This little bush in our side yard always seems to have the first blooms. They showed up last week, finally. I thought it’d be nice to show them off, finally.
Two trees on campus, that I drive and walk past every day, have turned into lovely lavender explosions. Everything is about to surge forward. Spring, finally.
My swim was much better this evening, thanks for asking. I swam 2,000 yards. That’s 1.14 miles to you and me. I’m pretty sure I’ve consciously gotten into my car and deliberately driven it a shorter distance. It isn’t fast, or especially pretty, but there’s distance, and I don’t feel bad during it. Except for being constantly winded.
I’m told this is because I don’t know how to breathe. I’m beginning to believe that.
Things to read … because we want to believe everything we read.
With a new newsfeed, Facebook is getting ready to go Pay-for-Play includes some thoughtful tips and interesting links.
Alabama offering free photo IDs to vote
Perhaps you heard about the body found in Michigan. Today there’s a new angle on that story. Voting Records Raise Questions After Mummified Body Found:
The body found last Wednesday in Pontiac is that of Pia Farrenkopf — according to her sister, Paula Logan. Authorities investigating the case haven’t released her name, but they have said that the woman apparently died in 2008 at the age of 49.
According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, records show Farrenkopf as voting in the November 2010 gubernatorial election. Officials say, however, that it may represent an administrative error. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard says the information must be checked out.
Whoops.
Also in Michigan, 82-year-old protects family, attacks home intruder with hammer to head:
Officers found the 33-year-old male suspect in the living room with blood dripping from his head.
The 82-year-old victim, George Bradford, who was inside the home, struck the suspect with the hammer in an effort to protect his family. George says his mother was in an upstairs unit and that he’s owned the duplex on Whitfield since 1968.
I don’t know about you, but I always enjoy when the aggressor is the one who gets hurt and the victim is the person with the hammer.
Weird headline of the week: Missing woman unwittingly joins search party looking for herself . And, remember, the week also includes that ridiculous story about the Oregon man who called 911 on his cat.
Ahh, educators. Fond du Lac students protest censorship mandate for school publication:
The piece features stories of three rape victims. Their names have been changed in the story.
On Monday Fond du Lac High School Principal Jon Wiltzius told journalism classes new school guidelines require that all stories meet his approval before publication and are subject to rejection.
“This is a reasonable expectation,” Wiltzius said. “My job is to oversee the global impact of everything that occurs within our school and I have to ensure I am representing everyone and there was some questionable content.”
Here’s a rule of thumb: If someone can fairly say you have a rape culture on your campus and you’re talking about how everyone is represented and you are questioning content, it is possibly possible that you are asking the wrong questions.
What will digital life look like in a decade? Some predictions, from the optimistic to mind control:
Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of Tim Berners-Lee’s initial proposal for what would become the World Wide Web. Think about how different media and technology were in 1989 from today. Now imagine how different things might look at a year that sounded like science fiction not that long ago: 2025.
And, now, Kevin Bacon:
You can’t just swipe away the hurt. Also, the Soviets had nukes for a lot longer than 20 years. Or maybe they ran out after nuking Bacon’s friends.
