skipper

  • Surely the reader knows about Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh. Mariner must confess that he had not known about this Sultan of the Timurid Empire; so much for a college education. His short name is Ulugh Beg […]

  • Consumer prices are up 7.9% from a year ago. It will get worse after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends energy prices surging. According to AAA, Gasoline prices have jumped 59 cents a gallon in just the last w […]

    • Well, thanks for the advice–but really what can anyone do except endure the roller coaster ride? We are at the mercy of mighty forces. We always are, but sometimes the roller coaster is going up and then it seems like a good ride with a great view!

  • The ViVE health tech conference was held in South Florida this week, with some clear themes emerging. All the worrisome things like privacy, intimacy, database diagnostics, venture capital investments and […]

  • ֎ Women – Economist Magazine released statistics that rank nations by whether the circumstances are better for working women. The United States ranked 20th.

    ֎Russia – With the world glued to the crisis in U […]

    • To corroborate your observations on the public’s knowledge of their voting district: During the last election, I noticed campaign signs in my neighborhood for a Republican candidate for county council. Unfortunately(or fortunately depending on your point of view), the candidate they were supporting was running in the district next door, not our own.
      I just smiled, shook my head, and muttered, “Morons…” as I drove by.

  • Nice Newsclip from Axios:

    “Think about it: Most people you meet in everyday life — at work, in the neighborhood — are decent and normal. Even nice. But hit Twitter or watch the news, and you’d think we were […]

  • Mariner is reading a book, Dignity in a Digital Age, published recently and written by Congressman Ro Khanna (D-17th District CA, AKA Silicon Valley). Rep. Khanna takes a two-fold position to resolve much of the […]

  • In his continuous research into how the electorate thinks or even why, this post is one of mariner’s brain twister posts. This post has no more significance to today’s news than finding the next geode in Iowa. Eve […]

  • ֎ An entertaining perspective on climate change from 538: ‘Gumbo’ days in Louisiana are disappearing where the tradition is to make the state’s traditional meal in weather just below 50°. See https:/ […]

  • Mariner often cites his father as a treasure trove of shorthand descriptions of personality, tendencies and interpersonal behavior. Most frequently mariner borrows one his father’s favorites: the difference b […]

  • The issue is the precarious balance of democracy in the world’s most noted democracy. Serious, lengthy articles are beginning to appear in several web news and print sources led by an Atlantic Magazine article w […]

  • Mariner follows cartoons from many sources and recommends the same for readers. Cartoons release subconscious constipation and act like an aspirin against the pain of daily events. Wiley of Non Sequitur is his […]

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    Ancient Mariner

  • As Speaker of the House in 1995-1999, it was Newt Gingrich who gets credit from economists and government analysts for weaponizing party politics. Still today, citizens suffer a Congress that passes legislation […]

  • ֎ Mariner had his first conversation with a relative of Nadine. Her name is Marisol; he had a chat with her today about Medicare coverage. Mariner didn’t see her face because it was a chat format but she un […]

  • ֎ Who will the democrats pick to run for President in the 2024 election? Perhaps the chart below may eliminate some guessing.

    ֎ Putin, like Donald, can’t back down. So it is an economic battle between Rus […]

  • There is concern about thinking that Christianity will disappear. Religions, especially universally accepted religions like Christianity, Islam, Hindu and even the god families of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, […]

  • ֎ Speculations about the future of Christianity drew interest. If the Trinity disappears, Armageddon will ensue. Mariner is not in a position to reconcile such a difficult question so he will throw some logs on […]

  • Below are random thoughts collected from mariner’s alter egos about trends in society and history that are too large to be noticed daily and so slow in impact that, today at least, they don’t matter.

    ֎ Migr […]

  • Mariner and his wife maintain bird feeders during the winter months. It is often that there are 50 to 100 small sparrows, juncos, goldfinches, house wrens, woodpeckers, and cardinals, et al, sitting on the […]

  • It’s those damned smartphones again! It seems no one has time to watch a full sporting event. Full length television of football, baseball, soccer, tennis and other major events is disappearing. Instead, viewers c […]

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