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Blum: Los Gatos in the lab
Please indulge me as I dive into this puzzle of Los Gatos and its potential identity. As someone who's read books about the atomic bomb, the enigmatic Oppenheimer, and the playful genius of Feynman (though I wouldn't dare call myself a scientist!), I've come...
Blum: My ideas for attracting new members to Rotary
Somehow through my years as a volunteer in many different endeavors I’ve gotten the notion that I know how to generate interest about the organizations I’ve been involved in. In many cases I did this by writing articles about the organization, such as the...
Young podcaster quizzed candidates with help of LG resident
The 2024 presidential election is one to remember, but Santa Clara County residents also faced a rare local decision: choosing a successor to longtime 16th Congressional District Representative Anna Eshoo, a Democrat who held her seat for over three decades.
This election was special to...
Doug Brent: Self-driving ‘hype’ becoming reality
Back in 2015, Elon Musk made this pronouncement about the future of self-driving cars, “We’re going to end up with complete autonomy, and I think we’ll have complete autonomy in about two years.” At that time, I was a technology leader at Trimble, a...
Guest View: How to teach kids about fiery realities
Parents want to shield their children from the dangers of the world—but fire is one thing they can’t sweep under the rug. Especially now, as our communities begin to realize fire season no longer has a beginning or end; it is a constant where...
A Fortunate Life: Reflections on gratitude and growth this Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving arrives, I reflect on the many things I am thankful for. I’ve managed to survive to age 73. Along the way, I’ve had many fortunate things occur.
Of course, there have been horrible times too, such as when my father was killed in...
Why does it take so long to build?
A much-discussed course of action to bring housing affordability to our area is to create more housing. And if we are to build more housing, why does it take so long?
While serving on the San Jose City Council’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Building & Planning,...
Blum: A little local humor, inspired by a literary master
It’s time, once again, for a humorous column, dear reader. In that vein, I welcome Mark Twain to the conversation. Ron Chernow’s recently published biography of the famous author serves as the backdrop.
According to Chernow, before he was America’s most celebrated humorist, Mark Twain...
Move away from the ‘waterfall effect’
Volunteers know it is difficult to accomplish change. When I sought along with several others to get a Restorative Justice program implemented at a Los Gatos school, I initially encountered great enthusiasm for the idea. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm was followed by inaction on the...
Channeling Twain pt. 2: Voyaging beyond the 101
I’m still reading the biography of Mark Twain by Ron Chernow. The book is more than 1,000 pages long, so cut me some slack.
My last column channeled Twain’s propensity to write fake news stories when he was a journalist. Prior to picking up Chernow’s...
















