Three Thousandths

[Kelly Holley-Bockelmann] tried to understand the vastness of space-time by imagining the history of the universe laid out across a 100-yard field.  The Earth was born at the 67-yard line.  Complex multicellular life formed after 96 yards.  Apes began to walk upright in the final two inches.  And all of human civilization -- the end of the ice age, the birth of agriculture, every war and every empire -- had come in the last three thousandths of an inch.

-- Eli Saslow, "The American Brain Drain Claims Another Scientist", New York Times (7 November 2026)

Refusing Themselves

The same people who can deny others everything are famous for refusing themselves nothing.

-- James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784 - 1859), English poet and essayist, Table-Talk (1851), p. 62

Exhausted

An era can be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted.

-- Arthur Miller (1915 - 2005), American playwright, essayist, and author, "The Year it Came Apart", New York magazine, Vol. 8, No. 1 (30 December 1974), p. 30

Change Is Not Made

Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.

-- Richard Hooker (1554 - 1600), Anglican priest and influential theologian, as quoted in the preface of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language (1755)

Election Night

How shall we avert the dire calamities with which we are threatened?  The answer comes from the graves of our fathers: By the frequent election of new men.  Other help or hope for the salvation of free government there is none under heaven.  If history does not teach this, we have read it all wrong.

-- Jeremiah S. Black (1810 - 1883), American statesman and lawyer.  He served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1851-1857) and as the Court's Chief Justice (1851-1854), "The Third Term: Reasons Against It"; first published in The North American Review (March 1880)

Rock The Vote!

Rock the vote, people!

Black Belt Kudos

A shout out to 3 of my Taekwondo students who successfully tested for Black belt ranks at the Fall Full Rank test in October.  I've mentioned David a couple of times before -- he has now earned his 3rd-degree Black belt, and is a very accomplished martial artist.

Ruby joined the academy five years ago and has really taken charge of her martial arts training over the last year. She earned the rank of 1st-degree Black belt.

And last but not least, Henry also earned his 1st-degree Black belt. He joined the academy 4 1/2 years ago, and while preparing for his Black belt test he showed that he has matured and can focus on his work.

These students helped each other prepare throughout all of 2026. They're a good crop of Black belts.