The Sirens of High-Tech and the Second Jew

by David Benjamin “Who IS this guy? and why is he writing for EE Times?” — The “SemiSisters” MADISON, Wis. — Eight women extremely prominent in high technology management and marketing — all better educated than me — have composed a manifesto (https://www.3dincites.com/2021/07/smartphone-addiction-is-not-a-gender-specific-problem/) renouncing an essay published under my byline in the tech journal, EE…

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Why a Brouilly? Why a no chicken?

by David Benjamin “Groucho: I say, here is a little peninsula, and here is a viaduct leading over to the mainland. “Chico: All right, why a duck? “Groucho: I’m not playing ‘Ask Me Another,’ I say that’s a viaduct. “Chico: All right! Why a duck?… Why a no chicken? “Groucho: Well, I don’t know why…

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Baron de Coubertin, rolling over in his grave

by David Benjamin PARIS — It’s time to mothball the Olympics. Don’t be shocked. This has been done before. The world went without the Games for 1,500 years before Baron de Coubertin inaugurated the modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896. Today, the impending XXXII Olympiad, Burlesque Show and Sashimi Banquet in Tokyo very likely has…

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Relaxing the grippe, gradually

by David Benjamin PARIS — As long as I’m here, I’m using this city as a barometer of America’s recovery from a long and lingering malaise. In the expurgation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, France is slightly behind the United States, while both countries— every country — remain vulnerable to a discouraging relapse. The difference favoring…

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Fussless

by David Benjamin “We’ll always have Paris.” — Rick Blaine PARIS — Long ago, during a business junket to Tokyo with a management guru named Fishman, I was diagnosed with a case of “travel fuss.” A very frequent flyer, Fishman noted in me an air of uncertainty, anxiety and confusion. He cited my impatience with…

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