Musings

Extreme is the furthest from the center or a given point. It is the outermost. Radical is characterized by independence or departure from tradition. It is innovative and unorthodox. I was fortunate to hear Jeff Struecker speak recently. His stories about his experiences serving our country and his testimony of faith are incredible, and he made me…

I had the privilege of passing through TSA checkpoints several times over the last week. The TSA (short for Transportation Security Administration) was created as a response to the September 11 attacks to improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a combined federal law enforcement and regulatory agency. I’m sure we are…

None of us would be here without a dad (and a mom, but they already had their day…), however, many people grow up without a father. Father’s Day was founded in 1910 to celebrate fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It didn’t become a national holiday until President Richard Nixon signed…

In racing, there is a line that, if followed, is effectively the fastest route around a racecourse. If one were all alone on the track, this would be relatively easy (if you were a race car driver). However, during an F1 Grand Prix, there are nineteen other world class drivers on the course with you,…

I loved playing with bubbles as a child. We often made our own bubble solution from dish detergent and water, but the best was when Vera, my grandmother, bought us bubble solution from the store. I didn’t know it then, but the store-bought solution contained propylene glycol which acts as a surfactant to keep the…

I can’t tell you how many times I heard that growing up. Commonly referred to as the Golden Rule, it appears in the Bible in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but variations were present in ancient texts as early as 2040 BC. Sometimes it is used as a question, as in, “How would you…

I vividly remember searchlights waving in the night sky near our house. They were often used to attract attention to an opening, a premier, or a car dealership sale. I found them fascinating. Those old searchlights I saw were arc lamps which produced a white-hot light from an arc between two carbon electrodes. Viktor Frankl,…

I have a tendency towards being solipsistic – so mentally focused on my own wants that I am not thinking about other people. It is not so much selfish as it is mentally self-absorbed. I say not selfish because my wants are related to the good of the community. I get so distracted trying to…

I heard or read somewhere that people are capable of rising to a higher standard unless a lower one is offered. In 1949, mythologist Joseph Campbell published The Hero With a Thousand Faces outlining his “monomyth.” Ironically, that same year, Christopher Vogler was born. In 1998, he would create The Hero’s Journey as a simplified version of…

Long before the Borg, this phrase appeared in Doctor Who in the Cybermen. The Cybermen were basically the Borg before the Borg was a thing, only scarier. The Borg are cybernetic organisms linked in a hive mind called the collective. The idea was that eventually you would be assimilated into the collective, and there was nothing you…