As a young boy, my friend Tommy and I would hold a weekly competition for church voice supremacy. Now this wasn’t a formal contest, sanctioned by some adult or official in the church. This was of our own doing, a contest for just the two of us, chico v chico. …

Graph 1 — The two main political parties in America exhibit near equal distain for each other. Extreme partisanship amplifies this polarization even further. It’s worth spending time considering these data. Only 8% of Republicans believe Democrats are honest and 11% of Democrats return the favor. …

After 57 years of living in Juneau with its limited road system, Tammy and I still enjoy driving, putting over 35K total miles a year on our two vehicles, a pace we maintained even during covid. Most of those miles are day trips with occasional longer trips to see family…

The British geneticist and evolutionary biologist Haldane once famously said: “I would gladly lay down my life for two brothers or eight cousins.” Haldane’s quip follows from a selfish gene’s cost/benefit analysis, calculated from the odds of gene sustainability given a particular sacrificial action. …

“Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character” — Albert Einstein So begins the opening line of a leadership paper a former colleague Doug DeMaster and I wrote a few years back. I was privileged to work under Doug…

Ten years ago, we pulled up stakes and moved to the “lower 48.” It was hard leaving Alaska but easy to live in Seattle as we were closer to our children, to much of our family, and in a job I loved. …

The late Richard Feynman, one of the great scientists of the 20th century and a notable influence in my physics education, once said “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.” …

Of Immigration and Refugees After 57 years in Alaska, we pulled up stakes in 2012 and moved to the “lower 48.” It was hard leaving Juneau but easy to live in Seattle as we were closer to our children and Tammy’s family, in a job I loved, and enthralled with Pacific Northwest with all…

The Paradox of Christian Nationalism I’ve been wanting to write about Christian Nationalism for some time, but getting that train out of the station has proved difficult. Competing topics abound, plus spring is around the corner bringing its familiar pressures into focus. Golfing, landscaping, and hiking obligations are again taking…