Geek Graffiti
On a recent visit to our local Big City, I saw this spray-painted onto an overpass: “ I’m not a big fan of graffiti, but this is geek graffiti, and both amusing and intellectual. It might be tolerable in this particular instance. 😉
Archive of posts filed under the Interests category.
Topics on my particular interests.
Geek Drivel’s Wooden Anniversary
On the afternoon of April 22nd, 2007, five years ago today, I wrote my first blog post. This will be my 1,663rd, for an average of a post roughly every 26 hours and 20 minutes. I’m not aware of an easy way to count the number of words in all of them, but I suspect …
Sense of Agency
Ever heard the term “sense of agency” before? I listen to podcasts when I’m driving alone, and one of them mentioned the term recently, in relation to designing computer games. In this context, it’s described as “the degree to which people attribute their circumstances and the outcomes they experience to being within their own control,” …
“Research Links Lead Exposure, Criminal Activity”
While roaming the Internet, I stumbled across this article. It’s from 2007, but its contents are still very relevant: […] Through much of the 20th century, lead in U.S. paint and gasoline fumes poisoned toddlers as they put contaminated hands in their mouths. The consequences on crime, Nevin found, occurred when poisoning victims became adolescents. …
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I really hate it when that happens…
(sigh) When I left the office last night, it looked like I was just one step from releasing the first Windows beta of our new product. This afternoon I sat down, wrote up an installer script, built the installer, and proudly handed it over to GoddessJ for final Quality Assurance testing. In less than ten …
“Asus Eee PC 1025C Flare”
The first Asus “Eee” machine ushered in the era of the netbook. I’ve got one of them, and it’s a nice little machine. With its upgraded 2GB of memory and the 4GB solid-state drive, it’s plenty powerful for most uses (though not my usual use, which is software development); my in-laws borrowed it to take …
“Elsevier’s backpedalling not stopping scientist strike”
Ever heard of Elsevier? Unless you’re a scientist, probably not. It’s a scientific and medical publishing company, which takes science research — done by scientists it does not employ, often with public funds — and sells it at exorbitant prices to universities and libraries. The money they make at this, they keep; the original researchers …
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“Dutchman flies like a bird with homemade wings”
This looks like the fulfillment of every six-year-old boy’s dreams. Just watch the video! Even knowing it’s possible (assuming it’s not a hoax — doesn’t look like it to me) stirs my childhood fantasies.
Our New Site!
As you may have noticed, I’ve been too busy this last week or so to keep up on my blog posts. That’s because we’re getting ready to release our new software product, and I’ve been working on a new website, among other things. After some initial teething troubles, I’m happy to report that it’s now …
“Gross-out cigarette labels drive spike in quit-line calls”
Sounds like an excellent idea, but I have my doubts about its effectiveness. My stepfather got a couple packs of Canadian cigarettes a few years ago, and was very amused at the warning graphic. It hasn’t stopped him from smoking though, and I’ve never known anyone who it has stopped. Everyone seems to think that …
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