This week, I attended one university lecture a day. I took notes, tried to learn things, played the part of the good student.Only I’m not a good student. In fact, I’m not a student at all. I’m just a guy who’s stealing knowledge – and I’m loving it.Let me...
Tuesdays, as I’ve remarked before, are kind of boring. It’s not their fault - they just happen to be situated in the most boring slot of ye olde work week. But how can we consider a day named for a god who’s so hard core that he allowed a wolf-demon to bi...
Happy Darwin Day, folks!On this day, 217 years ago, one Charles Darwin was born. You may have heard of him. He wrote this little book that totally changed the way we approach biology and even the way we see the world, and spent decades championing the not...
John was four when he first met Emily - and his world would never be the same again.She was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, and they had so much in common: she loved dinosaurs and robots and horses; she wished her parents would let her run around more;...
This is the story of Tubby Johnson, and how he almost saved the world — and almost destroyed it as well.Tubby Johnson’s real name has been lost to history, but we know something about his early years. We know he was smart, and he was funny, and a little s...
Perfect’s rare. I’ve seen it. I’ve held it in my arms. A vision; a dream; An angel.Mine was no ordinary angel: She had no wings, she did not glow with the glory of God and her singing was not much to speak of. In short, she was wonderful. My angel was you...
Once upon a time, there was an unlikely pair of the very best of friends: an ant and a snail. The serene snail lived life slowly, in no hurry. Few could pierce his shell (metaphorically), but when they did, they found he was wise in the ways of the world,...
I'm one of those people who just loves science, and wants everybody else to love it too. Unfortunately, many of my friends are more interested in imbibing fermented fruit juices and hanging out in pubs. And thus, in an effort to meet them halfway, have fu...
I greet thee in the name of the Great Waters, the all-powerful creator and sustainer, provider and destroyer, which surrounds us and flows through us and sustains us, from whose bosom we all spring and into whose comforting embrace we shall all one day re...
Greetings, one and all – it is I, Orl the Omniscient, coming to you from a well-hidden (and even more well-guarded) location, and I know you’re coming, so please just give it up, okay? Anyway, it’s been an interesting week in the weird and wonderful world...
To begin, a brief rant: Tuesdays are the most boring day of the week. They’re not the beginning of the week; they’re not the middle of the week. They’re as close to the weekend as Thursdays – but from the wrong side; and they’re not an if-I-get-through-th...
Warning: Hey, I know this isn’t very good – ‘tas written many, many moons ago and recently rediscovered on an old CD (remember those?). Seriously, it's a miracle this guy ever gets any action at all. But believe you me, it was way more embarrassing/painfu...
Dancing. The very word fills many of us with terror, as we contemplate embarrassing ourselves in front of friends, acquaintances, enemies and total strangers by flailing around like drunken monkeys on Ritalin (although, to be fair, even drunken monkeys ca...
In the beginning, there was Chaos: Ever-changing. All-encompassing. Eternal?Not quite. There came a separation of the darkness and the light, and then there were gods within the teeming void. The gods were mighty and wise, and they looked about them and s...
One. The oh-so-bulky laptop. Where I wrote you letters, and poems. I sat until my eyes were teary and all my thoughts were of you. Two. The little blue car. Where we shared our first real kiss (and many more). That took us to the ends of the Earth – or so...
