The latest 100 posts, with excerpts

  • ‘Hope on a Dark Morning’ (4/7/2020) - This is one of Erik Stensland’s newest photographs from Rocky Mountain National Park. Regular Pied Type readers are well acquainted with Stensland’s spectacular photos of the park, currently closed because of the coronavirus. However, you can still enjoy the park... Read More ›
  • Howling in Denver (4/5/2020) - Last night for the first time I remembered to turn off the tv at 8 pm and listen. Sure enough, I thought I heard a distant howl. But not certain, I got up and opened the back door. Yep, there... Read More ›
  • Wise we must be (4/3/2020) -
  • Too cute for words (3/31/2020) - This is “Cotton.” I found her in Bored Panda’s story “40 Most Wholesome Rescue Pet Photos Of This Month (March Edition).” She’s there with 39 other adopted pets, mostly felines and canines, but Cotton is mine. (I wish!)
  • Love in the time of pandemic (3/30/2020) - I’m a hermit by trade. A loner. And I’m perfectly happy home alone most of the time. Until I was told I HAD to stay home. Now I fret constantly. My son and his family live about a mile away,... Read More ›
  • ‘Joy’ in Colorado (3/29/2020) - While sheltering-in-place as ordered, members of the Colorado Symphony used modern technology to get together and play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” one of my all-time favorites. I still get goosebumps every time I hear it. “Ode to Joy,” from Beethoven’s... Read More ›
  • Feed a cold, starve a virus (3/27/2020) - Time Magazine writers Elijah Wolfson and Chris Wilson said it yesterday: Short of a miracle cure, the only way to halt this pandemic, experts say, is to starve it. And nations around the world are attempting to do just that,... Read More ›
  • Social distancing for everyone (3/27/2020) -
  • A cat tale, part II (3/25/2020) - Some of you may remember that I adopted a kitten last May. He was a wee thing, 8 weeks old and just 2 pounds. I named him Rowdy. Time passed and he grew. Boy, how he grew! He is one... Read More ›
  • Media mishaps: Grammar grinch gripes again (3/25/2020) - I heard it again this morning: NASA pronounced “nassau.” NASA is not pronounced “nassau.” Nassau (NASS-aw) is a city, the capital of the Bahamas. NASA (NASS-uh) is an acronym for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. And that was enough to... Read More ›
  • A kestrel came calling (3/22/2020) - It’s of no particular interest unless you’re a bird watcher — or birder, as is said these days — but I glanced out my front window during our storm a few days ago and had to rub my eyes. There,... Read More ›
  • Please stay home … for them (3/20/2020) - We stay here for you ❤ please stay home for us! This photo was posted on the local NextDoor app. It could have originated anywhere, but it should be posted everywhere. Please, please stay home so dedicated healthcare professionals everywhere... Read More ›
  • A huge thank you (3/19/2020) - Consider this a note of deep respect and appreciation to all those on the front lines fighting this coronavirus threat: And an equally big note of appreciation to thoughtful neighbors everywhere who are sharing their supplies with others, offering to... Read More ›
  • Mom always said ‘Consider the source’ (3/18/2020) -
  • Nature provides (3/17/2020) - Nature always seems to provide solace when it’s needed. This was tonight’s sunset as seen on the Nederland, Colo., webcam that is probably the best in this part of the state.
