Atlantis is in orbit. I sat at my desk and watched it rise on its glorious fountain of fire yesterday morning, as has been my habit. (Ever since Columbia went up for the first time, the day after my tenth birthday, I haven’t generally missed space shuttle launches and landings.) The return of Atlantis is … Read more
Someone’s going through your stuff when you die. Someone’s going through all of your stuff. How much have you thought about that? Probably, it’s your spouse or offspring. You’ve got this cubby and that back-of-the-drawer and so forth, but hey, they’re thoroughly indefensible from the grave. What’s there for your wife or son to find? … Read more
Jerry Gray taught me world history when I was in the tenth grade at Oxford High School. He’s one of the first people I remember meeting who had a truly staggering amount of knowledge in his head and at the ready. He never used a written plan or a book when lecturing; he just talked. … Read more