Author Archives: William Hooke

A vignette: in the 1990’s, I did a fair bit of government-related travel. Too many sleepless nights in distant hotel rooms, too tired to read, biological clock messed up, but there would be TV. Would tune around looking for sports … Continue reading →

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the … Continue reading →

If you’re a person of color in the United States, you’ve been living out the racism issue every single day of your life. But if you’re white, and especially if you’re too young to remember the 1960’s, events of the … Continue reading →

“Addicted: physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance, and unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects.” – Oxford Languages “Like fighting an addiction, being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self criticism, and regular self-examination.” – Ibram … Continue reading →

“Nothing can be truly great which is not right.” – Samuel Johnson Some twenty years ago, the Weather Enterprise[1] – the aggregated collection of government agencies, private corporations large and small, and academic institutions providing weather observations, science, and services … Continue reading →

The killing of George Floyd has triggered a global lament over the racism that pervades and persists throughout the world, resisting every effort to expunge it. What’s most damning? That very persistence testifies we’re not trying very hard.  Whether here in … Continue reading →

“Dance with your heart, and your feet will follow.” (variously attributed.) “Make love your aim.” –the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 14:1)[1] The 2020 AMS Summer Policy Colloquium is entering its second day, and I’m again reminded why it’s my favorite … Continue reading →

“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.” ― Daniel Kahneman, (Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011) “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! … Continue reading →

“It is the little grey cells, mon ami, on which one must rely.”– Hercule Poirot (speaking literally under the authority of Agatha Christie). Streaming video has made binge-watching a thing. But covid-19 has taken binge-watching viral[1]. Deprived of dining out, travel, … Continue reading →

“The trick is this: keep your eye on the ball. Even when you can’t see the ball”– Tom Robbins In today’s all-covid, all-the-time world, coronavirus images such as that shown here have replaced the happy-face as the emoticon of choice. … Continue reading →