It looks like someone is finally working on what I’ve been asking for, and at the national level. New York Times: Senators Seek Ban on Texting While Driving I doubt it will get passed, because too many states are still blissfully unaware that the dangers are real, and too many State Reps and State Senators[...]
——————————————————————————————– Embedded video from CNN Video ——————————————————————————————–
The New York Times released this story today: Texting Raises Crash Risk 23 Times, Study Finds In a recent blog entry, I mentioned the dangers of texting while driving, and in another entry, I bashed state lawmakers (including those in Oklahoma) who ignored the bills up for vote that would have restricted cell phone activity[...]
The other day, my wife and I were thinking about how the world has changed, and the things we’ve seen or done that our own children will never see or do. With the help of a couple of other websites, here’s a few short lists. 54 Things That Are Already Gone(Some of these I wish[...]
Healthcare reform seems to be the big media topic on the national stage the last few days, mostly because of President Obama’s initiative that’s currently being debated by Congress. Let’s take a look at the bigger picture, though. Most of us can drastically reduce our own healthcare costs simply by making better decisions. (If you’re[...]
For Johnny Depp fans, or the growing swell of Christian Bale fans, Public Enemies (2009) is a movie to see. Both actors are brilliant in the film. But I can’t say the film itself was brilliant. First the good stuff. Depp and Bale were amazing, as was Marion Cotillard in the lead female role as[...]
(Note: This entry should be completely unnecessary, because cell phones have been around since the early 1990s — I saw my first one in about 1992 — and so have lists of “cell phone etiquette.” But people are still jerks, so here goes…) My list of “rules” for using cell phones might be slightly different[...]
Today, NPR did a story called How to Choose the Right Camera. Like so many other stories of its ilk, this one brought in a so-called “expert” (in this case, NPR’s multimedia director Keith Jenkins) and gave the listeners a five-minute break-down of three basic camera groups: the camera-phone, the point-and-shoot, and the dSLR. Mainly,[...]
If you haven’t heard of this movie, you’ve probably been living under a rock. Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won eight of them, including Best Picture and Best Director. It also won Best Film at the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards, Best Drama Film at the Golden[...]
According to the newest report (.pdf file) from Trust for America’s Health, Oklahoma is the sixth-fattest state in the nation. The list above shows the 10 states with the highest obesity rates: 1. Mississippi 2. Alabama 3. West Virginia 4. Tennessee 5. South Carolina 6. Oklahoma 7. Kentucky 8. Louisiana 9. Michigan 10.[...]
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.)
Not logged in