When I was on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands a couple of years ago to visit my daughter, Jen, I picked up something I’ve always wanted to have: a real, Spanish ‘pieces of eight’ silver coin. (The eight reales coin was often cut into eight pieces to pay for smaller items, hence [...]
Archive for July, 2006
My Pirate Treasure
July 30, 2006Magic in the Brown Family History
July 28, 2006Doing a little geneaological research on my family, I found the following citation:
The Brouns of Colstoun also claim descent from George Broun who in 1543 married Jean Hay second daughter of Lord Yester, ancestor of the Marquess of Tweeddale. The dowry consisted of the “Colstoun Pear” which was said to have been invested with wondrous [...]
Dividing the 20th Century Into Decades
July 28, 2006The 20th Century arguably saw more social and scientific changes than the ten preceding centuries combined. That being the case, it seems to me more convenient to divide the 20th Century into decades for the purposes of discussion, than to try to take it all into consideration at once.
But decades are, by definition, a sort [...]
Our Next President
July 25, 2006Well, it’s early, but I’m willing to go out on a limb with this prediction. After all, it’s not like I’ve got any money riding on this: John McCain will be elected the next President of the United States. Here’s how it’s going to go down:
The Democrats (of which I am a card-carrying member, by [...]
Eccentricities
July 14, 2006Over on Merlin Mann’s blog 43 Folders, Merlin asked the world what our eccentricities are or were. This was a fun question. I posted my response (along with about 100 other people). I thought about things I’d done that I haven’t thought about in years. Turns out I really am weird. But that’s okay, because [...]
