The COVID Resurgence (or Revenge of the Sick)

As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic raged across the country over the summer of 2020, there was no shortage of public health officials, epidemiologists, medical practitioners and statisticians warning that a second wave of the virus could be expected. They implored the public to minimize social gatherings, continue wearing masks when around people and prepare for the […]

Social [media] distancing

Everywhere these days you hear the phrase “social distancing”, a phrase I feel didn’t exist until the last few months. In essence, what this means is that we (i.e. society) must maintain a high degree of space or outright isolation (i.e. distancing) from each other in an effort to slow the spread of the SARS-COV-2 […]

Reduced Recycling

As a concept and in best practice, recycling is a wonderful idea. It finds ways to recover material that would otherwise occupy landfill space and uses it to create new products and materials. Some of these materials, theoretically, are infinitely recyclable as the chemical structure does not deteriorate and so could virtually eliminate the need […]

Taking Care

No one in their right mind would support the thesis that the American healthcare system, as it exists currently, is not in need of immediate and tremendous repair. The disagreement, as it is with so many issues, comes not from a contention over the issue itself but rather what can or should be done to […]

Is Suffering Enough?

I suffer from what is commonly called mental illness. Several years ago I was diagnosed with depression and have been taking medications since then. This is hardly surprising seeing as how some 16 million Americans experience “major depressive episodes” and that does not include all the Americans that have a more general depression, without, perhaps, […]

A Meditation on the Lack of Diversity in Tech

In recent years we have been reminded time and time again that women and people of color are woefully underrepresented in America’s tech companies. Many of the most recognized names in the industry (e.g. Google, Amazon and Facebook) have publicly pledged to increase the diversity on their campuses and boardrooms. Unfortunately, most of these announcements […]

Just Incentivize It

Why is it that our elected officials at the city and state levels are so quick to promise the moon to corporations looking to expand, relocate or establish themselves? The short answer, of course, is that they are not looking for long term returns or benefits for their constituents but are instead looking only at […]

It’s the Practitioners, Not the Practice

Sometimes Twitter can be the catalyst for serious reflection and consideration. In response to a tweet I made about Purdue Pharma (makers of OxyContin and other potent opioid analgesics) being at least partially responsible for leading the United States into its current hellscape of opioid abuse, a fellow Twitter user “liked” my post, but then […]

To Whom It May Concern…

In light of recent events in Parkland, Florida and before Las Vegas, Nevada, the nation finds itself once again contemplating its relationship with firearms and gun culture. Whatever the core cause of mass shootings, there is little room to deny that a pervasive obsession with firearms exists at every level of American society and that […]