Category Archives: Uncategorized

In the car the other day I mentioned that I was going to start practicing the guitar for real, in such a way that implied that I knew, in some deep sense, how to practice an instrument. A friend inquired … Continue reading →

My friend Grant posed the following interesting question to me: Say you could go back in time to 1999… and you were to show/tell something that shows how much “progress” humans have made in the past 10 years — something … Continue reading →

The late, brilliant Douglas Adams co-authored a book called The Meaning of Liff. From Wikipedia: It is a “dictionary of things that there aren’t any words for yet”; all the words listed are place names, and describe common feelings and … Continue reading →

(Some might consider this a SPOILER) In the last two days, I saw District 9 and Avatar, two movies with several similar characteristics: large aliens, oppression by humans, not-so-subtle commentaries about imperialism, DNA mixing, and a crossover human. Both were … Continue reading →

For better or for worse, there’s a fairly well-established status hierarchy for professionals in the US, with doctors near the top, and janitors near the bottom. Is there a similar status hierarchy for celebrities? I happened across this old interview … Continue reading →

Trick play is controversial by David DeBolt From the Daily Post, Monday, December 7, 2009 With seconds to go in a game that would help take them to this week’s national championship tournament in Florida, the Palo Alto Knights pulled … Continue reading →

I have an iPhone 3G, but I want a Motorola Droid, partly for its awesome screen, physical keyboard, and open, multitasking OS. However, I mostly want it for its network, Verizon, which I’m hoping will allow me to make calls … Continue reading →

One of my writing-style pet peeves is the incorrect use of the word “infinitely”. As in “OMG, this math test was infinitely harder than the last one!” No, it wasn’t. Of course, there are a few legitimate uses of the … Continue reading →

From a laptop computer efficiency paper. Laptop displays consume 30% of the total energy supplied by the power supply or the battery and represent a substantial efficiency paradox by themselves. On the one hand, they cut power use and physical … Continue reading →

I am of course going utterly gaga over Usain Bolt’s recent performances at the World Championships in Berlin. First, there was the mind-blowing 9.58 in the 100m. Keep in mind that before Bolt started running the race for real about … Continue reading →