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
Telling Lies: The Irrepressible Truth?
The liar must first of all decide not to assert the truth, and then must assert an alternative statement that is plausible and appears informative to the listener, all the while concealing any outward signs of nervousness ... If a person needs to monitor plausibility of a lie then this will be more difficult for more complex lies. Studies investigating the effects of making lies more complex have found that they are easier to detect. more »
Megabytes for the Masses: An MIT Lecture by Yvonne Brill, the Lady With Launch Plans Under Her Arm
You may have heard about the uproar regarding The New York Times obituary for Ms. Brill initially beginning with lauding her beef stroganoff skills rather than her Dual Thrust Level Monopropellant Spacecraft Propulsion System (Patent #3,807,657). This video of her lecture (MIT TechTV) may refocus that strange emphasis on cooking to her genius. more »
Why Are the Honey Bees Still Disappearing? A New Lawsuit Against the EPA and Gardening Tips for Attracting Bees
Beekeepers and public interest Groups have sued the EPA over bee-toxic pesticides. The coalition seeks suspension of the registrations of insecticides that have repeatedly been identified as highly toxic to honey bees. Total losses of managed honey bee colonies were 21.9 percent for the 2011/2012 winter according to a survey. Did you know that native bees do not live in hives? Prepare a place for them in your garden. more »
Elaine Soloway's Caregiving Series: All For One, One For All
This is the day of the week I cede responsibility for Tommy to the group I call the Three Musketeers. I fancy Barry, Hal, and Marshall as characters from the Dumas novel because the way they care for my husband; while my love for the Musketeers could be considered self-serving because they give me a day off, Tommy enjoys their personalities. But this would be the last golf season that my husband and his companions would enjoy together.
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