There are times when I think I wasted my time getting a PhD when I may have been born to be a conspiracy theorist.  (I think a lot of people at universities have made that mistake, but let me … more

I am a research scientist at the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis. Before that, I was a student in Pittsburg Community Schools: I started kindergarten at Lakeside and graduated from Pittsburg High School in 2005. While growing up, I was fortunate to have teachers, mentors, and a community that fostered my curiosity across art, music, science, and literature. more

“If we don’t change direction soon, we’ll end up where we’re going.” — Irwin Corey “Hey, didn’t I see you on the corner of 4 th  and Broadway … more

Now that a week has gone by since the election, it is a good time to recognize how good we have it where we are. The exuberance and the anguish people feel should be put in the perspective of how we … more

As Veterans’ Day approaches, each year I involuntarily reflect on my time, the brothers I made, the experiences I had, and try to take stock of what it all means to me today.   Was it … more

Brother Steve sent me a piece on Pope Francis by New York Times columnist, David French, in which he offered that that Francis’ recent comments are messing with the beliefs of not only … more

There is a nationwide crisis in affordable housing, and in many ways, it is worse in rural areas. The pandemic added to the problem through supply shortages and increasing costs. With many rural … more

The City of Pittsburg is finalizing its budget for 2025 (we are on a calendar year basis). The budget will be submitted to the City Commission on July 23rd. The State has mandated that cities must … more

The switch to Daylight Saving Time annoys me.  This used to be simply because I am a morning person and it takes away an hour of daylight from the morning. (That’s right: No daylight is … more

“It gets late early around here.” — Yogi Berra Every now and then a word catches my eye and sends me on a journey of possible usages – the word “sift,” for … more

Jesus gave Peter the power to bind and to loose.  A lot of time has been wasted by Protestant and Catholics over what that means and its scope.  Before there were even Protestants, the … more

My high school kids love the magic of Bob Ross. We have been reading about abstract painting and people like Jackson Pollock the last few weeks. I even posed the question of “What is … more

Here’s a statement Linda and I hear quite a lot these days (a variation of which I bet many reading this also hear): “I didn’t know about that.” And “Gosh, I’m … more

Her name was Teresa Massa, but I called her Mother Teresa, and she thought that it was funny. There are people on Earth whose job it is to clean up the messes that other people have made.  … more

When we are making big changes in our lives we ask ourselves, am I doing the right thing? After we’ve made the big changes in our lives and it’s too late to go back, we ask ourselves, … more

I went out last weekend to the movies with one of my best friends to see the film “Lisa Frankenstein” directed by the late Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda. I had no preconceived … more

My wife and I started our relationship fast. Our first date was February 3rd, we got engaged on May 11th, and were married six months later. It was a fast start, but after twenty-seven years, things … more

I love the alternative band Fall Out Boy, but I really dislike their version of Billy Joel’s iconic song “We Didn’t Start Fire.” I heard it live before it was a single last … more

As Valentine’s Day is next week, I decided to do a little research on its history. What I found was interesting … and a little kinky. You may already know that Valentine's Day was … more

I almost began this piece by saying, “Humans run stories like computers run programs.” It gets toward my point, but it falls into some dangerous territory. Please allow me to explain. … more