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“For years, kids have been asking me what’s the greatest superpower. I always say luck. If you’re lucky, everything works. I’ve been lucky.” 

                                       – Stanley Martin Lieber

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America celebrated Veterans’ Day this past week and, along the way, America lost a pair of veterans that won’t be remembered for wearing camo or earning any medals for their service on the battlefield.

Shortly after lunch on Monday, I noticed a hashtag trending on twitter. Immediately, I snapped a screenshot of the image and sent it to my wife, Kathy – #RIPStanLee

Continue reading ‘NONSENSE… FROM BEGINNING TO END’ »

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Comedian, Emo Phillips defines ambiguity as “The Devil’s Volleyball;” Webster defines it as vagueness or deceptiveness, with an uncertainty of meaning or intention.

Whereas Webster’s definition may be more on point, I sense that Emo’s assessment could be more accurate. His quirky delivery often tickles my funny bone, but in this case, it also makes me think. Humor and thought provocation, a magical combination, if ever there was one.

Continue reading ‘THE DEVIL’S VOLLEYBALL’ »

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Time and place being the one mystery that stumps me without fail, I must label this story as having taken place, “some years ago.” I can’t even remember where I came across the news clipping, although my guess would be an edition of The Sporting News from the mid-70’s. The puzzle in question dates back to that time period, so I feel safe in placing our crime scene somewhere in that timeline.

You’ll see an image of the clipping below. I had the original for a number of years, but it was lost over time. It may in fact be in that elusive shoebox that holds my copy of the January 1976 Reader’s Digest, the home of my introduction to the mystery of Oak Island. The clipping is a challenging riddle, built from a baseball boxscore; I know not the writer who composed the questions… neither do I possess a copy of the official solution.

Continue reading ‘AN EXERCISE IN RECONSTRUCTION’ »

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Last night the twelve of us held our annual ancient scholars meeting. If you’re keeping score, last night was Friday and the meeting of the minds was scheduled for primetime on the east coast. The timing of the meeting may lend credence to the accusation that the overall membership has indeed acquired that state of life-development where we might reasonably conclude that all wild seeds have long since been sown.

Although we do not maintain, nor publish, any specific demographic data, I’m fairly certain that everyone in the group is at least in their mid-40’s or beyond. Knowing the age of some of the members as a matter of conjecture tips the balance of the scale. It’s a good bet, that on the whole, the group skews somewhere near, or slightly past, the given parameter for mature.

Continue reading ‘DIVIDE AND CONQUER’ »

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Last week, a close friend of mine posted a short video on his Facebook page that caught my attention. It was about the destructive nature of air bags and what they can do if you’re seated improperly in the passenger seat. It seems that his wife and daughter are all about the relaxing, feet on the dashboard position and he’s been losing the battle when it comes to inspiring them to adopt a more traditional, crash test dummy posture.

The video illustrated what happens to crash test dummies that are positioned in the feet on the dashboard arrangement when air bags deploy. It was officially horrifying… just absolutely horrifying.

Continue reading ‘I NEED A HUG’ »