Author Archives: Editor (Retired)

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About Editor (Retired)

Newsman, blogger, editor, writer (and no longer young).

December Sunshine @ The Beach

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pine tree on bdwk

Seventy degrees in December! It’s not unheard of in Maryland, although normal temps would be in the 40s during the day, maybe 30s at night.

But throughout the northern U.S.? Seventy degrees in December in Chicago? Temperature records are being broken in some places. Winter’s off to a mild start. (Reality check: Don’t get too excited. Winter doesn’t officially begin until Dec. 21.)  I’m trying not to be complacent. A blizzard might slap us in the face when we least expect it.

December is always a variable month here in Maryland. We rarely get snow before Christmas. But we don’t often enjoy 70 degrees, either. The photo above was taken a few days ago at the south end of the Ocean City boardwalk. Too bad there’s not many people here to enjoy it, except us year-rounders.

Seventy in December. Global warming? You think?

— John Hayden

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Washington Nats Fans At Their Ballpark

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Simplifying Your Life Is Not Simple

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SIMPLIFYING YOUR LIFE IS NOT SIMPLE — I’m finally getting serious about my winter project, which is weeding out and getting rid of the stuff I don’t need or use. Today I started on the books (I already decimated my library once, about five years ago.) Spent the afternoon dividing books into three categories: give away, throw away, and save. I didn’t know this was going to be so hard.

The Secret to Highlighting on the Kindle Fire

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Setting the record straight, maybe it’s my own fault my highlighting was lost. (See the immediate previous Kindle post.) Digging through the online “User Guide,” I discovered the following:

Using Highlights, Bookmarks, and Notes

“Annotations (bookmarks, highlights, and notes) that you make in Kindle books are stored in your Kindle Library on Amazon.com. Your Kindle must be connected wirelessly for your annotations to be saved.”

The above is from the Kindle Fire “User Guide,” under the section “Books: Reading On Kindle Fire.”

I believe it explains why I lost the highlighting I did as I was reading last night. Thinking that I was clever, I turned off the Wi-Fi last night to save battery life. The book is on my Kindle device, so I can read it without being connected to Wi-Fi. (Morale of this story: “Don’t think! It can only get you in trouble.”)

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Kindle Fire Highlighting Failure

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I was planning to write an updated report on how much I’m enjoying my Kindle Fire. There was a learning curve when I first opened the box, but once I figured out a few basic functions, the Kindle became a breeze and a pleasure to use.

I’ve enjoyed browsing the Kindle store, and found a number of books I’ve been wanting to read. One is “Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy,” by MSNBC’s Christopher Hayes. (This “Twilight” isn’t about vampires.)

“Twilight of the Elites” is a great book, examining our collective loss of trust in virtually all the major institutions — the pillars — of society. In particular, Hayes analyzes how and why the “elites” who rule by virtue of “meritocracy” have failed us.

I’ve been reading the book for the past few evenings, highlighting many informative sentences using the Kindle highlighting function. This morning, I opened the book on the Kindle and found that all my painstaking highlighting is gone. The highlighting has disappeared!

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Returning Now To Our Regular Program, “The Fiscal Cliff”

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Photo by John Hayden

It’s 10 days since I last posted on Work In Progress. The Earth continues to spin. Gen. John Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, et al., were pushed from the front pages by a deadly rocket battle between Israelis in Israel and Palestinians in Gaza.

Full-out war appeared imminent, according to cable TV news. But a ceasefire was called in time for Thanksgiving.  (Appropriate that it’s an American holiday. We have so much to be thankful for, compared to the rest of the world. And we take it all for granted.)

The waning of the Middle East crisis made room for a seasonal story: Walmart employees threatening to disrupt kickoff of the Christmas shopping frenzy. (Starting time for the frenzy advanced from Black Friday to Thanksgiving Day, henceforth to be known as Black Thursday.)

The Walmart protests fizzled, naturally. They had as much impact as Y2K. Walmart workers stand exposed as powerless against the energy of American consumerism.

Now we return to the dreaded “Fiscal Cliff,” at least until the next distraction. Be not faint-hearted! In the grand scheme of things, the fiscal cliff is a bump in the road.

Most importantly, the fiscal cliff provides a unique opportunity to put the brakes on the runaway military-industrial defense complex.  Seize the day!    Continue reading →

Happy Thanksgiving

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I don’t have time to write a Thanksgiving post, and why should I, when there are better writers to copy from. Happy Thanksgiving to all. And peace to those who at this moment are in shock or digging out after at attack by a hurricane or an unguided missile. Or treating the wounded and burying the dead. Why do human beings inflict so much misery on each other?  — John

The Real Scandal — Petty Corruption Destroys Institutions And Families

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Do we care if Gen. David Petraeus’ ego is so big he has to have a personal biographer follow him around a war zone? Do we care if a smart, beautiful, and physically fit Harvard doctoral student “works her magic” on a general? Not really.

U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commande...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is it scandalous? Based on the definition of “scandal,” the answer is technically, “Yes.”

But realistically, matters of ego, ambition, and romance are simply “human.” It’s strictly a private matter.

Until it begins to corrode the quality of work being done by important institutions, such as the U.S. Military.

Petty corruption pervades modern society, from highest to lowest.    Continue reading →

Lives of the Rich, Famous & Stoopid

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“LIVES OF THE RICH, FAMOUS & STOOPID” — Tentative working title for my proposed reality TV show starring Gen. David Petraeus, biographer Paula Broadwell, and socialite Jill Kelley. Roles reserved for Gen. John Allen, Natalie Khawam, attorney Abbe Lowell, and crisis manager Judy Smith, if they can prove they qualify.