“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” — Comic strip character, Pogo If you are planning to watch the 2026 movie, Mercy, don’t read this column. The movie is slightly futuristic, and it is a reminder that the future is now. It features two key starring roles: Chris Pratt who plays LAPD detective Chris Raven (the accused) and Rebecca Ferguson who plays AI Judge Maddox (who is also the Jury and Executioner). As the plot develops, Kali Reis, Annabelle Wallis, Chris Sullivan, and

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, I’d like to recognize two women who were developing the modern computer long before most Americans even knew about the electronic device. Their contributions, one in the mid-19th century and the other a hundred years later in the mid-20th century, introduced novel ways of solving problems. Although they lived a century apart, both women helped to guide the development of the computers that we use every day. Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada Ki

A couple of years ago, I wrote about the lifespan of a refrigerator. In 44 years of marriage, we have had four refrigerators in our house, each one lasting about half the time of the previous one.  The refrigerator we have now is about two-and-a-half years old, so I’m thinking I’d better start looking around for another one soon. I’m not fond of the refrigerator we have now. When the last one quit working, after six years, I almost cried. We could not find one like it. It had

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune United Way Fresno and Madera give laptops to 30 Madera Unified School District Students during the district’s Student Achievement Celebration on Thursday evening. To bridge the digital divide and support education, 30 students from the Madera Unified School District received laptops during the district’s Student Achievement Celebration, thanks to the generous donations from United Way Fresno and Madera (UWFM). This initiative is part of a $2

Katrina Soliz/The Madera Tribune Mark IV Metal Products President Andrew Segal, left, cuts the ceremonial ribbon with Chowchilla facility General Manager Pedro Orozco as confetti flies to mark the official grand opening of the facility on Friday. Mark IV Metal Products officially opened its doors Friday at 4 Kings Avenue in Chowchilla. The facility is a distribution facility that stocks dozens of sizes of galvanized steel grates and frames and municipal castings, such as manh

Most people who have a computer, or a cell phone, use the internet in some way. Most of us search for information on the “web” by using a search engine such as Google. It has become almost a knee-jerk reaction to go to Google to find out information, such as how to fix something, or to find out how old a celebrity is. Sometimes we want to know some history about a company or an individual. Often the search will take us to a page called Wikipedia, which can give up-to-date inf

If it is not a crime, it should be. It is not only deceptive, it is dangerous to millions of people, and it is quite believable. I found this scam on one of the news services that I receive every morning. It was mixed in with items that were probably “real” news: New information about the Epstein files; a major eatery that is closing 736 of its restaurants; Caribbean military commander who will retire; Kim Kardashian’s new lingerie look, the polar vortex, and so forth. The he

For The Madera Tribune Matilda Torres High School hosts 30 teams from California and Mexico on November 8-9, showcasing over 48 robots in two days of high-intensity matches at the 16th annual MadTown Throwdown. The 16th annual MadTown Throwdown robotics competition energized Matilda Torres High School on November 8 and 9, with 30 teams from across California and Mexico showcasing more than 48 robots in two days of high-intensity matches. World Champion MadTown Robotics Team 1