Monthly Archives: September 2017

Longwood Gardens Maps

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Roger Walck

I often see visitors puzzling over the maps of the grounds given out by Longwood Gardens. The maps are in various languages, both European and Asian, but visitors still puzzle over them. When I approach to help, their first question … Continue reading →

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Cutting My Own Hair

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Roger Walck

I have been cutting my own hair for 40–50 years, and that means I have not been to a barber in 40–50 years. If I had to go now, I would not even know where to go. The last barber … Continue reading →

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What the Sam Hill, Cortana?

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Roger Walck

“What the Sam Hill?” was a phrase my father often used, but none of my generation did, and I had not heard it for years, not even in old movies where they often said  “swell” and called adult women “kid.” … Continue reading →

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Misplaced Modifiers

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Roger Walck

Languages are either inflected, meaning endings are added to words to specify their relationship, or uninflected, as in English, where the relationship is specified by the position in the sentence. We find speaking an inflected languages (such as French) especially … Continue reading →

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Unwanted Office Buildings

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Roger Walck

Two venerable old office buildings in downtown Wilmington are being repurposed, or trying to be repurposed. Not enough companies want the traditional offices anymore. The first is the Hercules Building, once the headquarters of the Hercules Chemical Company. The other, … Continue reading →

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That Yellow Traffic Light

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Roger Walck

In most states, as long as the front of your vehicle entered the intersection (passed the crosswalk or limit line) before the light turned red, you haven’t broken the stoplight law. —Internet, 9/17/2017 Back in our high school days, Mr. … Continue reading →

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UHF And VHF TV

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Roger Walck

A syndicated cartoon in our local paper, Non Sequitur, was titled, “Grandpa ups his game.” It shows Grandpa telling stories around a campfire to several children who are wide-eyed with imagined terror. He is saying, “. . . we only … Continue reading →

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Tyrone Power

Posted on September 12, 2017 by Roger Walck

Thank heavens for the Internet to sort things out. It was a rainy day and I was watching an old silent movie, Where Are My Children? on TCM. It was listed as starring Tyrone Power, but I did not recognize … Continue reading →

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The Delaware Wedge

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Roger Walck

Settle down, children, and I’ll tell you the strange history of the Delaware Wedge. You probably never heard of it, but Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland have argued over it for more than 200 years. It has been a long time … Continue reading →

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Reality Show Dangers (Or Lack Thereof)

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Roger Walck

I was watching Life Below Zero on the National Geographic channel. The program was about the spring thaw and how people could no longer cross a frozen river on the ice which was now too thin. This one guy, living … Continue reading →

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