The treasures of Mar-a-Lago — “Key details remain secret, including what the F.B.I. was looking for and why the authorities felt the need to conduct a surprise search…” (emphasis mine) The New York Times — August 9, 2022 We know that the FBI obtained a search warrant to enter Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. We also…

How to tap your inner loquaciousness — How often has this happened to you? You’re at a social engagement holding your own when one of the guests uses a ten-dollar word you’ve never heard before. Everyone else nods knowingly while you stand there completely flummoxed. You feel like an illiterate rube but you shouldn’t. In all likelihood…

And I blame it on The Donald — I admit it; I have a problem. I’m addicted to CNN. Years ago, my wife accused me of having a CNN problem but that was during the Gulf War and I was young and everyone was doing it. …

Identify your avian overseer here — For bird lovers, there’s Roger Tory Petersen’s “Field Guide to Birds of North America.” And for plant lovers, there’s “A Field Guide to Wildflowers.” But what about those working in large organizations? What’s out there to help them identify the many different species of supervisor they might encounter during their…

How to tap your inner Goebbels — First, there was “The Art of the Deal” by Donald Trump and Tony Schwartz. Then there was “Trump: The Art of the Comeback” by Donald Trump and Kate Bohner. And now, just in time for the midterm elections, there’s The Art of the Lie by Donald Trump and Dave Martin. …

What if PCs had been invented earlier? — What if personal computers had been invented earlier…much earlier? God’s Scheduler Day 1: Turn on lights Day 2: Set up heaven Day 3: Create earth and seas; fill with plants and vegetation Day 4: Sun, moon, stars, etc. Day 5: Fish, birds, et al. Day 6: Animals, man, remove rib, woman Day…

Translating bureaucratese for government newbies — Thanks to a wave of retiring boomers, governments are looking to hire younger people to replace them. As an aging, retired government worker, I’d like to help out these recruits by imparting a bit of my acquired wisdom. If you’re new to government work or you’re just congenitally naive, it’s…

Eliminating the scourge of SCOTUS — Have you been shot by someone openly carrying an unlicensed handgun in New York State? Was your vote effectively nullified by unrestrained corporate campaign contributions? Have you recently been denied an abortion? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you may qualify to join a class action lawsuit…

You know who you are — Dear expired Luddites, If it were up to aging media pundits, we’d forego all technological advances. For some reason, once successful writers and commentators turn seventy, they seem to turn into modern-day Luddites. The late novelist Robertson Davies once gave an address decrying the use of word processors in the…