Trip to Germany: The scariest part was the airplane ride

The author snapped this photo of the Delta jetliner he flew aboard to Germany. In the column he referred to it as a DC-10 but in all probability it was an MD-11. Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.

A large group of my friends – large enough to physically overpower me – escorted me to the airport for my recent trip to Europe. They know I’m a weenie about flying (as if I hadn’t collapsed into their arms… READ MORE

Even God must deal with red tape

Image courtesy of picryl.

And God said, “Let there be bureaucracy”: My Destin correspondent, Winona Havey, who frequently ponders the imponderable and mails me the results, forwarded to my attention this little gem, which I now forward to you: “In the beginning, God created… READ MORE

Skepticism now has an ultra-atmospheric spin

Image courtesy of Flickr user Lance H. Bates under the auspices of a Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/photos/7977365@N08/5709021472/

A number of people called, e-mailed, faxed, or contacted me via the Intergalactic Council to let me know what a rube I am for suggesting flying saucers are a figment of the collective unconscious. One person even admonished me to… READ MORE

This organ is not a good target

Feel no evil: Have you heard the medical expression “target organ”? I’m told it refers to the organ that becomes the target of all your health fears, sometimes to the point you actually feel pain in said organ. Worried about… READ MORE

A fleet of spacecraft is changing our understanding of the solar system

This image mosaic of asteroid 253 Mathilde is constructed from four images acquired by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft on June 27, 1997. NASA/JPL

“May you live in interesting times” was more blessing than curse last week as information poured in from an armada of spacecraft whipping across the vastness of our tiny solar system, threatening to make us more intelligent citizens of our… READ MORE

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.

Glad to be gone: I had friends down from up north last weekend. They used to live here, but now they live in a town with one traffic light, a McDonald’s, two video-rental joints and a couple of gas stations…. READ MORE

Are they breaking the rules in Niceville?

Lord, help us: Why should there be any question about religion in school up at Niceville? The issue was settled 221 years ago by people who, having experienced religious persecutions and selectivism, wisely decided that our government, and every endeavor… READ MORE

Justice isn’t justice if it isn’t equal for all

Image courtesy of Olaf Growald, Wikimedia Commons.

The death penalty? The righteously wrathful were rubbing their palms last week as jurors in the penalty phase of the Timothy McVeigh murder and conspiracy trial decided he should die for his crime. His crime – the April 19, 1995… READ MORE