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Can I Type Faster Than You?
One of my favorite classes in high school was typing class. I took it two years; the first year was on manual typewriters. The second year was on electric typewriters — IBM Selectrics — which were introduced by IBM in the early 1960s. Typing was a soothing, almost cathartic exercise for me, and, best of all, there was never any homework! You couldn’t take the typewriters home to practice. I was a straight A student.…
A Kick in the Gut
My 2021 Summary Have you ever had a traumatic event in your life when you felt like someone kicked you in the gut and knocked the wind out of you? Have you wandered aimlessly for a time, disoriented and not sure where to go or what to do next? I’m sure it’s happened to many of us at one time or another, and probably more than once. Life can be like that. For me, most…
White Privilege
Guest Post by Alan Miller This guest post was written by a friend and former pastor of mine, Alan Miller. Alan is currently serving as the Team Leader for the Anti-Racism Team at Neffsville Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA. It was originally published here. White Privilege??? Some of us cringe at the phrase white privilege. When we think of privilege we think of the people who never had to work for what they have. And that…
Pandemic Fatigue
I am tired of it. You’re tired of it. We’re all tired of it — talking about, hearing about, thinking about the coronavirus pandemic. We are so tempted to become complacent. We want our “normal” lives back. The president is telling us we have to open back up, we have to take back our country, take back our economy. There’s just one problem: the pandemic is not becoming complacent. As soon as we yield to…
It’s Not Too Late for Early Voting in Pennsylvania!
Have you voted yet? Pennsylvanians no longer have to wait until Election Day to cast their vote in this presidential election year. That’s especially good news considering the pandemic when you might want to avoid long lines and the possibility of poor social distancing at your polling place on Election Day. But there’s a catch: you must request a mail-in ballot by October 27th. You have two options once you have your ballot: You can…
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I Voted!
Our mail-in ballots arrived yesterday, and Susan and I just got back from dropping off our completed, signed and sealed ballots at the official ballot drop box in Quakertown for Bucks County voters. There was no line, but it was a very busy place, people in and out constantly while we were there. After all the issues regarding the United States Postal Service recently and losing some faith in their ability to deliver our ballots…
Has Your Facebook Profile Been Cloned or Hacked?
My Facebook profile was cloned today. Someone copied some of my public profile photos, added a bit of other information to the profile, then began sending out friend requests to others who were already friends of mine. Several of my Facebook friends notified me today that my profile had been cloned, that they had received friend requests from me. I had not unfriended anyone in a long time, nor had I sent any friend requests…
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Fly Fun
The Vice Presidential Debate a few days ago didn’t move the needle much as far as the debate went. There were few if any surprises; Harris refused to answer at least one question, Pence refused most of them. But it did produce one memorable moment: near the end of the debate, a fly landed on Pence’s white hair and remained there for more than two minutes even as he continued talking. Not unsurprisingly, social media…
News & Notes 6
Fill Your Brain and Inspire Your Heart Adobe has announced their annual “Adobe MAX—The Creativity Conference,” to be held over three days, October 20–22, 2020. Adobe MAX is a uniquely immersive and engaging digital experience, guaranteed to inspire. Three full days of luminary speakers, celebrity appearances, musical performances, global collaborative art projects, and 350+ sessions — and all at no cost. It is a virtual conference. The more than 350 sessions are spread over 10…
Informed Delivery by USPS
Do you know about “Informed Delivery” from the United States Postal Service? One of the newer services from the USPS in the last year or so is what they call “Informed Delivery.” If you’re not familiar with it, once you’re signed up you get an email every morning (usually about 9 AM in my case, sometimes earlier, sometimes later) that includes a scan of the outside of every letter-sized piece of mail that will be…
Pennsylvania Announces Release of the COVID Alert PA App
Pennsylvania has finally released the COVID-19 tracing app that notifies you if you’ve been near someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. It’s available for both iOS (iPhones) and Android devices (click on the links from your device to download and install the app). This is the system that was jointly developed by Apple and Google. After installing the app and enabling it (it will walk you through the steps) your device will begin collecting…
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Weekend Reading List
This week’s Weekend Reading List is short — just three articles — but the articles themselves are longer than usual. The first article is political, the second is for Beatles lovers, and the last for Apple fans. Enjoy! “The Case Against Trump (and why some of your friends and family no longer want to speak to you)” Make sure you’ve taken your blood pressure medication today. This lengthy article is the best compilation I’ve seen…