September 2025 Five Questions

1. If you had the ability to compete in the Olympics, what event would you want
  to compete in?

  I am so far from an athletic person, nor do I watch the Olympics. That said,
  I looked up a list of events. I would want to compete in table tennis. I
  love the game, though am nowhere near good enough at it to compete.

  My wife is the grand-daughter of a silver medalist, I believe in the
  pentathalon? It was a multi-sport event of some form.

2. Growing up, what was your favorite comic strip?

  Depends on what age I was. Probably Garfield in general. Later on I found
  "Garfield Without Garfield", which is also wonderful. As a teen I had a
  book of "Little Nemo's Adventures In Slumberland" and really enjoyed that
  as well.

3. Have you dreamed of flying, falling, or running? Describe your most vivid
  memory of one of these dreams.

  I'm sure I have, but I do not tend to remember my dreams for more than a
  few minutes after waking. So, sadly, I do not have a tale to tell for this
  question.

4. Do you believe in an afterlife?

  No. The closest I come is that there is energy present in a body (as
  electrical current, as kinetic energy, as protein, as sugar) and that
  energy moves on... so maybe there is something there. I do not really
  believe in any kind of consciousness continuing on after death, which
  is what I think most folks mean by "afterlife".

  I sometimes want to believe in an afterlife, but never really manage to
  do so. I just cannot make a case for it that holds water in my head.

5. Do you have any advice, tips, or tricks for differentiating ignorance from
  malice?

  Assume the first. Inform and try to treat the ignorance. If after being
  informed of ignorance in a way that the other can understand, if whatever
  the thing in question is continues, assume the later.