Michael T. Starks

Category: Society

  • Expectations

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    One of my favorite books is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I love the tension between our dreams for the future and the realities we face today. That said, I sometimes get myself in trouble with my expectations. While I can be fairly flexible, I often expect things to go a certain way. And sometimes,…

  • Three Rooms

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    I live in a nice house with my wife and daughter, Karilyn and Mikayla. We spend a lot of time together in the kitchen and living area. We also spend time apart. Sometimes, Mikayla wants to eat, do artwork, wash laundry, or care for her baby doll without any interference from Karilyn or me. During…

  • Oligarchy or Democracy

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    I just watched the following video by Robert Reich. While it doesn’t feature any new ideas, it provides a useful context for understanding current issues in the United States of America. “We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot…

  • Year End Reflections

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    The end of a calendar year is often a time of reflection for me. I like to look back and consider how the year went. Did I accomplish any of the things I set out to do? Yes, I did. I tracked my important activities daily! And I managed to make blogging a habit. Did…

  • Friends of Mikayla

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    My daughter, Mikayla, is 24 years old. Because she has special needs, she still lives with us. When she was about six months old, she was diagnosed with Septo Optic Dysplasia (SOD). She’s missing the septum pellucidum, a thin membrane that typically separates the brain’s two hemispheres. Mikayla displays the following symptoms, which are typical…

  • The Princess Bride

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    This is one of my favorite movies ever made! The first time I saw it in the theater, I was late. So, they’re already making their way across the water, heading for the Cliffs of Insanity. While I didn’t know what was happening, I was instantly drawn in. I was loving every minute of it.…

  • Two Axes of Health

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    I’ve been listening to the book Languishing by Corey Keyes on Audible. One concept that resonates with me is that doctors should not just focus on fixing or minimizing the bad stuff. They should also promote well-being. They should help us maximize the good stuff. This works for physical and mental health. Here’s an example.…

  • Unimpressed

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    My younger self would not be so impressed with me. In college, I dreamed of getting a Ph. D. in physics. When push came to shove, I only got a master’s degree in physics. This would have been okay if I had stuck with physics. I taught math and physics for about five years after…

  • Screensavers

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    Most computers still have screensavers. Although it turns out the name ‘screensaver‘ has become a bit of a misnomer. It’s been about a quarter-century since computers needed a moving image to “save” a CRT monitor from getting a “burned-in” image. LCD and LED monitors don’t have this problem. So why do we still use screensavers?…

  • Address Labels

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    Today, I opened a letter requesting a donation to a charity that does good work. The non-profit organization included a special gift: address labels! I’m happy to receive useful gifts from any non-profit organization. It’s just that I don’t consider address labels as useful as they used to be. This is a comment on how…