IT Insights Blog

Today is March 29, a date that commemorates one of history's more unusual reigns of terror. New York City's Mad Bomber resurfaced on March 29, 1951, after an almost decade-long hiatus patriotically declared in observance of America's involvement in World War II. It isn't your average sociopath who commences whatever twisted mission he has set out for himself, then decides to recognize the greater societal good, publicly announces a truce, and actually follows through.

Sometimes in life things happen just because. That is to say that not every deed or development has a good and compelling rationale behind it, or can be traced back through a series of logical outcomes to a perfectly understandable inciting incident or event. The phrase "out of a clear blue sky" exists to describe an unexpected occurrence because sometimes this or that monumental (or miniscule) outcome is like lightning on a clear day, like a literal "bolt out of the blue."

When a political candidate wants to spread whatever message he or she is spreading, as well as meet people, shake hands, and build relationships, the candidate quite often travels from place to place and person to person. Pounding the pavement and pressing the flesh is a time honored approach to disseminating ideas and information and forging important connections with voters.

There's a marker in Riverside, Iowa, declaring the tiny rural town to be the "future birthplace" of Captain James T. Kirk. Yes, that Captain James T. Kirk. The official town motto is "Where the Trek Begins." There's even a Star Trek Museum, the Voyage Home Riverside History Center. All of this apparently goes back to a book written by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, The Making of Star Trek, in which Roddenberry asserts that Kirk was — or, you know, will be — born in Iowa.

It was poet, biographer, and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandberg who wrote, "Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come," a charming witticism that has echoed down through the ages. Here at TestOut Continuing Education, we enjoy a piquant commentary as much as the next bystander