Snow Day No, it is not snowing here on the hilltop, but as I look out to the north, for the first time this season, I see snow on the tops of the San Gabriel Mountains to the direct north and the San Jacinto Mountains to the slight northeast. It does not look like a full-on snow covering, but just a dusting. Nevertheless, it is a reminder of all the fun I have had in…
Andy Yesterday I got a New Years call from an old pal, Andy, a.k.a. Drew, a.k.a, Lieutenant Commander Forrester. The funny thing is that while I have known Andy for approximately 47 years, he knows more about my daily life these days than I do his. That is because it seems he reads this blog every day. I have a certain cadre of friends and relatives who read my daily blog, but I wouldn’t have…
Viz-a-Visa One of my responsibilities now that we are in the New Year is to get all our ducks in a row for our trip to Southeast Asia that we are taking next month. To be honest, most of the legwork in terms of the bookings and arrangements have already been done with great diligence by Mike. Mike also paved the path on the entry visas for all six countries we will be visiting (Singapore,…
SCOTUS v. POTUS There is a great deal of dust in the air right now around Donald Trump and his efforts to run for President for a third time. We all recognize how divided our country is at this moment in history. I wish I could understand why we are so galvanized in our respective positions because it is very hard to find an easy basis for the divide. Historically, I would argue that politics…
Take a Deep Breath I have been 70 for a long time. I don’t know what it is about me that wants to rush my aging, but it has been almost a year now that when asked my age I have said that I was 70. The truth is that I will turn 70 officially in 30 days. Last night when we watched the ball drop in Times Square, for one reason or another they…
The Comfort of Analysis In the expert witness business there are four basic functions that one must be able to handle. The first involves reading large quantities of evidence, testimony and reports. I have never been a particularly fast reader. I didn’t get glasses until I was in fourth grade. For some reason, my mother didn’t notice my vision deficiency until it was quite debilitating in school. I just could not see what was on…
It’s Tomplicated I read this morning that Tommy Smothers died. We all remember him and his brother Dickie from their Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour variety TV show during the 1960’s, but I have now learned so much more about him from his obituary. I met Tommy Smothers once on some random airplane ride where he got seated in the window seat next to my aisle seat. Luckily, it was a first class seat, so I…
Busy Buddy Our lives have been changed in the past two weeks, and as often the case with people who get new pets, it is almost all due to Buddy. In a nutshell, Buddy is a five-pound ball of energy, trying hard to run with the big dogs. He sleeps like a champ since he is still very much a puppy of only 14 months, but once he wakes up he is on the go.…
Labeling I just had one of my increasingly infrequent text sessions with my two deeply red Republican motorcycle buddies. It started as a circulation of a film clip about a young woman who complained about having to share a locker room with a 6’4” swimmer with full male genitalia who chose to identify as a woman and wasw therefore on her swim team. My reaction to it was “big deal”, which was to say that…
Reprising My Year This week is almost always a moment of reflection as the year winds down and thoughts about the new year come to mind. Reflection is an important element of learning and we are never too old to learn, so I have decided to look back upon my year in 2023 and consider what exactly are the highlights worth reprising and thereby memorializing to help me sort out how to do better in…