  • Sheltering in place (3/17/2020) - So … is everybody out there self-quarantined? Er, sheltered in place? And how are you doing so far? I thought a 14-day trial would be pretty easy. After all, I’m often home for 5 to 6 days at a time... Read More ›
  • Choose your news sources wisely (3/16/2020) -
  • Oh goodie, spring has sprung (3/12/2020) - Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, I wonder where the snowflakes is. I’ve been hoping our unusually mild weather is a “fool’s spring,” but the 10-day forecast doesn’t support that. It looks warm for at least another week. Yet... Read More ›
  • Rule One: Don’t touch your face (3/10/2020) -
  • Awareness, not panic, is in order (3/9/2020) - I’ve taken a cautious, fatalistic attitude about COVID-19, the coronavirus that’s sweeping the world media. I think the media have way overhyped the danger to the average American, and Americans have way overreacted. But finally, belatedly, after several weeks of... Read More ›
  • Let’s go, Joe! (3/1/2020) - As some of you know, I have agonized for weeks over which Democratic presidential candidate will get my vote and last night I decided. Despite all the negative things I’ve said in the past, I still like Joe Biden, and... Read More ›
  • The Candy Man (2/26/2020) -   Oh, who can take tomorrow  Dip it in a dream  Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream The Candy Man  Oh, the Candy Man can  The Candy Man can ‘Cause he mixes it with love And makes... Read More ›
  • The Dem debate debacle (2/26/2020) - I missed the first half-hour of last night’s ‘debate’ (these things have never been proper debates). When I finally tuned in, the candidates were arguing, talking over each other so much that you couldn’t understand any of them, and the... Read More ›
  • This is how I feel about the election (2/24/2020) - Fortunately I live in a one-story house.
  • Save the chubby unicorns (2/23/2020) - This sticker on a car really caught my attention the other day. Took a second for the whole thing to register but once it did, I’ve been unable to forget it. It may be just a cute meme that someone... Read More ›
  • Burn it down or buy it out: Dems debate (2/20/2020) - Just a few impressions from last night’s Dem debate in Las Vegas. Nothing substantive. Mike Bloomberg did terribly. He was awful. He failed to answer questions adequately and came across as a thoroughly unpleasant individual. Warren’s take-down was masterful as... Read More ›
  • What the acquital hath wrought (2/19/2020) - And yesterday he declared himself the “chief law-enforcement officer of the United States.” Never mind the Constitution’s separation of powers; the US Senate gave him a green light.
  • A shadow hanging over me (2/19/2020) - This was just the laugh I needed when a friend sent it to me. I hope it makes you laugh, too. And then these words came to mind: Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away Now it looks as... Read More ›
  • Eeny, meeny, miney, moe (2/18/2020) - I finally got up to the mailbox yesterday and picked up my ballots for the Colorado primary on March 3. That’s ballots, plural, because I’m a registered Unaffiliated voter. That means I get ballots from both major parties and can... Read More ›
  • The rumor mill grinds on (2/17/2020) - According to a Saturday tweet from Matt Drudge of the Drudge Report, Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is considering Hillary Clinton as a possible running mate. Drudge cites sources close to the Bloomberg campaign. Seriously?? Bloomberg is spending millions or... Read More ›
  • ‘The Day Democracy Died’ (2/15/2020) - This toe-tapping little ditty is brought to you by our Founding Fathers. Full lyrics are on YouTube. Someone put a lot of work into writing these lyrics and making the video, yet there’s no one credited on the YouTube site.... Read More ›
  • It’s Valentines Day 2020 (2/14/2020) - It’s Valentines Day. Oh, joy.
