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Theorem
I love the leaves in autumn,and also needles (pine).The sniffs are very pleasantand the feel on paws is fine. I’ve noticed that each needleis exactly like a line.You also get some conesfrom the tree that’s labeled pine. There’s a crackpot human notionthat thanks to pines I see;they do a thing with numbersthat they call “geometree.” Continue reading
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November 13
It’s November 13, and you are feeling sleeeepy… how do I know that? Simple — today’s the anniversary of the day in 1841 that James Braid, a reasonable and respected medical man from the UK, attended a demonstration of animal magnetism by Charles Lafontaine. “Animal magnetism” was supposedly an invisible force that was common to Continue reading
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That’s Irrevelant!
It’s not uncommon for two sounds in a word to trade places when someone speaks them, saying “aks” for “ask” or “revelant” for “relevant.” It’s common enough that there’s a word for it: metathesis. Metathesis doesn’t just occur on an individual basis, though; there are words in which sounds have swapped places in the language Continue reading
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Neil Young
Neil Young, the Canadian musician, celebrates his 79th birthday today. He was born in Toronto in 1945, and contracted polio when he was 6. It was the last major outbreak of that disease in Ontario, and it left him partially paralyzed on his left side. His family began spending winters in Florida, in the US, Continue reading
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Charitability
It’s probably a good day to talk about eleemosynary activities we all might engage in, possibly by visiting an almonry or even dealing directly with an almoner. What I’m talking about, of course, is charitable acts and donations. “Eleemosynary” comes from the Latin word “eleemosynarius,” which means compassion. It can be traced even further back Continue reading
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November 12
November 12 marked a significant event in the life of Warren Harding. No, not that Warren Harding. I’m talking about Warren Harding the rock climber who was the first to climb El Capitan in Yosemite by the Nose ascent that at one time was considered impossible. He finished the climb on November 12, 1958. Harding Continue reading
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Bigger ain’t better
To the averagecanine brainit causes neitherstress nor strain to outsmart humansonce again;it’s pretty easy,that is plain. I hear the humansbrag and boastabout their brain size;it’s their most oft-spoken claimbecause it’s s’posedto mean they’re smartand you are toast. But we just laugh,my pals and me,because we’re smartenough to see brain size is nota kibble scoop;it’s them, Continue reading
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Airheads, but not the candy
In Austria in 1923, Felix Salten published his novel about the life of a deer: Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde. It took five years, but finally in 1928 the English translation was published: “Bambi, a Life in the Woods.” That’s where it all started. In 1942 Walt Disney Productions released its fifth animated feature Continue reading
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November 11
There are some odd events associated with November 11, many of them related to the numbers in the date “11/11.” On 11/11/11 — as in 1911 — an odd natural event occurred too: the Great Blue Norther. A number of cities across the central US were experiencing unseasonably high temperatures that day. In Kansas City, Continue reading
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Nice economy ya got there. Be a shame if…
I’ve always had the feeling that the conventional wisdom on politics and the economy is that Republicans are “better” at managing and growing the economy than are Democrats. The actual data says something quite different: “Since World War II, the United States economy has performed significantly better on average under the administration of Democratic presidents Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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peterharbeson@me.com