History
The return of the dumb terminal
Starting in the late 1960’s a little understood corner of the United States government began developing a means of connecting geographically separated research labs and universities. These remote computers allowed researchers to more quickly share data between projects and allowed research to work on projects without being required to be in the same room, or even the same state. The more complex this network became, the more obvious it became that system administrators needed to connect to and control computers without being on the remote computer’s keyboard. This is ...
Capella: four stars that appear to be one
As I mentioned in the February 1st issue article about the constellation Auriga the Charioteer, the name Capella means “female goat” or “little female goat” in Latin. Like many objects visible to us in the night sky, Capella is not just a single star. It consists of two binary pairs. A binary pair is two stars revolving around a common center, somewhat like two ice skaters holding hands while they spin.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Back when … well, whenever, things were better. Right? People loved each other more, spent more time with family. Life was simpler.
Exactly when was that?
Was it the 1950s, Back when the U. S. and Russia detonated nuclear weapons above ground, when milk tested positive for radiation? When school kids routinely practiced scuttling under their desks in case of a nuclear attack?
When everyone smoked cigarettes?
When women had to find a back alley abortionist to end an unwanted pregnancy and the only means of birth control were condoms and diaphragms? (Okay, ...
THE VIOLENT END OF THE GILLILAND BOYS
In the completion of my recent book, Murrder in the County: 50 True Stories of the Old West, I discovered that three of the fifty murders profiled there were committed by members of the same family! Intrigued, I researched more about these folks and the result is now published under the title The Violent End of the Gilliland Boys. Fascinating and shocking, this story features more twists and turns than an Ozark’s dirt road.
Christmas Day horse races 1872, Middle Fork Valley. Young Bud Gilliland waits, eager for another chance at his neighbor Newton Jones. Only this ...
FROM HOPE TO HOPELESS?
My father was 23 years old in 1941. He was well aware of the terror occurring in the world and the need for it to be stopped. He enlisted in the US Army on November 29, 1941, as America learned of barbaric acts of terror and brutality by the Imperial Army of Japan, such as the Rape of Nanking. He knew that a hardline militarism, nationalism and totalitarianism represented a real threat to the freedom of people everywhere. He was well aware of the loud, racist and hateful rhetoric and continued lies and conquest of Europe's countries by Adolf Hitler.
He was aware of ...
ON THE BOOKSHELF – RINGSIDE SEAT
Today we are looking at a wonderful book about Wisconsin politics from the 1970’s to Scott Walker.
RINGSIDE SEAT by Senator Tim Cullen takes us through the governorship of Scott Walker and all of the bombs he dropped on Wisconsin, moving our state to the extreme right and insuring partisan politics. Wisconsin has never been as politically divided as it is now.
Senator Tim Cullen was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of UW-Whitewater. He served in the State Senate (1975 – 1987 and 2011 - 2015).
In 1987 he became Secretary of the ...
TAKE-NO-PRISONERS POLITICS IS NOT NEW TO THE USA…..
TAKE-NO-PRISONERS POLITICS IS NOT NEW TO THE USA…..
Do you remember a few years ago when HBO presented the series of John and Abigail Adams? The Adams were portrayed as leaders and saviors of our fledging US democracy. HBO attempted to change the story of Adams presidency. What really happened is this:
In 1796, President John Adams and his wife Abigail brought a take-no-prisoners politics to Washington D.C. This brought fear and division into the new country. It also brought out the worst behavior in Adams’ Federalist (Republican) supporters.
In 1798, under ...
