Like Idiocracy before it, WALL-E gives off the feeling that it might be a real prediction of the future of our planet. When the garbage piles got too large to handle, humanity left Earth in giant space cruise ships, waiting for the robots to organize all the garbage left behind. WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter,[...]
Recently, a relative of mine encouraged me to download and use Safari the web browser designed by Apple for use with Mac computers. It’s now available for Windows, in case you didn’t know. So I did, and I tried it. Here’s my take. First, you should know I’ve been using Firefox for a couple of[...]
Does today’s Supreme Court decision make up for yesterday’s? No. But it’s still good. Today, the highest court in the land decided that the Constitution was true and valid, and didn’t have some hidden meaning. Ever since Washington, D.C., passed a law forbidding the ownership of handguns by Joe Citizen, the case has been heading[...]
Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision was, to say the least, disappointing. Five states had already passed laws making the rape of a child a capital crime, and others were about to follow suit. Polls show that the majority of Americans agree with this trend, especially in the states where the laws have already been passed. It[...]
The music is all around you. All you have to do is listen. I’ve always felt this way about the world, and about music. So when I heard the line, in the opening moments of “August Rush,” I knew I would like the movie. Or at least I hoped I would. Thankfully, the movie lived[...]
A story on the Times Online website today says that scientists have genetically modified bacteria to eat agricultural waste — wood chips, etc. — and excrete crude oil. Now that’s amazing. Someone invest in these guys! And hurry. If bugs can make gas for us, we can get rid of foreign oil dependence.
(The following remarks, by John Coleman, were originally posted on www.kusi.com, the television station in San Diego, Calif., where Coleman is employed as a weather forecaster. Coleman was the original meteorologist on Good Morning America, and founded The Weather Channel. The words below are from a speech Coleman gave at a recent San Diego Chamber[...]
Title: The Raven, A Biography of Sam Houston Author: Marquis James Year: 1929 Publisher: University of Texas Press, Austin ISBN 0-292-77040-5 View it on Amazon View it on Google Books Sam Houston on Wikipedia This book was awarded the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for “Biography or Autobiography” (James is one of the very few people who’ve[...]
Flickr holds a special place in my heart, at least compared to other internet sites. I’ve spent more time on Flickr than most people have spent on Facebook or Twitter — daily participation since I joined in Sept. 2005. Not only have I uploaded over 30,000 images to my photostream (most of them now non-public),[...]
“I thought the left loved freedom of the press and open government. I guess that’s only when ‘The Man’ is someone else.” That’s what one commenter said on a news story about the federal government hoping to charge a journalist for publishing news. It’s an astute observation about the way our two-party political system works:[...]
Commentary: A record Powerball jackpot isn’t a record to celebrate (Christian Science Monitor) The editorial board of CSM concluded their piece with this: Before the news media play up the next record-setting mega-lottery like Powerball, they may want to add these kinds of caveats in their reporting. It could deter people from rushing to the[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of To Sail Beyond The Sunset (1987) by Robert A. Heinlein, the last novel he published before dying in 1988: “I remember Earth. I knew her when she was clean and green, mankind’s beautiful bride, sweet and lush and lovable… It is futile to mourn over[...]
There is a school of thought, albeit a relatively unpopular one, that poor grammar or punctuation on printed signs should be corrected with a Sharpie or other tool, vigilante style. In the News: Vigilante Copy Editor (New York Times) And there are older instances, such as this one (The Virginian-Pilot).
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners (1985) by Robert A. Heinlein: “It does not do to encourage bad banners; one should retaliate, urbanely but firmly.”
In The News: Adobe starts subscription for Photoshop and Dreamweaver (BBC News) This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone; many software companies are moving in this direction. Instead of having to ship millions of boxes and discs every year when they upgrade the software, they’re just going to add the updates to the online[...]
Following are some passages I underlined during a reading of I Will Fear No Evil (1970) by Robert Heinlein: “…most people think of money as something to pay the rent. But a money man thinks of money in terms of what he can do with it.” “…it’s impossible for a woman to lay it on[...]
For about $5, I made this measuring cup holder that’s hidden inside a kitchen cabinet: (Copyright © 2013 by Wil C. Fry. All rights reserved.)
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