Should we be excited or worried by advances in technology? There are innovators dedicated to using cyber to better our lives, and scammers equally determined to use computers for covert destructiveness. There’s global evidence that hacker attacks on system networks will become the most devastating form of future warfare.

Haiku are an ancient form of poetry that captures a distinct moment in time, and paints a visual image of it with but a few carefully selected words in a specific meter. If you’re a fan of long descriptive passages or rhyming stanzas, you won’t find them in haiku — they’re short and to the point. I’ve tried writing haiku and it requires great discipline, but enjoying them does not.

I’m fortunate to have grandchildren who live close by. Their youthful wisdom continuously refreshes my thinking and changes me for the better. As we age and see the dark side of humanity, it’s easy to forget the light. Spending time with young people reminds us of the innate wisdom and goodness in us all.

This drawing fools the eye into believing the two white lines are bending. A ruler confirms they are parallel straight lines. Can we believe everything we assume about what we see? At first it's unsettling to question our beliefs and assumptions, but after a short while it becomes freeing.

At the beginning of the second week in February, we come together to remember the African Americans who have influenced our society today. This is known to us as Black History Month, or African American History Month. Without a doubt, segregation had been an issue until around 1954, when a series of Supreme Court decisions were passed making it illegal.