Amboise, France April 18, 2000 The picturesque Château d’Amboise rises majestically from a promontory above the Loire and across from L’île d’Or. The strategic merit of the site is obvious, and fortifications have been built here since at least the tenth century. What we see now are the remnants or restorations of its Italianate incarnation […]
Onzain, France April 18, 2000 Light streamed thru the window as if poured from an open faucet. Accompanying it was a cacophony of chirping birds, and a more distant rumbling of farm equipment plying and pruning our extensive terrain. After a long day yesterday, we were happy to sleep in, and to let the sun gently […]
Orléans, France April 17, 2000 The perks of my job are obvious, but nice nonetheless. In January, my wife decided to visit a friend in London. So she checked with her mole at Delta Air Lines, and had him check inventory. “Are seats available on any London flights next weekend?” “Yes”, I replied. “Plenty in […]
Atlanta, GA June 21, 2020 This abominable year is only half done, but since it started we feel like we’ve already lived several. And, in a way, we have. As I heard it put recently… We’ve endured a 1918 pandemic, a 1929 depression, 1968 riots, a 2000 bubble, a 2008 crash. And that’s just since […]
Glenn, MI June 7, 2020 As a headline had it during the SpaceX launch last week, it’s a good time to get away from Earth. That’s impractical for us, so we did the next best thing…and ran away from the world. We needed a change of scenery, and some open space, so have returned to […]
Nice, France October 12, 2005 I was ensconced for two days in a high hamlet below the Alps and above the sea. I now write from the eclectic city of Nice, nestled comfortably in between. This is my first visit since Rita and I were here several years ago. My excuse is the bi-annual meeting Unisys hosts […]
Atlanta , GAMay 30, 2020 Last Monday politicians plied the usual platitudes honoring those who “gave their lives so we can be free”, even as they ordered us to cower in our homes, keep away from others, or hide under a mask. As Pat Buchanan put it, we are treated like children awaiting permission to […]
The Effect of Greek Mathematics on the Palladian Villa By John D. Breen Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Architecture March 1999 The effect of mathematics on architecture seems at once obvious and opaque. The apparent significance may be deduced by noting the symmetry inherent in Renaissance structures and in the details of the arches […]
By John D. Breen Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Economics April 1998 What follows is a description of characteristics and features of Sonoma County, California, to be utilized primarily for economic analysis. As a thorough comprehension and useful application of the traditional economic information cannot be attained without an appreciation for the area to […]
The following was submitted to the Georgia Tech Journal of Economics in 1997. by John D. Breen Georgia Institute of Technology October 15, 1997 The history of Argentina is one of Indian settlement, colonial exploration, republic, military dictatorship, and, more recently, incipient capitalism. Regrettably, it is also one of varying degrees of poverty, a condition […]