In an aromatic restaurant filled with the fragrance of baking cheese, the extended table of women spread out on either side of me like the wings of an enormous bird. The 20-or-so of us had just completed a long-planned project and we were celebrating success. ...more

January 7, 2009

I don't know about you, but I've had the same New Year's resolution for the past 35 years. And you know what? Call me wacky, but I'm going to shoot for the moon again. ...more

December 31, 2008

The construction of Central Pasco County's first hospital was cleared to proceed recently after the developers prevailed in a court challenge from competitors. ...more

November 11, 2008

Wall Street suffered through another extraordinary and traumatic session Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials plunging as much as 800 points - their largest one-day point drop - before recovering to close with a loss of 370. The catalyst for the selling, which also took the Dow below 10,000 for the first time in four years, was investors' growing despair that the spreading credit crisis will take a heavy toll around the world. ...more

October 6, 2008

GAINESVILLE - With the completion of the first two games of the season, Florida is looking forward to beginning its true season. ...more

September 18, 2008

Ever since John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate, many have lavished praise on her decision not to have an abortion after she and her husband learned that their youngest child, Trig, would be born with Down syndrome. Do those telling Palin "attagirl" and "way to go" have any idea what challenges and struggles Trig's parents - and all of us who care for children with special needs - live with every day? Though everyone cheered the Palin family in Minnesota last week, will those people be there for that little boy and his family when their support is really needed? ...more

September 9, 2008

TALLAHASSEE Darius McClure remembers the moment he found out about the "eye in the sky." After his first practice in a Florida State uniform, the safety from Birmingham, Ala., sat down in a meeting with the defensive backs. ...more

August 24, 2008

I was thinking about the effect of bias in thinking and decision making. It came up in the context of some people indicating they could not vote for Obama for president because he was black, no matter what; a predictable and unfortunate attitude with some in the American South. But it started me thinking about bias in general, where and how much weight it is given in all kinds of thinking, in the process of decision making. Firstly, I was concerned with whether it becomes a factor in evaluation, whether it is included, inappropriately, in a list of concerns which lead to a decision. That would be bad enough but what if it serves as a filter, to block the receipt of otherwise relevant information never let into the process of weighing facts and making choices on a rational basis? I was watching a TV show, book reviewing, and I decided I didn't like the necktie worn by the lecturer. It was a skimpy, pale, stripy bow tie, an utterly silly looking thing and as I looked at it, the words of the lecturer seemed to fade. Was this merely an absurd fashion bias on my part or perhaps my questioning why anyone would wear such a tie and whether the choice of wearing such a tie reflected on the quality of the judgment-making ability of the wearer, and shouldn't I take that into consideration in weighing, or even accepting the quality of his opinion, downgrade his believability or even reject everything he has to say out of hand because of his flawed judgment in necktie selection? ...more

August 11, 2008

The Bucs always had an interest in trading for quarterback Brett Favre. What they seemingly never had was a realistic chance to pull off a deal. ...more

August 8, 2008

In the first 10 days after Apple opened its App Store for the iPhone, consumers downloaded more than 25 million applications, ranging from games like "Super Monkey Ball" to tools like New York City subway maps. It was nothing short of revolutionary, not only because the number was so high but also because iPhone users could do it at all. ...more

August 6, 2008