Bill Petro: historian, technologist, writer, podcaster
Writes about History, Popular Culture, Tech Trends, and Travel.

Contributing writer to the books Invitation to Church History, Vol 1 & 2 and
Product Management to Product Leadership: The Advanced Use Cases

History of James Bond: Dr. No – 64 Years Ago

October 5, 2026

Reading Time: 25 minutesHISTORY OF JAMES BOND: DR. NO – 64 YEARS AGO our years ago, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the premiere of the first James Bond film, Dr. No” (1962), I wrote the following article on the history of the Bond film franchise. I discuss each film in the series, including its iconic…

History of St. Francis of Assisi

October 2, 2026

Reading Time: 7 minutesHistory of St. Francis of Assisi he man we know as St. Francis was born in Assisi, Italy, in 1181 or 1182, and died on October 3, 1226. His feast day is October 4. In October 2025, the Italian Parliament restored October 4th as a national feast, previously dropped in 1977, to take effect this…

History of October: The Pumpkin Spice Saga

October 1, 2026

Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF OCTOBER: THE PUMPKIN SPICE SAGA ctober, the tenth month of the year in both the older Julian and the current Gregorian calendar, was the eighth month (Latin octo) in the ancient Roman calendar, but with the addition of January and February, it got bumped to Number 10. The way it actually played out…

History of Coffee: International Coffee Day

September 30, 2026

Reading Time: 10 minutes  HISTORY OF COFFEE: INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY esterday, September 29, was National Coffee Day in the US and 16 other countries. But tomorrow, October 1, is International Coffee Day, also known as National Coffee Day in 12 countries. Whether percolated, filtered, steeped in a French press, poured over, or made with high-pressure steam in an…

History of Michaelmas: Who is St. Michael?

September 29, 2026

Reading Time: 9 minutesHISTORY OF MICHAELMAS eptember 29 is Michaelmas, meaning “Michael’s Mass” or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. It’s known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels, in the Roman Catholic Church, or as the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels in the Anglican Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church, instead,…

Is AI Conscious?

September 28, 2026

Reading Time: 5 minutesIs AI Conscious? arlier this year, Dario Amodei, CEO of the AI company Anthropic, said that he was open to the idea that his Claude AI model could be conscious. “We don’t know if the models are conscious. We are not even sure that we know what it would mean for a model to be…

History of the Holidays

What is the history behind the holidays we celebrate, both sacred and secular? Many of the sacred holidays in our American “Judeo-Christian” heritage have secular associations, while many of the seemingly secular holidays actually have religious roots. This is the back story behind our popular holidays.

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Popular Culture

Featuring reviews of movies, concerts, and theatre. I write movie reviews as soon as I see them, which is usually the day they come out (or before). Reviews of Star Wars and Star Trek movies, Lord of the Rings, James Bond, and Harry Potter films, rock and jazz concerts, and theatre reviews.

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Tech Trends

Articles about current and future technologies and their possible implications. Discussions about Apple iPhone and Apple Watch and innovative technologies from other companies: social media, payment systems, personal data backup, etc.

 

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