Every Generation Gets the James Bond Theme It Deserves

Did you know that the iconic James Bond theme song is a little bit different in every movie?  I didn’t.  I figured that they just nailed it in Doctor No and stuck with it. Is there a better, more iconic

The Simpsons, actuarially

The animated series “The Simpsons” has been on television since 1990.  This remarkable run made me wonder, “What were the odds in 1990 that the main voice actors for the show would survive to 2017?” I did some actuarial analysis

The Music of “Breaking Away”, free to use and share

The Music of “Breaking Away”, free to use and share Every cyclist is stirred by the classical music used in the Academy Award-winning 1979 movie “Breaking Away.” We hum the Italian Symphony when we train, we sing “Libiamo” as we

Summer Solstice at the Duomo Gnomon in Florence

If you’ve even been to a European cathedral, your guidebook may have mentioned some spot on the floor or window on the dome that was supposed to mark special solar and calendar events.  Usually these are indecipherable and after a

Civilization On A Stick

Here’s my idea for a inexpensive stocking stuffer or Secret Santa gift.  Take a bunch of the greatest works of literature that are now in the public domain, load them on a USB thumb drive, and give Civilization On A

Books I read in 2014

Despite spending too much time browsing the web, I read 25 books in 2014, not including study materials for my pilot’s license.  Compared to most years I read more fiction and more bestsellers, fewer classics. My best source of recommendations