Tom Cepel writes: I went to a job fair at my alma mater. A lady at registration gave me this name tag. I told her I couldn’t wear it because there’s only one of me. I really don’t have a …
Category: Sustainability
Our Relationship with our Animal Cousins
As a scientist who spent her life studying animals, Jane Goodall and her comment here should hit home for many of us. Why we slaughter some animals and not others is a matter of freakish chance.
Tagged with: Jane Goodall
“Correctile” Dysfunction
I have to confess that I have a terrible case of this “disease.” It’s incurable, but there are two keys to managing it: Silence, i.e., minding one’s own business and keeping these thoughts to oneself. Patience, i.e., recognizing that lousy …
Tagged with: "Correctile" Dysfunction
McDonald’s
These are disgusting human beings selling terrible, low-nutrition food. My advice: Stay away.
Tagged with: McDonald's low nutrition
Republicans Are Embedding Themselves into Our Personal Lives More Deeply with Each Passing Year
It’s amusing how Republicans feel it’s their business to tell us that we should have children, and how our babies should be planned and conceived. Before the extremism of the Trump era came along, it never dawned on a government …
Tagged with: extremism of the Trump era
A Letter from a Reader on English Grammar
A reader asks: I learned almost all the grammar I still know from Latin, French and German where these constructions had to be more explicitly explained: Declension and conjugation from Latin, subjunctives from German, etc. My question is, am I …
Tagged with: English Grammar
Italy’s Ban on Lab-Grown Meat
Apparently, the content of the meme here is true, but the rationale remains unclear. Reports have cited that the measure was taken to protect Italy’s live (soon-to-be-slaughtered) beef industry. I wonder why it’s the province of government to tell us …
Tagged with: Lab-Grown Meat
Gun Laws
Here’s a discussion between two people from my boyhood, whom I won’t identify by name, and whose comments I did not edit. Old acquaintance 1: Guns, aren’t the problem, cars, alcohol, drugs, kill way many more people. Let’s talk the …
Tagged with: Gun Laws
Compostable Plastic Bags
From a reader: This is a planet-friendly, heavy-duty, microplastic-free, 100% compostable trash bag. Breaks down in weeks, not centuries. Sorry, but if it’s going to be in a landfill with 99.999999% of other standard plastic bags, I don’t see the …
Tagged with: Compostable Plastic Bags
Correcting Others’ Grammar
A reader asks: How does one gently correct someone’s poor grammar? I usually let it slide but I want to help them to sound better educated. I have a few basic rules: I feel I have an obligation to correct …
Tagged with: Correcting Other People's Grammar
