like to know from the candidates: If, as Barack Obama says, he will cut spending equal to every new spending... Sign in to see full entry.

I eagerly await the beginning of the third and final debate between the major presidential candidates this evening. I read today that the Conservative Party held power in Canada, with Stephen Harper and his party taking at least 143 seats, which isn't quite half, but the counting wasn't done by... Sign in to see full entry.

On Friday, after the worst week in the history of the New York Stock Exchange, at least by some measures, I asked "The Literary Book of Answers" if the market had reached bottom. This is one of those books that offers mystical connection to unseen forces and knowledge in the universe. You run your... Sign in to see full entry.

Today is Columbus Day, a recognized holiday in the Ohio state capital, which bears his name. So I am inclined to venture forth and try to discover America. Columbus, of course, had no such ambition. He already knew about India, so he wasn't intent on discovering new land, only a new route for trade.... Sign in to see full entry.