10 September 20

If you lost anything in the last 12 years, you can "Blame It On The Large Hadron Collider." The LHC, which is the largest machine in the whole world, opened on this date in 2008, and is located near Geneva, Switzerland. Its primary feature is an enormous underground cylindrical tunnel ring with a diameter of 5.3 miles. You can take a virtual tour of the LHC through your own Web browser! Since this subatomic particle accelerator can create miniature black holes, the LHC makes a handy excuse when anything disappears without a trace. My tie has many rings-within-rings, on a deep black background. As far as I know it has never been "lost," but it tunneled to me from the tie collection of my former EKU colleague Minh Nguyen.

2 July 20

Tomorrow is the birthday of my philosophy-and-Honors friend Minh Nguyen. When he left EKU in May 2019 he gifted me with several excellent ties, and I'm glad to wear this one in his honor! He is currently a director in the Honors College at Florida Gulf Coast University. Today also marks the date in 1776 when the Continental Congress adopted a resolution to be independent of the rule of England, the date that John Adams expected to be celebrated as Independence Day.

27 October 19

Today (the fourth Sunday in October) is Mother-in-Law's Day! So to honor Wilma Wollenweber's love of flowers I'm wearing a new-to-me tie with tiny blue and white flowers. It originally belonged to Dr. Minh Nguyen, friend from philosophy and honors while he worked at Eastern Kentucky University.

3 July 19

Happy Birthday, Minh Nguyen! My tie is one of several that Minh bequeathed to me during his recent shift from Eastern Kentucky University to Florida Gulf Coast University, where he is now Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Honors College. We worked together for many years in the Honors Program at EKU. I think the bold horizontal stripes (in navy, red, dark green, white and yellow) resemble a national flag, but I haven't found one that matches well. The closest ones seem to be Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ethiopia and Mauritius.

14 May 19

Today at Eastern Kentucky University we're recognizing the excellent work of Dr. Minh Nguyen, my friend and comrade in the philosophy department and the Honors Program. He is moving to the Honors College at Florida Gulf Coast University. Yesterday he bequeathed me with some of his ties, and I've chosen this one for today! The gold elements in its design remind me of the ropes and tassels on epaulets and bed canopies.