A Cozy Little Place
The second law of thermodynamics states that the universe tends toward disorder. I know that’s a gross oversimplification that my physics-geek friends will laugh at, but essentially, the principle states that without the input of energy, a closed system naturally moves from highest level of order to highest level of disorder. The measure of disorder is called entropy. Continue reading “The Entropy and the Ecstasy”
We live in the information age, a time when one of the most popular career fields is “information technology.” The sum total of human knowledge is a mere Google search away. But who can honestly say that having access to more information has made his/her life better? Knowledge is power, but it comes at a heavy price.
There’s a fine line between mellowing with age and just no longer giving a shit. I’ve fortunately never been a worrier; I’ve always been easy like Sunday morning. But as I grow older, I find myself worrying less and less about more and more. It’s a challenge to give up worry while still caring enough to get out of bed every day. Continue reading “A Short List of Things I No Longer Care About”
Forgive me, family, for writing such a personal letter in such a public way, but I knew of no better way of reaching all of you at the same time. And what harm is there in the whole world knowing how awesome you are and how much I love you all? Our family is facing challenges, so I thought it would be a good time to convey to you how important you are to me (and I think I can safely speak for all of us in our generation). Continue reading “Love Letter to my Prettyman Family”
For a brief time as a teen I was interested in sci-fi and fantasy books. Though the two genres are usually lumped together, I always had a clear understanding that sci-fi involved robots and/or space, while fantasy was almost always something about wizards, elves, magic and realms that had not yet witnessed an industrial revolution. (Seriously, why all the swords, people? Magic up some gunpowder for chrissakes). Continue reading “Where’s the Science in Your Fiction?”
Growing up on a farm necessitated learning a little bit about a lot of things, but most importantly, learning how to become self-reliant. Farm living is the perfect incubator for hatching the jack of all trades. When you live miles from the nearest store and scrape by on a budget that doesn’t allow for buying expensive replacement parts or paying exorbitant labor charges to professional mechanics you learn to fix what you’ve got with whatever you have on hand. You do it not because you want to but because you have to. Continue reading “It’s Just What I Do”
The Liberal Missouri Public Library was our babysitter for a few years when we were young. Our mom worked at Citizens Bank of Liberal, later Farmers State Bank, next door, so my sister and I would walk to the library after school and wait patiently for Mom to drive us home. We greatly preferred this over taking the school bus. Continue reading “Ex Libris”
Liberia. Literally the land of liberty. Africa’s oldest republic. An independent nation since 1847, yet it remains one of the poorest places in the world in per-capita GDP, sandwiched between Tokelau and DR Congo. Don’t worry, I had never heard of Tokelau either. It’s a group of 1,200 Polynesians on a couple of small atolls in the South Pacific. Continue reading “Finding Art and Beauty in Liberia”
I admit that I came to Madagascar with a head full of preconceived notions, which mostly (thankfully) turned out to be false. My first thoughts of this forested island nation were of humidity, bugs and French–three things I dread. Continue reading “Mad about Madagascar”
The sun is shining on this lovely March day in Nairobi–a rare occasion lately, as we have had seemingly nonstop rain for the past 10 or 12 days. But the rain has restored the color green to nature’s palette and the sun is being photosynthesized by a legion of happy plants cranking out rich, luscious oxygen by the bucketload. Continue reading “For the Birds”
