200Columbus | The Bicentennial Celebration for Columbus, OH

Columbus is turning 200 this year. A milestone for my hometown. A great city, a great place to live, and largely overlooked or dismissed as a "cowtown" by outsiders. Anyone who has this opinion would be in for a pleasant surprise if you visit or learn more about C-Bus!! I challenge you to!

200Columbus The Bicentennial Celebration for Columbus, OH

9/11 Parent Essay - My Son Cole's Assignment

September 11, 2011

Hilliard Memorial

RE: 9/11 Assignment

Cole Linville - 8^th Grade Hilliard Memorial M.S.

To Whom it May Concern:

I am told this essay is supposed to be about how America has changed since 9/11. The short answer is that it certainly has changed. The changes are sometimes hard to see and sometimes, obvious.

The best way to describe the changes, in my opinion, is that prior to 9/11, the United States mainland had not been physically attacked by an outside enemy since the 1800's. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq...these are all areas where US citizens have been killed, but they all occurred far away. The 9/11 attacks happened in our homeland, in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. This is why 9/11 changed America so profoundly.

One example of this change is the way we travel. TSA agents “patting down” passengers, taking off your shoes in a airport, not being allowed to wait at a gate unless you are a passenger, and bringing only 4 ounces of liquid on plane are all habits that didn't exist prior to 9/11.

Our laws have changed dramatically, as well, affecting civil liberties that are guaranteed to us by the Constitution. Police agencies have much broader authority to stop and question and search civilians. Many political prisoners no longer have a right to a speedy trial, right to have charges read to them, rights to an attorney. Some prisoners have been tortured during government sanctioned interrogations. These are mostly unintended consequences, but many come directly from choices our government has made in the aftermath of 9/11.

Lastly, war is seemingly a constant since 9/11. Prior to 9/11 there was rarely a war in my lifetime, now there are long wars on multiple fronts.. The War on Terror has taken a turn, in my opinion, from a mission to stop terrorist organizations, to a political no-win gambit to enforce American ideas and practices on foreign cultures. However, recent events akin to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in Egypt, Libya, Syria and other middle eastern countries show that their world is changing and the people of those countries are ready for a change. Perhaps they are motivated in some ways by changing world attitudes since 9/11.

One thing that hasn't changed is the American spirit. While we were shocked by the events of 9/11, we have eventually rebuilt. A newsman stated that America is a nation of builders, not destroyers. I believe that. Another stated, Americans do not live in fear, Americans live in freedom. That's a good message on which to end.

Sincerely,

J. Bradford Linville

Fractal Geometry

The background of my website is a fascinating image of something called the Mandelbrot Set which is a fractal. It is a popular example of a mathematical visualization.  A fractal is a geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced copy of the whole.    To see a zoom-able image of the Mandelbrot Set that will make your head spin, go here: Neave Fractal Zoom.   For the mathematicians out there, or to ruin all of the mystique and fun of the Mandelbrot set, go here Wiki/Mandelbrot_set and get ready to have your mind blown!