Dennis E. Powell's View from Mudsock Heights

Dennis E. Powell is crackpot-at-large at Open for Business. Powell was a reporter in New York and elsewhere before moving to Ohio, where he has (mostly) recovered. You can reach him at dep@drippingwithirony.com.

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The View from Mudsock Heights: Corporations are Insensitive to the Needs and Feelings of -- Me

By Dennis E. Powell | Jun 13, 2010 at 9:25 PM

We live in a time in which the greatest offenses one can commit include hurting someone’s feelings. A day does not pass that we do not hear of the need for “sensitivity training” for the “unenlightened” transgressors among us.

The View from Mudsock Heights: Awareness is Fine, But It Takes a Lot More Than That to Cure Diseases

By Dennis E. Powell | Jun 02, 2010 at 3:54 PM

All the time we hear about it: the “race for a cure” or a “walk” for this or that illness. When it is explained why the event is being held, the phrase “raise awareness” is always included. Money is always raised, too; it’s never entirely clear what the money is used for. Perhaps it is used to purchase awareness from those who do not give it away.

The View from Mudsock Heights: Linux Has Come Far -- In One Case, Maybe Too Far

By Dennis E. Powell | May 23, 2010 at 3:33 AM

The free software movement, which in many respects means the Linux operating system, is a puzzle to those accustomed to paying for things. Software is expensive stuff — how good can the stuff be if it doesn't cost anything?

The View from Mudsock Heights: The Way to Deal With the Alien Invasion is to Find Them, Cook Them, and Eat Them

By Dennis E. Powell | May 06, 2010 at 5:43 AM

It was bound to happen, sometime. Indeed, two-thirds of the way through my sixth decade, with most of it spent near them, it surprises me it didn’t happen sooner.

The View From Mudsock Heights: We All Shall Witness the End of the American Space Program

By Dennis E. Powell | Apr 29, 2010 at 2:50 AM

In mid-April the President of the United States announced his “space program.” It purports to move us toward sending human beings to Mars in a quarter century or so. It won’t do this. Instead, it merely the throws enough money at NASA and space contractors to keep their respective congressional districts happy. It’s a small amount by this administration’s standards of spending. It won’t take us to Mars or anywhere else.

The View from Mudsock Heights: We Have a Unique Place in the Legend and Lore of Mining

By Dennis E. Powell | Apr 15, 2010 at 6:06 AM

There’s something about mining, and miners. We view those who go deep in the ground in a certain way, the way the Irish think of the men who go to sea.

The View from Mudsock Heights: a Television Show Reminds Us that Faith and Science are Separate Things

By Dennis E. Powell | Apr 08, 2010 at 5:20 AM

A truly gorgeous Easter has just passed, one that meant more to me than previous Easters have, for reasons I’ll not go into here. As is customary, Holy Week television included lots of programming on the subject, much of it speculative “scientific” debunking of various religious traditions, some inspired by the best-selling heretical drivel of the novelist Dan Brown. The tone of this stuff is so consistent that I was truly surprised by a History Channel program about the Shroud of Turin.

The View from Mudsock Heights: The Septic System Got Fixed and I was Reminded of the Joys of Poetry

By Dennis E. Powell | Mar 28, 2010 at 8:40 PM

Earl Coen stopped by the other day. The pump in the aeration system had been misbehaving and Earl knows motors and pumps about as well as anyone you’ll find, so hereabouts he’s the man to call.

The View from Mudsock Heights: The One Little Plant that Has Held Out Hope that Yes, Spring Will Finally Arrive

By Dennis E. Powell | Mar 21, 2010 at 7:25 PM

My old German grandmother used to call it “schnitlau,” though I’ve never seen the word used elsewhere. It was her name for the small wild onions that grew all over the place on our little farm — the same ones that grow all over the place hereabouts.

The View from Mudsock Heights: When the Hoped-For Disaster Fails to Strike, Television News is Bared

By Dennis E. Powell | Mar 11, 2010 at 5:46 AM

You’ve probably seen it: A movie or television drama that depicts news coverage of some anticipated disaster. It might be an alien invasion, or a nuclear attack, a volcano, an approaching asteroid, or — a tsunami.

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