by Ethan Johnson
August 21, 2008

Marlena and I were watching the seven-part miniseries about John Adams a few months ago, and I had a stupidly obvious realization: Lots got done before the advent of electricity. The pyramids were built, aqueducts made, castles constructed, iron forged, wars waged, and so on. I have been wanting to investigate when the notion that UFOs built the pyramids entered the collective consciousness. Off the cuff, I suspect it was after the advent of electricity. Because in these times, it seems that we are collectively convinced that no major undertaking is possible without automation (or other-worldly intervention). Pshaw.

by Ethan Johnson
May 23, 2008

Pop quiz. What's this?

by Ethan Johnson
April 11, 2008

Since I am not native to these parts (Texas), I am reasonably cognizant that we live in a tornado prone area, and any given storm can produce the Big One. But after years of "just" thunderstorms and maybe some hail for good measure, I admit that I slipped into a sense of complacency. Guess what?

by Ethan Johnson
November 17, 2007

Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines. - Satchel Paige

While I was on my sojourn to Chicagoland, I heard a news report about Georgia's drought problems, which famously culminated in Governor Sonny Perdue hosting a prayer breakfast to pray for rain. One couple interviewed for the piece affirmed that they in fact brought umbrellas and rain gear to the event because they were convinced that the sheer power of prayer (their prayers, to be specific) would compel the skies to darken and years of drought to be erased in an afternoon. Putting the prayer thing aside for a moment, I think these folks need a crash lesson (on paper) as to why that might be as problematic - or worse - as the drought.

by Ethan Johnson
October 16, 2007

Oh darn, I missed Blog Action Day. Good thing I don't operate a blog. Since various "days" are declared hither an yon online, I found it ironic that on Blog Action Day, which is intended to raise awareness of environmental issues, I was poring over a synopsis of The Gaia Hypothesis. While I may come off as overly flippant about events like Blog Action Day, I do think that issues like climate change and environmental responsibility are important. But I think some insight into the Gaia Hypothesis is in order.

by Ethan Johnson
August 30, 2007

I'm on the board, again! I put our new crop room to good use with my third 12x12 layout. I uploaded the finished product to scrapbook.com, and it's included here with bonus commentary:

by Ethan Johnson
June 3, 2007

Another 30 days has come and gone, and as David Zinger would surely say, great strides were made. Um, because I'm 6' 5" tall. Anyway. Let's do the numbers:

by Ethan Johnson
May 3, 2007

My chosen 30-day tracking method for my workout regimen strikes me as Stalinist, if only because it requires me to refer to this most recent cycle as the "third 30-day cycle". At least it's not the 6th year of a 2-year plan. And chocolate rations are up! Again!