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We arrived in New Zealand in July 2002 – winter in the Southern Hemisphere – and stayed in the Millennium Hotel, a fine lodging overlooking Cathedral Square in Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city. Across the plaza was the huge stone Anglican Cathedral; I remember climbing to the top of its 200-foot tower to get a view of the surrounding city, having no idea what fate had in store for this massive historic edifice.

On Dec. 4, 1956 four brilliant young men on the verge of realizing their dreams of soaring into the heights of the music business met at the ramshackle Sun Studio in Memphis for a relaxed jam session.

Many computer users stay in a “ready-to-go” position at all times without giving arm, hand, shoulder and neck muscles enough opportunities to rest. There's a simple method to correct this. I call it repetitive rest, but one of my clients called it the “zen” of ergonomics, and once you try it you may agree.

When it comes to history, I’m always entertained by uncovering the surprising chain of connections that link the past with the present. To illustrate this game of connect the historic dots, let’s take this year’s centennial celebration of Silicon Valley’s Villa Montalvo estate and connect it, along a winding avenue, to the reign of the great Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne.

I really dread the 2012 election cycle, especially the presidential race. We know that both the Obama and Romney campaigns have enough money to completely dominate television advertising, and given what we have seen from the Republican primary races, it will be overwhelmingly negative. It appears that Romney’s theme will be that Obama was not up to the job and gave us four years of failure, so he deserves a chance to get it right. Almost every speech is filled with “he didn’t … I will.”

If you use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, you may have wondered what happens when users die. Are profiles immortal? Are memories lost? Few users really know.

This “Teacher's Perspective” column was difficult to write today – not because I didn't have enough to say, but from the sad content of what I did have to say. I’m distressed on a number of levels that are related to our school district and our community.

What does it mean when a wine is “balanced?” It’s a wine that incorporates all its main components – tannins, acid, sweetness and alcohol – in a manner where no one single component stands out. Tannins come from grape skins, seeds, stems and oak barrels - it’s the astringent taste you get when you have bitten into a grape seed. Tannins give body and structure to the wine - too much tannin can be mouth-puckering and drying. The right amount of acids give wines their characteristic crisp, slightly tart taste. Too much acid and the wine can taste sour. A wine with too much sugar will taste cloying and sugary and will not be refreshing. A balanced wine is when all the components work in harmony.