  • Toast (2/12/2020) - When I first saw a shorter version of this clip on national news, I was aghast. I couldn’t see or didn’t notice smiles on anyone’s face. I just heard Biden’s remark and was stunned. “You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier.”... Read More ›
  • The hare … or the tortoise? (2/10/2020) - From the day he announced his candidacy, if not before, Joe Biden has been my choice for the Democratic nominee for president. His age didn’t bother me and his experience and qualifications were second to none. In the first Democratic... Read More ›
  • Free as a bird (2/10/2020) - Yep, Donald Trump is now free as a bird to do anything he pleases. And I’ve no doubt he will. The last entity that could have reeled him in, the U.S. Senate via impeachment conviction, passed on the opportunity. In... Read More ›
  • Finally, the banished words for 2020 (2/8/2020) - Earlier this year I looked for the 2020  Banished Words list from Lake Superior State University and somehow managed to miss it until now. This is the 45th annual list published by the university and, as always, includes the words... Read More ›
  • Thank you, Mitt Romney (2/6/2020) - Thank you, Sen. Mitt Romney, for being a man of conscience and conviction and voting accordingly. You were that rare Republican, the only one in the U.S. Senate, with the courage to vote against Donald Trump. Your integrity will be... Read More ›
  • Pelosi upstages Trump (2/5/2020) - Taking a cue from Donald Trump, who loves to distract from unflattering news by creating his own news, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up a copy of Trump’s State of the Union address last night while he was still at... Read More ›
  • False start (2/5/2020) -
  • They is just sayin’ (2/1/2020) - As most of my regular readers already know, I’m a retired editor. And as you might have guessed, I have followed — with considerable consternation — the discussions and explanations regarding the use of they as a singular pronoun. I... Read More ›
  • Doomsday Clock set at 100 seconds to midnight (1/24/2020) - Most adults have probably heard of the Doomsday Clock. It was created by the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, America’s atomic bomb-building project during World War II and is used by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to... Read More ›
  • The very air you breathe is at risk (1/23/2020) - Were you aware that 95 (ninety-five!) rules designed to protect the environment — your environment — have been or are being rolled back by Trump? It’s one thing to not believe in global warming or to care more about your... Read More ›
  • Roe v Wade: Protecting every woman’s right to choose (1/22/2020) - Protecting every woman’s right to choose since January 22, 1973    
  • Boing, boing, Boeing (1/21/2020) - Just a note in passing: Regardless of what the future holds for the now-infamous Boeing 737 Max airplane, you’ll never find me in one. I’ve no doubt the plane will be “fixed” and put back into service; obviously Boeing and... Read More ›
  • Impressions from last night’s Democratic debate (1/15/2020) - With an almost-reasonable number of Democratic candidates taking the stage last night, I decided I’d force myself to watch the “debate.” I’ve been ignoring the race for quite a while, only catching a few headlines, and decided I should finally... Read More ›
  • Ocean temperatures: A picture worth 1000 words (1/15/2020) - Our oceans are heating up at a record rate, according to many sources. This particular graph of rising ocean temperatures was published by The Guardian in its article “Ocean temperatures hit record high as rate of heating accelerates.” If you... Read More ›
  • Relaxed yet? (1/14/2020) -
  • Australia burning (1/10/2020) - I thought Colorado’s fires were bad. And then came California. I thought California’s fires were bad. And then came Australia. I don’t know how one adequately describes what’s happening there. I can’t begin to imagine what the residents are going... Read More ›
  • My career-in-a-box (1/9/2020) - (Reprinted from August 13, 2008)  I go on Wordle binges, playing with word clouds for sometimes hours at a time. It’s probably of no interest to anyone else, but I decided I’d try to sum up my 35 or so... Read More ›
  • Ya think? (1/6/2020) - Does Donald Trump ever consider the consequences of his actions? It appears that he does not. Or he simply doesn’t care. Like a kid, he does what he damn well pleases, in the moment. Impulsively. Without thinking. Without seeking or... Read More ›
  • It’s New Year’s Day 2020 and … (1/1/2020) -
  • New Year’s Eve: Just sayin’ (12/31/2019) -
  • Trump is breaking America (12/29/2019) - Even if you live in a virtual cave, you can’t have missed the ongoing stories about how Trump is gutting America’s environmental protection agencies and laws, forcing out scientists and researchers, defunding projects, negating scientific reports and advice, and generally... Read More ›
  • Wishing you peace, love, and a very Merry Christmas (12/25/2019) - Wherever this finds you today, I wish you and your loved ones all the peace and happiness of this holiday season. Merry Christmas! 🎄    
  • A sparkling Christmas Eve (12/24/2019) -    
  • Sorry, not sorry (12/19/2019) -  
  • Congratulations, Greta! (12/11/2019) - Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old environmental activist from Sweden, has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019. “She became the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet this year, coming from essentially nowhere to lead a... Read More ›
