Hardy sign of spring
We had 3 inches of snow Thursday and temperatures that dipped into the teens Saturday morning. buy viagra without prescription On Saturday afternoon I look across the street and saw daffodils in full bloom in my neighbors Dennis and Donna Ashenfelter’s yard. What a resilient and hardy sign of the season around the corner. Spring...
History majors talk about the future
I love history. Many of the books I read and the blogs I write have something to do with history. So it took no arm twisting to get me to represent the Gazette-Times on Thursday evening at the History Career Fair 2011 at Oregon State University. It was great to meet a bunch of history...
OSU students offer Valentine's advice
It was after 4 Thursday afternoon when I started asking this question on Monroe Avenue in Corvallis: “What’s the best Valentine’s Day gift?” Seven Oregon State students answered the question for a video that can viewed on democratherald.com or gazettetimes.com When I got the answers from the last two students, Stephanie Sieg and Allison Swalko,...
Dear NFL, a suggestion for 2012 Super Bowl: Santana
I was cooking dinner late Sunday afternoon, so I didn’t get to watch the Black Eyed Peas during the Super Bowl halftime show. From people’s reactions, my time was better spent preparing steamed salmon over kale. Over the past two days, I’ve given this idea careful thought, and now I hope the NFL gives it...
Super Bowl Sunday on the trail
This best part of this Super Bowl Sunday has not been the game — I fell asleep in the first half — or the Doritos, Pepsi, Bud Light or KIA commercials. No the best of Super Bowl Sunday 2011 was the early-afternoon hike I took with my favorite hiking partner, Nancy. We drove over to...
Ominous turn for journalists in Cairo
I had a fun last night doing video highlights of the Corvallis-Crescent Valley boys basketball game. But journalists thousands of miles away in Egypt weren’t having much fun yesterday. While covering the chaos in Cairo, they had to protect themselves and their equipment from attacks by government supporters. Among those roughed up was CNN’s Anderson...
Thoughts about Takena School
I’m going to a meeting tonight at Albany City Hall about the Takena spray park idea. The spray park — a concrete pad with a number of water spray features — would replace the Takena Wading Pool, which was removed last year. There’s no city money for this project; the estimated price tag is $186,000....
A unifying speech
As I listened to the State of the Union address on the radio tonight, I thought the applause seemed rather muted compared to that of past addresses. The explanation, I learned from listening to analysts after the speech, was that Democrats and Republicans were seated together, not apart, tonight. Not a lot of leaping up...
Choosing to lose
It’s 2:10 on a rainy Friday afternoon. I’ve had lunch and, for the third day in a row, I’ve avoided succumbing to my usual high-fat temptations: chocolates and cookies. Our company is offering a “Choose to Lose” program this winter. It’s our version of “The Biggest Loser.” I signed up — rather eagerly. I know...
Prayers for Gabrielle Giffords and civility
I spent some time Saturday morning making sure we had all the online links to our coverage of the BCS hoopla from Glendale, Ariz. When I got to work at 2 p.m. Saturday, I posted the first of several updates from the shootings in Tucson, about 90 miles from Glendale. As the Tucson story continued...
'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' in January
Friday was a gray January day, a day when one might be thinking about basketball or an upcoming BCS National Championship Game. But baseball and Brooks Hatch were on our minds at 3 p.m. Friday at the Gazette-Times. More than 50 people turned out to honor Brooks for his 26 years of outstanding sports reporting...
Hello, 2011!
Nancy and I welcomed in the new year by watching the traditional three-hour-delayed “live” celebration from Times Square. I learned only one thing: Carson Daly on NBC is the best network New Year’s Eve host. He actually had interesting things to say and was great at the ad libs. When he saw the Back Street...