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…
A Really Long View on COVID-19
I’ve been reading a bit about the 200 viruses that are known collectively as “the common cold.” Three or four of those are coronaviruses, the latest of which science believes jumped to humans approximately 10,000 years ago (~8,000 BCE). They…
“I hate to toot my own horn, but…beep-beep.”
Today the Tulsa World published an Opinion piece by me that I called “Hamilton Summer.” A Summer of deep-diving into the history and scholarship of the musical “Hamilton” made me think about how hard (and fragile) American democracy is. You…
Culture vs. Strategy in Iowa
February 4, 2020 It’s noon on the day after the Iowa caucuses, and we have yet to know who “won” thanks to a snafu with a smartphone app. Officials in Iowa have announced they’ll have an announcement by 5 pm.…