"...if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded." - Noah Webster 12.17.25 A heat wave arrives in the Southern Tier, just in time for Christmas.

"Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being." - Albert Camus Looking out across the valley on this thirteen degree morning at the bare tree trunks and branches highlighted by the snow clinging to the hills. Back at Tara we displayed a daguerreotype of Southside Hill with the house right there where it's been for 176 years now, backed by those same snowy hills. Nothing has changed. I find it reassuring every time I drive up

“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” – Winston Churchill Friday. Issac's birthday--guessing Peg shot him a text from the operating room at the exact time of his birth, as she does every year. My last final of the semester comes later, sadistically scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. What sinister scheduler thought that was a good idea? The only ones I pity more than myself are the proctor and the IT people on the exam team who must virtually sit there wit

"Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity." - Vladimir Nabokov An exuberant sunrise. But already giving way to gray skies with snow on the way after last night's dusting. One final exam is now on the books, with one to go. How did I do? No clue, but overall it seemed okay. I keep reminding myself that the dumbest guy in the program graduates with an LLM in Taxation from NYU, and they don't print your GPA or class rank on that diploma. Thinking very early this mo