Growing up, I loved playing board games. We had one called ‘Uncle Wiggily’ that I really loved. There was also a Berenstein Bears one called ‘Spooky Old Tree’. Anything with a meandering, map-like board, a spinner, and little characters fascinated me. I was inspired to develop my own games with the same basic “go forward 4 spaces, then go back 2 spaces” format. As I got older, I became the only person who was excited to play Monopoly. I’d offer to set it up, play banker, and try to get the game to go as long as possible. Why?

Everywhere I look, people are trying to convince other people that their way is best. Politics, finance, education, design, parenting. If there’s a philosophy to subscribe to, you can bet someone is trying to convince you that theirs is best. But as a fundamentally analytical person with a background in engineering, I know that every system or approach has both strengths and weaknesses. For example, solar or wind can’t be better or worse than coal or natural gas until you establish the assumptions and circumstances. You can’t just say it’s better because you want it to be.

I drove to Grand Island to watch the Pete Ricketts-Dan Osborn debate. I like to go to these things in person whenever possible to get a feel for the room.

The venue where the debate was held was next to the Grand Island casino and racetrack. A fitting metaphor for a longshot candidate who has made this a real horserace.

You rarely see two politicians with such a different visual style on stage. With the senator in his blue blazer and the worker in his blue-collar informal apparel. It set the stage for an evening that was long on disagreements but short on fireworks.

Memes, tweets, and political TV ads: if you spend any time online or in front of a television, you can’t avoid seeing them.

Even if you don’t spend any time online, there’s a good chance someone will send them to you anyway.

I have had a love-hate relationship with memes for years. They can often be humorous. But all too often they can also be misleading or flat-out lies.

Tweets can do the same thing, only with words instead of pictures.

Both memes and tweets can be used to replace critical thinking.