The Five Mascots of the Apocalypse

What are these things? The short answer is they are the cute salable mascots for the 2008 Summer Beijing Olympic Games. The longer answer is they represent The Olympic Flame, The Giant Panda, The Tibetan Antelope, The Shayan Kite, and The Chinese Sturgeon. The most recent answer is that they are The Bearer of Incendiary … Read more

What Are these Creatures?

Here’s your quiz of the day: what are these five things? Answer tomorrow. (Please refrain from posting spoilers in the comments – wry hints and jabs thoroughly encouraged.)

New Stove and More

Recently, my friend Virginia O informed me that her sister Elizabeth was demolishing her house and had some last items for sale. Well, this sounded like a good opportunity, and I had some time, so I checked it out. Particularly Virginia had mentioned a stove/oven. I have been needing a new one for a long … Read more

Who is Bill Shirley?

Some people think that Shirley is an uncommon name. It’s not. You come across many more less common names when you’re going about your life. It’s more common than less (being in the 43rd percentile of last names in the US – it’s a bit more common in Texas)

Last time I checked the Houston phone book (which was admittedly a while ago), there were nearly thirty Shirleys and I didn’t know any of them.

Of course, William is a very common name (fifth most common in the 1990 US census).

Almost twenty years ago I met via the internet a guy named Shirley, and then his brother Will. They lived outside of London, were a few years younger than me, and were both in computer work for a living. I always hoped to visit them, but never did. I’ve lost track of them.

Bill Shirley (1921 – 1989) was an actor and singer and singing voice of Prince Philip in Sleeping Beauty (1959).

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To Be Free Requires Diligence

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most profound documents in human history. Today is the anniversary of it’s adoption by the American states. Despite it’s prominence in our history, it has no hold in our law. Everyone knows the the main phrase from the Declaration All men are created equal, that they are … Read more