Native Germanic-language speaker: “What is your name?” Native Romance-language speaker: “How do you call yourself?” Native RDF speaker: “How do you call what your name is?” More collected Geek Thoughts at http://geekthoughts.info.
Month: September 2008
Cringely writes that a mandatory ban on incandescent lighting would cut U.S. electricity consumption by 18% within a year. What else could have a big impact? The Onion Radio News reported on a new eco-friendly Hummer that kills its owners. (aired Aug 7, 2008) That’s not bad, but a tax on SUVs of one dollar…
One state, two state. Red state, blue state. Yes. Some are red. And some are blue. Some are old. And some are new. Some are sad. And some are glad. And some are very, very bad. Why are they sad and glad and bad? I do not know. Go ask your dad. Not one of…
I’m working on a piece of software that, while not the answer to world peace, is still pretty neat and approaches a specific problem in a fresh way. The project is at the stage where it needs to get unveiled to early adopters in the target audience. So how does one introduce possibly unfamiliar concepts…
A food calorie (kilocalorie) is the amount of energy required to heat one liter of water one degree C. Therefore, when you drink one liter of ice water your body has to warm it up to 37C, giving it an effective calorie content of negative 37. Room temperature (25 degree C) water, on the other…
Levy a $24,000, one-time tax, payable in installments over 10 years, against anyone who took out an interest-only mortgage (or various other high-risk instruments) during the previous 10 years, using the full nasty power of the IRS to collect (garnishing wages, etc.) Take the proceeds and give it to homeowners who did NOT engage in…
A Geek sits in a room filled with books, internet terminals, and a few comfortable chairs. All around, people are reading copyrighted materials, event taking them home to “borrow”. The Geek uses free wi-fi to catch up on email and postings. And the poor, starving content creators aren’t getting a cent. How can this travesty…
The XQuery Working Group is debating the need for higher-order functions in the language. I’m working on honing my description of why this is an important feature. Does this work? What would work better? Imagine you are writing a smallish widget app, in an environment without a standard library. When you need to sort your…
“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.” More collected Geek Thoughts at http://geekthoughts.info.
Going away for a week (so possibly minimal posting here). What am I bringing to read? The Watchmen Analog magazine (Nov 2008 issue featuring Robert Sawyer) Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive Make magazine (issue 15, DIY music) Check some of these out. What do you like to read when travelling? -m
And Microsoft still unhip. I’m not even bothering to click through the second ad… -m
Has there ever been a case of mitigated gall? More collected Geek Thoughts at http://geekthoughts.info/.
My quest for a backup brain is (almost) at an end. Evernote flat out rocks. It runs as a great Mac app (on that other OS too, in case through some disaster I ever need it). It has a nice web interface, including a web clipper. It’s on the iPhone. Anything I put in there…
chromatic: O(n^3) isn’t so bad when n=1 or 2. More collected Geek Thoughts at http://geekthoughts.info/.
Some of you were at my Aug 2 Meade Classe at MoreFlavor in Los Altos. Here’s the latest: I racked it to a very full 3 gallon fermenter today. The gravity measured at 1.004, a drop of 142 (!) points, which puts it at just a hair under 19% ABV. It’s potent stuff. Good fruit…
Google is a much better search engine for everyday calculations in the search bar, like say [439600 light years / 200 km/sec] (compare Y!, search.microsoft.com, er, msn.com, er, live.com) More collected Geek Thoughts at http://geekthoughts.info/.
The company is in great need of talented XML professionals, including sales engineers, consultants, support, and technical writing. Let me know if you (or someone you know) is up for the challenge. -m
I prefer the Yahoo! Search iPhone interface. Search Assist and SearchMonkey goodness abound, and make a concrete improvement to the experience. But why can’t I get Yahoo! Go for iPhone? I’m gobsmacked that such a strategic app isn’t available this far into the game. Yahoo! Go was first announced in 2006. Then 2007. Then 2008….
Blackberry singing in the dead of night Take these calendars, and do invite All your life You are only waiting for this email to arrive More collected Geek Thoughts at http://geekthoughts.info/. P.S. Got a better one? Post it. -m