Eric Scheske

Received in an Email Newsletter Nearly half of all Americans live in a household getting a government check, according to the Census Bureau. Of course, it's not quite as bad as it sounds, since many of the households are elderly. Here's the breakdown: 15% of Americans

Bullets I've installed a rain barrel. Okay, not really, but I did position four plastic containers on top of my garden closet, just under the eaves of my shed. Collectively, they probably hold seven gallons or so. Of course, we haven't had rain for so long,

Happy Memorial Day. Consistent with past practice, blogging will be light today, since holiday blog traffic is normally very low. * * * * * * * I looked up morning mourning dove on Wikipedia. It appears that they're a very common bird, so the Jack story (see Saturday) isn't a great coincidence,

"[W]hen there is nothing to stir your wrath, gather up a store of meekness and kindness, speaking and acting in things great and small as gently as possible. . . [W]e must be filled, heart and soul, with gentleness. . .". St. Francis de Sales

Autobiographical Corner Whew, a great weekend ahead of me. Why? I have the house to myself. Marie and The Seven left for a weekend of bird watching. Yes, bird watching. I might read Etienne Gilson, G.K. Chesterton, and (starting shortly) Karl Popper, but, relative to my birding family, I

It's summer time, which means it's time to get out the gin. I guess gin joints are all the rage these days. New York Magazine has provided a list of these "gin-centric cocktail joints [http://nymag.com/nightlife/wheretodrink/2012/gin-bars/]." Each

Summer Reading Blessed Summer sits 48 hours away. My reading list has more-or-less come together. For your general edification or amusement, here it is: I enjoy few things more than a writer's random journals. Such prose is particularly well-suited to random Summer days. And it&

An aquarium in the U.K. claims that it has the world's first vegetarian shark. Either that or they're playing a really mean prank on Nigel the tank cleaner. Fallon Al Gore has a new girlfriend. Apparently, it's getting pretty serious. He's

Failbook Last Thursday, a family member had access to Facebook shares at $43 per share (IPO price: $38). I asked him if he could get me in. He looked into it and said he couldn't. I just shrugged, since I knew virtually nothing about the offering, whether the