Bill Petro, technology sales enablement executive:
writes on History, Popular Culture, Tech Trends, and Travel

History of I Have A Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. – 63 Years Ago

August 28, 2026

Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH oday, 63 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. It continues to echo down the halls of history more than six decades later. On August 28, 1963, he delivered his speech at the March on Washington, at the height of…

History of St. Augustine: Sinner and Theologian

August 28, 2026

Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF ST. AUGUSTINE he Feast of Saint Augustine is celebrated on August 28, the date of his death in 430 A.D. Augustine is considered the most influential bishop in history; he is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, and several cities and dioceses worldwide. Most of what we know about him is from…

Northern Lights and Coronal Mass Ejection: Existential Threat from Methanogenic Cattle

August 27, 2026

Reading Time: 3 minutesNORTHERN LIGHTS AND CORONAL MASS EJECTION: METHANOGENIC CATTLE OAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has announced a G2 geomagnetic storm watch for tomorrow, August 28, which could potentially boost aurora activity. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are plasma and magnetic field explosions from the Sun’s corona. When aimed at Earth, they trigger geomagnetic storms that affect…

History of the 19th Amendment: Women’s Right to Vote, 106 Years Ago

August 26, 2026

Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE 19TH AMENDMENT: WOMEN’S RIGHT TO VOTE ver a hundred years ago, on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted. This prohibited the federal and state governments from denying citizens of the United States the right to vote on the basis of sex. Effectively, this meant that the…

History of the California Gold Rush: How It Created the State

August 19, 2026

Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald reported news of the California Gold Rush along the American East Coast. It was not new news to those further West, as the gold rush had started in January and was publicized in San Francisco in March. However, the New York…

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 covers all major U.S. holidays, and some international ones.

Read Articles

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, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, and Harry Potter films; rock and jazz concerts; London and Broadway theatre reviews.

Read Articles

Tech Trends

Articles about current and future technologies and their possible implications. Topics include Apple iPhone, Apple Watch and some innovative technologies from other companies: internet, social media, email, virtualization, cloud, payment systems, personal data backup, geek holidays, nerd stuff, etc.

Read Articles

Travel

After traveling 2 million miles to 46 countries, I've written some articles on the US, Peru, Ireland, France, Italy... wherein I share my adventures in cultural ignorance and education the hard way. You’ll find some differences that are fascinating and intriguing, humorous, or irritating — the last two need not be mutually exclusive.

Read Articles