Second Democratic debate (part 1) was much better than the first debate

By Robert A. Vella CNN moderated part-1 of the second Democratic Party presidential debate last night, and it was much Continue reading →

Humanity’s last near-extinction shows how it might survive the next one

By Robert A. Vella About 75,000 years ago, a supervolcano erupted at what is now Lake Toba on the Indonesian Continue reading →

A modern-day Cuban Missile Crisis probably won’t turn out so well this time

By Robert A. Vella In October 1962, the world barely escaped a devastating nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.  Continue reading →

What Are Active-Shooter Drills Doing to Kids?

At schools across the country, more children are taking part in mandatory “active-shooter drills.” Forgoing any pretense of a bear, Continue reading →

Bigger is Better (and other nonsense)

By Robert A. Vella Bigger is always better, right?  Most of us wouldn’t say so, but oftentimes what we say Continue reading →

The Madness of The Madman

By Robert A. Vella Give a madman power, and his madness will rise in proportion. The madman the world is Continue reading →

Examining the Ultimate Solution to Climate Change

Editorial note:  The following is a thought experiment on solving the problem of catastrophic climate change.  It does not imply Continue reading →

Good gosh, what a gully!

By Robert A. Vella “Good gosh, what a gully!” – The Quaz, circa 1971 No, dad wasn’t referring to the Continue reading →