Author Archives
In 2018 I semi-retired by retiring from Weston High School after my 21st year teaching mathematics there. This was also my 44th year as a teacher altogether. In 2023 I retired fully, adding in my 18 years at Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy each summer. For 21 years I had taught at the Saturday Course in Milton, MA, and I used to serve on the board of the Dorchester Historical Society.
I read, cook, and spend a lot of time building my model railroad. For some reason I’m left with less free time than would be ideal, considering that I’m supposed to be retired, but somehow I also manage to devote time to my wife, Barbara, and to our varying number of cats (once up to six, but now sadly down to one).
Larry Davidson
ljd@larrydavidson.com
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Trying to find my ancestors in the 1890–1920 U.S. Censuses
Censuses? Or should it be “censi”? (Or maybe even “censūs,” for us Latin scholars? I always liked the 4th Declension.) Whatever. The first problem is where to look. Google, of course, is your friend. And some people swear by various… Read More ›
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A close-up view of Neighborhood #5, Newtown
Despite its name, the neighborhood of Newtown is actually the second oldest part of Rose City, being preceded only by the Center City neighborhood. (I guess that still made the name somewhat appropriate, comparatively speaking. It’s rather like the name… Read More ›
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They understand us across the pond.
The Marsh Family responds quickly and on point:
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Jet Lag and The Amazing Race
Eight years ago I wrote several posts for this blog about June Academy at Weston High School. You may want to read the first of those posts before continuing with this one. Anyhow, one of the courses offered for June… Read More ›
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Pretty as a Picture
When you look at the front cover of Elizabeth Little’s Pretty as a Picture, you notice an apt blurb by Laura Lippman (see image below): “A twisty story, a cinephile’s delight, a knockout of a heroine. I loved it.” Let’s… Read More ›
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My 10 Favorite Books Redux
When I just happened to be looking at a post I wrote 17 years ago (for reasons that I will explain below), I was surprised to realize that today’s list of my favorite books wouldn’t be very different from that… Read More ›
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Abigail on a pedestal
She claims that she is so beautiful that she should be placed on a pedestal, preferably in a museum.
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Star Mangled Banner
Founders sing:
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Is Runic Better than Roman?
Should we use the Runic alphabet (which we actually used to use, but that was almost a couple of millennia ago) rather than the Roman alphabet (which we currently use)? Of course we should! Let’s see why. Our Roman alphabet,… Read More ›
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Not on the Test
Recorded 16 years ago, but even more relevant today:
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Happy Ἐξελαύνω Day!
In case you’ve forgotten, today is Exelauno Day. But surely you wouldn’t have forgotten such an important day, would you?
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If you need to get blood drawn for a routine medical exam…
go to the lab at the Atrius Health office in Braintree! (I highly recommend it. This is an unsolicited testimonial.) My experience there yesterday can be summarized in three words: fast, efficient, painless. (Those adjectives describe the Atrius lab, not… Read More ›
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Good Lieutenant by E.J. Copperman
Good Lieutenant is the sixth, the best, the most serious, and (alas) the last novel in Jeff Cohen’s Jersey Girl series of mysteries. But — wait, wait! important question here, I hear you cry — you said Jeff Cohen but… Read More ›
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Elon
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Tavolo
It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Tavolo, largely due to weather and not being able to drive after dark. The solution today was to go to brunch! They were serving the regular dinner menu along with their… Read More ›
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Abigail’s Dilemma
Abigail just received two presents to celebrate the monthiversary of her adoption. Now she can’t decide whether she prefers her new kitty bed (“So soft!” she exclaimed. “And it’s purple!”) or her new scratching post (“This gives me a view… Read More ›
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A close-up view of Neighborhood #4, Orchard Heights
And now we move on to another neighborhood in my model railroad layout, a.k.a. Rose City: Orchard Heights is — wait for it — the Rose City neighborhood with the highest altitude. What a surprise! But it no longer has… Read More ›
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Written in the South Pacific during World War II
This is a poem written by my dad in 1943 while he was serving in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific — not in Tahiti unfortunately, but in New Guinea in this case. During most of the war, however,… Read More ›
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Baskerville!
Four years ago I wrote a post about the Baskerville typeface, Of course my post had to be titled The Font of the Baskervilles; I had no choice. And now we have an entire book called Baskerville, subtitled The Biography… Read More ›
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The Law of Innocence
You’re wondering why Mickey Haller, the eponymous Lincoln Lawyer, would choose to represent himself. He even quotes the maxim that my father happens to have taught me when I was 11 years old or so: “He who represents himself has… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 