Jerry Stratton's Blog, page 11

My Year in Books: 2023

It’s been a slower year in books than previous ones, but it was still a year of fantasy in the past, in the future, and across time, as well as an unplanned foray into people doing the impossible and changing the world.

Trump and the January 6 defendants

There appears to be a concerted effort on conservative forums to blame Trump for not doing anything for the January 6 prisoners and defendants. Is it true?

Looking back over 1950 in vintage cooking

While I didn’t make my goal of trying a recipe every month in the month it was meant for, following this calendar through 2023 was an interesting experience and provided some very good food.

Refrigerator Revolution Revisited: 1928 Frigidaire

The 1928 manual and cookbook, Frigidaire Recipes, assumes a lot about then-modern society that could not have been assumed a few decades earlier.

The Soul Felt It’s Worth

“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices…” What is a soul worth? For God, a soul is worth his son.

Illinois Nazis and Lincoln’s Democrats

An anecdote about other people’s money and other people’s time that I’ve had sitting around for a while.

On a Cult of Gygax

The extent and even existence of a “Cult of Gygax” is greatly exaggerated, to the point where even things that directly contradict the theory are interpreted as supporting it. The cult of Gygax is a self-perpetuating myth.

The Parable of the Soldered RAM

The trade-off between reliability and user-serviceable parts is one of the great choices of today’s computer market.

Are you authorized?—A Poem

A poem for the road for the holidays in the year of our Lord 2023.

The Destruction of Title IX

If you put the government in charge of a desert, in fifty years you’ll have a shortage of sand. If you put the government in charge of protecting women, in fifty years you’ll have government-sponsored violence against women.