Bill Petro: writer and technologist.
Writes about History, Popular Culture, Tech Trends, and Travel.
Contributing writer to the books Product Management to Product Leadership: The Advanced Use Cases
and Invitation to Church History, Vol 1 & 2

History of Star Wars: Premiered 45 Years Ago

May 25, 2023

HISTORY OF STAR WARS The original Star Wars movie premiered on May 25, 1977. Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away… when living in Berkeley, in November 1976, I picked up a new science fiction novel, “Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker” by George Lucas. I did not know then that it…

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History of The Who’s Tommy: 54 Years Ago

May 23, 2023

HISTORY OF THE WHO’s TOMMY Fifty-four years ago today, on May 23, 1969, the British rock group The Who released the double-album rock opera Tommy. Commercially the record went Gold in the UK and Double Platinum in the US. Several songs were released as singles that charted in the Top 20 in the UK and…

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History of Mother’s Day: Ancient and Modern Sources

May 12, 2023

HISTORY OF MOTHER’S DAY The person who initially was most active in opposing the celebration of Mother’s Day is the very person who started this holiday in the U.S. How did that happen?   Anna Jarvis’ mother died in 1905, and in her honor, Anna held a memorial in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia. She continued…

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Thinking About: AI in Big Tech Earning Reports: the Race is On

May 11, 2023

AI in Big Tech Earning Reports: the Race is On The hottest tech topic of late has been Artificial Intelligence. You can’t read a news article on tech that doesn’t discuss AI. For example: Two weeks ago, the Big Tech companies reported their financial results: Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), and Apple reported strong sales.  …

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History of VE-Day: End of WWII in Europe 78 Years Ago

May 7, 2023

HISTORY OF VE-DAY Seventy-eight years ago today, World War II ended in Europe with the acceptance by the Allies of unconditional surrender from Germany on VE-Day.   Or did it?   May 7, 1945, VE-Day Adolf Hitler had committed suicide in his Berlin bunker a week earlier, on April 30, 1945, as I describe in…

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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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