John Harrison needed the math of Newton and Leibenz, and Britain needed the work of Harrison to manage its colonies through the communications tool of the day – sailing ships. Unless you have studied certain navigational subjects, you have likely never heard of John Harrison, but he is key to modern commerce (at least up to the point where we threw satellites up in the sky to aid in navigation).

Newton was born in 1642 and died in 1726. He never married. His life spanned many other interesting lives of the time. Galileo died the year he was born. He had only been deceased for 10 years when George Washington was born. There are others in between we will discuss.

Pascal had a dramatic conversion experience in November 1654 and after that wrote a number of famous religious treatises. We will see this theme again shortly, a mixture of mathematics, physics and deep Christian religious faith.

Galileo was born in 1564 (along with Shakespeare) and died in 1642, outliving Shakespeare by 26 years. Galileo’s full name was Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei. He was from Pisa, Italy. Galileo invented the thermoscope (predecessor to the modern thermometer), various styles of military compasses and other scientific instruments. He is best known, however, for his work with the telescope.

So, where did Christopher Columbus get the idea that he could travel west to go east; that is, leave Europe going west and end up in India? Actually, it was already a very old understanding that the Earth was round when he embarked.

Christopher Columbus, or whatever his name was, bumped into specks of the western hemisphere (islands) around 1492. And quite literally, he did bump into these places, a phenomenon we will clear up when we get to the 1700s and discuss John Harrison.

The Magna Carta is significant, for it is the first time in modern times that a serious political argument was settled diplomatically. Down through the years, first in England, then in the U.S., and now internationally, one will see the elements of the Magna Carta woven into constitutional documents and manifestos up to this time. It is a very important document, imparting ideas of fairness and balance among the rulers and the ruled.

Spring is just around the corner. We likely believe that more in Atlanta, Ga. than you do in Highland County at the moment, but trust me, it is. With spring, comes graduations. Whether from high school or college, young graduates view this as a liberating time, a time to spend a little money.

You have had a year. Have you cleaned up your home and grounds? Would a stranger walking by think, “Someone who lives there loves that place?” Notice, I didn’t talk about spending a dime on paint or anything other expense like that. Just your idle elbow grease. By now, we should have the whole world cleaned up – if we love this place.

One seldom makes headlines unless they are doing something exceptional or extraordinary. Extraordinary seems to work very well if headlines are your goal. For everyone else, you will find they go to work (if allowed to do so these days), take care of their families and quietly go about their business. My estimate is that the extraordinary crowd in this country is fewer than 3 million people; these are the ones who steal the headlines in print and online. If there are 330 million people in the country, give or take a couple million, that means 3/330, or fewer than 1 percent are making the headlines affecting the rest of us.

Natural Gas will continue to be the number-one source in 2050, according to this model. Jumping to number two will be utility scale photovoltaics (as are proposed for Highland County). Coal is still a significant factor. But it is declining significantly. There are two sets of assumptions driving this model: Energy policy and economics.

Natural Gas will continue to be the number-one source in 2050, according to this model. Jumping to number two will be utility scale photovoltaics (as are proposed for Highland County). Coal is still a significant factor. But it is declining significantly. There are two sets of assumptions driving this model: Energy policy and economics.

Let us start with the obvious. If you are reading this, you have made it through the year. It may have been with some (perhaps a lot) of stress, sorrow and an empty stomach at times. But you are here. You made it.

During cotton vacation, Priscilla had decided to make it a point to visit each child’s home. She would do this between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Money was scarce, but she would take each family a small bag of oranges and bananas.

Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio on Oct. 4, 1822. He was an attorney and served as city solicitor of Cincinnati from 1858-61. Joining the Union Army, he fought in the Civil War, and was wounded five times. He had a reputation for bravery and achieved the rank of brevet major general. He served in Congress from 1865-67 as a Republican. He served as governor of Ohio from 1868-72 and from 1876-77.