Everyone has an opinion why the big three automakers are almost bankrupt. To those who think factory workers are overpaid and take the corporate CEO side, you are way off base and wrong. Working class people in factories and other grunt jobs have always been the backbone of this country. Those jobs in the factory were not isolated or held for a chosen few. The only requirement was a high school education, which was often waived, and to pass a physical. ...more

December 18, 2008

We writers live "surrounded by a cloud of witnesses." When I was 10 years old my family moved from the city to a tiny country town where the school was overcrowded, so all fifth graders - me included - attended an old-fashioned, one-room school. The teacher, Rhea O'Grady, had taught eight grades in that room for 40-some years. She was 74 and shorter than some of her students, but she ruled the classroom like a drill sergeant. The first day I eagerly slid into a seat in the second row just left of the middle. Mrs. O'Grady peered at me over her wire-rimmed glasses and jerked her head toward the other side of the room. My fellow students giggled and whispered as I sheepishly crossed the aisle. Apparently, I was the only one who didn't know that in "Old Lady O'Grady's" class, boys sat on the left, girls on the right. When it was time for recess, Mrs. O'Grady followed us outside with a huge canvas bag which she turned upside down. Out poured baseballs, softballs, and several bats. ...more

June 28, 2008

System: Nintendo Wii Publisher: Nintendo ...more

January 4, 2008

Over the weekend I had a chat with an off-duty Disney worker. He has nothing to do with Disney public relations. He's just a grunt — a worker — so he didn't have to be guarded about what he had to say. Eventually our conversation got around to the use of Segways at the Disney parks. The Segway is produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire. It is a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric transporting device that was unveiled in December 2001. The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" (a smooth transition, literally Italian for "follows"). When it was first introduced it was the Segway HT for human transporter. It is now referred to as the Segway PT for personal transporter. Critics are less kind, referring to the thing as a motorized skateboard. ...more

November 24, 2007