I suppose it’s my Dad’s fault that I’m a science fiction nut. When I was a child, in the 1970s, he read magazines like Popular Science, which predicted an amazing future of electric hovercars, personal gyrocopters, space travel for the masses, permanent city-bases on the Moon and Mars, and tiny portable communication devices. All within[...]
Here’s a screenshot of my desktop, as of this morning. I’m using Emerge Desktop as a Windows shell replacement, with Rainmeter for the gadgets you see at left and bottom. Keep in mind, this is only on my left monitor. I have a second monitor that’s completely empty and used for all open windows, like[...]
Compared to violent crime dramas of today, The Roaring Twenties (1939) stands up very well. Sure, there have been advances in special effects, but apparently very few advances in acting, filmography, or story-telling. This film is filled with excellent examples of all those. The special effects fall short during a scene when James Cagney and[...]
Many advertisers thought it was a great idea to advertise on the internet using key words, so they call jumped on the bandwagon. If your website mentions camera gear, the AdSense advertisement next to it will probably be something about photography. That sounds good until these same ads show up on news sites, matching some[...]
There are worse movies in the world than The Ten, but not very many. To be honest, I’m only rating the first 40 minutes of the movie, because that’s all I could stand to watch. My wife begged me to turn it off after 25 minutes, but I was confident that something good was coming.[...]
Cash for Clunkers will actually end up hurting our economy. We’ve heard a lot about the “Cash for Clunkers” program in the past couple of weeks. Basically, it’s a government program that offers up to $4,500 in rebates to anyone trading in an old, inefficient automobile for a new car. That sounds good on the[...]
ESPN made the news today, because of its new policy limiting personal blogs and social networking by its employees. This follows close on the heels of news about the military’s new social networking policy. Quite a few people (especially employees of the above two entities) seem pretty upset by this. Naturally, they’re mad, because Americans[...]
——————————————————————————————–I found the following chart on CNN today. (Click the image to see it on Flickr.) Of course, both the life expectancy numbers and the health care cost figures are estimates, and both are averages for each nation. They don’t refer to you or me specifically. For instance, I have no idea how long I’ll[...]
——————————————————————————————– (Note: This review refers to the non-3D version, which played in select theaters. I saw the non-3D version because it was several dollars cheaper, and because that’s the version you’ll be most likely to see if you rent this on DVD.) I don’t have children, so why did I see a children’s movie, G-Force?[...]
Fortunately, my hopes weren’t set too high when I went to see “Funny People” on opening night. Directed by Judd Apatow, the same guy who did The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, this movie’s previews didn’t promise much. But I was pleasantly surprised. While the previews made the movie look far from funny — more[...]
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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