  • Hating liars (12/10/2019) - Presidential candidate Joe Biden really got my attention last week … and not in a good way. First there was the “No malarkey” tour. Okay, that’s a nice, if dated, way to say “no bullshit.” I’m not at all sure... Read More ›
  • Nope, not gonna do it (12/9/2019) - Nope, I won’t be doing any binge-watching either. I know the charges and I want to know the final result. What happens in between is no more interesting than normal daytime tv. Less, actually, because I’m so sick of hearing... Read More ›
  • Surprise, no surprise (12/4/2019) - It comes as no surprise that this photo, “Grab life by the … ” by Sarah Skinner, took top honors in the 2019 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. For more wildlife chuckles, take a look at the other winners, some of... Read More ›
  • Zuck sucks (12/3/2019) - My longtime readers won’t be surprised when I say I am appalled by Mark Zuckerberg’s defense of lies and fake news posted and promoted on his Facebook platform. He’s acknowledged they are there, that he knows foreign interests are using... Read More ›
  • The lobsters’ revenge (12/3/2019) - Not long ago I made reference to boiling frogs in Washington. I was not looking at the Big Picture at the time. To be truly dreary, I should broaden my statement to say all of us are frogs on a... Read More ›
  • Wishing all of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving (11/28/2019) -   Freedom From Want, also known as The Thanksgiving Picture or I’ll Be Home for Christmas, is the third of the Four Freedoms series of four oil paintings by American artist Norman Rockwell. The works were inspired by United States President Franklin D.... Read More ›
  • My favorite Thanksgiving dish (11/25/2019) - My chuckle for today: “Stuffing is a reward, akin to delectable candy packed into a tasteless Butterball piñata. Stuffing is so good, in fact, that we willfully eat it out of the rear end of a dead animal.” That little... Read More ›
  • News to me: Joe Biden stutters (11/23/2019) - Not until this week did I know Joe Biden has been dealing with stuttering all his life. While his speech patterns and hesitations occasionally raise questions about his mental acuity, some of them are actually a result of his stuttering... Read More ›
  • … but who’s counting (11/20/2019) -
  • The guns are winning (11/19/2019) - This is a good illustration of how I felt last night. There was news of yet another shooting at a Walmart, this time in Duncan, Oklahoma. (What is it about Walmarts, anyway?) Then there was the backyard shooting in Fresno,... Read More ›
  • I might be a centrist (11/19/2019) - I just took the political spectrum quiz at Go to Quiz and these are my results. I think it’s safe to call me a centrist, don’t you? Compared to the millions in the world who have taken the quiz, this... Read More ›
  • Wait for it … (11/15/2019) -
  • Lessons in bootlicking, kowtowing, and water-carrying (11/14/2019) - Take notes, everyone. The GOP’s best are showing how it’s done.
  • Spider web beats snow angel (11/13/2019) - Kudos to this person’s creativity. Anybody can make a snow angel. But given time, why not go big? Spectacular! YouTube notes: An unknown man decided to spend his time Tuesday morning walking around Mall B in Downtown Cleveland, carving a... Read More ›
  • The prescience of George Washington (11/12/2019) - As the public impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump begins, I feel a need to reprint (for the third time) this post from Feb. 20, 2011: “They [political parties] serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force;... Read More ›
  • A word of caution to Washington Republicans (11/12/2019) - As the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump’s activities is about to go public, here’s a reminder to those Republicans still defending him: Nixon wasn’t actually impeached, but his defenders paid a high price nevertheless. Watergate was just a two-bit break-in... Read More ›
  • Thank you, veterans! (11/11/2019) -
  • Yes, by all means read the transcript (11/8/2019) -
  • Sometimes anonymity is okay (11/7/2019) - President Trump has demanded to know the name of Anonymous, the whistleblower who revealed the quid pro quo offer to Ukraine and subsequently released a book about it. He claims the classic right to face his accuser. Normally I would... Read More ›
  • Thornton, Colorado, homeowners lose election (11/6/2019) - This is a postscript to “The one about nonpartisan elections.” Yes, the election was nonpartisan, in that political affiliations were not mentioned. But the oil and gas employee, a Republican, won the mayoral race in Thornton, Colo. Her election doesn’t... Read More ›
  • Boiling frogs in Washington (11/4/2019) - What part of our current political mess do Republicans not understand? How can so many of them, particularly those in Washington, support and defend Donald Trump’s behavior? How can they continue to defend the idea that it’s okay to ask... Read More ›
  • The one about nonpartisan elections (11/1/2019) - When I first started voting, back in the Dark Ages, I tended to vote straight tickets. It seemed the easiest way to vote for many candidates, some of whom I didn’t know. And it was expedited by party symbols at... Read More ›
  • Happy Halloween (10/31/2019) -
  • A peek into the GOP cloakroom (10/30/2019) -
  • Taking the fun out of Halloween (10/30/2019) - It was bad enough when all the costumes became politically incorrect.
