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 Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year

September 11, 2026

Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF ROSH HASHANAH osh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year, which starts tomorrow according to the Jewish calendar; tomorrow begins at sundown tonight. “Rosh” is Hebrew for “head,” and Rosh Hashanah refers to the head of the year on the 1st day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish ecclesiastical…

History of 9/11, Twenty-five Years Ago: Patriot Day

September 11, 2026

Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF PATRIOT DAY: 9/11 Twenty-five Years Ago Podcast   n 9/11, September 11, 2001, twenty-five years ago, more Americans were killed on American soil in one day than in any attack since Pearl Harbor in 1941. A series of terrorist airplane hijacking attacks occurred in New York City, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon… and the world…

History of Star Trek: 60 Years Ago, Now, and the Future

September 8, 2026

Reading Time: 16 minutesHISTORY OF STAR TREK Podcast   tar Trek premiered on NBC TV on September 8, 1966… 60 years ago. It is my favorite television show; I was glued to the TV for the first episode and every one after that. It had a significant influence on my choice of a career in technology. The show…

History of the Fall of the Roman Empire: the Short Version

September 4, 2026

Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE On September 4, AD 476, Odoacer captured the city of Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus, marking the Fall of the Roman Empire.   What do we mean by the Fall of the Roman Empire?   First, what do we mean by the Roman Empire? This part of the…

History of Labor Day: What’s Work Got To Do With It?

September 4, 2026

Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF LABOR DAY abor Day is the day we celebrate the process our mothers went through to deliver us at birth. Sorry, wrong holiday; Labor Day in the U.S. is the day we celebrate the achievements of the American labor movement. Because Labor Day is always observed on the first Monday in September, the…

History of September: The Start of Fall

September 1, 2026

Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF SEPTEMBER ou may have noticed that September sounds like the Latin word for seven. And you’d be perceptive — septem is the Latin word for seven, and this month used to be the seventh month of the ancient Roman calendar. This Latin numbering continues through the year’s remaining months, as highlighted below: octo/eight,…

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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