Human beings are worthless lumps of lazy protoplasm. We only change our bad habits when that bitch --- reality --- forces us to reconsider our wayward ways. In this respect the great recession has been a wonderful teacher. It's sat us down and made us stare at the books. And arithmetic, being what it is, … Continue reading It’s all over for Broadcast TV
A Black Swan Song
There’s a lot to like in The Black Swan. To begin, you simply cannot beat the soundtrack! Tchaikovsky delivers a bit stream worthy of high quality digital cinema sound systems. Natalie Portman gives the best performance of her career --- now I see what the young Darth Vader and that creepy V guy saw in … Continue reading A Black Swan Song
Soon we will all be Software Archeologists
One of my pet peeves is the ridiculously short lifetimes of digital media. I remember 9 track mainframe tapes and 5.5 inch floppies: technologies that thrived in an ancient bygone epoch known as the Eighties. Good luck trying to read 9 track tapes or 5.5 inch floppies today! You will have better luck with older … Continue reading Soon we will all be Software Archeologists
The Return of APL Fingers
APL typewriter ball (1970s) I am programming in APL again after a six-year hiatus. My APL fingers are rusty but it's amazing how deep muscle memory goes. I still know where all the beautiful APL glyphs' hide on standard keyboards. I've programmed in almost a dozen programming languages but I maintain warm feelings for APL … Continue reading The Return of APL Fingers
Resume blues partly alleviated by LaTeX
Once again your fearless correspondent is seeking new consulting opportunities. One of the major drawbacks of consulting is the constant need to keep marketing yourself! When it comes to self promotion that old standby, the resume, is still one of your most effective tools. When communicating with potential clients their first question is; “Can you … Continue reading Resume blues partly alleviated by LaTeX
Binge Pretend Boink
The best line in Eat Pray Love comes early on. When Liz Gilbert’s, (Julia Roberts), marriage is falling apart she gets down on her knees and gives prayer a try. Now Liz, a successful author and full-fledged member of the secular New York literati, realizes this is a bit phony so she considers starting her prayer … Continue reading Binge Pretend Boink
C. K. Raju: Genius or Crank (Part 1)
Click here for a PDF version of this post. Euclid's first proposition Lately I have been amusing myself by working through Euclid’s Elements. Despite studying mathematics in university, teaching it in high school and occasionally using it in my software-soaked day job I never got around to reading Euclid. Euclid is routinely lionized as the … Continue reading C. K. Raju: Genius or Crank (Part 1)
The Kindle is just like the KKK
Oh Mohammed in a brothel how much more of this idiocy can we endure? A certain brain-damaged official, (Thomas Perez), in the US Department of Justice apparently thinks allowing Universities to experiment with delivering textbooks via the Kindle violates the civil rights of the blind. This so is mind-boggling stupid that I thought it was … Continue reading The Kindle is just like the KKK
How’s that for Inception?
This is perfect! Divide by Zero For more of these little nuggets check out Proof.
The 20 seconds that ruined Inception
Last week I saw Inception with my daughter. I was seriously considering giving this flick a miss after reading Michelle Malkin’s rant about its empty-headed actors. Nothing ruins a movie faster than an actor going off-script! Actors are given scripts written by others for very good reasons. Most of them have stunted childlike minds that … Continue reading The 20 seconds that ruined Inception
Analyze the Data not the Drivel 