The transcontinental railroad. The birth control pill. Two technological innovations that we usually don’t think about together are linked by a day in history: May 10. The rails of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met on May 10, 1869. The news of this event appeared on p. 1 of the New York Times: The long-looked-for moment has arrived. The construction of the Pacific Railroad … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2016
Commencement 2016
We’re halfway through commencement here at CSB|SJU. College of Saint Benedict held their ceremonies today at Clemens Fieldhouse and tomorrow Saint John’s University celebrates at the Abbey Church. At this time of year, I always think of my own commencement in 1983. (I double checked and I’m on p. 58. It wasn’t a dream…) I still remember economics classes with my fellow B.S. graduates: Paul … [Read more...]
Get to know your neighborhood via Minnesota Compass
Source: Flikr Creative Commons We've hosted the local National Night Out block party in our yard on the first Tuesday of August since 2000. It's fun to see familiar faces, meet new neighbors, and talk about what’s going on in our area. Now there's a virtual way to do this: geographic profiles, produced by Minnesota Compass. I learned about them last night at a workshop, "By the numbers: … [Read more...]