Mind blown; a blog about philosophy.

In the early 1990s, shiny little mirrored-records dominated music stores’ shelves: compact discs or CDs. While cassette tapes of the 80s were phasing out, CDs were the must-haves, and eventually to be played on clunky portable players. Even car radios started offering the cassette tape/CD duo. This was the time before the world wide web,…

Interestingly, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has created and continues to stir quite the turmoil for better or worse. DOGE hysteria impacts both sides of the political aisle. I’ve been waiting to see how it would approach the Board of Prisons budget and operational strategies. Well, I’m not sure it’s having the same impact…

In the entry for Week 108, I shared some of the silly things that inmates say. Well, here’s a continuation of some of those things…it’s adorable when kids say it, not grown men. -With the sudden deaths of several geese from the bird flu outbreak, a few inmates were walking to the dining hall and…

Over the past week, about 70 of the 300 guys here at FPC Morgantown were called to “R & D” (receiving and discharge) and instructed to pack their belongings. Food, books, clothes, and toiletries are essentially the only belongings that inmates have to pack. All the items must fit into two cardboard boxes about the…

With the impending closure of FPC Morgantown, lots of speculation swirls with where guys will end up going. It appears that most moves will be within the West Virginia area: Cumberland (MD), Beckley, and Hazelton. If you don’t recognize those locations, it’s okay, since they are mostly remote places in the area. Preparing to transfer…

Wildlife abundantly graces the campus of FPC Morgantown. I’ve written much in the past about the little family units of the ducks and geese, which is always a joy to see. Well, Nature wasn’t being so kind this past week to these little critters. First, one momma duck hatched 9 eggs in a contained courtyard…

Since the announcement that FPC Morgantown would be essentially closing in December, I’ve observed the stages of grief among the staff here: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance (Dr. Kubler-Ross), except acceptance is late to the party. FPC Morgantown provides a livelihood for over 150 staff, many of whom are local to the Morgantown area. As…

You may recall that the gossip network here on campus is referred to as “Inmate.com”. With the onslaught of Trump 2.0 executive orders and the closing of FPC Morgantown, inmates have been spreading misinformation faster than an L.A. wildfire. What really ignited the trend earlier this week was a posting of 25 names in my…

The week began with near record lows between -9 and -11 degrees Fahrenheit, even colder with the wind chill. As much of the US experienced the wrath of the polar vortex, like the record snow in Florida, Monday was a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King and of course the inauguration of Donald Trump…

The tradition of a sitting president issuing clemency and pardons to inmates occurs on the brink of a new administration taking the helm. President Biden continued to make history this week by issuing the largest number of commuted sentences of any other president. Earlier in December, he pardoned his son, Hunter, and received much criticism.…