Photo by Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper is slowly recovering his emotional equilibrium–such as it was, after losing three days of computer work on a project he has been working on since the days of hand-cranked automobiles. Usually, Phyllis can repair his keyboard fumbling, but something mysterious occurred …
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Category:Technology
Kickass and the iPhone
Photo by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper will no longer be dominated and humiliated by his “GD” iPhone; and if you want to talk to him, come to where he lives. He is fed up with calls from people selling things, and he is tired …
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The Bright Side
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Over the two years that I’ve been writing my weekly blog posts, it seems that there has very rarely been anything positive to write about. Between the January 6th insurrection, the continuing pandemic, the rising gun violence and reckless driving fatalities in our city, and various other sundry crises—including the rise of …
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A Few Good Things
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I’ve been mentoring new teachers in our local public school system for the past few years now. One characteristic I’ve noticed both with them (and myself, during my own career as a teacher) is that every instructor, no matter how experienced, always has one of those classrooms that …
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Kickass and Elderly Scams
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that while the keeper and Phyllis spend too much time on the internet, they have yet to be part of the multibillion dollar scamming of senior citizens that is part of the scene. The fact that the net played an oblique part in the keeper …
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Stupid is as Stupid Does
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Last week, State Representative Jonathon Carroll introduced a bill in the Illinois State Legislature that would require residents who have refused the Covid-19 vaccination—and who subsequently contract the virus—to cover the expenses of treating the disease on their own, even if they have health insurance. Rep. Carroll has …
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Kickass and Seat Heater
Photo by Tim Samuel from Pexels By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, passes along the keeper’s observation that there was once a time when it was possible, even beneficial, to establish a relationship with a personal mode of transportation simply by talking to a horse. In the early iteration of the automobile age—when under-the-hood mechanicals could be understood …
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Kickass and 90-year-olds
Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, joins the keeper as he and all of those in the 90-year-old age group celebrate William Shatner’s 10-minute space ride. While it is comforting to acknowledge accomplishments by 90-year-olds, the reality of Shatner’s experience costing him a …
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Kickass Gets Sunburned
Ashwin Kumar, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, having inherited from his Norwegian mother, light skin very vulnerable to sun damage; and having grown up when the only “sunblock” was to stay in the shade; and having suffered youthful sunburns so severe his skin peeled …
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Applied Science
See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter We’re a country that loves its heroes, especially superheroes. We love those guys like nobody’s business. Over the past decade or so, we’ve been inundated—absolutely permeated—with them. There’s the Marvel Universe, the D.C. Universe, Spiderman, Superman, Thor, Black Widow, and a plethora of …
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Kickass and Smart Cars
FaceMePLS from The Hague, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that repeated indignities heaped upon him by a vehicle that is light years ahead of him technologically and intellectually, has prompted the keeper to the diversionary tact of unearthing old vehicular information, such as the method …
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Personal Space
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter On July 11th, billionaire Richard Branson launched himself fifty-three miles into the atmosphere—to the very edge of space, taking a slight edge in a three-way race between himself and other multi-billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to establish a space tourism industry. Bezos plans to launch his self-funded …
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