Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
Over the Hill ...and Laughing Down the Slope
Julia Sneden wrote: For many of us, the chronological downslope isn't nearly as trouble-free as that hike back down the mountain. Bruises and blisters gained along the trail are nothing compared to the indignities and ailments that come with age (and sometimes the poverty that accompanies it). Nonetheless, life's downslope shouldn't be undersold. It can be a time of great rewards and possibilities. It takes a bit of determination and imagination to navigate it with style and humor, but it can be a pretty good ride.
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The Touch of a Ladybug: Creating a New Class of Flexible, Stretchable Electronically-sensitive Synthetic Materials
Restoring some semblance of the sensation of touch has been a driving force behind Stanford chemical engineer Zhenan Bao's decades-long quest to create stretchable, electronically-sensitive synthetic materials. Such a breakthrough could one day serve as skin-like coverings for prosthetics. But in the near term, this same technology could become the foundation for the evolution of new genre of flexible electronics that are in stark contrast with rigid smartphones that many of us carry, gingerly, in our back pockets. more »
Which States Send the Most Olympians to the Winter Games? Colorado Is Home to 1 in 8, but Vermont Sends More Per Capita
The nine largest states (California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina), which account for more than half of the total US population, contributed only 3 out of 10 Olympians. Colorado’s workforce has one of the largest number of coaches, umpires and professional athletes on a per capita basis — about 2,000 per million population. more »
Download the Indictment: Grand Jury Indicts Thirteen Russian Individuals and Three Russian Companies for Scheme to Interfere in the United States Political System
To hide the Russian origin of their activities, the defendants allegedly purchased space on computer servers located within the United States in order to set up a virtual private network. The defendants allegedly used that infrastructure to establish hundreds of accounts on social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, making it appear that the accounts were controlled by persons within the United States. They used stolen or fictitious American identities, fraudulent bank accounts, and false identification documents. The defendants posed as politically and socially active Americans, advocating for and against particular political candidates. They established social media pages and groups to communicate with unwitting Americans. They also purchased political advertisements on social media. more »
