Bufnagle: the Podcast

Rafe discusses the impact of (1) the earth's elliptical orbit and (2) the tilt of the axis of the earth's axis of rotation on setting clocks.  It turns out that even though the earth is spinning at the same rate, the length of a day varys considerably over the course of a year and failure to account for that can lead to errors as big as 15 minutes. Rafe explains why the days are differen...

Rafe got a great Christmas gift: the book "The Stones of the Abbey", by Fernand Pouillon.  He's reviewing it for you this week on the Buf. This historical fiction account tells the story of a master building an abbey in Provence in France in the late 1100s.  Through dated journal entries, he tells the story of the beginning of the construction of the Abbey of Le Thoronet in southeas...

Redropping one of our favorite episodes from December 2024, Harry and Rafe start with the idea of a bleak midwinter, dart down some rabbit holes and tell some stories of old shenanigans, and end up on Christmas carols, in particular Sleigh Ride , O Holy Night , Cradle in Bethlehem , Still, Still, Still , and Joseph's Song .  Particular attention is paid to Paul Cardall's splendid instrum...

Rafe recounts a recent tour of the sawmill at Frank Miller Lumber in Union City, IN, one of the world's largest producers of quarter sawn white oak lumber.   A high-tech sawmill with state-of-the-art, computer-controlled, laser-assisted saws and dozens of people doing the hard work, Frank Miller Lumber pumps out nearly 1.5 million board feet of quarter sawn white oak every month.  Come along...

Rafe tells the tale of a the third (and final) part of a recent trip to France, with stops Orléans and Paris. Along the way, we'll hear about Joan of Arc, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Sainte-Chapelle, and Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre and a host of other things. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your...

Rafe tells the tale of the second part of a recent trip to France, with stops at the Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette and the Basilica of Our Lady of Fourvière (and other places!). The sun shines brighter, the birds sing sweeter, the food tastes better, when one is surrounded by beautiful things. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independ...

Rafe tells the tale of a the first part of a recent trip to France to visit the cloistered nuns at ABBAYE NOTRE-DAME DE L'ANNONCIATION , along the way discussing a brief stop in Avignon to see ancient papal dwellings and a meeting with a delightful luthier. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carr...

Rafe and Harry discuss the general wonders, and the specifics of the combustion, of wood, one of the great (if not the greatest!) natural resources on planet earth. Again, more proof that this planet was made for us. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  A...

Re-dropping a classic episode from the early, early days of the Buf: Rafe and Zach discuss Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery and their exploration of Louisiana, a gigantic chuck of land purchased by President Thomas Jefferson for the fledgling United States in 1803. It is a tale full of adventure, miracles, and divine providence and a must for anyone wanting to understand the modern Ameri...

Bob joins Rafe to discuss happenings in the world of flower gardens, fatherhood, home repair, model trains, and, of course, ROCKETS! ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  As such, some of you have asked how you can help out.  Well, here's the answer:...

Re-dropping a classic episode from Allhallowtide 2023: Harry and Rafe discuss role models (not ROLL models) and the examples we put in front of our kids and in front of ourselves.  If our wish for our children is for them to get to heaven, who should their role models be? ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts...

Re-dropping a classic episode from October 2023: Rafe is joined this week by Big Brain Smart Head™ Angela Nash to discuss Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein .  As Rafe recounts the story, Angela provides a rich commentary on the understanding of the tale.  If you haven't read the book but know anything of "Frankenstein", chances are that everything you know about the story is wr...

After reading an article in Hearth and Field, Rafe goes in search of the author and today's guest, Big Brain Smart Head™ Peregrine North, a.k.a. Rachel Shrader.  Rafe discovers that she is a writer, musician, and artist and has written oodles of things related to Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. The conversation covers all sorts of topics, from praying with birds, to understanding the costs one p...

Rafe has noticed that it is currently autumn and that means changing leaves and all that.  The discussion takes us through the miracle of changing seasons, chlorophyll and photosynthesis, French songs and English versions, life changes, loss, Momento Mori, and hope for Spring. (This show's bumper music is excerpts from Eva Cassidy's near-perfect rendition of Autumn Leaves from her CD  So...

Rafe shares the tale of a lottery "glitch" — a simple human error that wasn't caught, that ended up costing the company about a million dollars. In the end, it is experience that counts, not a sharp suit or a brainiac coder or an AI; keep the old people around so you can learn from their mistakes instead of paying oodles of dollars to repeat them. ***** As always, you can reach the...

Rafe invites his sister, Big Brain Smart Head™ Maura Donahue, to discuss her recent adventures with shepherding a flock of monarch butterfly caterpillars from hatching to chrysalis stage.  The discussion is one filled with wonder and awe, a conversation edged with the understanding that everyday processes that take place mostly unseen in Nature are nothing short of miraculous. ***** As always, you...

Re-dropping a classic episode from 2023: Harry and Rafe address some listener questions surrounding great saints, why so much focus on Imago Dei , and all the great stuff we have learned doing the Buf for all these years. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcas...

Rafe tackles a classic high-school algebra problem and discusses that, when teaching, there is a real need to actually show students the tricks and procedures for getting to answers; the idea that students should be encouraged to try to reinvent the wheel, when the solution has been developed and is shared amongst the educated, is just silly.  Be deliberate in your instruction; don't hide the...

Rafe tells the story of the repair of a sewing machine and somehow ends up with the idea of God giving us (or him) puzzles to solve so as to give us Great Joy. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  As such, some of you have asked how you can help out.  Wel...

Harry joins Rafe to discuss the principle of lift, problems the Wright brothers needed to solve before their airplane could be complete, how jet engines work, and an unknown brush with greatness that Rafe had years ago. This is Part 2 of two episodes. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the e...

Harry joins Rafe to discuss the principle of lift, problems the Wright brothers needed to solve before their airplane could be complete, how jet engines work, and an unknown brush with greatness that Rafe had years ago. This is Part 1 of two episodes. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the e...

In this second of two episodes, Rafe discusses the second half of the Book of Esther, a tale of political intrigue, cleverness, faith, and duty. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  As such, some of you have asked how you can help out.  Well, here's...

In this first of two episodes, Rafe discusses the first half of the Book of Esther, a tale of political intrigue, cleverness, faith, and duty. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  As such, some of you have asked how you can help out.  Well, here's th...

Rafe takes on the topic of boundaries and freedoms and how the restrictions we put on ourselves in all endeavors bring us the freedom that we seek. ***** As always, you can reach the Buf at bufnagle@bufnagle.com ***** As you know, this is an independent podcast so your hosts also carry all the expenses of running this podcast.  As such, some of you have asked how you can help out.  Well, here&apos...

Rafe recalls stories of his father crafting things and tells stories about crafting things himself, all while watching professionals using industrial techniques that fail to allow the story of the maker to be imprinted into the craftwork.   In the end we learn that the image and likeness of a creator gets imprinted into his work, just like your Maker's Image and Likeness have been imprinted o...