Wonders of Nature

                  Lovell Island where we set our camp has a post-apocalyptic feel to it.  The islands, filled with ruined forts and bunkers, are a testament to American military history and nation-building.   As part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Parks Area they have guarded the port of Boston from pirates in the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, to German U-boats in World War II.  Some of the more notable inhabitants were the prisoners, from early Indians to confederates and deserters in the Civil War.           On an eroded drumlin near our campsite rested an enormous block of concrete, the remnant of an underground bunker that housed the soldier who watched the harbor for enemy ships and submarines, ready to set off large, hulking mines stuffed with tons of TNT.           This urban archipelago is a geologic relic of the last ice age whe...

          “ I was really getting into my novel when I saw I had a message from Socrates on facebook. ”  Before  I clicked on the little icon on the bottom of my screen I got to thinking, why did I buy an e-reader that is also a web platform?   It’s pretty distracting.  Multitasking is supposed to be bad for us, at least according to a lot of new studies on human cognition.  Why did I buy an e-reader at all?  There is something to be said for losing oneself in bound, foliated wood pulp.  Some people argue e-books will ultimately relegate traditional books to being niche items, sort of like vinyl records are today.               I’m not convinced…           Future predictions are usually notoriously off kilter.  When television came along, movies and radio were supposed to go by the wayside, and both media are fine and well today.  When comput...