I recall being dared by my friends, as a child, to put my hand on the electric fence surrounding a cow field just down the rural country lane from the southwestern Pennsylvania home where I grew up. I accepted the dare, and we all laughed out loud as the electric volt zapped through my body. ...
On three separate occasions recently I was involved in conversations about whether advances in artificial intelligence, or AI, is concerning to me as a journalist. No doubt the question stems from growing interest in new forms of AI known as “Generative AI.” That’s a form of AI now ...
I’m writing this week’s column piecemeal — between scheduled interviews with local political candidates seeking their party’s nominations in the quickly approaching May 2 primary election. Yes, it’s that time again. Overall, this year’s local primary election is pretty limited with only a few contested races on local ballots. Still, that’s not to diminish the importance of these grassroots races in communities where there are more than one candidate seeking to advance to the November general election. Based on that, it seems this might be a good opportunity to roll ...
It’s the immense number of people that I recall most about my 2014 visit to India. The vast sea of people in cities like Mumbai truly is unimaginable to Americans who never experienced first hand such population density. As we drove throughout the city, I remember asking our driver why so ...
Hoopla is growing over security concerns about the hugely popular video-sharing app TikTok, leaving many of us to wonder whether risks we keep hearing really are legitimate and whether we should delete TikTok from our cellphones. Many — myself included — routinely entertain ourselves by scrolling through short, often silly, videos depicting things like celebrities line dancing in their kitchens, music videos shot by concertgoers, toddlers mimicking their parents’ colorful language, or the ever-growing assortment of talking dog videos. My sons find it especially amusing when ...
It is ironic that I’m writing this week’s column about proposed new restrictions for political bloggers on, this, National Sunshine Week. The week comes around each March to raise awareness of the importance of open government and to promote dialogue on the impact of excessive official secrecy. A Florida lawmaker’s proposal that would require bloggers who write about Florida politicians to register with the government is raising First Amendment concerns. It should. If passed, the legislation proposed by Sen. Jason Brodeur of Lake Mary in the “Sunshine State” (how’s ...
