Gregory Lewis Web-Log

Today is Tuesday March 31, 2026. It is my birthday. It is the final trading-day of the first quarter. The 2026 tax-filing deadline here in the United States is only two weeks away. The stock market on Wall Street is in, or near, correction territory, being 10% down from its recent January highs. Washington D.C. is in a partial government shutdown because of the massive amount of debt and budget impasse. Presently, the sovereignty and territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine is entering its fifth year. If Ukraine is required to relinquish eastern territory to Russia to secure a peace-deal, then Russia's Putin should be required to step down as President. Russia's President Putin has proven himself an unreliable ally and threat to peace and security in Eastern Europe. There is, also, a regional war in the Middle-East at the Strait of Hormuz entering its fifth week. The Allied Forces of U.S., Israel, and others are disputing with Iran over its nuclear weapons capabilities, s...

 Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art Philosophy of Art has long been a part of the more broader studies in Philosophy. The Ancient Greek Philosophers Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle all addressed the subject of Philosophy of Art, Music, and Beauty that would later become known, collectively, as Aesthetics. The peoples of ancient and medieval times were mostly illiterate. The common person could not read, write, or engage with books, scrolls or literature. The fine arts of music, poetry, painting, sculpting, and engravings was a way these illiterate peoples retained their respective histories and cultural heritage. Furthermore, works of art are not constrained by specific language barriers, and are better at traversing spatial and temporal boundaries. Therefore, works of fine art could be easily shared among illiterate peoples who spoke different languages across vast distances of space or time. To do so, the work of art must convey an idea, feeling, emotion, belief, knowledge, or expr...

 Athena's Spear and the Business of War We are three weeks into the New Year 2026. This is my first web-log posting of the New Year. The United States has recently taken the Venezuelan President Maduro into U.S. custody, tariffs and trade wars dominate the international headlines, Ukraine and Russia are in the third year of its border and territorial dispute, the Israelis and the international community is trying to deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Virginia’s first female governor took office in Richmond this past weekend, and the World Economic Forum has its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week. Firstly, I would like to start this web-log post by stating only blood-thirsty tyrants lust after war. War is an instance of chaos overtaking order and rationality. War is a lot of people dying and everyone is thrust into extreme hardship. It is often said the first casualty of war is Truth and war never really solves any problems, but only sows the seeds for future armed milit...

 Christmas 2025: Computers, Radios, Electronics and More! It is only 5 days until Christmas 2025. It might be difficult to get these items under the tree before Christmas, but they are great gift ideas for Christmas gift-card money, birthdays, or any holiday you might be celebrating. Presently, I am not affiliated with these products or websites in any way. These websites and commercial products are simply my personal recommendations as a Microsoft Certified Windows Programmer, business consultant, and tutor. Firstly, I am a Microsoft Certified Windows Programmer and currently researching the requirements for teaching High School Computer Science. Most of my electronics recommendations for business, school, and communications are centered around Windows PC’s. Personal Computers were declared an essential devices during the recent pandemic crisis. It is still possible to get updates for your Windows 10 computers, but I highly recommend upgrading to Windows 11 immediately. With 25 ye...

 Thanksgiving 2025: Pilgrims, Native Americans, Turkey, and Football The month of November is a very special time of the year. I am one of 35 million world-wide descendants of the 1620 Mayflower voyage and Plymouth Plantation. I have distant ancestry of the Seneca Native American Peoples. Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia will play the Commonwealth Cup football game, one of the longest-running rivalries in college sports. Civilization, itself, is closely related, even identified, with the success of the Fall agricultural harvest and yield of the crops. The human story in Bible Genesis begins in the Garden of Eden. Government and religious leaders depend, almost exclusively, on the bounty of the harvest and the standard of living for their respective members. The Puritan Pilgrim Separatists of the 1620 Mayflower and Plymouth Plantation, fleeing religious persecution in Europe, established the first permanent English settlement here in the New World, and did nothing less t...

Halloween 2025: More Thoughts on the Apocalypse October 31st Halloween 2025 is two weeks away, followed by All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. I am a Christian Baptists and we did not have much to do with anything at this time of year. As an undergraduate Philosophy major I had courses in Philosophy of Religion and participated in various Inter-Faith Dialogue Conferences. It was not until my later undergraduate college years at Virginia tech that I became intrigued with the history and religious significance of this transition to shorter days and longer nights. Afterwards, I spent an entire year reading the King James Study Bible authorized by Liberty University. I then spent an additional two years of personal research on the Apocalypse. I researched the Apocalypse using a three-pronged approach: 1. Philosophy of Religion, 2. Comparative Religion, and 3. with a practical disaster-preparedness perspective. I am currently researching how modern technology can help facilitate inter-faith...