Professor J,
Hope you are feeling better. It's that 
time of year. I recommend home made chicken stock and tea with turmeric,
 but even a teaspoon of honey with turmeric seems to work to shorten a 
cold or similar malady.
The TED Talk was quite 
enlightening. I think often when we Americans hear those in power refer 
to "foreigners" we assimilate the bit of fear that those using the term 
hope to instill in us. Most of our fellow citizens are untraveled enough
 to hold in disdain people who are different. I doubt that residents of 
Finland are the first people who come to mind when our politicians use 
the word.
You've added another book to my list, which is incredibly lengthy already. I swear my Kindle feels heavier all the time. ;)
Huxley
 and Orwell would probably think what I do from time to time: "So you 
willingly carry with you a device that allows you to be tracked wherever
 you go and you make public your political views and the books you read 
on sites designed to look like they are for your entertainment? And you 
continue to do this after your government has been caught storing this 
information?"    
Can you imagine their commentary on that?
So
 gas prices have plummeted and truck sales increased dramatically. It's 
really incomprehensible that our memories are so short. Just a few years
 ago people were eager to get rid of those gas guzzlers. How can people 
now think that cheap gas is forever? It's like we have some sort of 
national dementia.
On a historical note, a time capsule from 1795 was opened, which I'm sure you heard about. It included  "five tightly folded newspapers, a medal depicting George Washington, a silver plaque, two dozen coins, including one dating to 1655, and the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
What would a historian have most like to see included in a time capsule? If you were to fill one today what might you include?   
 
 
 

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