  • Trump meet world (10/29/2019) -
  • Wishing our new hero a full and speedy recovery … (10/28/2019) - … and thanks for a job well done!
  • Washington’s new lyrics for SNL’s ‘Opera Man’ (10/24/2019) - I can’t look at this without hearing Adam Sandler doing “Opera Man” in my head.
  • Colorado does NOT border Mexico (10/23/2019) - And he claims to have graduated from an Ivy League school? Apparently he skipped geography way back in grade school. As one who actually lives in Colorado, I find this idiocy particularly egregious. Of course, he might have been thinking... Read More ›
  • When the party’s over, go home (10/22/2019) - Some people can’t stand not being the center of attention. Some people think anything they say has great value. Some people think we hang on their every word. Some people don’t know when they’ve overstayed their welcome.  
  • Loving the ‘meltdown’ photo (10/20/2019) - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump met across a conference table last week to discuss the situation in Syria. The meeting devolved into insults and Pelosi and several other Dems walked out. The two leaders accused... Read More ›
  • Another irresponsible dog owner (10/19/2019) - As usual, the owner assumes no responsibility for what his dog does.
  • Robot hand does Rubik (10/16/2019) - This robotic hand, developed by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence lab, can solve a Rubik’s Cube. And it does so without each movement being preprogrammed. I was never able to solve a Rubik’s Cube. But at least I didn’t drop the... Read More ›
  • Far worse than the Ukrainian phone call (10/14/2019) - Trump’s phone call asking Ukraine to interfere in American politics was an impeachable offense. And the impeachment hearings are now in progress. But at least nobody died in that incident. Abruptly abandoning the Kurds in Syria, on the other hand,... Read More ›
  • Comic Sans, the font you love to hate (10/14/2019) - No doubt you’ve heard that Comic Sans, a font that’s been with us for 25 years, is to be despised. I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration. True, it is very informal, even childlike, but it was meant to... Read More ›
  • Elizabeth Warren sees the danger (10/12/2019) - I’ve not gone out of my way to follow any of the current presidential candidates and their various appearances around the country. Even if I wanted to, media attention seems riveted on Trump. But every night I watch Stephen Colbert,... Read More ›
  • Cheer up, things can always get worse (10/11/2019) - Maybe she was kidding, just trying to taunt Trump. But the very thought of Hillary returning as a presidential candidate is almost enough to send me screaming off the top of the nearest tall building.  
  • No shit, Sherlock (10/9/2019) -
  • Slow whistle (10/7/2019) -
  • Gaming Grandma still gaming at 76 (10/6/2019) - Lest anyone think otherwise, I’m still an avid video gamer, even at 76 and change. I spent the entire summer engrossed in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. It’s basically a role-playing game set in ancient Greece. The game gives you the option... Read More ›
  • Let the music move you (10/3/2019) - Music appreciation seems to run in this family. Keep watching. The dog, a rescue named Buddy Mercury, has recorded an album and has a line of merch. He joins in at about 0:40. I found this on Twisted Sifter, but... Read More ›
  • Trump leaves no stone unturned (10/1/2019) - I know I should stop with the cartoons and try to say something intelligent, but I couldn’t help laughing at this one and thought you might also.
  • Brian Smith, R.I.P. (9/29/2019) - A long-time blogging friend to many of us, Australian Brian Smith aka LordBeariofBow aka ElBoB, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 24. His daughter posted the following on his blog last night: Hello DOD’s dear friends. It’s with great sadness that I... Read More ›
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