Random Thoughts

I'm Marvelous Now- Why I Stopped Being Awesome

George Clooney used to copy my haircuts. People who knew me in the 1990s always marveled at my classic, parted-on-the-side, immaculately coiffed style. It was retro, just like the term "marvelous' is today. Prior to that, I had a classic Caesar n ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Aug 31 2014 - 10:55am

How Chicago Almost Ended Up In Wisconsin

Given its rampant crime, corruption and money issues, a lot of residents of Illinois publicly wish they could give Chicago away. They almost never had it at all. The original proposed northern boundary of Illinois was a straight line from the southernmost ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 14 2014 - 11:30am

No Flatlanders Allowed: Haggis And Whisky Flavored Potato Chips

Mackie's at Taypack Ltd. has been around since 2009 but the joint venture between the Taylors, Perthshire potato farmers, and Mackie's of Scotland, has finally figured out a way to differentiate themselves from Frito-Lay: they are making potato ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Sep 26 2014 - 5:31pm

Brain Plasticity Tradeoffs and Sascha Vongehr Musician

This may surprise, but Ludwig Wittgenstein, for many the greatest philosopher, or anyway the most eminent exponent of analytic philosophy according to Roger Scruton, maintained that music (!) was the most important to him, not formal logic or philosophy. ...

Blog Post - Sascha Vongehr - Sep 29 2014 - 3:09am

Is Chess The New Texas Hold 'Em?

Credit: Millionaire Chess tournament When I was a kid, no one outside Texas played Texas Hold 'Em. We played Stud, we played Draw, we played Liar's, but not Hold 'Em. Like Esther Williams movies and organic food, some things just make their ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Oct 9 2014 - 12:26pm

Why You Will Never Be able to 'See' a Large System

In my latest attempt to debunk some of the nonsense that passes for analysis among Internet marketers I decided it might be worthwhile to talk about large systems theory. The problem, of course, is that there really is no "large systems theory" ...

Blog Post - Michael Martinez - Oct 11 2014 - 9:03am

Discovering A Viking Hoard: A Day In The Life Of A Metal Detectorist

Credit: mikecogh, CC BY-SA By Suzie Thomas, University of Helsinki ...

Article - The Conversation - Oct 19 2014 - 8:00am

Home, Workplace, Tomb – Fury And The Reality Of The World War II Tank

Shia LaBeouf, Brad Pitt and more less cramped outside their tank in Fury. image by Sony Pictures By Clifford Williamson, Bath Spa University The latest corner of World War II to be dramatized for the big screen is small. Cramped, even. In Fury, starring B ...

Article - The Conversation - Oct 24 2014 - 8:27am

Lithotomy: A Painful Operation Inspired The 18th-Century Equivalent Of A Horror Movie Soundtrack